PVP 102 Tactics
I Teamwork
It is easier to kill as a team.
Teamwork kills solo players. Its that simple. Whatever toon your on can be debuffed, detoggled, drained and killed in short order. Attacking a team solo
.you make it easy for the other team to tear you apart.
Repeatedly launching solitary attacks allows the opposing team to remain stationary, support each other
.while pumping their kill count as they tear you apart. A solo player has a very slim chance at being able to take down any toon (regardless of squishy factor), when they have support all around them.
It is easier to stay alive as a team
With your team to support you, it is hard for the opposing team to surround you and take you down. Support classes can heal damage, counter debuffs, buff you
.etc. etc. Meanwhile, the rest of your team can play interference to break up the attack. Kill the attacker, break apart the team, slow the rate of attack, push them out of range
.etc. etc.
Unfortunately, playing as a team takes practice.
Obviously your team cant stay still. You team needs to move. You need to attack and get kills in order to win. This is hard to do when you dont know the tendencies of your teammates, you have inconsistent levels of mobility, or you have to physically type directions for your team to coordinate your activities.
Coordination is key
Keeping your team together makes things a lot easier for you. Letting others know what you are planning is key to being as efficient as possible. Key Binds are great to coordinate attacks on a single target, or to let your team know that someone is held or severely debuffed. You should also let your team know if your in trouble, or an opposing player is phased and their attacks would be wasted.
Practice Makes Perfect
Key element to teamwork is learning to anticipate the actions of your team and minimize the time spent communicating tactics vs. achieving a natural flow. The mantra you should be repeating in your head is to move as a team, kill as a team, and support my team. Teamspeak or other such voice chat applications can greatly improve levels of coordination without typing. Your team needs to know what you are doing and what is happening.
II - Mobility: Why is it important in PvP
Your ability stay mobile is one of the key elements of PvP.
2.1 Why?
The simplest answer of all, is because it is annoying for your opponents and makes you harder to hit. Consider the fact that melee attacks do the most damage. Stay out of range, and you have reduced the amount of damage you could potentially take. Many toons dont have ranged attacks
.or their range is limited. Stay out of range, and you reduce the number of holds/mez/status effects which can be applied. Get out of range, out of sight, and many debuffs which have been applied to you are dropped.
Still not convinced?
Consider the fact that your opponent will be mobile. You have got to catch them to kill them. Your inability to move just as fast if not faster than them puts you at a distinct disadvantage. Its easy to joust a toon that cant move
making the battle rather one-sided in a hurry.
Generally the more experienced players will move faster, jump higher, and attempt to stay in constant motion. You make yourself hard to hit, folks will generally leave you alone. People will naturally go for the easy kill. If they guy next to you is standing still
.and your jumping away
.it encourages the other team to pick a new target. Get the other team to fall into a pattern of constantly changing targets, without ever killing one, and congratulations
you have won!
Suppression
Many AT's have some type of power or ability that will either give you -run speed, -fly, -jump, etc. Something that works to keep you from getting away.
A few examples of those powers: Snow Storm, Lingering Radiation, Tar Patch, Quicksand, Earth Quake plus many more.
In order to compensate for whatever type of slow is put on, you are going to need some type of unsuppressed travel power. Another tactic is speed boost buff from a kinetics teammate but you dont want to depend on them all the time.
What is unsuppressed Travel?
There are a few powers that can act like travel powers which cannot be suppressed. Those powers include: Hurdle, Sprint, Swift and Combat Jumping. These keep you moving at all times, which we have already identified as a key tactic. While you can still be slowed, the effect of those slows will be minimized as much as possible.
For many, this represents a significant change from their PvE builds which were used to level the toon.
What is the recommended slotting for unsuppressed travel?
Hurdle: Power selection from Fitness pool. 3 slotted with SO jumps will give you close to unslotted SJ speed, and maybe half the height.
Swift: Slotted with 3 run SO's will give you approx half SS velocity. Couple this with Sprint and you will have almost unslotted SS.
Sprint: First power in game. Only draw back is it's an end hog. 3 run SO's and maybe 1 end reduc.
Combat Jumping: 3 jump SO's. Combined with hurdle its almost like SJ. Negligible endurance requirement.
What are the best travel powers?
Those that cant be suppressed. Flight, while cool in concept, it is easily countered with a fly attack. There are quite a few of them. Chances are you dont have the power pool to spare, since you will likely have Fitness, Leaping and Speed already. You will most often see leaping and speed pools selected, as there are multiple useful powers in the pool.
Case of the flying blaster
Less experienced PvPers will often forget to look above them, providing initial success for flying blasters. But for when people learn to look above them, this tactic is quickly countered. Attacks which suppress flight have a fairly lengthy duration, leaving you grounded and effectively eliminating your strategy in one shot. Get stuck indoors, and your effectively grounded before you have even started the fight. You want to be successful all the time, not just based on the map of your choice. Basically being a flying blaster is predicated upon having greater range to hit from the sky than the opponents on the ground have to knock you down. Constantly managing your distance from the air is time consuming - and chances are your melee attacks do more damage. For the damage dealer its all about efficiency of the kill. Ranged attacks for most characters can be ignored when you have support classes on your team.
Knockback/down Protection?
A sure fire way to tell that a person is new to the arena
.do they have resistance to knockdown/back? Enter Acrobatics. One of the must haves if you wish to stick around in PvP. Not only does it provide knockback/knockdown protection is has a low mag (Mag 1 I think) mez protection. It is the last power selection from the Leaping pool which you will be taking anyways for CJ.
III Inspiration Management
Inspiration Management is a key element of timed arena matches. All of them have the potential to be a deciding factor in winning your match. Run a character out of break frees, and you are at the mercy of the other team should you be held. Run out of endurance and you will be useless to your team until you recover. Run out of heatlh
.well thats sort of obvious isnt it?
Throwing in surprises like defence boosts which make the opponent waste their alpha strikes
..or boosting your damage to overwhelm an opponent caught off guard can also win you the match.
3.1 What is the standard Inspiration loadout?
Its very situational...are you pvping solo, or with a team? what is your AT, what are you fighting etc. etc....adjusting accordingly.
Generally speaking most people pack some respites, CaBs, and BFs. But if for example you are fighting a blaster rather than a controller....you may wish to take more respites rather than BFs....fighting a stalker you may want insights, fighting a tank you may want rage.
Not too many people use dmg resist inps in my experience, but I have seen more than a few pop a string of lucks to go on a rampage.
Regarding Endurance...you may be fine on endurance in PvE...but face a /kin in the arena and you will get drained regardless of your build.
Consider the situation, and practice. See what works best for your playstyle.
Some sample inspiration strategies based on opponent build:
Against trollers: Almost all BF's. A few medium purps if I have them. Say against a Ill/Kin, I would bring a couple of CaBs, but a few prups helps alos. They miss, no endu drain.
Blasters: EM blasters I bring half BF's, row and a half of respites and a few purps. My strategy for beating blasters with my troller is to run them out of BF's. They will get a few kills up on me. But if there is 4-5 mins left in the match and they are out of BF's, can even it up.
Scrappers: Dark scrappers I bring more BF's for the fear spammers and some respites. For Kat or BS I bring more repites and purps. For the SR's I bring a row and a half of yellows. If I fight them with the troller I use RI and EF with a few yellows to try and hit thru Elude. If I cant, I just run and wait for it to drop. Then its hammer time. With my blaster its just a matter of testing if Aim or BU will hit thru elude. If it dosent, the see if Aim + BU hit, if it does, then game over.
