PvP Combat Basics:
- Buying new gear
- You can buy all the basic weapon types available to your profession for free. You can try weapon combos by getting items from the vendors and equipping them while you are out of combat. You can change the look of your items by getting chests, which contain aesthetic variations on all the basic weapons. All weapons can be augmented with sigils, which you can get from the weapons vendor in the PvP lobby.
- Rings and accessories have been removed. We are ONLY USING THE AMULETS NOW IN PvP, so once you get an amulet, that’s all you need!
- Conquest
- The first team to 500 wins. Make sure that you’re trying to fight inside of the capture points to maintain control. You can also “bait” your opponents to fight in the open, and try to get them to fight you in areas of the map that help your team, but hurt your opponents. Scoring for secondaries.
- Maps
- Explain Siege and Forest secondary mechanics.
- Stomping
- Learn when to stomp! If an enemy is down, they can get up on their own if you leave them. Be sure to stomp an enemy when you have the chance, or their allies might revive them! Stomping can also rally allies if they are downed when you stomp your foe, and have done damage to that target!
- Revive
- This is the other side of the downed experience. If an ally is down, try to revive them as soon as you can so they can get back in the fight. But only do so when it’s safe! If you’re being attacked, defend yourself, defeat your enemies, and then try to rally your allies when you’re able.
- Healing
- Be careful when using your heal! It can get you out of a bad situation, but once you use it, the recharge will keep you from using it for a while. Use your heal wisely!
- Dodging
- Dodging is available any time you have at least HALF of your endurance bar! When you dodge, you evade any incoming attacks/projectiles, so try to time y our dodges when you see large AOE’s coming, or powerful enemy attacks!
- Melee vs ranged
- Melee, on average, does more damage than ranged attacks, but range obviously has the advantage if it can keep melee attackers at distance. This is where conditions, blocking, and good use of dodging come in! Let’s break down a simplified version of how this works in game:
- As the melee player:
- You want to be sure to get into melee so that you can dish out the pain on your opponent. Then you want to use snares/immobilizes/knockdowns to keep your target close. It’s also a good idea to carry a ranged weapon as your second weapon set so you can finish off targets at range!
- Example: Let’s use Sword/Shield warrior as an example. You know your opponent wants to snare you or keep you at range. You can dodge towards your opponent, use Savage Leap, and then dodge again. This will give you an evasion, a movement, and then another evasion. Once you’re close to your opponent you can use your Shield Bash to stun your target, and then use Hamstring to keep them in melee. Most opponents will try to “flail” and use any knockback or snare they have available, so you can predict this, and use your Shield Block to prevent these skills from hitting you.
- As the ranged player:
- You need to find a good balance of keeping your opponent at range while also dishing out the damage. If you just do one or the other, you may lose the fight. If you see an opponent doding towards you, DO not fire your snares/knockbacks. Save them until you know they will land. If you see them getting too close, don’t forget that you can use your own dodge to reset the range of the fight. Try to use your dodges and snare skills to keep the fight at a distance.
- Example: Let’s use a Longbow Ranger as our example of a ranged class. If you see someone coming to attack you, try to get them to run through a Barrage on the way in, which Cripples. You will need to use skills 1, 2, and 3 for damage, and your goal here is to get them to use their heal. You can use Point Blank shot in a few different ways in this matchup, depending on what you need. You can open with it to keep your opponent at range, and combo it with Barrage to make sure your Cripple lands. You can also save it as a “oh crap!” button in case your opponent is pressuring you too hard. Lastly, you can damage your opponent and then watch for them to heal, and interrupt the heal with your Point Blank shot. In addition to all of this, you need to use your dodges carefully. Sometimes you may want to use them at the start of a fight to maintain distance, or you may need to use them mid-fight to get away from your opponent.
Classes:
All PvP professions have a default template they use. Now I’ll walk you through each of these templates and how they work! Remember that you can change these templates as you see fit, so try new things, explore new builds, and most of all, have fun!
Warrior
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Axe/Axe and Rifle
- Healing skill: Healing Surge
- Utilities:
- Stomp
- Endure Pain
- Signet of Might
- Elite: Rampage
Axe/axe will allow you to quickly build adrenaline and spike targets with Eviscerate. If your opponent is too far away, don’t be afraid to switch over to rifle to finish them off at range! Stomp is a great all around skill (you can use it to protect yourself, to interrupt enemies trying to stomp allies, etc). Save your Endure Pain until you need it – it can save you, but it has a long recharge. Activate your Signet of Might when you need a big spike in damage.
