AB is really annoying

The amount of noobs in AB is so amazing. I have been playing this game since it came out, I stopped in 2008 for 1year thats it... started 2 weeks ago. There are so many noobs in AB!! AB is the only fun thing left for me to do in GW, since i ain't into title hunting, but its ruined for me now.

1)Am a luxon, and on the base maps for kurzicks, Ancestral lands I tell a simple thing. The 2 points in the corners of the map near the base, when we luxon mob it. I tell everyone to split up.

I tell 4/5 people to get in base and cap, the rest move on and go clockwise around the map, capping. While following the kurzicks. Now this is a good tactic, as we can take the base, shut there points down, and cap everything they do, cos we are following them. We can easily rack up points.

But no one does it!!! The noobs just go around the map, clockwise, they do not think, hey lets go for the base so we can catch up
But they still go around the map clockwise...I mean seriously thats all you gotta do to win. Cap base with 4/5 people, the rest follow the kurzicks wherever they go...but no one does it...

2)Another noob thing is this. K I know this is dumb, and people don't really do it. But trust me, people do this every single game.

They fight when they are outnumbered......

If you are outnumbered just run, do not fight. The likely thing that will happen is you will die, and if you die, they get points.

But no ones smart enough to run...I mean cmon your outnumbered why the hell you gonna fight for, you will die. They will get points....

3)Another noob thing is this...Now this is just common sense! If you are trying to kill someone, what would you do........Thats right! Go for the healer!!

Forget the eles, forget the sins, forget the warriors. You will not kill them as long as a monk, or Rt healer is healing them. You have got to kill the healers first, all on the healer, not on the warrior...its just common sense....

Once on grenz this is what happend. I was luxon I spwaned i went to the left portal with my group, we capped ele shrine. Now we came onto a proper 4v4 battle. My group had 2 monks, I was one of them, and we had 1 sin 1 ranger. There group had 1 monk, and some other professions. Now I was just laughing my head off at this, the sin and ranger just went for some random guys.
I held ctrl, and clicked the monk so many times, i really did spam the chat for like 30secs with it! Still they do not get it, they still went for the warriors, they did not die, cos the monk was healing them. Even the 2nd monk on our team, said wow what noobs!

K we died, they capped ele, they had a huge amount of points, that we could not catch up to. All cos of what happend at start...2 noobs were not smart enough to go for the monk........that made us lose, nothing else, that solely alone made us lose.


I mean seriously stopped playing for 1year, and this is what AB has turned into.... a noob fest? Like I said, I ain't into title hunting, I have finshed all the games, I only do AB now, but it is ruined greatly for me now.

Believe me or not playing on the luxon side is actually much less frustrating than on Kurzicks and the number of noobs on the luxon side is much lower. I agree that what is now happening in AB makes it unplayable for most of older players...

I stopped playing AB a year ago and it was the same.

But if AB is the only thing that you can find to do other than title hunting, then this really isn't the game for you.

That sounds like what AB has always been like ever since it was introduced, it certainly isn't just some recent change in the last year or so.

I don't know dude, are you pugging or something? Pugging in AB is an awful idea. I run with my alliance when I want to AB and we normally do rather well. It also helps to use stuff like TS or Ventrilo to coordinate your attacks easier.


And like someone else said, if you're this upset on the Luxon side, think of how we Kurzicks feel stuck damn near permanently defending our final 2 maps. It's infuriating to see us get beaten on our own home base.

I like how AB is so casual and still has a lot of action.

Well, maybe people just don't like to be bossed around, even if you claim you are providing them with the winning strategy.

I for one play AB for fun, not for winning. Weird huh? So if you run into a sole Ranger chasing a lonely Monk all the way across the map, or an Elementalist blinding every Warrior or Assassin in sight, instead of nuking them, yes, It would probably be me

AB has always been stuffed with subpar players. Either accept it and do the best you can with your 1/3 of the team or go play some more advanced form of PvP.

Yup.

