Victory PvP University

Whoa, can you clean that up a bit?

Are damage bonuses hit by DR? If so, how much? I usually try to get 30% or more with assault on. Thanks!

The answer is yes. I can't tell you the % that DR takes off because they use super crazy math to come up with it.

You actually don't get that much from Aim+BU, it's best to alternate them. After Aim+BU, dmg buffs (fort, forge) add about 5% dmg.

+Dam does get hit by DR quite bad, no matter how little you have. It's sad really. It does help with DPS though when your +dam clicks aren't up.

Is that including IO damage bonuses?

I've already forgotten about most of you

Yep

my slow build up of my "kinda pvp build" has started and i would like to thank you for the suggestion of it.

good job mate

So one of the recurring comments as to why some people do not enjoy PvP is that they do not like spending all whole match chasing people and not being able to attack them. This is most commonly (obviously) for people playing melee toons or ranged toons with fly.

While fly can be somewhat viable in zones it can be used as a travel power, however, when doing arena matches it can limit your character to the point where you are not able to evade damage (maps with ceilings: Office, Cargo ship, Troll Cave, Monkey Cage) or not allow you to chase people who are running away from you on large maps or people who hide under trees on maps like Striga or Perez.

Melee characters can get some sort of mez in their epic/patron powers (webnades, fossilize, web envelope, shark jaws). This should give them the ability to briefly hold a target long enough for them to get into range for a melee attack (or just keep spaming their ranged attacks).

I know that spending 5 minutes chasing a target only to have them pop into hibernate or to have someone else swoop in for the kill can be frustrating so I thought I would open the door for the discussion of the following topics:

Travel Powers- why is it important to be at max travel speed and jump distance.

Evading- What is line of sight and why is it so important.

Temp powers available for purchase at the Arena store.

I am hoping that we can get a few of the great pvp minds out there to discuss these topics and if not I will write up a little something this weekend.

Thanks again to everyone who has been showing up to VFN and all the PvPers supporting this PvP University project.

I'm not a great pvp mind but you want to run/jump as fast as possible so you can run/jump as fast as possible. I have this problem all the time since I stopped speccing for pvp - if you just can't catch the person running from you, or if they can easily catch you, you're just gonna get frustrated fast. If they're dying, all they have to do is run away, and if you're dying, you won't be able to run away.

Line of sight is also pretty obvious - if there's something between you and some foe, they can't attack you and you can't attack them. Breaking line of sight also interrupts AS's and snipes (I think?)

You can buy webnades from the arena and web people. It's kind of hilarious when you're in that perez map and you have a blaster or something and you sit in the trees, spamming the webnade and your attacks on that silly melee toon who now can't reach you. I know stun grenades used to be pretty useful, I used to use those in duels on my spines regin. Dunno if they still are.

Also, cool thing you used to be able to do was buy the temp teleport power and use it to counter people who were TKing you. Not useful now at all, but I always thought it was funny :x

I'm sure there's more to say.

This is a great idea Masque I can't offer any real knowledge (i am a nublet) other than if anyone asks about the transition into PvP and getting a tougher skin for some of the broadcast/ac chat PvP.

Just wanted to compliment you on this effort

With DR and set bonus's, how much differance would say dmg of 15% as compared to 20% to 25%? Is DR on sets the same for recharge or acc? Guess what I am asking is if the DR returns effect everything equaly or did they just have a monkey fling poo at a board?

For a while I thought the saying was in PVP you want more RES then DEF, is that still true today?

Masque asked me to write up something about PvP emping, so here it goes:

(I think I'll break this up into build/slotting and then playstyle in a second post.)

The Build:

If you want to maximize your potential, then you're going to want to have a solid build. I still prefer controller emps over defender ones, mainly because of Power Boost, but that doesn't mean defender emp builds are bad. I've played a mind/emp since around the game's launch, but ill/emp has been the emp build of choice in arena PvP for the biggest part of the game's history (because of pets for disruption and Superior Invis for evasion). The primary can be debated these days for a few reasons, but the key PvP powers remain the same for all emps:

• Healing Aura
• Heal Other
• Absorb Pain
• Clear Mind
• Fortitude
• Adrenalin Boost
• Regeneration Aura + Recovery Aura (to a lesser extent, but I don't skip these)

You'll be skipping Resurrect as a PvP emp. If you need to know why: the arena respawn will rez for you, organized teams will kill both you and your rez target because of the animation time for you and the lack of unaffect time for your taget, and you'll need the power choice to select a truly useful power instead.

