Ok, let me preface this by noting that it is perfectly ok to not enjoy PvP. Many players who are not so good at PvP are very good at killing monsters and questing. Conversely, many great PvP players are so focused on PvP that they do not perform well in events or fighting monsters mobs. Hope you will find it interesting! :)
I've attached a flowchart of how I view the PvP process. It is not perfect but it captures alot of the general elements. I have attempted to provide an overview of the top five PVP builds in my opinion.
The Assaulter
This build is traditionally a warrior or kung-fu player who focuses on high speed from AGI. Assaulters have higher dodge than their physical hit to try to avoid their own skill’s “Hold” effect. Some Assaulters have lower speed and higher health and prefer to use a combination of Fury (to ignore Assault skill), Sun Spirit, and Moon Spirit. The Assaulter usually goes first and uses the Assault skill to “Hold” her enemy so they cannot attack back. The Assault skill kills a % of health so it is particularly devastating to high health players. Cots has written some good Assaulter build guides.
Strengths
- Strong vs melee and range attacks due to high dodge
- Assault effect “Holds” all enemy types making this build very effective against players without a melee defense pet or melee protect auto
- Fast so typically gets first hit unless fighting fast Hunter
- Can solo many difficult monster mobs and some events
Weaknesses
- Killed easily by magic unless protected by pet
- Cannot easily assist teams for events or team PvP as Assault harms team
- Assault harms the Assaulter’s own pet forcing the pet to use Immune to Physical Shield on the first round or take its chances dodging the effect if it is a fairy. This leaves the player vulnerable to a counterattack if the Assault attack fails
The Archer
This build is traditionally a hunter player focusing on pure AGI. Using his auto-skill to attack the enemy and then following-up with the regular AOE attack kills all non-tanker builds in PvP. The Archer is likely the fastest build after the Speed Silencer. With exceptionally high physical hit, the Archer can even hit many dodge reliant characters like Assaulters and Fairies and usually boasts a decent amount of dodge himself. See Silances hunter guide for building.
Strengths
- Strong versus all builds except tankers
- Speed and attack auto allow the Archer to kill many pets and players before their own protection auto-skills activate
- Works well in team PvP and monster quests
- Very few range-defense pets due to few good Archer builds
Weaknesses
- Killed easily by magic unless protected by pet
- Difficult to build and relatively weak at lower levels
- Typically “squishy” i.e. lacks health
The Chaos Mage
This build is traditionally a wizard with a high Curse Hit and above high speed. The goal of the Chaos Mage is to successfully incapacitate large groups of enemies with Chaos to allow them to be killed by the Mage, her pet, or other party members. This build features mostly WIL for speed andn mp but lacks the damage of an Element Mage. As Moonlite mentions a pure AGI Chaos Mage will have top speed but less mp. A good Chaos Mage is invaluable in team PvP or event bosses. Many Chaos Mages use Power Work “Kill” in conjunction to with a team healer to cause massive damage after Chaosing the enemy for several rounds.
Strengths
- Incapacitate large groups of enemies
- Works well in team PvP and monster quests
- Most-non wizards vulnerable to Chaos
Weaknesses
- Damage is lower and requires a good pet to assist for protection and damage while Mage curses
- Requires leveling to lv55 as an Element Mage for damage and then switching to Curse Mage
- Typically “squishy” i.e. lacks health
The Speed Silencer
This build is traditionally a shaman, kung-fu fighter, or hunter with extremely high speed. The player uses Silence Zone auto to silence the enemies so that none of their autos or skills activate. The Speed Silencer proceeds to use a Holy Potion on a teammate to allow that player to use an AOE (attack on all enemies) to kill all the opponents. The enemies unprepared for silence will have tried to use a skill and not be able to do anything. The Speed Silencer’s teammate will have used a regular attack except for the pre-arranged player who is Holy Potted. After the Speed Silencer runs out of mp, the team proceeds to mop up the devastated enemies.
Strengths
- Devastates in team PvP
- Excellent for event bosses and MJ
Weaknesses
- Useless for anything other than team PvP or event bosses with a strong team
- Requires very expensive gear and a lot of gold to complete
- Uber-squishy and nonexistent damage make Speed Silencer extremely reliant on a team
The Tanker
This build is traditionally a kung-fu, warrior, or shaman with extremely high health. Most Tankers maximize WIL and CON to have high health and defense. Some players add DEX to improve resistance to Archers. Tankers typically have Silent Rain for healing themselves and their team or another healing auto. Flashh has kindly shared an extremely well-written guide on building a Healer which shares many key elements with a Tanker. Versago has a good Tanker guide. Tankers do boast offensive skills though typically they are weaker than non-Tanker builds. Tankers plan to withstand any attack and heal faster than they are killed. Usually, Tankers rely on a Mermaid or other magic pet for offense and supplement with skills and potions. However, some Tankers employ Fury and Assault although this carries a degree of risk with it.
Strengths
- Very good anchor in team PvP for healing and removing effects
- Virtually unkillable in single PvP
Weaknesses
- Relies on pet for offense
- Requires switch at level 55
- Pure Tanker build is not very useful outside of PvP
Feel free to share your thoughts (and corrections/clarifications) in the comments :)
Cheers,
Alleluia
*** Special thanks to Moonlite and RyuFang (aka best frienemy in the game) for their help ***
29 Comments