Rage, the great motivator

A long time ago, I had an encounter that affected how approach people, goals, and possessions in Guild Wars and other MMOs.

At the time, Sarutobi wasn't level 20 yet. I hadn't even reached Yak's Bend yet, much less capped any elites, tested out PvP, visited FoW, etc. The game was still very fresh for me, and all I owned of it was Prophecies (to be fair, at the time, that's all that existed).

I joined a team that was attempting the Nolani Academy mission, and on the team was a level 20 female warrior, who was helping a friend complete the mission. She was an arrogant bitch, who immediately took control of the team, and started ordering everyone around. However, the orders summed up to:

"Stay back, I'm fighting"

If we tried to help, if we got too close, or even if we ran in to try to pick up drops from fallen foes, she'd yell and scream, threatening to drop team and make us finish without her.

At several points during the mission, my teammates fawned over her, asking about her armor and gear. She blatantly refused to answer any questions about them, stringing them along, only telling them how expensive they had been, and thusly, how rich she was. I know now that she wore Obsidian Armor, and wielded a Flamberge (No clue what the shield was, the warrior pictured left isn't her).

Needless to say, she pissed me off. After shitting on us for 20 minutes or so, she left talking about how grateful we should all be, that she did us this amazing favor.

Because of this player, I've always made sure that if I can, I take the time to assist others. I try to be generous with my time and resources, and when possible, will give people better gear. I visit lower level areas on occasion and offer to run missions and quests with player, and give advice on character builds and playstyle if it will help. This is true of Guild Wars, and of City of Heroes back when I still subscribed.

I also wanted to prove how powerful and self sufficient I could make myself. I wanted everyone to know that I would work with them, not for them, that I would cooperate, not follow orders.

Most importantly, when I PvP, once in a while, I hope that the bitch from Nolani Academy, with the Obsidian Armor, I hope that she's there, as an opponent. And on this rare occasion, when I remember her when I fight, I hope that she's one of the people I bring my hammer down on, and that she recognizes me, with my retarded name, as I rip her apart and leave her broken before me. I hope she sees me when I start to play that violin ever so softly, after each win.

Of course, this wasn't the first time I'd felt such a burning desire for "revenge".

A long, long time ago, even before this, I used to play Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction. At the time, I was almost solely focused on PvP, especially lld (low level dueling). I ran a level 18 assassin named Solaki. I found a forum created for LLDing in D2, and I started to visit it, trying to pickup tricks and tips that would help me. I came across this thread (which I'm amazed that I found again so easily after all these years), where an open challenge was issued to all level 18 east coast duelists.

Being the idiot I am, I messaged the guy, and set up a meet for a duel. He beat me hardcore. He started talking mad shit, over and over again, pretty much insulting me every way a person could be. I later found out that he was hated by everyone who dueled in that bracket, and that no one respected him.

I almost stopped PvPing all-together after that fight. But I was too pissed to stay away. That's when I made Slice_O_Rama. I figured I wasn't cut out for the lld bracket, so I made a mid-level assassin, who I geared and built to be the best and most powerful at her level. I succeeded, and reveled in the glory of being called a hacker and causing countless level 80+ mages to rage-quit from matches against me.

But I wasn't like HackX. I didn't shit on the people I beat. I talked trash, but not to people who were just there to have fun. I fought for fun, not to bully others. I existed in a happy medium where I only fought those of higher level than me, where I sat in on duels, ready to cream anyone who dared interfere.

It's really weird, that anger motivated me to drastically different paths.

Sincerest form of flattery

Each game over time creates terms, phrases, and mannerisms uniquely generated by its playerbase. Some stay unique to that game, others spread to different games. For example, did you know that "woot" stands for "Warrior out of Targets"?

Leeroy Jenkins, lern2play, lolmad?, "in ur base, killin ur doodz."

Likewise, each game has it's own version of a sincere compliment, even if not intentional.

In Diablo 2, it's usually taken as a compliment when your opponent in PvP leaves the match an returns with a character 30 to 40 levels higher than you, and then demands a rematch. Anyone who's ever PvPed in D2 has probably had this happen. They rage-quit cause you won, and now they've skewed the numerical equation of combat so far in their favor, they feel they can't possibly lose. And it always seems like the bring a Hammerdin, or a FoH Pally, someone to whom there is almost no defense. Then they go hostile, and gate camp, taunting you to come out and fight them. If this happens, you should be smiling, cause no matter what, you've won.