Slotting:

• You should slot for HP to increase your survivability. As a general rule of thumb, I'd set 1500 HP as a minimum, trying to get as much over that as possible without sacrificing too much regarding other slotting needs. Getting accolades obviously makes this easier, so get that Freedom Phalanx, Portal Jockey, and TF Commander asap. (Get the Atlas Medallion while you're at it, because you can never have too much End.)

• Great emp builds aren't cheap, but I'm sure you can find relatively inexpensive, viable builds if you look around enough. I suggest downloading and installing Mids Hero Designer to plan your build out before actually slotting it. If you can't find a decent build here to start from when making you own, look at some of the PvP GP sites or just ask here on the boards for either a cheap build or one where money is no object...take a look at both if you really want to plan out both starter and future respec builds. Remember to keep turn PvP mode on in Mids, and keep an eye on bonus caps, etc.

• Apart from HP, you need Super Jump and Super Speed if you want to live. Also, you'll need the speed and mobility from that travel combo in order to keep your teammates alive and buffed. I started out in PvP with Fly (in Issue 4) and then quickly realized a respec was in order. (That's a good side point: PvP'rs are min-maxers in general, so it's usually a good assumption that they've tried anything you've thought of when it comes to role positions like emping.) I try to max out my travels (HO Micros are helpful), because speed is everything in PvP.

• Keeping with survivability and evasion: take Concealment pool powers, slot them for set bonuses/LotG Global recharges, and get your primary evasion power, Phase Shift (and I suggest just dropping a single Recharge IO in it). You'll need to practice to figure out when you need to phase. Phasing too late gets you killed, and phasing when you don't need to can get your teammates killed.

• As far as heals go, increased range is a huge help. Obviously, you want your heals to have good numbers, but I personally think that 2 Range IOs in Heal Other is a must, since it's your main healing power. Opinions vary, but at the very least, I'd slot Absorb Pain with at least 1 Range IO. Set bonuses for range can really come in helpful here, but cost can be an issue. Get familiar with Healing set bonuses. Again, don't sacrifice too much when it comes to range. A split-second of travel time to get in range can end up in dead teammates more often than you'd think in fast-paced PvP.

• As a controller emp, you'll want to choose Primal Forces powers. Conserve Power can help with End issues, and Temp Invulnerability is good for some resistances, set bonuse slotting, and KB protection. Power Boost will be big when throwing heals...and it used to mean a big difference in buffs, but not so much any more (stupid i13).

• I just touched on KB protection, but you'll want to take Acrobatics (I put a single KB IO in it), and then a combination of Karmas, Steadfast Prot, and Zephyrs, and set bonuses to achieve at least a total of 41 points of KB protection. I'm not a fan of the KB changes that made us start having to slot this way, but if you're knocked back as an emp, you'll likely be dead in organized, team PvP. I don't risk it, and I don't suggest you do either.

• As for other powers/slotting: primary attack powers are a great way to get HP set bonuses; you should be too busy (usually) to be throwing attacks in between buffs and heals, so don't worry about things like acc, dam, rech, etc. like you would if you weren't an emp. I suggest just dropping a single Range IO in Clear Mind. I suggest 3-slotting Hasten and Power Boost with Recharge IOs.

I don't have time to review this atm, but that's probably a decent first draft.

Wow nice write up Psoma I think Mac had some really good and cheap emp builds. Also I think the 41Kb is just needed for Freedom cause i know on Justice 11 or 12 KB was fine for most arena.

A very very great guide there Psoma!

Will we be seeing simular guides for other classes in the future?

PvP Emp Play Style

First off, I’m not writing this to tell people that they must play exactly like I do; everyone has their own way of doing things, and that’s part of what makes things fun. But Masque asked if I would write up a guide of sorts, and I said I would if it could be helpful in some way, so here we go:


Evasion:

If you can't keep yourself alive, you can't expect to do much to keep others from staying live either. For new PvP emps, I think your number 1 priority is getting good at evasion. When PvP'rs talk about evasion, they're talking about staying alive through a combination of the following:

When to Phase:
So, we covered the first part of survivability by building for HP and Phase Shift. But when should you phase…uh, obviously when you’re about to die, right? That’s true, but that time can be vastly different when you’re fighting against a zone pick-up team and an organized arena team. Honestly, that timing can only be improved upon by facing those better arena teams. (If you don’t arena, then this probably isn’t an issue for you.) Getting used to how psi damage comes in is one of the biggest issues when facing decent arena teams these days, so try not to get too discouraged at first. Also, if you're playing in an arena match, try to conserve those greens (inspirations) when you can; a 10-minute round can seem a lot longer if you pop 10 greens the first time you get spiked.

