World versus World
From Guild Wars 2 Wiki
World versus World (also known as WvW, WvWvW and World PvP) is a Player versus Player game mode where players from three different servers, or worlds, battle in the Mists for rewards.
Worlds in WvW are matched up based on their ranking, so that high-ranked worlds will battle other high-ranked worlds, and low-ranked worlds will battle other low-ranked worlds. This ensures that every world has a fair chance of winning matches despite differing levels of player participation or skill.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Getting There
Open the Hero panel, choose the Hero tab, and select "Be in the Mists". In the next area, run to the portal in front of you to warp to the Hall of Memories. From there, take the Asura Gate leading into WvW, west of the Asura Gate to Lion's Arch.
Every Home City also has a Portal to Lion's Arch. There are gates to different WvW borderlands in the south.
[edit] Participation
WvW is designed to accomodate players that would not normally participate in PvP. For instance, the high player limit means a new player can get involved without immediately feeling pressured to contribute. In addition, objectives are available for a variety of group sizes, so players don't need to be members of dedicated guilds in order to be productive.
Player limits are not yet finalized, but current estimates are that each of the four maps will support up to 500 players, split across the three worlds, for a total upper limit of 2,000 players across the entire WvW match.[2]
WvW will be accessible to characters immediately after the tutorial instance and players joining WvW will have their level and attributes dynamically adjusted to level 80.[1] Skills, traits, experience and equipment can be obtained within WvW, so character progression can be done without ever needing to switch to PvE.
Players may leave or join WvW at any time with only a few restrictions:
- Players who have recently changed their home world are restricted from entering WvW for a limited time.
- Players who are idle for a certain amount of time will be automatically removed from WvW, but can rejoin at any time.[3]
- Players who attempt to join a map that is full can decide whether to queue for a space, or join one of the other maps instead.[4]
[edit] Mechanics
WvW matches take place across four very large maps containing four different types of objectives. Every 5 minutes, the objectives controlled by each world are totaled and added to that world's cumulative war score. The aim of WvW is to achieve a higher war score than the opposing worlds by the end of the two-week battle. The following table shows the types of objectives, their distribution on the maps, and how many points each they are worth.
| Resource camps (5 points) | Towers (10 points) | Keeps (25 points) | Stonemist Castle (50 points) | |
| ((Blue World)) Borderlands | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| ((Green World)) Borderlands | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| ((Red World)) Borderlands | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Eternal Battlegrounds | 6 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
As an example, if a world owns 6 resource camps (30 points), 5 towers (50 points) and 4 keeps (100 points), 180 points will be added to their war score every 5 minutes.
At the beginning of each two-week battle, these objectives are neutral and must be captured. Once an objective has been captured, a few NPCs will spawn to defend it. These NPCs can usually hold off a smaller force, but are there mostly to give a world some time to organize a defense.[5]
In addition to the above, there are a number of smaller objectives that provider other bonuses, such as NPC mercenaries that can be recruited to join your team.
[edit] Defenses
Depending on the type of objective, there are a number of obstacles that must be overcome before the objective can be captured. The following table lists the defenses that each objective type may possess:
| Resource camp | Tower | Keep | Stonemist Castle | |
| Guards | 1
| 1
| 1
| 1
|
| Walls or door | 0
| 1
| 1
| 1
|
| Lord1 | 0
| 1
| 1
| 1
|
| Inner walls | 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
|
1. Tower, Keep or Castle lord depending on the objective.
In addition, any objective can be defended by players from the world that owns the objective.
Once these obstacles have been overcome, there will be a capture area which players need to remain inside for a few moments to capture the objective.
The doors and walls of towers and keeps are very strong and require a concerted effort to destroy. Siege weapons are therefore an important part of any assault as they can be used to bring down obstacles much more quickly than players alone.
[edit] Siege weapons
Siege weapons are environmental weapons that can be built to accomplish a particular purpose. For instance, arrow carts and cannons are very effective against groups of enemies, while ballistae and trebuchets are ideal for breaking down doors and walls.
To create a siege weapon, a player uses a blueprint, purchased from a siegemaster or obtained from loot, to create a build site. Construction is performed by spending supply at that site and once construction is completed, the siege weapon can be used.
The following siege weapons are available:
- Arrow cart: fires a volley of arrows, dealing significant damage to players but weak against structures.
- Ballista: fires a giant bolt, dealing heavy damage to structures and players in its path.
- Catapult: great for dealing with walls, gates, and clustered enemies.
- Flame Ram: rams gates at close range, dealing heavy damage to it.
- Siege golem: slow and short ranged but capable of dealing significant damage.
- Trebuchet: long-ranged rock thrower capable of dealing significant damage to players and structures alike.
In addition, defensive siege weapons can be constructed on walls to help defend objectives against assaults. These siege weapons do not require blueprints, but do require some supply to build. Defensive siege weapons are:
With the exception of the siege golem, all siege weapons are stationary and cannot be moved.
[edit] Enemy players
Killing an enemy player in WvW will result in experience and loot drops. Loot is randomly generated; the defeated player does not actually lose anything through being defeated. Aside from these individual rewards, there is no particular benefit to fighting other players. As a result, combat will usually occur when attacking or defending an objective.
The names of players from other worlds are not shown. Instead, they appear as "<color> Invader" or "<color> Defender". For instance, a player from the blue world may be called simply "Blue Invader".
[edit] Supply
Supply is a special resource in WvW used for the following:
- Construction of siege weapons.
- Repair of doors and walls of towers, keeps and Stonemist Castle.
- Purchase of defensive upgrades from a quartermaster.
Each tower, keep and castle has a stockpile of supply, which is automatically replenished by supply caravans travelling from resource camps. The stockpiled supply can be collected by players, each of whom can carry a maximum of 10 units.
A stockpile of supply will allow defenders to keep their doors and walls repaired. Therefore, it's important when assaulting a keep to destroy any supply caravans attempting to deliver supply. Likewise, when defending a keep against an assault, supply caravans should be protected.
[edit] Guilds
Whenever a tower, a keep or Stonemist Castle is captured by a world, the guild that had the most participating members will have the option of claiming the keep. The claimed keep will then display the banner of that guild, and any WvW upgrades purchased by that guild will apply to nearby allies.
A good time for a guild to capture keeps may be at the very beginning of a WvW match when all objectives are still neutral.
[edit] Orb of Power
Each Borderlands map has a single Orb of Power which is defended by a powerful NPC named the Keeper of the Orb. If the keeper is defeated, the orb can be taken to a keep and placed on an Altar of Power, which will result in bonuses for the entire server in WvW. Once the orb is taken, it must be placed on an altar of power within 15 minutes or it will reset.
Depending on the number of Orbs owned by a server, the following bonuses are granted:
| # | Bonus |
| 1 | |
| 2 | Major Orb Bonus |
| 3 |
[edit] Rewards
Power of the Mists is awarded to players in PvE and WvW based on the war score of their home world. It include bonuses to health, gathering and crafting among others. A player will receive the bonuses of their home world even when guesting on other worlds.
[edit] Notes
At any given time there are 16 world vs. world battles in progress, as there are 48 worlds.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mike Ferguson on Guild Wars 2 World vs. World ArenaNet Blog
- ^ Guild Wars 2 Developer AMA Ask Me Anything on Reddit
- ^ IAmA Guild Wars 2 Game Designer AMA Abount World vs. World PvP reddit.com
- ^ Mike Ferguson Takes Your WvW Questions Here and on Reddit Arena Net Blog
- ^ IncGamers’ Guild Wars 2 Interview - Part 2, IncGamers
