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[Retro]

SPvP?

There's two PVP modes in Guild Wars 2; World vs. World (WvW) and Structured PVP (sPVP).

World vs. World is a large scale battle between three servers for control of four maps; three identical "Borderlands" for each server and one "Eternal Battleground" at the center. A large number of players (hundreds) work to capture keeps, towers and supply camps, escort supply carts, set up siege equipment and generally try to control as much of the four maps as possible. After two weeks, a winner is declared and the game matches three more servers up and the fight starts all over again.

Structured PVP is more like first person shooter deathmatches; you jump in and immediately start fighting other players in 5v5 matches. Right now we've only seen one gametype (Conquest, basically capture positions on a map) played on two maps. There are also tournaments which ArenaNet runs, and players can run their own tournaments as well.

Edit: Oh my god, stop stalking me Thanasis.

 

[Ghizz]

One more question, there are two types of PvP, WvW and the hot-join ones.

Do you use the same character for both?

 

[Retro]

One more question, there are two types of PvP, WvW and the hot-join ones.

Do you use the same character for both?

Yes, which is the same character you use in PVE; there's no PVP-only characters like in GW1. However, in both PVP modes, you're automatically leveled to 80. In sPVP, your gear is replaced with pre-set weapons and armor for so nobody has a gear advantage, and all of your traits and skills are unlocked. In WvW, your gear is only scaled up and you don't get any traits or skills unlocked.

 

[Ghizz]

Has GAF decided on a official server?

Darkhaven, reddit server.
Sea of Sorrows/Astralarium for Oceanic.

Not sure which to join

 

[Jira]

Has GAF decided on a official server?

Darkhaven, reddit server.
Sea of Sorrows/Astralarium for Oceanic.

Not sure which to join

Gates of Madness for launch. If you actually want to do WvW I'd suggest not following Reddit.

 

[Retro]

Has GAF decided on a official server?

Darkhaven, reddit server.
Sea of Sorrows/Astralarium for Oceanic.

Not sure which to join

Gates of Madness at launch, but Henge of Denravi during the BWEs. Our plan was to go to the server with a "G" name, but there wasn't one during the first BWE.

Bear in mind that you can 'guest' on any server you like, but can only represent your home server in WvW (also remember that all of your characters are on your home server, it's account-based not character based).

 

[Snapshot King]

Gates of Madness at launch, but Henge of Denravi during the BWEs. Our plan was to go to the server with a "G" name, but there wasn't one during the first BWE.

Bear in mind that you can 'guest' on any server you like, but can only represent your home server in WvW (also remember that all of your characters are on your home server, it's account-based not character based).

I just wanna talk crazy shit to gaffers while I murder mobs. Gates of Madness here I come.

 

[Retro]

I just wanna talk crazy shit to gaffers while I murder mobs. Gates of Madness here I come.

If all you're interested in is guild chat, you can be in the GAF guild even if you're not on the guild's home server. Hell, you can do sPVP and PVE (including dungeons) cross server, by guesting. The only thing you have to be on Gates of Madness for is if you want to play in WvW with GAF.

 

[Piecake]

Gates of Madness at launch, but Henge of Denravi during the BWEs. Our plan was to go to the server with a "G" name, but there wasn't one during the first BWE.

Bear in mind that you can 'guest' on any server you like, but can only represent your home server in WvW (also remember that all of your characters are on your home server, it's account-based not character based).

Always second place, Retro. That what bad puns get you!

 

[Felix Lighter]

Gates of Madness at launch, but Henge of Denravi during the BWEs. Our plan was to go to the server with a "G" name, but there wasn't one during the first BWE.

Bear in mind that you can 'guest' on any server you like, but can only represent your home server in WvW (also remember that all of your characters are on your home server, it's account-based not character based).

Does that mean once you've chosen a server you are completely committed?

 

[Ferrio]

Can't we decide a server on the populations that are going to it.. other than something stupid like the first letter?

 

[Snapshot King]

If all you're interested in is guild chat, you can be in the GAF guild even if you're not on the guild's home server. Hell, you can do sPVP and PVE (including dungeons) cross server, by guesting. The only thing you have to be on Gates of Madness for is if you want to play in WvW with GAF.

