I'm curious about what experienced players would say was the best way that they learned to improve their PvP skills.
It seems many newer players like myself have spent serious time trying to level toons so we are able to experience other parts of the game--and leveling has a LOT to do with PvE. I know in my case I have really never focused on PvP (other than dying dramatically when attacked).
So what works best for learning those skill sets? Arenas. Clan/Alliance wars. Griefing/Pking in general. Seiges. Some combination.
At this point I haven't been involved in any of those activities so I don't have a reference for what works best. My guess (just a guess) would be that Arena might be the logical low-risk place to learn details of PvP.
Arena is good to learn the BASICS of pvp, but to really get to understand pvp u really have to have a clan/alliance war. Sieges has more to do with the best strategy at how to get in the castle and disable the enemy. griefers/pks is another way to go but much harder to find.
I agree...starting in the arena is a good way to get some general skills down. Have your clannies try skills on you to see if they work and you to them.
It is also important to know all the different toons and recognise what classes you are fighting. Most classes are obvious to recognise but the most important thing to know is what buffer they have with them so you have an idea of what buffs they may have.
But for the most part the secret to pvp is. Be maxed out with buffs carry CP and QH pots, spamm shots and hope you land more crits than your enemy does. Of course your a nuker, Archer or necro then you can just fire away most of the time. All other classes take a bit more skill using specials.
My advice go to the Monster race track arena once you get 52+ and spend some time just fighting different classes. You will learn quickly what classes you can beat easily, the ones you are about even with and the classes to fun from when you see them coming.
My biggest advice though is dont get discouraged if you loose alot in pvp. Unless you have great support its difficult to win all the time. Also when you die to other players you dont drop anything. Now that im in A grade I worry more about dying to mobs than I do to other players. Plus if your fighting against warred clans you only loose 1% instead of 4%.
Untill you get to high 60's and up looseing xp doesnt hurt to much. So if someone attacks fight back you have nothing really to loose. Not worth the cost of a BSOE to use it in pvp, I will though use one in pve if im going to die.
definately start in the arena
try 1 on 1ing everyone you see and afterwards ask their lvl and hp left (if you lose)
start all fights from full range (since most pvp is ranged gankings)
once you get the basics down declare war on a clan YOUR LVL, you really wont learn much if your war involves getting 1 hit by 70+ toons or 1 hitting lvl 5 noobs
try and keep the war friendly so you can work out where you went wrong when you fail
Should I say it again? L2 clan wars are just gank fests of grabbing the guy outside town alone with 9 players and dropping him. There are no reds and it is often over before it started.
If you want to learn pvp, you need to lose 4%. You need to gain an understanding of what skills are "flag dependent" and what skills are open. You need to understand how to utilize flagging to enhance your pvp prowess. You need to understand terrain, location, and the advantages of retreat.
L2 is an OPEN pvp game. If you aren't in open pvp, you're missing half the excitement. Clan wars are fun, arena is fun, sieges are fun, but they are all dramatically different from "hunting spot pvp." Many many players never learn that part...and it shows. Guys show up to sieges and things are going great, but then they chase a player off grounds and get wiped because they don't understand the game mechanics (or they pk players and drop +15 lances like idiots)
If you want to learn to pvp, do it while you exp. If somebody is in the hunting spot you like, offer to fight him for the spot. If he doesn't fight back, attack his cp and tell him he doesn't have a choice. If he freaks out, apologize and explain you're looking for pvp practice and fun, make sure he understands it's not personal. If he fights back, enjoy.
I sort of learned your advice the hard way sith. My clan of pve friends and I joined an alliance on Lionna for a few weeks...the alliance crossed one of the two ubers and I died like 5 times in 4 days (twice before I realized I was in an alliance war!)
That didn't help me learn skills for PvP! (lmao). Mostly where ever I ported into to hunt alone somebody from a clan I didn't know ran up and killed me. At the time I was in C-grade and at least two of those deaths were from pairs of folks in A or B grade.
All I learned there was how to port back to town from death and to check the clan info when I logged onto that toon! In fact the first time I was killed I thought the person was just flagging to see if I wanted to fight. Of course it was a surprise to me when the SECOND spell they cast killed me on the spot!
It still makes me laugh to think about.
I remembering pm'ing the Chaos alliance person and asking "what was THAT about?"
