The Age of Conan PvP servers are some of the most brutal around. Adrenaline pumped skirmishes, fights decided by an inch of health and gut busting world battles are a common occurrence. On the other hand, however, there are dark sides to the PvP: Getting jumped by a group more than twice your size, hate spam and getting kept at the spawn point (Rez pad) can and will happen to anyone. That's what this guide is for. Some tips tricks and strategies to keep you off of the rez pad and enjoying the game! The guide is broken down into three parts: Before the battle, during the battle and after the battle.

Let's say you are about to go to scenic White Sands Island, each section will give you hints and tips on what to do before, during and after you enter the zone.

Before the Battle

If you roll on a PvP server in AoC you will be killed, period. So, if you are the kind of person that easily angers at dying at the hands of others it is highly suggested that you roll on over to a PvE server such as Set, where there is plenty of PvP but only if you look for it and are already max level.

          

Before you even draw your sword in defense or offense it is always a good idea to scout out an area. Using the "find players" option on the social tab will allow you to search what players are in what zone. This lets you know if there is a big PvP battle going on, if the zone is empty, if there are gankers about and the levels/class of everyone listed. While not a perfect tool it is a great scouting feature and essential if you are hunting down a single player or trying to avoid a well known ganker.

Here is a list of some good places to search:

White Sands Island - The capital of PvP and ganking for the Tortage starter area. Look out for high level (20+) rangers in this area!

Connal's Valley- Though generally not a hot spot, the long road leading from Conarch village to the second rez pad and the high bridge at the north eastern part of the zone are popular sights for highwaymen wanna-bes.

Wild Lands of Zelata - Like Connal's Valley, this place is fairly tame outside of the town of Tesso and the entrance to the sanctum of burning souls (two very popular griefer locales).

Keshatta - After you get past the influx of lowbies in the starter areas, the PvP really calms down as most people are guilded, travel in groups or just want to level making true PvP hot spots few and far between. That is until you reach Keshatta at around level 70. With grind spots, loot farming areas, a raid dungeon, two six man instances, two major quest hubs with few guards defending them and a bunch of level 80s looking to sharpen their skills (preferably on your face) Keshatta is more or less the place to go for world PvP at 80. The Oasis (entrance to the zone) and Kesh City (center of the zone) are two popular spots for gank squads. Some servers, such as Cimmeria, even have a player designated "duel pit" just inside Keshatta gates.

The first thing you should do is form a group. Being a lone wolf or participating in some sort of honor bound duel is fine and all but chances are you will just be fodder for a gank group (which usually consists of 3-6 players), so make a few friends that you can call on if things ever take a turn for the worst. A group is the biggest deterrent for would-be PvPers. That Assassin that has been eying you from the shadows isn't going to step up when he sees you have a few friends with a general dislike for his sneaky tactics watching your back. If you are having trouble finding a group then try joining a guild; you get guild buffs if the guild owns a city or battle keep, most guilds have characters at certain levels ready to come out and assist their kinsmen being attacked, guild mates will become the only people that you can't kill/be killed by in the wild and you get a sweet guild tag under your name! Research your choice in guilds however as some guilds will have bad reputations, be at war with other guilds or be allied with guilds (meaning you will be restricted by guild rules on who you can and can't kill).

Now that you have some idea of what you are getting into and a group of by your side take in some of these helpful tips into consideration before you jump on into it:

• FOOD AND POTIONS. I cannot stress the importance of a food stam/health/mana buff and the health/stam/mana regeneration from potions in and before fights. This will save your life in PvP and PvE, so stay stocked up.
• Put skill points into hiding. When going AFK or when moving about in a war zone not being seen is what can keep you from getting picked off.
• Watch your little light/dark crystal when hiding. In dark places where the crystal under your mini-map shines black, players with a lot of points in hiding will be impossible to pull out without the use of an AoE. In places of light where the crystal is white a lowbie with 10 points in perception can pull out an assassin with over 900 in hiding.
• Rangers are your friends (when they are not shooting arrows at you). Having a Ranger on your team means it is harder for the enemy to sneak up on you in hiding. A ranger can see hidden enemies on their mini-map and can attempt to pull them out of stealth before they can make the first move, just keep in mind that the other side could have a ranger as well.
• Never accept group invites from people you don't know or haven't talked to. It is a common trick used by griefers without a ranger to invite people into their group just to find out their location on the map.
• Resource gathering zones are not always safe. Keep in mind that every time you tap a node for any resource a big red X shows up on the map alerting everyone in the zone.
• QUE UP FOR MINIGAMES! They are a great way to learn the basics of PvP in a much more balanced environment. Plus they are really fun.
• Avoid mounting in an area hot with PvP, being mounted gives you a high chance of getting knocked off, which essentially stuns you for five seconds.