But then I'd have to transfer over everytime. Are you saying just because I want guild chat and occasional grouping I shouldn't go with you guys on your server?

 

[Piecake]

Does that mean once you've chosen a server you are completely committed?

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/guild-wars-2/1223692p1.html

Here's the deal: you can transfer to your server of choice once every seven days. Each transfer will cost you 1,800 gems, but ArenaNet is giving players 2,000 gems for the beta weekend event, so the switch won't cost you any real-world money. That's it. Happy server switching!

You get gems either through buying them with real money, or purchasing them with gold (probably a lot of gold since those gems once were real money)

Seems kinda pointless though considering the guest system. But hey, if you really want to rep a specific server for WvW, then it might be worth it

 

[inky]

Can't we decide a server on the populations that are going to it.. other than something stupid like the first letter?

Please.

Also, next BWE on 10 days? Yes please.

 

[Retro]

That what bad puns get you!

Yeah, I only had a silver of a chance to get the first response, I just couldn't match Jira's medal. I red the post on my phone but since I don't want to runner-up a huge bill using all of my data, I had to wait a second place.

 

[Piecake]

Can't we decide a server on the populations that are going to it.. other than something stupid like the first letter?

Gates of Madness works for me as a server. medium pop with no other huge guilds going in there are definite pluses in my book. Cant say that i want to be on a high pop server with a bunch of huge guilds. I dont want to queue up for WvW

 

[Teknopathetic]

You can't really tell what the population of a server is going to be a month and a half before release.

 

[Deitus]

But then I'd have to transfer over everytime. Are you saying just because I want guild chat and occasional grouping I shouldn't go with you guys on your server?

No, feel free to join us in Gates of Madness. Retro's point was that if you aren't interested in doing WvW, you can easily shoot the shit in guild chat while doing PVE in another server, or you could Guest on our server to do PVE or SPVP content. The only thing you can't switch easily is which server you represent in WvW.

So by all means, join our server, because that is the easiest option. But if you had friends on another server, or were in another guild on a different server, it would be very simple to play on that other server and still be a part of our guild.

 

[Retro]

Does that mean once you've chosen a server you are completely committed?

No, there are paid server transfers, which ArenaNet has said will be free or discounted for a while around launch so people who accidentally roll on the wrong server can still change. They're a cash shop item, so if you don't want to pay real money you can exchange in-game gold for gems and pay for your transfer that way.

Can't we decide a server on the populations that are going to it.. other than something stupid like the first letter?

No, because the server populations are in flux. The best indicator we have now is what communities are saying they will do, and what they've done during the BWEs. There's no way of knowing what server random people will pick, or groups that aren't advertising where they're going. If you're worried about being on a low pop server, Gates of Madness is arguably one of the cooler-sounding names, at least.

But then I'd have to transfer over everytime. Are you saying just because I want guild chat and occasional grouping I shouldn't go with you guys on your server?

It's not a server transfer. Guild Wars's server architecture allows you to "Guest" on any server, regardless of where your home server is. For example, if you roll on Gates of Madness but want to hang out on Sea of Sorrows during the night because of the higher oceanic population, you can do that without paying anything or transferring your character over. It's like going from one lobby to another. The only restriction is that you can only play with your home server in World vs. World, since letting people represent any server they want would become problematic since WvW is actually Server vs. Server.

 

[Piecake]

You can't really tell what the population of a server is going to be a month and a half before release.

True, im just going by that nifty graph someone posted in the community thread. Thats about as good as we are going to get server infowise before launch

 

[Snapshot King]

No, feel free to join us in Gates of Madness. Retro's point was that if you aren't interested in doing WvW, you can easily shoot the shit in guild chat while doing PVE in another server, or you could Guest on our server to do PVE or SPVP content. The only thing you can't switch easily is which server you represent in WvW.

So by all means, join our server, because that is the easiest option. But if you had friends on another server, or were in another guild on a different server, it would be very simple to play on that other server and still be a part of our guild.

Nope, Gafs the only folks I know getting these. All my RL friends are either still stuck in WoW or swore off MMOs entirely.

 

[LumpOfCole]

No, feel free to join us in Gates of Madness. Retro's point was that if you aren't interested in doing WvW, you can easily shoot the shit in guild chat while doing PVE in another server, or you could Guest on our server to do PVE or SPVP content. The only thing you can't switch easily is which server you represent in WvW.

