Surviving Aion's World PvP: Part II

Tags : aion pvp, aion surviving, aion online

Surviving Aion's World PvP: Part I

Learning the Game Mechanics

One of the biggest things players will need to learn in PvP is how to use their latency (ping) to their advantage. You see, most MMO players tend to play with about 100-250 ping to the hosting server, and this translates into a tiny delay between when you execute an action and when the server actually receives that action.

What this means is that, unless you have a godly connection or you live in Korea (same thing), almost all players are actually a tiny bit ahead of where you see them to be in-game. In this way, if you are a melee class that is barely in range of the character you're trying to attack, chances are high that the game will tell you that you are out of range, even if it seems like you're in range.

Unfortunately, unlike first-person-shooters, where the users can manually adjust their aim in high latency situations, in MMORPGs most of the "aiming" is automatic. So whenever you are trying to attack, your computer is saying "do this immediately!" to the server, and the server, upon receiving this command, immediately tries to execute it. The curious problem that can come from this, however, is when you "flicker" into range; that is, when you get in range and your computer says "OK, I'm in range and can use this ability, time to use it!" but by the time the server receives the message, quickly checks if you can, in fact, use the ability, and if you can't at that precise moment, then that's it for you. This is actually why some MMOs give all of their melee classes some slowing abilities - so that this latency problem becomes less apparent.

Make no mistake here; playing with delay is a part of every North American MMO gamers' life, regardless of whether or not they would like to admit it. For example, in World of Warcraft Arena during TBC, Feral Druids around the world had to, literally, be standing on the player they wanted to attack if they didn't want to be out of range. Feral Druids lacked any slowing mechanism, and, because of this, if players simply zigzagged across the arena while spinning their back to the Feral Druid, the Druid would receive a lot of "out of range" messages. As well, if the Druid was in range to attack, he or she might not even be able to use their Shred attack, which was only usable from behind.

Looking at Aion we can see this principle being played out as well. Chanters may have already realized the connection here between Feral Druids and themselves, as every Chanter understands the sheer frustration that comes from trying to kill a moving target. At level 42, every chanter does gain access to Soul Strike / Inescapable Judgment, which is their one long-range stun skill that allows them to potentially catch running targets, but if this stun should fail, then they're pretty much stuck chasing you, hoping that your keyboard will run out of batteries.

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Knowing Thy Enemy

In reality, this "catch me" problem occurs in most melee classes except the Assassin, who has a nice amount of stuns to keep his or her enemies in place. Ranged classes, like the Ranger, Sorcerer and Spiritmaster also have a high number of crowd control spells - as well, being ranged, these classes do well, regardless of latency, and this is why Rangers and Sorcerers are considered to be the best at solo-PvP - because they are self-sufficient in damage and control, and healing can be made up via potions (the same cannot be said about, say, solo Chanter PvP).

With that being said, unless you are completely out geared and out leveled by your opponent, chances are high that there will be "windows" where your enemy will be unable to snare, stun or slow you for a few moments. One of the key aspects of surviving in Aion is to keep track of what control spells or abilities your opponent is using, and then make your break (pop a Curing Potion and a Run Speed Scroll) when they have nothing to catch you with. Of course, this does require intimate knowledge of everyone else's abilities, and for many players this is just too much work for the brain.

A better way to approach this is to simply understand your opponent. Even if you know your opponent has more stuns, snares and slows that he or she isn't using, often times catching him or her by surprise can lead to a successful escape. Of course, it's always nice to know the major abilities of each class - for example, if a Spiritmaster roots you, you could always chug a Curing Potion and run in the opposite direction, because the Spiritmaster will inevitably follow up on that Root with a Fear (Fear being one of the Spiritmaster's longest and most effective control tools.) More often than not, however, Spiritmasters tend to throw in an extra spell during a Root, and then they follow that up with a Fear, so sometimes you could even allow yourself to stay rooted for a moment, tricking the Spiritmaster into thinking you have no Curing Potions, and when he decides to start casting a different spell, cure the Root and start running - chances are high that they'll have a tough time catching you.

Ultimately, timing is incredibly important in PvP, especially when it comes to survival, as a well timed escape is almost impossible to stop, unless you have superior numbers.

Falling is Living!

While aerial combat in Aion is a very interesting tactical addition, the one recurring problem with flight is the additional Z axis can make hit registration for melee characters an absolute nightmare. Korea, where Aion was originally developed, doesn't have too much of a problem with flight combat because their latency is unnaturally good. North America, on the other hand, just has a new axis to be outranged on.

In this regard, if you've ever watched some successful PvP videos where the creator kills three other guys by himself, chances are high that you won't find a good Ranger, Sorcerer or Spiritmaster amongst those three guys. This is because flying, gliding and falling are three incredibly evil tools to use against melee classes.

Flying is a big problem for melee because many of our melee skills "stop" us to execute the skill. A Chanter's "Incandescent Blow" skill, for example, makes the Chanter stop moving to deal a multi-hit blow, but the same cannot be said for your opponent. If your opponent is smart, he or she will simply keep on flying, building a nice safety zone while you "recover" from your attack. The same could be said for combat on the ground, but this is just magnified when in flight because there are no shortcuts that can be taken to catch your enemy - you must simply fly after him or her.

Gliding follows this same principle, but there is also the fact that gliding is faster than flying, it conserves more energy in the Abyss, and if your opponent is gliding after you, they cannot attack as well. This is particularly effective if you're trying to stall for a cooldown to come up - simply run to the top of a hill, jump and glide back down. If your opponent glides after you, cut your glide short and immediately make your way back up the hill - hopefully your opponent will not be able to react that quickly, and he or she might end up gliding past you in his or her haste.

When it comes to escaping the clutches of your enemies, however, nothing is more potent or annoying than the freefall. Freefalling is one of the fastest "methods" of travel in Aion because… well… you're freefalling-you're literally just jumping off a cliff without using your wings. Freefalling is so effective because it is the fastest mode of "travel." If you're fighting mid-air and you need an escape, simply get rid of your wings and fall right out of the sky. Not only is it nearly impossible, as a melee, to hit someone who is freefalling, but if you glide before you hit the ground, you should have a significant distance advantage over your opponent.

Love the Landscape

It's a given that you should always be aware of where you are, so that if, and when, you are attacked, you can easily find a wall to hide behind, or some pillars to block line of sight. Either way, knowing and understanding the landscape can often mean the difference between a successful escape (or counter-kill) and having a back full of painful arrows. Specifically, one thing that you should always realize is that running in a straight line is never a good idea. You may believe that speed is of the essence, and therefore a straight line ensures the highest rate of survivability, but the fact is, if you simply run in a straight line, your opponent merely needs to run behind you, whacking you on your butt until you die.

A better solution would be to fight near some ruins that offer shelter and, most importantly, block line of sight. Aion is particularly good at rewarding players who position themselves properly, and it can be extremely difficult to kill someone who is constantly weaving in and out of doorways and behind pillars. We can't even begin to count the number of times we've saved ourselves by jumping behind a pillar to dodge an incoming spell, but let us assure you - it's a lot.