During the Battle

You did everything you could. Checked the zone, got a team together and moved along carefully, not bothering anyone and getting quests done. Still, a group of well known gankers around your level decided they didn't like you rolling in on their turf:

• Communication is key. Using a voice over IP to call out targets is probably the quickest way to flawless victory. Three people working together on one target at a time will beat a group of six all doing their own thing more often than not.
• Keep your healers safe! Keep your healer in the back and run back towards it for heals instead of the healer having to go into the fray just to keep you up. If you are the healer: Move, move, move! Only stop to cast a spell. Nearly all of your healing spells don't require you to target someone only to be near them so run, heal, run, heal and repeat. A still target is easier to CC and neutralize. Just be sure to gravitate in a general area so others know where to run back to when they need heals.
• Take out soft targets first. Healers, Assassins, Necromancers and Spell Weavers should be your first targets. CC everything else and take out the weak targets first, then high damage targets and then you can sweep up. Having a Ranger or some ranged DPS class call out targets can be immensely helpful..
• Use terrain to your advantage. Running behind a rock to avoid getting blasted by a demonologist or swimming in water to get out of dying may not be the most honorable thing, but anyone who cares about honor in AoC ends up dead or role playing, so use every dirty trick in the book if you must.
• Potions. I can't stress the use of these enough.  
• Move!. If you get low on health or have an assassin bearing down on you then move! Run around, jump like an idiot anything to get out of the range and waste their combo attacks on a miss, a moving target is always harder to hit.
• Slow them down. If your opponent is the one hopping around like a mad man, then put any sort of CC or slowing effect on them to make them easier to catch for you and your team (for many classes this should be the first effect you put on them).
• Tap and shield rotate. These are more advanced skills and will take a long time to master but will help out in the heat of battle. Tapping is when you double tap the forward back or strafe keys while in combat to jump in one direction, giving you a small buff and draining stamina. Rotating shields is when you press ctrl+1/2/3/4 to arrange your characters defensive shields in one direction like an NPC monster would. This is where knowing what attacks another class uses comes in handy as you can change your defense to mitigate damage.
• Active blocking. (press the x key) Another advanced technique that will allow you to go into a defensive shell. You cannot attack and stamina is drained, but if you are being beaten on by an entire raid using an active block can keep you alive just a few more seconds, wasting the enemy's time, giving your side some time to attack and giving healers a chance to breath.
• Never waste time on immune targets. Especially at later levels many classes will gain immunity effects where they will get a shield aura of some sort that makes them immune to all damage. You cannot do anything about this, don't waste time fighting them as there are likely to be other enemies that need your attention. Simply keep in mind that all shields last roughly five to ten seconds so keep a timer going in your head. The classes you will see use immune shields the most are the Blue Conquerer and Priest of Mitra shield and the red Herold of Xotli phoenix cloak.
• Watch those guards. While guard hugging will get you laughed at, it will also keep you alive until reinforcements come. Only use this as a last resort or when outnumbered.
• Remember that all players in AoC are solid objects, using yourself as a human shield is a great tactic when defending back line healers or casters from an onslaught. This can also be used to shield spell weavers from melee damage.
• Keep the closeness of the resurrection pad in mind. If a rez pad is only a few feet away then the guy you just killed will be back for more very soon, keep this in mind when fighting large groups.

After the Battle

If you are kept on the rez pad, calling in reinforcements or using Path of Azura to escape are the only options. Calling in more means you are going to zerg a smaller group with superior numbers or attempt to match their numbers. This is fine and all but there is a chance for the other side to bring in more as well to counter you. If this happens, both sides snowball into a giant raid and tear each other apart, fun but counter productive. Using Path of Azura is a quick and easy fix to any problem, if you are not in the mood for PvP or can no longer fight then get the heck out a there, no reason to feed a griefer more kills and PvP exp.

Sadly trash talk and whining are in every game you play online and AoC is no different. Sometimes the ignore button is not enough and some counter measures must be taken, some of my favorite responses to hate tells are:

• Repeat the same 3 lines over and over again until they give up.
• Ask them how their day was.
• Read them some self written poetry.
• Attempt to role play with them.

I have been put on other peoples ignore lists using these techniques and that is a much more satisfying feeling then having to fill up your own list with morons who can't play a game without complaining.

Not everyone likes to mess around with people though. If you are one of those people then try writing down names. It sounds silly but crossing those names out at a later date can be very therapeutic.

Just remember to take all of the trash talk in this game with a grain of salt. Much of it is people just playing around or trying to get you angry, in the end it is just a game and an angry player is a handicapped player.

Of course if you come out the victor then the field is yours, it is up to you what to do with it, will your short reign over the zone be a tyrannical or peaceful one? That choice is up to you. Either way, win or lose, you will get experience in PvP and with your character. Don't be discouraged if you aren't the hero of the battlefield your first go around, keep practicing, learning your character and refining your own personal spec. Just remember when the PvP stops being fun it is time to leave.

Hopefully these little tips will help you enjoy the game better. Happy hunting!