Most people probably don't realize you can zoom out on the mini-map and get a full view of the entire map, usually with very little manipulation of the shape and size of it. People just see the shrine they're closest to (or just run and latch onto the first shrine they see) without seeing the big picture. Even then, most people in AB *probably* wouldn't understand how to interpret the map anyway.

Wait, you mean it's not smart to stay in every battle whether you're going to win or lose? Oh... well first you're going to have to convince AB players (and RA while you're at it) that running away from a poor situation isn't being a "noob runner" (all it takes is a single IMS and a single self-heal to be one of these noobs), it's tactically sound and advantageous to the team. People in AB and RA think that everyone should be stronglikebearL0L and stay in every battle because they're not "manly" unless they do.

I was in RA a few weeks back and was the last person on my team against a casterspike DA sin and a Defy Pain Warrior. I ran around until I got height advantage on the sin and the warrior followed me, Wastrel's Collapsed the sin, spiked and killed him. What happened? He got all pissed of because it was a "cowardly" thing to do, and said if I'd have come at him from the front (waving a flag and /dance-ing for the first 2 seconds of aggro so that Dancing Daggers couldn't miss) he'd have easily killed me. Then, after killing someone 2v1, I timed spikes on the warrior so he'd have no adrenaline when I spiked (he was using Lion's Comfort for a self-heal and damage denial typical of the Defy Pain builds which r0xx0rz in RA) and almost got him killed due to skillful positioning, shadow step spiking, and kiting, and what happens? HE runs away to heal! Even after that (since he used Rush) little running from me instance, his team (and some of mine) insisted that I was a coward because of how I was going in and out the battle. Okay, well next time when all of you are the last ones and you're facing a Defy Pain warrior as a physical, I'll just laugh while you stand in front of him for the two minutes it takes him to kill you and roll on the floor with hilarity when you die.

Indeed, if there's one thing I hate the most about low level PvP, it's the "strongwarrioralwaysfightsomg" school of thought.


This goes along with the last thing. Attacking a healer is totally pointless, I mean, you're supposed to fight the frontline right? That's what the team has them for, isn't it?

*sigh*

You have to keep in mind the majority of people that play this game are probably 13 years old. Just try your best to revel in your victories that you achieve so often through better playing in general. If you find yourself getting separated often because your team synchs with a mob, bring a solo capper build. They're boring as heck, but at least you get to play and be effective even if you're on your own.

I would dispute this. The shorter waiting times on the Luxon side attract all kinds of terrible players and leechers, and teams are more often the 'get four and go' type, with little organisation.

Victory in AB is decided by the organisation of the three teams on either side. It is essential that each team caps separately - if two teams converge on the same point, unless the higher manpower would be advantageous, one group should move on. Mobbing only wins against bad people who don't know how to run and cap (three teams capping separately will outpace three teams capping together).

One guild/alliance team on Vent that know what they're doing provides a massive advantage. Players on such a team are more likely to stick together, and can communicate tactics more easily. I nearly always AB with at least one person I know, and frequently with an entire team on Vent, which is probably why I win much more than I lose. I play on the Kurzick side, and while other teams can be frustrating, they are usually better than most of our opponents.

It surprises me that the Kurzicks are doing so badly as of late (the map is almost always Ancestral or Grenz). Then again, not too long ago it was the other way round, eternally in Kaanai/Etnaran. Maybe some Kurzicks switched sides?

First things first: going into Alliance Battles with PuG players is generally a bad idea, in a lot of cases you're not going to have any control over them. Join a guild, get a guild group going, and watch the results of your team improve.

Now, for your individual points:

I won't go into depth on this one, but yes, there are players out there that could use a lesson in strategy.

Under some circumstances, fighting when outnumbered is a good thing, but the requirement is that you've got a good team.

See, while they're fighting against you with 8 of their 12 players against your 4 player team, at best they're going to have 4 people capping points around the map, which you have 8 of.

While you might not be able to beat off the assault, you're delaying them. If you die and give them a few points (or back away at the last moment), the few points they might have gained could easily have costed them 2 points on the map.

I disagree with this statement, if all you do is act like some sort of homing missile targetting Monks, you're doing something wrong.