In Counter Strike, or almost any online FPS, it's usually taken as a compliment when you get called a hacker. Score a headshot at 80ft with a shotty? Hacker. Score a headshot in midair? Hacker. Scored multiple headshots in rapid succession with a deagle? Hacker. Score a kill while presumably blinded by a flashbang? Hacker. Never mind that your score is 17-23, or that they killed you the round before while you helplessly sprayed an AK-47 at them, dealing no damage. Never mind that you were blind, but you were spraying with an M-60. And hacker can be such a buzz word with some people, that when they hear it, they don't bother to spectate the person in question to see, or check the "hackers" score. Nope, they just type "voteban" in chat and goad others into doing the same. But hey, put a smile on, apparently you're that good.

In City of Heroes, if someone files a petition against you for griefing in a PvP zone, you've just been handed a virtual trophy. Don't worry, the petition will be deleted by the GMs, as PvPing in a PvP zone isn't griefing. It's just some kid who's angry that you killed them while they were badge hunting, and how you didn't ask if they wanted to fight before attacking. Or someone who's mad that you interrupted their "duel", even though they're fighting in the open, and made no attempt to say over broadcast "Hey guys, we're dueling, just let us finish before attacking the winner." At least if they do that they have the right to be annoyed, even if their request was silly. I've been petitioned more times than I can count, but most were filed by other Heroes that I killed in Warburg, not by Villians. Free-for-All PvP ftw.

In Guild Wars, it's a little different. In Guild Wars, if someone takes the time to learn and copy your build, you should take pride in that. As in most MMOs, there are favorable skill sets and tactics for various enemies (a Druid has to tank in the instance, kill the Nemesis Lieuts last, spread out to avoid AoEs, etc). In Guild Wars, while popular builds exist that dominate certain aspects of PvE and PvP (Imbagon, Shock Axe, Bunny Thumper, Toucher, etc), a person can be plenty powerful and effective with a unique skill selection and attribute spread. So much so, some people covet their builds, and refuse to divulge any details of them to others, for fear of having them made public and popular. For example, last August, I made myself a new hammer build for my warrior, centering around the elite skill Backbreaker. I used it with Pulverizing Smash, Protector's Strike, Mighty Blow, Flail, Enraging Charge, Lion's Comfort, and Grasping Earth. Pulverizing Smash was picked to make the build more energy efficient, Protector's Strike was put in to help spike a KDed target, and recover adren faster after using BB+PS. Nothing fancy, a lot of core elements (IAS, IMS, self heal, snare), just a different spin on a hammer warrior. I ran the build exclusively in AB, RA, and TA for two months, and received some praise from teammates for it. When running in RA and TA, I'd sub out either Grasping Earth or Mighty Blow for Rez.

By the end of September, my build was on PvXwiki.

http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:W/any_Pulverizing_Backbreaker

Edited slightly to put it in line with the PvP meta, but with the same usage and reasoning. I highly doubt that I'm the only person in all of GW to have ever ran that build, but the timing is too perfect. I might be paranoid, but I'd put money on one of my teammates copying it and putting it in the wiki.

But it doesn't bother me. If indeed it was taken from what I used, I'm flattered that they found it effective enough to borrow (saying they stole it implies I can't use it anymore, which isn't true). It even scored a 4.52 out of 5 in overall effectiveness. Thanks guys, I love you too.

It doesn't stop there. My builds have been used by almost every warrior in my Guild, and in my Alliance. Mine certainly aren't the only ones being borrowed (a fellow warrior by the name of Jak Chain created a nifty little W/A build that quickly got borrowed), but it's kinda funny seeing so many people running around with the same skills and gear as me. Sometimes I encourage it, like with my FoW Beach build. I like taking all warrior teams into FoW and farming certain areas. And frankly, my FoW Beach farming build kicks the shit out of the ones on wiki. I might get around to posting it in there someday, unless one of my guildies beats me to the punch.

But then again, it's really not that earth shattering of a build. It's not like I discovered that Cyclone Axe+Ebon Dust Aura=Profit, or that I created a 55 Warrior. But I don't see anyone else using it, and I don't see it on the wiki. Who knows, maybe I did split the crust just a bit.

However, I am prone to being stubborn, using what I'm comfortable with over what's better. For the longest time, I ran this abysmal W/R build. I also refused to use Bull's Strike, with the reasoning "it's hard to time it."

Lame.

Alright everyone, let's go counter-clockwise, ok?

I like to PvP.



It's fun, it's dynamic, it's an ever evolving facet of most games.

