Guild of the Week: Bring Back the Rifts (Rift)

Once upon a time, those who sought the glory of battling for the Hall of Heroes would first have to battle the Rift Wardens. Soon, however, the great hand of ArenaNet slew the wardens, replacing them with spirits. It was then that a group of travelers and adventurers formed a new guild called Bring Back the Rifts. It was their fervent hope that the guild's name would be transmitted throughout the lands and their pleas answered: that the forces that banished the Rift Wardens would bring them back once more.

The goal of Bring Back the Rifts [Rift] is simple: to have fun and win while doing so, and to hasten the day when the Rift Wardens will once again summon their little minions to assault the Ghostly Hero. At the same time, Rift tries to create builds that are counter to the meta-game, preferring not to run builds that are just like everyone else's. Currently the guild has a total of seventeen members, most of whom play PvP combat—the guild's main focus—on a daily basis.

PvP Team Build: Guild-versus-Guild Hard-Offense

• Monk/Necromancer: Blood Magic (10), Divine Favor (15), Protection Prayers (10); Offering of Blood [E], Divine Boon, Holy Veil, Contemplation of Purity, Protective Spirit, Mend Ailment, Guardian, Reversal of Fortune.
• Monk/Warrior: Healing Prayers (16), Divine Favor (12), Tactics (6); Word of Healing [E], Healing Touch, Mend Ailment, Infuse Health, Orison of Healing, Dwayna's Kiss, Balanced Stance, Heal Party.
• Ranger/Warrior: Marksmanship (12), Wilderness Survival (11), Expertise (14), Tactics (1); Crippling Shot [E], Savage Shot, Distracting Shot, Apply Poison, Dodge, Troll Unguent, Balanced Stance, Resurrection Signet.
• Ranger/Warrior: Hammer Mastery (12), Beast Mastery (14), Expertise (9); Hammer Bash, Irresistible Blow, Ferocious Strike [E], Disrupting Lunge, Charm Animal, Comfort Animal, Call of Haste, Tiger's Fury.
• Necromancer/Ranger: Death Magic (16), Soul Reaping (13); Tainted Flesh [E], Deathly Swarm, Verata's Sacrifice, Summon Bone Fiends, Summon Bone Minions, Taste of Death, Death Nova, Resurrection Signet.
• Elementalist/Ranger: Fire Magic (16), Beast Mastery (9), Energy Storage (10); Glyph of Renewal [E], Rodgort's Invocation, Incendiary Bonds, Meteor, Glyph of Concentration, Spirit of Energizing Winds, Charm Animal, Resurrection Signet
• Elementalist/Ranger: Fire Magic (16), Beast Mastery (9), Energy Storage (10); Glyph of Renewal [E], Rodgort's Invocation, Incendiary Bonds, Meteor, Glyph of Concentration, Spirit of Energizing Winds, Charm Animal, Resurrection Signet
• Warrior/Ranger: Hammer Mastery (16), Strength (11), Beast Mastery (8); Devastating Hammer [E], Crushing Blow, Mighty Blow, Hammer Bash, Tiger's Fury, Comfort Animal, Charm Animal, Resurrection Signet.

This build revolves around a simple concept: hit them hard, hit them until they're down, then do it again until they can't get up again! Between the Warrior, the "bunny-thumper" Ranger/Warrior, the Elementalists, and all the Poison and Disease, enemies start dying very quickly. The death of the Ranger's pets help this along, since they get Death Nova'd and turned into fiends and minions before getting revived with Comfort Animal. This tried-and-true (and fun!) build to play is the work of Shinobi, one of Rift's officers, who specializes in off-the-wall builds, most especially hard-offense.

This build uses a trick that can be called "chain-burn." With Glyph of Renewal active, cast Rodgort's Invocation on a target, followed by Incendiary Bonds. Time the Meteor to land as soon as Incendiary Bonds triggers, and then follow up with another Rodgort's Invocation. The result? Nine seconds of area-effect burning and a lot of area-effect damage!

The main weakness of this build is likely an opposing build that can force the team to split its forces - as this build is designed to be used as a singular offensive front and cannot as effectively split.