Putting pressure on their Monk is good, protecting your own is better. Try putting pressure on their Monk by attacking multiple of his/her party members, his/her attention will be split between them and you're likely to take pressure off of your own Monk as well.

We need MORE MAPS! Its always the same two. Gets old....

screw that just edge bomb the entire map

You have just described AB as if it just came out in 2006.

It's the nature of AB to be a more "relaxed", "casual" PvP experience which leads to these strange and a bit/a lot annoying situations. Yesterday I ended up solo-capping and everyone was fighting/mobbing over the monk shrine, it was utterly ridiculous, while other times there are great strategic battles where the two teams switch advantages.

AB is indeed not a very serious PvP, if you want something with "less noobs" (I think anyone using that has problems expressing what they exactly mean) you should go somewhere else, like HA or GvG, or stop playing.

Actually I disagree with fighting when outnumbered, if you have a good guild team you can easily take down most of the enemy team with little/no effort if they're stupid enough to try.

You can't generalize with AB, everything depends on the situation.

Unfortunately many people don't get this and just go round and round in circles screaming cap, if you do that as a luxon on ancestrals YOU WILL LOSE...

Cool, thanks for this.

Tip: If you're monking, don't PUG. Nobody will listen to you.

This is why I now only AB with friends.

ab is terrible, dont play it

Monk stomping isn't always the best idea. It is completely situational.

I pug in ab and it works out well, the trick is to hang out until you can get 4 decent players (today I had a monk from super kaon action team) then stick with them for a while, also on ancestral I always rush the base right at start and win but when you do that you gotta be uber careful about getting locked in. Many people regard capping the base as a suicide mission, which I find quite odd because my team makes it out 97% of the time.

HellzHere: Your strategy for Ancestral Lands is not the best way to run it as a Lux. The following are the 10 keys to success for the Lux on that map:

1) Clean off the walls. You can do this even if you don't plan on entering the base. It doesn't take long to nuke the npcs.

2) Always blast open the door when you take a shrine with the bomb, even if you aren't yet entering the base. (This not only helps the Lux, but also forces the Kurz to divert attention to the broken door).

3) Always start clockwise, and keep moving with a priority on capping. Those that defy that starting direction screw the whole team up when they insta-mob in the center of the bridge. It's a losing strategy. Don't do it.

4) Take the base only when you have at least 2 doors open, and don't stay in the base unless the Kurz are dumb enough to try fighting you there instead of locking you in. (Note that a not-too-old update now allows a team to fix the doors and prevent you from leaving their base unless you die).

5) Utilize the Elites when you cap their shrines. Npcs don't play good defense. They are better used as offensive cappers.

6) Keep your team of 4 together as much as possible. Solo cappers do not help the cause. (This applies to all maps).

And the next one is an advantage so many people haven't figured out yet:

7) When we have at least 2 doors open, we have a SHORTCUT across the map. You don't have to go in a big circle around the outside when you can cut through the base. Every edge helps when playing on their home map. So use it!

8) Pay attention to the cap advantage and the score. If we are way up on caps, then fighting the Kurz at key points earns us more points than it earns them. Likewise, if we are down on caps, they earn more points than we do in a fight. Most of the time, you are going to want to focus on capping. But an even fight at a key point where we are earning twice the points per kill is good for the cause.

9) When your group of 4 is getting wiped, the first guy dead shouldn't go running off after rez without figuring out first where his teammates are going to rez. Keeping the team of 4 together is more important than getting back to the fight too quickly.

Last but not least:

10) Mobbing is for losers, not for Lux. When they mob, the counter to it is to outcap them elsewhere since they are not covering the areas they would otherwise. Occasionally 2 groups of Lux will end up in the same fight. That's ok, but you need to separate after you pummel the Kurz at that spot. Don't continue on with a mob. If some noob is running around the board with your team of 4, but he belongs with his own team elsewhere, you should point that out to him so he understands they need him more than you do.

OK, so you have the ten keys to Ancestral Lands. I won't argue with your other points. But your strategy about entering the base right away is perilous now that they can lock you in.

