Neverwinter PvP Basic Guide

Neverwinter PvP Basic Guide by jeepin

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert and there may be some information that is slightly inaccurate. Please add constructive advice.

1st, PvP (Player vs Player) can be extremely frustrating, intimidating, and painful. It tends to be one of those things that if you like it you love it and if you hate it.. Yeah well…

My goal here is to help everyone get a new appreciation of the different PvP Battles and help with class and spec.

Each class has it’s benefits and weakness’. The biggest issue people have with their class is they are either not spec’d properly for PvP, they are using the wrong abilities for PvP, or their gear is substantially lower than people they are up against. Each is a pretty easy fix.

I don’t know what every ability for every class is, so I will give the generic explanation and you can probably figure out what I am talking about.

Guardian Fighters – You can absolutely DOMINATE PvP battles. My set up is Knights Challenge, Bull Charge, and Lunging Strike // Cleave, Threatening Rush // Villians Menace, Indominable Strength. Strategy: Target who can potentially do the most damage. Usually CW’s and TR’s. If I know I am going against a CW and they are true PVP CW’s, I throw up Villians Menace. It makes me immune to CC and gives me a little buff, then I target them with Knights Challenge and feint them by using Threatening Rush. Usually when a CW sees you charging, they dash. As Threatening Rush is unlimited, I make them burn their 3 dashes. Now I charge in with Lunging strike and bull charge. Thats all it takes, and its game over. Works on TR’s and CW’s well. Other GF’s and GWF’s are a little different. I will usually try to frustrate them and make them want to kill me so bad that they focus on me specifically. I focus on survivability and let the CW or TR burn them down. Then as soon as their invulnerability and all of their cool downs are blown, I hit them with my combo’s. If I crit, I have 2 shotted GWFs and GF’s. It’s all about timing and patience.

CW’s – Their are many different ideas on how to play a CW. I focus on ranged cc. Its a lot of timing attacks to dash, and survivability. I will usually use Entangling Force to start, then I hit them with Ray of Enfeeblement and frost pillar to slow them down. If the get close, I use Icy Terrain. I’ll burn them down with Magic Missle or chilling cloud. And if there is a group, I use Arcane Singularity and an aoe. Or I use shield and blast them when they all group up then dash out of the way. If I am single target, I will rapid fire: Force choke, ray of enfeeblement then ICe Knife. Admittedly, I hold my own with my CW, but their are people out their who are just insane and I would reccomend looking up a good PvP spec/rotation. The key to CW is being out of the fray, keeping people at a distance, and burning them down as quickly as possible.

TR’s – I do not play a TR, but I know a few. What I have found with speaking with them is: A PvP TR is spec’d completely different. With points in abilities not normally used for PvE. A well spec’d TR is nasty. With vanish, smoke cloud, backstab, lash, and all of their survivability they can be the toughest to beat. If played properly. Time your smoke bomb when a GF or GWF begins their assault. If you see a GF at a distance assume he is going to charge and if timed well, we charge into the cloud and are insta stunned. We cant block, we cant use abilities.. We are walking sacks of potatoes waiting to be mashed. Same with a GWFs invulnerability. The key to a CW is to sneak up behind them, pop off cloud and then commence to tearing them up. If your daily is up and you have a mage dazed, its a 1 or 2 shot. GF’s Daze, dash, knives, vanish, pop up behind them, backstab, dash, throw knives…. Same with GWF’s. Other TR’s…. You’re on your own. Get em to your group and let him get perma stunned.

GWF’s – I know least about GWF’s other than I hate you all….. You are my biggest nemesis in PvP. I have you down to no life, then you go invulnerable, heal yourself up and start a barrage of attacks. Then I take you down, and you do it again. Nasty nasty…

Clerics – There is a specific build for Clerics for PvP.. And used properly, they are impossible to kill. they put their healing circles up, they have an ability to go invulnerable, they debuff the hell out of you and they have a nasty nuke. I have had some serious difficulty killing a cleric. They dodge, debuff, stay healed, stun, nuke, dodge, stun, debuff, nuke, heal, nuke… When played according to the spec or abilities, you can solo/multi kill any class out there.

PvP Areas: 

1st I’ll start with Gauntlgrym. It can be very fun and a great way to practice your abilities. I reccomend it as a training area since you can stay with a group and odds are better in your favor for surviving.
1st key/secret to Gauntlgrym. Cap cap cap… Avoid PvP unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t have to, don’t. The ONLY time you should engage in PvP is at a control point when you are trying to take it. If someone attacks you in between control points. Run away. It’s a waste of your time and does nothing. Heres how scoring breaks down for all PvP.

