[PC] My Experiences Trying Gauntlegrym PvP (or "How to die in 3 seconds")

Background: I found it challenging to reach level 70 playing a cleric while watching other classes breeze through Spinward Rise etc. Trying to solo the Elemental Evil (Drowned Shore, Reclamation Rock, Fiery Pit, & Spinward Rise), areas every fight was a time consuming struggle since the monsters out-damaged my cleric so badly. But with some determination, the help of passing strangers, and my tiny guild's members, I made 70. Unfortunately the artifact weapons, level 70 gear, etc. were not enough to make areas such as Dread Ring enjoyable solo. Most fights were still tough, time consuming, and too often deadly. I like a challenge but it was too much. Some research indicated I needed better gear than the IL 115 blues I could buy on auction. I tried Malabog's Castle once. Although we won in the end it took 2 hours and several total party wipes. I'm mildly proud my cleric was one of the 2 still standing at the end but the final reward was not a purple set of armor. At that rate it would take years. I received lots of advice to do PvP to get stepping-stone gear (Grim/Burning) to better survive the epic dungeons. I'm not generally a fan of PvP in any game but decided to try Gauntlegrym since it was team based so hopefully I could at least provide clerical support. Plus now I must do it to get a few Astral Diamonds per day.

I'm badly outclassed in Gauntlegrym. I've managed 1,800 item level so far and almost everyone I look at has closer to 2,200 if not more. I try my best and provide healing etc. to those on my team, help capture points, etc. But if an enemy player targets my character, I'm generally dead in seconds. Enemy control spells freeze my character and there is nothing I can then do but die despite buying several pieces of gear with Tenacity. I cast Chains of Blazing Light and it has no discernible effect other than maybe a tiny sliver of damage. I've tried every spell in the Cleric's repertoire. The best I've found so far is Break the Spirit and Forgemaster's Flame which together will sometimes do a little damage and hopefully help other teammates. Most HR and TR characters literally kill mine in 3 seconds or less once they get in melee range. Oh, I may dodge a few times and hit them with a couple of my spell rotations before they catch me but it doesn't matter since I do nearly zero damage to them while they blow through my 70K HP's in 1 or 2 hits. This assumes an enemy spell caster doesn't kill me at range first with a choking spell etc. I can do absolutely nothing to prevent or escape. They can effectively one-shot me and all I can do is scratch them if that.

I literally stood behind an ally once where I had the time to pound away at an enemy with all my encounter spells and my direct attacks and there was nothing but a stream of zeros coming off of the enemy. How does he do that? My basic at-will attack does in the 1,600-2,000 damage range raw. My Power is over 7,000 and I have about 1,200 Armor Penetration (I know I need more but that's what I can afford right now). I should be at least doing a few hundred points of damage? Break the Spirit then Forgemaster's Flame then dozens of Lance of Faith hits and the result was: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 . . . Eventually he killed my fighter ally, then swatted my character down like a pesky fly, then he walked away with a full heath bar, I assume chortling.

On the rare occasions where I come up one-on-one vs a non-nuclear enemy (usually a spell caster) that doesn't kill me in one or two blows, I do enjoy the fight, even if I usually loose in the end to his higher damage output.

I rarely see other clerics in Gauntlegrym and wonder if there is a good reason? Usually I'm the only cleric on either team. I've only seen one cleric score well in the end so far. Are we all doing something wrong? Is there a horrible cleric shortage? I'm sure my heals etc. do help but I don't like not pulling my full weight on the team. I'm slowly saving glory for the better PvP gear but things seem so lopsided I doubt that will be a silver bullet plus it will take months of 3-second-deaths to afford a full set. Do I stick with it? Try to team up with people and work on the IWD campaign instead?

What is with the people that join then stand there doing nothing? I've been on some loosing teams where the fight was close enough if those standing around players did a little something we could have won.

What is the formula for the rewards? I've been in some matches where we lost but not horribly yet I got "No Rewards" in the end. Not even a single Grym coin. Nothing after playing the entire match and doing our best against characters that totally outclassed us and we never had a prayer against. People actually enjoy this?