People don't understand the point of the ratbros.

[TeutonicTexan]

This (imo) is how it should work.

If you are a ratbro:
Don't spawn kill your summons
Don't rain arrows down on your summons if they try to fight your mobs
Don't gank your summon while he/she is fighting mobs
Watch your summon at all times while they are fighting/running through your mobs to unsettle them
If your summon refuses to play your game as intended (this does not include running past your mobs, which is a viable tatic), use your superior positioning to punish them with ranged attacks until they get the message.
Serve as an "endboss" to the fogwall that is your summon's goal
Essentially, you should be like Jigsaw from the Saw movies. A seemingly neutral, but slightly unsettling observer until the end when you try to kill them. Makes for a very fun experience, imo, on both sides.

if you are summoned by a ratbro (and assuming you get an "honorable" ratbro):
First and foremost, don't be mad and don't panic. If you die, you will lose nothing. If you win you only stand to gain.
Don't hide at the beginning of the level. Play the game. You have nothing to lose, the ratbro does. Besides, the ratbro can also find and hit you with ranged attacks from anywhere(nearly) in the first room.
Don't sit in the middle of the first room and expect a duel. That's not the point of the ratbros. Not even a little bit. There are specific places that you can go and duel.
Don't try to range attack the ratbro until you get to him/her at the end of the level (unless the ratbro makes it clear he is not planning on fighting "fair").
Your goal is not to kill the ratbro! Your goal is to get to the fogwall that leads to the bonfire. I don't think most people understand this. I know I didn't my 1st time.


/endrant.

[Groen90]

Well ratbros are free to do whatever the hell they want in their world. Who gets summoned however shouldn't stand there at the beginning if the ratbro is not there, I agree with that.

[Todd Howard]

The rats are also part of the rat covenant, why are you sending your fellow covenant members to die?

[Azrahan]

You summon them to basically troll/gank them. Just like invasions, it's their right to play however they want, just like it's yours to play how you want. Expecting everyone to follow/trying to force others to follow these arbitrary rules that small numbers of the community decide on is completely out of the context of the game. Hell, unless it's the blue arena or the dragonbros, honor is sort of not the point of the entire game.

[Groen90]

Originally posted by Xplode441:

The rats are also part of the rat covenant, why are you sending your fellow covenant members to die?

Exactly, go get the spirit first, then if things get ugly retreat and let the rats do their job. It's not like there's an infinite number of them, because after killing them a few times they stop respawning. You should treat them as precious companions, technically they're higher rank than you in the eyes of the king anyway. We're just disgusting humans, lol.

[TeutonicTexan]

Originally posted by Nirathios:

You summon them to basically troll/gank them. Just like invasions, it's their right to play however they want, just like it's yours to play how you want. Expecting everyone to follow/trying to force others to follow these arbitrary rules that small numbers of the community decide on is completely out of the context of the game. Hell, unless it's the blue arena or the dragonbros, honor is sort of not the point of the entire game.

I recommend paying attention to the title and the part where I emphasize that this is an opinion. I'm not saying you can't or that you shouldn't spawn kill summons, you can't or shouldn't duel them in the first room, or you can't or shouldn't gank them. You will regardless of what me, random guy on the internet, says. I'm just saying, I don't think it's the point of the covenant. You're given all these traps to activate and a wonderful defensive position. Why should/would you want to kill them before they make it through everything? Play how you want, envision the convenant however you'd like. However, this is my opinion on the point of the covenant and I thought I'd share.

[Vagrant]

I usually take off my armor and suicide in the nearest Mastodon in Doors of Pharros. Starting knee-deep in water ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks ♥♥♥♥ for coke. Most people who summoned me there had all traps activated and spammed their spells/arrow at me.

Why should I waste spell casts/durability to kill you for a stone I don't need. If you're that desperate for a Pharros Lockstone or for an "eazy-peazy kill", you can have it.

