How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the “Gank”

geonsocal

“Life is a state of mind”

full monty up front – I have neither the patience nor skill to gank myself (not sure if that came out quite right)…occasionally I’ll indulge with others – by and large though, I’m too focused and in a rush to find that next “great” fight… I do though greatly appreciate the time and effort others put into the art of stealthy combat…

So, what the heck is so great about ganking – well, I give you exhibit A:
https://youtu.be/omek-g6_LAQ
Yes, ganking can in fact be a warm, loving and beautiful thing…

So, big thanks to all you pro ganks out there and please keep doing your thing…

pro tip number 4 for successful ganking – if you see some strange character all alone on top of a rock dancing or playing a lute – chances are very good, they are in fact not alone …

Kram8ion

Yes it's hard holding back a little more when you just want to get in there and fight but patience is a big part of it also sometimes feels like your not contributing but you are

Wreuntzylla

geonsocal wrote: »

“Life is a state of mind”

full monty up front – I have neither the patience nor skill to gank myself (not sure if that came out quite right)…occasionally I’ll indulge with others – by and large though, I’m too focused and in a rush to find that next “great” fight… I do though greatly appreciate the time and effort others put into the art of stealthy combat…

So, what the heck is so great about ganking – well, I give you exhibit A:
https://youtu.be/omek-g6_LAQ
Yes, ganking can in fact be a warm, loving and beautiful thing…

So, big thanks to all you pro ganks out there and please keep doing your thing…

pro tip number 4 for successful ganking – if you see some strange character all alone on top of a rock dancing or playing a lute – chances are very good, they are in fact not alone …

He keeps his chucks in a sock in his closet. Hahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

geonsocal

Kram8ion wrote: »

Yes it's hard holding back a little more when you just want to get in there and fight but patience is a big part of it also sometimes feels like your not contributing but you are

thanks for posting...I know showing love for our stealth players isn't exactly the most popular sentiment in the game...

I hear sooooooo many people complain (both on the forums and in group chat) about getting ganked; or, I'll see people bag them like they just committed the worse crime in the world when they're unsuccessful (I'd love to see some of Sypher's and other top stealth players outtakes of when things go horribly wrong while they're out hunting)...

much like old inspector clouseau (big peter sellers fan as a kid) - i really enjoy and appreciate the suspense it adds to
pvp...plus, it kinda helps keep me sharp...

each night that I'm out in cyro I dedicate some time to creeping around outside keeps, resources, milegates and especially the outposts trying to out and kill those stealth players...

it's not that I'm such a great max player or I have an awesome build - i just really enjoy competing against some of the best players in our game...

moral of the story - if you're out doing some stealth strolling in ps4/na/scourge, come find me (i'm on all alliances - so, everyone gets a chance to lay me out )...chances are, I'll be looking for you too...

Vanthras79

Can we get a Dr. Strangelove meme ?

geonsocal

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

He keeps his chucks in a sock in his closet. Hahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

@Wreuntzylla ...I remember my cousin getting me into them as a kid - man, I nearly beat myself to death...I remember years later being super pissed when I learned their were foam versions available...

geonsocal

yea, that last one pretty sums it up...

Wreuntzylla

geonsocal wrote: »

Wreuntzylla wrote: »

He keeps his chucks in a sock in his closet. Hahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

@Wreuntzylla ...I remember my cousin getting me into them as a kid - man, I nearly beat myself to death...I remember years later being super pissed when I learned their were foam versions available...

Ouch. Hope you wore a cup...

geonsocal

I remember thinking as a kid - well, Bruce Lee makes it look so easy...although I don't remember him ever being covered in black and blue marks all over his body...

yeah, whipping them around your thigh is a little dicey...

Tryxus

geonsocal wrote: »

I remember thinking as a kid - well, Bruce Lee makes it look so easy...although I don't remember him ever being covered in black and blue marks all over his body...

yeah, whipping them around your thigh is a little dicey...

First time I ever tried out dem nunchakus during martial arts training ended with me having a brown bump on my forehead for 3 weeks

geonsocal

so here's the thing - i understand that a lot of the better stealth players have a "list", sure they take easy targets of opportunity...but, for the most part they're out there hunting folks on the leader boards or people that have annoyed them in the past...

as I said in the past - i'm so low on the political/social totem pole, it feels like i got dirt covering my face...I'm fine with that...

