Wethospu

Well... it might help to post said builds and attributes, and what would be the best way to use them.

Also how to play AB, what to expect from different maps, how to coordinate with other groups, and how to deal with things when parts of your group dies off.

I must say that's going further than I have been thinking.
My way to increase skill of Kurzicks is to just play something proper. It's better than those "tab + add" PuGs.

My balanced usually has:
- melee which deals damage
- fire ele
- something (usually Mesmer, Ranger or Elementalist)
- monk

You are free to run your own builds as long as they aren't horrible.
It's not important that we win, it's important that we have fun. Killing is fun though, so be prepared to fight.

And I'm not going to rage if somebody does something wrong and we lose because of that. It's just a game.

Well the problem is, to many people don't really understand AB all that much.
Nor the best skills to bring.
A general guideline for each class would be good.

Like for me, I bring aoe arrows (barrage or incindiary), a couple disrupts, evasion skill, healing, and run.
For an ele, some good Aoe skills, but also some healing and run skills, as well as something for defense. Usually best lines for this are the fire and earth lines. Air lines are good if you want to spike a target, but are not so good at taking out the shrines by yourself. Water line seems to be strictly defense.

Other lines can be more tricky. That's why any build suggesions and how to run them would be welcome.

In my team you can just follow me. Sure, I make sometimes bad decisions but my squad just have to live with it. :)
And how following me helps with understanding AB? Well, I guess my squad can just watch how things go.

I can post what I use in AB and how I try play them. My builds don't have self-heal because I use them with a Monk. And I don't mean anyone should run these bars.

Warrior:
Rush, Crippling Slash, Gash, Sun And Moon Slash, Bull's Strike, Frenzy, Enraging Charge, Conjure Frost

Just trying to kill stuff, mainly monks and other squishies. Must be careful with Frenzy.

Elementalist:
Return, Glyph of Immolation, Searing Flames, Meteor, Searing Heat, Glowing Gaze, Steam, Fire Attunement

Nice combo which can own bad Monks: Immolation -> Heat -> Meteor -> Flames -> Gaze
But anyways, try focus on killing NPC's. This build is pretty weak NPC killer when compared to full AoE builds. But a lot more useful against real players.

Ranger:
Distracting Shot, Savage Shot, Burning Arrow, Pin Down, Mending Touch, Purge Signet, Natural Stride, Apply Poison

Flatbow is useful against NPC's because you are outside their casting range (if you solo, then you should also have Troll Unguent instead of Purge Signet).
With this build, I try Pin Down melees, assist Warrior with killing. And interrupt Elementalists. :)
Mending Touch to keep myself and others clear. Purge Signet is for emergencies (like Migraine on Monk, etc).

Monk:
Return, Word of Healing, Guardian, Dismiss Condition, Protective Spirit, Patient Spirit, Holy Veil, Dark Escape

Well, keep team alive. Cast Protective Spirit when full of energy because it lasts for a while.
Pre-veil Warrior against Necromancer Shrine and Elementalist against Mesmer Shrine. Remove veil from Warrior once it gets Faintheartedness. Remove veil from Elementalist once it gets Backfire.
And some enchanments on Warrior and Elementalist against Mesmer shrine becasue of Shatter Enchantment to cover Conjure, Attunement and Veil.

This is what I would run if I could clone myself (ok, for real I would run something crazy). Idea of these build is that you basically put them on any team and they do fine (as long as there is a Monk).


Hmm, I guess I could try write something about AB, but not now.

One thing about rangers. I NEVER EVER use a flatbow. It's only advantages are slightly increased speed then longbow. But if you keep getting 'stray' every time you try for a moving target, that tends to seriously start pissing you off. Reccomended for rangers is longbow, with a switch to recurve or hornbow once range is closed. As far as mending and purge on ranger... I usually take one or the other, not both, and bring troll. That helps counter degen and works as a heal when you're down HP and need a bit of boost while running to next target. It also helps take stress off monk types.
I notice you have no asssassin or necro builds there.
Problem in AB is sometimes your group gets split off, especially if you go against an enemy group. Some of your side won't make it.
Or worse, the groups somehow merge and become a stupid mob group, or start camping shrines trying to hold off the enemy.

Well, I meant flatbow only against NPC's. I personally have flatbow, recurve, spear / shield set, short and short with elemental mod (against Warriors).
Well, yeah. It's either Purge Signet / Troll Unguent. But as I trust on my Monk, I prefer Purge Signet. I personally hate when I Monk and Ranger starts using Troll when it actually could do something useful.

Sorry about that, I haven't played Assassin or Necromancer in AB.
Self-heals are pretty weak in GW. So having a self-heal makes litte difference when a squad tries to kill you. If you win a squad vs. squad and let's say one from your squad dies. You can still go cap and meet up with that guy later (just requires some planning).
Well, I hate mobs as they have a bad habbit to follow my squad.
Holding off enemy is actually smart in some situations. With help of shrine, your squad can easily finish the other squad. Result: No gained shrines by your squad. No gained shrines by their squad. Enemy squad down.

I don't get the bit about attacking NPCs while out of casting range.

(a) that ranger build is good for interrupting. Those NPCs are predicable as all monsters, so interrupting them is something even I as a ranger newb can manage.

(b) (more important): there are at most 3 NPCs at a shrine, I think. Outside of casting range means that you are outside of capping range. If the entire squad would move into capping (and casting) range, then you would already be capping while killing the NPCs. That should save a couple of seconds over all.


So, why is it a better idea to stay outside of capping range for killing those mindless NPCs?

Good point. Should have had there in case you need to solo which was the whole point.
And doesn't matter how good you are with interrupting, you can't interrupt them all.

I was just wondering, because nearly all rangers kill NPCs whilte being outside of capping range. Annoyed me to no end when I was monking for them... but I wondered if there was a reason behind their behaviour.

Rangers can use various bow skills outside casting ranges. This is good, as it helps pepper the NPCs up while the rest of your group moves in, without taking damage. Once the group IS in range, THEN you should switch bows, and get in the casting, and capping range. The thing that Lytha and myself have learned, flatbows SUCK. Period, end of story. Unless you use a prep or the spirit that gives you better accuracy, flatbows will all to often miss. Even at close range, NPCs moving during scatter.

Well, I don't use any AoE on my Ranger so scatter isn't a problem. With squad, you should just go in with a Shortbow instead of shooing far away.

Of course everything sucks if you can't use it properly.

There's no reason to cap outside of aggro range if there's a monk nearby.
However, if there isn't it's normally better to interrupt from outside aggro range. Especially in the case of the War and Ele shrines you can end up dead pretty easily (few failed blocks under Nat Stride, dead at War Shrine. You will die at the Ele shrine unless you're lucky). Killing one or two before moving in for the cap is a lot safer and normally a lot quicker.