Since this is my first guide for Anarchy Online I apologize if there is
something you disagree with here, if that is so you are more than welcome to
e-mail me at nickeberhart@juno.com. I appreciate any constructive criticism
or any help you want to give me to make this guide better.
There are a few people I would like to thank for contributing to this
guide even if they don't know they helped out. Jayde (The adventurer
professional on the anarchy-online forums.) Revelator, Atreyu, Kyrstina,
Inocybe, Ditzie, Upana, Afelia, Prochyon, Beautyfarm, Next, Nyel, Chorwin,
Vampi, Kard, Silirrion, Gunmetal, Frostess, FrostDragon, Doc Giggles,
Leetwolf, PowerEdge, Nightwalker, MetaShadows, Yika (thanks for letting me
borrow those FA's), Nolikewar (you helped me numerous times whether it was
free wrangles or free weapons and credits you have been a lifesaver),
Everyone in AlphaStrike you guys help and tolerate me like no one else,
Everyone in my org New Mafia, especially Carlaugu our brave and faithful
leader :) and last but not least Trader1980 (Those wrangles are always
appreciated thanks). I can't forget Funcom for making such a great game!!!
Keep up the good work!
There are many different opinions on this choice but what seems to be the
general consensus is that Solitus are the most chosen for being Adventures.
Let's go ahead and show you what makes each breed special.
Solitus
Ability
Points/Level
Breed Cap
Max Level
Total IP
Cost
Strength
3
472
156
222282
Agility
3
480
158
229890
Stamina
3
480
158
229890
Intelligence
3
480
158
229890
Sense
3
480
158
229890
Psychic
3
480
158
229890
TOTALS
2872
1371732
Max Hit Points
4367
Max Nano Pool
2787
Opifex
Ability
Points/Level
Breed Cap
Cap Level
Total IP
Cost
Strength
3
464
154
214826
Agility
3
544
177
147591
Stamina
3
480
158
344835
Intelligence
3
464
153
214802
Sense
3
512
168
130771
Psychic
3
448
149
200250
TOTALS
2912
1253075
Max Hit Points
4172
Max Nano Pool
2572
Nano
Ability
Points/Level
Breed Cap
Cap Level
Total IP
Cost
Strength
3
464
154
322239
Agility
3
464
154
322239
Stamina
3
448
149
200250
Intelligence
3
512
166
130711
Sense
3
480
158
229890
Psychic
3
512
168
130711
TOTALS
2880
1336040
Max Hit Points
3432
Max Nano Pool
3010
Atrox
Ability
Points/Level
Breed Cap
Cap Level
Total IP
Cost
Strength
3
512
166
130711
Agility
3
480
158
229890
Stamina
3
512
168
130711
Intelligence
3
400
133
239391
Sense
3
400
133
239391
Psychic
3
400
133
239391
TOTALS
2704
1209485
Max Hit Points
5133
Max Nano Pool
1692
The bottom line is that your choice of breed is all just personal
preference. Yeah you might have a harder time when picking Nano as your
breed but if you want better nano skills and such then go ahead choose that
breed. Since we end up as tanks most of the time and you want to make a
Melee Atrox for the extra hit points go ahead. Opifex have higher agility
and sense so if you want to pick them for your dual pistol wielding
adventurer go ahead. If you want an adventurer that is a good tank and
healer then go ahead choose Solitus. What I'm saying is adventurers are the
jack of all trades so whichever breed you pick you will most likely have a
great time playing with them. So don't worry about it and go for whichever
breed suits your style of play.
Once again there are many conflicting opinions on where your IP
should be placed. I will try to give you both sides of the story and then
my personal opinion and how I have made my Adventurer.
As a Melee adv. max out Strength, Stamina, Intelligence, Agility, Body
Development, and your Nano Pool each level up. As a Ranged Adv. Max out
Stamina, Intelligence, Agility, Sense, Body Development, and your Nano Pool.
You might consider putting points into Physic which you should up to a point.
This helps your nano skills some, but there are people who consider it not
worth the IP to get a few extra points in your nano skills. Once I got to 135
Stamina I stopped putting points into it for awhile because I barely had any
points to raise my nano skills.
Melee Adventurers have the advantage of doing more damage and having a
wider array of special attacks than ranged adventurers. Though once you get
rooted or snared as a melee adv. you won't be too happy. Now, when making a
Melee adv. you will want to go for 1H Edged due to the fact we get a green bar
(Which means it costs less to improve that skill) for that weapons class and
later on we get a buff for that skill. When making a 1H edged adv. You should
max 1H Edged, Brawl (Most melee weapons require this), Fast Attack (Like a
Fling Shot for swords), you should also max Multi. Melee in the beginning and
then gradually put less points into it. Dimach and Sneak Attack are also used
for some Melee weapons so consider putting some points into those. You should
also max Melee Initiative so that you get a faster attack and recharge time on
your weapons. You should also consider the parry skill.skill works in addition
to
Evades. When someone
"The Parry skill still works in addition to evades. When someone hits you with
melee, it's checked vs. your parry skill either before or after the EvadeClC.
Most people don't find enough IP to spend on Parry at low lvl, and the majority
of both mobs and players use ranged attacks. At high level (A guildy got 850)
you will see that you frequently parry mobs and other melee players
The Adv parry shields gives very good ac and got a nice recharge. Using these
shields with correct timing can save the day. A lvl 200 Adv with max parry
should be able to get between 9 and 10k AC for 30s each 2nd minute (before AC
buffs). The shield can be what makes you survive 3 hits from Ian Warr before
the CH hits you.
I feel that most people underestimate the value of the shields."
(Taken from Afelia in Jayde's Adventurer Handbook on the Anarchy Online
forums.)
When making a Ranged adv. you will want to dual wield pistols for the
same reason I told you for dual wielding 1H Edged weapons. Max out Pistol,
Fling Shot, and Multi. Ranged every level up. In the beginning I put points
into Ranged Energy but once I got about 110 points there I stopped since I was
beginning to use BBI Faithful 22's. Once you start using energy pistols again
you will want to start putting points there again. As far as Burst and Full
Auto go you really don't need them until level 41 when you can start using
Customized IMI Desert Reets for burst and for Full Auto much later you will use
the Kyr'Ozch Pistol. You should also max Ranged Initiative so that you get a
faster attack and recharge time on your weapons.
As far as other initiatives go you will want to almost max out
NanoCombat
Initiative, Dodge Ranged, and Evade Close Combat each time you level up. You
will also need to max Computer Literacy every level with every character you
ever make. The initiatives will be used to lower the critical hits you get when
attacked, with NanoC initiative you cast your nanos faster in battle which will
save you and your team many times, Computer Literacy is used for equipping
better belts and memory for more NCU for your buffs, shields, and morphs.
Now for the Nano skills I max Matter Metamorphosis, Bio Metamorphosis,
and Sensory Improvement every level up because those are used for your heals
and Shape-shifts. Most of the time I try to raise Matter Creation but that is
not as important to me as the others. Treatment needs to be raised to 110 by
level 30 or so. After that you should continue to raise it a little less than
maxing it every level so you can equip the highest possible implants. At level
25 my adv. could equip ql 50 implants. First Aid should be raised pretty high
in the beginning, then it shouldn't be raised really because our heals are
better I think. I heal 300 HP with my best heal at lvl 45 and my first aid
wouldn't do that well.
You should only really put points into Map Navigation so that you can
use
the map reader upgrades. The shop, people, and maybe monster upgrades are good
to pick which will mean you can stop raising when you get it to 130 or so. When
you go to get a Yalm around level 50 you will need 81 in Vehicle Air for the
lowest Yalm. Those go for 4.5 million credits or so. There is a rumor that all
Yalms go the same speed now so there is no reason to buy a higher priced one. I
haven't been able to confirm it or not, so do what you will with the
information.
As a Ranged Adv. there are not as many choices for weapons as there are
for melee adv., but we get a good amount still. (These weapon
recommendations are taken from Jayde's Adventurer Handbook on the Anarchy
Online Forums.)
Ranged Weapons:
Staple Weapons:
BBI Faithful- All in all a great pistols only advies can use.
River Seasons XP- (made from Sealed Weapon receptacle, add an "Ultra Short
Composite Barrel")
The Original Electronicum- (Boss loot only, do not confuse with the Mini-
Electronium)
Kaen-Archibald Kolt- (Mostly good at low levels due to speed)
Joint Clans Scout Pistol- (Clan and Neutral shops, dyna boss loot--beats out
the Kaen at lower levels)
Flux Pistol- (SL generic sided mob drop, staple SL weapon..not so hot on RK)
Kyr'Ozch Pistol (- Type 1 and 4)- (Alien drop, Type 1 or Type 4 created by AI
tradeskill)
Special Weapons:
Customized IMI Desert Reet 1000- (VERY good pistol for level 41-100. Special
drop in Foreman's/Biomare dungeon. A must-have for that level range.)
Reign/Pain of Patricia- (Both drop off Patricia Johnson in EFP Mercs raid,
Reign is better than Pain and Advent-specific)
Jobe Explorer Personal Pistol- (FullAuto pistol, great paired with a
Flux/Argent/RoP.. drops rarely from Dryad bosses in NW Adonis)
Argent Blaster- (SL dungeon drop, NoDrop, but good paired with a Flux or a
JEPP)
==============================================================================
4.5) Weapons Melee
(Once again these weapon recommendations are taken from Jayde's Adventurer
Handbook on the Anarchy Online Forums.)
