Darlantan

For my part, I just resent GoT because there was a period of time in the guild when THAT WAS ALL WE HEARD ABOUT FOR MONTHS. It's petty, but idc.

And that's great about gw2! I'll still be heading over myself, likely to participate in Friday WvW resets and sPvP on Sunday afternoons. I'd encourage anyone playing with us in WS to meet the gw2 chapter as well, if they have the game. =)

Hello and welcome! Thank you for the introductory word-vomit (no, I'm not being sarcastic, I loved your rambling post ).

+1 for Warhammer!

I'll set you up with Guest access so you can check us out a bit closer.

How funny; all six of my characters will be those last two races specifically.

The only question is ... 4 and 2 or 3 and 3!

Every time I keep thinking of getting into GoT you people remind me of how much I resent it! Ashin and I are expert grumblers/sighers/moaners; better hope we don't both fill rotational spots on the same night!

Red Rover Level:

Hi and welcome! I don't know anything about LoL but Diamond 1 / 2 sounds pretty ultra.

I know what the competitive PvP feel is like; I was able to dabble in WoW arenas a little bit and feel much like a wolf who has tasted blood >.> although thankfully I can channel that positively and not lose my mind like some people (they get sooo crazy).

The sushi chef bit is exciting be prepared for lots of attention on that wavelength! lol

Cheers.

I win.

Hello and welcome!

We have definitely decided to Dom.

Owner of a martial arts school, you say? That sounds extremely rewarding! What kind(s) of martial arts do you teach? (Not that I would have any idea if you named them. What's unique or different about them, I guess I would like to ask.)

I'll set you up with Guest access so you can poke around and get more of a feel for us generally.

We don't speak of healing in DS.

And hello and welcome ^^ (just realized I hadn't said that yet)

Congrats on finishing school! I'm back to school as of last fall myself and slogging through general ed requirements (done with them after this fall--can't wait). What's your major/what kind of work are you looking to do?

The thing I remember most about healadins in Cata was alllll the tears over tranquility.

Yes! Let me drink in your sorrow!

So many suns ago!

And wombats are adorable. I would wrangle the shit out of them.

Hi and welcome!

I'll set you up with Guest access so you can cruise around the site.

I'm amazed at how pumped this game has seemed to make everyone. I'm so tired of it not being out yet! >.>

Hi there and welcome!

Your raiding history just about coincides with my own. I started healing raids at the end of ICC in Wrath but didn't really know the ABCs of progression raiding until we got into Cataclysm (those cata 5-man heroics really whetted my appetite for moar resto druid! too bad mana management became trivial in subsequent tiers ). I moved to bear-tanking in early Dragon Soul and stuck with it the rest of the way. By the time we cleared all of Throne of Thunder, we had run out of gas as our main raid leadership (including myself) turned more attention to RL pursuits and nobody was able to step in and lead the raid the way we would have wanted.

I'm with you one hundred thousand percent in feeling sorry for the people managing a 40-spot raid team! Handling 25 spots was a full time job on its own, not even counting encounter prep or the raiding itself!

The only thing about your intro that causes me any concern (and it may just be ambiguous wording) is that you say your next step is to find a guild to go through the leveling/dungeons process. Do you have your eye on another group for raiding, or for the future generally? In WoW we got to the point where we were simply recruiting for raid spots, but that's not the case here. Now, we have the opportunity to go back to looking for applicants to join SoH the guild, rather than SoH the raid team. I'm not trying to browbeat you (though I do generate quite a bit of hot air sometimes); I just want to be extra clear on this point.

Cheers!

Oh, and I'm bumping you up to Guest access so you can cruise around the site and get a better feel for us.

Hello and welcome!

Huntyre is right. Everyone applying does need to post their own intro--tell us about themselves in their own words.

We very much treat people as individuals, though we have almost too many gaming couples to count. It helps us get to know everyone, and it's fairer to all recruits, especially in a situation like this where it's difficult enough for all of us crotchety SoH veterans to sort out nearly twenty (and counting) new applicants at once!

Hi there!

3rd shift at what, exactly?

I've set you to Guest so you can browse around the forums. Hopefully somebody will be along shortly to bombard you with sufficiently insane and/or uncomfortable questions! I don't have the focus for it at the moment. :<

Cheers!

No worries; you found the right place.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome!  You guys are awesome and I really appreciate it.

We really appreciate it when people seem excited to be here! Even if the social overhead of sorting out 15 (and counting) new people is kind of ultra.

I'm gladder every day that I took two days off for launch just to wrap my head around it all! lol

That's fantastic; I love reading about this stuff from someone who lives it!

Do you do any work with exotic birds? Any Alex the Parrot-like experiences?

Also, since we pretty much latched onto your job as our topic of discussion from the get-go, I feel like bringing it back to WS for a moment.

