A recent tier 2 pvp experience

[IcterusGalbula]

<p><p > </p><p >I know many people think tier 2 pvp is dead. <span> </span>Relative to what it used to be, I suppose that is true. <span> </span>However, this morning I had an enjoyable tier 2 pvp experience and thought I would post about it here. <span> </span>Granted, I have almost always just pvped opportunistically and almost never participated in the ‘pinball arcade’ version of pvp that took place in tier 2 back when level-locking was in place and uber-twinks ruled.</p> <p >That said, this morning I logged onto my level 14 Q assassin probably for the first time since gear was un-attuned. <span> </span>I had to get him geared again, which mostly consisted of master-crafted and a fabled helmet (no adornments) to go with his master spells from level 10-14.<span>  </span>(He had masters level 1-9 too before he betrayed to Qeynos.)</p> <p >Then I took him to the Wailing Caves solo, just for fun. <span> </span>He completed some heroic quests, was able to kill the level 15 (or was it level 14?  level 15, I think) heroic named spider and he encountered a higher level Freeport bruiser. <span> </span>I tracked the bruiser and watched him for a while.<span>  </span>Perhaps he was level 16, I don’t know.<span>  </span>I have never played a bruiser.</p> <p >Eventually I saw that the bruiser was using area-of-effect spells to fight several mobs at once.<span>  </span>That is when it dawned on me that I could wait until he was maybe at 50% health or so, run up to him, get hit by the area-of-effect spell, sacrifice my grandmaster nuke attack and perhaps still kill him.</p> <p >So, I decided I would give that a try.<span>  </span>However, before doing so I noticed that he seemed to be able to heal better than I expected for a bruiser. <span> </span>As I wrote above, I have never played a bruiser and I do not know how well they should be able to heal. <span> </span>I vaguely recall not being able to use heal potions multiple times in the same fight.<span>  </span>Anyway, soon another Freep showed up and joined him.<span>  </span>Perhaps this other Freep was a warden and perhaps healed the bruiser without being grouped and before I ever noticed the second toon on track.</p> <p >Anyway, neither of these toons ever seemed to notice me, and being out-numbered and out-leveled I decide to leave the caves. <span> </span>So, I never attacked either of the Freeps and I was never attacked. <span> </span>Even still, the entire trip to the Wailing Caves was quite enjoyable with lots of tension and anticipation of attack.</p> <p >The trip also seemed to be quite profitable, with me looting a lot of gear that seemed suited for alts or seemed quite valuable for sale on the broker. <span> </span>My assassin also gained a transmuter level and collected a bunch of shinies.</p> <p >As I said, I have never been the type who thought an hour of pvp was wasted if I did not get 15-25 kills.<span>  </span>Trying to outsmart a single higher-level Freep while being subjected to city rules is fun in itself… …to me… …and quite profitable even without a kill.</p><p > </p></p>

[Zacarus]

<p><p>I have fond memories of open world pvp... things you mentioned:  the anticipation, the anxiousness, the excitement.  A time when pvp was woven into the fabric of the pve ecosystem.  A time when you never knew if a highwayman was around the corner waiting to bushwhak you.  A time when the con color of your opponent meant a lot.  A time when the soe team gently tweaked existing pve game mechanics to produce a suberb, richly detailed gaming experience.</p><p>Now we just have a glorified fps.  Too bad.  <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p></p>

[EndevorX]

<p><span style="color: #ff6600;">the caves used to rock so much ace</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff6600;">poor lvl 30+ lvl locking :[</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff6600;">dat dere reminiscence brahs</span></p>

[IcterusGalbula]

<p>Since there is not much activity on the board I figured I would go ahead and write about another tier 2 experience.</p><p>My level 14 Q assassin killed two toons yesterday.</p><p>One was a level 10 fighter farming tree ents (sp?) near the ramp in Kelethin.  That toon was in a guild and on a horse.  I assume he was geared to the teeth and looking for fights.  He actually blocked my grandmaster eviscerate and I had to kill him by wearing him down.  He was blue, which surprised me.  The previous time I tried to kill a level 10 he was green.</p><p>Then I went to Dark Light Woods to quest and look for fights.  There were two Freeps running around.  A level 13 berserker was questing in my area so I gave him a shot.  He was not well geared.  He tried fighting a bunch of mobs and an easy level 13 named toon all at the same time.  So I ran into the melee hoping he would hit me.  He never did.  So I went about my questing.  Later he spied me standing near the druid rings and ran right up to me and attacked.  He was an easy kill even without my eviscerate.  </p><p>That kill made me level, which was not really surprising.  The surprising thing about that kill was it raised my assassin more than 10% of the way to level 16!  At that rate only 9 kills will raise him to level 16!</p><p>The next surprising thing was there were no master level 15 quick strikes on the fence broker.</p><p>The next surprising thing is that the master level 15 spinal shot (sp?) is more powerful than my grandmaster eviscerate! This could have drastic implications for my fighting style.  It seems it could turn my assassin into something of a ranger.  Instead of opening with eviscerate at very close range my toon might start opening with a spinal shot arrow attack, followed by a stun at close range, a spell to give me stealth and then eviscerate.</p><p>I am also thinking of rushing through levels 15 and 16 to get to level 17 at which point I think I will be able to get my end of line AA ability... ...the big stun spell at the end of the line on the right (I think it is the INT line).</p><p>That is all for now.</p><p>Tier 2 pvp does exist.  City rules just makes it more of a challenge.  And with a level 87 toon serving as sugardaddy, making money to keep a tier 2 toon geared is no problem.</p>

[Sasquatch]

I agree, T2 does exist and there is plenty of it. I had an illy in T2 for a while and easily found 3 writ completions worth of pvp a day. I had was dedicated to that toon for a bit and had fun, so finding pvp was easy.

[Clymene]

<p>I have to say, reading this post is like a breath of fresh air on these forums. This entire branch of the forums is littered with nothing but complaint posts, from everyone who has an opinion, desperately wanting SOE to single out their complaint post and do something about it. But this one is actually centered around a positive experience, something we could see more of around here. I applaud you for being honest and for being able to derive enjoyment in your own way without the need to try to change a mechanic.</p>