Staple Weapons:
SOL Fire Executioner Type C
SOL Fire Executioner Type E
SOL Fire Executioner Type F
SOL Fire Executioner Type T
Meibutsu Daito's (available only up to QL 135 from Tsunayoshi Smith in SAV)
Crispy Chiroptera (Crypt drop off Cenobite Shadow)
Shank of Maze (Heckler drop)
Kyr'Ozch Axe (- Type 240) (Alien drop, Type 240 created by AI tradeskill)
Phase Blades- (dropped off Exarchs in ToTW)
Special Weapons:
Frozen Tear of Uklesh (Temple of Three Winds drop)
Mantis Scissors (level 146 requirement, special drop in Mantis Den)
Gelid Blade of Inobak (Inner Sanctum drop)
Impious Dominator (Inner Sanctum drop)
Sword of Wonder (Inferno dyna drop)
Scimitar of Spetses (Inferno dyna drop)
==============================================================================
5) Armor
As I haven't tried even close to all of the armor available for
Adventurers I can't comment much here. I will post a list of armor and
items that are good for Adventurers and if there is anything special I
know about them I will put it there.
Carbonum Armor- This armor gives you more NCU, NanoC Initiative, and Nano
points as well as good protection in most categories. Very Low Energy AC
though.
Nano Armor- The requirements for this armor are Int/Pys. Low Chemical
protection.
Omni-Pol Elite- A good armor for Melee advys who have the STR/STA
requirements met. Low Chemical protection.
Obtru Steel- A SEN/AGI armor for Ranged adv. Low radiation protection
though.
Flowers Tech- Well if you don't mind it being pink then it is a good
AGI/STR armor for cheaper prices than others. Low Disease protection, but
higher radiation and chemical than others.
Barrow Strength- Good shoulderpad for lower level characters. +15 to all
damage types & +50 dmg every 20 minutes. (Picked up in ToTW)
Withered Flesh- Good shoulderpad for lower level characters. 500pt absorb
shield & +100hp (Picked up in ToTW)
Exarch Robe- A good robe for lower level characters (20-60 or so).
(Picked up in ToTW.)
Notum Ring of the Three- +6 NCU, +10 to all damage types, and either +2
to PM & SI or +2 to MC & TS, or +2 to MM & BM. (Picked up in ToTW)
Omni Med Suit- This set of clothes gives you +78 Treatment very helpful.
Clan characters can get them in Borealis or other places where omni peoples
sell them.
Concrete Cushions- A must have Stamina buffing item. You can dual wield
these for +16 stamina.
Flurry of Blows - For those 1HE users pick up this because it gives
Agg/Def adjust + Crit increase
There are many other sets of armor and robes and it is up to you to find
them, but don't ever equip a Battle Suit or Tank Armor because they make
all nanos cost much more to cast. Not worth it to an Advy. I got a Battle
Suit to find out how bad they were for advys and it gave out very good
protection in most of the categories, but I think it cost like 129% more
to cast nano programs. Ouch!
==============================================================================
6) Morphs and our other Nanos
Adventurers get a really cool line of nanos called Poly-morphs.
These allow us to take the shape of monsters found in the wilds of Rubi-
Ka. Along with giving you the shape of the character they also buff some
of your skills by a great amount. These will be displayed in the relative
order that you can use them.
Pronouncement of Greatness- Turns you into a Leet and gives you +200
concealment.
Sparrow Flight- Turns you into a Reet and gives you +15 Evades and +190
run speed. Takes away 15 from your max health. *You cannot fight in this
form or use it indoors.
Sparrow Flight Other & Team - Turns someone else or your entire team into
a Reet with the same buffs as the self nano.
Playful Cub- Turns you into a 2headed wolf and gives you +100 runspeed,
+10 to all damage types and . *You can fight in this form; in fact,
this form is designed for fighting
Grinning Hunter- Turns you into a Saber-toothed Tiger. (Modifications
unknown.)
Pit Lizard- Turns you into a giant dragon. (Modifications unknown.)
There are many other Polymorphs out there, but I have neither the
time nor resources to find and test them all. There are some pretty cool
morphs in the higher levels and all I can say is get to that level and
find them yourself.
We also get a line of self and team heals, An AC (armor class)
buff, a reflection shield, perception buffs and run speed buffs to
compliment our Polymorphs.
"The Adventurer profession has the top perception buffs in the game
followed by the Fixer. The Advy perception buffs have caster/target level
requirements (with the exception of the two Eagle Eye buffs) while the
Fixer's perception buffs do not. Since we have the best perception buffs
in the game, there's little to no excuse for any Advy to not know about
perception skill and perception skill buffs.
Here's a handy guide on Perception Skill (part 1)
-----------------------
What is the Perception skill used for?
Here's the official definition:
Perception and Spotting
This is the core skill used to detect things, be it concealed people,
hidden objects or traps. The skill depends 70% on sense, and 30% on
intelligence.
Hidden traps are those hidden explosives planted on doors and chests that
you encounter inside missions as well as proximity mines. You need
sufficient Perception skill to detect the bombs and mines (followed by
sufficient Disarm Trap skill to diffuse them if you so wish).
Perception is also a skill requirement for equipping HUD devices like the
Yatamutchy (which increases weapon range) and Vision Enhancer (which
gives a small boost to range and critical hit chance).
You will also need sufficient Perception skill to use Information Tools
that determine level, health and nano statistics of a mob. The success of
detection is based on the quality level of the tool itself with its
accompanying stats, and not the actual skill of the user. Even though
more level 200+ mobs/bosses have been introduced over the past several
patches, there are currently no QL200+ Informational Tools.
Where hidden persons are concerned, the Perception versus Concealment
skills check will determine detection or non-detection on the mini-map.
FYI, the player-to-player invisibility interaction feature was introduced
in patch 14.2.
Bear in mind that NPCs and mobs also have Perception Skills which check
against your own Concealment skill. When you get a "You have been
detected by Ace Rustler" for example when trying to sneak, it means that
your attacking concealment skill has failed against the defensive
perception skill check of that particular mob in the vicinity. It does
not mean that you are in LoS (Line-of-Sight) of the said mob. Just treat
the "You have been detected by xyz mob" report as incorrect English usage
for something that actually means "You have failed the concealment-
versus-perception skill check with xyz mob".
Note for PvM - There is also another factor at work and this has been
explained by Funcom as a roll-of-dice - every 10 seconds, there is a roll
of dice that determines the chance of the mob detecting your presence.
This factor has nothing to do with the perception skill of the mob."
(Taken from Inocybe on the Anarchy-Online forums.)
There are many things to do when you first start out on Newbie
Island. I will list the main things for you to do while on the island.
First go and level up a little. Then you will want to get your
first NCU belt and memory. There is a guy on the beach where you first
came ashore who will give you a few easy missions. When these are
completed you get Blackmane's belt.
Next you will want to upgrade your start-up weapons. You need 2
Leet spines from a Leet to upgrade the swords and 2 power supply's from
the cargo droids for the pistols. Next go to the shops and buy 2
Antonio's Adaptation Factories from Antonio. You will make the source the
factory and the target either the Leet spines or the power supplies. Use
the item you get from the adaptation on the pistols or swords by clicking
the item and then Shift+RightClicking the weapons. Next you should go
level some more.
If you have chosen to become omni and you get to level 6 go and buy
the lowest quality full set of newcomer's armor you can get from Antonio.
A full set of armor usually is made up of a chest plate, pants, 2X
sleeves, gloves, and boots. Then go to the omni shop right next to the
recruiters and Whom-Pahs and buy the Omni badges. Then by
Shift+Rightclicking equip the badges onto each piece of armor to make
Omni Newcomer's Armor. This armor can be upgraded by rightclicking the
armor every time you level up, so that the armor can be upgraded to
whatever your level is. This armor is the best around until you are about
level 15-20. Now go and fight the bosses on the island to get loot and
then go sell it. Once you get enough money go and buy the Adv. Nano pack.
There is also a mission to get a side (either Clan or Omni) shoulder pad.
This quest should be done twice to get 2 of the shoulder pads. Once you
get to about level 8 you are more than ready to leave the island.
Now that you are on the mainland there are many things to do. For
leveling up I suggest going to the Condemned Subway this is a dungeon for
characters level 5-25. Here you should try to pick up as many pieces of
Living Cyber Armor as you can. These can be leveled up to ql 50. You
should also try to get morphing memory these will come in handy later on
because they can be leveled up to ql 200 I think. There are 4 bosses in
the Subway, the Forman, Euminides, Vergil Aenid, and Abmouth Supremus.
The Forman is the easiest and can be fought with a group of level 12
characters. I soloed him at level 19. Euminides can be fought with a team
of level 15-17 characters and soloed with a level 30. Vergil can be
fought with a group of mid 20's. Abmouth Supremus SHOULD NOT be fought
without a full group of 24 or highers and at least two healers (two
doctors are the preferred).
As a Ranged Adventurer try to pick up a pair of ql 40 or higher BBI
Faithful 22's by level 25. As a melee Advy you will want to get a pair of
ql 40 or higher or so SOL Fire Executioner Type F's. At level 25 my
Ranged advy had a full set of ql 30 & 35 Carbonum armor which is probably
good enough for that level. With a TI-300X Component Platform Belt and 3
11-26 memories combined with the Carbonum armor & Ring of the Nucleus
Basilius (+7 NCU) I had 62 NCU at level 25. I was able to get a set of ql
51 BBI's (thx Nolikewar) and equip them at level 24 with a +132 wrangle
that costs about 30 NCU. At level 25 you should also be able to use
Sparrow Flight & Pronouncement of Greatness. Shroud of Barbs and Lesser
Wilderness Protection should be your standard Shield and AC Buff. As far
as heals go Lesser Restore to Health should be your best self heal and
since there are a lot fewer team heals you should probably be using Team
Rough Stitching.
