Howto: Avoiding PvP

[phizuol]

Ok, the beta archives are up so I grabbed this old post. Hopefully it's still useful.

Lesson 1: Becoming PvP flagged.
First of all you can't be attacked by other players unless you or someone you are grouped with are PvP flagged. Avoiding these situations will keep you from being attacked. So how does it happen?
- Red Circles: The easiest way to become PvP flagged is to wander into a PvP zone, also known as a "red circle." Be aware and check your maps and choose routes that avoid these areas if possible.
- Turning on your PvP flag at the Port NPC: There is an NPC in every town that has missions to change your mission difficulty and to turn on your PvP flag. If you turn your flag on it will remain so permanently until you turn it off again at one of these NPCs.
- Attacking a player who is PvP flagged: There will be times that you can attack another player while they are unable to attack you (because you are not flagged but they are.) If you attack them you will become PvP flagged for a period of time after the fight (5 minutes I think.) You will get the same effect by joining in on a PvP battle marker on the OS.
- Sailing an "Invalid" ship: This is only for Pirate players. Some ships can only be sailed by specific classes, but Pirates are allowed to capture these ships anyway. However, whenever a Pirate sails one of these ships that are specific to Navy, Privateers, or Freetraders they will be flagged for PvP and can be attacked. If you choose to sail these ships as a Pirate then beware.
- Flagged Groupmates: You can be dragged into a PvP battle if one of your nearby groupmates is flagged and gets attacked, so watch out who you group with. If you really want to avoid PvP don't group with flagged players.

Lesson 2: Avoiding PvP while flagged on the Open Sea
Ok, so for some reason you got flagged but you don't want to fight. Here are some tips that can help.
- Get out of the red circle. This should be obvious, but if you end up inside a PvP zone then get out as soon as you can. Just because you don't see any players does not mean that they cannot see you.
- Stealth: Each ship has a Visibility stat which indicates how far away you can be seen on the Open Seas. There are items and skills that can reduce your Visibility so that you cannot be seen as far away. If you are very stealthy you can avoid a combat situation before it occurs because other players will not know where to find you and if you can see them first you can sail in another direction to avoid them.
- Speed: There are also items and skills that make you move faster on the Open Seas. If you can move through PvP zones quickly you may be able to avoid a fight because the enemy cannot catch up to you. Be aware though that MOST skills and items that increase speed only work in battle and NOT on the Open Seas. There are three kinds of speed: Battle, Open Seas, and All. Any skill or item that increases your Open Seas or All speed will help you on the Open Seas map.
- Invincibility: Whenever you undock from a port you will be Invincible for 60 seconds even if you undock into a PvP area. However, if you take ANY actions with your ship like activating a skill or raising your sails the Invincibility will cancel and you can be attacked. Use this to scout around and see if any enemies are nearby. If the coast is not clear then re-dock at the port and try again in a few minutes.
- Ad Hoc Invisibility: After a battle with either players or NPCs you will be invisible for about 60 seconds or until you get a good distance away from your battle. You also cannot see most of the ships around you during this time so just because things look safe does not mean that they are. Use this time to get to a safe place or get to where your friends are at.

Lesson 3: Avoiding PvP when you have been engaged in battle.
Ok, so you got caught on the Open Sea. Now what?
- Surrender: This usually doesn't work but you can use surrender to trade your cargo for your life. If the enemy accepts you are free to go.
- Flee: You can try to escape a battle situation by either avoiding any combat actions for 2 minutes (including actions used by others upon you) or by sailing to one of the exit points along the edge of the map. Your success will depend on the speed of your ship vs the speed of the enemy. It will require a little knowledge of how to sail your ship, but it will also require outfitting. If you have speed skills and outfittings that increase your battle speed your chances of escape are much better, but escape is never guaranteed even in the fastest ships.


PvP is fun, but it's not for everyone. Luckily in this game PvP can be avoided most of the time if you're smart so there's room for all of us.

[bpdlr]

Thanks Raoul, hope that clears up a few things for people.

By the way, where are you plying your trade these days? Not seen you on Blackbeard, or did you change your name?

EDIT: Sorry, I see you're on Rackham. With the Macabre?

[phizuol]

Originally Posted by bpdlr Thanks Raoul, hope that clears up a few things for people. By the way, where are you plying your trade these days? Not seen you on Blackbeard, or did you change your name? EDIT: Sorry, I see you're on Rackham. With the Macabre?

Yep, new name new server. Considering the Macabre, but waiting for full release to see what the political climate looks like. Got my sloop already though. =)

[karkh]

Originally Posted by phizuol Note that a few ports are buggy (like Matthew Town) and you exit the port too far away to re-dock without moving your ship.

Tested Matthew a couple times, didn't land out of range now. It may have to do with ship size though, will have to wait till we are in the bigger ones to be sure.

[phizuol]

Originally Posted by karkh Tested Matthew a couple times, didn't land out of range now. It may have to do with ship size though, will have to wait till we are in the bigger ones to be sure.

Alright, I'll edit that part out then. Thanks.

[bpdlr]

Originally Posted by phizuol Alright, I'll edit that part out then. Thanks.

Matthew Town must be buggy; sometimes you spawn out of range, sometimes in range.

[phizuol]

Well hopefully they fix that one soon. I keep forgetting to test it.