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As with almost all games played on the Burning Isle, the first action by both teams was to proceed from their base to the center of the map and pick a fight on the ledge overlooking the flag stand. Benecia Renovatio's Rangers and their pets set to attacking Esoteric Warriors' softer targets, while their Smiting Monks assisted from the mid-lines by casting Enchantments with Zealot's Fire up. The Protection Monks healed, and RenO's Elementalist took on the job of flag runner when not debuffing enemy Warriors. Esoteric Warriors also sent its melee players in to deal pressure damage and backed them up with Zealot's Fire from its single Smiting Monk. Its Mesmer traded in disruption, and like RenO, EW's Elementalist served as flag runner. In the early stages of the game, EW managed to earn a slight lead by killing the same Smiting Monk several times, but the stalemate remained with neither team able to overpower the other.  Zealot's Fire Zealot's FireMonk - Smiting Prayers - Enchantment Spell Energy: 10 Activation: 0.25 Duration: 60 Recharge: 30 Enchantment Spell. For 60 seconds, whenever you use a Skill that targets an ally, all foes adjacent to that target are struck for 5..35 fire damage and you lose 1 Energy. The game shifted around 11:00, after EW scored a kill on a Protection Monk and used that momentum to drop several more RenO players. RenO was put on the defensive by 12:00 and fell back to the bridge outside of its base as EW gained a morale boost. Unfortunately for RenO, it wasn't able to hold that point, and by 14:00, it was forced into its base by the Guild Lord. EW advanced on RenO's base at 16:00 and scored a steady stream of kills. The only thing that slowed EW's headway were the base NPCs, which dealt too much damage for them to stay inside for more than a few seconds. At 19:20, a Warrior died attempting to kill a Bodyguard, but a number of morale boosts left EW in good shape to try again. At 20:25, RenO's last Bodyguard died, making its base much safer for EW. This development resulted in a quick series of kills that left RenO with only two Rangers alive at 21:45, when its last Protection Monk was slain. The Guild Lord was killed before RenO could give it any support at 22:05, ending the game in a victory for EW. Game 2 This time the game took place on the home turf of Esoteric Warriors, ironically also located on the Burning Isle. This time, it was The Benacio Renovatio who brought a more balanced build, while Esoteric Warriors used a Feast of Corruption spike build. This build excels at head-to-head 8v8 fights in maps that are hard to split on, like the Burning Isle. Regardless of what conventional wisdom dictates, however, RenO was able to survive to split and forced EW to hole up in its base until Victory or Death. Eventually, though, the fight became a straight head-to-head confrontation, and RenO was overpowered, giving EW its second victory. Game 2 Lineup
The match diverged from the norm early on. Both teams headed toward the flag stand, but the actual fighting was subdued, with EW's build using Hexes that mitigated the damage RenO's melee characters dealt. Each Necromancer had brought Monk skills for healing and support, and the entire team was also protected by Ritualist Spirits. RenO's build lacked interruption aside from one Mesmer, making a well-coordinated Feast of Corruption spike hard to deal with head-on. On top of this, the constantly dying Spirits fuelled the Necromancers with enough Energy to fire spells constantly without taking their Energy to 0. Head to head, RenO's more balance-oriented build was at a big disadvantage, but its Assassin and Mesmer/Assassin made it possible to get past EW and attack the NPCs inside of their base.  Recall RecallAssassin - No Attribute - Enchantment Spell Energy: 15 Activation: 1 Duration: upkeep Recharge: 10 Enchantment Spell. While you maintain Recall, nothing happens. When Recall ends, you Shadow Step to the ally you targeted when you activated this skill. Using Assassin teleportation skills to help run past EW's team, the Assassin and Mesmer were able to reach the base while the rest of RenO distracted EW at the flag stand. Unfortunately, RenO's remaining offensive characters weren't able to harry EW enough to make them ignore the players inside their base. Since EW's Necromancers were not equipped to defeat opponents one-on-one, the entire team fell back on the Assassin and Mesmer, killing them at 8:01 and 8:39, respectively. Cautious of the split, EW played defensively, mostly staying inside its base. RenO was also cautious of EW's spike, and for about fifteen minutes the game was mainly small skirmishes, with only three deaths. It was a sure bet that the game would go to Victory or Death once the clock hit 20:00, and RenO stepped up its efforts to assault EW's base. RenO frequently lost players to the powerful spikes but did manage to make a little headway against EW's NPCs. Ultimately, RenO was able to shrug off the deaths. Death Penalties or exhausted Resurrection Signets were removed or restored by the constant morale boosts RenO received. When Victory or Death sounded at 30:00, each team clustered with its NPCs and advanced to the flag stand as a group. In terms of the number of NPCs remaining, RenO had a clear advantage. The remainder of EW's base NPC garrison were killed before the spike team had a chance to clear out RenO's NPCs.  Feast of Corruption Feast of Corruption [Elite]Necromancer - Curses - Spell Energy: 15 Activation: 2 Recharge: 20 Spell. Target foe and all adjacent foes are struck for 16..80 shadow damage. You steal up to 8..40 Health from each struck foe who is suffering from a Hex. The Guild Lords from both teams began walking toward the flag stand at 35:00, and the fight at the stand intensified a hundredfold. EW had finished off most of RenO's NPCs at this point and was free to use its spike. RenO killed one of EW's Necromancers at 36:24, but he was resurrected in short order, and the spikes punched through RenO's defenses faster and faster. In the stretch of time from 35:00 to 40:00, RenO suffered an incredible 12 player deaths. Even with constant morale boosts, their death penalty was climbing fast, and simple survival became impossibly chaotic. From 40:00 to 41:00, RenO's defenses were so ragged and its death penalty so high that the majority of the team was being killed within seconds of each other. One Protection Monk remained alive when EW turned its attention toward the Guild Lord. The damage was too high and too heavy for one Monk to keep up with for very long, and at 42:04 RenO's Guild Lord died, ending the second game and winning the match for EW 2–0, earning them a place in the semi-finals.     |
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Match Report
