Frontlines fun...and a swift apology

So, I decided - for the sheer heck of it - to Q for DR Frontlines - despite never once having set foot in PvP. I was feeling daring and figured, I could give it a go and in a group of 3, 24 player alliances (72 players), no one would notice my utter noob status.

Well, I was correct, no one noticed, or if they did, they said nothing. And I must say thank you and I am sorry if I was not terribly helpful. I did try to follow the lead of other players in my alliance, and we must have done something right, because we won the day.

It was very chaotic, and I will admit kind of fun, probably because I didn't have a stake in the game since I was totally new and noobish.

However, since it was Duty Finder and I play PLD, and my team won, the game showered me with Tomes and Marks.

My current gear is the i200/210 AF PLD gear, I'm not yet through the story for 3.0, but took some time out to grind enough hunts for the AF set (not exactly difficult, unless you consider breathing to be difficult...). Thanks to my one and only venture into PvP I was able to afford;

Heroic Spirit Shield - henceforth known as the 'invisishield' - the only 'must have' piece of PvP gear for me right now.
i230 Primal Ring of Fending replaces a lvl 58 ring, leaving me with a minimum of i200 in any slot now.

So, a big thank you to the other players in my Alliance, the Immortal Flames are awesome.

Now, I have to figure out if I can actually do this again and know what I am doing next time...

Glad you had a fun experience. :)
PVP is synced to i150 so no harm in using the AF 2 stuff.
The main thing is choosing pieces with good substats.

I'm not great at PVP myself but one tip I can give is to make sure you have your PVP actions on your hotbar and understand how they work. As you rank up in PVP you get points you can use to enhance the actions such as reducing their cooldowns.

Also, if you're doing frontlines, you probably got Shatter. That's practically PvE anyway, so don't worry. I mean yeah there's the whole beating other people senseless thing, but in shatter, your primary goal is to break ice. Long as you let ice take priority to skirmishing, you're doing good.

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Originally Posted by Moomba33

Glad you had a fun experience. :)
PVP is synced to i150 so no harm in using the AF 2 stuff.
The main thing is choosing pieces with good substats.

I'm not great at PVP myself but one tip I can give is to make sure you have your PVP actions on your hotbar and understand how they work. As you rank up in PVP you get points you can use to enhance the actions such as reducing their cooldowns.

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I will create a PvP command set for that. I'm still not sold completely on PvP, but it's there and it has good rewards, so I may give it more of a chance afterall - now that my initial fear of it has vanished. What's the best way to learn your PvP command set in action, and how on earth do you know what to do in Frontlines which seemed more like a great big ball of chaos rather than a strategic battle.

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Originally Posted by Atlaworks

Also, if you're doing frontlines, you probably got Shatter. That's practically PvE anyway, so don't worry. I mean yeah there's the whole beating other people senseless thing, but in shatter, your primary goal is to break ice. Long as you let ice take priority to skirmishing, you're doing good.

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Ah, thank you, that helps a lot with understanding, it was definitely 'Shatter', there was lots of ice breaking.

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Originally Posted by Kosmos992k

I will create a PvP command set for that. I'm still not sold completely on PvP, but it's there and it has good rewards, so I may give it more of a chance afterall - now that my initial fear of it has vanished. What's the best way to learn your PvP command set in action, and how on earth do you know what to do in Frontlines which seemed more like a great big ball of chaos rather than a strategic battle.

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See, that's the secret- it's a great big ball of chaos because like 75% of the people who queue for frontline roulette want that good scripture bonus and don't know what the hell to actually do. Just remember objectives- break ice or what have you. Sure, you can beat someone senseless, but it doesn't actually give your team much of an advantage to do so. Really the only thing to worry about besides breaking ice is getting run over by roving packs of enemy players, and having your base capped by an enemy team. Alliance chat is a valuable tool for helping herd people to where they need to be.

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Originally Posted by Atlaworks

See, that's the secret- it's a great big ball of chaos because like 75% of the people who queue for frontline roulette want that good scripture bonus and don't know what the hell to actually do. Just remember objectives- break ice or what have you. Sure, you can beat someone senseless, but it doesn't actually give your team much of an advantage to do so. Really the only thing to worry about besides breaking ice is getting run over by roving packs of enemy players, and having your base capped by an enemy team. Alliance chat is a valuable tool for helping herd people to where they need to be.

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That's a pretty perfect description of what I saw going on. Next time, before the barrier at the start drops, I'll speak up and ask what the priorities are - and strongly suggest ice...unless that is the stated goal of others.

You can play around with your PVP actions in the Wolfs Den Pier area (and maybe duel a friend) which should help! Some of them are extremely useful and can make a big difference once you get the hang of everything. As for learning your way around, a lot of it is just getting used to the map and the timing patterns for the ice, plus some of the more popular strategies. Your main priority as PLD is to avoid losing track of where your army is and getting marooned in the middle of the enemy. Interrupting enemy healers (and caster limit breaks) is also very helpful.

