I'm sorry if the title left you guys thinking that I would be doing the teaching. I'm here to ask those who know how to PVP to share their knowledge. I know some things only come with experience, but as a level 52 balance, I'm struggling to understand why I'm getting whooped against level 35 Warlords. I clearly have the shining advantage, but my cards just never seem to be what I need.
I guess what I'm asking for is someone to help me with learning PVP. When to attack. When not to attack. Deck building. Different types of strategies. All of that stuff. If anybody could come in game and teach me, that would be awesome, but forum posts will work too :)
I was also wondering if a mentor system would actually be a good idea. I don't know if KI would go for it, but potentially being able to earn gold or even crowns to mentor the newer players? Of course, only a select few of mentors, as giving away too many crowns would not be profitable, but say the fee is payed by the players. So, say Novice Necromancer would like help with handling multiple mobs, they could go to another pedestal in Ambrose's office and sign up and pay the crowns fee. Of course, the mentors themselves would have to be tested, but I don't think it's a terrible idea. Skilled players looking to earn a little extra crowns could sign up and schedule times when they can be online with those players, and KI doesn't lose any profit because people need crowns to have mentors. Any ideas on that?
It's true that at Level 52, you have more learned spells than a Level 35. However, spells and added health don't automatically give you the win.
Here's a grab bag of tips for you:
Look hard at your gear. Are you carrying the best set you can carry? Your gear should give you universal resist and balance damage. You should have strong balance hit boosts available at your level. Don't bother with critical boosts at Level 52 unless you have a quad-critical talent pet.
Work on a good pet for your needs. Typically you will want it to heal (may cast fairy), and add universal resistance (spell-proof).
Spend your training points wisely. You should consider training Sun damage spells in Celestia, Ice to Tower Shield, Life to Satyr, and Death to Feint. If you don't have training points left, you need to either complete more "Find" quests or buy your training points back.
Carry dual shields so you can defend against more attacks. Carry Towers too. Carry weakness. Use those cards, don't leave yourself unguarded. Do not carry triple shields.
Do not carry triple traps.
Use your gear to boost your hits and use your blades sparingly. Don't even pack many blades, it's a waste of rounds if you're balance.
Carry all of the following treasure cards at all times: Reshuffle, Shatter, Satyr, Triage, Infallible, Tower Shield.
Consider carrying the following treasure cards: Fire Elf, Primordial-enchanted heals, Monstrous-enchanted hit cards (especially Sandstorm, to eliminate minions), Entangle, and Clockwork Spider (to eliminate opponent bubbles).
Do not simply go for the "Big Judgment" one hit kill unless your opponent lacks a way to defend. When you fail, you will be left pip-less and under-defended.
Do not let your opponent keep the bubble.
Use the Spectral Minion. It can force your opponent to hit before they are prepared, which gives you more time.
Use enchanted smaller hits like Spectral Blast and Locust Swarm. Consider gradually wearing your opponent down before hitting with something major.
Believe me, I learned my lesson on the Judge strategy.
I guess my bigger thing is going from second, how am I supposed to pull out of that? I really get whooped unless I go first. I went first today.
I threw out my mander minion ASAP. Began using Black Mantles and Weaknesses here and there. I mana burned him once with an item card. That hit for about 800 damage. The only blades I used were from my minion and from my pet. I used tower shields and one triple (I read this I battled) I started with a spectral for my first attack. Ended up not having to heal at all. Then that mana burn put him in the danger zone. I threw out a Doom and Gloom. He killed my minion and I threw out another one asap instead of healing (Figured he'd be too distracted healing himself or trying to kill the minion, giving me time to heal). He tried two pixies and a unicorn pet cast, healed him VERY little with that Doom and Gloom up. I misjudged and threw out a Judgement too early with too little pips to kill. Waited a little bit, he healed a bit, and I threw out a Hydra for the final blow. There were a few weaknesses here and there, and a couple towers here and there.
So, I guess my strategy doesn't seem to be too big of an issue. I did post this after a day of ONLY going second, not first once. I got killed pretty badly by a bunch of Magus Warlords who had better stats than I did. So, yeah. I'm working on my gear and getting it up to par. Thanks so much for the advice! I'll put it to good use!