Tanks: Only ones worth their weight is EM tanks and I treat them like EM blappers. Run, run, and more run trying to breakthru Unyielding or Unstop.
Geas of the Kind Ones is a GODLY accolade.. If I find myself low on end, and have someone on the ropes I pop that FTW.
IV How to counter every tactic in the game
Practice and Test. How many holds could a woodchuck chuck? Throw that little critter in the arena and find out. Nothing will make you appreciate the knowledge like discovering it for yourself and seeing it in action. Imho, this is what makes PvP so exciting
tactics change constantly, not just with the next patch. Whatever the dominant strategy is today
you can bet there are more than a few players out there trying to figure out a way to defeat it.
Test Scenario 1: How many holds does it take to lock down my scrapper?
Have a friend stack holds on you until you are held. Take note of the AT of the person holding you and what holds they used. How many did it take? Try again vs. another character. Was it the same? How are their holds slotted?.....
What difference does Acrobatics make
..test with it running and without and find out.
Personal Experience is key.
Did you know that some players can tell what inspirations you are using based on the numbers they see for damage? Thats right, they can tell if you used a small dmg resist, vs. a medium, vs. a large. They know their toons well enough to know see the difference in their attacks. Who cares? You should, that person can read exactly what you are doing, and compensate accordingly.
What follows are some strategies for the less experienced players to deal with powers often identified in nerf threads as overpowered.
4.1.What tactics are available to fight fear?
Most PvP'ers with access to fear powers will spam them whenever that power recharges. While feared you will tremble in place until your opponent lands an attack on you, then you'll have the opportunity to make 1 action (attack, buff, self-heal, etc.). I try to identify a person with access to fear powers and either avoid them or bait/harrass them to keep them occupied and away from my teammates, depending on my role.
Tactics from the Leadership pool will decrease the fear duration of a power. Leadership offers mild fear resistance as well. Similarly, /dark miasma, /dark armor, and /ninjitsu all have an inherent fear protection in their mez protection powers (shadow fall in the case of D-miasma). If you don't have protection, you'd best use a break free and/or have a teammate cast Clear Mind/Clarity to remove the fear effects. If you're facing an opponent that is spamming a fear power (especially if it has a -acc component such as ToF) it may be wise to stage a tactical retreat and maneuver around them until you are ready to make your move. ToHit Debuffs can also be an effective method of reducing the amount of fears that land on you.
4.2.What tactics are available to fight holds?
Devs gave us break frees and this is why - Due to the ability to stack mez effects(holds, sleeps, stuns), carrying breakfrees is now mandatory regardless of your AT. Holds are the biggest threat because of their availability to every AT (Magnitude of 3 for all ATs with controllers having a chance to land a critical hold at Mag 4, the hold durations differ greatly between the ATs though).
If you are a toon with mez protection, know how many holds it takes to break through it (4 for tanks, 3 for scraps and brutes, 2 for stalkers and +1 for acrobaticsl. Acro will not give +1 to squishies) Clear Mind from empathy, Clarity from Sonic, Increase Density from Kinetics, Dispersion Bubble from Force Field, Sonic Dispersion from Sonic, Accelerate Metabolism from Rad (reduces mez duration), Unstoppable from Invulnerability are all powers that can be used on self and/or teammates to combat holds.
- When facing an opponent with holds, it helps to keep an eye on your status bar to make sure you can pop a breakfree a moment before your toggles drop (so as to avoid having to retoggle).
4.3.What tactics are available to fight Force Bubble?
The best way to deal with any bubbler is a sleep as it is not covered by dispersion bubble. Toss a sleep at them and force bubble comes down. Ranged attacks and teaming also help out against a bubbler, as does stacking 3 holds through their mez protection. There are also repel resistance that allow you to enter: 2xIncrease Density, Unyielding, Rooted, EA's mez pro, MoG, Unstoppable. Other things you can do include phaseshifting, walking right next to the guy, set an attack on auto and then unphasing. You'll get that one attack off. The same can be accomplished by teleporting right next to the foe with an attack queued. Yet another tactic is to use Telekinesis to repel them out of harm's way... a taste of their own medicine.
4.4.What tactics are available to fight Radiation Infection?
Well, you have 1 consideration and two options. You can stick around and fight, or you can get 200yds away (or out of perception range, ie, go invisible). The way you make this decision is if you can hit them or not. If you can, keep hitting them, otherwise, retreat and wait for aim and/or buildup to recharge before making your assault. If you're a blaster, try toggle dropping the rad troller.
- Radiation Infection's is a toggled Defense Debuff and To Hit debuff which can be crippling to builds without To Hit buffs. Turning invisible, using phase shift, running far enough to outdistance the toggle, and using Telekinesis (longer range plus auto-hit) are some of the passive methods to deal with RI.
- Besides killing or mezzing them (standard answer for most of these scenarios), a different approach would be to take advantage of the arena store temp powers, which really shine in certain circumstances. One can use the stun grenade since most PvP'ers will have minor immob and hold protection only, in the form of CJ and Acro. If the rad is doing a good job of staying within toggle range, you can try neutralizing one of their travel powers with web grenade. There is also a stealth pack that may kick in, reducing the perception range. Also, there is a self-teleport pack that can be used for a quick exit. Note: it may be wise to carry insights for an accuracy boost if your build doesn't have To Hit buffs strong enough to counter the To Hit debuff.
In open zones, you can also try running into the nearest PvP zone mob that is unfriendly to the caster.
4.5.What tactics are available to fight Enervating Field?
Identical answer to above (Radiation Infection) with the exception of Enervating Field debuffing damage and resistance, prompting some to carry rages for a faster kill. If you can defeat the foe with your dmg debuffed, go ahead and do so, otherwise, retreat and wait for aim and/or buildup to recharge before making your assault.
4.6.What tactics are there to fight Telekineses?
The same repel resistence used for force bubble will nullify it (only one ID though). TK's repel can be negated by popping 4 BFs, loss of sight through invisibility, breaking line of sight through use of obstacles, phase shift, moving immediately away from the caster, and dropping the toggle from range.
4.7.What tactics are there to fight Unstoppable?
If you are on a team and can take the foe out quickly through US, do so. If you deal psi damage or have PA out, go ahead and lay waste to the tank similarly. For everyone else, the best way to fight unstoppable is with patience. In 3mins, their health and endurance will be at 10% and you can kill them easily if you time the drop and prepare accordingly.
4.8.What tactics are there to fight Teleport Foe?
Stay out of its range, have a teammate cast ID from Kinetics, have /EA as a secondary, have a high defense through native set or inspiration usage. There is enough time to pop a BF and move hurriedly in any direction, once the TP icon shows itself in your status bar... aka stay aware and keep moving.
4.9.What tactics are there to fight Confuse?