When going to a dungeon to level up in this level range your best
bet is to go to ToTW (Temple of Three Winds). This dungeon is for
characters level 25-60 and when here grouping is the key to doing well in
ToTW. When you get there make sure you find a group, once again that is
the key thing here. There are many Mini-Bosses here which are harder than
the Cultists so watch who you attack. The bosses here are Defender of the
Three (DOT), the Curator, Lien the Memory Stalker, Nematet the Custodian
of Time, and Aztur the Immortal. DOT can be fought with a group of high
20-low 30's. The curator can be fought with a group of high 30-40's and a
doctor. Lien the Memory Stalker should be fought with a group of high
40's and a doctor (you start to see how important these doctors are).
Nematet the Custodian of Time should not be fought without a group of mid
to high 50's and definitely at least 1 doctor. While here, both melee and
ranged advys should try to get an Exarch Robe (Exarch), Dark Memory (Lien
the Memory Stalker), Notum Ring (Exarch), Platinum Ring of the Three
(Nematet), 2 pieces of Shoulder Armor (Re-Animator), and a Guardian
Circuit Board (Guardian of Tomorrow). Melee advys will probably want to
pick up a pair of Phase Blades (Exarch) also. If you can get a Re-
Animator Robe (Re-Animator) it is even stronger than the Exarch Robe but
very hard to get.
At level 33 I had a TI-400X Component Platform Belt at QL 55, four
16-31 memory at QL 66, a set of QL 39 Carbonum Armor, a pair of QL 51 BBI
Faithfull 22's, a Reverend Robe off a Reverend in ToTW, a Notum Ring of
Three off an Exarch in ToTW, a Ring of the Nucleus Basilius off of
Euminides in the Condemned Subway leveled to give me +11 NCU, and a set
of 13 QL 50 implants. As a melee advy you will either want a set of Phase
Blades from ToTW or a pair of high QL Sol F's.
When I got to level 40 a member of my org, a Lvl 150 Meta-
Physicist, took me to the Foreman's Office. There he took me down to the
Director who drops Customized IMI Desert Reet 1000s. These are the best
pistols for anyone lvl 41-100 easily. They are Burst Pistols with a high
minimum damage and no max damage. They deal more damage as you level up.
Try to get these as soon as possible.
Once I hit level 50 I was using Greater Quick Heal as my best
single heal and Lesser Restore to Health or higher as my best team heal.
I had been using Playful Cub for 4 levels. I had a Customized IMI Desert
Reet 1000 and a QL 70 BBI Faithfull 22 equipped so I got both Burst and
Fling Shot. I had a full set of QL 65 Carbonum Armor, an Exarch Robe, a
Notum Ring of the Three, and another Notum Ring of Three that raised
different nano skills. I also had a Guardian Circuit Board and 5 +30 NCU
Memories and a special implant from ToTW called Touch of the
Gripper that buffed my strength, stamina, and damage output greatly. I
was also using a set of QL 90 implants that buffed my agility,
intelligence, pistol, stamina and nano skills.
I am not going to lie I don't really PvP much with my advy. I will
occasionally go and PvP, but it isn't worth it to me because of the high
risk of dying, the low percentage chance of getting xp, and the low
percentage chance of getting items off the person you beat. So I found a
person to give me the rights to use his guide in mine and here it is.
Vampi's Guide to PvP
An Anarchy Online Player Guide
FINAL UPDATE 13-Sep-01
Note: this used to be Lusti's Guide to PvP. Lusti was my fixer and she
was great at PvP. But I've put Lusti on the shelf and gone back to my
agent Vampi for various reasons. Hence, the change to the title of
this guide.
A big thank-you to the following contributors: Aufklarung,
CaptFallout, Croak, DB (no in-game name given), Fadinaway (Funcom
Events Team Lead), Kusimi, Moondragon, Vanven, Wrathstar, Xaxon
Warning: this is a loonnnnggg guide (16 pages, so far). There's a lot to say
about PvP in Anarchy Online, and I go into a lot of detail. So if you're
reading-challenged or have the attention span of a gnat, don't say I didn't
warn
you. =P
Goodbye, My Friends
I will leave this guide up for some time, at least until I need the server
space
for things related to the next game I play. I give blanket license to anyone to
take my weapon evaluation spreadsheet and carry it forward, and to take the
information in this document and carry it forward. I, however, will no longer
be
updated either of these guides or my spreadsheet.
Contents
* PvP is BROKEN At All Levels
* What Can You Do About Exploiters in PvP?
* Why Every Player Should Care about PvP
* The Newbie's Reluctance to try PvP
* PvP Overview - The Nuts and Bolts Mechanics
o Level Restrictions
o The Deal with 25% Political Zones and 75% Monster-Only Zones
o The PvP Titles
o Looting Your Kills
o Neutrals Have It Rough
o Res-Camping and Grid-Camping
o The Dirty Facts About Line of Sight Attacks
* Where to PvP and How to Get There
o Getting to Stret West and the Holes-in-The-Wall Political Zone
o Getting to Meetmedere
o Getting to Stret East
o Getting to 4-Holes
* General PvP Tips and Tactics
o Equipment Has a Huge Effect
o Speed Kills
o Spying Skills and Aimed Shot
o Timing Your Big Damage Shots
o Using General Nano Debuffs Offensively
o Miscellaneous Tactics
* Team Tactics
PvP is BROKEN At All Levels
In my last update to this guide, I limited this section to a discussion of how
PvP was broken at levels 75 and up. Well, it still is broken at the high
levels,
but unfortunately there are quite a few reasons why it is also broken at EVERY
level now:
* The 12.5 patch changed the way that critical hits are calculated,
resulting in a noticeably larger amount of critical hits for most players.
While this was good news for the PvE environment, it has essentially
broken PvP at all levels. Critical aimed shots, bursts, and FAs are
increasingly resulting in one-shot kills even at lower levels. The Agent
class has been most affected by the change, because they are a high-
critting profession to begin with.
* There are quite a few balance-shattering exploits in use right now,
including a new one that I only became aware of today:
o The "Hammer Exploit" involves a way to bypass the long, long
recharge time on some high-damage weapons, allowing some players
like enforcers with hammers to hit you MUCH faster than intended by
the game designers.
o The "Ranged Invulnerability Exploit" involves a bug that has an
effect similar to the speed debuff bugs of the past. It's tricky to
induce and does not consistently stick, but when you can pull it
off, your Dodge skill goes through the roof and you are more or less
impervious to ranged attacks until you zone.
o The "Charm Exploit" allows a grief-player team to attack other teams
in 75% zones, or same-side teams in 25% zones.
* By now, many people have learned all the techniques of equipping
maximum
implants, armor, and weapons for their level. Several classes can equip
weapons near twice their own level. To some extent, you can argue that the
level of the person you are fighting in PvP is really the level of the
weapon that they are wielding. EVERY player is geared for maximum
offensive power, and the poor way that evades are implemented in the game
means that most people walking around in the PvP zones have defensive
evasion skills that are 2-3 times less than the attack skill of the person
they're facing. This means a seriously high amount of critical hits are
occurring in PvP.
Exploits aside, the big problem at all levels of PvP is that Funcom has screwed
up big-time by developing two completely different fight curves: one for PvP,
and one for PvE. They took the easy solution to the age-old problem that
monster
AI is weak. Because a human player can use creative tactics in a fight, game
designers have typically compensated for this by making monsters much tougher
than human characters. Funcom is no exception. That yellow mob you're fighting
has more hit points than you, more AC than you, and better evades than you.
The net result is that as players and mobs approach the higher levels, Funcom
has to seriously increase the damage output of players. Even with the current
PvE curve, you see high-level players having a hard time soloing even yellow-
greens and greens.
How this completely screws PvP is that monster hitpoints, AC, and evades
increase at a much steeper rate than for players. So while a level 120 agent
may
need his massive 3000-point aimshot to give him a fighting chance in the PvE
environment, it allows him to get off one-shot kills in PvP. While that soldier
may need his massive fling-burst-FA combo to give him a fighting chance in PvE,
it allows him one-shot kills in PvP. Same goes for any class that is capable of
dealing out special damage in the 1500+ range.
Also complicating/screwing high-level PvP is the fact that the three evasion
skills seem by all accounts broken and ineffective. I waited a long time to
weigh in on this, but I've seen enough factual accounts with hard data to
believe it now. At best, all that IP you are pumping into evades does is to
reduce the amount of criticals scored on you. Big whoopee-do. By all common
logic, if my total Attack skill is equal to your evasion skill for the type of
damage that I'm doing, I should MISS you 50% of the time or thereabouts. Read
that again. This is definitely NOT how it is working in-game right now. Not
even
close to that. Why? Again, probably because it would completely bork PvE--
either
we'd be killing mobs way too easy or they'd be killing us way too easy.
