Guild Wars: State of the Game: April 16, 2007

This week's State of the Game is written by independent author Adam Sunstrom. It is entitled "Collapsing the Guild Hall Structure" and focuses on GvG battles and the unique planning that goes into GvG events.

GvG guild halls present unique challenges and opportunities. Each map is different, and playing them as if they were the same leads to a swift demise. Some maps naturally produce situations for certain maneuvers, such as "collapsing," more often than others.

In a tactical context, collapsing means pinching and trapping an opponent between two or more groups of your players. Visualize a scenario where your enemy splits 6/2 and sends six players to the flag stand while two others take a side route to harass your base NPCs. In response you send a split team to drive them out of your base, while the main part of your team engages at the flag stand. When the enemy split team heads for home, rather than letting them rejoin their team, your main group relinquishes flag control to collapse on the enemy splitters and kill them. This type of maneuver wins games because it yields a temporary numerical advantage, often just long enough to gain ground, to inflict death penalty, kill NPCs, and get a morale boost.

Sunstrom offers tips in his article according to the style of map being played:

Standard Maps

• Trebuchet Maps
• Druid's Isle
• Isle of Wurms
• Isle of Solitude

8v8 Maps:

• Burning Isle
• Isle of Jade
• Isle of the Dead
• Imperial Isle

Split Maps

• Corrupted Isle
• Frozen Isle
• Nomad's Isle
• Uncharted Isle

DEFINITELY worth the read for those who participate in guild hall warfare.