Steamy mist, artic fog and tactics all offer resists to confuse. As does popping a break free, of course. If none of these options are available to you, your best bet is to zoom all the way in and attack when there is only one target on the screen (mouse wheel or switch to 1st person mode by clicking "B"), this will prevent the mechanism from changing targets on you. Alternatively, in an arena match, if you kill an ally while confused it counts as your kill. As such, you can kill steal your opponents if you're fast enough. Just make sure to tell the team first. On team, have a teammate cast Clear Mind/Clarity on you
4.10. What tactics are there to fight Lingering Radiation?
Quickness, Wet Ice, Thaw, and Speed Boost all offer resists to slow. Another way to avoid LR is to exploit a bug that it has: the Gauntlet Bug, which causes targeted aoe attacks on targets moving at high speed to miss. Similarly, if you can get out of perception range before the slow is actually applied, you can dodge it (if you're the target). Also, while slowed your best mobility option is the leaping pool, hands down.
A final strategy to avoid LR is to use lucks to reduce the chance of LR landing, and hopefully kill them in one full attack cycle.
4.11. What tactics are there to fight suppression?
Swift, Sprint, Hurdle, Combat Jumping and all 3-slotted for movement. Nothing can describe how useful this is for squishies to get away from melee and for melee to get into range. Another method is to attack between jumps so that suppression wears off by the time you land or shortly thereafter. See the complete mobility discussion in the section above.
4.12. What tactics are there to fight immobilization?
- Besides tanker/scrapper/brute/stalker mez toggles, you can select CJ from the Leaping pool, pop a BF, or have a teammate cast Clear Mind, Clarity, Increase Density, Stimulant, stay under Sonic Dispersion, stay under Dispersion bubble, etc.
4.13. What is containment, and how can you use it?
If a foe is slept, held, immob'd or disoriented, controller's get x3 damage from any attack used on them (In PvE, the containment damage is doubled rather than tripled). This is the containment mechanism. The best way to use it is to stack holds or immobs until you overcome the enemies mez protection and then fire off any hard hitting attacks you may have. If you have something that causes knockback/up/down, use it first.
4.14. Why does a defender not require teleport or resurrection in Arena?
Teleport: Buy the temp power. It works just the same way. Teleport friend is not required as well
since you are with your team healing them (hiding in a corner wont be much help as a healer).
Ressurect: Because the arena offers an automatic respawn option available to all participants effectively nullifying any usefulness ressurect may have had. It will also deny your buddy the spawn protection and divert your attention from the still living. You can use that power slot for something else in your build.
4.15. How do you fight MoG?
Can you hit through it? If not, try using To Hit buff powers like aim, build up, tactics, and focused accuracy to attack the regen scrapper who can no longer heal themselves for the duration of the power. You can also try throwing down and -def debuffs. Finally
. use Psionics against them since there is no Psi defense or resistance in the power... and though there is toxic resistance, there is no toxic defense available. If not, the best way to beat MoG is patience. He'll be really squishy when if wears off in 3mins, so just wait for that.
4.16. Best defense against sonic cage?
Since Detention Field/Sonic Cage have to hit, there is an accuracy check. The best defenses I've found for it so far are getting them to miss or killing/caging them before they can get the power off.
Other considerations include:
1) Slows. They may get it off once, but thats it.
2) ToHit Debuffs
3) Range
A)Stay at range
B)Debuff their range (-range attacks)
4.17. How do I resist Endurance Drain?
End Drain is resisted by: 02 Boost, Murky Cloud, Rooted, Accelerate Metabolism, Insulation Shield. Also, keep in mind that end drain in PvP isn't as effective as PvE.
4.18. Why are AoE attacks not as effective as single target attacks?
Accuracy and Mez Duration (if appropriate) on AoE attacks is generally lower than single target attacks. Endurance cost is usually more significant as well. This is why AoE-focussed builds are generally less preferable in PvP to single target builds.
PvP 103 Open Zones
As stated previously
.PvP combat can occur in three ways:
1. Arena Combat - players can go to the arena and take part in matches.
2. PvP zones (Bloody Bay, Sirens Call, Warburg)
3. Base Raids - Supergroups can launch raids against other Supergroups.
This post will focus on the PvP Zones
What zones are there?
Bloody Bay, Sirens Call, Warburg.
How do I get there?
CoH:
Warburg is accessible from Kings Row
Sirens Call is accessible from Steel Canyon
Bloody Bay is accessible from Skyway City
CoV:
Warburg is accessible from: St. Martial?
Sirens Call is accessible from: Sharkshead Isle?
Bloody Bay is accessible from: Port Oakes?
What are Zone Rewards?
Each of the PvP Zones has a unique zone reward:
1. Bloody Bay Shivan Strike Mission to obtain 5-use Summon Shivan temporary power.
2. Sirens Call - Heroes and Villains battle for control to obtain a Temporary Power Store for their side.
3. Warburg Mission to obtain one of 3 single-use warburg rocket temporary powers.
Bloody Bay:
Type of Zone: Hero vs. Villain
Lvl Range: 15+ to enter (In the zone, you are automatically SKd up to L25, or Exempd down to L25. Within PvE missions you return to your normal lvl.)
Zone Reward Mission (Scientist): Summon Shivan Temporary Power
PvE Missions (Operative): PvE missions within the zone.
Brief review of Shiva Strike Mission:
With the Shiva Strike mission, your goal is to collect fragments from each of the six scattered meteors. The meteor fragments are numbered in Hindi: Ek, Do, Teen, Char, Panch, and Jay.
When you accept the mission, you are granted a temporary power Ore Extractor. Simply target the meteor with your temp power. Youll see a meteor shard appear in a special inventory beneath your Navigation Bar.
When you have all six meteor fragments, you can move on to
step two process the fragments in a firebase into a sample. Firebases are protected by a ring of automated turrets that must be defeated before you can enter the station and convert your fragments into a sample. Take the sample back to the scientist to receive 5-use temporary power to summon a Shivan pet.
Note: If you are killed in the process of either gathering fragments, or with your completed sample
..your goods will be randomly distributed to a member of the team that killed you. You may wish to also note that if you have at least one fragment, you will have a glowing green aura. Combine this with the fact that your lingering around a firebase, and you my friend
.have a big target painted on your back.
Sirens Call:
Lvl Range: 20+ to enter (In the zone, you are automatically SKd up to L28, or Exempd down to L28. Within PvE missions you return to your normal lvl.)
Type of Zone: Hero vs. Villain
Zone Reward Mission: Overall hero or villain supremacy
unlocks a store (only one side has the store available at any one time.)
PvE Missions (Operative): PvE missions within the zone.
Brief overview of Zone Reward
At the top of the screen you will see a bar which describes which side is on top (hero(blue) or villain (red)). The winning side has access to a store.
Look on your map for areas identified as Hotspots that move around. This is where a NPC war is occurring between Arachnos and Longbow. There will likely be other players there as well. Defeat your opponents and youll help your side, as well as earning Bounty Points for yourself.
What is Bounty?
Bounty Points can be turned in to your initial contact to buy various different awards, such as Inspirations and temporary powers.
Whats in the store?:
If your side is winning, youll find stores where you can purchase special powers. If your side is losing, no store for you!
What is my bounty target?
Your zone contact will give you the name of a player opponent to track down. Find this individual and defeat him or her, and youll get a bounty reward.
If your target leaves the zone, or enters a mission
.you can visit your contact to obtain a new target or wait for the target to cycle. Your target will not know that they have been targeted, nor will you know who has you as a target.
Your assigned target will show up on your mini-map, but it only updates periodically (once every 5 minutes?). You can use it to track down the general area of your target, but youll have to actually target them when you get there (if they are still there). Read: Keep moving!
