Where to go to get basics of GWF playstyle?

gavinruneblade

So I've been all ranged for quite a while (CW and DC) and am starting up a fighter. The first thing I noticed is that sprint is a whole lot less effective at damage mitigation than either teleport to slide.

Also, I'm realizing that I haven't been watching my tanks very much, I'm usually focused on not going splat. So I really haven't got a good idea of what they do to be effective and still live.

Are there some good youtube primers out there? or a good thread here in the forums? I've pretty much got the hang of the build, it's just driving the character that's the issue.

Edit: I'm actually looking to be melee damage, not a tank with this first one. But used the reference to tank/meat shield as from the eyes of ranged character that's what all melee is, even the rogue.

banaanc

its quite easy: see stuff - kill stuff, press unstoppable when have determination.

sprint is for positioning not damage mitigation, u can ofc run out of some red zones that cc you but thats about it, gwf mitigate with the size of their adamantine testies creating disturbance in gravity and magnetic fields

warpet

yeah i stoped useing sprint for dodge long time ago since most of time u will still get damage even if u sprint from red so u will just lose dps and time on sprinting from red

kolatmaster

The guides in my sig should give you a nice theoretical approach the the merits for each one for the GWF, if that's helpful.

vortix44

gavinruneblade wrote: »

what they do to be effective and still live.

Neither. You'll be uneffective and you'll die. Cannon fodder, except your death is not even useful for the group as you didn't even take the aggro, you just die as a collateral in an AOE that the boss issued for the GF.
Also, with your alts in other classes you always wondered why there were three slots (keys 3,4 and 5) of 99 HP potions each. Now that you play a gwf you know.

nonameidk

vortix44 wrote: »

Neither. You'll be uneffective and you'll die. Cannon fodder, except your death is not even useful for the group as you didn't even take the aggro, you just die as a collateral in an AOE that the boss issued for the GF.
Also, with your alts in other classes you always wondered why there were three slots (keys 3,4 and 5) of 99 HP potions each. Now that you play a gwf you know.

Seems that someone didn't have a nice experience LOL :P
It's rough the first time you do it!

banaanc

vortix44 wrote: »

Neither. You'll be uneffective and you'll die. Cannon fodder, except your death is not even useful for the group as you didn't even take the aggro, you just die as a collateral in an AOE that the boss issued for the GF.
Also, with your alts in other classes you always wondered why there were three slots (keys 3,4 and 5) of 99 HP potions each. Now that you play a gwf you know.

i guess some random n 0 0 b didnt learn to play, i would suggest you to slowly step away from your computer and turn it off so you dont injure yourself, dont forget to breathe and wipe the drool you left on keyboard

ikeepit3hunna

Well first u hit shift. Then u use restoring then roar Then tab. And repeat rofl . The class is 95%gear and build. Look up a gwf from a top guild on gateway. Copy gear and run sent build

banaanc

bs. ive seen many gwfs with gear about same or a bit better doing 1/3 of my dps

nonameidk

banaanc wrote: »

bs. ive seen many gwfs with gear about same or a bit better doing 1/3 of my dps

And I've seen geared gwf destroy cws, wait.. I am one of those lol

ikeepit3hunna

If u build in crit and pvorpal. With some luck u can win 1v1 even dc/gf with a crit chain. U can only get so tanky. Say 3k def 2k deflect 1.3k+ regen etc. Then stack arp/crit and pose a real threat instead of running in circles

banaanc

nonameidk wrote: »

And I've seen geared gwf destroy cws, wait.. I am one of those lol

i really doubt a gwf can beat cw played by equally skilled and geared player, at least on live server. i have gwf and cw and on cw i do pull more dmg, with worse gear, but cw are simply broken op and hopefully will get a fix. i do more dmg than most cw as gwf, but a good cw that focuses on dps is a different story

ofc i depends on a dungeon as well, some prefer gwf and some cw

katbozejziemi

vortix44 wrote: »

Neither. You'll be uneffective and you'll die. Cannon fodder, except your death is not even useful for the group as you didn't even take the aggro, you just die as a collateral in an AOE that the boss issued for the GF.
Also, with your alts in other classes you always wondered why there were three slots (keys 3,4 and 5) of 99 HP potions each. Now that you play a gwf you know.

