Okay after f2p hit ive been noticing more and more bads in warzones.. now in most WZs this does not bother me as they can be won with 1-2 smart players but the area i have a problem with this is huttball. The reason is people just like to DM it out on all parts of the map. In one case today a Vanguard used his pull while standing in our goal line and cost us the game , when we asked why he claimed he could have " burned him down".

So i am making this guide on how to be usefull in a huttball , even if you just want to death-match it.

Stay with your ball handler

Now this rule can be broken at times but in general you want to stay with you ball handler at ALL TIMES. The reason being that if anyone happens to attack him , he will have someone to pass to before he dies and will have " body guards" per say in case anyone tries to kill him.

Use your class abilitys

Another way you can help the team is using the abilitys your class comes with , for sentinels it is transcendence which can give you and your team ( the ball handler ) an extra boost of speed to either get the ball first when the match first starts , or to charge the handler to the goal line. Sentinels also have many team abilitys in the combat spec ( roots that dont give resolve!) as there are many sentinels out there this shouldn't be such a hard rule to follow. Awe is also essential when trying to peel for your handler.

Consulars also have nice utility to carry the team as well. Sages have the rescue ability which is usefull for plenty of reasons ( pulling ball handlers to safety , to the goal , ect). And shadows have their pull ability which is useful for dragging enemy handlers into the fire , away from the goal , ect.

Dont give the ball handler resolve If you see that your handler is getting focused and he is stunned please dont stun him again. This may seem like common sense but i cant tell you how many times i see players all Focusing the handler and throw 6-7 stuns on him at a time. A good rule to follow is if the handler is already stunned wait 1 second after he is back up and if he is not stunned by this time then stun him again. Sometimes you do not have this amount of time to think and see if he is / is not stunned but when you can , try to pay attention.

Be in the right place at the right time

Remember how i said that its good to follow the ball handler 24/7? well that is not completely true. there are certain points ( namely 3 ) in a game where you should be away from the handler and open for a pass / pull.

When your handler is passing the fire it is a good idea to go to the other side so you can take a pass and not risk your handler being CC 'ed to death on the fire pit. Once you drop down to the bottom catwalk where the second fire pit leading to the goal line is , an ally should set him / herself up for a pass as well. Many times in matches you cant rely on just tanking the ball to the other side of the map , when you are out geared this becomes almost impossible so setting up for a pass across the map is vital.

Sages should always look be in front of the pack as their rescue ability comes in handy in almost in sanario. Leap-frogs should aswell look for chances to leap to an enemy while at the same time setting up for a pass.

How to be a ball handler

One of the most important jobs in huttball is being the handler , you cannot always blame your allies if you die constantly so here is how to do it right.

-Dont run the ball shishys

With many classes it is sometimes best that you simply pass the ball to an ally. If you are a shishy DPS who will get burned quickly then its best to pass to the tank , or a leapfrog instead. Many tanks will let everyone know that they are a tank before the match starts so its good to pay attention.

-Dont be a ball hog

In huttball its better to be safe than sorry. I had to learn this the hard way. Once on my shadow tank in 10-49 pvp , i was running the ball with 17k hp , now this is alot more than the average 10-49 bracket HP. As i was making my way to the enemy goal , an ally told me to pass but i didnt listen. He got into the endzone jumping for a pass but i still didnt pass. As i was about 4 meters away from the line a PT pulled me into the fire and the game was lost all because of me. It is VERY i repeat VERY important not to be a ball hog , look for any available passes to allys , even if you think you can make it , if there is an easier way , take it.

Well im about out of writing time , so ill be adding on to this more later but please give me feedback on this guide.

And Horribads study up please.

Agreed, staying near the carrier is the biggest one.

Even a DPS you should get open for possible passes. Nobody expects you to run middle to end zone, but if you are off by yourself fighting a duel 100m away from the ball carrier, nine times out of ten, you are wrong.

When i'm using my guardian, I tend to switch to soresu when on offense, to either throw a guard on the ball carrier or give myself a few more global cooldowns of life

I'd question the "stay near the ball carrier" one, only in that don't stay *too* near the ball carrier. I'd say, stay near enough for a pass, but get out in front of him/her. If everyone is staying right beside the carrier trying to DPS down or CC the enemy that's attacking her, and the ball carrier tries to pass... well, everyone, including the enemy, is all right there in a pile. It'll be anyone's guess who the ball goes to when the pass happens.

Even as a tank, with my guard on the carrier, I try to run ahead of them. Granted, my health might be dropping right along with theirs, but in some PUGs I'm the only person they'll have in range to pass to.

In the last twoo weeks ive seen it all,Guardians running up to me a scoundrel and start bashing the guy next to me.

Half the team in the pit fighting two guys.

And lastly people not using their buff's,and get this got on one of my lowby alts mid 20's and these new guys are not even buffing themselves while questing:eek:

I'd question the "stay near the ball carrier" one, only in that don't stay *too* near the ball carrier. I'd say, stay near enough for a pass, but get out in front of him/her. If everyone is staying right beside the carrier trying to DPS down or CC the enemy that's attacking her, and the ball carrier tries to pass... well, everyone, including the enemy, is all right there in a pile. It'll be anyone's guess who the ball goes to when the pass happens.

