PvP WZ Strategy Thread

[Ayeax]

Hello eGO'ers,

In light of the upcoming 1.2 patch and ranked warzones, I wanted to start a discussion concerning PvP strategy.

I thought I would start off with the topic of enemy healers. Everyone has witnessed one time or another the huge impact an enemy healer can make in a WZ. He/she either brings it to a stalemate or brings victory by making his/her team unkillable. The common response to this is to target healers and focus dps on them. This often is a grave mistake. Many healers have the abilities to survive this onslaught for a short duration, which allows their team to focus you down when you are already depleated from trying to kill healers.

The question arises; what to do?

I would like to break this down by situation and type of healer. The situation can be who is guarding the healer, and/or who is the healer's primary focus. The type of healer could be Merc/Commando, Sorc/sage, or Op/Scoundrel.

Let's start with the Merc/Commando healer (to be continued after further research of their abilties and interviews with a few to get an idea of their gameplay style.)

 

[Punch2Face]

I think this is a great idea for a thread. Awesome idea Ayeax =D

 

[Swagger-PNW]

You started with probably the healer that is hardest to kill lol

But unless your fighting a Commando & a Sage id say just go for the healer...

They have alot of survibability yes..that shield that makes them immune to interrupts is OMG OP...especially since it increases all healing received by 20%..when they pop that i just auto attack and patiently wait till its over lol (in a 1 on 1)

However if you dont attack a healer any half decent tank will just have too much survibability... assuming your fighting 2 on 2 or more you can burn a healer down. Unless theres another healer healing the first lol
Then its just a cluster flock

As a deception sin i find sages really easy to burn down..they are the most effective healers and also the squishiest...
Scoundrels are annoying cause they have a very good insta heal and they almost never stop running / kiting
Comandos have huge survibability..but even then i still think they should be killed first before DPS or tanks

And when a healer is guarded always go for the healer
Its alot easier to heal just 1 target (a tank) then having to heal yourself and another person while being stunned & interrupted

 

[Ayeax]

Swagger is correct in his assesment. I do not know the Merc terminology but commando healing the key is interupting his rotation. If you see the green stuff on the ground you know that Adv Med Probe followed by Med Probe then repeated. This must be interrupted. It will screw with the rotation and force them to use instant heal then lose the benifit of the Adv Med Probe with no cooldown. This is where your dps races with their cast times and cd's. Move the commando also, don't let them stay in place. Pull-push grab, that will mess things up also by isolating them. The commando has good heals but only 2 instant (Bacta infusion and Kolto bomb) and they are not very powerful and have cooldowns.

I will post more when I have more info, next will be scoundrel healers and that damm instant heal (30% health seems to be the magic number that give them the gift of awesome heals/need to exploit this in some way).

 

[Citizen Soldier]

Biggest thing in Warzones from my experience is Communication. A group who all have CoMM with each other will always have the biggest advantage. A good leader who calls out targets and appropriately marks them will also help. Its not always about focusing on a healer or tank or dps. Main thing is focus one!! CC stun the rest and keep dps of your healers. Communication is key! Also Gear is probably equally as important. As of now, the WZs are pretty small, 8 vs 8. My advice is to gear up, group up, get in vent and have a leader! Hopefully you dont run into another premade pvp ops group who is better geared and better skilled.

 

[Ayeax]

Well put C.S. I believe communication is the best advantage in a WZ. I will jump ahead then with my communication thread.
The keys to succesful communication in a WZ:

1. Appoint a leader, and have that leader set the strat and movements for that WZ.

2. Use common terminology, agree before hand what east door/right door-west door/left door mean. Establish terminology for all objectives in WZ's that everyone is familar and comfortable with.

3. Show up with a plan. Every WZ has a short interval before it starts. Have a plan and communicate directly. Having basic strats set-up prior to WZ's that everyone is familar with is a huge factor for victory. Then all that needs to be done is to comminicate the how that strat will be executed.

4. Team communicate with each other prior to event, not bark an action while event is happening (ex. please place guards/shields on healer- please remain at objective, please send help, objective is ABOUT to be compromised, )

5. Focus 1 target, leader will establish target, team focus. Use name of target. If team is split then have a ranged dps choose opportune target.

6. Keep channels clear as possible, and chatter to a minimum. Have fun, but make sure to be attentive.

7. Finally, the devil is in the details, words such "Here", and "On me" do not translate enough information to act quickly, so try to insert as much detail into location and event that you are trying to communicate.

These simple tips should improve your WZ experience and increase your victory potential.

Good Hunting eGO'ers!

 

[Ayeax]

I have decided to give into chaos and now post random tips and helpful hints with no real rhyme or reason, just because they popped into my head and I am old and will forget them quickly.

