A Warrior/Guardian Guide on how to stick to the commander tag

This is a work in progress guide/tips for warriors and guardians on how to stick to the commander tag as close as possible. Take note that these are my personal techniques and playstyle. If you see something that you like, please use it and if there's something you'd like to add then please comment. Well, lets start.
 
Important Utility/Weapon Requirements
To easily stick to the commander, you will need these things available from your utilities or weapons:

• Swiftness: If you don't have 33% increase to your speed when moving with the commander, you will most likely lag behind. Guardian staff symbol of swiftness and Warrior warhorn will provide excellent speed buffs.
   
• Gap closers: In those moments when you are behind the commander due to lag, texting or derping in a lapse of concentration, you will need gap closers to make up for it. Guardians have greatsword skill 3 and Warriors have on-hand sword 2.
   
• Stability/Stun Breakers: This is an obvious one. If you get CC'ed and the commander is still moving, you're going to fall behind. Guardians and Warriors have a lot of stun breakers and stability available to their utilities. If you're not using any, you're doing it very wrong.

Game Options
You can have the best build for a class but little things like personal options and controls can make all the difference in distinguishing between an average player from a good player. I'll explain the option choices that matter in combat and staying close to the commander:
 
User Interface:
- Show All Enemy Names: On
You need to see where the enemy is, where you want to damage or where you want to position yourself to stay out of damage.
- Show All Player Names: On
You also need to see your allies so you know where you can take refuge for safety in numbers, and not to overextend.
- Show Skill Recharge: On
Knowing exactly when your skills are on cooldown is a must in helping you make decisions on movement. Don't roll into a zerg hoping to survive if you have all your stun breakers and stability and leaps on cooldown. 
- Simple Party UI:
Turn this on if your computer monitor is small. More space to see things.
 
Camera:
- Rotation Speed: Max
All commanders make sharp turns and to keep up you'll need to be able to make those sharp turns with them. A higher rotation speed on your camera lets you do more extreme angled turns. Do not have this low or you will NOT be able to keep up on turns. Train yourself to get used to this option if it is too fast. 
- Enable Camera Shake: Off
Ew. Headaches. Turn it off. Less precision when your screen shakes. Bad for your eyes.
- Use Free Camera: On
When you want to run in one direction but look around, hold left mouse click and move the camera around to look around you. Right click to reset to face forward. This is useful to move in one direction, but look in another.
 
Combat/Movement:
- Double-Tap to Evade: Off
For precise movement, you'll need to sometimes tap the WSAD keys and you do not want to waste a dodge on a double tap to position your character. This is the most annoying default option of Guild Wars 2 and if you want to be MLG pro in staying on the commander, turn this kitten off. Bind the dodge key to your mouse.
- Click to Interact or Attack (two options): Both Off
When this is on, it's annoying when you click and you suddenly select a target when you don't want to. As a melee, it's terrible to lock onto targets when you need to leap out of a sticky situation. 
- Stop Autoattacking on Target Change: On
When you deselect a target, you won't keep attacking it. More useful for ranged classes, but keep it on anyway.
- Autotargeting: Off
Ever seen those warriors or ele's who are trying to run away but suddenly leap back into the zerg? It's because of this option. Turn it off because it will kill you if you have it on because you cannot leap out of sticky situations. Melee definitely does not need this option AT ALL. 
- Promote Skill Target: Your choice
- Targetting Style: Fast cast with range indicator
Double tapping to cast an AoE skill like Earthshaker will be fractionally slower than fast cast but it is nevertheless slower and in a fast paced game like GW2 combat, one slow call can change everything. 
- Melee Attack Assist: Off
If you have this on, you will get body blocked and won't be able to run through enemies. It's a free CC for the enemy on you and a higher risk of being rally bait for you. This is so important to turn off. Stop reading now if you have it on because you will never be MLG pro if you do.
 
Keyboard Bindings
There is only one key thing to note in this set of options. Unbind the turn left and turn right keys and bind "strafe left" to "A" and "strafe right" to "D". For precise movement, you will use your mouse turn (holding down right mouse button) in combination with the WSAD strafe. For those of you who argue that it's fine to use keyboard turning, I suggest you play an FPS game like counterstrike and tell me what's better: camera turn on A/D or strafe. 
 
Mouse Turning and WSAD Tips

• Holding down right mouse button will move your character in the front facing direction of the camera when your character moves. Holding down left mouse button will move the camera but keep your character moving in the direction of your WSAD keys. Holding down both left and right mouse buttons will move your character forward without holding down the W key, which is useful in some situations when you wanna scratch your itch or activate some awkward skill button but stay moving.
• If you are slightly ahead of the commander, spin your camera 360 degrees and your character will do loop-de-loop movement and place you right on top of where you should be.
• There is something I call "directional influence" in this game when you jump. If you jump and press a movement key, your character will move in that direction slightly. Use this to do more precise, small movements. Useful in jumping puzzles if you don't want to over shoot a jump.
• If the commander if moving in a circular motion and you are behind, take the inside edge of the turn to catch up.

The Main Instructions To Sticking On The Tag
You can have all these options and MLG pro movements down pat, but the following are absolutely crucial to staying on the tag:

1. PLACE A TARGET MARKER ON THE COMMANDER'S HEAD.
   The red reticule on top of the commander's head stands out more than the blue taco icon and so naturally, this makes it much easier to see where to go. If there is some fool in your party who binds his push to talk key to ctrl, and they always ctrl click target another target, then quit their party. This is mainly why I don't like joining Indo's party because he likes to do that a lot.
2. DISCIPLINE YOURSELF AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE TAG.
   This sounds a lot like a sporting coach tip: "Keep your eyes on the ball!" And I will explain this one with science. Your vision has two areas: the focal vision and the peripheral vision.
   
   Try to read this sentence will looking at your browser's address bar. Can you do it? Didn't think so.
   
   Keeping your eye's focus on the tag will let you see with precise detail where it is moving and where you should be, and in addition to this, use your mouse turn (which should be on max rotation speed) to keep the tag on the middle of your screen. Do not focus on single target enemies, do not even focus on what is going on around you on the battlefield, that is the commander's job. Your focus as a melee follower is solely on that commander tag and following it as tight as possible. However, DO use your peripheral vision to assess the battleground, DO use your peripheral vision to see red circles you should probably stay out of. Use quick glances to your HP bar to read your health value, but mainly use your peripheral to check if you need to heal.
   
   When you have this discipline mastered, you can even start to run with a group's frontline without being in comms on TS with the commander, and never be lost in a fight.
   
   TL;DR: KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED ON THE TAG AND NOTHING ELSE.

Video
In this following video I am playing on my warrior and following Lite from Choo being locked out of their comms channel. Watch for how close I move to the commander tag but there are moments where I derp and get off the tag for a moment. In those moments, I use sword 2 (my gap closer) to catch up to the commander and shortly get back into position. You'll notice some of my camera movements are jerky, but that is due to keeping the tag on the middle of my screen.

-Vinava 1/31/2014

I am not Vinava, I am posting topics from our other SoR website that is currently closing down.