The bottom line is this:
* PvP at pretty much all levels, especially 75-200, is broken, worthless,
unplayable, and most importantly, NOT FUN. I don't care what real-world
analogies and rationalizations the trolls come up with, you have to
remember that all RPGs and war games are abstractions of reality. Sure an
agent with a sniper rifle most certainly *could* one-shot you in real-life
with a nice headshot. But this isn't real-life, it's a game. Every class
must have at least some chance of winning a fight against an opponent near
their own level. EVERY class. Even the doctors and bureaucrats, etc.
Otherwise, what's the point? And for every class to have a chance, for
every class to have FUN in PvP, a fight must last longer than 1-5 seconds.
A fight cannot be decided by who gets the first one-shot kill off. There
has to be some back-and-forth, some opportunity for tactics.
* Funcom MUST redo their entire PvP curve. Which probably means redoing
their whole PvE curve. They MUST balance PvP at levels 75+ so that fights
last at least 20-30 seconds or longer. So that fights have room for
tactics. So that fights are NOT decided in 1-3 hits, but more like 15+
hits at least. This is a tall order. Don't expect it anytime soon.
* Until Funcom fixes their PvP curve to address the problems at the
higher-
levels, grief-players are gonna have a field day in the Political and
Mayhem zones. And guess what? When you hit level 75+ the only zones with
mobs appropriate to your level are..... That's right! Political and Mayhem
zones!
* Funcom could make a temporary fix to PvP by taking the EQ approach and
reducing your damage output by a large percentage when you are attacking a
player instead of a mob. This will help but is NOT a real solution. The
specials will STILL be too powerful; the same imbalance will exist. You
will make fights last a little longer but the same basic problem will
still be there--Aimed Shot, Fling/Burst/FA, and some NT nukes will STILL
be too powerful compared to basic damage.
* Another temporary fix that Funcom could apply would be to institute PvP
level restrictions at levels 75-200, just like they currently do for the
players under level 75. In my opinion, this should actually be a permanent
fix unless they can really, really nail down the PvP balance issue. I
mean, logically, a level 75 character should have NO chance in hell
against a level 150 character. Or even against a level 100 character. I'm
sure that Funcom's original intent was that a group of level 75s should
have a chance to kill some solo level 150 that they encountered, but
really, how often is this going to happen? How can the vaunted storyline
really set up such circumstances? What's FAR more likely is that a group
of level 150s will roll into 2HO or some similar outpost and simply own
the place. That a group of level 120s will roam 4Holes or Stret East
looking for lower-level groups to gank. And so on.
So what is my recommendation? Just stop. Forget about PvP until FunCom fixes
all
this, because you won't have fun unless you're one of the few classes that can
actually pull off nice one-shot kills. Avoid the Political zones and Mayhem
zones, and if you do need to go there for leveling, make sure you're always
with
a full group.
Meanwhile, keep bitching to FunCom LOUD and LONG to fix high-level PvP.
Don't even bother reading the rest of this guide because it was written at a
time when some of these exploits were not in frequent use, and before the 12.5
patch when criticals happened almost never in PvP. Back then, PvP was a blast,
at least at the lower levels below 75. Now, it's all a huge clusterf*ck. Come
back and read on when FunCom fixes the main exploits I list above, and when
they
fix the basic PvP offense-defense formula.
What Can You Do About Exploiters in PvP?
Note: Due to Funcom's more stringent policy about banning people who post
exploits, and due the to fact that some game sites would not host/post this
guide while it contained PvP exploits in it, I have elected to remove them from
this guide.
Exploits will always be found. Some will always stoop to using them; it's human
nature. If you encounter somebody in a PvP zone who you are *certain* is using
an exploit, here are some things you can do about it:
* Be sure to file a bug report to Funcom. If you don't report about it,
they
don't know it's a problem.
* Don't fight back if your solo and at a disadvantage. Deny them any
option
of a fight, if possible, by running away if they attack you, and by being
aware of their position and avoiding getting in range for them to attack
you. Deny them their "fun."
* /shout to the entire area that "SoAndSo is using the Blah Blah
exploit!"
Don't spam the place, but make sure everyone in the area is warned. Trust
me; it's like painting a big target circle on their back.
* If you're fighting solo, consider teaming long enough to gank the
exploiter repeatedly. Or just coordinate with other soloists in the area
to be on the watch for the exploiter and to rush to each other's aid to
gang up on the exploiter.
Remember, the best deterrence to exploiters is to deny them the benefits of
their exploit, and if you can (by coordinating with others), to punish them
severely for even existing. Be creative, and do what it takes to spank them
mercilessly and repeatedly until they leave. Even if they swear up and down
they'll stop using the exploit, keep ganking them. Over and over.
Don't tolerate an exploiter in PvP. Don't buy their bullshit. Don't let them
con
you. Just kill them, efficiently and repeatedly until they leave.
Why Every Player Should Care About PvP
Special Update 6-Aug-01:
Fadinaway, the FunCom Events Team Lead, has responded (very quickly, I
might add) to requests that Funcom clear up the confusion about whether
levels 75-200 would be able to PvP even in 75% suppression zones. Dr.
Giggles had earlier reported that both GMs and a Funcom developer had
stated that when the storyline got started, a "war" switch would be
thrown that would enable levels 75-200 to attack each other even in the
75% zones.
Fadinaway said that no such thing would be happening. Here is his exact
quote:
"There has been no official comment like the one you described relating
to a 'war switch'. Currently, anyone over the level of 75 should be
able to freely PvP each other regardless of level difference, but only
in a Political or Mayhem zone. Political and Mayhem zones may change in
the future due to issues related to the storyline, but this should
affect everyone. If there is to be any change other than this, we will
definitely let you know."
So those of you who wish to avoid PvP can choose to do so, provided you
avoid the 25% "political" and 0% "mayhem" suppression gas areas.
Which brings me to why everyone should care about PvP. Sooner or later,
you simply cannot avoid the 25% and 0% zones altogether. As you advance
in levels, for instance, more and more missions end up being in
political zones. I imagine that at levels 75+ a fair number of missions
end up being the mayhem zones. Also, as the dimensions become more
populated (the game's only a month old now, and many people are holding
off until they see whether FunCom fixes the technical problems), you're
going to have more competition for the good high-level spawn, and I
betcha that some of the better spawn areas will end up being in
political and mayhem zones.
Remember, this entire game and storyline is based around a war between
Clan and Omni. If players themselves do not meet in conflict, there is
no storyline. So I lay $100 on the table right now that says as the
storyline progresses, we will see more 25% political zones cropping up,
and FunCom making subtle tweaks to encourage players to come into
conflict with each other. You will still be able to avoid PvP conflict
if you really really want to, but by doing so you will be significantly
limiting your options and the areas that you can visit.
My advice? Get comfortable with PvP now, at your early levels. PvP can
really be quite enjoyable and fun, and to address the main drawback of
PvP in other games (namely, that risked losing valuable exp and some or
all of your best equipment), FunCom has made it about as risk-free as
possible to engage in PvP.
The Newbie's Reluctance to Try PvP
Unlike other MMORPGs to date, AO gives you the ability to PvP your ass
off with NO RISK if you so choose, while you're a newbie. Until level
75, if you scan at an insurance terminal before entering a 25%
suppression zone (the "Political" zones) or a 0% "mayhem" zone, you
lose NOTHING if you die except the time it takes to wait out your
resurrection effects and travel back to the PvP zone.
So those of you who are new to the concept of PvP on an MMORPG server,
and are reluctant to try PvP, don't be! Try it; you'll like it!
The only real risk (and it is a real one) is that as you go higher in
levels your missions, and the choice leveling spots, end up often being
in political zones or mayhem zones. So you won't always have the luxury
to scan at an insurance terminal before you enter a 25% or 0%
suppression zone. Really, this is all the more reason to get
comfortable with PvP early on in your character's life. And if you
really find some incredible loot in a mission that you just can't bear
to lose to PvP attack because your mission area is in a political zone,
you always have the option to /terminate from within the mission area.
PvP Overview - The Nuts and Bolts Mechanics
Here are some basic facts about PvP mechanics.
Level Restrictions
* If you are under level 75, you can attack or be attacked only by
someone that is within a certain range of your own level, and who
is from the enemy side. Unlike in Asheron's Call, for instance,
you can walk right into the middle of Meetmedere and stand next
to a bunch of solid red enemies, and be perfectly safe. (Well,
more or less anyway--there is one fact about teams that modifies
this statement a bit.)
* Once you are level 75, you can attack and be attacked by anybody
from the enemy side up to level 200.
* Neutrals have it rough because both the Clan and Omni are
"enemies." Both Clan and Omni can attack a Neutral, but a Neutral
cannot attack a Clan or Omni. Once attacked, though, a Neutral
can fight back.
* Generally speaking, if an enemy is grey or solid red when you
target him/her/it, you cannot fight them. By the same token, if
an enemy is green to orange, you can fight.
* Calculating the level range for solo fighters - For people under
level 75, there is some question still about exactly how solo
ranges are calculated. All I have for now are some spot
observations that indicate the range starts at +-5 levels and
shifts upwards to probably +-15 levels as you near level 75:
o At level 17 the solo range is within +-5 levels
o At level 31, the solo range is within +-8 levels
o At level 50, the solo range is within +-11 levels
* Calculating the level range for team fighters - Teams composed of
people under level 75 have two different level ranges:
o The team's defensive range is some sort of combined average
range based on the levels of the team members. This range
used to be much wider before the 12.5 patch.
o The team's attack range is some sort of combined average
range based on the levels of the team members. This range
used to be much wider before the 12.5 patch.
