We Want You to PvP - Beginner's Guide (Freedom)

First, this is the best place for this topic. It is directed at non-pvpers not people that have spent ample amount of time in PvP. Therefore this would be out of place in the PvP section because no one from outside of PvP will read it.

Basically "the more the merrier" applies in PvP. Though some zones are still active, i'd like to see even more people in those zones so here I am personally calling out the CoX universe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are a few reason why you SHOULD PvP:

-PvP can be fun and rewarding. You reach 50 and you have few option that generally fall between doings Tfs or farming. PvPing adds and entire new spectrum to the game and will revolutionize the way you play your toons and think about the game in general.

-You can gain IOs unique to PvP combat only. The IOs are effective in PvE but in PvP can even rival purple enhacements. They are different because they have at least 10 bonuses on each set as opposed to the usual 5. This effect only works in PvP but still offers a player a new exciting opportunity.

-The daily grind can become boring at times, PvP allows you to experience the game in a whole new way which doesn't rely heavily on content or NPCs. Your foes are more challenging and always thinking of new ways to defeat you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where to start:

Look through your list of toons that are already level 15+ and decide which of them are more suitable for PvP. Here a list of some toons or powersets that are generally suitable for PvP.

Blaster: Difficulty 2/5

PvP Technique - Loose cannons so to speak, PvP blasters rely on out-damaging their opponents paired with lots of to-hit. On heavier foes, ranged toons often use "Kiting" which is using SJ or CJ to stay out of melee range and blaster away at a brute/tank/scrapper/stalker without allowing them to deal their most massive attack.

PvP Sets -
Fire/Energy Manipulation - quick DMG paired with DoT
Sonic/Energy Manipulation - Adds -Res to which helps drop heavier foes
Psy/Energy Manipulation - Very quick DMG with a dose of -rech thrown in
Rad/Energy Manipulation - Adds -Def + a Stun + fast DMG
Psy/Devices - Webnade paired with long ranged Psy Powers
Archery/Devices - Webnade paired with long ranged Archery Powers

Weakness - Low hit points and a purely damage class makes it a bit harder to survive on this class

Controller: Difficulty 3/5

PvP Technique - Generally a support class, the controller assists teammates with emp/thermal/cold/force buffs. However, the controller can also use containment and debuffs to bring down even the quickest and most powerful foe.

PvP Sets -
Mind Control/Thermal
Mind Control/Force
Mind Control/Cold
Ice/Thermal
Ice/Rad
Ill/TA

Weakness - low damage sometimes ends with this toon running out of endo before finishing off a foe.

Tank: Difficulty 2/5
PvP Technique - While some PvP tanks act as taunting meatshields that absorb incoming attacks for teammates, Tanks pair survivability with a fair amount of damage to become anyone's worst nightmare.

PvP Sets -
Ice/SS - Def paired with hibernation makes this tank near impossible to take down
WP/SS -Def paired with regeneration and -to hit, with Rage +to hit makes this evil
Fire/SS -Relies on a powerful fast recharging self heal that few can overcome
Invun/SS -Sturdy tank with high HP def and resistance paired with SS for the Kill

Weakness - Lack of range makes this toon susceptible to more advanced ranged fighters, especially a good corrupter.

Scrapper: Difficulty 2/5

PvP Technique - Survivability paired with High DMG makes scrappers top PvPers.

PvP Sets -
Broadsword/Regeneration - High Burst DMG + Regeneration + Heals = BS/Regen
Katana/Regeneration -Quick DMG makes this set rival the power of Broadsword
Fire/Regeneration -Critical hits + Dot makes it hard to outdamage this strictly melee set
Spines/Regeneration - Range DMG + minor DoT makes this one of the best scrapper sets
MA/Regeneration - New animations put MA on the map with its awesome power and immobilization ability.

Weakness - Lack of range makes this toon susceptible to more advanced ranged fighters, especially a good corrupter.

Defender: Difficulty -4/5
PvP Technique - As a buffer defenders are hardly difficult to play at all, but as an aggressive PvPer defenders require a bit more skill timing your debuffs, attacks, and heals appropriately can make defenders one of the best PvP ATs period.

