Lynn's Guide to Advanced Novice PvP

[lynn.novice]

Introduction

Hello to all, this is Lynn. This is an advanced novice pvp guide, which means you should all have some experiences in the pvp arena. If not then please visit Guide to Novice PvP - The Basics (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171031).

Many new players may want to skip their novice stage ASAP. But this game is a PvP based MMORPG, without the fundamental skills in pvp you will find it very difficult and will be struggling in normal pvp, because you lack the basic knowledge about the pvp system. I suggest that new players spend some time, pratice and learn the basic skills in novice pvp arena before advance into your new class as this will provide a great advantage to your future pvp battles.

I am here to share my knowledge that I have gained from my experiences and hopefully after reading this guide, your skills can have some improvement or at least a better understanding about pvp.


Terms and Their Meanings

Before I get into the main section, there are some terms that you must understand first (yes I made up the names, call them whatever you like). Those are very important and can greatly improve your game play if well understood.

Vulnerable time/status:

- The time it takes for player to perform a full animation of a skill.
Whenever the player performs an attack, Weak or Strong, the player is vulnerable to other opponents for a short amount of time. This means that the player cannot use any skills or movements until the vulnerable time is over.
- Weak Attack has very short vulnerable time.
- Strong Attack has roughly 1.4 seconds of vulnerable time.


Invulnerable time/status:

- The time it takes for a player to be unable to be hit by any source of attacks.
There are 3 situations which the player can enter such status.
1. Whenever the player performs Grab.
- the player is invulnerable during the full animation of Grab.

2. Whenever the player is hit by an attack.
- The player will be flashing, indicates that he/she is attacked. Until the flashing time is over, the player cannot be attacked again.

3. When the player is gazed by Medusa the gorgon :O
- be aware that Medusa is watching you

http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p366/lyan_2008_photo/dusa.jpg


Retaliation time/status:

- The time it takes for a player to recover from an attack. Whenever the player is hit by either Weak or Strong Attack, the player goes into invulnerable status which cannot be hit again for a short amount of time.
- Roughly 1 second for the Strong Attack and shorter for Weak Attack.

Note: please do not get with invulnerable and retaliation time/status. If player is in retaliation time/status then the player is also in invulnerable time/status. But if the player is in invulnerable time/status, he/she does not necessarily need to be in retaliation time/status. Those are 2 different things.


No retaliation time:

- The player can be hit and does not go into retaliation status, which means other source of attack will also have an effect on the player at same time.
There 2 situations which this can happen:
1. The player is using Guard.
-if the player is guarding constantly, then all attacks will hit him/her and if the attacks are strong attack, then the player will take all the damage at same time.

2. The player is being Grabbed.
- this is only true when it is between the grabbing animation and just before the release of the player. In other words, timing is important.



Skills and Their Proper Uses

Weak Attack

- Fast animation, less vulnerable time than Strong Attack.
- Can strike up to 3 times before the combo stops.
- Usually comboed with Strong Attack.
- Can also be used to stop Strong Attack from opponents, but requires timing.


Strong Attack

- The main Attack for Novice pvpers. Dealing roughly 1/18th of the damage to the opponent assuming the damage is around 40 per hit.
- The Strong Attack has a vulnerable time of around 1.4 seconds. Therefore, do not spam this skill too often as it gives opponents plenty of time to strike back if misses.


Dash

- A good technique for running away from a mass ganks.
- Can be used to avoid attacks and counter back.
- Can combo with Weak/Strong Attacks.
Note: Dash + Strong > Strong Attack, because it is faster to unleash the attack than just standing still.


Jump

- The most important technique for anyone that wants to master in Novice pvping. More on this in the remaining of the guide.


Guard

- Blocks Weak Attack completely, however the player still take full damage from Strong Attacks.
- Guard gives the player no retaliation time to all the incoming attacks, which helps the player to counter their opponent.
- Take note that Strong Attack still go through therefore be considered before using it as the player might take multiple Strong Attack at once which is definitely not worth it.
- Guard can be countered by Grab.


