Looking for a PK Instructor

[Davor]

DS Hunter. Play. Die. You will learn on your own. There really is no way to teach PK. There are just basic tenets of PK that you have to learn yourself. A mentor/instructor might be able to help you with some 'maneuvers' or how to effectively retreat/chase to chokes etc..but you need to learn the below before you can even execute any of it.

1.) Zone Knowledge - Probably the most important. You don't have to memorize everything but probably good to know your basic spams then memorize rooms around chokes so you know where to dline/spam/chase in the chokey areas which will net you maximum kills and save you from dying. Northern PK is my domain. Outside of that I'm fairly awful at running and chasing. I just never took the time to learn any zones. The reason why Lykan is the best PKer this game has ever had is because of his incredible zone knowledge with a helping of a few of the below traits. He also learned from the best (me) so he had a solid foundation to build on.

2.) Mobility - as alluded to above, having a sense of how far you can chase/run effectively. Keeping some vials on you, stashing horses (something I never did) and paying attention to personal as well as horse mvs. Mobility is one of the most important factors in PK and why I believe LS to be much easier than DS.

3.) Learning who your fighting against and their playstyles in terms of how aggressive/conservative that player is.

4.) Knowing your character's limitations. Kryyg hitting a batt/beaten human at Malkier has shitty returns, I need to land a bash, then hope I hit, all the while hoping I don't get bashed first. Jestin hitting Malkier will net a spike regardless.

5.) Comrades - not only is it more fun but when you have reliable players with you, you can PK more effectively. Solo PK is garbage, group PK is where the fun and learning is.

6.) Rogues are trash. Don't waste your time fighting them.

[Jestin]

Lol Davor is recommending you get good at zone knowledge. hahahaha

[Ryzom]

I wish Davor knew zones too

[Etain]

Since you are aiming to eventually play Etain up north, I thought it could be helpful to know all the reasons why most channies are not successful at northern PK.

1. They show up unprepared. Often, this means showing up on bad horses. If you show up to northern PK in anything worse than a warhorse, you are asking to be killed, and asking your group to get killed trying to help you. You will also miss out on kills from not being able to chase.

2. They hagg themselves out. This is related to 1, but not the same. Regardless of what horse you're on, you should never ride it to 0 mvs unless a) you're dismounting to run b) you're with a large group c) you're dismounting to chase.

3. They run too far. Running is not really about getting to safety, or about putting a maximum number of rooms between you and your enemy. Most of the time it is about deciding which room you want to be hit in next. If your enemy can't track, that often means a random room off the beaten path that has safe dlines. If they can track, it's often a room with mobs and good dlines. Mobs are useful in this case, not for doing damage but for stripping enemy leaders of their followers and slowing down their chase.

4. They use the wrong weave for the weather, or weave the wrong targets. The classic is weaving a mob, although I don't see this as much with moblead changes. My general strategy for targetting is: whoever will die in one weave, dreadlords, MVPs, anyone else.

5. They don't stick around. The classic example is channies hiting dusty or camp, and then going inside when the fight goes further north. This messes things up for DS, because they have to act like you're there, and for LS, because they have to act like you're not. General rule of thumb on any PKer is don't hit dusty if you're not willing to hit in Blight.

6. They get stabbed and charged, a lot. This happens because you're most likely to be targetted by stabbers and chargers (another good reason to start on hunters), and a lot of channies still weave unengaged. It's a real problem if your last stand at some mobs depends on a channie dishing out damage and she gets blicked while weaving unengaged.

7. They use weaves that end PK rather than weaves that get kills. If you show up in a big group, or with relatively even odds, and create zing, DS will leave. This will make your allies unhappy.

This is all very helpful stuff to know. Points 1 and 7, I'm fairly good at. I don't typically go up north with anything less than a warhorse, and I always carry food and water for emergency situations, in addition to having Create Food/Water. 7 has been harder to deal with, since, while I've tried to keep track of what works and what doesn't, opinions seem to vary pretty widely from person to person.

Point 4 has always been an issue; the requirements of a support setup, combined with a rather embarrassing 14 int, makes practicing northern-weather-appropriate weaves difficult. At the moment, the only really useful weave I've got for anything in the Blight is Flame Strike.

