M3z is amazing and so can you! Dominator PvP Q & A
By
1nSa1n,
Posted on: 2008-05-19 01:41 in Dominators
A belated addendum:
Check out this other selection from Sirlin's book: How Far Should You Go to Win? It covers much of my background for what I've said in this thread, such as his espousing blatant bug-exploiting and why PvP in MMO's is not something to which you should apply his advice. He mentions the tendency for "the scrubs" to be right about some things and how they're not designed as "legitimate competitive games".
Really an essential chapter if we're talking about Playing to Win in an MMO context.
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And I have no idea why Wavicle is posting his point of view all the time with something that has nothing to do with this guide, one post would be enough for that. Guess what on big teams where you get more 'domination' on the bar than solo, I can just jump, press the key for snipe 5 or so times and boom, dom in 3 seconds.
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I'm not really sure how you can say it had nothing to do with the topic, as it directly discussed a tactic described by the OP.
I made one post with my opinion, if people didn't want to discuss it then they could have left it alone. Instead, I was jumped on, and I chose to defend myself.
Whether a person agrees with my opinion or not really has nothing to do with it.
There's really no call for you to suggest that I don't have the right to post my point of view. I play Dominators and have PvPd with them, although admittedly not all that much. That gives me as much right to post my opinion as anyone else. As if I needed a justification.
Wavicle, Energy/Energy Blaster, dinged 50 in Issue 4, summer of 2005.
@Wavicle, mostly on the Justice server.
Nice guide M3z. I have done jump-canceling but never all the time. I didn't know that it could be repeated based on a clearly defined method. Now to practice!
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
Mez I have a different kind of question. I am making a dark/cold Corr for dueling. Can you give me tips how to beat Doms? as i assume you know their weaknesses as well as the stregnths.
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
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wut
Duel me.
I will work on my sig pic more when I have time.
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
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wut
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Here you come with a stupid name like Fixer - brutalkillz_
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And I Certainly wouldn't take a Snipe just to do that, but then I don't build toons for PvP.
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The snipe is taken for the 7.5% recharge, in addition to the +dmg, and even +regen bonuses, with the SotM set.
As was stated before, on a /psi dom, you can also use it for a nice ranged damage spike, as you don't have to stay rooted for it's entire animation, given the SotM slotting. The added bonus, is the dom building effect, rounding the snipe out for good utility.
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
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wut
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Soo cute? no no...you?
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
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wut
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Soo cute? no no...you?
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Reallly go ahead explain his misplaced logic. Everything m3z posted is dead on in my experience. And as far as m3z being mouthy while he does generally post with a sarcastic tone he makes alot of post being helpful in this section.
On a side note, maybe getting a copy of this up in the guides section without the trolls stopping in every few post would be good.
Duel me.
I will work on my sig pic more when I have time.
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Mez I have a different kind of question. I am making a dark/cold Corr for dueling. Can you give me tips how to beat Doms? as i assume you know their weaknesses as well as the stregnths.
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1. Don't let him get domination off
hard to do if he FoN rushes so if he does that just slow/run continuously, if he doesn't then just debuff his acc until he can't hit you anymore. Always keep him in sleet, tough fight for you if your opponent has high recharge.
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You can drop tactics for phase if you really want to be survivable, but the problem is you won't be able to take out any support without a sonic and will have trouble combating storm camps in zones.
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At least your "trying" to help people now....Instead of mouthin...Even if some of your logic is a bit misplaced...
[/ QUOTE ]I invented trolls sorry sir
p.s. don't talk to me like u know me
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Mez I have a different kind of question. I am making a dark/cold Corr for dueling. Can you give me tips how to beat Doms? as i assume you know their weaknesses as well as the stregnths.
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1. Don't let him get domination off
hard to do if he FoN rushes so if he does that just slow/run continuously, if he doesn't then just debuff his acc until he can't hit you anymore. Always keep him in sleet, tough fight for you if your opponent has high recharge.
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I'd say if he FoN rushes hit him with HL right away and then run away for the last 30 sec of the accolade. All the rech in the world isn't going to overcome HL+infrig.
Another trick is to fight your best right until he pops domination and then HL him, that is very frustrating because they "should" be taking control at that point, but with dominate recharging evey 24 seconds that is pretty tough to do. Some will have trouble shifting from offensive to defensive mindset and may make a mistake.
I would say the advantage is not in your possession though.
One big mistake colds make though is not using HL offensively/defensively. Make your build good enough to not really need the +recovery, so that you can use it when you need it the affect THEM the most.
gl
This is correct. My ice/cold can beat non mind doms , but TK is a different story since they can stay outta range of the slows.
btw..nice guide Mez. One of the few PvP guides I've seen that is spot on. I'd label this "must read" for anyone interested in PvPng with a dom.