GvG Tips

The Rifts guild offers the following tips and strategies for GvG combat:

• When acting as flag-runner, always keep track of the time if both you and your opponent have captured the flag stand. 
• Communicate to your team how detrimental it is to push a flag when stressed for time. The losses you may incur in retaking the Flag Stand might be equivalent to the morale boost your opponent would have gained. 
• Know your limits and understand your purpose as a flag-runner. When matched with a gank—that is, a group aiming to attack your guild hall or Guild Lord—determine whether or not you should engage in a battle within the base, or whether it would be more important to push a flag. 
• When matched with an overwhelming base assault that would impede your ability to freely run flags, ask your team for assistance. Generally, you should try to match the opposing gank team with the best viable counter or similarity in classes that would allow your team to spend the least amount of time fighting off the assault as possible. 
• Never give up. Realize that not all battles at the flag stand can always be won, but have a back-up plan for the times that you are overwhelmed at the flag stand. Generally, a split of some kind is best. In some instances, you can assign a player who has self-survivability and who can clear NPCs from the enemy's guild hall to split. You may also choose to send someone because they have the capacity to stall your opponent's flag-running, typically by using snares or knock downs.
• On maps with catapults, look at the base assault tactic as more of a morale-holding opportunity. Do not play recklessly, however, as this alerts the opposing team that something is going on, forcing them to compensate for it. If the opportunity to snare or knock down a flag runner presents itself, communicate this to a teammate who can then launch the catapult at the griefed flag runner, all but guaranteeing a morale boost for your team. 
• Prior to entering a match, talk about how you intend to handle, adapt to, and capitalize on specific situations. Generally, you want to have the ability to deal with a one/two/three/four-man gank directly in your base without losing the ability to run flags. 
• Prepare for VoD. Some of the most common mistakes you will see at Victory or Death are simply the result of no preparation. Realize that the game has not yet been won, and know how you intend to handle a base assault without losing your ground in the center. In general, a team that is not dominant at this point in the match should have a plan to send off about two or three offensive characters to a base in hopes of quickly eliminating the Guild Lord. A very common mistake teams make here is losing their ability to stand their ground or push flags to the center.
  

Player Profiles

Get to know some of the members of the Rifts.

• Handle: Morty Seinfeld
  Location: Arizona, USA
  Gaming Background: Diverse
  Preferred Character: I prefer to play a passive caster or griefer such as the Mesmer. Lately I have been a front-line caller for matches, as well as working on positioning and situational awareness.
• Handle: Zero Nexus
  Location: Georgia, USA
  Gaming Background: RPGs
  Preferred Character: Monking around is by far my favorite. All classes are fun to play, though. Generally, I play Monk in tombs and a damage dealer in GvG. is where I Monk and in GvG I play as a damage dealer.
• Handle: Diet Dew
  Location: Florida, USA
  Gaming Background: PvP-focused MMOs
  Preferred Character: My passion lies with Monking. Keeping people alive is fun and challenging.
• Handle: Silly Dilly
  Location: Arizona, USA
  Gaming Background: FPS, MMOs
  Preferred Character: I enjoy playing Ranger the most, but I enjoy playing every class. My favorite skill is Disrupting Lunge, because having a pet adds good DPS, and the cool-down makes Disrupting Lunge annoying and spammable. I enjoy playing Ranger because of its ability to adapt to most play styles as well as be a key assisting character who has the ability to turn around frustrating situations.
• Handle: Flame Shinobi
  Location: Texas, USA
  Gaming Background: MMOs
  Preferred Character: Offensive caster, mainly a Pyromancer.
• Handle: Jiresa Bloodmoon
  Location: Washington, USA
  Gaming Background: FPS, RTS
  Preferred Character: Generally, I play Warrior or Ranger. For GvG, I usually play the flag-runner, and it's usually a Crippling Shot Ranger of some sort.
• Handle: Rm
  Location: California, USA
  Gaming Background: PvP, MMOs, and FPS
  Preferred Character: I can play any position needed; I'm proficient in all professions and can fill any spot needed. Currently, I play one of the Fire Elementalists in our pressure build.
• Handle: Party
  Location: California, USA
  Gaming Background: CCGs, RPGs, and RTS.
  Preferred Character: I like playing any proactive role, anything other than Mesmer, Ranger, or Healer.
• Handle: Embryo Pvpstyle
  Location: Israel
  Gaming Background: PvP, RTS, and FPS
  Preferred Character: I play just about everything except for interrupts, because I stink at them. My general play style is hyper-aggressive, which leads to very quick losses and very quick wins, which I happen to enjoy. I usually play (and most enjoy playing) damage/utility in PvP, using skills like Price of Failure and Spirit of Failure as utility that also deals damage, and degen-based skills.
• Handle: Mastiah Tane
  Location: Texas, USA
  Gaming Background: Primarily FPS
  Preferred Character: Monk/Mesmer for PvP and Monk/Ranger for training and PvE.
• Handle: Trevor Reznik
  Location: Illinois, USA
  Gaming Background: MMOs, FPS, and RTS
  Preferred Character: Preferably Warrior, but any offense or Infuse Monk.