You say you'd roll whatever we need, but to be perfectly honest we're at the start of the game and we don't know who all will be around, who will be able to raid that we didn't expect, who will suddenly burn out or become disinterested, who comes to hate their first class choice and feels the need to re-roll, etc... What catches your eye the most? If you've checked out the WS forum you've probably seen our Class Choice poll. For the record, esper shot out to the lead at first and spellslinger sat at 0 votes for a good three days, so I don't trust this group of goons to really tell us what our class makeup will be for raids.

Hello and welcome! I also mostly leave the insane questions to others.

I think that's valid also. Splitting into halves seemed to work well for us most of the time, and as long as we came out swinging we could take at least one of the two side nodes pretty quick. Once that happens, you can usually start moving to center with a couple people within a few seconds. Choosing a strat to argue for in the end requires being able to quantify the benefits involved in having X number of attackers on the center point and on the multipliers you get from holding 1 and 2 objectives.

That's definitely true in most pug matches, but I feel like any team that sends over a stalker plus one can easily lock down one defender long enough to get the pickup. It certainly depends on the defender as well, though. Maybe an engineer with bots out would be sufficient in any 2v1 situation.

Yes! More snake info!

*clamor*

Post-OB observations and info: Halls of the Bloodsworn

• Rules and Mechanics

 The attacking team needs to fill a capture meter for each room, which they can achieve by capturing control nodes set on either side of the room and a central point. Capturing one node will begin to fill the bar slowly, two nodes will fill it much faster and controlling both control nodes and the central point will make it fill up extremely quickly.

We are still a little confused as to how exactly the cap mechanic works, and it doesn't help that the capture meter was broken more often than not. One time defending we were confident that we were holding the other team back because their entire team just zerged one of the side nodes--they never touched the other node and never wandered to the center. And they still capped the room in what seemed like a non-terrible amount of time (we still won--I don't recommend the one-node strategy ).

I'm pretty sure that the more people you have standing on the middle node, the higher your cap modifier is. The side nodes, by contrast, provide a static benefit when you control them, regardless of the number of attackers on them.

The middle node is a big circle you stand inside in order to contribute.

The side noes are points you must click and complete a capping (3-second?) castbar to control. The defenders can then re-take the side nodes, nullifying their benefit. They can change hands as often as the players can click them.

Once a room is capped, defending players gain access to a Fall Back teleport ability that instantly puts them in the next room to be defended. Extremely useful, and often overlooked.

Even if the capping meter is broken, you can still look at the center node to see approximate capture progress. Each of four sections of the outside border (they look like a game of Simon) will flash and then light up solid, and then the central circle will do so. I assume each section lights up at the next 20% cap interval.

• Voice cues

I'm not completely sure of the wording on these, but I think they are...

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have captured a secondary objective!" - One of the side nodes has changed hands.

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have captured an objective!" - Time to move on to the next room!

• General strategy

The general idea for the attacking team is to take and hold the two side nodes with as few people as necessary while everyone else stands on the center node.

I'm not sure of the best specific way to do it in practice, but here's what we did: In the first room, split your team into two halves and go straight after the side nodes. Once you wipe out the other team, have all but one person on each side run up to the center node and progress the cap with as many people as possible. If the side nodes have any trouble, utilize the jumping platforms in the pit to each side of the center cap.

In the second and third rooms, unless you have just wiped out the defenders and they get an unfavorable respawn timer, they will have access to the Fall Back teleport. Many players do not know this exists, but in time, entire teams will make fortifying the second and third rooms standard procedure. You can mitigate this by anticipating the cap and moving as far forward as you are allowed, but this is often not an option.

In the second room specifically, the two control nodes are on platforms at the top of ramps which rise from the east and west sides of the room, and sit right above the center cap. It is even more advantageous than normal for the attacking team to control these, not only because of capture progress, but also because of the massive tactical advantage afforded by being able to drop down onto the defenders below. I confess that I do not know where the jumping platforms are in this room (if there are any).

In the third room, the secondary objectives are at the top of large ramps which begin on the ground floor and go all the way up to the top. They are also at the edges of the room, rather than closer to the middle as in the second room. What makes this interesting is that the jumping platforms are at the top of these ramps, right next to these nodes. Using the platform will put you on the ramp on the opposite side of the room, just above the bottom. As a result of this, moving directly from node to node is very easy; in practice, it requires fewer people to take them. In a pug match, an elite squad of 3 or 4 that can wipe out opposing players is usually sufficient to lock down the secondary objectives for good.

• Bits

The jumping platforms. Don't forget that they exist! They are in different places and serve different functions in each room. Let's review.

First room platforms: You can find one to each side of the center node, below it in the pit. These will spring you up about 30 meters from the secondary node on the same side.

