Understanding Warzones PvP & Tactics & Basics Guide

A few people in guild enjoy the teamwork of PvP and the 8 man Warzones so hopefully this guide will help them gain a better understanding of the various warzones and skills and tricks to use when fighting to maximise your team success and your kills.

I thought it was a good idea to highlight the basic principals of skilled PvP to give u all a better understanding of what is required and also to see where u can improve your individual skills or to confirm what you do is already the best way to fight.

I am not going to go into detail with specifics for each class, I am going to discuss in general the tricks to use in PvP to ensure kills or maximise your team chances of capping a base / turret / door


Set up your user interface so you can see the important things quickly.

Target cast bar should be large and easy to see - interrupts are vital and cannot be missed. E.g. I have moved mine to off centre of the screen so it catches my eye easily in the heat of battle.

I use largest scaled portraits for me and for my target. this allows me to see any "procs" my talents give me to use to my advantage for burst DPS and also see when dots have run out or when enemy shields or defensive CDs are about to expire.

Recognising buffs / CDs on enemies is also important to quickly check who to hit the hardest.

The next important basic is understanding the pros and cons of your class and using the pros to your advantage while minmising the cons.

First is Understand your class.

All classes have different skills to

1) limit damage taken (known as defensive CDs)
2) stun, CC (Crowd Control) & interrupt the opposition.

Knowing when to use each type is vital when fighting 1 to 1 or ensuring you live long enough to interupt the opposition trying to cap a turret / bomb a door

If you are ranged , stay ranged. hang a bit back dont run in first and get yourself targetted. Let the melees pile in first to distract the enemy group.

Let the tanks soak up the damage and the sentinels cause chaos while you support hitting the weaker targets or killing those who are on your guys.

If 2 of you are trying to cap a low defended base, make sure u know which enemy you're CC'ing and which guy you are bursting.

The usual rule here is hit the lowest level one as they will go down quicker in general. DONT try and fight 1 on 1 with the 2 players there is more risk of u losing a player and it will take longer giving the enemy a chance to get reinforcements.

What you should NEVER do is try to cap bases solo (only exception is stealthing a door in Voidstar) You are not Obi Wan Kenobi or Yoda, you will not succeed and will generally die fast leaving your teammates short elsewhere.

If you want to try the lower defended position at least go in 2 that way if there is only 1 in defense you will overpower him quickly, if theres a steath then you can CC 1 burst DPS the other.


1) Reading the Game and calling "Suck 'em in" and Switch tactics

Tips to maximise capping chances. Waiting for teammates before running in after a "rez". dont run back into a base fight in 1s and 2s u will just get picked off. Wait a few seconds for 3-4 players and go in together. U will all last longer and fight more effectively. You might think you are wasting valuable time but as a larger team together you will have more chance to cap a base / turret / door on the first attempt instead of several goes.

There are 8 players in a Warzone team - most people commit 1-2 players to defend their "home" base/turret.

Therefore if you are locked in a massive fight against 5-6 enemies at the middle base in alderaan / South base Denova and your team is not looking like they will cap, then go 2 vs 2 or take 3 "SWITCH" to the lesser defended base.

Let the others tie the enemies up at the middle/south, while you storm their home base. Good use of CC/stuns and burst on 1 enemy will likely see success here.


2) Good Comms

use TS if you can, all the good imp pvp guilds do. Also type to the PuG players in /ops so they know what ur mini group is doing.

This stops duplication with double sets of players going to the same base / turret and not leaving enough players in other areas of the warzone.

You dont need to be a fast typer to type something like " 3 inc left" or " 5 imps mid 4 info". We dont need "war and peace" but short clear information will help your team know where the enemy is attacking, OR where the main body of enemies is located if you thinking of a "switch".


3) Single Target burst when attacking / AoE when defending

Also identifying the weakest/lowest health target & all teammates hitting the same target.
Average health of players in 10-49 WZs is around 11.5k - 13.5k in 50s its alot more.

Dont play fair.. it is no good fighting 4 players on 4 at a busy base.. U want to make the odds in your favor. By using single target DPS and using CC and stuns and hitting the same one you will kill one quickly and change the numbers to your favor quickly and maximise the chance of success.

If you use AoE you will do a bit of damage to a few people, BUT you will also most likely break the CC of someone else. This is not a good playing style. Yes u can say look at all the damage I did... BUT you will be on the losing team alot...

Remember this, if u are fighting a group of people - a player with 1k health does EXACTLY the same damage as someone with full health. Therefore it is in your team's interest to "gang up" on specific targets and take them down Quick.

This will create a player overlap and you can finish off the rest more easily before reinforcements arrive from the respawn point.

Look at players and familiarise yourself with their buffs and defensive CDs. If your enemy target has popped defensive CDs then they will take less damage and remain hard to kill... SO LOOK FOR ANOTHER target nearby and move and change target.

WZs is not about "look how much damage I did! ... I are 1337!" . It is about the right damage.. at THE RIGHT TIME.

Use your brain and take a second to look for any enemies in your vicinity with much lower health than the others and hit him hard with single target dps.


4) Using stuns - when to use and then use your Burst DPS - when to escape & use defensive CDs

Dont break stuns / CC, be aware of what is happening around you. Stuns and CC are MORE IMPORTANT than killing a enemy, unless the enemy is less than 1/4 health. Stunned or CC'd enemies CANNOT attack, whereas any enemy who has half a brain and has some health will switch target away from you to interupt the capper knowing he will die soon anyway.

