The Complete Guide to Downstate & Stomping in Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 has a unique combat mechanic, Downstate. In this guide we will learn about how to deal with it and make optimal decisions based on each situations. Another thing we will go over on is kiting, the main way to not go in Downstate.

Downstate happens after someone healthbar is depleated.

When Downed, you will be unable to move and gain a new healthbar three times your base one, starting at 50%. You get three skills based on your class, and which will slowly give yourself Health. Reaching 100% Health in Downstate will revive you.

Your allies can interact with you and Revive you, either by being next to you and pressing their interact keybind (default:F), which will raise your Health until it reaches 100% where you will fully Revive, or using an instant Revive skill like .

Enemies can Finish you while you're Downed, casting an animation which, if finished, will instantly kill you. They can also damage you until your Downed healthbar is empty.

The 2 skill while in Downstate will always help you avoid it, by either providing a Crowd Control or a teleport.

When Revived you come back with 50% of your Health.

When Finishing a Downed target by interacting with it.

Crowd Control is the main way to cancel Stomping, as such you should always use Stability or Blocks when Stomping. Stealth is also another option.

Stomping a target can backfire quickly in a teamfight. A squishy player should never stomp as the animation lock is too long to ensure you will survive the entire cast.

Stomping should only be done in teamfights, by someone rather tanky as you will be left casting for a few seconds, a support or duelist are usually the best roles to do it.

• If a teamfighter or roamer want to finish, it's usually best they use their Damage on top of the Downed target.
• If the teamfight is already over, make sure not to Finish your enemies. Letting them slowly bleed out will gain you precious time where you can outnumber the enemy team on the map.

When winning a duel you should always prioritize the node you were fighting for first.

• If you got the kill on node, quickly Stomp to capture as fast as possible. In the case your class can Knockback a Downed enemy, you should Knockback and move to the next step.
• If you killed off the node, simply let them bleed as long as possible while keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't Self-Revive.

Rallying is a mechanic which brings back a Downed player instantly. It happens when a target hit by a Downed player gets Finished, by either Damage or Stomp.

This mechanic makes Finishing opponents in teamfights really important. Teamfights can swing one way or another simply with a good Stomp and Rally.

The unique downstate brings flavor to teamfight and snowballing in Guild Wars 2. Using it correctly will give you precious time and points in every game. It is a simple skill to learn but is usefulness up to the highest level !