So, my biggest issue is still going second and not being able to get a good hit in on them. Fire is the biggest issue because I can't keep a good shield up to effectively block them, so Triage TC here I come, I guess.
As a balance wizard you should truly understand being a high level makes us even better. Try to level up a bit and then try pvp... then you will seriously be unstoppable.
Believe me, I learned my lesson on the Judge strategy.
I guess my bigger thing is going from second, how am I supposed to pull out of that? I really get whooped unless I go first. I went first today.
I threw out my mander minion ASAP. Began using Black Mantles and Weaknesses here and there. I mana burned him once with an item card. That hit for about 800 damage. The only blades I used were from my minion and from my pet. I used tower shields and one triple (I read this I battled) I started with a spectral for my first attack. Ended up not having to heal at all. Then that mana burn put him in the danger zone. I threw out a Doom and Gloom. He killed my minion and I threw out another one asap instead of healing (Figured he'd be too distracted healing himself or trying to kill the minion, giving me time to heal). He tried two pixies and a unicorn pet cast, healed him VERY little with that Doom and Gloom up. I misjudged and threw out a Judgement too early with too little pips to kill. Waited a little bit, he healed a bit, and I threw out a Hydra for the final blow. There were a few weaknesses here and there, and a couple towers here and there.
So, I guess my strategy doesn't seem to be too big of an issue. I did post this after a day of ONLY going second, not first once. I got killed pretty badly by a bunch of Magus Warlords who had better stats than I did. So, yeah. I'm working on my gear and getting it up to par. Thanks so much for the advice! I'll put it to good use!
So, my biggest issue is still going second and not being able to get a good hit in on them. Fire is the biggest issue because I can't keep a good shield up to effectively block them, so Triage TC here I come, I guess.
The way to defeat an opponent from second is to create tactical conditions that your opponent has to deal with on subsequent turns. While they fight to regain control, you store up pips/buffs for your hits. Additionally, they will be vulnerable to hits while they are trying to get past the roadblocks you have set up.
Here are some things to help you, going second:
put up shields your opponent can't hit through (works best on ) they have to use a turn to remove shields
put weaknesses on your opponent (works on most schools) they often have to use a turn to remove it
stun your opponent with a treasure card they lose a turn while you gain pips
black mantle your opponent with a treasure card they often lose a turn while you gain pips
make your opponent hit early by setting up a Spectral Minion (not Helpful Mander aka Bob) they lose a turn, lots of pips, and all their stacked buffs
quickly lower your opponent's health with strong, small hits to force them to heal they lose a turn and pips
When you get beat by a level 35 warlord, remember they've probably been in pvp for a while, and have the commander gear, along with a great pet, along with the perfect trained spells, with all that topped off on a good strategy. You being the higher level doesnt declair you victor. My level 12 warlord can take out magus's like a knife cuts through butter.
At level 52, your best chance to win is getting a lot of damage. Your not at the point where universal resist comes with gear, and your critical isnt going to be very good. (Unless you have a pet with 4 critical talents). So on a pet, go for 3 damage talents (pain-giver, balance-dealer, balance-giver), may cast fairy (fairy friend), and a talent of your choosing.
I don't pvp on my balance wizard, but I'm pretty sure this applies to all schools.
The key is to anticipate your opponent's next move before they do; you need to stay ten steps ahead of them at all times.
My fire wizard is a level 34 captain, so most of her opponents are level 45-55 (though I do run across the odd level 10 warlord with 60 resist). Yes, their critical is a pain, but I've reached a point where a level 55 across from me doesn't mean instant death by lucky crit.
I like to get my minion out ASAP and pip-lock my opponent into a specific style; I usually do this by saving my pips and doing 2 huge back-to-back hits, one after the other. If the first hit doesn't kill them, the second one will; and, if by chance, they do survive that second hit, they're gonna be in pretty bad shape and will probably need to heal...
So they are faced with a choice: hit me, or heal. They can't do both. And the wrong choice will cost them the match.
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