Guild versus Guild

Guild versus Guild, also known as GvG or Guild Battle, is a strategic form of PvP which matches two teams of eight players from different guilds against each other in the Guild Halls. The core objective of the combat is to kill the opposition's NPC Guild Lord before the opposition does the same to your Guild Lord.

Each team must have a minimum of two members of the guild, including at least one officer. The remaining players on the team may either be members of that guild, guests from another guild, alliance members, or henchmen (heroes are restricted from entering GvG matches as of October 29, 2009).

GvG competition can be played as either ladder based play or as part of automated tournaments. GvG can also be played as an unrated scrimmage. GvG combat for top 100 rated teams, tournament battles and the last GvG for the Guild can be watched in observer mode with 15 minutes delay.

Access
To enter your team in a guild battle, travel to your guild hall and press the 'Guild Battle' button that appears on the party roster. A window will appear and offer the following options:


 * Automated Tournament Match
 * This option is only available if your guild is registered for a tournament. For a more detailed explanation and rewards see automated tournament.


 * Rated Automatic Match
 * Automatically pairs your team with another waiting team which fits your ranking best. The result of the ladder match will adjust your guild rating.


 * New Unrated Challenge
 * Allows you to request a battle against a specific guild. The result of the match will not adjust your guild rating.


 * New Scrimmage
 * Enters your team into combat against the next team to select this option from within your guild hall. The match will be played in your home guild hall. For this option, the team requirements are lowered to a minimum of one human player each. Scrimmage has a 28-minute time limit.

Winning conditions

 * Kill the enemy Guild Lord.
 * Have all opposing players reach 60% Death Penalty.
 * In the event that time runs out, the team with the most aggressiveness will be declared victorious.

Only one of these conditions has to be met for a match to end.

GvG game mechanics
There are several features which define the strategic elements of GvG combat.

Maps
Each hall plays differently and favors different builds, due to their layout and unique features, such as environmental effects. A guild might select a hall which suits their style of play or compliments the build type which they play.

The map selected depends on the competition. For ladder play the Guild Hall of the lowest ranked team is selected. For automated tournaments the maps are fixed for each round in the tournament.

For a list of Guild Halls and their different layout refer to guild hall.

The flag stand
The flag stand is an object central to a GvG map that grants a 10% morale boost to the team that can hold it for two minutes. The stand is captured using a flag. Many GvG teams have a flag runner to run the flag to the flag stand repeatedly.

Non-player characters
There are many NPCs on the Guild Hall map which can influence gameplay, particularly in the closing stages of a GvG match. Guild halls are defended by a variety of NPCs including archers, footmen, knights, and bodyguards. Generally, footmen guard the front entrance to a guild hall, archers line the walls and perimeter, and a bodyguard and two knights stand directly next to the Guild Lord along with more archers.

Tie-Breaker
At the 28th minute, the more aggressive team is awarded the victory.

Rewards
Players will also receive a Champion's Zaishen Strongbox after each victory, unless either team resigns before 5 minutes have elapsed.

Elo rating
Guild versus Guild battles during ladder play result in rating change according to the Elo rating system.

Special events
During certain special events, the opposing Guild Lord drops seasonal items for each player of the winning team when he dies. To prevent exploitation, no rewards are offered if (a) the match ends after 28 minutes without either side killing a Guild Lord or (b) the battle ends in under 15 seconds (e.g. due to one team resigning or zoning).
 * Halloween (since 2010): 50 Trick-or-Treat Bags.
 * Special Treats Weekend (since 2010): Randomly either 10 Hard Apple Ciders or 10 Slices of Pumpkin Pie.
 * Wintersday (since 2010): 10 Wintersday Gifts.

Prototypical builds
The main function of GvG builds is to take every single one of the players from the team and to build them so that they work together perfectly to win. Many teams will design eight characters to work together in intricate combinations; other teams will use eight "generic" characters that are useful in a wide variety of situations. These teams will often use their versatility to force more specialized teams into a fight they cannot win, often by a split. To be successful, a good team will often include:


 * A mix of offense (damage), defense (support) and snares (control):
 * Some "frontline" melee or martial characters, who are the main damage dealers of the squad. Examples: warriors, assassins or dervishes.
 * Some "midline" ranged or caster characters, who disrupt both the enemy offense and defense, and add damage at range to help kill targets. Examples: mesmers, rangers, elementalists, paragons, or necromancers.
 * Some "backline" caster characters, who keep everyone else alive as long as possible. Examples: monks or ritualists.
 * A dedicated flag running character, who is able to survive one-on-one or small-group encounters with a wide variety of threats and who has a speed boost.
 * The ability to fight both as a whole team and in small split groups.
 * Snares, to control enemy movement.
 * At least one hard resurrection skill, to bring back teammates without using up valuable Res Signets.

A large number of builds have been run so often in GvG that they have come to be referred to by a single term. These include ranger spike, Thumpers, FoC spike, Thumpsmite, SB/RI, Fast Cast air spike, Eurospike, and more. Some of these builds are similar to those that were run in 8v8 Heroes' Ascent, but many are unique to GvG. Other teams run non-gimmick "balanced" builds with more generalist characters; likewise, these generalist characters are often referred to simply by naming the elite and possibly a few other skills: for instance, "Blinding Surge elementalist" or "Light of Deliverance monk".

Standard GvG strategy and development
The most straightforward GvG's consist of two teams meeting each other at the flagstand, engaging each other 7v7 while the flag runners run flags and participate briefly in the combat while at the stand. If a team can, they will often try to delay the enemy flag runner enough to gain a morale boost. Delaying the enemy flag runner is important even if you do not get a boost, since it means your own flag runner is able to stay and fight at the stand for longer. If one team is able to get a decisive victory at the flagstand, either by wiping out the other team or by forcing them to retreat, they will generally push the opposing team's base and start killing NPCs. The defending team, with the aid of newly-resurrected members, NPCs, and fresh energy bars will then try to push the enemy out of their base and regain the ground they lost, often with the aim of getting a flag through.

A team that realizes that they are unable to fight the enemy head-on will often split a small force to the enemy base to kill NPCs or harass the flagrunner. This forces the other team to either split their forces as well, or lose NPCs and potentially the Guild Lord. Many teams will include a couple of strong solo characters (rangers, split elementalists, warriors, etc.) to use in split situations. Some teams are set up to split from the beginning, sending a predetermined squad to the enemy base from the start. Matches that involve a lot of splitting generally involve the multiple squads running around, trying to either get to undefended NPCs or force an engagement with an enemy squad that they can score kills on (or kill the enemy flag runner). Snares are invaluable for this; teleports and shadowstepping are an annoying way to make a squad hard to catch.

The 2-minute resurrection cycle factors into tactics: teams will often try to spike a target right before the two-minute mark and force them to resurrect at base, or "save" a lone survivor or straggler and kill them right after the two-minute mark, ensuring that they stay dead for a while. If enemy members are dead and you have some team members near the enemy resurrection shrine, they should be aware if characters are going to resurrect on top of them (with full energy and recharged skills!). Remember that Death Penalty only makes them easier to kill; they still do just as much damage!