few newbee questions about pvp SW

Hello everyone,

Ive decided to give a SW (the char I seem to enjoy most - fireball )) - helps me relax after a tough day at work - after a little time spent with the other two toons) a try and I really enjoy this toon. Right now (lvl 9) I would like to do some pvp to gain a few ranks and then do some pve again. I have some questions and if u could help me out I would appreciate it:

1. a friend told me it would be better to do some pvp when I am low overall level and he suggested lvl 9 for a sw - 9 to get teleport. is this correct? if so, why is that?

what would be the next break point then - i have in mind the two fireball upgrades in the pve tree?

2. what stats are the most important atm defence - wise - life, armour, resistances?

my life now 250, armor 150, resistances +40 all.

3. and dmg - wise - what should i try to get - dmg or attack speed? or both but it seems difficult to get both stats so what would be a better option?

my attack speed atm 1,00. dmg - cant remember but i use a standard lvl 9 wand from a vendor.

4. if i could add 1 gem to my lvl 9 wand what would it be - +10dmg or +5% attack speed?

5. what skills to take from pvp tree? and what about the 1st one - increased dmg inflicted or reduced damage taken?

6. and finally - for thye off hand - what to use a book (gives me 25% crit chance, without it my crit chance is 0%) or a defensive orb (noticable armor boost and block)?

thanx

 

-There is no 'correct' time to start PvP, but if you are going to it's best to start early.
-Vast majority of spellweavers are too squishy to tank so you have to learn to evade shots, but Life>Armor>Resists (life good against all hits, armor good against DK and Ranger, resists only against other weavers).
-At low levels, damage is better because even small gems make a big difference (one polished ruby gives +10 damage which is a lot if your base is 15-20 but it's negligible if your base is 800-900)
-As mentioned before, weavers are not meant to take shots, so 15% more damage is the way to go (we tank by killing the source of damage before it kills us)
-Book is good only when there is no or extremely low incoming damage because you get to one hit away from death just by equipping it, try it in PvE and duels. Ball is better for chaotic situations such as 3v3 or more, when you're not sure about incoming damage.

 

sw should/must start pvp as earlier as possible.
sw are pretty strong on mid lvls but once you hit lvl 40's and u if don't have enough fame lvls then things are going to be difficult.... very difficult.

most op player will do on shot kills.. so it much better to start pvping as earliest

 

Yeah, getting hit by 7.6k birds is always fun didn't see this until the essence gear came about (or red essence users).

 

1. It's best to start PvP early because it's easiest in lower levels. The higher you get the more P2Ws you will have to fight and they're not fun to fight against.
Stay at or below level 25. I'd skip PvE unless with players out of level range so as to not gain exp. (their level should be red... or 6 higher than yours)

2. They're all important and you need to find a good balance. Try to get close to 40-50% armor, 20-30% resistance, and the rest health.

3-4. Attack speed is really important but unless you're gonna commit to it, it's not much help. 5% attack speed is not good enough, I'd go with the +10 damage. If you can find a wand with speed enchantments that would help you a lot.
At lower levels though, you can do a lot better with damage since there wont be many -if any- fast attackers.

5. Battle Instinct, Better Basic Combat Techniques, Ready to Fight, Light Footed, Defiance, Quicker Missile, Liberation, Cyanite Shield

6. Have both book and orb so you can choose between them as you fight different players.

 

When I get an increase in dmg from exp tree I can see the higher numbers in my char screen but I cannot see the dmg increase from the pvp tree. Why is that?

Btw, thank u for thorough feedback.

 

That is because the bonuses from PvP only apply when fighting other players, so if you took +15% damage against other players, it works only against players. The 1% increase per PvP level also only works against other players, monsters just don't care about your fame 8)
Btw, if you read the descriptions of skills and bonuses carefully, you can see which ones are PvP only, they always say "against other players" or something along those lines. If it doesn't say anything like that then it works in PvE as well.

 

It's because they are increases in damage dealt, not base damage. Similar to all essences (except green ones). They increase the damage that a skill would do by a percent, not your base damage. So they don't show any change in character screen.

 

@TheInfamous - I'm curious as to how you make use of the Ready to Fight talent. I've always favored the Battle Frenzy over that. Otherwise I feel like I'm moving too slowly. xD

 

It's used to replenish health and it proves very helpful. Say for example your health is very low, you can go after a newbie and heal a bit. Other times you may be dueling someone in a 3v3 or 5v5 and you'll need the health to fight someone else.

I have tried Battle Frenzy but I cannot afford to use it because I have low defensive stats. If you can take hits and don't need the heal from talent, you can go for Battle Frenzy, otherwise, I suggest using Ready to Fight.

If you are feeling too slow, try getting low level boots(or any pair of boots for that matter) with Travel Speed enchantments. Low level ones are cheaper to ID and I'm pretty sure they give similar amounts of travel speed as higher level boots.

 

Ahhh, taking hits. 8D No, I'm terrible at doing that. I've been taking note of other SWs around my rank and level, and most of them have significantly better defensive stats than I do and anywhere from one to three fireballs from them is enough to put my SW's life to an abrupt end.