I know only a very small portion of the players on my map are involved with the forums (they probably just enjoy spending more time playing than writing about it)...

I'm just hoping to show up on some of our better players hit list

Rockndude

As someone who ganked a LOT on a Khajiit stam nightblade before proc sets and heavy armor became pvp meta, I miss the old days. My favorite parts were the situational awareness, target selection, and the ability to get in, pull off an extremely fast combo with animation canceling before the target could break stun, and get out while their group scratched their head searching for me.

I am considering using the spriggan set with clever alchemist now to give these heavy armor builds something to fear again.

SHADOW2KK

Tryxus wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

I remember thinking as a kid - well, Bruce Lee makes it look so easy...although I don't remember him ever being covered in black and blue marks all over his body...

yeah, whipping them around your thigh is a little dicey...

First time I ever tried out dem nunchakus during martial arts training ended with me having a brown bump on my forehead for 3 weeks

Heheh, aye same here, fingers smashed, knuckles, the works, then that magic moment comes when your ego is out of the way, eyes closed, in a darkened room, when you can do it.

But it is bought with pain, and fear of getting hurt again

Builds character

FortheloveofKrist

Rockndude wrote: »

As someone who ganked a LOT on a Khajiit stam nightblade before proc sets and heavy armor became pvp meta, I miss the old days. My favorite parts were the situational awareness, target selection, and the ability to get in, pull off an extremely fast combo with animation canceling before the target could break stun, and get out while their group scratched their head searching for me.

I am considering using the spriggan set with clever alchemist now to give these heavy armor builds something to fear again.

Tried that. Still pretty difficult now since everyone's running around in heavy and the Spriggan doesn't seem to cut it down enough. Just proc like everyone else and you can gank like old times (well not exactly like old times, but you get the point).

chaserstorm16909

This thread is hard for me to relate to since I have never actually ganked anyone.

geonsocal

chaserstorm16909 wrote: »

This thread is hard for me to relate to since I have never actually ganked anyone.

this is actually more about being the gankee, as opposed to being the ganker, and, embracing the challenge it brings to pvp...

inspector clouseau sought out the danger and challenge that kato could provide...

plus, from my perspective - i enjoy hunting the hunters...

Sheezabeast

But but but the difference between this example and what usually happens in an ESO gank is that Cato and Clouseau have a back and forth. They have a fun and spirited fight. In an ESO gank, you only really get a chance to fight back if the NB is learning their abilities and isn't a pro yet. Or they're a glass cannon pulled out of stealth and they end up failing and cloaking away. I always respect a NB who I have a great back and forth with. Even if they kill me over and over, me getting to attack back even if it's only for like one or two seconds, it matters, and playful banter and good sportsmanship go a long ways with me! But that's just me.



^ that's how I feel about NB's that one shot you (even in heavy armor and over 25k health) hehehe xD

geonsocal

@Sheezabeast ...solid points - all things being perfect (skills, gear, location, target), it really shouldn't be a fair fight, and the whole shooting match should be over in under 5 seconds...

I have 8 active characters in cyro...some wear all light (with a bunch of impen armor traits, plus cp in crit resistance), some only have around 20k health (my own NB, plus a magsorc)...

honestly, it's probably less than 20% of the attacks that are successful (most of those are on my horse )...when I'm ready - i spend a lot of time dancing on rocks outside of keeps, resources, and my favorite spot now - outposts, lots and lots of folks lurking around outposts these days...

very rarely does someone get me out of there in 3 shots or less, by then i can defend - granted, I might not be able to find the person that hit me..but, a lot of times that I unstealth - they'll be friendlies in stealth nearby...

I will say this - my survivability rate from stealth attacks go waaaaay down in IC...I'm lucky to survive a third of the time there...it's exciting and fun though...

most importantly - freakin awesome shot of clouseau and kato...happy times watching those movies when I was young...

geonsocal

just got a 561 (playing a lvl 23 imp stam dk) outside sejanus...granted the guards around the outpost did more damage than me - but, the end result was the same...

it's amazing how aggressive folks will get after sitting in stealth for a few minutes...