Warburg:
Lvl Range: 30+ to enter (In the zone, you are automatically SKd up to L38, or Exempd down to L38. Within PvE missions you return to your normal lvl.)
Type of Zone: Free for All (FFA)
Zone Reward Mission (Scientist): Warburg Rocket Strike
PvE Missions (Operative): PvE missions within the zone.
Brief overview of Rocket Strike Mission
To launch the rocket, your team must first find Warburg Scientists trapped in the underground Web and escort them to special bunkers on the surface.
If you can successfully escot a scientist from the Web to one of the bunkers above ground, hell give your team a Security Key.
Once you have three Security Keys, you must return to the Web, find one of three arming rooms and arm a Warburg Rocket. (There are numerous rockets located in a hidden underground storage facility, so dont worry if you see someone else launch one first.)
If you successfully arm a rocket, youre given a Launch Code thats good for a very short amount of time. Hurry to the Warburg Rocket itself (located at the eastern tip of the isle) and you will be given the temporary power.
Notes:
- this is a targeted AoE attack that hits anyone under it.
- Warburg Rockets are intended to be useful to your Supergroup in base raids.
if you are killed during the collection of the keys or with the launch code, your goods will be passed at random to the team that took you down.
- The effect of the rocket depends on which warhead youve armed it with:
1. Nuclear: The nuclear warhead is an EMP strike that causes significant endurance loss, and has an increased effect on robots.
2. Biological: The biological warhead is laced with an airborne protoplasm that increases regeneration and damage caused for all allies within its area of effect.
3. Chemical: The chemical warhead delivers a fine mist that debuffs the accuracy and damage resistance of all enemies within its burst radius.
PVP 104
V - BASE RAIDS
5.1 How do I have an instant raid?
Instant raids involves the use of the command:
/raid_invite <name>
1) Attacking SG leader sends raid challenge to defending SG
2) Defending SG leader accepts
3) Then up to 16 people in each of the 2 SGs can join the raid by clicking the Supergroup tab - > Raid button (bottom right corner). After clicking the Raid button, a window pops up showing the details of the raid and giving a Join button.
There's a 5 min window between the raid challenge being accepted and being allowed to zone into the defending base via the raid teleporter.
(Note: Due to a current bug, sometimes the Join button doesn't appear for some SG members. This can be fixed by affected players zoning into/out of their base, or relogging.) "
Your base has the following minimum requirements to participate in instant raids since the last patch:
1. 6 dimensional anchors (can place 1 per room, excluding entrance and vault - Therefore, minimum of 8 rooms in base).
2. a vault room
3. IoP base (in the vault room). This item will hold your IoP once Cathedral of Pain trial goes live.
4. Raid Teleporter (for the attacking SG w/ sufficient power and control to run it).
Please note: Any items destroyed during an instant raid are returned when the raid ends (it is simply practice, no actual salvage/prestige is lost).
Check out the great thread by Egos_Shadow with all kinds of useful information about bases.
I haven't gotten a chance to read all of this, but big props on writing a pvp guide. There's a real lack of them, either because people are lazy, or worse, think they are giving away all their "trade secrets".
Very nice... and it covers stuff from the most basic to some advanced tactics and builds. Of course, it doesn't cover all, but it's a very good intro for all levels.
Kudos.
Siren's Call is level 30 - not 28 when exempted up or down. Nice guide! 
<ul type="square">[*]Basic Scrapper Info in Issue 7 (draft) [*]Basic Tanker Info in Issue 7 (draft) [*]The Harsh Reality of PVP[/list]
Any ideas for updates or items not covered are appreciated. I realized it was incomplete....but was tired of getting tells to put it in the guides section
Temp powers in arena notes are incorrect I believe. Travel powers are 2 minutes rather than 10....and temp powers are 5 shots rather than 10. Can't go in to edit the post unfortunately.
Current IoP Notes (Incomplete)
What is an IoP?
An Item of Power is a magic item stolen from Rularuu the Ravager in the Cathedral of Pain Trial. It is a base item that can boost specific attributes for all members of the SG that possess it while playing in SG mode.
How do I get one?
You will need the following: An SG Mission Computer, a Raid Teleporter, a Vault Room with the placed item "Item of Power Base" (this is where the IoP will go when obtained), and 6 Anchors. The Anchors are what hold the IoP in this reality. Each room in your base can have only one; the Vault Room and Entry Room cannot have Anchors in them. This means the minimum base size to hold an IoP is 8 rooms. Once you have your base set up to hold an IoP, you can get one by embarking on the SG raid on Rularuu's Cathedral of Pain, or by raiding another SG that has more Items of Power than you. To get more than one, you will need a double vault or more than 1 vault.
How do I steal one in a base raid?
The attackers must destroy or disrupt 5 out of the 6 anchors. Anchors can be disrupted by placing and defending Disruptor Pylons (only one Pylon can be set per room). [edit: currently pylons appear to be bugged and cant be destroyed on test] If the attackers succeed, they win, and leave with one of the defender's Items of Power. It would appear you dont get to pick which IoP you obtain if there are more than 1. (further testing required).
Why cant I do the the Cathedral of Pain Trial
Its not live yet. Its not even available on test at the moment. When it is made available, it believed to be only open for a limited window every 60 days. The schedule is a rotating 5 days open, 55 days closed.
When it opens, all existing IoPs are lost and you have to do the trial again to get another one (if you had one, which obviously at this point you dont). There does not appear to be any mechanism for finding out when it's open other than clicking the mission computer and then using a calendar.
Whats the trial like?
The trial is on a 1 hour timer (but you can make as many attempts as you want during the 5 day window) and supports up to 24 players. It's against Rularuu. Minimum 1 person, max 24, no level restrictions. It seems non-SG members cannot enter the trial. There are rumors of teams having completed the trial in 18 minutes, while others found it very difficult. Well have to see what its like when all the adjustments are completed.
How many IoPs can you have?
One SG can have at most 5 IoPs at any time. There are conflicting reports that between 1-3 unique IoPs exist per server, but the lesser IoPs are hypothetically unlimited.
How do I get a rare one?
It's believed to be random, all luck as to which one you get, but i wouldn't be surprised if changing the Trial's difficulty level and the number of people you have with you would change your chances of getting a better IoP, as well as the time you complete it in...
What does the IoP do for me?
While the common ones have buffs of 1-2% to a single attribute, there are a few (server wide) rare ones. One in particular, 'The True Furnace' gives everyone in your SG +10 end points and adds a million power to your base. In addition, IoPs reduce your rent. The rare IoPs reduce rent by 50,000 while the lesser IoPs reduce rent by 40,000.
1-2% thats stupid!
Consider the fact that you can have 5 of them. 5 x +2% dmg = +10% PERMA damage boost!
What IoPs are there?
Common:
Monument of Fury: +2% Damage Buff
Monument of Iron: +1% psychic damage resistance.
Name?: +1% XP gain
Name?: +1% Reduced Debt
Rare:
True Furnace: Gives everyone in supergroup mode +10 end, and provides your base 1 million power.
"crystal of resilience". Provides everyone in supergroup mode protection to immobilize, sleep, hold, and disorient. [note: Bug Report suggests that when working in the base edit mode, the iop was not called "crystal of reslience" but "monument of iron", but it provided the protection from status effects.
Book of Rularuu - complete chronicles of Rularuu that give all SG members 20% Debt Protection while in SG mode. (aka "the True Book"?)
