AoC 30-50lvl PVP from Assasin Perspective
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:49 pm
Originally posted Here
themephs wrote:Due to the general QQ nature of the Assassin forums and even in-game, a lot of negativity in general (broken record...), and a lot of "Oh well get out of tortage and say that assassins aren't broken", I decided to share my own personal strategies for fighting certain classes in the 30-50 range (supposedly where the class starts to break down and fail a bit).
Currently I have about a 3.75:1 KD ratio, only *sparingly* killing people at low hp or with mobs on them (less than 15 of my kills would be low HP ganks). I do this really more to challenge myself and learn how to handle myself against each class, so rather than fluff my KD with cheap kills I can safely say I earned them. "Earned" taken with a grain of salt as many people are just terrible at this game though (many of the QQ'ing assassins included).
I've been jumped many times and won, gotten the jump on people, and even pulled off 1v3, 1v4 somehow. I also get owned many times, failed at killing someone and lost a fight, it happens. No one's a rock star all the time. Anyway on to the tips for lowbie assassins in the 30-50 range.
General starting tips
Jousting: Everyone says it, so do it. When jousting just start a combo, do the initial key moves except the last, then get in range and hit the last key to initiate the combo. Even if the target is moving you will get all the hits off if you let the cast bar finish. IMPORTANT: if you know ahead of time you are going to miss the combo, you can quickly hit active block and cancel it to free your animation frames up.
Frames: Everytime you swing, or combo, there's animation frames that lock you in place. Maximize your frame count to stay ahead of the game. Use your active blocking key to cancel any frames that aren't going to do anything. As said above, missed combos should be cancelled ASAP. Double tap moves should be cancelled since you get the buff they give and can save yourself 2+ seconds of animation frames by doing so.
Anticipate combos: Watch your opponent. You can tell when they're trying to land a combo. Also count "in your head" if you know the cooldown on their most devastating combos. If you see them trying to joust a combo and head in for the blow, you can pop active block or double S evasion and usually avoid it.
Use your shielding: Some combos can literally one shot you. Find out what those combos are and be ready to shield that side of you against certain matchups. The first strategy to winning is knowing your enemy.
Use cooldowns: This is all-out, kill or be killed. If you aren't using everything to your advantage, you are setting yourself back. Restealth/run if a fight is going bad, there's no dishonor in it. The only loser in a brawl is the one that dies. Use health/stam pots generously. I always carry at least 40+ of each when I venture outside of town, and restock constantly. Keep food buffs up always. This gives you a huge advantage over people who don't use them. USE YOUR COOLDOWNS. Unlike WoW many cooldowns are on short timers (1-2min), so they will usually be up for every engagement. Use them when you feel it is appropriate. Cat's Paw to buy yourself time to go toe-to-toe with your opponent if they're melee, pop lotus extract to keep yourself at high hp, excellent balance so you don't get KB'd ahead of time, etc.
Use shield positioning: If you can, try to always get on your opponent's backside. There are 0 shields on someone's back at ANY time. You might think this isn't a big deal, but the difference between Cunning strike 6 head on and directly behind is easily 2x damage difference. Also keep that in mind when you use UL and UR combos, if you can land them from your opponent's side and hit the unshielded part, you are in the zone. Keep in mind most people keep their shields neutral, so always shoot for the back zone. I've hit soldiers for upwards of 50% of their hp (in defensive stance) with a well placed CS 6 as said above.
On joust timing: If your opponent knows how to move, take some time, be patient, and predict where they're going, fire your combos ahead of where they're moving. Sometimes I'll start a combo up, double W and stun someone with the followup hits in the combo and then land it perfectly on their back for a lot of damage. Also try to snare someone before combo'ing, it makes it a lot easier to get it off.