Grab

- By going close to the opponent, player can use the Grab technique, which is performed by pressing the Strong Attack button.
- Grab gives the player a short amount of invulnerable status which means that any sort of attacks coming to the player at that time will not be affected.
- The invulnerable time is between the animations of the player grabs the opponent and just after the player throws the opponent away.
- Grab is often followed directly by a Strong Attack.
- Can be used to counter Guard.

The combo Dash + Grab is very effective against defensive players (meaning they frequently use the Guard skill). But this combo requires accurate timing with Dash and land the Attack just besides the opponent to perform.

Note: It is recommended that players obtain both Strong Attack (level 5 quest) and Guard skill (level 8 quest) before going to the arena.

[lynn.novice]

Skill Improvement

The Flow Chart

Stage 0: Getting started

Stage 1: Weak attack + Strong attack (newbie)

Stage 2: Dash + Attack (semi-pro)

Stage 3: Aerial Attack (pro)

Stage 4: Counter Aerial Attack (real pro)

Basically I have divided the novice players’ skills into 4 stages. And this is how I expect a player to improve his/her skills. I do not recommend you to jump straight from Stage 1 to Stage 4, learning step by step is more efficient.

Stage 0 is when a player just started and has little clue about the pvp arena, spams random attacks and die relatively fast. Players should quickly leave this stage and advance to Stage 1 within a few matches of play.


Stage 1: Weak attack + Strong attack (newbie)

This is the basic stage, players will usually use weak and strong attacks only, and very occasionally with Dash, Guard, Grab and Jump.

The common combos are:

1. Weak Attack + Weak Attack + Weak Attack
2 Weak Attack + Weak Attack + Strong Attack
3. Weak Attack + Strong Attack

The first and second combo is not recommended to use.

Justification:
1. 3 Weak Attacks just do not do enough damage compare to Strong Attack.
2. Most players will be able to react after 2 Weak Attacks and can dash away or counter you back, so making your next Strong Attack less efficient.

Stage 1 is quite easy to master, and advance into Stage 2.


Stage 2: Dash + Attack (semi-pro)

This is the stage where the majority of the people are at before changing their class. Players will use dash frequently to avoid attacks, and also use dash in combination with their weak/strong attacks to strike. This combo is quite deadly as it is fast, and can hit players in a distance.

Players at this stage also uses Guard and Grab to their advantage and are mostly ground attackers. They use very little jumps in combat and aerial attacks.

To master at this stage, you need to the distance that you can dash.

http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p366/lyan_2008_photo/dash.jpg

First picture (top), showing the closest distance a player can hit with a Dash, the last picture shows the longest distance. You can stop anywhere in between. Thus, knowing where to stop and accurately strike your opponent requires timing and skills.

The usual combos are:

1. Dash + Strong Attack
2. Dash + Weak Attack + Strong Attack

Both combos are effective, and can easily defeat any opponent who is foolish enough to stand still and spam their attacks.

To further improve your skills in the novice pvp area, you have to master the aerial attack which is the key to your victory.


Stage 3: Aerial Attacks (pro)

Those who are good at aerial attacks are usually very skilled players already. Players at this stage can use all sort of skills to their advantage (attack/guard/grab/jump), and can easily defeat any ground only attackers (those that prior to this stage). There is not much combos in aerial attacks but the advantages it gives are lethal in combat.

The advantages of aerial attacks vs ground attacks:
- Avoids all ground attacks completely when in mid air.
- Able to move freely (left, right) even after you attacked, this is what ground attackers cannot do.
- Less vulnerable time after your attack depending on how high you are in the air. This means that if you attack with a low jump, you are immediately able to move around as soon as you land, thus reducing the vulnerable time of your attacks (< 1.4 secs with Strong attack).
- Can use Guard while moving in the air.
- Cannot be Grabbed in the air.

The disadvantages are:
- Harder to hit your target, needs quite some practice before you get the hand of it.
- Cannot use Grab
- No other effective combo except Jump + Strong Attack

Which you can see that almost everything you can do at ground can also be done in the air with a lot more additions. Thus, it is recommended that players should use aerial attacks during battles to be effective.