"Book" - unknown (different graphic then the book of rularuu)
Heart - unknown
Cube - unknown
I too am impressed with the guide in general. I have only one question:
Is there a point to PVP? What I mean is, is there an in-game reward? Or is it just about the bragging rights?
I'm not the droid I'm looking for.
MA Arc ID 8121: Rapp'Mas'Ta's War. The Rikti are trying to incorporate sonic effects into their weapons? THAT can't be good. Maybe we should ask them to stop.
[ QUOTE ]
I too am impressed with the guide in general. I have only one question:
Is there a point to PVP? What I mean is, is there an in-game reward? Or is it just about the bragging rights?
[/ QUOTE ]
In PvP Zones there is content, xp bonus, and certain rewards like temporary powers, bounty which can buy insps/enhancements, badges....
In Bases, you can have IoPs which boost your attributes. Imagine having mez protection, Xp boost, debt reduction, dmg boost and psi resistance on all your toons automatically.
In Arena, its primarily about fun. Though there are some badges for the gladiator content.
Generally for most PvP oriented folks, the motivation is to participate in content that is constantly changing and the sense of competition. No material reward required.
PvE doesn't offer anything new or challenging to the player that already has multiple lvl 50 characters until the next patch release. Even with the next patch, its just more missions, more "glowies"...same old story......Players on the other hand, can adapt to your tactics - thus making for challenging fights once again. Or at least thats how some people feel.
great guide.
thanks for putting it together.
A very nice guide, tyvm.
Question though. I did a respec on test awhile back and I three slotted hurdle and CJ for jump (So's) in hopes of maybe doing away with SJ but I found the horizontal to be on the edge of acceptable but the vertical was considerably shorter then unslotted SJ (I used the tall statue in PI by Crimson as the measure).
[ QUOTE ]
Question though. I did a respec on test awhile back and I three slotted hurdle and CJ for jump (So's) in hopes of maybe doing away with SJ but I found the horizontal to be on the edge of acceptable but the vertical was considerably shorter then unslotted SJ (I used the tall statue in PI by Crimson as the measure).
[/ QUOTE ]
That sounds about right. What's the question?
[ QUOTE ]
A very nice guide, tyvm.
Question though. I did a respec on test awhile back and I three slotted hurdle and CJ for jump (So's) in hopes of maybe doing away with SJ but I found the horizontal to be on the edge of acceptable but the vertical was considerably shorter then unslotted SJ (I used the tall statue in PI by Crimson as the measure).
[/ QUOTE ]
I think what you are getting it is: why is it worth slotting CJ and Hurdle if unslotted SJ does more horizontal, and Vertical?
The answer is its not supressed, and its still extremely fast. CJ offers you immobilization protection as well. With SJ, you not only get supressed, but one application of immobilization (if your a squishy), can get you tied up. Even if its for only a couple seconds..thats enough for a juiced up blapper to come and deystroy you.
[ QUOTE ]
I too am impressed with the guide in general. I have only one question:
Is there a point to PVP? What I mean is, is there an in-game reward? Or is it just about the bragging rights?
[/ QUOTE ]
Looks like a great guide for someone getting started in PvP. However, I don't really see any reason to do PvP either. If it doesn't advance my character then why bother? Just to trash talk about who killed who?
I can see why it isn't practical to give xp out for PvP since you can have a buddy willing to die over and over again just to advance you. But it is pointless unless I can advance myself in some meaningful way. The only really meaningful way to advance is leveling in CoX.
Total Focus is a hold, right?
Oh I know about the Xp and content and such in the PVP zones (it's how I got my Blapper so high). I was just curious to see if there was a good in-game reward for such things. I'm not much of a PvPer, but I might take some of this guide's advice to start a character to use for experiments.
...can you tell by that last sentence that I usually play villains?
I'm not the droid I'm looking for.
MA Arc ID 8121: Rapp'Mas'Ta's War. The Rikti are trying to incorporate sonic effects into their weapons? THAT can't be good. Maybe we should ask them to stop.
Great guide.
[ QUOTE ]
4.12. What tactics are there to fight immobilization?
- Besides tanker/scrapper/brute/stalker mez toggles, you can select CJ from the Leaping pool, pop a BF, or have a teammate cast Clear Mind, Clarity, Increase Density, Stimulant, stay under Sonic Dispersion, stay under Dispersion bubble, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
TP also gets you unimmobilized.
[ QUOTE ]
Great guide.
[ QUOTE ]
4.12. What tactics are there to fight immobilization?
- Besides tanker/scrapper/brute/stalker mez toggles, you can select CJ from the Leaping pool, pop a BF, or have a teammate cast Clear Mind, Clarity, Increase Density, Stimulant, stay under Sonic Dispersion, stay under Dispersion bubble, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
TP also gets you unimmobilized.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thank you.
Note on some of the PvP badges available:
Arena
- Lanista: 1 Gladiator Arena Victory
- Grand Lanista: 5 Gladiator Arena Victories
Base Raids
- Shock Trooper: presumed successful attack in IoP Raid (not live yet)
- Eradicator: presumed successful defense in IoP raid (not live yet)
Zones
- Forward Observor: PvP reputation of 100
- Disruptor: Complete the plant bombs mission in Bloody Bay
- Gunner: Complete BB Shiva Strike Mission x times?
- Rocketman: Launch Warburg Rocket 5 times
- Tempus Fugitive: presumed badge for Recluses Victory: The future is now! Every time your side claims a victory here, it makes this reality that much more likely. Youve now fought the future and won five times!
- Reinforcements: Run 1 PvP mission, or take down 10-20 PvP opponents
- Risk Taker: Run 10 PvP missions
- Agent Provacateur: Run 50 PvP missions.
- Vigilante: Run X PvP missions
- Irradiated: Spend 5 hours in Bloody Bay
- Web Master: 15 hours in Warburg
- Time Traveller: Spend 5 hours in Recluses Victory
Consolidated IoP Notes V1.1 (updated 6/2/06)
What is an IoP?
An Item of Power is a magic item stolen from Rularuu the Ravager in the Cathedral of Pain Trial. It is a base item that can boost specific attributes for all members of the SG that possess it while playing in SG mode.
How do I get one?
You will need the following: An SG Mission Computer, a Raid Teleporter, a Vault Room with the placed item "Item of Power Base" (this is where the IoP will go when obtained), and 6 Anchors. The Anchors are what hold the IoP in this reality. Each room in your base can have only one; the Vault Room and Entry Room cannot have Anchors in them. This means the minimum base size to hold an IoP is 8 rooms. Once you have your base set up to hold an IoP, you can get one by embarking on the SG raid on Rularuu's Cathedral of Pain, or by raiding another SG that has more Items of Power than you. To get more than one, you will need a double vault or more than 1 vault.
How do I steal one in a base raid?
I believe there is 3 valid methods (or 4 if you combine pylon and anchor destruction):
1. Destroy 5 out of 6 anchors
2. Place 5 pylons. Must have 5 placed and alive simultaneously. If one is destroyed, it doesnt count. Apparently there is a bug which prevents them from being attacked at the moment.
3. Interact with the IoP directly after removing the shield. Destroy the forcefield around the IoP (one appears automatically), and click on it. Force Field has high HP and Regen.
If the attackers succeed, they win, and leave with one of the defender's Items of Power. It would appear you dont get to pick which IoP you obtain if there are more than 1. The raid is over when any of the above items are completed.