If u know that ur CC will stick let it run for the full 8 secs. Use the resolve bar to see if there is room for a stun straight after.

This is far more valuable than trying to kill an enemy who will most likely get 1 hit on your Capper and interupt him before dying.. then you are back to another 8secs channelling of capping while new enemy reinforements are coming in.

You can always kill them AFTER you have taken the base. Its harder to capture a base than to defend one.

Save your offensive CDs for use AFTER you have been stunned or if its unlikely you are about to be targetted. Dont waste them if you are getting ganged up on, save them up and take a quick death.

Only use them if you have a realistic chance of survival or you can kill an enemy before you die.


5) learn and understand the layout of the Warzones.

Know where the speed boosts are, the healing and "power pill" buffs are. They will save your ass or get you back in the action or away from trouble more effectively. Most bases / turrets / doors are capped in the "waiting" time to leave the respawn room.


Here are a few things to consider in the 4 Warzones.


HUTTBALL - The Pit

Understanding Huttball platforms is vital! Knowing where you need to fight and getting away from areas where you are of no benefit is the most important feature of this Warzone.

If you are ranged you should be controlling areas from the higher platforms, if you have stuns and knockbacks they are easier to use more effectively hitting enemies below.

Each class have vital skills you can use to the max if u play in the right areas appropriate to your class.
Vanguards can harpoon and stun (and kill them fast) players into fire pits or acid pools.

Shadow Consulars can shield and sprint through fire and acid to make good ground with the ball fast.

Gunslingers are imba on the high platforms above the middle ball spawn area. In cover u cannot be force leap on and u have alot of room to do serious damage if enemies try to take the ball on restarts.

Sentinels can leap onto defenders and use this to make gains with the ball.

Sages can grip players 30yds and get them to better positions quickly. This list is just some examples, you get the idea.

Controlling the middle ball respawn zone is vital.

Controlling the middle area allows 2 things. If the enemy score a goal then you have players already there to take the ball on restart so they have more trouble getting the ball.

If your team scores, then you have players there to pass the ball forward quickly. Using 4 players and a 5th "Sweeper" allows 3 - 4 player to push forward or stay in forward positions and gives your team the chance to chain quick passes and move the ball forward very quickly.

Teams that chase the the enemy ball carriers about will lose hard and fast. by the time you move back to the middle after the enemy score they will have moved the ball away from the side you are moving back and you will give some fast goals away.


Denove Coast (South Base) / Alderaan (middle turret).

These are generally the heavily contested bases in the Warzones. Trick here to allow faster capping is when contesting for these at the start is to push well past the turret or the base and engage the enemy while 1 person caps it using as much LoS (Line of Sight) protection as possible.

It can help to keep a stealther behind and after the rest tie the enemies up to then unstealth and cap.
By engaging this way, you suck in the enemies and stop them capping while forming a "wall" to give a player the best opportunity to cap.

Major problem in most warzones is too many "glory" boys trying to cap the same base at the same time. Instead of the rest of the unit preparing to stun / CC any respawning and inc enemies while 1 player caps, you will regularly see about 3 people trying to cap same turret which allows the enemies to rush in uninterrupted and use AOE attacks to interupt all "cappers".

If u see an idiot trying to cap the same time as us use your brain and stop capping and get into postion to CC / stun any incomings. You will assist your team better this way than 2 people potentially getting interupted and u not claiming the position and having to start again.


Voidstar

When attacking call the side that all except any stealth will attack.

E.g. <-- All left | Stealth right -->

If you have stealth players then if your team goes go very wide left to draw out the main body of defenders as far away from the middle area as you can. This means defenders have further to move to defend the other door if your team switches or the other door calls for more defense.

If your Stealthers cannot cap quickly, change tactics with your tanks and melee sucking in the respawning defenders near the middle area using mass CCs and stuns / slows. Then use 1 player to cap while all the others do Single target DPS not to break the CCs.

Again if they are sucked in and the respawn window is generous to your team, send 2-3 for a door switch using 1 to plant bomb and other 2 to stun / CC and only engage enemies as a last resort.

Stuns and CC are way more important as defenders can AoE doors easily to prevent bombs being planted.


Alderaan

2 tactical options here...

the classic 2 left 6 middle.

Best options for left is 1 Consular for the sprint to get the cap fast. 2nd person on the left is a tank class to intercept any incoming enemies who may want to interfere or delay the cap. Use CC / stuns and slows once active to get the cap before engaging for the kill after the turret is secured.

other tactic is the 4 left and 4 right or variations of 2 left, 3 middle (to mainly interrupt capping and suck in enemies) and 3 Right

You then defend the sides using the speeders left and right to aid defense backups when u rez.

If the enemies cap middle and your team is having trouble taking it then consider "the switch" - head left and then use the underground part to attack right using speed boosts and it allows u easier movement and not getting sucked into any overspill fighting from the middle area.


Denova Coast

Again typical tactics are 2 or sometimes 3 west who will push east quickly to secure a 2 base early advantage. best cappers here are consulars and scoundrel who can also stealth which gives the element of surprise at the east base.

The rest hit the south base hard pushing beyond it to limit enemies attempting to cap in the chaotic fight that ensues

If the enemy responds to recap east then a "switch" takes place to swarm South base and cap there.


Conclusion

If you like it or can add more then reply here. If there are things you dont agree with then also reply here. I dont claim to know it all, I just apply common sense principals to a team game

Remember this is a overview of what I consider the basics of PvP in Warzones - once you get these basics sorted, then u look at how else u can improve your class.

I look forward to your comments.