This fact about team ranges has an important ramification if you are
fighting in areas with multiple enemies nearby: you cannot always
presume that a deep red or grey enemy is unable to attack you---if they
are teamed, they just might be able to. I'm reasonably certain that
their teammate(s) don't even have to be in the vicinity, but I could be
wrong. This fact also explains why sometimes you will get a message
that you cannot attack a given enemy that is green or orange--they may
be grouped with somebody who takes them out of your effective solo
range, despite their "color."
* If you engage in a fight with another player in your PvP range,
the other players outside your PvP range cannot jump in and start
attacking you too (unless they are teamed with the player you're
fighting.) The best way to check whether that lone yellow is in a
team or not is to send a Join Team request to them. If they're a
member of a team, you'll get a message to that effect. If they're
not a member of a team, who knows? You might confuse them long
enough to get the drop on them, if you're the type that likes
cheap tactics like that.
What other players around you can do, however, is to heal the
player that you're fighting. This is just a fact of life in a
more crowded PvP zone like Meetmedere. Usually if one side jumps
in to heal the player you're fighting, your side will often
notice and come heal you too. It all depends on the crowd and how
well known you are.
The Deal with 25% "Political Zones" and 75% "Monster-Only Zones"
* When fighting in 25% political zones, once you engage in a fight
with somebody inside the 25% zone, you are NOT safe if you run to
a 75% zone--other players can no longer attack you, but the
individual(s) or team(s) that were taking shots at you in the 25%
zone can continue to do so even if you are both now outside the
25% zone. The only real safe bolthole is if you hit a physical
zone border.
* Once you engage in a fight, even if you go run around the 75%
zone and the person you were fighting wanders off without either
of you killing the other, your ability to use treatment or nano
kits is nullified until you either find that person and kill
them, or else you hit a physical zone border. Even though your
attack bar is not active, and you're no longer being attacked by
the other player, the game still thinks that you're under attack
for purposes of using treatment/nano kits. I don't know if this
is a bug or a feature. And once you hit a zone line to clear that
state--you can no longer attack the other player in a 75% zone.
* In some areas, the 25% zones are very small and narrow. When you
look at the various zone maps available on fan sites, it looks
like the entire zone of Stret West, Stret East, 4-Holes, etc. is
a 25% political zone. Nope; at least not for Stret West. Most of
the area inside Stret West is perfectly safe 75% suppression.
Instead, what Funcom has done is create certain bottlenecks in
the roads and across river bridges where you are forced to run
through a 25% zone to get from one area to another.
However, I suspect this holds true only in Stret West, as it's
the lowest-level political zone. In 4-Holes and in Stret East,
every place I've gone is all 25% suppression gas. The only
protection from enemy players is that afforded by the numerous
NPC guards all around and inside the various outposts/towns. Some
of the roadways are heavily guarded as well.
The PvP Titles
* The PvP titles ("Freshman," "Rookie," etc.) are indicators of
your overall prowess at PvP. You get titles only if you win a lot
more fights than you lose.
* You get your PvP titles only for making solo kills. If you are a
member of a team, any kills you get will not count towards the
body counts needed for your PvP titles. So don't team up with
others if you're looking to build up your PvP titles.
* We used to think that a certain fixed win-loss spread would give
you the Freshman, Rookie, and Apprentice titles. Now we know
better. Your PvP title is not based on a simple win-loss spread,
but instead on an underlying chess-style "rating points" system.
If you're not familiar with how ELO/Chess type rating systems
work, the basic idea is that every person starts out with a base
rating value. When you kill somebody (you can't be in a team),
your rating goes up. When somebody kills you, your rating goes
down. How much your rating goes up and down seems to depend on
both the underlying rating of your opponent and on the character
level of your opponent. Your rating will go up much faster if you
kill somebody that is quite a few levels above you. Or if you
kill somebody the same level as you, but they have a higher PvP
title than you.
* Nobody knows the exact formula for this rating system, but the
rule of thumb is this: the farther apart you are in both PvP
rating and in character level, the more that the winner gains,
and the more that the loser loses. If you get killed by some body
10 levels below you, you could easily lose your title even if
you've made a bunch of successful kills after gaining that title.
* Your kill counts towards a title rank even if your victim loses
no exp to their death.
* If multiple solo individuals contribute to a kill (which can
happen often in places like Meetmedere, where others often jump
in on a fight you start), then it's the person who does the most
damage who gets credit for the kill, kind of like looting rights
on a mob when multiple non-teamed people kill the mob.
* You can lose your title to PvP deaths, so it appears that your
PvP title is a dynamic indicator of your relative win-loss
spread. You might gain the Freshman title, for instance, but then
if you have a string of losses you're likely to lose that title
until you win enough solo fights to gain back the title.
* You can lose your title to using /terminate. Especially if you
/terminate during a PvP fight--there seems to be a huge penalty
associated with this exploit. But even if you use /terminate
outside of PvP, as a kind of poor man's teleportation device, the
reports are clear that it does affect your PvP title.
* It is pretty clear, however, that you cannot lose your title to
deaths from mobs while out leveling.
Looting Your Kills
* As far as corpse looting goes, if multiple players who are not
teamed participate in a kill, it seems that looting rights work
like they do for mobs--the player who did the most damage gets
the looting rights, if any. If you are in a team, then looting
rights depend upon the team loot setting.
* If the player recently scanned at an insurance terminal, or if
they did not lose any exp to their death, you will not be able to
loot the body.
* If your kill did lose exp, and they have new items in their
inventory that were not saved at the last scan, you will be able
to loot all of the newly acquired items since the last scan. You
will also receive a "pinky" if your victim lost any exp to the
kill.
* If your kill loses exp to their death, you do NOT get the exp
that they lost. No player will ever receive exp for making a PvP
kill; FunCom has clearly stated this.
* There have been rumors of a bug whereby if you lose a large
amount of exp to a PvP death, the player who killed you could
loot your entire inventory--even the things that you had saved at
the last scan. I've seen several reports that this bug is no
longer active in the game, but if there's anyone reading this who
can confirm or deny whether this bug still exists, please. Until
you hear the final word on this, I say better safe then sorry--
scan yourself before intentionally going to a PvP area.
* Nobody knows what pinkys, pinky jars, and pinky cutters actually
do yet, or whether they have any real value. I've tried combining
my pinkys with pinky jars and nada, zip, nothing. There is one
cute trick you can do with a pinky, though. Right-click the pinky
and a blue "Heh" floats above your head. Stupid tricks to impress
the newbs in a city crowd.
Neutrals Have It Rough
* Neutrals cannot attack either Omni or Clan. Neutrals must wait to
be attacked before they can fight anyone. For this reason I
personally think it's bad form to run up and whack a Neutral, but
then I leaned towards Anti-PK sentiments in Asheron's Call so
don't mind me. From a roleplay perspective, however, it doesn't
make a lot of sense to enrage and antagonize Neutrals by
attacking them all the time--you're just encouraging them to aid
and abet the enemy. I suggest that if you want to fight a
neutral, just ask them if they want to duel.
Res-Camping and Grid-Camping
* You cannot be auto-targeted with the Tab key when you pop out of
the grid into a 25% zone, as happens when you drop into
Meetmedere. A player trying to camp the grid drop point must put
his/her mouse cursor on you and click to target you for attack,
which is harder than it sounds because to the local players you
still look like a very small upside-down pyramid for a short
while when you drop out of the grid. The bottom line? You usually
have plenty of time to run to the 75% border when you grid into
Meetmedere. Most players that I've seen, however, have the class
not to gank people dropping in from the grid. Still, you're
better safe than sorry so be sure to buff up completely before
you enter the grid, and be alert for attack the minute that you
resolve into Meetmedere.
* You can be ganked the instant that you resurrect at a reclaim
terminal - this is called "res-camping." Again, most players I've
seen have the class and honor to leave alone players that are
stupid enough to scan in a 25% zone like Meetmedere. But you do
get the occasional asshole that will camp the reclaim terminal
and gleefully smack you down the instant that you resolve, when
you're at less than half health and suffering from res effects.
In my opinion, if you are dumb enough to scan in a 25% zone, you
almost deserve it, but like I said before, I tend to roleplay a
more honorable killer so like most people I'll at least give you
a minute to reclaim your stuff and get the hell out of there.
Stand around for too long after reclaiming your inventory,
though, and I'll toast you with a smile on my face. The moral of
this story? Don't be stupid and scan in the middle of Meetmedere.
You can grid right into the place if your Comp Lit. is 100 or
better, or quickly run there from Newland City if you're a real
lowbie, so why bother anyway?
* (I can't believe I kept forgetting to add this one until now)
Every player should be aware that you get NO credit for killing
somebody who is still under resurrection effects. Remember that
res effects last for 6 minutes after death. Many players are
capable of healing to full health before their res effects wear
off completely, so it's possible that even if you attack and kill
somebody who seems to be at full health, you might not get any
credit for the kill because they are still under res effects.
This is yet another reason that people are wasting their time by
res-camping.
* If you see somebody getting res-camped by idiot grief-players,
you can do something about it even if the poor sap getting res-
camped is from the "enemy" side. Just invite them to team with
you. If they accept before the res-campers can kill them again,
you can now open fire on the res-campers, even if the res-campers
are from your own side! You do not have to stand by yelling at
idiots from your own side to quit res-camping; you can kill them
for the griefer swine that they are.