***See Open Questions: testing required to determine if there is a method to obtain the specific IoP attacked, vs. random selection based on anchor/pylon method.
Why cant I do the the Cathedral of Pain Trial
Its not live yet. When it is made available, it believed to be only open for a limited window every 60 days. The schedule is a rotating 5 days open, 55 days closed.
When it opens, all existing IoPs are lost and you have to do the trial again to get another one (if you had one, which obviously at this point you dont). There does not appear to be any mechanism for finding out when it's open other than clicking the mission computer and then using a calendar.
Whats the trial like?
The Cathedral of Pain acts as a Task Force and temporarily grays out any other missions, trials, and Task Forces. All players are sidekicked/lackeyed to 50. Players who are defeated in any part of the trial are transported back to their base hospital.
The trial is on a 60 or 90 minute timer (but you can make 10 attempts as you want during the 5 day window**) and supports up to 24 players. It's against Rularuu. Minimum 1 person, max 24, no level restrictions. It seems non-SG members cannot enter the trial. Notes suggest 10 attempts are possible within the window, unknown if this limitation will remain, and what constitutes an attempt.
How many IoPs can you have?
One SG can have at most 5 IoPs at any time, per the quote: You can repeat the trial 10 times when it is available. However, once you have 5 Items of Power you cannot place any more in your base.** Currently, having more than 5 IoPs does NOT bar you from being able to do the trial again, at least in its current form on Test. Reports that raid was possible with 19 IoPs in base, and 20th obtained through trial.
There are conflicting reports that between 1-3 unique IoPs exist per server, but the lesser IoPs are hypothetically unlimited. Unknown how many of the rare IoPs exist, or if there really is 3 classes.
How do I get a rare one?
It's believed to be random, but i wouldn't be surprised if changing the Trial's difficulty level and the number of people you have with you would change your chances of getting a better IoP, as well as the time you complete it in...
What does the IoP do for me?
While the common ones have buffs of 1-2% to a single attribute, there are a few (server wide) rare ones. One in particular, 'The True Furnace' gives everyone in your SG +10 end points and adds a million power to your base. In addition, IoPs reduce your rent. The rare IoPs reduce rent by 50,000 while the lesser IoPs reduce rent by 40,000.
1-2% thats stupid!
Consider the fact that you can have 5 of them. 5 x +2% dmg = +10% PERMA damage boost!
What IoPs are there?
Common:
Anger Monument = 2% Damage Increase
Fury Monument = 1% XP Earned Increase
Monument of Iron = 1% Psychic Damage Resistance
Torment Monument = 1% Debt Repayment
Rare:
Storm Elemental Heart: +5% MAX HP
Unique:
True Furnace: Gives everyone in supergroup mode +10 end, and provides your base 1 million power.
"crystal of resilience". Provides everyone in supergroup mode protection to immobilize, sleep, hold, and disorient. [note: Bug Report suggests that when working in the base edit mode, the iop was not called "crystal of reslience" but "monument of iron", but it provided the protection from status effects.
Book of Rularuu - complete chronicles of Rularuu that give all SG members 20% Debt Protection while in SG mode. (aka "the True Book"?)
Undocumented/Unconfirmed
"Book" - unknown (different graphic then the book of rularuu)
Heart - unknown
Cube unknown
Open Questions
1. If the defenders have multiple IoPs....and you "win" the raid by interacting with an IoP, does that mean the attackers claim the specific IoP attacked (vs. random selection based on anchor/pylon method)?
2. Maximum Number of IoPs? How is it Capped?
3. Can coalitioned Supergroups or Villaingroups participate in the trial together?
4. How many rare IoPs are there? Which IoPs are Rare vs. unique
if indeed rare class exists. See unconfirmed list of IoPs.
5. How many times can you attempt the trial? and what constitutes an attempt?
Excellent guide, and covers a LOT of stuff I didn't.
Why isn't it in the Guide to Guides? I don't regret having repeated a lot of Nicci's high-quality work, cause my guide was fun to write, but a link to both Nicci's and mine really should be in the first post on Guide to Guides.
I just noticed the last (visible) edit date on that post is Sept. 05. 
[ QUOTE ]
Excellent guide, and covers a LOT of stuff I didn't.
Why isn't it in the Guide to Guides? I don't regret having repeated a lot of Nicci's high-quality work, cause my guide was fun to write, but a link to both Nicci's and mine really should be in the first post on Guide to Guides.
I just noticed the last (visible) edit date on that post is Sept. 05.
[/ QUOTE ]
The request was made to put it in the Guide to Guides, and i even got a response from Cuppa IIRC saying it would be done....Some others PM'd me mentioning they had requested the same. Maybe with the next patch 
Thank you for the words of encouragement. I should probably add a section on RV and such. There haven't been many questions or offers to write additional material of late....so I am glad to see that there is some interest from others to write guides.
My time here is done. Please feel free to continue the thread. I'll be pursuing PvP elsewhere.
Long live PvP!
Great Guide Nicci, I have played a few arena matches but knew almost nothing about them.
I'm trying to set up some Team v Team matches for my SG. Problem is a bunch of people who want to bring 50s and then a few people who only have high 30s/40s. Can people be sk'ed in the arena or is there any autoex/autosk functionality? I'd rather not split people up if I can help it.
PVP 101 v1.1
Goal of this Guide: Encourage the growth of team friendly and PvP oriented players.
Preamble: In large scale team play there are many, many options for numerous AT's and powersets. When considering base raids or zone pvp a few teams working together unlocks tremendous possibilities.
The hard part to this scenario or vision is getting enough team friendly and pvp oriented players together to let such a thing develop. With this style of play in mind, every AT and every powerset would have a role to play.
Thank you to:
The Champion server community first and foremost. Champion is where I play and where I started to PvP. Special Thanks to Celestial lad for putting into words the ideas in my mind. Thank you to Angelsfist, Citizen Zero, Lord of Belain and all of HVND for sharing their knowledge and answering questions.
Long Live PvP!
Introduction to PvP:
PvP (Player vs. Player) combat pits you (or your team) against other players. PvP combat is unique from PvE in that it requires adaptation to overcome the unexpected tactics of your fellow players.
PvP combat can occur in three ways:
1. Arena Combat - players can go to the arena and take part in matches.
2. PvP zones (Bloody Bay, Sirens Call, Warburg)
3. Base Raids - Supergroups can launch raids against other Supergroups.
FAQ:
1. Where do I find an Arena? (look on the map)
COH: Galaxy City, Talos Island, Peregrine Island
COV: Port Oakes, St. Martial (inside Golden Giza)
2. How do I setup an arena match?
Once you are in the arena, you will see various vertical pillars or terminals. Click on one of these to open up a menu. You will see a create match button. This will open a window where you can set the parameters for the match. Once you have set up your match, click list event. This will show the match to the others viewing the arena menu. When others have joined your match, you are ready to begin. Click Start. See the next questions to understand the parameters better.
3. How do I join a match?
On the arena menu (at the kiosk in the arena), you will see a list of available matches. The bulk of these are created by the system, and bugged to hell. Try sorting by "creator" to see matches created by other players. It will show you the level range and other relevant factors to consider. See a match you like? click join. Simple as that. You can also filter what is displayed to only show eligible matches (matches in your level range), ongoing matches (mathes in progress), Completed Matches (view results of a match which has finished).