PvP Sets-
Cold/Sonic -Cold Debuffs cover almost everything with Sonic -Res this is a top tier PvPer
Cold/Psy -Cold Debuffs paired with fast Psy dmg and -rech makes this another top tier
Cold/Dark -Cold Debuffs paired with -tohit makes this defender tough to even scratch
Rad/Sonic -Radiation Debuffs are terribly powerful + -Res kills the strongest foes
Rad/Psy -Radiation paired with Psy can make a tough foe squishy
Dark/Rad - Quick powerful heals + fast dmg makes this a powerful defender

Weakness - low hp paired with a nearly useless inherent makes a defender tough to play for new pvpers.

Stalker: Difficulty 1/5
PvP Technique - Hide and seek has never been so fun. You cover yourself in stealth so powerful that no one can see you outside of 10ft unless you are affected by an enemy power. You hide and assail your target in melee range delivering an Assassin's Strike which will drop most foes into red and another well maneuvered attack will drop most any unsuspecting foe to their death.

PvP Sets-
Energy Melee/Regeneration - High DMG + Regeneration makes this Stalker terribly tough
Electric Melee/Regeneration -Thunderstike deals awesome dmg + AS + Regeneration
Spines/Regenation - Spamming Impale will take down most low hp foes, without AS
Energy Melee/Ninjitsu - High DMG + stun + Heal paired with Defense
Electric Melee/Ninjitsu - High DMG +KB+ Heal paired with Defense
Spines/Ninjitsu - Impale Spam + Heal + Def

Weakness - DMG drops significanty after the first few attacks a stalker lands. If a foe doesn't die in the first few hits, the stalkers generally will.

Brute: Difficulty 2/5

PvP Technique - High hitpoints paired with high damage make brutes decent pvpers.
PvP Sets -
SS/WP -Def paired with regeneration and -to hit, with Rage +to hit makes this evil
SS/Fire -Relies on a powerful fast recharging self heal that few can overcome
SS/Invun -Sturdy brute with high HP def and resistance paired with SS for the Kill

Weakness - Lack of range makes this toon susceptible to more advanced ranged fighters, especially a good blaster or defender.

Mastermind: Difficulty 3/5

PvP Technique - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer has never applied so much. By keeping your "friends" by which I means pets closer, you gain a substantial increase to survivability when pets are in defensive as damage is shared between you and all nearby pets. If you manage to bring your enemies close to you, few will live to tell about it.

Weakness - being seperated from your pets most certaintly = death. There are a number of ways to seperate a MM from their pets with the most popular being pool power "Teleport Foe".

Corrupter: Difficulty 3/5 (this varies at higher levels)

PvP Technique - Though often buffers, corrupters are also dangerous foes with high damage and debuffs.

PvP Sets -
Sonic/Cold -Cold Debuffs cover almost everything with Sonic -Res this is a top tier PvPer
Dark/Cold-Cold Debuffs paired with -tohit makes this defender tough to even scratch
Sonic/Rad-Radiation Debuffs are terribly powerful + -Res kills the strongest foes
Rad/Dark - Quick powerful heals + fast dmg makes this a powerful corrupter
Rad/Pain Domination - Rad Stuns + Heals, regenaration, debuffs, and sheer survivability
Sonic/Pain Domination - Heals, regenaration, debuffs, and sheer survivability + -Res

Weakness - Low hitpoints often make corrupters a target in open PvP, especially for blasters, most of which can do away with a Corrupter in just a few quick shots.

Dominator: Difficulty 2/5
PvP Technique - This Damage set holds their targets and pummels them with high DMG which weaker foes will never arise from.

PvP Sets -
Mind/Fire - Massive Kb + High dmg + DoT makes this Dominator a killer
Mind/Thorny Assault - Massive Kb + light DoT + paired with aim
Mind/Psy - Massive Kb paired with quick dmg with a bit of -rech
Mind/Energy -Massive Kb paired with High DMG powerboost, and stuns for days
Fire/Psy - DoT + Imps with quick dmg makes this set deal loads of quick DMG
Grav/Energy - movement degradation paired with high damage

Weakness - The lowest HP in the game makes dominators easy pickings if they aren't careful and are assailed first.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Choosing powers:

In the end your build is your own thing but there are a few general rules of thumb when choosing powers.