So by all means, join our server, because that is the easiest option. But if you had friends on another server, or were in another guild on a different server, it would be very simple to play on that other server and still be a part of our guild.

Gates of Madness? I thought the official GAF server was Henge of Davrarararvi

 

[Jira]

Gates of Madness? I thought the official GAF server was Henge of Davrarararvi

Only for Beta.

 

[Retro]

Gates of Madness? I thought the official GAF server was Henge of Davrarararvi

No, that's only for the Beta. I know it's a little confusing, but there's a good reason behind it;

We had no idea what servers would be available, so a long time ago we decided "Everyone roll on the first server that follows the letter G so we all end up on the right server". Then they released a list and the closest server to G was "Henge of Denravi" so we went there. Since then, they have doubled the number of servers and added one with an actual G name, Gates of Madness. The officers and GMs talked about it a bit, and based on feedback from people in the threads, everyone generally decided to go to Gates of Madness. So at launch, that's where we're rolling.

This info has been added to the OP in the community thread.

 

[Piecake]

Only for Beta.

Perhaps that should be the title of the OT thread

GW2 - Enter the Gates of Madness

Or something. Bit of a stupid title, but it will probably be more helpful than a clever one

 

[Arken2121]

Just listen to the man with the awesome shade and gotee for all your questions. Bows*

 

[Piecake]

Exciting! Ive just been cordially invited to join the next beta weekend. Im sure it will be a spiffing good time

 

[demented]

I'm checking internetz where big guilds will go that do PvP so I go there, I'll deal with queues but I want to be on server that isn't overwhelmed by others 99% of time. Got 4 friend's who I'm gonna do dungeons and level with and few others who also play but not gonna be together all the time.

 

[Ashuron]

Perhaps that should be the title of the OT thread

GW2 - Enter the Gates of Madness

Or something. Bit of a stupid title, but it will probably be more helpful than a clever one

It gets my vote.

According to the server list though, it's actually Gate of Madness.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Home_server#Home_world

 

[Piecake]

I'm checking internetz where big guilds will go that do PvP so I go there, I'll deal with queues but I want to be on server that isn't overwhelmed by others 99% of time.

Worlds in WvW are matched up based on their ranking using a modified Glicko rating,[3] so that high-ranked worlds will battle other high-ranked worlds, and low-ranked worlds will battle other low-ranked worlds. This ensures that every world has a fair chance of winning matches despite differing levels of player participation or skill.[4]

Basically, a crappy server wont be put up against the best server.

 

[Retro]

Just listen to the man with the awesome shade and gotee for all your questions. Bows*

Heh, you mean the man with the goofy shades and scruffy hair.

I'm checking internetz where big guilds will go that do PvP so I go there, I'll deal with queues but I want to be on server that isn't overwhelmed by others 99% of time. Got 4 friend's who I'm gonna do dungeons and level with and few others who also play but not gonna be together all the time.

I can make that easier for you; Vano posted this in the community thread;

Medium population is probably the sweet spot for a guild like GAF: we're not lost in a crowd and getting queued out of WvW, but we're not completely alone either. Also, remember that servers will be matched based on ranking AND population, so it's very unlikely that you'll be overwhelmed by other servers once the game actually launches. There will be few instances, once they get the kinks worked out, where a weak, low-pop server will be paired against a huge server that can just stomp all over them.

 

[Ferrio]

I'm checking internetz where big guilds will go that do PvP so I go there, I'll deal with queues but I want to be on server that isn't overwhelmed by others 99% of time. Got 4 friend's who I'm gonna do dungeons and level with and few others who also play but not gonna be together all the time.

Ya, if it looks like gates will be dead (based on that chart good chance it will be) I'll do the same thing. I'd glady put up with queues than always be losing.

 

[nataku]

Gates of Madness works for me as a server. medium pop with no other huge guilds going in there are definite pluses in my book. Cant say that i want to be on a high pop server with a bunch of huge guilds. I dont want to queue up for WvW

At the same time, you could very well be stuck on another Henge of Denravi. Always in last place.