If you're not the last person to be left standing you're a terrible GWF.

ikeepit3hunna

banaanc wrote: »

i really doubt a gwf can beat cw played by equally skilled and geared player, at least on live server. i have gwf and cw and on cw i do pull more dmg, with worse gear, but cw are simply broken op and hopefully will get a fix. i do more dmg than most cw as gwf, but a good cw that focuses on dps is a different story

ofc i depends on a dungeon as well, some prefer gwf and some cw

Gwf that is max geared vs cw max gear. Cw had no chance. Sure u can stall for a while but a sent gwf won't drop unless you iceknife and prone combo with shard. And if the gwf has some decent crit and a vorpal 1 prone is death for cw

banaanc

i was talking about pve, on pvp they have different roles and shouldnt be compared by 1v1

nonameidk

banaanc wrote: »

i was talking about pve, on pvp they have different roles and shouldnt be compared by 1v1

Why is every1 in that same mentality "equally geared cw and gwf = cw better" **** that. I've looked up your gwf on the gateway, gear wise I'd say it's ok, besides the rank 5s. But the spec and playstyle is more important.

banaanc

cw can better carry crappy parties, gwf is nice in good parties, and cw dmg is broken atm, at least thaum is. my gwf is better geared but still does less dmg, and thats class difference, in mod2 i would probably be able to solo most t2 if i got BiS gear on cw along with high life steal

zacazu

wait module 2. not yet know if the gwf will be the best class in the game, or will be 100% destroyed.

I lost all my enthusiasm, from day to night.

ikeepit3hunna

banaanc wrote: »

cw can better carry crappy parties, gwf is nice in good parties, and cw dmg is broken atm, at least thaum is. my gwf is better geared but still does less dmg, and thats class difference, in mod2 i would probably be able to solo most t2 if i got BiS gear on cw along with high life steal

Cw can carry a good team in top tier pvp not in pugs. A gwf can carry in pugs but not top tier

banaanc

i couldnt give less ****s about pvp, in this game pvp is boring pile of ****, im talking about pve

bendalek

I'm also quite new at GWF, been soloing PvE with a GF.

This time around I'm going for Recovery + Lifesteal and Crit/ArmPen, as I watched one of the 1000 of "best setup for GWF" utoob vids that seemed to make sense. I've gone for an elf (RP'ing) for the % crit and % slow resistance and instead of the usual CD I'm trying out the AoK from the Z-Store.

So far gearing (mainly blue ATM) and slotting (mainly 5's ATM) on me and my Acolyte, I've only had to use about 3 potions and one life scroll ('coz some ***** TR "Invited" half the mobs/heavies on the map back to the campfire while i was in my inventory) up until lvl 27, I'll see waht it's like post lvl 30, but mostly I think it's down to your indivudal play style, someone who is smart and quick on the combos, will make almost any setup work.

gavinruneblade

kolatmaster wrote: »

The guides in my sig should give you a nice theoretical approach the the merits for each one for the GWF, if that's helpful.

Kola, I did read your guides, in fact I posted a question for you in Dakkon's thread last week (you mentioned you're already planning to update with a screenshot of your power choices once Mod 2 is live). They are helpful, but they assume the reader understands what you're saying and has access to top-end gear. Rather than target numbers from gear to aim at.

Actually your builds are one of the few places I've seen a good description of style. learning to play is not just a pvp insult, it's a real thing that I try to do.

As evidence, nearly everyone in the threat bragging about their epeen and talking trash are just doing that, not giving any actual arguments just making claims. A can defeat B. Nu-uh. Uh-huh. Repeat ad nauseum. No evidence other than "I did it, so if you got a different result you must suck" (either stated or implied).

So, I do appreciate those guides, if you update them for Mod 2, maybe aim a few comments for the folks who are new to the game, and a section on "if you're just gearing up and wearing a mix of blues and greens, aim for this".

gavinruneblade

bendalek wrote: »

I'm also quite new at GWF, been soloing PvE with a GF.

This time around I'm going for Recovery + Lifesteal and Crit/ArmPen, as I watched one of the 1000 of "best setup for GWF" utoob vids that seemed to make sense. I've gone for an elf (RP'ing) for the % crit and % slow resistance and instead of the usual CD I'm trying out the AoK from the Z-Store.

So far gearing (mainly blue ATM) and slotting (mainly 5's ATM) on me and my Acolyte, I've only had to use about 3 potions and one life scroll ('coz some ***** TR "Invited" half the mobs/heavies on the map back to the campfire while i was in my inventory) up until lvl 27, I'll see waht it's like post lvl 30, but mostly I think it's down to your indivudal play style, someone who is smart and quick on the combos, will make almost any setup work.