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Jump cancelling This is a bit more of a universal thing. Jump cancelling(it's just what I call it) is when you completely cancel the animation and rooting of the attack. You still cannot attack during the duration of the animation but you may move and position yourself for the next attack. Very very useful for long lag attacks like total focus. I still don't fully understand how to do it, I've tried to test it before. I've noticed it happens a lot more when you kite, if you're moving fast away from someone while doing the attack. This especially happens when you have IR on you. If anyone knows anymore about it I would sure like to know.
Example can be seen at 2:30 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gv1JB_xvZM
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I can make a video with an example of an intentional jump cancel. I do it all the time when using Poisonous Ray after Dominate. The cancelling comes when you use a power with a quick hit check and small delay in animation (i.e. Dominate or Power Bolt). If you're landing while the animation is finishing off, you can click a new power that will start to activate before the animation can register. You have to jump or turn to do it though. That's why in the video you see it after a quick turn. I never strafe so I get a lot of them.
2:18 of this video is another good example.
[/ QUOTE ]can you clarify this, do you mean if you use a short animation like dominate or powerbolt where the damage hits the target immediately you'll be able to skip the next animation if you're close to the ground?
Also I'll work on the post you've all been waiting for, pvping with doms in 8v8 villain v. villain teams :O(When I get home)
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Here you go ladies and gentlemen: The Art of Jump-cancels.
Use your newfound power wisely.
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Redname posted on this recently I think and said it is latency related. It is an interesting issue though. I can get infinite ice attack chains on my dom like that kiting around someone. Don't think the strafe has anything to do with it.
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I invented trolls sorry sir
p.s. don't talk to me like u know me
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Not u, just the type...but please carry on with the rest of the stuff you've invented..
Mind Dom technique I forgot to mention
The Willyslap their insp tray infinity(almost infinity 
)
Required powers: dominate levitate
very simple technique, with a high recharge build and the KB +rech proc slotted into levitate you can loop dominate-->levitate-->dominate
May or may not work in i12 with the proc fixes but as of now since the proc goes off 100% of the time it means you get to have a party on their breakfree supply. You aren't able to pop breakfrees, powers anything etc. during a KB animation so when you levitate them they have the choice to pop a [censored] load of BFs to get out of the hold, or they can wait for suppression, either way you win.
The tactic is good for a number of reasons, it runs your opponent out of BFs easily, it makes them scurred, they have to choose whether they want to pop 9001 BFs or turn on acro so they don't get booty raepd by levitate-->dominate.
I've beaten people with levitate and dominate alone.
OMFG DAMAGE PROCS: put the purple damage procs in the attacks you use most often(since doms have garbage damage) for example
I have the smash damage hold proc in dominate, hecatomb damage proc in mind probe, and apocolypse damage proc in subdue. The great thing about some of these damage proc is they're effected by -res, so the -res debuff power from BS will essentially boost the damage of two parts of the attack (normal part and the proc).
reasons to use melee over ranged on a dominator
ranged modifier .65
melee modifier .75 <---THIS MEANS MORE DAMAGE
I think KB suppression was added to Levi o_o
I had to slot my levi with kin crash for the +7.5 rchrg
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Nice guide M3z. I have done jump-canceling but never all the time. I didn't know that it could be repeated based on a clearly defined method. Now to practice!
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Nice guide m3z, but I am honestly astonished at how many people actually "didn't" know about jump canceling, or at least know the benefits of it....no wonder there are so many people that blow at pvp and then don't give it a second thought..... 
**BIG UPDATE**
Dominator Villain 8v8 Strateegery(ffs this wasnt proofread either)
Q: m3z is amazing and so can i?
A: lol
Although what role I play depends on a number of things like what sort of team Im fighting against whether I have to target call or not etc., I divided a dominators rolls in to two separate styles
1. Offense (Assault)
2. Disruption (Control )
Technically you end up doing both all the time, because youre always holding and attacking(if ur a G), but Ive found it makes it easier to pick one or the other(In terms of one of those strategies, offense or disruption, not holding or attacking).
1. Offense: Target Calling/Target Locking
Targetting in villain matches is a [censored]. Ever since VORI v.s. FoL back in August there have been 2-3 MMs which is (if theyre using thugs) 30-50 pets you have to target through, plus the opposing team so at max youre probably targeting through 40-60 targets. Have fun tabbing through all of that(lets have a tabbing party). The only reasonable way Ive found to target through all of the BS is too scroll your camera back to the max(mine is always anyways) and make sure you have the setting in your options(I think its general) where you can see the AT and name so you can distinguish between pet and player without having to click. Youll have to manually click the target. Theres also a way to use the search function to target but a lot of players /hide so this may or may not work.