How to use jump attack properly

Strong attack has a blind spot which a it cannot hit a player in the front, that is if the player is at a very close range (around the grabbing range) but is also in mid air. Because you cannot grab a player in air, the attack will not hit you due to the distance is too close.

http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p366/lyan_2008_photo/jumpatt.jpg

In the picture above (sorry if they are not clear to see), Player A is being hit by me with aerial attack, Player B cannot hit me because of the distance is too close for Strong attacks. Although I can still get hit by Weak Attack, the damage is minimum to consider as a threat.

With this type of method, you can take on 2-3 opponents at once if they are all ground attackers.


Stage 4: Counter Aerial Attack (real pro)

This is the final Stage, very few players could actually reach this Stage in practice. It is difficult to accomplish and to describe in words.

Players at this stage should have most of the knowledge of the novice pvp area, able to appropriately use all the skills and as well as using the environment of the map to their advantages.

The most aspect of the players at this stage is that, they can effective counter all sorts of players with any kind of playing style, as well as the most difficult – aerial attacks.

Basically, players are able to “predict” their opponents’ next move with their instinct. This can only be achieved by playing countless battles in the arena. With more games played, more experiences are gained and the behaviors from all sorts of people are embedded into your mind. Thus, making it possible to predict a player’s next movement by recalling the experience from previous battles.

It is very intensive to watch a battle between 2 players of this stage. Any mistakes, flaws 1 of them make could turn the tide of the fight.


Methods to Improve Your Skills

First, there is no step by step on how to become better in pvp. The only way is to practice your skills in the arena with others.

2 good ways to do it:

1. Fight with a skilled player, learn from him/her, practice it on your own.

2. Observations. This is also a good idea at improving your skills. Watch a fight between the pros (usually those at Gladiator rank or higher for novice pvp). Study their moves then try them yourself.


Mass Team Battle Strategies

Basically there are 2 kinds of team battles:

1. Friendly battle: where friends gathered together and test their skills against each other. Usually this is a 1v1 battle with no interference between the fights.

2. Regular battle: this is the battle that we are concerned. If some people want 1v1 here, both teams need to have an agreement on it, or nobody would bother listening. Many people complain about being double teaming triple teaming, ect. IMO, those are just excuses for dying. In a team battle, 1v1 does not exist, it is crucial but you must face the reality.


In a novice pvp, there aren’t really much strategies involved as most the time people just spam their Strong Attacks. However, without the clear knowledge of team battles, you will most likely lose the game. I have seen many people failed in a mass team fight, even the real pros lose frequently. Why? Because it does not matter how skillful you are, against a team of 4-5+ people at once, you will die fast.

1. Do not go head to head:
Most mass novice battles are where players go to a wide open ground and both team starts spamming their Strong Attacks at each other, this is much not recommended to do as it gives no advantages to either of the team, blindly spamming attacks is not the way to go. Instead, try go behind your opponents and have your opponents open to attacks from both sides. this is much effective and can most the time ruin your opponents team formation.

2. Help your teammates:
In a mass team battle (5v5+), the most important is team work, thus, help your teammates if they are being ganged. If your teammates die, then you will eventually be outnumbered and thus lose the game.

3. Know when to retreat:
Many people complains about double teaming, triple teaming ect. IMO those are just excuses for dying. If you are being ganged by a number of players at once, then run to your teammates. It is foolish to stay there and let your opponents kill you.

4. Baiting your opponents: (Thanks to justindz)
This is similar to #3, but instead of running away from your opponents, you intentionally luring some of your opponents away from their team. For example, in a 6v6 battle, you run to your opponent's team, 2 of them then start chasing you. This gives your teammates a great advantage over your opponents as now it's 5v4 while you luring away 2 of the opponents from the battle.
This is a very effective tip in team battle and thus leads to #5.

5. Not to chase constantly:
If your opponent is running away from you, do not constantly chase him/her if you cannot catch up in a short amount of time. It is a waste and doing you no good. Use this time to assist your other teammates for much better benefit.


