Starting from the bottom of the barrel.

[Ninster]

I never thought I'd make a thread here, or even consider PVP a section of the game I would touch, but a friend who just hit level 60 wanted me to go with her to try out the PVP modes.

So... I look at the PVP section of my profile, for curiousity, and send out the roflcopters: I have 0 points to allocate into PVP abilities. Yay.

Of course she's going to be in a similar boat, so, while we're together in a sinking ship, just how do we go about getting PVP levels to start using abilities and not be completely helpless, and where? I'm thinking Frontlines just so we can have a smaller chance of being spotted for kicking, but is there another way I'm not thinking of?

For what it's worth I use SMN and BRD for PvE, and she mains BRD but is also leveling AST. While I'm used to playing tanks and healers to help queue times in PVE, should I do so here? I'm... simply put, way out of my comfort zone with this, but I really don't want to leave my friend to fend for herself.

[GrumbleBeard]

You gain pvp points as you rank up. You rank up by pvping. You're correct that frontlines is your best bet to learn, try asking around to learn the prime times to queue for your data center.
As for your abilities, you can use all of them even without allocating points into them. Take the time to read the tooltips for them, usually they are pretty valuable abilities.
The rest is just practice, play around and do your best, learn from mistakes and try to have fun.
You can go to Wolves Den Pier and use the pvp only abilities on the training dummies on top of the boat to get an idea on what they do.

[Ninster]

As for your abilities, you can use all of them even without allocating points into them. Take the time to read the tooltips for them, usually they are pretty valuable abilities.
You can go to Wolves Den Pier and use the pvp only abilities on the training dummies on top of the boat to get an idea on what they do.

I completely missed this, and now I'm feeling a bit less helpless now. I think I'll spend some time at Wolves' Den then. Thanks!

[Februs]

You can go to Wolves Den Pier and use the pvp only abilities on the training dummies on top of the boat to get an idea on what they do.

All good advice, but I highly recommend this last bit.

The number one thing that people have trouble with in PvP is wrapping their heads around just how different it plays from PvE. For a Dps, you're primary concern is not longer achieving max damage over the entire duration of the match. Instead, it's scoring kills. At first that might sound the same, but it's really not. You have to focus on your strongest burst possible in the shortest amount of time possible. Not only will that change your rotation, but with the inclusion of PvP skills you'll have to get accustomed to an entire new hot bar set up. It can really muck you up when you first get into it, so the more practice you can get in with it the better.

Another thing to keep in mind is your strengths and weaknesses. Unlike PvE, you're playing against opponents who are not bound to enmity tables. Be aware of that when you get into the arena and use whatever you can to keep yourself alive. You specified Smn and Brd (I feel sorry for your queues lol), both of which have exceptional stopping power at range. Use that to your advantage, be aware of your surroundings, and keep moving. Proper positioning can play a big part in how well you can survive.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

Every tiger earns their stripes in PvP. And you can't burn it if you don't learn it. Queue up, let it be known you're new, listen to your senpais, attack, defend, flank, steal, cover, crush, score, win, lose, repeat. Blessed be the battle! Rejoice in the glory of combat!

Lol, all ham aside, just try it out. Balmung has a lot of great players who I'm sure would be helpful in helping you gain experience. Understand though that nothing is guaranteed, and skill and teamwork truly make the difference. Even more than in PvE. Friend or foe, I will welcome you to the battlefield!

[Ryannex]

Like said above, your best bet is to queue for frontlines and just practice. Shatter is the only version that will pop consistantly, so just keep queuing for that. At peak times the queue's aren't too terrible so you'll be able to getin consistantly.

As a BRD/SMN your main focus point is delivering a quick burst of damage. It plays very differently from PVE in the fact that you're not looking for a substantial DPS over the course of the game, you're looking for quick and deadly combinations. For example, as a SMN you're not going to want to use fester and wait for it to reappear, as you would in PVE. If a target is low on health your primary burst is Tri Disaster - Fester - Pain Flare - Energy Drain - Dreadwyrm - Deathflare. It's a quick burst that you can pull off in under five seconds, and will inflict a nice amount of damage.

As a beginner, however, don't expect too many kills. Just follow the group, don't wander by yourself, and take your time.

[Februs]

Balmung has a lot of great players who I'm sure would be helpful in helping you gain experience.

Seriously. You really couldn't ask for a better world to play on when starting out in PvP. I envy Balmung for the size of their community. It will be interesting to see how active they are when dueling deck gets rolled out. They have a lot of seasoned PvP'ers over there, so if they all start meeting up at WD pier then new players should, in theory, have a pretty good spot to hook up and get advice/training/parties/ etc.