I have a NB, and I know the spots where I like to hide and watch other players from...there are a lot of different abilities that'll help you find folks who don't want to be seen (in this case - dark talons did the trick)...

plus, seeing the low level makes a lot of players get happy and take chances...

clouseau: 1 kato: 0, so far tonight...

Enslaved

Reasons I envy players who play NB is their patience. As a DK I can't simply spend 2.9h out of 3h in PvP without any real action. I have NB but didn't play it that much in PvP compared to DK. I guess it's simply not my style.

geonsocal

Enslaved wrote: »

Reasons I envy players who play NB is their patience. As a DK I can't simply spend 2.9h out of 3h in PvP without any real action. I have NB but didn't play it that much in PvP compared to DK. I guess it's simply not my style.

100% agree...it's one of the reasons I just can't do it either - the waiting drives me mad

I mostly just zerg surf with my NB's and use their bow abilities - when things get tighter I'll switch to melee weapons and use fear, surprise attack and stuff...

Edit: ganking in small groups is pretty cool, at least there's people to talk to while your sneaking around and waiting...

WhiteMage

Maybe my happiest moment in ESO was hitting Zergbad with a scorching flare and watching him buuuuuurn. That dude was an amazing ganker with a terrible attitude lol. He had a special way of insta-gibbing, and I remember also being very pleased with myself when I instinctively blocked a second before he ganked me (easily survived that).

Ya, it is fun being the gankee. You get to witness the overwhelming successes and crippling failures of players alike lol, depending on how it goes.

Sheezabeast

geonsocal wrote: »

@Sheezabeast ...solid points - all things being perfect (skills, gear, location, target), it really shouldn't be a fair fight, and the whole shooting match should be over in under 5 seconds...

I have 8 active characters in cyro...some wear all light (with a bunch of impen armor traits, plus cp in crit resistance), some only have around 20k health (my own NB, plus a magsorc)...

honestly, it's probably less than 20% of the attacks that are successful (most of those are on my horse )...when I'm ready - i spend a lot of time dancing on rocks outside of keeps, resources, and my favorite spot now - outposts, lots and lots of folks lurking around outposts these days...

very rarely does someone get me out of there in 3 shots or less, by then i can defend - granted, I might not be able to find the person that hit me..but, a lot of times that I unstealth - they'll be friendlies in stealth nearby...

I will say this - my survivability rate from stealth attacks go waaaaay down in IC...I'm lucky to survive a third of the time there...it's exciting and fun though...

most importantly - freakin awesome shot of clouseau and kato...happy times watching those movies when I was young...

ya IC changes your whole awareness of your surroundings and you gotta manage your inventory at the same time, multi tasking at its cut-throatiest

WhiteMage wrote: »

Maybe my happiest moment in ESO was hitting Zergbad with a scorching flare and watching him buuuuuurn. That dude was an amazing ganker with a terrible attitude lol. He had a special way of insta-gibbing, and I remember also being very pleased with myself when I instinctively blocked a second before he ganked me (easily survived that).

Ya, it is fun being the gankee. You get to witness the overwhelming successes and crippling failures of players alike lol, depending on how it goes.

I have had many friends get hate whispered from him for pulling him out of stealth, he raged so so much! But later he got banned for using cheat engine, so he will never be awesome in my book though.

runagate

Since this thread's title is a reference to Strangelove may I point out that he, too, was a proponent of the preemptive strike.





And worried about the purity of his fluids.






And a N a z i . (edited because the forum censored National Socialist but in this particular case it is straightforwardly true)

wazzz56

geonsocal wrote: »

so here's the thing - i understand that a lot of the better stealth players have a "list", sure they take easy targets of opportunity...but, for the most part they're out there hunting folks on the leader boards or people that have annoyed them in the past...

as I said in the past - i'm so low on the political/social totem pole, it feels like i got dirt covering my face...I'm fine with that...

I know only a very small portion of the players on my map are involved with the forums (they probably just enjoy spending more time playing than writing about it)...