The Dirty Facts About Line of Sight Attacks
* Funcom says the 12.3.2 patch fixed LOS so that you can't shoot
through obstacles anymore. While this has been observed to be
somewhat true on a gross level versus mobs in a dungeon (with a
LOT of exceptions), I've noticed that even as of the 12.3.3 patch
I'm perfectly able to shoot mobs and players just fine through
entire structures like shacks in the Mutant Camps or buildings
and walls in Meetmedere. It seems that the actual edges of LOS
barriers are smaller than what you see with your eye. So don't
think that just because you ducked around the corner of a
building you're immune to ranged attacks.
* Us humans being slightly smarter than mobs, DB reported that the
more savvy PvP players are starting to use a "camera exploit" to
get around the few LOS barriers that do exist. In short, if you
can see the target with your camera, you can shoot it, even if
there's a huge wall in between you that you normally couldn't
shoot through. For example, in MMD there is a wall that separates
the inside of the outpost from the open area outside where people
drop in from the grid. He discovered than an NT was hiding just
inside the wall, in a spot very hard to see even from an overhead
camera view. This NT had manipulated his camera angle to be able
to see the players gridding into MMD, and would manually click on
them with his mouse and start nuking them with NT nanos. This was
an especially devastating tactic because your autoattack is NOT
triggered by combat nanos attacking you. So players were getting
attacked immediately upon dropping in from the grid but unable to
find or return fire on their attacker.
The player that reported this factoid says it can be invaluable
to learn how to manipulate your camera with precision to target
other players hiding behind obstacles.
Where To PvP And How To Get There
I wasted the better part of a Saturday afternoon figuring out how to
get my level 17 fixer to the Stret West political zones for my first
foray into PvP, AO-style. Took me for-freaking-ever. Nobody I asked in-
game knew what to tell me. None of the bulletin boards had any better
directions other than "run up through 4-Holes" (I'm Omni). Blah. A
level 17 dies too easily running up through 4-Holes. Add that to the
fact that my map skill wasn't nearly high enough to load maps of Stret
West, etc., and I ended up doing a lot of running around in Newland,
Athen, Varmit Woods (yikes), and Aegean, not to mention looking all
over Stret West for the tiny little 25% zones once I got there. All
without maps.
Stupid me. Of course now I know better, and I'm gonna save you the
trouble that I went through. Be aware that since I've only PvPed with
my lowbie Fixer reroll, I can't tell you much about the PvP areas in 4-
Holes or Upper Stret East. If any of you reading this can give me
succinct directions (and preferably coordinates, too) to the PvP areas
that I don't list here, please email me with that info and I'll add it
here. Eventually I plan to show actual maps marking all the PvP zones.
Getting to Stret West and the Holes-In-The-Wall Political Zone
1. If you're Omni, use the grid to get to Tir. You need a buffed
Computer Lit. of 75 to get into the grid and take the Tir drop.
2. From Tir, take the whompa to Newland. (Note: even if you have a
high enough comp lit to take the Newland drop, don't do it!
You're dropped from midair into the middle of Newland desert,
which is a long run away from Newland City itself. Presuming you
even survive the drop. (A trick that actually worked for me is to
jump just before you hit ground. I kid you not--I took only 28
points of damage that way.)
3. In Newland, take the whompa to Borealis, which is a neutral city
*in* Stret West. Both Clan and Omni can shop and restock in
Borealis.
4. Take the only road out of Borealis, follow it down the mountain,
and you'll zone into Holes-in-the-wall about 40 seconds down the
road. Keep following the road straight for another half-minute
and you'll see a Bronto Burger stand up ahead. Go there and scan
at the insurance terminal there, for speedy return to the PvP
zone nearby.
To get to the small PvP zone in Holes-in-the-Wall
Head down the road to your right if you're facing the Bronto Burger.
(Can't remember the compass direction right now.) You'll see that the
road you're following forks to either side of a small hill in front of
you. Take either fork and go around to the other side of that small
hill.
You'll be standing at a cross-roads where something like 4 different
roads come together. Take the road South that goes up another
embankment. On the other side is a river and a bridge. The road/bridge
leads into 4-Holes. Almost as soon as you start down that road to the
South, you'll cross into a 25% zone. There's a physical zone barrier to
4-holes in the middle of the bridge.
Explore and fight in this area. It's the main PvP zone in Stret West,
at least for lowbies. Chickens will often run for the safety of the
zone border on the bridge, so you'll have to devise tactics for killing
runners before they can hit the zone wall.
To get to the large PvP zone in Stret West proper
There's a much larger 25% zone directly to the East of the Bronto
Burger stand. Out there you may catch teams who are leveling up, and
there are lots of mission areas. Just take a beeline East from the
Bronto Burger. It's 25% all the way to the big river, with only a few
very small 75% zones here and there.
Getting to Meetmedere
The best and quickest way is to take the Meetmedere drop on the 2nd
tier of the grid. You'll need Comp Lit of 100 to use the MMD drop.
(Note: you'll need Comp Lit of 110 to use the grid terminal in MMD
itself. Also note that the Grid terminal in MMD is in a 25% zone in the
middle of the outpost.)
1. If you can't grid directly into MMD, then with a Comp Lit of 75
you can grid to Tir, then take the whompa from Tir to Newland.
2. Exit the West gate from Newland and head straight North across a
small expanse of desert. If you have a Newland area map, or look
on your big map, you'll see a set of twin lakes right next to
each other with a narrow spit of land in between them. MMD is
sitting at the North side of that spit of land between the two
lakes. All the mobs you'll run into on the way are newbie mobs,
so it's a safe run even for lowbies.
Take your time exploring MMD--there are three different 25% zones, some
inside the walls of the outpost and some outside. There are also 75%
zones that you can use to walk safely right into the middle of the
outpost. Remember that once you step inside a 25% zone and somebody
attacks you, they can continue attacking you even if you move back into
a 75% zone. There are two different "back entrances" to the MMD
outpost, and it can be very effective to sneak into the outpost using
these, and also very effective to confuse teams by running them into
and out of the outpost using the different entrances.
Getting to Stret East
I've been to Stret East only for full-difficulty missions, so I haven't
seen much of the area because it's pretty dangerous for my mid-20s
character to run around out there. What I do know is that Omni can get
there via whompa or grid into 2HO. The 2HO military base is heavily
guarded by scads of NPC guards, so it would be certain death for a Clan
to grid there. The roads near the 2HO base are heavily guarded by Omni
NPCs as well. The only feasible way for Clan to hunt in Stret East
would be to run there from somewhere else, avoiding the guards that are
probably located near bridges and crossroads.
Despite the danger to Clan of gridding directly into 2HO, a lot of
Clan, particularly the high-level ones, try to do it. So if you're over
level 75, watch your back while in 2HO.
Getting to 4-Holes
Similar to Stret East, 4-Holes is easy for Omni to get to via either
whompa or grid. I know that the whompa drop would be certain death for
Clan, due to the high density of Omni Guard NPCs. I haven't taken the
Grid drop yet so I don't know what the story is at the grid exit.
I have noticed a lot of higher-level clan running South from Stret West
into the 4-Holes zone, but never followed them. There is a bridge
leading to 4-Holes right near Borealis, in the Holes-In-The-Wall area
that I describe up above in the Stret West section. So it seems fairly
easy for Clan to get down into 4-Holes via Borealis and Stret West.
One interesting thing about 4-Holes--there are a ton of Clan NPC
mob/guards that spawn in the same area as the Omni NPC guards, so even
if you're Omni you can die easily to a Clan NPC within sight of Omni
guards. There are always firefights going on between the local Omni
guards and these Clan NPCs. I tried sneaking past a Clan NPC once,
thinking that it would ignore me since it was already fighting with an
Omni guard. Wrong! I was dead in one hit.
General PvP Tips and Tactics
Here are some useful tips and tactics, in no particular order, that
apply equally to solo and team fighting:
Equipment Has a Huge Effect
* Equip the best weapon/armor that you possibly can for your level.
Preferably things that you have to buff attributes/skills to even
be able to equip them. You want max killing power. I fought a
level 17 fixer when I was level 17. He had a QL8 Mausser, while I
had a QL24 Mausser that I had to use Expertise buffs and implants
just to equip. He had mission loot armor; I had armor from a
previous high-level character that I had to buff up just to equip
some pieces. Can you guess who won? He was dinking me for 8
points of damage per hit, while I was whacking him for 40 per
hit. Yes, your AC really does make a difference.
* Know your actual damage output per second, and yes, do keep
upping your combat initiatives, at least to a certain point.
There is a lot of misinformation floating around on what the
"best" weapons are, whether or not ranged initiatives have any
real effect, and so on. If you want to understand exactly how to
determine which weapon puts out the most damage when you are
wielding it, then read my guide to evaluating weapons.
* A useful extrapolation of this tip is this: don't PvP all the
time unless you really love being a PvP-nut. Instead, go level up
in the non-PvP zones until you're ready to make your next set of
major equipment/nano upgrades. Then, when you've barely squeezed
into your new upgrades, take a few days off from leveling and go
live in the PvP zones for a while. You'll perform well and rack
up lots of kills to advance your PvP titles. When you get sick of
PvPing, go back to leveling again until your next major
equipment/nano upgrade.
A downside of this approach, however, is that opponents who like
to use skill debuffs on you can make life difficult if you've
just squeezed into a higher-level first-aid, nano, or weapon (if
you like to switch weapons in combat). By debuffing you
appropriately, you may not be able use first-aid in combat, or
get off that killer nano that you can barely cast, or swap out
weapons mid-combat.
