PvP Initial Impressions.

[Hekmatyar-Koko]

A good SCH is a very tough opponent when he knows how to rotate Miasma 2 and Blizzard 2, and your SE doesn't work well on him cause Lustrate is HP% based. To kill a SCH you need to have pressure, enough for him to blow 3 of his Aetherflow before his CD is up. As for WHM they don't pose much of a threat but if you can't hold him his Divine Seal Regen is more than enough to keep his team up. But as far as WHM's threat they offer another Sleep so be watchful for it.

Haven't beaten a group with a SCH yet when we have a WHM, SCH has fairy (can be placed to allow heals on team whilst kiting) and Lustrate (6 immediate heals - 3 > AF > 3) which is an instant. Miasma + Bane can be a lethal combo (heavy and reduced healing - very important). Targeting the fairy ends in a swiftcast resummon. Healer Knockback PvP move + Miasma also frustratingly effective. Adloq crit is very annoying (yet satisfying when you land it). Not saying that WHM isn't good, just that from a DPS/TANK POV SCH are very frustrating to kill.

A moving target is the bane of MNKs, I've noticed DRG jumps and their ranged attack to be viable, however MNK has almost no ranged abilities (apart from shoulder tackle, which by the time you can perform an action after the animation of the attack, the stun has finished - and also tends to miss on a sprinting target)

Archer very effective, the ranged hits can still interrupt spells on a healer. Also silence is a given. Kiting is also viable.

PLD is very effective with shield bash, can either harass healer and use when possible, or enter a group and cycle targets. Also cover is good to use if a healer needs a moment of respite. (Saw a hallowed ground > cover whilst the WHM swiftcast > raise whilst running away, our now secretly raised BLM then slept the group on the healer, I was raised and we then proceeded to win).

WAR with holmgang then immediate stun after holmgang expires is great on healers at the start, can get lucky and really burst them down. Also has semi decent damage delivery (people underestimate a tank for damage purposes)

BLM has sleepgagagaga (feels that much effective)

WHM was stated above in the quote.

These are just through personal experience by the way. (I play WAR/MNK/BLM)

[Simurgi]

As a Paladin, I'm liking the balance so far. Although I'm only 50/50 over 150 games, I really love the fact that its given me something new to think about. Just about every complaint in this thread has a counter. You just have to think differently.

[Anuri]

@Simurgi play as warrior and tell me how to catch a sprinting caster. we have no slow, no bind, no nothing. just a crap 5s stun on a 20sec cd which sometimes, i have to use up to 7 times before it even lands on a sprinter. pretty much the same with holmgang just with an even worse cooldown. not to mention how buggy it is sometimes.

[TekkaTakeda]

@Simurgi play as warrior and tell me how to catch a sprinting caster. we have no slow, no bind, no nothing. just a crap 5s stun on a 20sec cd which sometimes, i have to use up to 7 times before it even lands on a sprinter. pretty much the same with holmgang just with an even worse cooldown. not to mention how buggy it is sometimes.

Sprint with them and make sure to cut corners. Learn to hunt. TP Regen skills or items. You don't have to be attacking all the time either. Making them run is the most important thing. You're going to interrupt them regardless unless they're using Equinimity.

You just need more experience with this specific game's mechanics. I would say 1/100 times do I have animation resets during BS and Holm I have no issues with locking and facing.

[EvanderStoneguard]

I enjoyed playing PLD in PVP. I realize that I'm not a tank but a pest depending who I decide to target.

Majority of time I am on the healer due to stunning them and shield loop when I have to chase them around. Sleep sux but I'm glad I got Purify. 4v4 pvp is not about who has the best pewpew but working as a team and creating stress. Unlike PvE where its a rotation, PvP is about reacting and adjusting and pre planning.

Plan what to stress to create choices for the other team, eq. tank gets clothie dps and both your dps focus on the other dps while you create stun or sleep on healer. Now the healer has a choose who to heal 1st creating an opportunity to down 1 dps. This one example but you can work with what your team vs their team and create different opportunities.

I know I was vague and gave a lame example but I'm holding on to stragegies right now before I start posting them. I dont know if I'm going to face any of us soon. MUAHAHA

[Fyreus]

Did healers do something to make themselves better recently? Now they don't go down in 1 stun rotation/burstdown and running regen is a pain in the butt.

[Phreak]

(Saw a hallowed ground > cover whilst the WHM swiftcast > raise whilst running away, our now secretly raised BLM then slept the group on the healer, I was raised and we then proceeded to win).

Unless they patched it HG doesn't do anything for cover damage, the redirected damage is still taken in full by the PLD.

Even defensive CDs like Rampart or Sentinel don't work properly (using them prior to cover = cover damage is unaffected, using them 1-2 seconds after cover ONLY the cover damage is affected by the CD even after cover fades any outside damage will be taken in full)

[TaneshimaPopura]

Paladins are meant to cover Healers. Whereas Warriors/Marauders are mean to take down targets and target swap wisely. A sudden target swap burst I can bring people down in less than 10 seconds. Tanks should chase healer to a point where you know your 3rd stun will be ineffective then swap, some healers will have their heads cut off and keep on running till they realize you'd changed targets.

As far as SCH go, blow their fairy up first cause they are bad at kiting and are weak and the Scholar has to pick whether to SC summon it again or save it for a Raise. Chasing a SCH most of the time is futile especially a well played one, you'd just have to power run him through his Aetherflow charges. Which by target swapping or less chasing down more raw damage output will them in a bind. Unlike WHM they can do nothing to stop DPS from attacking their teammates other than Virus, but it still lies true that you'd take more effort bringing down a SCH to a WHM.

[NightReach]

I think warrior is all about timing your burst damage from double IB, no other class can do 800 potency in damage in 1 GCD with no cast time in addition to our best offense CDs in the game (Zerk+IR+full swing+SE). Stun into a holmgang can usually down a caster. Warrior should be played like a burst assassin dps with alot of defense options.

[mkaito]

I've noticed that some casters can seemingly just sit there with me hammering on them and still cast anything they want. I thought my purpose was, at least partially, to bug casters into not being able to cast things. What gives?