 

Even as a tank, with my guard on the carrier, I try to run ahead of them. Granted, my health might be dropping right along with theirs, but in some PUGs I'm the only person they'll have in range to pass to.

The best Hutball's and players in Hutball never group up except on rare times going after the carrier,,as soon as someone on your team gets the ball your team should basicly be trying to get open aside from a few classes Gunslingers/Snipers etc,, and trying to move the ball forward in passes and using CC's like you said to slow the reaction of the other team,that means NO ATTACKING! lol,but hey they will "Get it" hopefully.

A good rule to follow is if the handler is already stunned wait 1 second after he is back up and if he is not stunned by this time then stun him again.

If you have any sort of enemy pull on your team....PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. You will white bar him before your team's defensive pullers will get in range for a pull. Don't stun people in random places...save their resolve for when they're trying to cross fire traps, or for fire pulls if you have them.

This may be what you're trying to say - but the way it's written, it sounds like you're saying "wait for the first stun to wear off, then stun him again." Not a good idea.

If I have to say don't stand on the ledge by the pit one more time.....NERD RAAAAAAGE!!!!

..and please, get ahead of the ball handler. Pass, baby, pass.

What I see a lot is the opening strat utterly fall apart if the other team gets the ball first. We might set up sages and stealthers for pulls/passes/leaps but if you don't get the ball first, suddenly everyone is trying to chase and kill the enemy ball carrier. Before you know it, your whole team is on your half of the map, the other team scores, and they get the ball again.

You are much better off eating a point and controlling mid so you can grab the ball when it resets for 1 or more points. Too bad most teams lose 1+ players when the other team scores first...

As i was about 4 meters away from the line a PT pulled me into the fire and the game was lost all because of me. It is VERY i repeat VERY important not to be a ball hog , look for any available passes to allys , even if you think you can make it , if there is an easier way , take it.

I couldn't even say how many times this has happened to me. At first for just for being a n00b and not passing, more recently out of necessity because no one else was around. But still kills me every time I get killed inches from the goal line. So close, yet so far away. It's an lolwtf moment. So pass it even if you think you can make it.

Found out something new just the other night, you can't suicide score as a leaper either. We were way ahead otherwise I wouldn't have chanced it but I leaped to a re-spawner who didn't drop down yet and was shooting at me. I thought I would score then die because the goal line comes before the insta-death line. No doesn't work that way apparently. You die, no score and the ball is reset.

If I have to say don't stand on the ledge by the pit one more time.....NERD RAAAAAAGE!!!!

 

..and please, get ahead of the ball handler. Pass, baby, pass.

If I got a cartel coin for every time i've had to say, don't let them leap to you, only to watch the Juggernaut leap to them a couple minutes later and waltz into the end zone, i'd have every rare item in the market!

KeithStones Guide to Playing Huttball:

- Remember the high ground is key. Always stand on the edge of your goal pew pewing into the pit. It's not like anyone can jump to you.

- Goals are for lameos who play soccer kills are what this game is all about.

- Passes are for weaklings. You saved your respective faction, you can certainly handle these 8 goobers.

- It's cold in the Huttball arena stick close to the fire.

- There is no such thing as too many stuns. As soon as you see that ball carrier unleash all your CC's at once.

Similarly to strategic stuns/ccs, try not to use your CC breaker when you are not full resolve. This is extremely important, to me, as a ballcarrier (to get out of fire, to get out of stunlock and a quick pass just as I die...etc). As I have a cleanse (sage) I rarely use my breaker for roots or slows unless I'm a step from the goal line and cleanse is on gcd.

One thing I've tossed out if I see people scattered about fighting is: If you are bent on just fighting people (usually in a hurry so I don't add "and ignore trying to actually win the match"), at least do it in the middle to help control the ball.

Props to the OP for making an informative and helpful thread, and to those that keep adding good info. I've seen more of these (at the top) lately and am glad to see people either refresh old tips or post new ones on the forums.

If you have any sort of enemy pull on your team....PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. You will white bar him before your team's defensive pullers will get in range for a pull. Don't stun people in random places...save their resolve for when they're trying to cross fire traps, or for fire pulls if you have them.

 

This may be what you're trying to say - but the way it's written, it sounds like you're saying "wait for the first stun to wear off, then stun him again." Not a good idea.

no no , im talking about on major areas where the ball handler would be stunned , next to your goal , On the fire pits , in the pool , ect

I'd question the "stay near the ball carrier" one, only in that don't stay *too* near the ball carrier. I'd say, stay near enough for a pass, but get out in front of him/her. If everyone is staying right beside the carrier trying to DPS down or CC the enemy that's attacking her, and the ball carrier tries to pass... well, everyone, including the enemy, is all right there in a pile. It'll be anyone's guess who the ball goes to when the pass happens.

 

Even as a tank, with my guard on the carrier, I try to run ahead of them. Granted, my health might be dropping right along with theirs, but in some PUGs I'm the only person they'll have in range to pass to.

Yes i realize there are many other things i left out , but keep in mind this is for pugs and i try to keep it as simple as possible for the f2pers and he players who only subscribed at f2p. aka bads

no no , im talking about on major areas where the ball handler would be stunned , next to your goal , On the fire pits , in the pool , ect

Good to know. Thought that may have been what you meant, but it kind of read differently.