Guide
1. Press "U" to open your minimap, and zoom out with your mouse. This lets you see who has what shrine and is 100% required. You CANNOT play properly without navigating through your minimap. A good place to put your minimap is under the compass, resized to fit all shrines in view.
2. Go for enemy shrines, not enemy players. The idea is to capture shrines, not goof off on a killing/revenge spree. When you goof off like that, you lose very quickly. Other people are relying on you to capture shrines, so dont be an ass.
3. Try to bring a run buff - Sprint, Flame Djinns Haste, Storm Chaser, etc.
4. Going without a Monk is like Duke Nukem without balls of steel. You will eat shit and die, then its game over. Bring a Monk, you need one. Concentrate on damage and leave the healing to your Monk. Its ok to bring a self heal, but dont go overboard and sacrifice your damage.
5. If you have to chase it for a while to kill it, let it go and move on.
6. Ignore tanks. They are like beggars in the street who just want attention and booze money. If you can kill them fast, then fine. But dont sit there all day trying to kill them.
7. Use AB builds only. Unless youre a dedicated healer, if you cant solo cap fairly fast, its not good enough. Interrupt/knockdown spammers dont cut it, they are used to grief players, not to win matches. Have you ever watched the monkey slapping scene on Night at the Museum? Thats how silly it looks. So stop slapping your e-monkey and take the key, which is damage.
8. No resurrection skills (with very very rare exception). You resurrect very quickly anyway, and theres no morale boost to recharge a Resurrection Signet. If you use a resurrection skill, youre bringing them back with low health and/or energy, and they are going to die again anyway, giving the opposing team another 3 points. Let them resurrect automatically and meet back up when you can.
9. Use your bodycount for capping shrines, refusing to get in range will cost you the game.
10. Dont confuse minions and spirits as players.
11. Zoom out on your character. There is no tactical reason at all to zoom in, you cant see whats going on around you.
12. Dont be a Rambo. Dont be a Lemming. You were born with a brain, use it or lose it.
Reasons NOT to AB
1. Dont AB if you arent experienced enough with the game to know what is going on. There are 23 other people in a match, not to mention others who are waiting to get in. So dont waste their time. Learn in PvE, then advance to PvP when youre ready. Dont dive blindly into a large teamwork environment and expect people to be ok with sabotaging the match on them.
2. Dont AB if you go there to troll and get ego kills. Its as entertaining as watching someone eat their own poop. If you cant get over yourself, do everyone a favor and kick your own ass. Its just a game... A game where real people invest real time to play. So show respect, we arent npcs.
3. Dont AB if you dont plan on staying the whole match, or intend on having repeated breaks in the match. How would you like it if someone stopped their car across the middle of the street for a cigarette break?
4. Dont AB if youre using a PvE character than isnt PvP ready. Get the gear you need or make a PvP character, else youre going to be the weakest link. Think of Eric Cartman in a game of dodgeball. Do you want that?
General advice
1. When entering a team, greet them and ping your build right away. Ping it again whenever someone asks for it. This is a standard thing amongst decent players, and for good reason. It shows that you have a decent build, it shows that youre there and paying attention, and it shows that youre a team player. People who refuse to ping, always have something bad to hide. Good players arent ashamed of showing people their builds, nor are they so egotistical and arrogant that they think they need to keep what they percieve as a godly build, secret. A good player welcomes a challenge, a bad player seeks a hidden advantage.
2. Answer when spoken to, and answer immediately. Dont be lazy and sit there in ignorance like a sheep. Would you do it to someone in a lift? Hell no! So dont do it in an online game.
3. Dont use kiddy talk like "Noob" and "Leet". It just shows your immaturity and how you cant be trusted. Anyone whos opinion means something, looks down on you for doing it. The only people who noob call are noobs themselves by the very definition of the word. Only idiots talk like that.
4. Look through the skill options properly before rushing into a match. If you dont have enough skill unlocks, look through the priest of balthazar. Contrary to popular belief, it doesnt take a genius to make a superior build. Its very easy, and all it takes is the effort to look. If you cant be bothered to set up a decent build, you are lazy and wasting everyones time. Random skills dont cut it.
5. Follow and lead by example. The Guild Wars community is only as good as those that regulate it. Although Arenanet and NcSoft have a responsibility in that, the community needs to apply self regulation too. Help new players out, and pull up assholes who talk shit and troll all day. If you dont, who will? Its the duty of every member of the community. If youre reading this, youre one such member. If youre not part of the solution, youre part of the problem. Lets raise the bar people!
