pvpguide

Player vs Player Guide

Face off against Lore’s mightiest heroes!

*WIP pictures will be added soon.

Introduction

Whether it’s for fun, glory, or revenge, Player vs Player combat (also called PvP) has become a large part of the AQW experience. Prove your strength in single combat and stand tall above your defeated enemies, or battle against an entire team in strategic group matches. For players seeking a challenge outside classic monster combat, look no further.

Basic PvP Tips

Give yourself that extra edge by wearing a PvP Amulet!- Some skills deal a lot of damage, especially at higher levels. In order to survive more than a couple seconds, consider buying a PvP Amulet! They boost your health from anywhere between +500 and +3250 while equipped in any PvP arena. Currently, the best available amulet for non-Legends is the Gold PvP Amulet +1500, and the best available amulet for Legends is the Gold PvP Medal +3000.
Choose your weapon carefully!- Different weapons have different damage ranges, and in turn lead to more high risk/reward situations. For example, the Grumpy Hammer will always deal the same amount of damage with every strike; the Blade of Awe will deal damage within a moderate range (sometimes your attacks deal more damage, sometimes less), and Death's Bright Blade could deal extreme damage or no damage at all! Weapon damage range is often personal preference, but you should know what to expect from your weapon before entering the arena.
Enhancements matter!- Ultimately, AQW is a game of numbers. Keep the odds in your favor by choosing your enhancements carefully— For caster classes, consider Wizard for raw damage, Healer for more longevity, and Spellbreaker for a mix of the two. Warrior based classes could use Warrior enhancements for more health and Luck for more damage. Thief is always an option for higher dodge chance, and Hybrid offers a mix between Strength and Intellect to increase skill damage for mixed skills. You could mix enhancements, or if you want to focus on one particular quality, you could use only one enhancement on all four items. If you’re curious about what enhancements you should use for a certain class, check out the Lorepedia Class Entries!
Use Potions and Scrolls for extra help!- They exist for a reason! Do you need a little more “oomph” on your skill bar? Consider using a scroll to acquire a skill that can deal damage quick. If you’re constantly running out of mana, buy a Mana Potion to instantly recover a full bar of mana! You can make your own potions and scrolls through studying Alchemy and Spellcrafting respectively, or buy them from Reens in Arcangrove.

Different Battlegrounds

Doom Arena

Two heroes enter, one hero leaves.

Mapname: /join doomarena

Description: Welcome to the Arena! Here, players put their knowledge and skills to the test in order to achieve victory over their opponents in single (1v1) combat. To join this battleground, speak to Dumoose in /doomarena and join the PvP queue! Want to battle one player in particular, challenge them to a duel by typing /duel playername (e.g. /duel Artix). In this battleground, hitting first and hard is the name of the game. Only two players go in, so the only thing you need to focus on is your single enemy. Classes that can stun, mitigate damage, heal, or deal high amounts of damage really shine in this environment. Alpha Omega, Pyromancer, and Evolved Dracomancer are all wonderful choices, as are classes that frequently dodge like Rogue or Blademaster. If you want to try out less used classes in 1v1 but don’t want to face one of these classes, find someone you want to duel and talk about making certain rules (or take things a step further and consider joining a PvP focused guild).

Bludrut Brawl

Lead your team to victory in an 8 vs 8 fight to the death!

Mapname: /join bludrutbrawl

Description: Welcome to Bludrut Brawl! To join the queue for this battleground, you’ll have to use the game menu (click “More Battles”, then “Player vs Player”, then “Join Bludrut Brawl”). In this battleground, you will work together with a team of players to strategically defeat the opposing team in a game of points. With that said, the goal of the game is to reach 1000 points first. Defeating a player results in a one time 10 point gain, defeating Restorers and Brawlers results in 5 points per defeated enemy every 10 seconds, and taking down the team captain results in the immediate gain of 1000 points and victory for your team. The quickest way to win is defeat the opposing teams Restorers quickly and focus on guarding your teams brawlers, as the enemy team will typically be unable to catch up to your teams head start. However, an experienced player may assume your team is at their Restorers and sneak in to kill one of your Brawlers, so be careful! The opposing teams captain is closest to the enemy safe zone, which means you have to run a long way to reach it and the enemy essentially spawns 1 room away. Before attempting to fight the opposing teams captain, be sure to defeat all Restorers and Brawlers on the enemy team (the captain heals himself more for every remaining Restorer, and deals more damage for every remaining Brawler).

Now that you know the rules, let's talk about how to win! You’ll want to take advantage of all the tips listed for maximum success, but there is a degree of strategy unique to only Bludrut Brawl. Classes that deal high damage to multiple targets like BlazeBinder and Ultra Elemental Warrior are fantastic additions to any team, but they appreciate a little more support. Bard and Chaos Slayer are both fantastic support classes as they buff your team and debuff the enemy team respectively, and those stat changes have a large effect on the overall tide of battle when used on such a large scale. Other options included classes that heal (like Oracle or Healer) or party based classes (Paladin Highlord, Doomknight Overlord, and Naval Commander). Now that you know the basics, try putting these skills to practice!

PvP Tips and Tricks

Below are some tips and tricks for Player vs Player combat that are commonly used in both 1v1(Doomarena) and 8v8( Bludrut Brawl) battlegrounds.

Hot Keys - Use the number keys 1 - 5 (and 6 if a scroll or potion is equipped) on the keyboard to activate class skills. This is very important, as it allows you to use skills much quicker than actually clicking on the icon and frees up your mouse for a tactic called sliding.
Sliding - The description is in the name itself. Sliding is a tactic used in PvP where you click around the player you’re attacking to slide in and out of their attack range in tandem with your auto attack speed. The result is your auto attacks connect with a greater frequency than theirs, as you appear to be out of range to them! Since this is one of the most commonly practiced tactics in PvP, here’s a little guide to get you started:
- Step 1 NEVER STOP MOVING! Once you lock onto your target and get within a comfortable range, use your mouse and click on map’s left, right, top, and bottom extremities. If using a melee class like warrior be sure to stay close to you opponent to attack. Classes like Mage are easier to use while sliding as their skills have long range and do not require you to be within the immediate vicinity of your opponent.
- Step 2 USE YOUR HOTKEYS! While you are running around, the map activate one of your skills using your hotkeys ( #1 on the list ). If you use a skill while moving, your characters feet tend to stay in place as the skill animation plays. The result is the appearance that your character sliding around the battlefield.
- Step 3 REPEAT! Continue steps 1 and 2 to loop your slides.

Room Hopping - Room Hopping, or hit and run tactics as I call it, allows you to deliver damage to your enemy and escape without taking too much damage. This tactic typically works best with long ranged skills, but if you position yourself correctly it is possible to room hop while using melee skills. This tactic is commonly used in Bludrut Brawl and other group PvP battlegrounds where multiple rooms are available for that reason.

To room hop, position yourself near an exit and wait for your enemy to enter the room. Then, quickly attack them and run into the next room. If done correctly, they shouldn’t have time to respond to your attack and you should be safely positioned in a room without the enemy. If a situation ever gets too hairy, try room hopping instead of slugging it out with your opponent in a matchup where you’re at a disadvantage.

Closing

This is only a basic guide for player vs player combat, the best way to learn is by getting out there and gaining some experience! You will soon discover that each person has their own preferred rules, classes, and style. Let yourself experience the many different aspects of AQW PvP, and whatever your reasons may be, BATTLE ON!