I'm just hoping to show up on some of our better players hit list

@geonsocal

Just dusted off my Khajit NB, maybe I will come and say hi

geonsocal

wazzz56 wrote: »

@geonsocal

Just dusted off my Khajit NB, maybe I will come and say hi

hey @wazzz56 ...

sorry man - i'm 50 something going on 15

yes, please do dust off your AD old man waz...that's perfect - i'm gonna be playing my DC DK for a couple of more nights...

i finally stopped trying to switch up my characters all the time in cyro - it just got too difficult...so, i'll stay with the same character now for 2 or 3 days straight - much, much easier to compete...

warning for your cat though - i'm a tough mouse to kill...even more so cuz i'm gonna upgrade his armor from level 16 to level 24 tonight...i also need to bump up his jewelry - realized last night i was still wearing a level 8 prophet's recollection ring...yeah, that ain't gonna cut it...

it's funny - i pretty much suck at dueling...i think i'm 0 for 4 since 1T rolled out, back when all the dueling was in the arena district and some quiet spots in cyro - i was barely scratching 50% (my last duel in IC i got spanked hard with two of my "tougher" characters by some sorc whom had about 100 less cp then me - that was humbling )...

i don't know what it is, but, throw in some chaos in the form of buildings, trees, rocks and some random players - and i'm a little bit beastly

only tough thing is - i'm out here in cali, so i don't usually get on til around 9 pst...hope to see you out there sir...

geonsocal

runagate wrote: »

Since this thread's title is a reference to Strangelove may I point out that he, too, was a proponent of the preemptive strike.

And worried about the purity of his fluids.

oh yeah - gotta beware of fluoridation...
https://youtu.be/Qr2bSL5VQgM
man, sellers was a genius...

and yes, while in cyro or IC - i'm not particularly that interested in looking for a "fair" fight (other than VD or Affliction - i haven't geared up in any proc sets though - not that i'm judging, just thought i'd throw that out there)...

wazzz56

geonsocal wrote: »

wazzz56 wrote: »

@geonsocal

Just dusted off my Khajit NB, maybe I will come and say hi

hey @wazzz56 ...

sorry man - i'm 50 something going on 15

yes, please do dust off your AD old man waz...that's perfect - i'm gonna be playing my DC DK for a couple of more nights...

i finally stopped trying to switch up my characters all the time in cyro - it just got too difficult...so, i'll stay with the same character now for 2 or 3 days straight - much, much easier to compete...

warning for your cat though - i'm a tough mouse to kill...even more so cuz i'm gonna upgrade his armor from level 16 to level 24 tonight...i also need to bump up his jewelry - realized last night i was still wearing a level 8 prophet's recollection ring...yeah, that ain't gonna cut it...

it's funny - i pretty much suck at dueling...i think i'm 0 for 4 since 1T rolled out, back when all the dueling was in the arena district and some quiet spots in cyro - i was barely scratching 50% (my last duel in IC i got spanked hard with two of my "tougher" characters by some sorc whom had about 100 less cp then me - that was humbling )...

i don't know what it is, but, throw in some chaos in the form of buildings, trees, rocks and some random players - and i'm a little bit beastly

only tough thing is - i'm out here in cali, so i don't usually get on til around 9 pst...hope to see you out there sir...

@geonsocal been playing my lvl 35 magblade, fun playing on a lowbie toon....and I may make it a late night to come say hi! Delaware here so it will be late, but cats have good night vision .......and dont worry, no proc sets on him

geonsocal

big thanks to the three folks whom tested my armor and resistance and tried to solo gank me outside of BRK...

one got away - pretty slick moving seeing how there were another couple of friendlies searching for them also...

happened to have a NB bounty at the time another player tried...got credit for them...

can't remember if the third got away or died...

yeah, i've never really tried to build for "burst" - i'd rather stay alive a little longer...

appreciate the effort though

Hallothiel

Don't mind being ganked when there is some skill involved. But do mind when only small amount ofskill demonstrated & rest is the bloody armour going off.....

runningtings

As regards the hit list thing, I like that approach.
Got killed by about 10 AD last night and one of those heroes t-bagged me, so I rezzed in the nearby keep and got back out to find him.
Needless to say I got him.

Nothing more satisfying than revenge...

There's also a notorious wee boy who likes to send whispers, nothing better than taking him out and enjoying the silence.