The best way to start PvP is with a few friendly faces in the arena. There, you will see what tends to work and what doesn't against various opponents. After that, I'd probably look to some of the more experienced PvP'ers/Team participants and see if you can watch/join in on some informal arena matches.
"the reason there are so many sarcastic pvpers is we already had a better version of pvp taken away from us to appease bad players. Back then we chuckled at how bad players came here and whined. If we knew that was the actual voice devs would listen to instead of informed, educated players we probably would have been bigger dicks back then." -ConFlict
So you can watch Arena matches?
Do you HAVE to be invited or can you just show up?
Rei, a person that's never tried PvP a single time is very unlikely to have any friends that are into PvP. Also the community is so jaded right now, chances are, most people wouldn't offer any help to a noob. So arena might not be the best option.
I'd suggest to just check out a PvP zone. Should definitely try to get on a team though. It makes zone PvP about 50 times easier.
Eh, I think the zones would be a worse idea, due to the lack of control over one's circumstances therein. Even just by asking a few SG buddies that aren't normally into PvP, you can usually get them to try out a friendly match or two between fellow members. There's a lot less pressure that way, and often no hard feelings. (Which sadly, sometimes happens with zones, warranted or not).
As for watching an arena match, all you need to do is select the "Show All" option at an arena terminal (usually located at the top right of the arena menu). There, you'll see all the events currently in progress or pending for your server. As long as the participants didn't select the "No Observers" option, you should be able to select that even and hit "Observe Event", which is normally on the bottom right of the menu.
Either way, never ever ever ever EVER take anything anyone says in a PvP zone seriously. The sooner you can laugh off the most offensive broadcast and tells directed at you, the sooner you'll be able to kick back and enjoy PvP.
"the reason there are so many sarcastic pvpers is we already had a better version of pvp taken away from us to appease bad players. Back then we chuckled at how bad players came here and whined. If we knew that was the actual voice devs would listen to instead of informed, educated players we probably would have been bigger dicks back then." -ConFlict
You're right. Zone PvP is pretty random. He could get lucky and happen to be there when his side is dominating, and then it will seem pretty fun. He'll get some kills and likely won't die at all, so he'll become a fan of PvP.
On the other hand, if his side is being camped in the hosp, and he's one of like 3 total people on his side, while the other side has 15 in the zone.....he will think PvP is the lamest thing he's ever seen in the game, and never come back to it.
But the best thing is to just take what you see with a grain of salt. Sides are very often uneven in PvP zones, so you should reserve judgement until you can experience a good, even battle.
The reason I suggested zones is because it's so much easier to just jump in and try PvP.
Just /t @Neuronia when you're on and I'll answer stuff.
If you have toons on Infinity or Pinnacle or Champion I can hit the Arena with you.
Edit: I have an unaccoalded, un-IOd 41 Rad/Ice on Freedom and precious little on Liberty, but just /t me and we can talk I guess.
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
Go play WoW, the PvP there is better than CoX's now...:P
@The REAL Chop
My teachers always told me to follow my dreams. To bad they are all Nightmares.
PvP basics...
No XP, no Debt - unless you kill or get killed by NPC's
You can get drops off of other players, however, so that is kind of a perk that happens every so often.
It's good you are on Freedom because this server tends to have a larger population, so you'll be able to jump into the action pretty quickly.
I personally learned the basics by messing around in Bloody Bay and dabbling in Siren's. Both places have some decent 'open' PvP - that is to say many are engaging one another in PvP. They also both tend to have 'fight clubs' where people do 1 v 1 and hope that no one interferes...which happens regularly.
Best thing to do is mess around on a few characters you'd like to play, then find which one is the most fun for you and then stick with that one for a while. Also, don't get discouraged if you get killed over and over again. We are all beginners at some point. Along those same lines, if you play with a Scrapper or Tank, it might be easier for you to learn the basics. They are more forgiving than playing any of the other AT's. Yeah, you might not get as many kills, but you'll survive longer and you'll be able to learn more with fewer deaths. Just remember, in PvP every AT gets mezzed, so dont' be surprised when it happens. Also, whether you are attacked or being attacked, you will have your travel suppressed, so don't be surprised by that either.