 

[etiolate]

Can't we decide a server on the populations that are going to it.. other than something stupid like the first letter?

what is this madness you speak of

 

[Retro]

Ya, if it looks like gates will be dead (based on that chart good chance it will be) I'll do the same thing. I'd glady put up with queues than always be losing.

Medium Population, during one BWE, for which it was just created, somehow constitutes dead? By that logic, someone who just settled in to take a nap needs CPR.

As for Queues vs. Losing, servers are matched so there won't be instances of one-sided victories like there were in the BWEs (the second of which was actually bugged and was pairing servers incorrectly).

I dunno about you, but "Yay, my server won but I can't actually participate" sounds a lot less fun than "Yay, I get to play WvW and held win." If you want to head off on whatever server you think is going to win, that's fine, but the GMs and Officers who are organizing GAF Guild made the decision (and based it on a lot of positive feedback for Gate of Madness too)

At the same time, you could very well be stuck on another Henge of Denravi. Always in last place.

To be fair, Henge of Denravi was in SECOND to last place

.

 

[Deitus]

This info has been added to the OP in the community thread.

Actually, the Community thread has NOT been updated with our release server selection. It still says TBD. Might need to alert Ferny about that.

 

[Jira]

Medium Population, during one BWE, for which it was just created, somehow constitutes dead? By that logic, someone who just settled in to take a nap needs CPR.

As for Queues vs. Losing, servers are matched so there won't be instances of one-sided victories like there were in the BWEs (the second of which was actually bugged and was pairing servers incorrectly).

I dunno about you, but "Yay, my server won but I can't actually participate" sounds a lot less fun than "Yay, I get to play WvW and held win." If you want to head off on whatever server you think is going to win, that's fine, but the GMs and Officers who are organizing GAF Guild made the decision (and based it on a lot of positive feedback for Gate of Madness too)



To be fair, Henge of Denravi was in SECOND to last place

.

HEY, we won the Stress Test and took and held Stonemist.

 

[Ferrio]

Medium Population, during one BWE, for which it was just created, somehow constitutes dead? By that logic, someone who just settled in to take a nap needs CPR.

As for Queues vs. Losing, servers are matched so there won't be instances of one-sided victories like there were in the BWEs (the second of which was actually bugged and was pairing servers incorrectly).
.

I'm basing it on the communities that were in it on beta. Ya maybe there will be some switch around, but who knows.

Also historically GAF guilds have sucked, bad. They die within the first month or two. Not saying this'll happen.. but I don't wanna plunk down on some shitty as server with a guild that'll just dissolve.

 

[Arken2121]

Medium Population, during one BWE, for which it was just created, somehow constitutes dead? By that logic, someone who just settled in to take a nap needs CPR.

As for Queues vs. Losing, servers are matched so there won't be instances of one-sided victories like there were in the BWEs (the second of which was actually bugged and was pairing servers incorrectly).

I dunno about you, but "Yay, my server won but I can't actually participate" sounds a lot less fun than "Yay, I get to play WvW and held win." If you want to head off on whatever server you think is going to win, that's fine, but the GMs and Officers who are organizing GAF Guild made the decision (and based it on a lot of positive feedback for Gate of Madness too)



To be fair, Henge of Denravi was in SECOND to last place

.

We did that badly? Ouch. And for all those thinking this will be a "dead" server, you should probably give that another look. Even a lower populated server could probably hold 500 people at once.

 

[Retro]

Actually, the Community thread has NOT been updated with our release server selection. It still says TBD. Might need to alert Ferny about that.

Bah, I sent him a PM. I think maybe he was waiting for the podcast to go up, where we officially announced it.

We did that badly? Ouch. And for all those thinking this will be a "dead" server, you should probably give that another look. Even a lower populated server could probably hold 500 people at once.

Meh, it was just unlucky that Henge wasn't very active in WvW.

I'm basing it on the communities that were in it on beta. Ya maybe there will be some switch around, but who knows.

Also historically GAF guilds have sucked, bad. They die within the first month or two. Not saying this'll happen.. but I don't wanna plunk down on some shitty as server with a guild that'll just dissolve.

You are aware that WvW has a cap of about 500 players per server, right? So even if a server is low population, as long as they can field 500 guys they're equal to any high population server. The only people who suffer are the ones who rolled on a high population server and can't play because there's a queue.

