Guild Wars State of the Game: maps made for split teams

The latest in NCsoft‘s Guild Wars State of the Game goes deeper into splitting strategies, as Guild Halls with quick routes that give competing guilds easy access to the enemy Guild Lord are discussed. To those who have experienced more than a dozen GvG battles in this MMORPG would know that Frozen Isle, Isle of Jade, Isle of the Dead, and Nomad’s Isle are usually main prospects for splitting on the get-go.

Teams that aren’t flexible enough to split will have a hard time winning in the mentioned maps, where taking the flag stand is as difficult as defending the Guild Lord. In Frozen Isle, split teams can easily send some guys to the bridge leading to enemy territory then pick NPCs off, while the rest can prevent the opposing team from gaining control of the flag stand by using snares and taking advantage of Icy Ground.

Combatants in the Isle of Jade have to be on their toes all the time, since split teams can use teleporters to launch a full assault to the Guild Lord while the enemy guild is divided in anticipation of the gank. During Victory of Death, it’s also a common tactic to jump at the Guild Lord when it comes out without taking away efforts to capture the flag stand, making dedicated split teams more attractive in such situations.

The Isle of the Dead is also the assassin’s playground, as skills like Aura of Displacement allow teams to safely send gank squads then calling them back during hot encounters in a relatively small map. The large pool of tar surrounding the flag stand also makes it easier for a smaller team to stall the enemies even if they come in big numbers, while NPCs are left unguarded.

Environmental factors in Nomad’s Isle make split teams more efficient. Quicksand slow enemies down, while teleporters make it easy to pull the team back together when it’s time for an all-out brawl. Balanced teams that send a guy or two to protect the base run the risk of the flag stand squad getting eliminated, or NPCs going down before the benefits of capping the flag stand even matter.

To sum it all up, it’s important to recognize which maps are ideal for splits before deciding which strategy to use. If there’s a short path to the enemy base, tar or icy ground around the flag stand, and teleporters all over the place, then you know it’s time to give the enemy guild a field day trying to figure out where you’ll hit next.

Click on the Read link for NCsoft’s State of the Game feature.

The latest in NCsoft‘s Guild Wars State of the Game goes deeper into splitting strategies, as Guild Halls with quick routes that give competing guilds easy access to the enemy Guild Lord are discussed. To those who have experienced more than a dozen GvG battles in this MMORPG would know that Frozen Isle, Isle of Jade, Isle of the Dead, and Nomad’s Isle are usually main prospects for splitting on the get-go.

Teams that aren’t flexible enough to split will have a hard time winning in the mentioned maps, where taking the flag stand is as difficult as defending the Guild Lord. In Frozen Isle, split teams can easily send some guys to the bridge leading to enemy territory then pick NPCs off, while the rest can prevent the opposing team from gaining control of the flag stand by using snares and taking advantage of Icy Ground.

Combatants in the Isle of Jade have to be on their toes all the time, since split teams can use teleporters to launch a full assault to the Guild Lord while the enemy guild is divided in anticipation of the gank. During Victory of Death, it’s also a common tactic to jump at the Guild Lord when it comes out without taking away efforts to capture the flag stand, making dedicated split teams more attractive in such situations.

The Isle of the Dead is also the assassin’s playground, as skills like Aura of Displacement allow teams to safely send gank squads then calling them back during hot encounters in a relatively small map. The large pool of tar surrounding the flag stand also makes it easier for a smaller team to stall the enemies even if they come in big numbers, while NPCs are left unguarded.

Environmental factors in Nomad’s Isle make split teams more efficient. Quicksand slow enemies down, while teleporters make it easy to pull the team back together when it’s time for an all-out brawl. Balanced teams that send a guy or two to protect the base run the risk of the flag stand squad getting eliminated, or NPCs going down before the benefits of capping the flag stand even matter.

To sum it all up, it’s important to recognize which maps are ideal for splits before deciding which strategy to use. If there’s a short path to the enemy base, tar or icy ground around the flag stand, and teleporters all over the place, then you know it’s time to give the enemy guild a field day trying to figure out where you’ll hit next.

Click on the Read link for NCsoft’s State of the Game feature.