PvP Newbie

[surja_kable]

Hello all. Since we now get 20 Esos from PvP I have started to queue up more for it. I understand that it has been a bit of an issue for the PvP lovers in the game and I don't want to be part of the problem. So I'm here for advice and pointers on how to play in PvP properly, not be dead weight, and help my team win.

I main Paladin and that's what I take into PvP.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. This is my first time starting a thread here. So if I did this wrong in a anyway please let me know and I'll fix it.

[CeveArthu]

Theres nothing wrong with playing pvp for the tomes, but alot of people who do it only for tomes generally dont even try or act like assholes in every match they are in

just dont do that and you arnt part of the problem

[Risvertasashi]

Make sure your PvP skills are available. As a paladin you have the best stun in PvP, but like in PvE, it has diminishing returns. More generally, try to have good situational awareness and not run into packs of enemies (even if your ranged are sniping at each other).

As a healer, I <3 PLDs that use cover on me. Healers have it pretty rough in PvP so if you want to be especially nice, try to peel off attackers focusing on them.

[surja_kable]

Make sure your PvP skills are available. As a paladin you have the best stun in PvP, but like in PvE, it has diminishing returns. More generally, try to have good situational awareness and not run into packs of enemies (even if your ranged are sniping at each other).

As a healer, I <3 PLDs that use cover on me. Healers have it pretty rough in PvP so if you want to be especially nice, try to peel off attackers focusing on them.

I focus target my healer already and follow him/her around already. So i guess I was doing that right so far. Am I right in assuming that as a tank my main focus should be protecting my healers and stunning players till my team can burn them down?

You mentioned PvP abilities. Which ones should I be prioritizing? I didn't even know about them till 2 days ago :/

[Risvertasashi]

I focus target my healer already and follow him/her around already. So i guess I was doing that right so far. Am I right in assuming that as a tank my main focus should be protecting my healers and stunning players till my team can burn them down?

You mentioned PvP abilities. Which ones should I be prioritizing? I didn't even know about them till 2 days ago :/

Well... there's a lot of options on what to do and it really depends on the circumstances. Stunning someone to let your team murderize them is definitely not a bad thing to do.

PvP skills... you get an extra DoT for damage, a buff stripping ability, and a knockback (useful for cliff fights!). You also get a buff that increases your whole party's defense for a little bit (mini tank LB)... useful if you expect some mage LBs to come or otherwise lots of AoE damage. Just read the tooltips and experiment a bit, figure out what seems to help the team the most ^^

You also get an ability that removes all debuffs. Can be used while stunned, slept, etc. Absolutely take this. You can use it on others as well as yourself. If you get CC'd in preparation for cometeor spam, that's a good time to use it, and also if you just get something crazy like 2x smn + 2x brd dots on you.

[surja_kable]

Thanks a bunch! Looks like I have a lot of reading and practice to do. I'll make sure to grab that cure debuff ability and upgrade it with whatever points I have saved up.

[Februs]

Hello all. Since we now get 20 Esos from PvP I have started to queue up more for it. I understand that it has been a bit of an issue for the PvP lovers in the game and I don't want to be part of the problem. So I'm here for advice and pointers on how to play in PvP properly, not be dead weight, and help my team win.

1. Use your map. It’s you best friend, and allows you to pinpoint your team, which nodes you have, possible safe zones/escape routes and where the enemy is currently engaged in combat. It is very important in PvP to never lose tracking on your team. Staying together keeps people alive. You can only do that when you know where everyone is.
2. STAY TOGETHER. I know I said that already, but this is super important, especially for tanks. You are practically useless on your own, except as 5 points for the enemy team to steal off of you if you’re caught alone. So don’t stray from the team.
3. Keep your formations tight. Close knit groups make it difficult for enemies to pick out specific targets, and staying stacked up makes it substantially easier for healers to find you if you’re dying, or simply group heal. Tanks usually stay close to the front for the sake of baiting and trapping, but this also allows you to dip into the safety of the group if you’re health is getting low. The only time you want to be wary of being in a tight group is if you have a coordinated team using multiple caster Lb’s at the same time. So keep your defensive CD’s ready and be quick on your toes.
4. Do your job. Even in PvP, Tanks, Healers, and Dps have specific roles to play. Learn your role and stick to it. You’ll only be helping your team if you know your part and preform it well. It’s not all about getting the personal kill. It’s about getting the group kill.
5 Consider making a PvP specific hotbar. Your PvP rotation will be wildly different than your PvE one. Targets move around a lot, and you have specific PvP skills that are very useful to have at the ready. It's a pain in the ass to do this, I know, and the community would greatly benefit from having PvP specific character build slots so we don't have to share our PvE hotbars with our PvP load outs, but, until SE get's their heads out of their butts, you're gonna want to clear a hotbar specifically for the moves you use most commonly in PvP.

[Februs]

I main Paladin and that's what I take into PvP.

PLD’s are all about group utility in PvP. Think of your class the same way you would in a raid.

In PvP, Tanks serve as baits, snares and distractions. Unless you’re on healer protection duty, you’re gonna want to be on the front line. Pop a defensive cooldown, dip into the enemy, and then dip back behind your defensive line. The bigger threat you are, the more likely you’re going to get yourself a bite. You want a dps or two to chase you. If they follow you into your own group, or even just separate a good distance from theirs, stun lock them and let your dps go to town. All tanks do this their own way, but PLD excels at cock blocking attacking dps. Shield bash and Shield swipe are your two most useful moves when it comes to trapping enemies, and any smart dps on your team will be watching you to see what you trap, so they can pounce on the kill.

Advanced tactics use your PvP skills. When dipping behind enemy lines, use Push Back. The more dmg you’re taking the more dmg you’ll be doing to the enemy squad, weakening them for your DPS. Any DPS who chase you will have already taken dmg to them just by letting them beat on you, and your DPS will make short work of them. Use Full Swing on snared targets to make them die all that much faster.

Be wary of other tanks. They’ll be doing the same thing, and you might get a tank when you cast yourself out as bait. If this happens, you can still burn them down, but be careful. I don’t usually waste a Full Swing CD on a tank unless I’m sure they’re not getting healed or multiple DPS on my team are helping me kill him.

Otherwise, your job is all about reading the battle field and acting accordingly. If the fight is turning into a massive brawl, or you severely outnumbered, or you just want to seal the deal for your team, activate your def PvP CD: testudo. If you see a huge amount of incoming dmg (caster Lb’s, for example), pop your LB with Testudo and save your team. Remember that in PvP, your LB is specific to you. Don’t be shy about using it.
Node defense is the one area where PLD’s fall short to other tanks. You only have two skills that can interrupt node captures: Glory slash and Circle of Scorn. If your node is being swarmed, throw a glory slash at the enemy and then high tail it to your healers and defend them. Leave the node defense to the other tanks who have a spam-able AoE.

[surja_kable]

Wow... that's a lot to take in. But I greatly appreciate all the tips. I look forward to improving in PvP and being more of an asset.