PvP BC2 lock/spike meeting- 5/6 @ 9pm est.

PvP Boot Camp2- Week 4
Offensive Play- Locking/Spiking

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves I think we need to talk about some of the terminology you will hear us using.

Locking- Stating that you are “Locked” means that you are targeted on the player who was called to be attacked.

Spiking- When a “spike” is called for everyone on the team who is locked will start to attack the target. The idea here is to force a huge damage packet to hit a single target in a very short time period, thereby eliminating the target and decreasing the chance that the opposing team’s healer(s) will be able to save the target.

Attack Chain- Just as in PvE players develop a chain of attacks that work best for them. For this event your attack chain will vary due to the make-up of your team which may vary match to match.

Closing- You want to reduce the distance between yourself and the spike target so you are able to get off as much of your attack chain as possible.

Planting- This is a term which describes players who may fire off multiple attacks without moving at all. Planting=stalker bait.

Dropping-Really this term is used two ways.

We talk about dropping a target, that means we are changing to a new target, usually because the current one is evading or getting heals. “Proc Star is target” “Target is getting heals… drop target…Philly is target”

Another way the term has been used is to describe the jump “suppression” that occurs after you attack. When you attack you will notice a few things that occur, if you attack while in mid air, your character starts its animation for the attack, at this point, you lose the ability to steer your character until you hit the ground, you basically fall where ever your momentum was taking you. Also if you attack mid air you immediately start to fall rather then continuing to gain height had you not attacked. So you “drop” when you attack. There are ways around this however they are pretty gimmicky and not that useful for team PvP.

Setup- Sometimes teams will use a mez, usually a stun or TK to halt a targets movement so that the attackers can “close” and “spike” the target without him/her being able to evade or hit a survival power PFF, phase, hiber, or a respite)

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It is very important to set up your screen appropriately for PvP the next few pictures will show how I set up my screen on my blaster and why it is set up that way.


First- it really helps if you monitor incoming damage and to hit rolls. The reason for this will become clear soon, but to do so just make a new tab and place it at the bottom of your screen like so:

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This is a break down of why things are where they are-

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This is what you will see if you are attacked

NOTE- You have not taken damage, but the hit rolls has already popped up on your screen as well as the icon is now in your buff bar.

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Then after the animation finally catches up to your character you will see the damage hit your healthbar/window like this:

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"Play Nice and BEHAVE! I don't want to hear about any more of your shenanigans brought up in our meetings at Paragon"-Ghost Falcon @Tritonfree @Philly's 2nd Convenient CIGAL BoBC/INOANN Arts&Crafts Sporks
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Locking on a target is one of the most important and can be one of the most difficult things to do (when you first start out).

There are a few things you can do to give youself the best opportunity to lock onto a target rapidly and effectively.


The first thing is to give yourself a wide field of view, so scroll your screen as far back as possible and angle your camera slightly upwards. Most people spend the majority of their time during a pvp match in the air.

Next- set your target caller as your waypoint:

To do this right click on that persons name then select "set as waypoint" this will put a yellow star thingy at the persons feet so you will easily see where they are at all times durring the match.

You will want to be near your target caller for the obvious reason that they should be locked on whatever target they have called so by getting near them you should be able to find the target as well.

It is important not to give away your target caller by training him/her (that means to set them on autofollow and just jumping around behind them) that is a clear give away to the other team who is your target caller and they will just focus locks on that person to disrupt your calling.


Once you are behind your target caller and facing in the direction of where the target should be... start spamming your tab key. Watch your target window and once the name pops up stop.


Congratz- you just locked. Now you need to go on to the next phase.


Closing the gap. You need to get as close as possible to your locked target. Do not...do not.... do not... just put them on auto follow. You will never get any closer to them if you do. What I do is, as soon as I get my target locked I will tap 'f' and let the autofollow turn me in the direction of my target once I am facing the same direction i will resume control of my character and try to get as close as possible to my target- without giving away who the target is.

Just as you didn't want to 'train' you target caller you do not want to be jumping around behind the intended spike target, this is a clear indication to the other teams emps that the person is about to be spiked. So move towards that person circle them but do not give away who is the spike target.


Yay, you have locked and closed and now you are ready to spike:

A few things to remember- don't plant yourself, so attack while you are in the air so you aren't just standing flat footed while you do your animation. Also remember that when you click your attack you will drop yourself so make sure you if you need to clear an obstacle (wall, bush, fence) that you get over it first then click your attack.

Your target caller will count down and ask for a spike

"Spike in 3......2.....1....spike target" each one of those time points actually can be used to help you plan how you are going to attack. Which is why it is very important for a target caller to keep the same cadence when they are callling for lockings and counting down to the spike.


If we break it down it would be like this:


Spike in 3... (close in on your target as fast as you can make sure you don't ground yourself so start a jump or time a jump to the cadence of your target callers count down) ... 2.... (click boost range and aim or build up-- do not click both aim and build up)... 1...spike target (start your attack chain).

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2 things I would like to add.

1. Sometimes the target caller will say "Just go on Xtarget" or "Fire at will" that means, if you have that target, just shoot them in the face

2. This is a / command for max camera distance that will help you see even more things on your screen (also helps with locking). Just type /camdist 120 into your chat bar and hit enter. This is the maximum distance back the camera can be (further then you can scroll back with a mouse).

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