Glad to hear a positive story about FL. I love it, just wish it would pop more at the time of day I play.

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Originally Posted by Serilda

You can play around with your PVP actions in the Wolfs Den Pier area (and maybe duel a friend) which should help! Some of them are extremely useful and can make a big difference once you get the hang of everything. As for learning your way around, a lot of it is just getting used to the map and the timing patterns for the ice, plus some of the more popular strategies. Your main priority as PLD is to avoid losing track of where your army is and getting marooned in the middle of the enemy. Interrupting enemy healers (and caster limit breaks) is also very helpful.

Glad to hear a positive story about FL. I love it, just wish it would pop more at the time of day I play.

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Many thanks, I'll give that a try, and I agree, as much as I have ragged on PvP in the past - and I have - I enjoyed the experience, and am happy to be able to post positively about PvP.

Ninety-nine more wins for mount now, woo! I didn't really expect it to be that fun but was surprised too. Remember to stun everyone you see, paladins are a pain.

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Originally Posted by Newmanxeno

Ninety-nine more wins for mount now, woo! I didn't really expect it to be that fun but was surprised too. Remember to stun everyone you see, paladins are a pain.

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This one has the right of it. You're rolling PLD, you have the only on-demand stun in the game. Abuse the hell out of it.

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Originally Posted by Newmanxeno

Ninety-nine more wins for mount now, woo! I didn't really expect it to be that fun but was surprised too. Remember to stun everyone you see, paladins are a pain.

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199 for both -.-

Always glad to hear more stories about people having a good time in PVP. The community is actually pretty mild compared to most games with PVP (to say nothing of MOBAs), so if any other new players are reading this, don't be afraid to admit you're new and ask your teammates for directions. Most of us are more than willing to go over the mode objectives and give at least basic pointers on what your role should be doing (tanks haranguing enemy ranged, melee prioritizing ice, how to use your pushbacks, etc).

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Originally Posted by Nihonnick

199 for both -.-

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No, the white one is 100 Shatter wins. The black one is 200 Frontlines wins.

OP, when your group is breaking the ice and some pesky enemie dps is harrasing your healers and dps, use your limit break when available, it will bring protection for your group for a couple of seconds. Also when ice is 15 to 10% look for a escape route for your group and yourself. This is in case your group is not strong enough for PVP. If you continue to play Frontlines, you'll improve your gameplay and learn a few tricks from your GC and enemies. Good luck and happy hunting.

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Originally Posted by Newmanxeno

No, the white one is 100 Shatter wins. The black one is 200 Frontlines wins.

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Ah I was thinking of the War stead, yeah so 399 more

Most of the time in Shatter, there is 60-90% focus on Ice and 10-40% focus on kills, but sometimes a group is feeling particularly bloodthirsty or the ice spawns put them at a large disadvantage without kills and then they go ham murdering. Just know that the main points of all PvP modes are usually 1) Secure Objectives and 2) Don't Die before 3) Kill People. I freelanced yesterday into a IF group that was extremely bloodthirsty and massacred the opposition with moderate Ice points for the win. One guy had 83 assists (I only had 24), but usually I end with around 12 and see highs in the 20s to 30s. Assists generally give you an idea of the total kills achieved by your team, but that's the bloodiest I have seen in a long while.

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself in frontlines!

I always find it fun to Collective Unconsciosness, then Spread Bole/Balance and Focalization and then Celestial Opposition and turn my whole party into a monstrosity to face off against personally. I bled, sweated, and cried my way through 100 seal rocks for my Field Commander's Coat to the point where frontlines became really easy to manage myself in. (I finished at about 350 total frontlines, 119 wins, so just under 1/3 win rate)

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! A few things I'd like to offer though:

1. In Shatter, the ice IS important yes, but ice alone won't get you the win. There are many ways to win it, and it takes adaptability in the face of changing strategies or flow of battle to get ahead and stay ahead. I can't say this enough; the ice is important, but will not win the match alone.

2. So long as your gear is above i190, focus on desired secondary stats to maximize effectiveness. Accuracy doesn't matter past 420. Morale doesn't matter either if you look into PvP gear. You don't NEED PvP gear, but it's another option.

3. I recommend you pop over to pvpaissa.com if you're interested in learning more. We have many starter guides available (I myself just got one added that I originally posted here on the forums that specifically covers Frontlines basics).

4. Losses happen, even to veteran PvPers. Learn from it, shake it off, and give your best in the next one. Who dares, wins.

Contrary to a lot of the word of mouth people hear, PvP IS fun and not nearly as toxic as one might believe, especially as you learn more and more and begin to play well. I hope to one day see you on my team :)