I've just hit 38 last night, wearing mostly greens. Not focused on anything just theluck of the drop and wearing whatever has teh highest total bonuses regardless of what those bonuses are for. Heh.

I have seen that dodging out of red stuff is only worth it if the attack is going to knock you down. Otherwise suck it up and keep swinging.

I'm curious what you mean by quick on the combos. So car as I can tell there's not a whole lot of synergy on powers.

bendalek

The synergy comes (from my experience) once you start to get more feats, and particularity Paragon feats, there are some truly awesome buffs to various powers, that when you time them correctly, can keep you Healing/Stealing + DPS'ing + Crit'ing + Recharging Det. and Recovering AP.

But "timing" and by extension "combos" need to be figured out and practiced, you can use the various "Guides" to get an idea, but only your own fingers and eyes can determine what works best for you.

beckylunatic

gavinruneblade wrote: »

I have seen that dodging out of red stuff is only worth it if the attack is going to knock you down. Otherwise suck it up and keep swinging.

Eating damage allows you to pop your Unstoppable. You want to learn which red stuff to sprint out of (and often don't bother if you can go Unstoppable and keep going), and which to soak for Determination gain. Daring Shout and Roar can also be used to build Determination and use Unstoppable more.

The beautiful thing about sprint is that you have incredible mobility. You can change directions, and you can choose how far you run, so you can get out of the way of CC cone and linear attacks while barely interrupting your own, simply moving the small distance necessary to flank your opponent.

Combos are things like using a CC power before lining up a big hit (Takedown+Indomitable Battle Strike, for example). Debuffing with Weapon Master Strikes before using other powers (feat in destroyer tree makes the debuff apply to your encounters, not just at-wills).

I didn't notice if you said which paragon feat tree you were going down. My destroyer is more satisfactory for me to PvE with, though I've never gone instigator. I like the flexibility, as you can AoE or single-target, and while you might not be as tanky as a sentinel, you shouldn't be feeling squishy either.

My destroyer is not in much epic gear (this will change as my guild is feeling more enthused about dungeon runs again), but switches between a regen (solo) and a crit/arpen (group) set of mostly level 60 blues ("Berserker" gear). For levelling, you can adapt the same basic idea: regen is good for survivability, but you may want to go with a damage focus if you don't mind using potions or your healer companion is working well for you. Always go with the weapon with the highest base damage... which will be a blue over a green of the same level. Seals from bounty items can actually be good for this, as the cheap option. Once you reach level 60, you want to equip a purple weapon asap even if the rest of your gear is piecemeal. Again, this is because you want the highest possible base damage. GWFs have two good options here: Reaver's Edge or Sharpened Ice Axe (my preference for destroyer, statwise). You can buy either on the AH for the cost of a couple of dailies, or keeping up your leadership, etc. If priced under 10K, that's their salvage value and you can recoup the expense if/when you upgrade again. Go shopping after a dungeon delve has ended, preferably on a weekend when more people are playing. You should be able to find yourself a deal. You can also acquire the level 60 blues to flesh out your gear very inexpensively. You can be pretty effective on the cheap.

sharpfangjr

kolatmaster wrote: »

The guides in my sig should give you a nice theoretical approach the the merits for each one for the GWF, if that's helpful.

Your destroyer build viable for leveling with occasional pvp? Just love the idea of a half-orc swinging a big-*** weapon. I've already used the free respec from the patch. She's just level 24.

pitshade

A combo I started today (Iron Vanguard) works pretty well. It gibs a lot of the trash in Dread Ring - Frontline Surge+Come and Get It+Indomitable Battle Strike. It looks pretty rude too, knocking the mobs away, then pulling them back and smashing them down. Not sure what a good lower level alternative for IBS would be. Possibly starting off with Daring Shout, if you can hit them quickly with FS and get the debuff. After CaGI, start in with Wicked Strike.

nameexpired

vortix44 wrote: »

[...]
Also, with your alts in other classes you always wondered why there were three slots (keys 3,4 and 5) of 99 HP potions each. Now that you play a gwf you know.

*LOL*
My GWF has only 50g in his pockets due to his drinking habit - where the siblings have a few hundred gold each.
Nice to hear that I am not the only one who double checks for 297 health pots before entering a dungeon.