Golden Rules

Always remember the following in any novice pvp.

- Never spam your attacks meaninglessly as this gives your opponent plenty of time to strike you from behind.
- Do not spam Guard. In a mass team battle, constant guarding from 5+ people is not recommended as you will take all the damage from Strong attack at once and die relatively quickly
- Always try to use jump attack for full advantages in battle
- run from mass gangs, do not fight 4-5+ people on your own.
- assist your teammates.


Known Bugs

There are some common bugs exist in the arena that may have impact to your game play.

Most of these bugs happen during a Grab.

I’ll use Player A as the grabbing player and Player B as the player being grabbed. In other words, Player A grabs Players B.

1. Player B freezes and cannot move until is attacked, or wait till the round is over.
note: the a team can take this advantage of leaving the opponent unable to move, thus affectively removing 1 player from the opposite team. (do not do this though)

2. Player B moves behind Player A, thus making Player A unable to attack directly.

3. Player B and Player A “slide” away from each other, leaving a large distance in between.

Other bugs:

1. In aerial, players sometimes will be frozen in mid air for a second as if they are hitting someone but not actually doing so.

2. The retaliation time of a player that is being hit sometimes goes longer than usual.


Extra Challenges for Real Pros

If you are really bored and are having a 1v1 game with someone really newb-ish, try the following for bit more fun:

1. Weak Attacks only
- Only use Weak Attack for the entire battle, that means no use of Strong Attacks, no Grabs, everything else is allowed.

2. No Armor battle
- Take off all your armors, leaving only your sword equipped. This tests your skills at avoid + counter your opponent’s attacks. Any damage taken is massive, so be alert.

3. Chain Grabbing
- Continuously dash into your opponent and grab without failure. This does not win you the game, it’s only for fun and tests your skill at Dash + Grab technique.


Ending

From reading this guide, you should have some ideas on how to improve your skills. However, this is only in theory, to really put it in use, you have to practice and learn them in real battles.

I will constantly update the guide as I believe there are alot more to add.

Feel free to pm me in-game, I'd love to answer to all of your questions.

All comments, feedbacks, suggestions are welcome.

Happy gaming.

Lynn

[lynn.novice]

Update log

06/04/2009:
- updated team battle strategies.
- added some known bugs.
- added extra challenges sections.

07/04/2009:
- added 2 new team battle strategies.

[lynn.novice]

Nice strategies from others

By Goat:

Don't use Strong Attack after a Weak Attack if your opponent constantly uses block. Instead, jump into the air or grab him/her.

It is possible to counter in aerial combat. It's hard, but it only requires some reflexes and prediction. You need to jump ONCE into the air with Guard, if you block their attack, they'll be frozen in mid-air for a small amount of time. Once you block the attack, immediately (lightly) tap the jump button and move behind your opponent and attack him/her from behind (moving behind the opponent is only a small habit of mine). What I would do after the attack is follow-up with a weak attack while still in air, upon hitting the ground, I would short dash + weak attack and follow the opponent with what they're doing. If s/he blocks, dash and grab him/her. If s/he jumps, either follow or dodge.

[kìdíøâ?Â]

=O
Lynn FTW XD
Nice Guide ^ ^

[frederic48]

Do you have a tip for battles there the whole team fight against teh other whole team?

[justindz]

In Novice and Post-Novice group PvP, I wanted to add a few notes about ganging.

First, I definitely agree with the excessive chasing rule. Some players are very concerned with their death stats, so they would rather lose a match than get too many KOs. They are usually better at running than fighting. Chase them off and then use the opportunity to gang up on other players, since they are fighting a man down. Usually the runner will return and you can either exploit that to kill him or you can just feint and chase him off again.

Second, another good strategy is to identify ganging players who aren't very good at this. You can often run over, tie up all three players by aggravating them and keeping their attention and laugh while your team of four slaughters the other two players. Then you have a four on three or five on three situation if you stayed alive. Most people are vain about their stats, so they don't think about this, but it's a wonderful strategy when done right. I try to play very team-aware and so I do this from time to time. Especially with mages who can't really hit you unless you try to hit them.