-Blasters choose aim + build up when available
-Hurdle or Swift + Health + Stamina are generally 100% needed in PvP
-Travel Powers, most people choose SJ some ranged toons choose Fly, Melee seldom chooses fly. SJ + SS is the perfect combo if you can fit it.
-Tactics is a great power which allows you to see moderately stealthed foes at close range and gives you a boost to -tohit + resitance to confuse and fear effects.
-Aid Self gives squishy toons a way to heal themselves in combat and even more powerful toons without self heals.
-Stealth pool. Stealth grants you minor stealth, you will be seen with tactics but at a closer distance than if not. This power is a MUST for any stalker. Invisibilty grants you the stealth cap (stalkers are the exception) but you cannot attack while invisible. Phase shift takes you out of sync with reality and you cannot be affected unless the other person phases also.
Hasten- Most ever PvPer will tell you that hasten is God but Hasten is NOT required though is highly recommended.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Slotting Guidelines:

When I slot SOs into my toons here are a few examples of how I do it.

DMG powers - DMGx3 Rechx2 ACCx1
Healing Powers -Heal x3 Rech x3
Hasten - Rechx3
Stamina -Endx3
Holds - Holdx3 Rechx3 Accx3
ToHit - Tohitx3 Rechx3

Those are just some general guidelines that DO NOT apply all the time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where to PvP:

You can PvP in the arena from Lvl 1 but umm...dont lol. PvP zones open up at level 15 and are as follows:

Bloody Bay: 15+ Exemped to Level 25 with access to lvl 30 powers.

Siren's Call: 20+ Exemped to Level 30 with access to lvl 35 powers. One of the most popular PvP Zones, join us there.

Warburg: 30+ Exemped to Level 38 with access to lvl 41 powers.

Recluse's Victory: 40+ All toons in RV are raised to Level 50. Another Popular PvP Zone.

Arena: Set it up as desired. Typical arena matches are set for 10 mintues in the cargo ship where inspirations are generally acceptable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advanced PvP

For more information on advanced PvP and dueling/Arena please read through the Player vs Player Section of the forums.

Also download mids hero designer v1.6 to experiement with build creation and slotting IOs which
make a huge difference in PvP.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All information here is based on my personal PvP experience and may vary from person to person but the overall concept remains. Note also that this guide is not a complete list of builds and powersets but an introduction to some of the easier ones to play.

So what are you waiting for? Come PVP!

Wow. This can't possibly be in the right section :\
Welcome to the PvE section of this forum.

Are you PVPing the forum? The formatting is way too wide.

on onion. untill the attitudes of the players change and show respec...i wont even think about pvping. while this was helpful..it belongs in the pvp section as anyone who wants to pvp will look there not in the pve section.

however...it was a nice read. +1 rep

Actually I am more PVE than PVP , though I have on occasion pvp'd. I took the time to read over your post since you took so long to write it out. I found it helpful and something to consider should I ever return to it.

I do see why you posted here and wish you luck in finding some folks to pvp with I am virtually exclusive to Virtue though, it has been my home since beta and I love it there. I do understand the frustration some folks experience with some of the poor attitudes displayed by some in the pvp arena...I usually just kill broadcast or zone out when I encounter it.

I do wish you the best and thanks for the pseudo guide you took the time to type out. I copied to notepad for future reference.

While I would dispute some of the information in the guide, it's definitely a nice read. Keep at it.

All melee should rank 5/5 for difficulty. You'll really be struggling to kill anything.

Two things.

One, a nitpick, any time a blaster tries to kite me on a melee character, I know I'm going to win the fight, or at least survive it. Why? It tells me they skipped their melee attacks, and are therefore doing diddly squat for damage. Blappers hit like a truck. Blasters tickle like a kitten.

Two, more importantly, you utterly failed at addressing the question. People don't avoid PvP because they don't know how to PvP; if they wanted to PvP, they could pretty nearly all learn it pretty quickly. The original post is mediocre tutorial about how to PvP, but doesn't make any kind of a case for why people who don't currently know that they would enjoy PvP would find it fun or rewarding. Concentrate on that part, and people will look up the how-to tutorials on their own.

I dont agree with your veiws on AT diff. Stalkers are not 1/5, Blasters are not 2/5, Defenders arent really hard to play now (imo), and so on.

Although there is some info I would dispute, you spent a good portion of time writing this guide and it should be acknowledged.

GG.