Speed Kills
* Root nanos and speed buffs are your best friend in PvP. A simple
fact is that when a player is obviously losing, they will very
often try to just run away before you can kill them. Yes there
are some steadfast warriors who finish what they start no matter
what, but many people can argue that it's just good tactics to
run away until your first aid and specials recycle. I know that
I've killed some of my toughest opponents this way, by letting
them think they've got the kill if they can just get a few more
shots in followed by their special---I'll run like the wind and
wait until my aid and burst recharges (and my HOT nano is slowly
recharging my health too), then turn around and lay into them
again. So you want to prevent players from bolting and running,
if you can. If you've got root capability learn to use it to keep
the other guy trapped until you can deal your death blow.
* Here's a new tip for those of you who don't have root nanos, and
who keep getting killed by stinkers like me who use root-n-shoot
tactics effectively. If your Nano Resist skill is kept fairly
high, you will resist roots more often, and you will have a
chance to break roots early. I can personally verify this after
another fun weekend of fighting in MMD. I was battling an agent
who was 5 levels above me. Normally, since my Mausser has longer
range than a typical agent's rifle, I would use root-n-shoot to
my advantage. However, the agent didn't seem at all affected by
my first root. My second root held him well, like I would expect,
but my third root broke after I'd hit him just one time. Okay,
that was enough to make me wonder if he was using some /follow
exploit to break my roots, until he tried rooting me! (This is
the first time, surprisingly, that I have ever been rooted by
another player.) Well what do you know? Even though I had the
blue nano haze all around me, I could run just fine, and the blue
haze disappeared almost instantly.
What this clearly shows is that Nano Resist does have a strong
effect on how you are affected by combat nanos such as root. My
nano resist is currently maxed for my level (we learned in
Asheron's Call that the equivalent skill was critical in PvP, and
it turns out to be critical here as well). That agent obviously
had a high Nano Resist as well, because although he was much less
affected by my roots, most other players I was rooting this
weekend were severely hampered by my roots.
* Xaxon reports an unconfirmed rumor that the /follow exploit still
works to some extent in PvP, as follows. If you are in a team,
and you are /following a team member, you are unrootable. I have
not been able to confirm this personally, and in the occasions
where I've fought solo against teams, my root has seemed to work
just fine. They may not have been using this exploit, however.
* I'm gonna spill the beans on an exploit that currently STILL
WORKS as of this document's latest revision date, because you
will come across some PvPers that are exploiting it. Anyone who
can guess at my identity from Asheron's Call know that I was a
big champion of exposing the PvP exploits to as many people as
possible, because I was sick of the exploiting uber dogs just
owning players who tried to play "fair."
The speed exploit is this: pretty much any profession that has
speed debuff nanos can cast their debuff nano on themselves.
Instead of lowering their own run speed, it usually increases
their run speed by the amount of the debuff. Not only that, but
you can keep stacking the debuff on yourself and it just jacks up
your run speed again. The effect will last for as long as you
keep refreshing the debuff on yourself, and it will be cancelled
only if you hit a zone border.
Use it and abuse it to your heart's content so that Funcom is
forced to fix crap like this--it's been in the game since Beta,
apparently. Tell a friend. Spread the love around. Useful when
hunting outdoors too. For what it's worth, though, I don't use
this exploit, just because I have a thing about enjoying the game
the way it's meant to be played. If I didn't already have strong
speed buffs as a fixer, though, I'd be sorely tempted.
* Root nanos can also be very useful to keep a shorter-ranged
opponent at bay while you fire at him with a longer-ranged
weapon. The coolest fight I've ever witnessed was an Adventurer
in leet form fighting a Fixer. The Fixer had great tactics. The
leet was using melee weapons and killing with either brawl or
dimach, so the fixer would root the leet, run away and take a
couple shots while the leet was out of melee range. The leet
would cast a heal just as the root wore off, and practically
scream across the gap to get in some melee swings, trailing red
sparks from his healing nano as he ran. Hilarious to watch. BTW,
the leet won. The point is that the leet would have won a LOT
quicker if the fixer hadn't been using his root to keep the leet
at bay.
* Here's a tip from CroakAO that the speedy classes can use against
NTs and shorter-ranged projectile opponents. Provided your
opponent is the type who will doggedly chase you to try and toss
big NT nukes at you or whatever, just run away from them until
your targeting indicator for them turns grey, meaning they've
dropped out of even your range. Then stop and fire, then start
running again. If you get the timing down, you'll be able to keep
getting shots off on them but they'll never get a shot on you.
This is similar to what I've experienced myself when chasing down
fleeing opponents. If I'm out of nano for more roots, or I can't
get within close enough range to fire off a root while they're
still pelting away from me, I'll just close the gap enough, stop
and fire one shot, then immediately start running after them
again. Even with opponents I can barely keep up with I've managed
to whittle them down this way, although they can run you a
looooonnnng ways before you finally kill them.
* Especially if you don't have root nanos, a strong speed buff can
help you chase down a runner and get in enough shots to finish
them off. Many is the time I wished for a good speed buff at my
lower levels when I couldn't run Limited Grid Jump yet. One
trader who tried to gang me with two other players ran after I
killed the first guy and his bud ran off. I decided to chase down
the trader since he had jumped in with an opportunistic attack
after the other two had first decided to jump me. That little
bastard ran me half way across the Newland Desert before I had
finally plinked him into Burst range and finished him. I had to
burn two stim charges just to keep closing the gap enough to
squeeze periodic shots in. Ever since I upgraded my NCU to make
room for more buffs, and leveled up enough to run Limited Grid
Jump as a standard buff, I've had a MUCH easier time fighting
PvP, killing runners, and even fighting solo versus teams very
effectively.
* Slow-down debuffs are pretty much worthless in PvP. If a runner
gets enough of a head-start on you, you still can't close the gap
fast enough to finish off the kill easily, if at all. I'll take a
root nano over a slow-down nano any day. However, as I've had
opportunity now to fight solo against teams that where trying to
gank me, I've found that the crowd-control snares (such as
Passive Distributed Entanglement) can really frustrate the hell
out of a team trying to pin you down.
Spying Skills and Aimed Shot
* Stealth mode and cloaking devices are pretty much worthless. A
real player can still see you just fine when you're cloaked. If
you want to visually hide to lay an ambush, you'll be much more
effective hiding in the local geometry. At the bridge in Holes-
in-the-wall, for instance, you can hide under the bridge itself,
merging into the concrete bottom of the bridge. Or you can merge
with a big tree trunk near the path to the bridge. If you adjust
your camera angle, you can still see out through the clip lines
of the geometry you're hiding in. Unless players are constantly
hitting their Tab key to spot hostiles, they may be lulled into a
false sense of safety. Is this an exploit? Depends on your
definition of exploit, I guess. The real lesson here is to keep
hitting that tab key when you're in a PvP zone.
* Aimed Shot, on the other hand, is apparently not at all
worthless. DB reports that Aimed Shot always works versus human
opponents--you'll never get a "the target is aware of you"
message. I imagine this is to ensure that Agents get to use their
one and only special attack, for balance reasons.
* The jury is still out on concealment and perception skills and
the role they play in PvP. One thing for certain, players are
much more aware and astute than mobs, and players are constantly
running around and panning their camera angle, so they will
visually see you even if your concealment is so high that their
Tab key doesn't find you. And yes, the LOS fix does work to a
certain extent. I noticed last night while leveling at a clan
spawn area that I could not target clan agent mobs that were on
the other side of visual obstacles like tree trunks. My
perception is currently pretty low. I could see them shooting at
my teammate, and most of my teammates had no trouble shooting
back, but I could not target them with my tab key until I moved
my position so that I could also see the mob.
So what does this mean about concealment and perception? I
extrapolate the following points. These are unproven hypotheses
at this point so take this with a grain of salt for now.
*
o If your opponent's concealment is significantly higher than
your perception, you may have trouble seeing their blip on
your map screen (if you have the people upgrade), and you
may have trouble targeting them with your Tab key if you
can't also visually see them.
o If you are using the information tool that tells you a
target's Hit Points and Nano Points, your relative
perception-concealment skills could affect how easily you
can read your opponent's exact HP/NP. If you don't know why
this would be useful, just think about it. =)
o If you have extremely high concealment (buffed even higher
with nano and cloaking devices), it might be a viable
strategy to hide in geometry (like a tree trunk, under a
bridge, or in a wall/building) for a relatively nasty
sniping position.
Timing Your Big Damage Shots
* There are two schools of thought on when you should unload your
special attacks on your hapless victim. The first school says to
save your kill shot for last. Don't open with your nastiest nuke-
-you'll just make them run. Sucker them into thinking they have a
chance to get off their nuke first and win. Save your Burst,
Dimach, or whatever specials for your killing blow. This was my
general strategy for pretty much all of my first 30 fights and it
stood me very well. The few times that I accidentally bursted my
opponent early on, they ALWAYS ran.
* The 2nd school says that against professions that typically have
low HP, a large opening Burst or other kill shot can sometimes
kill them outright or at least seriously freak them out, putting
you at the advantage for the fight. Soldiers have long taken
advantage of this and often open with a Burst and FA attack.
Another strong reason to use your specials right at the start of
a fight is that if the fight lasts long enough, you may get a
chance to use them again after they recycle, allowing you to do
more overall damage during the same time period, versus an
opponent who saves their specials for a "kill shot."