Let's see...well, feel free to PM me and I'll send you my global. I'm on Freedom and would be happy to run around with you for a bit, or even get on a villain and tangle with you in the zone...or we could even do some arena matches.
I would say most of anything - be patient. You won't get the hang of it right away because it is pretty different from PvP. Don't quit after getting repeatedly killed. Find others in the same faction to team with and find others who have similar builds or AT's and learn by watching what they do.
P.S. If you are a hero, don't stand still...there might be a Stalker around getting ready to AS you. That's why you'll see heroes bouncing around non-stop.
A stalker with hide, stealth, and a stealth IO can fairly easily observe in the zones. Getting kills can be hard, but for seeing how the zones work it was helpful to me. Just don't run through debuff patches and be aware that most of the hero's in SC can see you at 10 feet.
As expected - thanks for the prompt, informative replies.
I'll be on Freedom tonight @cougarific if any PvPers wanna show me around.
Ive thought about going into PvP, I dunno what I want to play with tho. I had an MM necro/TA, but i believe TA sucks (?) after the pvp change.
I have an ele/ele blaster but i dunno how well he would do, I also have a fort but i think they got hit pretty hard with the change as well.
" I don't let me kids play on the Freedom Server" -Oya
I play on Liberty. RV is usually pretty active there. I have a couple of heroes I use and a villian. I'd be glad to run a couple arena matches. As for zone PvP, just be prepared to die, and remember it's just a game and don't let it bother you. Send me a tell @Ruthless Raptor.
[ QUOTE ]
Long-time player here, who has NEVER engaged in any type of PvP activity.
But I'm curious, and was hoping you could suggest the best way to start, where to go from there, and explain (in brief) some of the MOST BASIC ideas behind PvPing (e.g. how does xp/debt work in PvP, what ATs are best for a beginner PvPer (I have a number of 50s to choose from), and like that).
The guides I've looked at here seem to start with the assumption that you know at least a little about PvP, which I don't. Unless I didn't see the Guide I should be looking at...
I have 50s (heroes only) on Freedom and Liberty, and if anyone would be so generous as to offer to meet me in-game and hold my hand through my first PvP experience, I'd be up for that.
I'll be playing tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow night, for an unknown period of time between 7p - 12m Eastern U.S. time.
I'll check back for replies after I get off work around 6p ET.
Thanks!
[/ QUOTE ]
Buy one of these it will be a great start to the new PvP system. Master this and you will master PvP!
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Owner & Operator of...
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Just a quick note to pass along a huge THANK YOU to @neuronia for introducing me to the Arena, and all the PvP zones last night.
It was tons of fun and I really appreciate the time you invested, dragging me all over, explaining everything as we went.
I expected nothing less from this community, but it does serve as a good reminder of why I play CoX and ONLY CoX as my MMO of choice.
It's all about the heroes.
Look me up if you're ever in sirens call. @Supermax
Pretty sure I've spent more time in sirens than any player on Freedom hehe....so if you have any questions, I can help.
Hey no problem bud.
There was a little hiccup in Siren's...told them to go into rest to avoid TP Foe and it happened just outside the hospital, not inside...but otherwise we had fun heh. 
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
Long-time player here, who has NEVER engaged in any type of PvP activity.
But I'm curious, and was hoping you could suggest the best way to start, where to go from there, and explain (in brief) some of the MOST BASIC ideas behind PvPing (e.g. how does xp/debt work in PvP, what ATs are best for a beginner PvPer (I have a number of 50s to choose from), and like that).
The guides I've looked at here seem to start with the assumption that you know at least a little about PvP, which I don't. Unless I didn't see the Guide I should be looking at...
I have 50s (heroes only) on Freedom and Liberty, and if anyone would be so generous as to offer to meet me in-game and hold my hand through my first PvP experience, I'd be up for that.
I'll be playing tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow night, for an unknown period of time between 7p - 12m Eastern U.S. time.
I'll check back for replies after I get off work around 6p ET.
Thanks!