Also keep in mind that even if the Lux do everything right, following all 10 of the keys, the Kurz can still win on their map if they follow their own keys to winning on their home map. But, I have found that following the ten keys will at the very least make the match competitive, and will fairly often result in an upset.

AB game a few minutes ago (I'm waiting for the next one ): 2 groups meet on the North ranger shrine, luxons gain an advantage which leads to kurz wipe, our monk leaves the party, it's 1min into the game, luxons get the advantage by more than 50 points after around 4mins, but we continue fighting and regain control of all 7 shrines, in particular due to a bad luxon push inside the castle. And win the game.

No one called names, no one complained, people played. The game ends when you get 500, not when you get a wipe or feel you're surrounded by "noobs".

JQ gives much more faction, so anyone still playing AB is likely just there to have a good time and not be SRS BZNS *g* Which is fine, we all like having fun. AB is fun, especially when you can call out the shitty skills you see people using. I'm watching you, flare rangers.

Talk is only talk. I hate people who say cap as if saying it will just magically make it happen.

One of the problems IMO is that there is only 2 Kurzick maps... it is eternally Grenz/Ancestral Lands and that is horribly boring. At least add new ones to switch it up! Having a map like the Kurzick GH would be AMAZING IMO... I really like that map, with the field of mushrooms and the little areas, like the scarecrow one.

I also hate the game is cap and run, merry go round style... there should be a "nobody can cap for the next _______ seconds" period to force PvP.

threaten to not heal.

As if they don't run off in three different directions the moment game starts. (Which is a pet peeve of mine - groups end up scattered all over the place, nobody knows what anyone else is doing, and it becomes a game of 'let's all follow the first person who appears to know what he's doing, even if he screams at us to MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE!')

It's frustrating. AB is frustrating, of course, but since I enjoy the format I go in there with friends.

I don't why anyone thinks AB is fun.
Its worse than RA. :S

But you can be good at it even wile eating ramen at the same time.

GW = fun

ramen > GW

GW + ramen = awesome

OP: The reason that players in AB fail is that the rewards are terrible. Compare Amber and Jadeite (or faction farming for an alliance and holding a town) to Halls Chest drops, zkeys and the acclaim of your fellow man for your skill. Good players don't go down there because it's a waste of time, and because they know that other good players don't go down there. This means that good players would have to carry a team with eight idiots on it, which only leads to frustration.

Randomly pairing three teams of four is a lousy mechanic. Good players would go down there periodically for a lark if they could pick their twelve. Of course, then you would have to face them.

Should this happen, the optimal play is often to suicide on the base defender. Sure, you're conceding points, but you'll more than make up for it with the additional kills and caps you manufacture. If the Kurzicks want to lock you in, punish them for it. When they go to recap the center, kill them.

An alternative is to bring sufficient snares that you can farm any players that spawn in the base before they can get out. They'll keep respawning every 20 seconds, and you'll get to keep farming them over and over until enough of them turn up in the base that you finally get pushed out.

Honestly, this decision depends on the relative skill level of you and the opponents. It's always a mistake to not farm bad Kurzicks. The marginal impact of deferring one capture for 30 seconds is much less than the impact of farming the bad Kurzicks for another 12 points in that same 30 seconds.

However, it's usually unwise to fight Kurzicks that are hard to kill. You're best off capping and compelling such a team to fight you at a newly capped shrine where you have additional damage backing you up.

the key is taking ab a lot less seriously, and just having fun and messing around in it rather than actually trying to put in effort to win

AB is not true PvP, just remember this and you'll be fine

RA is more PvP than AB.

Wander into the central fort type deal with your team of 4, then smash bad people til the game ends. Who wins is irrelevant.

Op, you need a team and not 3 random players with you.

if you gotta pug it have everyone ping their builds including you. talk a little bit about what your gonna do. you'll know in an instant if your with mobbers.

sounds like you wanna boss around the uncontrollable majority. and you know ab is where all unorganized pvp players go.

go with guildies/alliance mates so you can have a balanced team that chooses to do their jobs.