Why has Player Skill dropped Significantly?

I'm quite amazed with the lack of Skill, players have for Guildwars now a days. I remember years ago when people were actually decent at RA or TA.
Today unfortunately you see terrible Builds and Player Skill in Low-End PvP Areas such as TA, RA, AB Etc. Its even started to spread its roots in HA.
I've seen crap Builds and player Tactics. Mesmers running WoH, Warriors running Dagger skills visa versa, Monks NEVER Kitting, Warriors with Hexes, Monks running hammers etc etc, you all probably have seen it.

Honestly, what has happened to the Player Skill in Guildwars? It gets worse everyday.
(I fear for the day when I see people start to run the Hamstorm Build off of the First GW Box :P lol)

It hasn't. Expectations have just grown.

haha doubt it. At least not where I have been playing the last 6 months

There has always been and will always be idiots in Random Arenas.

And for warriors with hexes, we beat top 20 guilds with our warrior running a hex. (and we are a real guild)

Monks running hammers is amazing, by the way, and I run WoH on my mesmer :>

Player skill has increased as the game becomes more mapped out and more understood.

Expectations, however, have increased at the same pace. There's also less difference in overall player ability - with the game fully understood, there's less space for 'superstar' players, and as a result it appears the whole playerbase is mediocre.

Same in PvE and PvP, really.

However PvE-wise, the game has also gotten simpler, so there's less requirement for good play to succeed. Hence, there are more high-profile players who really aren't that good, making the overall playerbase look worse. I suppose the same applies to PvP, as well.

it hasnt

-___-'

Theres also the fact that people are bored and as such will run a retarded build for laughs

Actually, if anything I have noticed some of my PUGs being better as of late. Probably, due to more experienced players doing the missions for book entries.

I would hazard a guess that a lot of people have finished up a lot of their PvE titles, and now are are going for their PvP titles. Tolerance is probably the word here....we were all new at PvP at some point, and you only learn by experience and experimentation.

I don't know about you,

To me, I was the necromancer who does not raise minions, I was a Warrior Necromancer with a Stone Summit Axe of Fortitute and a Stone Summit Shiled, who constantly wander why my max dmg axe does so little damage. I was the necromancer who joined a sorrow furnace 4 men run only to pissed off the other 3 because I did not know what echo SS was which off course I say yes I am SS Necro to :P~

But now, I can give new players advise that I did not get back when I was a noob. So to answer your question: because You have become better! and are able to see the faults new players are making, as we all did once.

I would definitely agree with it being rising expectations. As the game gets older and more people learn simple mechanics, new players get further and further away from the current standards. Also I would say the typical response to "noob" players is something along the lines of "gtfo joo nublet" or maybe "l2pGW noob" or even "fail nub is fail". If more people said "Hey, so and so, that build is not very good because...", we'd most likely have less bad players. But if they ignore you and say "don't be stupid noobie, mending is teh bombz", then you know they are arrogant bastards and you should speak your mind

Also you could argue the huge amount of (more) skills has increased a new player's chances at picking a horrible build/combination.

Protoss wins thread

Ursan. Button smashing for a time=dumbing skills.

And I think rising expectations too. When people PuG, they expect a group as organized and good as a guild/alliance/friend balanced group.

i'll talk mostly ra here because there you can't choose the people you play with to determine if they're clueless or not, and get matched up with filthy newbs against your will constantly.

guild wars is now a very very very simplified game. majority of players lack talent, obviously, and are used to games like warcraft where it's mash buttons and win. sadly, with a crap ton of easy to play, majority builds, this is exactly what the game has become. i'm gonna say half of the builds on pvxwiki i bet are mindless button mashing 1234567 and sometimes 8.

deadly arts sins, literally, 1234567. rinse and repeat.
rangers, load up minimum of 4 interrupts and spam the living shit out of them and pray you hit something good.
monks with word of healing, veil, and 6 stances. enough said.
the list goes on and on

players think "if i play this build i will prwnz" and are completely oblivious to anything else.

and then there are people who make builds specifically to counter those builds. this is where all originality and ingenuity goes *poof* and it just becomes Build Wars.

Because GW is a game, and people play games to have fun.

[Water Trident][Dismember][Executioner's Strike][Disrupting Chop][Frenzy][Rush][Conjure Frost][Resurrection Signet]

[Patient Spirit][Guardian][Word of Healing][Draw Conditions][Distracting Shot][Holy Veil][Optional][Antidote Signet]

The expectations in RA for monks are pretty high - every match is "wtf, why does our monk have a bow?" Yet it's the only fun and interesting way to monk with VoR scrubs, E/A shadow walk meteor eles, or assassicaster trains plaguing RA. Also, antidote sig > daze.

No he's right, it really is amazing how bad people are. It's not even the new players. I got a 38 month old warrior telling me that I should run healing breeze and defy pain. Been in RA all day today and people are still using mending warriors and hitting through empathy etc. If you try help them at all they just go nuts and tell you how much you suck and it was your fault they lost. I have come to a conclusion.


There is no new players, It is old players that just continue to suck.

They refuse to get better or take any advice. Garr I don't care if they directly copy paste of wiki, I'm so tired of just seeing the failure I see everyday.

/Rant ;_;

well in pve its because of heroes....it doesnt really take skill to play with 3 heroes and 4 henchies....c space, and with all the mindless grinding,---what skill do you need??

but also as has been said, lots of people are working on different titles, and veteran players arent as patient with newbies (or people trying out strange builds...).

happens.

i was going to say that since the skills themselves have seen power creep since nf, the players themselves can suck more since the OP skills make up for it, which was something u couldnt do for the most part back in prophecies and factions.

haha thats good stuff.

I agree with the fact that everyone just keeps raising their expectations

Because ppl help other ppl with the game and those ppl do not have the experience of learning for themselves. Ive seen many cases of this.

But theres always been idiots in pvp.....always.