Second room platforms: ???

Third room platforms: You will find them at the top of the same ramps which hold the secondary nodes themselves. These will teleport you to the bottom of the ramp opposite the one you are leaving.

Re: Initial strategy, in a regular, non-rated match, defensive and stealing parties are optional until you find out how the enemy team operates. For example, sometimes it's just a bad idea to go for steals because all they do is turtle and have a few roamers pick up masks. Sometimes you can just stomp all over them and it doesn't matter what strategy you take. Sometimes they control mid and it becomes extremely difficult to accomplish anything.

Pug matches run the gamut of experiences, so I tend to just rush mid at the start of any match. It's honestly just more fun for me that way.

Unfortunately, stalkers have a huge advantage in stealing masks from bases, and a tank stalker usually only has to complete the pickup in order to survive long enough to receive team support.

The strategy in the post above is more how I envision rated matchups, and it's definitely more speculation than my firm opinion.

Post-OB observations and info: Walatiki Temple

• Rules and Mechanics

Something that wasn't completely evident at first is the fact that you can only attempt to steal one mask at a time. If your team is running a stolen mask back to your base, or if they have dropped it and it is still lying on the ground, you can not pick up another mask from the opponent's base. You must wait until it is successfully stolen or until it is recovered by the other guys.

You can, however, gather/pick up a newly spawned (unearthed) mask and steal a mask from the other team at the same time.

You cannot sprint or dash (dodge) while you hold a mask. This means that knockdowns are particularly effective against mask carriers.

Do not use any speed-increasing, jumping, or position-changing abilities while holding the mask. You will drop it!

Forcing an enemy to drop a mask means that their team can still pick it up. You must wait out the mask's return timer to ensure that this does not happen; you can't click it to recover it.

I forgot to time mask respawn during the beta. However... our fastest win took about 4 minutes and 40 seconds, and we absolutely stomped the other team. Based on that, I'm guessing that the masks respawn 30 seconds after being captured or returned, and I'm more or less convinced that the respawn is random, although I never once noticed a mask spawn in the same place twice in a row.

You must finish a (3-second?) cast bar, uninterrupted by damage or cc, in order to pick up or steal a mask. Capturing a mask only requires the carrier to move to your mask totem in the back of your base.

• Voice cues

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have picked up a moodie mask!" - One team has grabbed a mask that spawned in the field, or has grabbed a mask dropped by a teammate. I don't know if this cue also plays when you grab a mask that your team had previously been stealing, but I think so. Dropped masks are usually returned/recovered rather than picked up again. Note: I believe the text that pops up to accompany this event says "gathered" rather than "picked up".

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have stolen a moodie mask!" - A player has picked up a mask from his enemy's base. This does not mean that the theft is complete!

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have dropped a moodie mask!" - This is exactly what it sounds like. Note: In the beta currently this is bugged, and the voice names the wrong team.

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have recovered a moodie mask!" - A mask that was previously stolen and then dropped has run out its recovery timer, and the mask has been placed back in the base of the team from whom it was stolen.

"The [Dominion/Exiles] have captured a moodie mask!" - A mask has been successfully delivered to its team's base, whether it was stolen or picked up/gathered.

• General Strategy

At start, it seems best to send two to the enemy base to steal and leave two on defense to prevent a steal. This leaves six to go for the mask in the middle, which means that if the enemy commits entirely to mid they'll have to chew through six of you to pick up the mask while you go for the theft. Usually they don't send 10 to mid, so even if you're outnumbered at six you should be able to at least hold them off long enough for the other groups of 2 to make some magic.

Throughout the game, try to keep pressure on the enemy and force them to stay on their side of the map. Any mask that spawns atop the bridge is an easy point if you accomplish this, and it makes dropping down to pick up lower masks easier as well.

• Bits

Each team's base has an exit on the left and right sides of its front wall, and a tunnel that leads out one side. The tunnel is by far the slowest route, and is very predictable. If the other team is simply not paying any attention, it can be advantageous to use the tunnel. If you know the other team is too badly out of position to respond to your tunnel running, it might be advantageous to use the tunnel (unlikely). If the entire other team is escorting a mask carrier down the opposite side of the map and you don't want to run into them on the way out, it can be advantageous to use the tunnel (very unlikely). The tunnels are usually a bad idea, though it can be tempting to think you are being sneaky. The best use of a tunnel is usually to make it inside the enemy base, and then take the mask out the front.

Power-ups! There are speed boosts that even the mask carrier can pick up, and power boosts that increase both assault and support power by 25% for 20 seconds. Two speed boosts spawn in the bottom of mid and one each spawns at the outside mouth of each base's tunnel. One power boost spawns in each pool just below the tunnel exits.