I have 17% speed on my current boots, and use the Light Footed talent too. But it still feels slow. -chuckles- I usually rely on the speed from Battle Frenzy to either escape to the other side of the field after a kill, or to come zipping around from a different angle before someone can get away and use the added damage to attack. Since I went and experimented with changing to Ready to Fight, I now have the problem of getting caught right after I kill someone on the other team.

My philosophy for my SW has to been to kill before I get killed. And don't be the last one standing so you don't have to play 1v1 in a team situation. >.>;

 

I guess that works haha. But personally, I find myself in 1v1+ situations quite often so I need that heal to compensate for my low defense. I too die in about 3 Fireballs average. (some kill me in 1 fireball. I have been hit 4.6k recently... game needs some boundary, these hits are getting ridiculous)

 

I got hit recently by what I am sure was a highly p2w (probably fully gemmed, ess'd and surprise-chest buffed) SW's Destruction beam that did exactly 7500 damage. It was in 5v5, and I was not in singularity, but he may have had the crossed swords "uber-buff". I'm not sure about that, since he was just out of view at the time. Anyway, I was already a little injured when he connected, and that shot killed me.

Is that too much damage for a SW to do with one shot? I don't know, maybe not; it is hard to land that attack very often. It is slow to activate and usually easy to dodge. He got lucky that I couldn't see him activate it (I was playing on a PC that has a lower resolution than my home PC).

When I catch SWs, after using their escapes already, an Iron Brow and one or two Smashes usually takes them down. Killing a SW takes more patience and skill than it does for a SW to kill me, I think, but I enjoy the challenge. It just makes me better prepared to fight almost anyone in the game (if they would fix stun charge, it would make my PvP life considerably easier, though). Overall, I think the classes are pretty well PvP balanced now, credit card warriors (of all classes) being the exceptions.

 

As a result of dabbling in pvp starting at level 20, I am used fighting in a Ranger-dominated arena. Since I've reached level 30 though, I see fewer rangers and more of the other classes represented, which makes for a different kind of fight. As much as I don't like it, I do encounter those situations where I'm the last one standing. What kind of advice do you have in regards to that, especially against other SWs, or DKs are concerned? (I usually play 3v3. 1v1 is tedious and 5v5 is uncommon for my level range.)

Um... -gives band-aid?- ^^;;

 

When you're left alone against more than one opponent, often times one of them gets reckless, especially if you are in low health, and you can use this to your advantage. I usually hide behind an obstacle and cast singularity on myself when the overzealous one approaches jump range. Most just jump on top of you as the singularity starts to appear, and few leave the singularity. If you have the healing skill for defeating players it might give you a fighting chance, it's great in combination with cyanite shield.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same guy that hit me 4.6k Fireball... 7500 is too much damage, especially since Destruction does physical damage and DKs have lots of armor.

Uh, well, I'd get some Diamond gems for resistance against mages. Here's the post on fighting DKs:

As for fighting other mages,
Always stun them first. This gives you an advantage as they are either forced to use a debuff or stand there while you deal damage. Goal is to force them to use debuffs (if they have level 35 talent... if not, force them to use Teleport) Singularity accounts for a major part of SWs PvP tactics. The purpose of forcing enemy to use Teleport is so you can trap them in a Singularity. With or without the level 35 Exp talent, sing. is useful in reducing attack speed and travel speed, which allows you to shoot while they cannot.

Don't use skills unless necessary. Say for example you are out of range of stuns, you don't need to use teleport. Since it is SW's only displacement skill, it's very important and should be saved for when you need it.

Use Ice Missile a lot... A LOT. Once you have slowed your enemy move to one side and shoot, then move the opposite way and shoot, and repeat.(do this a few times and change your pace and combos) This seems like it is very predictable and easy to counter but it works most of the time.

This is a mistake too many people do. They use Fireball too many times consecutively. Once a Fireball hits, burn damage starts taking effect. If you shoot another, the burn is reset. It is better to shoot 1 Fireball and then follow up with Magic Missiles, to take full advantage of burn damage. Not only that but it will save your Mana and you can throw a Meteor or have singularity available.

Unless you are using Lightning setup, don't waste time with Lightning Strikes. Knowing it does massive damage, people try and sneak one in but it spends too much Mana and it is not very likely to hit. You can use Chain of Lightning to get a few hits if enemy is behind a creature.

Speed is key. Attack as fast as possible and as often as possible without risking too much.

If an enemy runs don't be quick to chase after them. They may want you to do that so they can turn around and shoot as you are running so you can't counterattack. If you have the health and defense advantage, you shouldn't be over aggressive. Try to kill them but don't go all out. They will either have to come after you or die from exhaust. That way, you control when and where the fight happens.

 

Thank you.

 

well infamous seems to like ice missiles a lot. it's a good way to play but just don''t forget you're fighting other mages and they have the same skills as you do including ice missile . The way I see it every player has some sort of a rythm to the way they play pvp regardless of class try to identify that and disrupt it. Sometimes it takes 1 ice missile to catch the off guard. MOst of all all SW die fairly easy so move move and move a lot even b/n attacks.

As for the destruction, you can hit over 7.5k with no ess if u get full critical assuming they have over 1k dmg over 300% critical dmg and 3000+ critical hit rate which is possible these days without some fancy gems. But it's a once in a very very long time thing