Guardian
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Mace/Shield and Staff
- Healing skill: Healing breeze
- Utilities:
- Stand Your Ground
- Merciful Intervention
- Bow of truth
- Elite: Sanctuary
Mace and shield allow for a LOT of defense if you’re being targeted. Use your Staff when you have allies around, as it works well as a support weapon. “Stand Your Ground!” is great for stopping enemy control effects against you and your allies. Bow of Truth can keep conditions off of you and allies, and don’t be afraid to activate your Virtues (F skills) skills depending on the situation. Proper use of “Merciful Intervention” can turn many battles, and this, combined with your Valors, makes this a great support build.
Ranger
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Longbow and Greatsword
- Healing skill: Heal as One
- Utilities:
- Signet of the Hunt
- Spike Trap
- Sharpening Stone
- Elite: Rampage as One
The default template for the Ranger allows you to play a very balanced style – you can handle yourself in melee and at range. Use your Greatsword if the enemy gets too close, and swap to Longbow once you can establish range between you and your target. Sharpening Stones and Spike Trap will both give you some more condition pressure from your utility skills, and Signet of the Hunt lets your pet add a lot of damage to a spike.
Engineer
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Rifle
- Healing skill: Healing Turret
- Utilities:
- Rifle Turret
- Rocket Turret
- Tool Kit
- Elite: Supply Crate
This build allows the Engineer to shine as a “holding” class. You’re able to use your turrets to add damage to any fight, but you have to keep your enemy close to them in order for them to be effective. Tool Kit compliments the turrets and allows for more control. Your Rifle also has great control skills on it. All of this (combined with Supply Crate as your elite) adds up to a build that allows the Engineer to hold an area against multiple foes until allies can arrive to help.
Thief
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Pistol/Pistol and Dagger/Dagger
- Healing skill: Hide in Shadows
- Utilities:
- Spider Venom
- Signet of Shadows
- Haste
- Elite: Basilisk Venom
Dual Pistols and dual Daggers provide the Thief with a lot of versatility. And that’s exactly what this Thief build wants – the versatility to pounce on targets of opportunity. Spider Venom is a great way to shut down an opponent’s heal skill – when they go to heal themselves, they will receive less healing if poisoned. Basilisk Venom can be used in many ways, to interrupt a heal, to prevent the revival of a teammate and to keep an opponent in place. Signet of Shadows can be used to stop a foe so you can retreat, or it can be used to stop a foe trying to flee. If you find yourself stunned, use your stun breaker – Haste. It also allows you to attack faster (to make sure you land your poisons at the key time) and speeds up how fast you revive allies and stomp foes.
Elementalist
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Staff
- Healing skill: Glyph of Elemental Harmony
- Utilities:
- Signet of Fire
- Arcane Power
- Mist Form
- Elite: Tornado
As an Elementalist using a Staff, you’ll be able to do a little bit of everything, but you’ll have to use your attunements well to fit the situation. Signet of Fire and Arcane Power will increase your damage output and Mist Form functions as one of the best escape skills in the game (it’s also a stun breaker!). You won’t be able to stand up to too much damage, so be sure to use your control skills to keep enemies away from you. If your opponents leave you alone, you’ll be able to cause considerable area damage in fire attunement, but you’ll be vulnerable while doing so.
Mesmer
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Scepter/Torch
- Healing skill: Ether Feast
- Utilities:
- Illusion of Life
- Null Field
- Veil of Invisibility
- Elite: Moa Morph
Tricks, tricks and tricks. That’s what you’re all about as a Mesmer. You don’t want to stand toe-to-toe with other classes if you can help it, but you can punish your opponents for not paying attention. Illusion of Life allows you to revive allies for a short time if they’re downed – just when your enemy thinks they’ve taken an ally down, plant some doubt in their mind! Null Field is a versatile skill that can rip down pesky boons, or keep conditions off allies. If you allies need to get away from enemies, or if you want to plan a surprise attack, you can use Veil of Invisibility to turn the odds in your favor. The ace up your sleeve is Moa Morph. You can use it to shut an enemy down so you can finish them in a weakened form, or you can use it to greatly hinder an enemy while you retreat to a safer position.
Necromancer
Starting loadout:
- Weapons: Axe/Warhorn
- Healing skill: Blood Fiend
- Utilities:
- Spectral Armor
- Poison Cloud
- Bone Fiend
- Elite: Plague
For a caster, you’ll feel pretty durable as a Necromancer if you use your Death Shroud well. If your Death Shroud is low, be careful and don’t get in over your head, but when it’s full, try to draw as much attention as you can – you have extra life that you need to dispose of! The Axe/Warhorn combo will allow you to have a lot of physical damage, as well as some utility from your Warhorn skills. Spectral Armor will allow you to deal with being spiked. Poison Cloud is a great way to deny space to enemies – if they stay in it, they’ll be poisoned, and all their heals will be decreased – helping you to win the attrition battle. Your fiends give you some added damage, and don’t forget to sacrifice them when it suits your needs.