GAF guilds also historically suck because people get sick of paying subscriptions (GW2 has none), are stuck on servers without their friends (GW2 has guesting for everything except WvW), and leadership usually breaks apart quickly (we've known who the GMs and Officers are going to be for MONTHS now and have done stuff like podcasts and chatting on mumble a lot).

Roll where you want, it's entirely your call, but don't puff up some argument that GAF Guild iz d00med because we're not rolling on the same server as some huge community like reddit or goonsquad and riding their coattails to a victory we wouldn't actually get to take part in and is hardly assured.

 

[Piecake]

I'm basing it on the communities that were in it on beta. Ya maybe there will be some switch around, but who knows.

Also historically GAF guilds have sucked, bad. They die within the first month or two. Not saying this'll happen.. but I don't wanna plunk down on some shitty as server with a guild that'll just dissolve.

I dont think that will happen in this case considering the 200 or so people already in the guild, not being restricted to one guild, and no factions necessitating 2 gaf guilds

 

[shintoki]

I'm basing it on the communities that were in it on beta. Ya maybe there will be some switch around, but who knows.

Also historically GAF guilds have sucked, bad. They die within the first month or two. Not saying this'll happen.. but I don't wanna plunk down on some shitty as server with a guild that'll just dissolve.

This. How many have Gaf communities actually done squat in an MMO? Most last a few months then dead. There is a chance since this isn't a P2P title that it will retain. But I wouldn't bank on it either.
I'd go with a high pop server or one of the less popular full servers. At least that worked for me in every MMO prior.

 

[NeededSleep]

The awesomeness of GW2 is that you can always check out other servers with your main if you find you want another community to call home or want to explore them as a guest!

I am sure that if we come down to a server that is dying in population we would do something about it and move to another. But at least give the server a chance to stabilize a few months after launch. As many will flux around for a bit.

I already have a group of friends who want to play on the unofficial RP realm which ill be playing with, but ill be mostly with GAF as home world(GAF WvW hurrah!).

The sad thing is i doubt cross world guild chat works.


Also i just started reading the GW: Ghosts of Ascalon. Pretty decent so far.

 

[Deitus]

Bah, I sent him a PM. I think maybe he was waiting for the podcast to go up, where we officially announced it.

Ahhh that explains it. I remember it was being discussed, and then all of the sudden it was official, but I couldn't remember it ever being announced. Grizz needs to upload that thing so I can finally listen to it.

 

[Ferrio]

I dont think that will happen in this case considering the 200 or so people already in the guild, not being restricted to one guild, and no factions necessitating 2 gaf guilds

It may or may not. But I'm not given much confidence when the server selection is based on something so arbritrary. The server population will make or break the game. Like you guys didn't learn anything from hedge or any past MMO before.

 

[FutureZombie]

I've been on Moledune during the BWEs. I'll probably stay there since it's a high population server that's one of the original 24. Last thing I want is to be on a server without enough people. I don't mind playing on an overflow, but I do mind not seeing enough players in game.

 

[User Name Here]

Quick, someone speed up time and make today August 28th! For the sake of restlessness!

 

[Piecake]

It may or may not. But I'm not given much confidence when the server selection is based on something so arbritrary. The server population will make or break the game. Like you guys didn't learn anything from hedge or any past MMO before.

Id simply rather play on a server where I know i can play WvW any time i want to. If that server turns out to be medium to low, then fine by me since our server will be pitted against other mid-tier servers. I really dont care about being on the best server.

If its completely dead and its only us, well, im sure free transfer services will come our way eventually

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

What's the size of the client download for the beta weekends? I'll probably have to clear space for it, as my Windows partition is fairly small.

 

[Jira]

Something to remember is that for PvE/sPvP, your server literally doesn't matter because you can hop servers and even continents and you can play during prime time somewhere. For sPvP it's region wide anyways so that's not an issue. For WvW, let's say you're on a Med pop server and there's say 30 Med pop in your region. You will be ranked up against those med pop servers based on how you do each week, so your server can become the best Med pop server in your region and that's nothing to sneeze at. Even populations in WvW and actually getting to play is far better and far more important than rolling on a server that everyone and their mother rolled on and you don't actually get to play WvW, but instead you queue up and wait.