In Diablo 2: LoD, I ran a pair of assassins, level 18, and level 42. Each was a powerhouse made to fight characters much higher in level, and win. The level 18 assassin, Solaki, was pretty vanilla; tons of +max damage gems, Twitchthroe unique studded leather armor, Luna Pelta unique buckler, and a few other unique set items. Go hostile, cast Burst of Speed, spam Tiger Strike till I have 3 charges, then unleash over 1700 dmg on my targets candy ass (average HP of a normal level 18 character is around 200). My level 42 assassin, Slice_O_Rama, was more original, and much nastier. Using the Martial Arts skills Dragon's Talon and Dragon's Flight, I tweaked her build to deliver 3500 dmg a hit, with 4.5 swings per second (almost 16k a second). Furthermore, I gave her ranks in Venom, giving her a 2500 dmg poison DoT, over 0.6 seconds, re-applied every time she hit. In order to catch those pesky Sorcerers who like to teleport around, I used Dragon's Flight to teleport attack foes, stunning them for a precious split second, giving me the window to tear into them. I was particularly proud of Slice_O_Rama, to my knowledge, she was unique.

In City of Heroes, I loved using unorthodoxed, seemingly underpowered characters, to relentlessly pursue and engage other players with. In the Invention Origin Era of CoH, I ran an AR/Dev Blaster that was stealth capped, perception capped, with massive inherent acc and rech buffs, with the ability to gut a targets defense and resistance. I'd, literally, fly around the zone, snaring Villains and revealing Stalkers, being a pest to everyone. People like to poke fun at me for using Assault Rifle in PvP, but I found it very useful. Unable to deliver a spike like Ice or Fire, and without that hard hitting 3rd single target blast, AR lags behind other sets. However, most of its attacks are instantaneous (no striking animation, once the bullet is fired, the target is hit immediately). That meant that any time I sniped someone, or blasted someone with a few rounds, they had no idea where I was. I could follow foes for a few minutes, confounding them, till they had the sense to simply look up, and see me hovering above, chambering another round. That, or I'd run my Invul/SS Tanker. Not nearly as many bells and whistles as my Blaster, but he was relentless and hit hard. Given that I mainly PvPed in Siren's Call, my Tanker hit harder in melee than almost anything else other than a /EM Blaster.

I didn't get to PvP much in WoW, but I did enjoy Warsong Gulch. I enjoyed the team based, objective emphasized combat, and I liked the feeling of storming into the enemies base. I enjoyed, more so, the knowledge that at any given point, I could encounter other players while questing, and be forced to fight them. In particular, I was questing, alone, in the mountains northwest of Ogrimar (can't remember their name, been too long), when I came upon an Elven Rouge, 2 levels higher than me, in the same area. I ambushed an defeated her, only to have her track me down and try to return the favor (final score, Horde 2, Alliance 0).

Then there is Guild Wars, in which I love to PvP with my Warrior. I prefer Hammers to Swords or Axes, I prefer the elite Backbreaker especially. I think that 1/4 knocking someone is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and requires very good timing. I like the Arenas, I enjoy Alliance Battles, and I hope to storm Heroes Ascent soon.

However, I've found Alliance Battles troublesome lately. I can't tell you how much I hate to hear, at the beginning of a match, "don't fight, just cap." I understand how important it is to capture and hold shrines, I probably capture more than anyone on my team. However, you HAVE to fight. You can't just ignore the enemy and hope they don't kick your ass, while you're trying to take their shrine from them. You need to be aggressive, and balance killing with capping. You need to know when it's a good idea to stop for a second to beat someones face in, and you need to know when fighting is a waste of time. The idea that fighting is always a waste a time is ignorant at best. I mean, you get points for killing enemies. What do you get from shrines? Point. Know what makes it easier to cap shrines? Killing enemies. It may just be me, but I see an odd synergy there.

Besides, you know it's epic lulz when I kill the Minion Mancer, and his minions turn on his team. You know it's awesome when I spike a monk and kill it while his Dervish ally tries desperately to stop me. You know that every time you kill them, it breaks them a little. You know how many times I've seen the other side leave the match after getting smashed during the first 45 seconds of an AB? Or how often I have players simply avoid me and run away at all costs, after I beat them in a 3v1?

Or course, it works both ways. Can't even begin to tell you how many times I've been Michael Jackson'ed to death by R/Ns, or worked over by Elementalists that actually know how to play.

Anyway, I digress. Point is, it's call Alliance Battles, not Alliance Real Estate. Fighting and Capping should be balance, and the team that does so wins.