[TeutonicTexan]

Originally posted by Vagrant:

I usually take off my armor and suicide in the nearest Mastodon in Doors of Pharros. Starting knee-deep in water ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks ♥♥♥♥ for coke. Most people who summoned me there had all traps activated and spammed their spells/arrow at me.

Why should I waste spell casts/durability to kill you for a stone I don't need. If you're that desperate for a Pharros Lockstone or for an "eazy-peazy kill", you can have it.

If you read the "if you are a ratbro" section, and the ratbro follows these rules, it would make sense. Makes for a very fun experience, imo. Instead of suiciding, you know you can use the separation crystal, right? Though, I'd never do it.

[Vagrant]

Hum, I think I tried Black crystal-ing out but it didn't work. That ♥♥♥♥ never works when you're the victim.

[TeutonicTexan]

They might have changed things since the big patch. I'm relatively new, only owned it post-patch, but people black crystal out my ratbro world all the time.

[Vagrant]

Oh well, my bad.

Like you said, I lose nothing for suiciding and I don't waste any time either. Both winners.

[TeutonicTexan]

Originally posted by groen90:

Originally posted by Xplode441:

The rats are also part of the rat covenant, why are you sending your fellow covenant members to die?

Exactly, go get the spirit first, then if things get ugly retreat and let the rats do their job. It's not like there's an infinite number of them, because after killing them a few times they stop respawning. You should treat them as precious companions, technically they're higher rank than you in the eyes of the king anyway. We're just disgusting humans, lol.

That's actually a good lore-point.

[Delfin The Dragonborn]

Fcking rats, I like to go into your area to be summoned and crush your bones when I run out of blue orbs to smash your red cousins.

[Wafflebutt]

Thats pretty much how I do it.
Doors of Pharos is my amusement park, I wait till the victim comes to me. If they dont move or hide I cheese them with arrows.
Grave is more the Arena type. I wait at the entrance / round area till they are ready and then duel.
If people run past me towards the fog wall then its time for nasty rat bro.

[Nolo Contendere]

Originally posted by Delfin The Dragonborn ™:

Fcking rats, I like to go into your area to be summoned and crush your bones when I run out of blue orbs to smash your red cousins.

Grow up. If your forum presence is anything to go by, you're no less of an asshat than anyone who would want to join the brotherhood of blood (at least they're honest about being asshats). like the op said, the rat cov is an inconveinience not a nusance or a threat (i'm not even sure that killing people they summon counts as sin).

@OP: lots traps, a horde of enemies, and needing to get to the bonfire in MY world once i play your little game(theoretically, your idea of "honor" and actual rat covenant member seem to be mutually exclusive terms and as such i have never managed to make it past) does NOT sound like my idea of fun. the point of pvp covenants is purely that you get rewarded for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with your intended victim (and i am saying this as a blue sentinel), with the dragon remnants being the only exception that i know of.

[Wafflebutt]

Originally posted by Nolo Contendere:

Grow up. If your forum presence is anything to go by, you're no less of an asshat than anyone who would want to join the brotherhood of blood (at least they're honest about being asshats). like the op said, the rat cov is an inconveinience not a nusance or a threat (i'm not even sure that killing people they summon counts as sin).

@OP: lots traps, a horde of enemies, and needing to get to the bonfire in MY world once i play your little game(theoretically, your idea of "honor" and actual rat covenant member seem to be mutually exclusive terms and as such i have never managed to make it past) does NOT sound like my idea of fun. the point of pvp covenants is purely that you get rewarded for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with your intended victim (and i am saying this as a blue sentinel), with the dragon remnants being the only exception that i know of.

It does not count as sin because you trespass our ground.
Ratbro invasions are about 1 in every 5 to 10 minutes. And most of the time the people die before they even get to us (doors of pharos).
And if people don´t want this then they can just got offline mode for that area.
I myself never have been summoned on one of my other chars. Makes me wonder if im the only ratbro.
Belfry luna is more annoying imo. You get instant invaded by 2 people most of the time and have to fight in a very narrow space.