She typed back something like "wake up, noob"...haha
If your in a clan, go to the arena with them (different classes preferred) & practice there. Theycan tell you how much damage you did, you can see whats your weak points & you strong points. :p
as many of us are saying the arena is a good place to get the basics, but not much more. to really experiance it u have to just go out and do it. the clan war thing... there are always hot spots for war tags, i recommend u stay away from them till u get to b grade. if they find u and kill u just tell ur alliance where u where when they killed u, how many there were, and what grade they wearing...they will handle the rest ^^
Hell, if anything just go out to an area where people about your level normally XP and put in shot chat:
"LF PvP"
Then go kill the first person to smack talk you about shouting "LF PvP". Afterwards, if you want even more PvP, just hang around a bit and try to ninja a few of the people that come to kill you. Just see how many you can drop before they finally get you.
Arena is good to learn the BASICS of pvp, but to really get to understand pvp u really have to have a clan/alliance war. Sieges has more to do with the best strategy at how to get in the castle and disable the enemy. griefers/pks is another way to go but much harder to find.
I disagree with the clan/alliance war. From my experience all that a clan/alliance war has involved is one clan running into the rift waiting room and hiding or a bunch of 7x people beating up on d graders....just my opinion.
Arena is good to learn the BASICS of pvp, but to really get to understand pvp u really have to have a clan/alliance war. Sieges has more to do with the best strategy at how to get in the castle and disable the enemy. griefers/pks is another way to go but much harder to find.
I disagree with the clan/alliance war. From my experience all that a clan/alliance war has involved is one clan running into the rift waiting room and hiding or a bunch of 7x people beating up on d graders....just my opinion.
=/... i hate when i see this happen, its pathetic. my alliance is usually A+B grade Vs A+B grade. when u r in C grade(perferabley high C grade) i believe is the best time to get involved with a clan war (can still do damage yet wont be a blow out each time...hopefully), r else when u r the same grade as those u can war, u won't really kno their tactics.
off note--> when u hit B grade carry a BSOE for PvE dont wanna drop somthin worth alot.
Work with another person and use Ventrillo/Teamspeak to communicate.
While levelling your toon you will most likely have encounters with players who KS or outright try to take your hunting spot. Defend your turf. Dont sit there and allow trash talking either. When you get a negative response from someone...PK them. They will either return your attacks or go RED on them. Your Sineater is your only friend. Use it.
I have had 4 man teams come by and PK my healer. Situations like happen...find a friend and engage the culprits.
I have died my share as many times as I have killed.
Dying is good for you...
when you hit S grade you will be gratefull for all the extra SP you have :)
most important in pvp is that you can recognise what class your opponent(s) is(/are) and what their skills look like.
after that you will learn the strong and weak points of your class, and that of all other classes.
now you know the strong and weak points of yourself and your opponent(s) you can start making a tactic.
only you can get this down within a second, you will be good @ pvp.
For my summoner, i learned the very basics of pvp defending my turf, pkers in prelude, and accepting money to pk people in c1-c2 (gotta get that top D weapon somehow :)). However, by the time I got 40 and became a summoner, I had a whole new style to learn (although i always pked people with my summon, could keep gear in wh. and since no-one had jewels in c1 silhouette was nasty). I spent a lot of time in the arena from 40-52 Learning how to best setup the three bars i flip through constantly, when using nukes in pvp is worth it or not, the best summon for different classes, and becoming familiar with other classes. However, all that only really applies in small scale pvp. I still had to learn how my class functioned in mass pvp and sieges (which was mostly attacking healers to get them healing themselves instead of their groups....only to have a nuker finish them off). So for me, it was mostly not caring about xp losses, and a mix of arena and small scale pvp to learn the basics.(i'd also go on farmer gank fests and rack up the karma with friends)
Would it be helpful to just do a random PK'ing? I think so!
1. it is a rush
2. you'll get better killing skills
3. you'll get yourself an enemy, that is always helpful in pvp
Happy Hunting
A random PK will not improve your skills - a random PvP might.
For me, the biggest deal is taking the edge off the excitement, I did that offline with console games against other players. As for learning your class - just let the PvP happen as it comes to you and pay attention to what you did right and wrong, watch what works for others and what doesn't; exploit idiocy where you find it.