Breaking Line of Sight (LoS):
Breaking LoS is a big part of good evasion. With good spiking teams, you’ll typically need to pop some greens and head for the nearest obstacle while hitting Healing Aura (or phasing, if called for) in order to survive. Obstacles are your friends, and cornering around them whenever is possible is a really good habit to start if you haven't already done so.

Helping the Other Emps:
If you’re on the run and have another emp on your team, do your best to find a path that takes you around an obstacle and finds you meeting up with that emp for a heal. This requires some planning and/or communication, and it helps if you’re familiar with your fellow emps and maps. It’s not a bad idea to work out evasion routes for everyone, honestly. That leads me to the next point:


Communication/Planning:

You should get better at it as you play your emp more, but giving your teammates any helpful information you can will be a big plus. If you’re quick to recognize a spike target, call it out to warn your teammates; this is especially helpful if those teammates are newer and are slow to recognize this for themselves. If you’re the spike target, call it out so that teammates can help you or know that you can’t be helping them. If you’re phasing, call it out, so other emps don’t waste time trying to heal you, and so that your teammates know you can’t give them a buff or heal for a bit. It’s not a bad idea to call out when you throw out Adrenalin Boost so that your teammates know who has it without looking at their icons, etc. and because of the casting animation time for which you’ll be grounded.

Also, work out with fellow emps where you’re starting your buff cycle (from the top or bottom of the team list) at the beginning of rounds (if you’re in the arena). If you’re evading and don’t think you need a heal, say so in order to keep your fellow emps available to your other teammates. It takes time and practice, but communication is essential and can change the outcome of matches.


Positioning:

Depending on your opposition and your own team’s ability to pressure them, you may want to alter your approach here. Some teams are really sloppy with spikes, so you may be able to survive while playing really aggressively, keeping in the action at all times. Some teams, though, are really good-to-great at spiking, and you better try to keep some distance between their spike group and yourself if you expect to live. The key is finding the proper balance between keeping close enough to your teammates (so that you can support them) and keeping enough distance between the opposing spike team and yourself so that you can effectively evade spikes on yourself. And remember...obstacles are your friends! Use them whenever you can.


Risk vs Reward:

Now, you can choose to play really defensively by staying out of the action as much as possible, just swooping in for buffs and heals, and maybe that’s the best overall strategy for a new emp. You can reduce the number of times you’re targeted by the other team this way, for sure. And teammates love not seeing you die, and some people think that if you never die, then you’re a great emp and not a liability.

The problem with this play style is that you can easily put yourself too far out of the action. You may not be close enough to throw heals when they’re needed, and you may stretch out your buff cycle times too much, increasing your teammates’ chances of not being buffed…which makes them easier targets. You are on the team to support it, so how can you do that if you’re not there when they need you the most?

Now, we don’t usually think of emps as aggressive, but I consider an aggressive emp as one that stays close to the action, always either buffing or healing. The problem here is that you put yourself at higher risk, since you’re obviously more visible to the opposing team. Overly aggressive emps tend to be at greater risk of buff tunnel vision too; you don’t want your focus to be so great on your buff cycles that you lose sight of the fact that you may get damage spiked yourself. A dead emp can’t buff or heal teammates.


The Bottom Line:

Depending on your opposition and your team’s experience/ability, no one may ever notice the difference in how you play your emp, but your combination of evasion, positioning, and timely heals/buffs will be what determines your skill level. Playing an emp is often thankless, and it’s probably the most difficult position you can pick for others to judge your skill on because of the many factors that determine your effectiveness. People generally notice when they’re not getting heals or buffs, but having those things can easily be taken for granted. Having thick skin and teammates that understand your position and its demands can go a long way in helping you maintain your sanity.


I'm sure I've left out some info, but I think that covers the biggest part of what I can offer.

Psoma you are awesome <3.

Thank you so much for the guide.

To answer Cy's question about other guides the answer is:

Yes!

Psoma, your Emping guide totally changed my life! I think I'm going to roll/play an Empath, now that I have the means to be successful.

<3 Omg <3

stop while your...actually nvm keep going buddy

lol Vex. I probably ended up just dissuading people from wanting to play an emp after writing all of that out.