Better PUGing by improving your build in 7 steps

(Not sure if this fits here or on Riverside or wherever.)

I've played this game since early 2006, and have been setting up PUGs since a month or so after I started. I prefer setting up groups of my own since then you know what you'll get (as opposed to joining a group where the leader might or might not be competent). For quite a long while PUGs were just about inviting/accepting until you had a decently balanced team (1-3 frontliner, 1-2 monks depending on area, rest damage casters) and press enter mission. And then came hard mode, and suddenly it started to actually matter what skills people bring.

Ok, stop that. No, I'm not a build elitist, I'm less of that than many other people here, I'd think. I don't care if your build is on PvX or not, I don't care if your attributes are perfectly aligned on optimal breakpoints and all that. I prefer to have an efficient build myself, but as for my teammates, it's better if they bring stuff that they feel comfortable with. After all, the point of a game is to have fun.

But enough is enough. This game has existed for how long - five years, soon? And people still bring horrible builds in hard mode. Time to end this. So if you PUG, please read this, and take note. Yes, I'm selfish. I'm trying to help myself getting better teams. But let me tell you this: if you, yes you who are reading this, is on that better team, you will have a greater chance of winning and having fun.

Of course, not all of these steps need apply. But the first and the last ones always do.

Step 1: Play for the team, and the team will play for you
Guild Wars is about teamwork. In a perfect team, you are not playing the 8 skills on your bar - the entire team is playing the 64 skills on the sum total of all teammates' bars, as one entity. Of course no team is perfect, but you can and should still adapt your build to the team. If you have an excessive amount of self-heals, maybe substitute those for some damage skills and let the monks do the healing. If you choose between Vampiric Gaze and Barbs, maybe take Barbs even though you personally can't trigger the effect.

Step 2: Bring rez
You have 8 slots on your bar. Fill them up. Now remove one skill. Go ahead. Yes, that one, the one that adds like 0.5 to your DPS. You don't need it. What you need to put in there is some skill to revive your fallen teammates. No, the plan isn't that people should die. But you have 7 skills for when everything goes as planned.
And one skill for when nothing does.

Step 3: Remove rez if you are a monk
I don't even intend to explain this one.

Step 4: Put on an attunement if you are ele
I see this on so many elementalists and I don't know why. Packing an attunement will give you back loads of energy for each spell you cast, preventing you from running low so fast. Taking Elemental Attunement means you can spam energy-heavy spells without break pretty much endlessly, though it also means giving up your elite, so it's not recommended. The normal attunement for your chosen element will ensure that you won't run dry in the middle of a protracted battle, or as a result of multiple encounters in quick succession.

Step 5: Bring a warrior build if you are a warrior
So a warrior enters the team, and pings something like 2 elementalist spells, Defy Pain, one adrenaline attack, Power Attack, Ebon Standard of Honor, and so on. What. On. This. Holy. Earth.
Why even play warrior if you are going to bring something like that? This is the only time I'm a build elitist, because warriors more than any other profession in GW can be completely and utterly useless if they are bad and truly excellent if they are good.
Also, this problem doesn't really seem to exist for other professions, not to this degree.
I'm not asking that you should always use the latest super template posted here on Guru, or elsewhere. It's even better in fact if you understand the skills well enough to build your own. But please if you are going to play warrior in hard mode take a moment to learn the adrenaline system, and take another moment to appreciate how warrior damage works.

Step 6: No, you are not a ritualist, unless you actually are a ritualist, of course.
You are an elementalist, or a ranger, or an assassin, or a mesmer, and so on, so why do you bring a whole bar full of spirits? Can't you see all those PvX copycats hanging around the outpost spamming "SoS lfp"? If we wanted a spirit spammer, we'd take one of them (which we probably already did), not you, since they can do a much better job of it than you can. Fear not, though; all is not lost, since you can do a much better job doing what your profession is made for, nuking, shooting arrows, doing awesome melee damage or just standing around making purple sparks in the air, respectively.

Step 7: Don't be a retard
If asked to ping your build, ping it without hesitation: no one wants to steal it, and few wants to insult you for it. They might want to suggest improvements to it, even if you have read this post and done everything that I said here. If they do suggest improvements, consider their words; they are usually based on actual playing experience.

These steps are only the start, the rest is up to you, and to your team. Sure, you only just met these people, and you'll only play with them for an hour and then never see them again. Still, it's a multiplayer game, and playing for the team means playing for yourself: if they win, you win.

tl;dr: Use common sense when developing your build.

Yes it is common sense (not intended as criticism), but at least
read something before commenting.

As we know, common sense isn't that common.

Got to hate people that think your going to steal thier build lol

Good post though, although 90% of the offenders wouldnt have the sense to come here looking advice. But even if we effect the other 10% it will be a victory.

Step 3: if you are a Monk, take Unyielding Aura. If you are running Healer's Boon, take a Healing Prayers res. Let other players take rebirth or res signet or whatever.

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