* Now for the fun part, because there's always a flip side to every
flip side. Knowing that some fighters, particularly soldiers,
love to open with a huge kill shot attempt, Vanven claims very
good success against soldiers using this tactic: when facing a
soldier, start the fight with your aggro bar set all the way left
to Full Defense, until after they unload their opening Burst and
FA on you. He claims you'll take much less damage that way. Then,
flip your aggro bar to full aggressive and tear into the soldier.
I can verify that Vanven's tactic works very well against
soldiers. I fought several soldiers again this weekend, including
one who was on a team that I was soloing against. None of those
soldiers were able to do squat to me, and some of them were 4
levels above me and I took them down easily using Vanven's
technique and root-n-shoot tactics. Soldiers are strong, but
definitely not uber. I have not been killed by a soldier yet, and
overall, soldiers don't even fall in the category of my toughest
matches.
* Personally I think that all this makes for some interesting
tactics in a fight. Is your opponent gonna open with a kill shot,
or will they hold it to the end? Or will they try to sneak it in
on you somewhere in the middle? Should you monkey around with
your aggro bar in a fight to attempt mitigating their big damage,
or just leave it at full aggro for the whole fight? Interesting
choices.
Using General Nano Debuffs Offensively
* CaptFallout (a soldier, btw) reports that a good way to deal with
soldier's mirror shields is to debuff them early in the fight
with the general nano SpaceTime Incompetence. Since most soldiers
equip their highest Mirrorshield nano on their shortcut bar, and
often buff Time and Space to be able to cast the best
mirrorshield they can, you can really screw them up by knocking
20 points off their Time and Space skill. They may have to fumble
with their nano window to find the next-lower version of their
mirrorshield, giving you valuable time.
* Croak reports that MatCrea Incompetence can be a useful debuff
against NanoTechs who are barely squeezing into their biggest
nukes.
* Croak also reports good success using BioMet Incompetence against
Martial Artists and Adventurers to bork their self-healing nanos.
* Croak also reports good success using Lethargy against an
opponent who stops attacking to heal, or who may be getting ready
to retreat and make a run for it. Lethargy decreases their Dodge
skill by 10 points, which gives you a better chance to hit them
and get a crit on them, especially if you're trying to finish
them off with potshots while they're running for a zone line
* Finally, remember that *any* offensive combat nano eats up your
opponent's available NCU. Croak once accidentally put Contact
Poison on a soldier opponent, which didn't do much damage by
itself, but it did eat up 10 of the soldier's NCU. This prevented
the Soldier from being able to cast his Mirrorshield. Remember,
you cannot cancel a hostile nano.
* Bug Warning - It's reported that the Fixer combat nano Active
Microentanglement actually increases the run speed of your
opponent by 320. You might want to be careful using this
particular nano in combat for now.
Miscellaneous Tactics
* Here's another miscellaneous soldier-fighting tip I can't believe I
omitted from the first couple drafts of this guide. Everyone phears the
soldier's mirror shield nanos, right? Pay attention when you're fighting a
soldier, and the minute you see that shield go up, stop attacking them.
Heal, run around them, root them, whatever--just don't try to inflict any
damage that will just be spat right back at you for 75%. Wait 20-31
seconds (depending on the level of your opponent and the level of the
Mirrorshield they're likely to be using) and then lay into them again.
This has always worked well for me, at least against the very few soldiers
I've seen in PvP. Strangely, I just don't see all that many soldier
anymore, anywhere. I think they're all nearing level 80 now and the entire
population of soldiers is bivouaced down in Lush Fields camping the
Juggernaut.
* CaptFallout also reports that soldiers get a "you already have a
higher-
quality nano running" message when they try to cast mirrorshield but
already have the 13% reflect shield running. This may be a bug or
intentional anti-stack by Funcom, but either way the net result is that
it's currently much harder for soldiers to whip out their much-dreaded
mirror shields in PvP than you might guess.
* Finally, don't just stand in one spot and duke it out, especially if
you're losing the damage race. Now with the recent LOF patch, you can
supposedly dodge behind things to avoid some of the ranged hits. My
experience as of Saturday afternoon (Aug-4) at MMD, however, makes me
question this--after starting a fight with someone; I was still hitting
them clear through buildings and walls no problem. One thing that is
certain though: time is your friend. Use evasive tactics to give your
first aid time to recycle, and for your nuke to recycle if you wasted it
early or your opponent came back from near-death with some trick up
his/her sleeve or some heals from his cohorts.
* If you're fighting a pet class, it can often pay to ignore the pet and
attack the controller, if you're a ranged class. I've beaten bureaucrats 5
levels above me by doing this. Watch your aggressive bar, though--if it's
set to full aggressive, the pet will trigger your autoattack and you'll
waste valuable time trying to stop attacking the pet and switch your
attack to the controller.
* Here's a useful trick for defending a base or outpost in a political
zone.
2HO, for example, has some "safe" space near the grid drop where the local
guards cannot see or aggro enemy Clan that grid into 2HO. But all any Omni
has to do is go attack a nearby guard and make it chase you over near the
Clan. Then duck into a store before the guard kills you. The guard will
now see the clan and attack. This is a trick that even lowbies under 75
can do to help repel incursions by high-level enemies that you cannot
directly attack.
Team Tactics
I don't have much to say here because I've focused only on solo fighting to get
my Rookie title. As I do more team PvP I'll add stuff later. Here are some
things that I have managed to learn from fighting solo against entire teams,
and
from team tips that others have sent in:
* If you are a solo fighter, you will run into teams fairly often. Don't
expect a "fair" fight when you're soloing. The good news is that at least
if you have good speed buffs on you, you really don't need to fear teams.
(Although if they have good speed buffs too, it could get dicey.) CroakAO
has reported good success with a "divide and conquer" tactic, and I had
similar success with it this weekend at MMD.
In a nutshell, if you have a speed advantage against the team that is
attacking you, just run like crazy and jink and double back on them and
just keep being unpredictable. What happens is the team gets split up
trying to stay on your tail, because each player is making different
choices about what direction they think you're heading in and they're
trying to cut you off. Eventually, you can make it so that only one person
is still chasing you and visible on your map screen. Keep pulling them
along, then stop and nip at them until their teammates finally find you
both. Then rinse and repeat.
This tactic is a BLAST. I had the most PvP fun so far this Saturday, when
a team of three that were exactly my level simply could not kill me. For
the first few attempts, I couldn't get a full kill on any of them, but I
kept recharging, running back into town, and attacking one of them
randomly to get them on my tail again. It took about 4 "guerilla raids"
like this to finally get to a point where they had lost one team member to
another fight with somebody else, and it was now me against two of them.
The remaining two had gotten split up in MMD, and I had one in my sights
but was /telling the other one who wanted to duel me solo. So I was just
waiting for the other one to come duel me, when the one that was in my
sights noticed me and started attacking me. So I used root-n-shoot tactics
on him, and by the time his teammate had found us I had the first guy down
to half health and was clearly winning. The second teammate, a solider,
must have used up his burst because he wasn't hitting me for much. So I
focused on my rooted target, staying out of his range most of the time,
and just let the soldier shoot at me all he wanted while I worked on his
teammate. By the time I'd killed the teammate, I was at half health so ran
from the soldier to give my aid and burst time to recycle.
The point of all this is that you can fight effectively against multiple
opponents if you're not completely outclassed by any one of them. You just
gotta use tactics.
* If you're on a team, you benefit strongly from having the People
upgrade
to your map. Your team members show up as a different color, so it makes
it easier to find your teammates in a crowded area like MMD.
* CaptFallout describes a "dirty" team tactic that revolves around the
way
that the attack limit and defense limit work in teams. A high-level team
will recruit one very low-level member. That low level member cannot
attack anyone else their own level, due to the team's attack limit being
that of the highest member in the team. But, if that low-level member can
taunt somebody into attacking them, which is possible because of the
team's ultra-low defense limit, then the whole team can open fire on the
person who got taunted into attacking the lowbie member.
* Here's another "dirty" team tactic that CaptFallout reports seeing
used.
This one revolves around using the borders between the 25% and 75% zones--
be especially wary of this tactic when you're in MMD. Most of the team
will stand in the 75% zone. Only one person will go into the 25% zone and
will find a target they can attack. As soon as they start attacking
someone, they try to lure their victim out into the 75% zone quickly. What
happens, if the victim follows, is that nobody else in the vicinity can
jump in any longer, because the two combatants are now in a 75% zone.
However, the teammates can still jump in just fine. Something to be afraid
of? That's your decision. Exploit? Maybe. Bottom line is if you get
sucker-ganked this way, just don't ever return fire on members of that
team again, and you should be okay. But it might force you to leave the
area or find a team yourself, because you can't just stand there and get
shot at by one person for too long without eventually being forced to
return fire. And then their team can hit you anywhere. Bleh.
(This guide was copied from the site
http://martin.brenner.de/ao/vampiguide/pvpguide.html)
This guide is not to be reproduced in any way. You can not post this
guide on your website or compilation without my, the author's, permission.
Now that isn't to say that you can't go and print this out so you have a
copy to read while playing. I just don't want anyone making money or
anything else off my hard work. If you would like this guide on your website
just e-mail me at nickeberhart@juno.com, I will most likely let you post it
there because I like free advertising just as much as the next guy. As of
now only GameFaqs, Neoseeker,dlh.net, supercheats.com, AO Vault and
www.mogelgott.de/index.php website have my permission to post this. If you
see it somewhere else please e-mail me.
