How to not suck at pvp.

[Takingdomscosimog]

Every now and again I like to summon for bosses usually just for fun, but sometimes I will get invaded immediately. What are some tips that I can use to hold my own for once? As usually I don't really know what I'm doing, and just either get lucky with ganking or have the phantom kill the invader or ofc die.

I just want to feel confident that if I get invaded I will put up a good fight at least, cos getting steam rolled feels sh**.

I have had some experience duelling in the Colosseum in DS3 but my win average is probably like 1 in 3, I have no clue about metas (as in I used to just go in with what I liked etc) I don't know what true combos exist with x weapons etc also.

Basically what I'm asking is what makes a good pvp player, and how can I become one.

[Dragonirian]

Short answer - practice.

Best advice I can give is stop taking losses to heart. Too many people are conditioned by other games to believe they are the best gamers in the world that would own this game with zero deaths and not a single pvp loss, and they get VERY butthurt when they die at the hands of another player. Let it go, relax and practice - that's how you start enjoying it.
Then just experiment and try things out.

Now, for the things to know:
Invasion matchmaking is based both on your character level and weapon upgrade.
Somber weapon upgrade is equivalent to 2.5 normal weapon upgrade. So when you see people mentioning something like "lvl20+3/+1" that means character level 20 with normal weapons +3 and somber +1. This is one of the most active ranges for invasions.

Be wary of this if you intend to do low level invasion build: weapon upgrade level for matchmaking is the largest upgrade you have ever held in your inventory. So don't kill patches (+7 spear), dont kill edgar the revenger (+8 halberd) and dont tell rogier you killed Godric (+8 rapier).

[Bleezip]

Honestly pvp has always sucked in the souls games because it's netcoding is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. The community doesn't help with using the same tired ass meta builds with zero deviation from it. So you're constantly fighting the same four to five different weapon types/buffs.

It's a combination of practice, understanding how to cheese the netcoding latency and using weapon arts that that also exploit lag. It's a boring chore and you'd be better off avoiding pvp entirely.

[Dragonirian]

Originally posted by Bleezip:

Honestly pvp has always sucked in the souls games because it's netcoding is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. The community doesn't help with using the same tired ass meta builds with zero deviation from it. So you're constantly fighting the same four to five different weapon types/buffs.

It's a combination of practice, understanding how to cheese the netcoding latency and using weapon arts that that also exploit lag. It's a boring chore and you'd be better off avoiding pvp entirely.

Meta tryharding occurs mostly on meta levels.
Join the sub30, enjoy it all over again

[PK_Thunder]

Experience. It's all about timing, spacing and knowledge of how to deal with the enemy. The only way to get better is to do it until it gets into your head.

[Señor Brown]

If you want to hold your own as a host, then raise your vigor, stay within range of your team, and practice your rolling. Keep your camera on the invader while jogging backwards and roll when they attack.

Practice it until you are no longer separating yourself from team and are no longer panic rolling.

Oh, and if there is a fog gate nearby, use it. You and your phantoms are wasting resources like Crimson Flasks that could be used for the boss by opting to engage the invader. Unless you're going out of your way to gank invaders, go fight the boss instead.

[Alethby]

Time ... and the amount you spend fighting others. Half of my time in Elden Ring has been in the arena and because of it i can predict what people are going to do based on their armour and weapons alone, and the way they move is important (if they come springing at you or not) for example. There is much to be learned and it can all be countered in time.

[Legiondorf]

The answer to co-op invasion is carry the dragon halbard on a sneaky third slot. A surprise lightning double tap is the games inbuilt anti-twink/troll and lag switch measure.

[ressenmacher]

1: Raise your vigor. You want 30 Vig by level 30, 40 by level 60, and 60 at most anything higher. You don't necessarily need to go all the way there, but extra HP is basically never a trap in the same way that other build choices can be.

2: Plan your loadout. Souls fights are strongly skill based, but they can still be won and lost in the build. Use tools like the character planner[eip.gg] and weapon attack calculator[eldenring.tclark.io] to optimize your build, starting class, and weapon choice before heading in.

3: Get familiar with terminology and the fundamental concepts of PvP. You should know what spacing, whiff punishing, rollcatching, backstab fishing, parry baiting, and iframes (and what gives them) are and how to respond to them at the very least.

4: try to play at something lower than meta level (120-150) to start. Damage is extraordinarily high at those brackets and there's often little time to realize you're making a mistake and try to adapt your playstyle to fix it; you just die outright. I wouldn't recommend very low levels because they're infested with twinks and OL phantoms, but if you're OK with dealing with those they're the absolute best for fundamental practice once you get into a standard fight. My recommendation would be 60 +12ish collosseum duels.

[Tripwire]

As someone posted already, PRACTICE. Seriously, it's the only way. Make sure to practice with many different builds too. Try different weapons and ashes of war, and find something that fits for you. Also, if you can, get a buddy to play against you and help you try out builds and give you feedback on how he countered and what pressured them more.

[Dragonirian]

4: try to play at something lower than meta level (120-150) to start.

I will add to this: making a low level (below 30) high vig character and pvping with it is a great way to practice because of overall low damage at this level range, and therefore longer fights. Lots of room for mistakes.

[IvanGovnov]

go spam moonveil, that is maximum what you can do

[Dragonirian]

Originally posted by IvanGovnov:

go spam moonveil, that is maximum what you can do

OP said he DOESN'T want to suck at pvp.

[IvanGovnov]

Originally posted by Dragonirian:

Originally posted by IvanGovnov:

go spam moonveil, that is maximum what you can do

OP said he DOESN'T want to suck at pvp.

it is enough

[Dragonirian]

Originally posted by IvanGovnov:

Originally posted by Dragonirian:

OP said he DOESN'T want to suck at pvp.

it is enough

Moonveil spam is zero brain. Anyone using it is going to suck in general, especially after mp runs out.

[Alethby]

Originally posted by Dragonirian:

Originally posted by IvanGovnov:

it is enough

Moonveil spam is zero brain. Anyone using it is going to suck in general, especially after mp runs out.

Yup and typically they have less than 1000 hp too so its game over for moonveilers when i see them lol.