Excellent tips. Warriors and priests should read this too ;-)

[lynn.novice]

Do you have a tip for battles there the whole team fight against teh other whole team?

In head to head battle, there really aren't much you can do, even with jump attacks you will still get hit alot. A good way to solve this is to go behind them and try attack from both side, so your opponents are opened for attacks from either sides and draw attentions from them.


In Novice and Post-Novice group PvP, I wanted to add a few notes about ganging.

First, I definitely agree with the excessive chasing rule. Some players are very concerned with their death stats, so they would rather lose a match than get too many KOs. They are usually better at running than fighting. Chase them off and then use the opportunity to gang up on other players, since they are fighting a man down. Usually the runner will return and you can either exploit that to kill him or you can just feint and chase him off again.

Second, another good strategy is to identify ganging players who aren't very good at this. You can often run over, tie up all three players by aggravating them and keeping their attention and laugh while your team of four slaughters the other two players. Then you have a four on three or five on three situation if you stayed alive. Most people are vain about their stats, so they don't think about this, but it's a wonderful strategy when done right. I try to play very team-aware and so I do this from time to time. Especially with mages who can't really hit you unless you try to hit them.

Excellent tips. Warriors and priests should read this too ;-)

Nice, this is a really good tip in team strategy, by luring away some opponents to you will give your team a better advantage aganist their opponents as your team outnumbers them.


TBH, I had both of your thoughts in mind last night and was gonna update it this morning lol. Seems you are ahead of me xD.

*updated, and credits to you justindz*

[frederic48]

In head to head battle, there really aren't much you can do, even with jump attacks you will still get hit alot. A good way to solve this is to go behind them and try attack from both side, so your opponents are opened for attacks from either sides and draw attentions from them.


I do it. Can you bet what happend than?
The half team turn around, hit *trying to dash away* hit hit :D
I usually get away from this.
---
Maybe you can add the what "stage" to use to counter an other stage.
And how to evade/defend stage X

btw I´m your male clone:D

[omgusername]

Great guide. I'd like to add a few more things:

Don't use Strong Attack after a Weak Attack if your opponent constantly uses block. Instead, jump into the air or grab him/her.

It is possible to counter in aerial combat. It's hard, but it only requires some reflexes and prediction. You need to jump ONCE into the air with Guard, if you block their attack, they'll be frozen in mid-air for a small amount of time. Once you block the attack, immediately (lightly) tap the jump button and move behind your opponent and attack him/her from behind (moving behind the opponent is only a small habit of mine). What I would do after the attack is follow-up with a weak attack while still in air, upon hitting the ground, I would short dash + weak attack and follow the opponent with what they're doing. If s/he blocks, dash and grab him/her. If s/he jumps, either follow or dodge.

Hope it helped. I don't know where I learned to counter melee attacks though. I was mainly an archer before I started my novice.

[lynn.novice]

Thanks Goat, *updated your part to post #4*

[Raymond13557]

eh.. i do what comes natural dupe jump counter, and ambush dupe jump is like this the guy or girl tries to hit you you jump just before he or she even lands a hit. if your real skilled you can dash left or right with the corresponding Enemy after your butt and slide pass the guy/girl without a hair misplaced. however it is kind of hard especially when you get a class.. rouges don't like it when ya evade them and their invisible. (too bad so sad for them! as you can see i do not care much for rouges..)

[dyan1]

Notice: If Medusa the Gorgon is looking at you, you turn into a statue of a male regardless of gender.
Boo hoo.

[frederic48]

I think warriors should read this, too. Because if u are good at novice fighting styles u have a good start as Warrior. I use jumping much, and in 1 vs 1 I am not bad with this.

[omgusername]

I think warriors should read this, too. Because if u are good at novice fighting styles u have a good start as Warrior. I use jumping much, and in 1 vs 1 I am not bad with this.

Warriors would need different strategies except (maybe) when fighting other warriors.

[frederic48]

Do you know Kallik? (not sure about the name) She is a Paladin and don´t use attack skills. She is good with this, sometimes the best of the list.