4. Where do I buy Inspirations/Temporary Powers for an arena match?
each arena has an arena store to buy inspirations and temporary powers. Look for some NPCs on the lower level of the arena...or at a counter inside Golden Giza.
5. What inspirations are available?
All types of lvl 1 (smallest) inspirations. With the exception of awakens.
6. What temporary powers are available? How do they work?
Web Grenade 10 shots of a web grenade that can immobilize your opponent if it hits, and they dont have resistance. (attack)
Stun Grenade 10 shots of a stun grenade that can disorient your opponent if it hits, and they dont have resistance. (attack)
Raptor Pack 10 minutes of a flight pack (toggle)
Stealth 10 minutes of stealth power (toggle)
Jump 10 minutes of super jump capability (toggle)
Jaunt Initializer - 10 minutes of Teleport self (click)
7. Note on Purchasing Temporary Powers, when you have partially used the ones already in your tray.
If you already have web grenade temporary power, and have partially used this power .purchasing it again in the arena store does nothing. You need to completely deplete your temp power in order to buy it again and have all 10 shots.
8. What are the various level ranges and how do they work?
Any Level Any level can join the match (lvls 1 thru 50)
Specific Level Range like Super Heavy Weight (will allow players 47-50) to join your match. If you list the match with SHW selected, any lvls from 1-46 will not be allowed to join.
If you selected Cruiserweight (38-40), Lvls 1-37 would not be able to join, and lvls 40+ would be able to join but get exemplared down to the maximum lvl in the range .in this case 40.
9. How do I get someone outside the level range inside my match?
You can list an event at Any Level and then set the range after they have joined. This is often done to get a lvl 37 into a Cruiserweight match with a group of 38-40s.
10. What is the Arena Invite Command?
You can invite someone to your match directly, without having that person go to the arena and click on the match, and select join.
/AI <name>.
11. What happens when I am invited from outside zone?
If you are out of the zone, and accept the invite. You will not notice anything different. The others with the arena menu open will see that you have joined the match. Sometimes you will zone into the match (if it is started), other times you will get zoned into the arena automatically. I have had both experiences in the past. I havent really used the command a lot since I am usually in the arena with my competitors already.
12. What do the various match options do?
Most pretty much do what they describe.
Max recovery boosts your endurance and hp recovery.
Powerpools greys out all your pool power selections and their effects.
Stealth limits the ability to use stealth power pool (stealth, invisibility, phase shift). Possibly other stealth powers as well .havent done a great deal of experimentation.
Rated is a tactical start match where your put your pvp rating on the line.
Tactical Start - will start all members of the event with zero endurance.
13. How many arena maps are there?
[9 total currently]
1. Perez Park
2. The Office
3. The Lab
4. The Caves
5. Outbreak
6. Skyway
7. Steel Canyon
8. Siege Tower
9. Giant Cave
14. Can I pick a specific arena map?
Nope. Map will be applied randomly. Certain matches like Supergroup are supposed to occur on certain larger maps I believe.
15. What type of matches are there?
Team team vs. Team battle.
Duel One vs. One Battle
Supergroup Battle Supergroup vs. Supergroup
Battle Royal
Domination First player to a fixed number of kills
Custom
16. What other options are there?
Invite Only players viewing arena menu will not see your match or be able to join. Only those you invite through use of the arena invite command can join. This option is selected by default if you have a full match, and try to start it and then stop the start countdown by selecting cancel.
17. Time Settings
last man standing 1 death and your out. Keep fighting till only 1 person is left.
10 minute
20 minute
18. What is reputation?
In open zone pvp you gain reputation for each kill you achieve, up to a maximum of 400. Each day you lose a little of your reputation, or for each death. I believe there is a badge or gladiator for hitting 400.
19. What is my PvP rating, and what does it mean?
The game tracks all matches with the rated option for each of the various types of matches: duel, team, SG, etc. Some argue it doesnt mean much, since you could boost your rating articficially by continually beating upon the same person to gain wins. Nothing is unlocked by boosting your PvP rating.
20. Why did I get "kicked" from the match?
Players participating in an arena match are sometimes kicked out of the match back to the place where they entered the match. Cause was believed to be related to allowing observers in match, but this theory has been disproven. Its a bug.
21. Communicating with others during a match. When communicating with others not on your team ie. the opposing side - use /broadcast. You will not be able to send tells, or talk in arena channel while in a match. Emoting does not work in arena matches.
22. Can I give my teammate inspirations during a match?
No. You cannot trade with others, or gift items.
23. What is the best AT?
A subject of much debate. There should be multiple factors you should consider in making this determination for yourself. What level am I fighting at, am I fighting solo or with a team, what type of matches will I play in. See the next question.
24. How does Confuse work exactly?
Targets alternate between foe and friendly randomly and at random interval. Movement is not affected. If you use a targetted aoe you can hurt your team mates but not yourself. If it is a droppable like ice storm or a pet then you will be damaged. Any kill that you get while confused counts toward your kill count and not your foe's. This includes if you kill an ally or are killed by your own pets.
25. What should I play?
This is not an easy question to answer. I will choose to answer the philosophical version vs. the more common build version.
Before you answer this question, you may wish to consider what you like doing when you play PvE. If you havent done so already, you may wish to consider leveling your first toon to 50 before getting serious about PvP.
Why? Knowledge of your character is critical to your success. Most good PvPrs are also good at PvE. (though they might hate it, or be tired of it). Grinders have fought every mob, and developed strategies to fight each of them. Through leveling your toon and participating in all the content, you will learn how to fight every AT. Hopefully you will team with every other AT and see what they do as well. (though to really appreciate what each AT can do, you sort of have to play it for yourself to gain a deep understanding).
Imho, there are various types of personalities in the game. Different personalities are better suited to different characters and playstyles. Some chase the glory of getting all the kills, while others are satisfied to sit back and support in relative anonymity. In competitive PvP you generally see if people are enthusiastic about their role or not. If you love your role, you are usually better at it.
My view is that there are 3 general roles in team PvP
please note this is a drastic simplification
1. Damage somebody has to kill.
2. Disruption Goal is to debuff, hold, or otherwise interfere with the ability of the other team to remain organized and put up an effective fight. This is usually a mix of both Offensive and Defensive tasks in the match depending on the situation.
3. Pure Support you exist only to support those on your team. You generally dont play an active role vs. the other team.
So whats the answer? Pick what suits you.
Think your in the damage role? (simple example: Ice/Energy Blaster)
You should be aggressive and attack - Your job is to pump that kill count up! If you like sitting back to watch the battle when your supposed to be killing or chasing a person around the map without killing them this is not the role for you.
Think youre a support person? (simple example: Empathy Defender)
You should be boosting the abilities of your teammates, and not engaging the enemy. Your goal is to stay alive, and keep your teammates alive. Running away at the first sign of pressure, is not helping your team. You might sacrifice your own life so the rest of your team can triumph. In team matches, you will generally be so busy, you will not have time to be attacking the other team anyways. Dont expect to get kills - but expect the other team to be targetting you. Kill the support, and you kill the team.
Think youre a disruptor? (Simple Example: Storm Controller)
You should be smacking that other team around and debuffing them, pushing them, slowing them, or otherwise causing havoc. But you also have the potential to boost and protect your own team in the process with secondary powers. This is the middle of the road toon between the other extremes.
