Guild Wars released an statement to introduce the NPCs in Guild-versus-Guild combat. The NPCs in GvG are not only decorative arts in the batttle any more, they can assist your guild to defense the opponents? attack or take your guild at the upper hand in the battle.

Introduction

Non-player characters (NPCs) play a vital role in any Guild-versus-Guild combat. Teams use them to gain an offensive advantage over opponents, or use them defensively to make a stand and regroup after a setback. In an otherwise balanced fight, smart use of computer-controlled allies could give you that slight edge you need to overwhelm the opposition.

NPC layout depends on which guild hall you fight in. Some halls include a small group of Footmen and Archers that guard the front gate. Keep these alive to deter intruders sneaking around to flank you from a side path or from getting in your front gate while you fight elsewhere. Additional Archer NPCs like to stand guard on the upper walkways of guild halls and protect the entrances, though their exact location varies with different maps. Deep inside the guild hall a main group of Archers, Knights, and a Bodyguard surrounds the Guild Lord.

With the exception of the Guild Lord, these non-player characters have 480 Health and armor equivalent for their level and profession. Other elements of game play, such as Hexes and Enchantments, affect NPCs just the same as player characters. As befitting his status, the Guild Lord has extra Health and five pips of Health regeneration. Making him even harder to kill, he naturally resists Hexes and Conditions, which last half as long on him, and he even deals bonus damage to other NPCs.

The Guild Lord also has a special defensive property that diminishes over time. At the start of the match the Guild Lord can take no more than 50 damage per second. Once he takes 50 damage in a given second, any more damage in the same second is simply negated. By the 15 minute mark this has increased to no more than 250 damage per second.

 

NPC profiles

Guild Lord
Health: 2400
Skills: Cleave, Cyclone Axe, Power Shot, Warrior?s Cunning

Thief
Health: 480
Skills: Claim Resource (for unlocking gates)

Bodyguard
Health: 480
Skills: Glyph of Energy, Fire Attunement, Fireball, Firestorm, Incendiary Bonds, Maelstrom, Oath of Healing (only heals the Guild Lord)

Archer
Health: 480
Skills: Pin Down, Troll Unguent

Footman
Health: 480
Skills: Sever Artery

Knight
Health: 480
Skills: Sever Artery, Gash, Healing Signet, Power Attack

 

NPC Strategy

NPCs attack when enemies come into range, so guilds should always pay attention to where they are fighting. If your team is in an offensive position at the flag stand (meaning you?ve pushed past the flag stand and are closer to the enemy base than your own), watch out for enemy Footmen and Archers inflicting damage on your team. And if you have to take a defensive position, make sure that you fall back enough so that your own NPCs engage the enemy. Many guilds try to kill the NPCs in front of the guild hall as soon as possible to reduce this extra damage.

NPCs can also be lured or kited out to make killing them easier. While fighting near the flag stand it is possible to pull out a Footman by closing on him until he attacks and then drawing him back towards the rest of your party. This type of kiting can be especially important if the enemy has turtled into their Guild Lord and you need to kill surrounding Archers, Knights, or the Bodyguard.