As many of you have noticed, the new flavor in PvP is the OP class Sith Assassin/Jedi Shadow tank spec. You will see many of these in WZ's. The most famous would have been Zap, but he has moved on with Condemmed to GW2. The thing about shadow/assassin tank is their ability to cast resiliance/deflection and heal themselves. This ability is very powerful in WZ's because they are immune to damge for a few seconds . No damge while they can dish it out or heal themselves. My best advice to you is to just wait. Don't waste your resources while this is up, heal yourself or move yourself to a more strategic location.
With shadow/assassin and mauraders/sentinels able to kill so quickly, they must be respected. CC or focus them as quickly as you can. Healers used to be a object of focus, but sorc/sage healers and commando/merc healers cannot cast heals quick enough to overcome the quickness these classes's TTK (Time To Kill). A well equiped shadow assassin or a watchman/Annihilation can kill in less than 2.0 sec. I guess my only advice would be is expertise is the key to survival.
I guess this is more of a ramble than a advice post. I really do not have the answer for the shadow/assassin tank or the sent/marauder . They are a very formidible opponents with alot of burst dps and great utility. I would love input on those who play this class(s), maybe we can figure a strategy to lessen their impact. (I apologise for numerous typos, too dammed tired to edit)

 

[Jake123]

I have decided to give into chaos and now post random tips and helpful hints with no real rhyme or reason, just because they popped into my head and I am old and will forget them quickly.

As many of you have noticed, the new flavor in PvP is the OP class Sith Assassin/Jedi Shadow tank spec. You will see many of these in WZ's. The most famous would have been Zap, but he has moved on with Condemmed to GW2. The thing about shadow/assassin tank is their ability to cast resiliance/deflection and heal themselves. This ability is very powerful in WZ's because they are immune to damge for a few seconds . No damge while they can dish it out or heal themselves. My best advice to you is to just wait. Don't waste your resources while this is up, heal yourself or move yourself to a more strategic location.
With shadow/assassin and mauraders/sentinels able to kill so quickly, they must be respected. CC or focus them as quickly as you can. Healers used to be a object of focus, but sorc/sage healers and commando/merc healers cannot cast heals quick enough to overcome the quickness these classes's TTK (Time To Kill). A well equiped shadow assassin or a watchman/Annihilation can kill in less than 2.0 sec. I guess my only advice would be is expertise is the key to survival.
I guess this is more of a ramble than a advice post. I really do not have the answer for the shadow/assassin tank or the sent/marauder . They are a very formidible opponents with alot of burst dps and great utility. I would love input on those who play this class(s), maybe we can figure a strategy to lessen their impact. (I apologise for numerous typos, too dammed tired to edit)

Good points there ayeax!

Just another Note; It its a lot harder and takes a lot longer to kill a guarded healer, while he/she heals themselves then it does to kill a tank w.o guard while the healer heals him/her. When i see a healer (as a guardian) i will leap to them and usually use force push to throw them out of the area, then target someone else. i dont spend much time on them unless they are alone of corse.

 

[Ayeax]

The ramble continues;

The PvP tip for the day: Focus a target

This may sound simple, but getting a group of 8 folks not on vent, (or sometimes on vent) to target one player is like herding cats. here are some helpful hints that may or may not simplify things......

1. Mark targets, especially healers.
2. At the beginning of the WZ, please have ops leader set the priority of which symbol gets killed 1st, 2nd and so on. That way the team can choose an alternative target if it is more available.
3. ranged folks, marking targets is as important as dps'ing them down. Ranged usually has a better view of the scene and can see cast bars. Healers cannot do this because they tab allies not enemys. Melee you may have to target someone if you can.
4. *****Comunicate clearly!!!****** Choose a target and everyone kill.
5. My personal advice is not to target the lowest health, but those in the 16-17k area. leave the weak alone, they are probably poorly geared and not contributing as much. This of course pertains to fresh health not injured players.


I basically learned this from the Empire, if you wonder why they are killing you all so quickly, they are focusing you.

 

[Ayeax]

More tips;

PvP for better or worse is all about the gear you have. Gear can make up for mistakes or inexperience in WZ's so give yourself every advantage you can.

We all know to well the grind to get better gear through commendations. But there are always places you can improve outside of the grind.

First and very important, get an augmented weapon. These can be bought on GTN or crafted by a friend or guildmate. Put the best augment with your primary stat in the slot.

Second, augment your armor. If you have Warhero armor you should have augmented Warhero, no excuse, just do it. If you have Battlemaster, then make the decision if losing the set bonus is worth the adding the augment.

Third, inspect your modifications in your armor, you may have or be able to improve a mod or enhancement in one piece of armor with another from another piece of armor. (Example, I am an healer but still wear my Battlemaster Eliminator chest with an enhancement from a Battlemaster Combat Medic helmet)

Overall you have to know your class and spec inside and out and know the stat weights to be able to fine tune your gear. Bioware has made the gear but it is up to you to tweak it to be the best for your abilities.

 

[Ayeax]

Another tip for PvP;

If you want heals or care if your healer heals you efficiently, put your pets away for WZ's. They are tab targetable and soak up AoE heals. This makes things complicated for healers in an already complicated situation.

 

[Swagger-PNW]

Another tip for PvP;

If you want heals or care if your healer heals you efficiently, put your pets away for WZ's. They are tab targetable and soak up AoE heals. This makes things complicated for healers in an already complicated situation.

Thats actually not accurate... pets do not count for the aoe heal counter
we tried it the other day with Seablade's aoe heal (puts a HoT on up to 4 targets) and my orokeet did not get it

However if they are tab targetable (i use mine to target nearest enemy so i dont know if thats an issue..i do knot i never target the 'pubs tauntauns lol)
but if they are tab targetable then i agree..keep them in your bag

 

[Ayeax]

I only say about AoE because I saw a Kolto bomb thrown and I viewed a number float above a Taunton. This may have been patched or a lag artifact on my part. But the tab issue is very real, healers use tab to quickly cycle through allies to see who needs heals.