Balanced teams with all three classes generally do better. If a team is pure dmg, they will die fast. If a team is pure support, they will never get a kill. If a team is pure disruption, you might have a tough time killing or supporting depending what ya got.
Most of all - Have fun, respect your fellow players and try to learn something from every match. Observe, listen and soak it all in, but shrug off the bad.
More FAQ: ETHICS
Disclaimer: I am not inviting a flame war in posting questions about ethics here. I am simply pointing out that they are frequently asked questions and offer one view on the topic - hopefully from an objective team oriented community point of view.
1. What is Common Courtesy in Arena?
<Please note: One Viewpoint Only>
- Try balancing teams so both sides can hope for a fair fight. This is ultimately more interesting and engaging for all.
- Dont be afraid to lose.
- Wish your opponents good luck before you start, and a good game after you are done. Note - for those that do say GG after a match, don't use it if you don't mean it! Don't be be a jerk seconds after saying GG with inappropriate behaviour or broadcasts. This completely devalues your use of 'GG'.
- Try asking if everyone is ready to begin the match. If the match took a while to setup, somebody may have taken a quick bio break or be involved in the preparation of some refreshments. Somebody may have forgotten to purchase inspirations.
- Try showing up to a match ready to fight when you join it. Stock up on your standard set of inspirations, and let everyone know you would like to adjust your set if required based on the team makeup. Dont wait until people are ready to start the match before you consider your inspirations or lack thereof. If you started the match without inspirations, consider the excellent learning opportunity available to you and dont quit the match and abandon your teammates because of your mistake.
2. Am I required to respond to a request to identify my powersets so the opponent can buy the correct inspirations?
No - you can do what you like. There is no Requirement to share anything; however, you may wish to do so anyways. Inspirations make a big difference in a match. If you want a challenging match, it is reasonable for both players to know what they are walking into and prepare accordingly. Realistically it wont be a secret for long, so why not just be upfront about it.
3. Last minute selection of match options
Last minute selection of match options is generally considered sneaky or underhanded (with exception of disallowing observers). Everyone should agree to the conditions of the match up front and understand the signifigance of those options. Dont take advantage of somebody new to the arena by selecting the rated option when the opponent does not understand what that means. Dont sucker experienced players into a rated match with a last minute selection, when they may not be prepared to gamble with their pvp ratings. The whole PvP ratings system loses any meaning it has (debatable) if you try to exploit it to pump your status. Trying to sucker an opponent shows a lack of respect for the player and the arena and it will limit your ability to obtain future matches. While perhaps not as worrisome as a rated match, other options like max recovery should not come as a surprise either. Dont be surprised if your opponent leaves your match if you try something like this. If you want to experiment with max recovery matches, try advertising your interest to participate in such a match on the arena channel.
4. Why cant my level 12 fight in your super heavy weight match?
A low level character is at a distinct disadvantage fighting significantly higher level toons. The higher level toons will benefit from a greater number of inspiration slots, more slots in their powers, more powers (unless they cap everyone at your level) and finally better enhancements (HOs, SOs vs. TOs DOs). While you may be ready to waive these differences, the party which setup the match may not wish to. Generally speaking it is considered beneficial to fight players in your level range for this reason. Having trouble finding people to fight in your level range? You may wish to try asking for 1on1 matches instead of joining team matches. You may wish to just keep working on your toon till you reach the higher levels where there is the largest community of toons in your level range. You may wish to setup your own matches instead of joining matches setup for higher levels. To filter matches to your level try looking at the eligible matches option in the arena menu.
5. Teammate missing from match / bugged teams
Sometimes when starting a match, one team may not have all their members present by the time the timer runs out. A player may be slow to load or a player may have crashed upon the arena load screen. Sometimes all members may be present, but the team is not formed properly with all the members [note: quit teams before starting a match generally minimizes this known issue]. First step is to let the opposing teams know that you have issues, and need time to resolve them. You can determine on a case by case basis the severity of the issue and whether you wish to proceed with the match or try and start again. Use broadcast chat to let the other team know when you have issues, when you are ready to resume .or your desire to restart.
6. Quitting the match early
The idea of throwing in the towel when you think you have lost, is considered offensive to some. Generally speaking, if you join a match you are expected to finish it regardless of the outcome. While one player or team may be expected to avoid running up the kill count in an unbalanced match by the same token another player or team may be expected to stay in the match despite the expectation of a loss. Clearly this is a sensitive topic and more suited to a general rule of thumb vs. hard rules based on the specific case. Perhaps it is just best to be aware that this behaviour can be especially frustrating when someone has taken the lead with a few kills, and does not allow the other player to come back in the final minutes once the balance of power has switched to their advantage.
7. Trash Talk
Some people like a little trash talk to get their mojo going - Others dont. imho, if you want PvP to grow and Flourish in the community keep the trash talk to your own group of friends in private matches and leave it out of open matches. Or get on TS/Ventrillo/Skype with your friends, and dont spam it in broadcast/arena/request lines.
8. Spawn Killing
In friendly matches, it is generally accepted that attacking an opponent who has recently spawned is frowned upon. One might consider mitigating factors such as the ability in a large team match to determine who has recently spawned, or the ability of the recently re-spawned person to attack when they are ready to do so without the reverse being true (leaving the attacker at a distinct disadvantage).
Ultimately the system provides for 10 seconds of protection from attacks when you re-spawn [note: dont use awakens in the arena].
In a friendly 1vs1 match, consider allowing your opponent to come to you and start the battle especially with people new to the pace of PvP.
In a team match consider moving away from the concentration of fighting to re-toggle and minimize the possibility of being perceived as engaging the opponent.
In a competitive match: consider discussing your expectations in advance or all bets are off.
9.MOBILITY (running)
There are numerous posts regarding running or various other unfavorable acronyms for movement or the player who moves. I humbly offer that Mobility = Strategy.
The reason PvP is stimulating for many people, is due to the fact that there are so many variables to be considered, and so many different classes/approaches to winning. Generally speaking the goal is to play to the best of your ATs ability.
A squishy ranged-toon generally doesnt stand toe to toe with a Tank Melee toon. Standing toe to toe with a melee toon is playing to their strength and not your own. Sacrificing the strengths of your own AT to suit the other players desired playstyle is done at your own peril.
If you dislike runners take your match to arena rather than open-zone combat. Bear in mind, the entire arena map is there to be used. Dont fault the other player for making use of all of it. If you only want to fight toe-to-toe, make that clear before you ask for a fight. Most PvP tournaments or competitive matches generally propose an anything goes in the arena approach.
I humbly submit that limiting yourself to fighting one type of toon is limiting the rich tapestry of PvP which is available to you. Avoid making a build to fight one specific type of AT (or do so on test, where you can keep multiple versions of yourself to experiment with the limits of your AT vs. each opposing AT). This can be an interesting and rewarding experience.
10. Private Fights in Open Zones
There are numerous posts on open zone issues like interference with a private fight. I DO NOT want to incite flames here. Just pointing out that this is a hotly contested issue which comes up in discussion of ethics. Read those threads if you want to see detailed discussion.
11. Spamming Arena Channel with Non-Arena messages
Another hot topic issue which I wont debate. Some like it, some dont.
Consider keeping your private conversations private, and keep your open channel posts as meaningful as possible to avoid the ire of the community?