Assist: 25 Points
Kill: 50 points (getting the killing blow. Doing the most damage will get you assist, getting the last shot in gets you the kill)
Defending a control Point: 50 points
Kill at a Control Point: 100 Points
Take a control point: 300 points

So it would take you 6 kills to get the points equal to taking a control point, then if you get the kill at the control point you can walk out with 400-450 points. So… CAP CAP CAP. I start off by going to the right with the majority of the group in Gaunt. I run from control point to control point and grab the 300 points. If I come across an enemy at the next point, I kill them, take the point and leave as quickly as possible. Keep moving. If you see a group of enemies approaching, run away. Move to the next enemy controlled point. Don’t stop moving. I have scored over 10k points and 1st place with 1 or 2 deaths and only 5 or 6 kills. Just by continuing to move and avoiding combat

Regular PvP

Chances are you are going to be with a PUG and your success often times is reliant upon your group composition and the people you are going against. Its random. But I will try to give you the best stratagies.

1) Go as a group. If the group all goes to the middle, then it is ok to be the only 1 to cap your point. However, DO NOT go to the center alone. Its a guaranteed death and a waste of time. If the entire team goes to your control point, then go with them. I will watch to see where the majority goes before I commit. Strength in numbers is not just a saying.

2) Check the team board (hit X) to see who is what class on the opposing team. It will give you a better idea of who you need to locate, close with, and destroy by fire or close combat. Knowing your opposition is important. Once you know who is there. You can set your targets on the class that you know you do well against. Which brings me to:

3) Play to your strengths. If you are a CW, find another CW or Cleric. Or GWF you can burn down. Play to your strengths against classes you know you can dominate. I will learn who the CW’s are and make them my targets first. They have the potential to do the most damage from the distance.

4) Cap! If you see that you have 3 or 4 people fighting at a control point, and your team is pretty tough. Take their control point. Many times they will be preoccupied trying to take your point or the middle that you can slip past and grab theirs. It’s 300 points and if someone comes that you can kill, there is another 50 points.

5) Play the map to your favor. Find hiding areas or vantage points above that play to your strength. Utilize strategic areas. As a GF, I will hide out of sight near a control point until an unsuspecting victim comes into my cross hairs, then I hit them with Knights Challenge, Lunging Strike and Bull Rush, before they even realize there was someone there. As a CW, I will charge up my shield and go take a top point. You can CC and burn someone down while they are engaged with someone else, and dead before they realize it. If they send someone up to you. Discharge your shield and launch them off.

6) Be aware of your surroundings. Watch where people are headed and keep a mental note of how many opponents are in a specific area. If you see 4 people coming for your point and you are there.. Get out, get away, find somewhere else or join up with your group. You may be good, but you aint takin 3-5 people on. Watch the map and see what areas are being taken. If you see that there is 1 person randomly running, 3 at the middle fighting and a control point is being taken, you know that it is only 1 person. I’ll take 1 on 1 odds all day long. I’ll move toward that spot and wait out of site till they take it or if I know I can take them out, Ill charge in and kill them and take the spot. Then… Get out of there. The longer you stay at an area, the more chance of engaging multiple enemies.

7) Use common sense. Probably the most simple in concept and the most difficult to achieve. Avoid fighting off of the control point. You are doing the team no good if you are not taking the point you are fighting outside of. Don’t go into large groups alone, no matter how bad-*** you are, you can’t solo them all. Don’t make it personal. If someone kills you over and over. Don’t lose your cool and take it to heart and get all nerd raged. They are just following #3. If you start to lose your cool and start getting frustrated, you are going to lose focus and make vital mistakes. Dodge, blink, or avoid as much as you can. People get tunnel vision and focused on 1 shotting. Play your game not theirs. Counter their attack or parry and riposte. If you find that your team has lost so bad that people have left. Don’t jump into the fray. If it ends up 5v3 you are only going to build their stats up. Let it play out and hopefully get a better game next time. Hang by the safe zone until its over. It is Ok to surrender when the stats are against you.

8) Play with respect and you will earn respect. I absolutely refuse to spawn camp. By that I mean, I will not stand at the base of the enemies spawn point and grief kill them over and over. I will give them a fair shot and let them come down and fight faily away from the spawn point. I have gotten a lot of respect from that and have had friend requests from people that respected my game play. Don’t be an a-hole. Avoid chat. People will bait you and try to take you off of your game by calling you out or insulting you. Even if they hit a sore spot. Ignore it. It only makes them look foolish and you look like the hero when you destroy them.