In villain matches, the ground is hot lava
Q: do u want to be in hot lava?
A: NO
I always tell nubs that the ground/floor w/e is hot lava and to get the [censored] off of it. This applies to doms too who play an unsafe offensive roll. (MMs get BG mode and stalkers play offense from hide cuz it takes a lot of skill to catch ppl in animations and AS) So when playing in villain 8v8s if teams see youre playing an unsafe dom, (staying on the ground, using long lag attacks) youll get punished. You can play an unsafe dom against bad teams or unorganized teams but the more tactical teams will go for you the entire match, Ill go into how to handle pressure later on. Back to the point of this section, get the [censored] off the ground, that is all.
Q: OMG M3Z WUT IF I GET WEBNADED, THERES LIKE NO WAY TO GET OFF THE GROUND OMFG
A: run like a black kid until the webnade comes off, again though ill explain in further detail later on how to handle pressure, now plz [censored]
2. DISRUPTION rogue domin
Your objective as a disruptor is to basically, be as big of a pain in the [censored] as possible(to the other team ;o ) and waste the other teams time buffing/healing etc. I probably dont have to really go into this too much, I used to rogue dom a lot since it was funny watching people yell in broadcast IM HELD IM HELD. You dont want to be going for offense obviously because for one, you cant kill them(MMs with phase and BG mode, stalkers with phase and healz) So that leaves you with support to [censored] with. I try to go for kins because a lot of teams bring 1 kin so I put TK on the kin(which should always be in use, if your TK isnt being used just click on someone random and put da TK of justice on that [censored]). And even though I just said going for stalkers isnt a good idea, you can still just make them phase by spamming the ST hold on them.
Disruption is used as a way to waste the other teams time with your nuisances, annoyances or better yet to cause them to panic. Throw TK on the kin, spam confuse on the MM, keep the stalker out of hide.
My favorite disruption tactic was the ol 3 holds for all tactic, forcing the opposing team to have 2 stacks of mez protection on everyone on the team. What I did was hit FoN and megalomaniac, stack 3 holds, next target, stack 3 next etc. The technique didnt hold them initially but eventually youd see random people from the other team held, it wreaks havoc. This wont work on teams who play it safe though :\
Pressure trixxies
-A short article by prof. m3z
Example of being pressured an entire match
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o091f7RTHkQ (turn the sound down cuz its rap and rap is the devil etc.)
Oh boy nothing like having 3 weakens and envenoms with 5 immobs and 17 webnades stacked on you. Being pressured isnt fun, and if youve chosen an offensive set of insps(reds) you may not give your support enough time to heal your dumb [censored]. Although its impossible to fully guess what your opponents will bring, you can try to guess what they will from previous matches/practices what they might bring and bring the appropriate inspirations. Anyways its always tough when youre being targeted an entire match. Its not fun, but it is beneficial to YOUR team if youre being targeted the whole match because
a. You know what your opponents objective is(their offense becomes predictable)
b. It wastes the other teams time if you just run the whole match
But the problem I always run into is if I should phase and play it safe and not risk a death or stay out of phase in hopes my support heals me thus wasting more of the opposing teams time.
Another neat trick that can come out of being chased by the offense is bating the stalkers(good example in the video) Just phase and stand still, ez_pz. If the stalker cant tell youre phased hell attempt to AS you(if not then w/e) come out of phase after the AS wooshes and hold that bizzle. Just keep his [censored] out of hide as long as possible.
i remember playing sonic against some bastage doms who kept putting pressure on me. 
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Example of being pressured an entire match
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o091f7RTHkQ (turn the sound down cuz its rap and rap is the devil etc.)
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AotP ftw
M3z. how many kb IO's do you need when dueling? With the acro nerf to 9(?) and the nerf to kb pwrs. How many should one utilize.
dominator's domination still provides 10,000 kb protection or whatever so you probably don't need any, even if you get KB'd before you get domination off there's even longer KB suppression then from what there used to be from my understanding
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If I respect my opponent, I come at them with my all. I will not cheat, but neither will I hamstring myself. Anything else is disrespectful.
Yes, I just used the term 'respect' in a PVP conversation.
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Interesting viewpoint. And I suppose, now that I think about it, I really don't respect my opponents when I do my laughable attempts at PvP. To be honest, I treat them with no more respect than... 3d renderings of imaginary characters, against whom I am playing some kind of silly "game" to derive amusement for myself. Shocking!!
Back towards the original topic, thank you for the fine guide! Whether I choose to use the suggested tactics with an optimal build, or choose instead to disrespect people by attempting to annoy them with a poorly slotted plant/thorn, it's always good to know what kinds of techniques are available.