Most of the rest of it, I either didn't know, or am not good at. Knowing when, how and where to run, and staying in the fight, are things that have never really occurred to me. While I don't get stabbed very often, and I've never been charged, I'm not sure that it doesn't have more to do with blind luck than actual ability.

DS Hunter. Play. Die. You will learn on your own. There really is no way to teach PK. There are just basic tenets of PK that you have to learn yourself. A mentor/instructor might be able to help you with some 'maneuvers' or how to effectively retreat/chase to chokes etc..but you need to learn the below before you can even execute any of it.

I've started statting a DS hunter, and I have a low-level LS warrior that I can use as well, once I've leveled him.

What I'm looking for, as far as instruction, was someone who can tell me what it is that I don't know. I know that the actual learning is going to be on me, but there's so much information and terminology that I've never really known what it is that I needed to learn. As an example, most experienced PKers take it for granted that everyone knows what 'neon' and 'asaw' mean, while I honestly didn't have a clue until someone showed me.

1.) Zone Knowledge - Probably the most important. You don't have to memorize everything but probably good to know your basic spams then memorize rooms around chokes so you know where to dline/spam/chase in the chokey areas which will net you maximum kills and save you from dying. Northern PK is my domain. Outside of that I'm fairly awful at running and chasing. I just never took the time to learn any zones. The reason why Lykan is the best PKer this game has ever had is because of his incredible zone knowledge with a helping of a few of the below traits. He also learned from the best (me) so he had a solid foundation to build on.

2.) Mobility - as alluded to above, having a sense of how far you can chase/run effectively. Keeping some vials on you, stashing horses (something I never did) and paying attention to personal as well as horse mvs. Mobility is one of the most important factors in PK and why I believe LS to be much easier than DS.

3.) Learning who your fighting against and their playstyles in terms of how aggressive/conservative that player is.

4.) Knowing your character's limitations. Kryyg hitting a batt/beaten human at Malkier has shitty returns, I need to land a bash, then hope I hit, all the while hoping I don't get bashed first. Jestin hitting Malkier will net a spike regardless.

5.) Comrades - not only is it more fun but when you have reliable players with you, you can PK more effectively. Solo PK is garbage, group PK is where the fun and learning is.

6.) Rogues are trash. Don't waste your time fighting them.

Thank you, both Davor and Ecthus, for all of these. I'll study them, I'll commit them to memory, and as soon as I've got PK-ready characters, I'll put them into practice.

[Khahliana]

What I'm looking for, as far as instruction, was someone who can tell me what it is that I don't know. I know that the actual learning is going to be on me, but there's so much information and terminology that I've never really known what it is that I needed to learn. As an example, most experienced PKers take it for granted that everyone knows what 'neon' and 'asaw' mean, while I honestly didn't have a clue until someone showed me.

Supporting North PK is an excellent time to pay attention to narrates and write down anything that you don't know. For example if someone calls out a regroup point and you don't know where that is write it down. When the battle is over ask a knowledgeable person the questions that you came up with while you were supporting. Very often many who fight up north are more than willing to help you learn.

As you learn more, pay attention to how the battles go, the ebb and flow of them, and try to predict what will happen next. This can help you learn patterns of behavior and what to expect and anticipate.

[Sarryn]

As stated above best way to learn pk is just that, to pk. Sure you can learn how to dline, and certain setups things etc from others. But mainly it's repetition and zone knowledge. Get an abser on DS and learn. Or LS, but honestly LS as a side kind of sucks imo. DS has less zones, easy smobbing/gearing/generally less squabbling. And usually more reliable structure in pk.

From there just kinda learn from your losses and victories. Like if you die study what you could of done better. Or even in victory, there's always things you can learn and improve from. Progress from that to trying different setups and styles. And learn as you go. Basically how we've all been there. As a abser you will die a lot generally, don't let it discourage you. As a new player in general you will die a lot. Just learn and grow.

There's gonna be frustrating times and growing pains. A lot of players here have been here a long time. Have bonused chars, great equipment, zone knowledge, or groups at there backs. Just gotta learn what you can, when you can. Get a couple of absers to start and just keep at it. One dies use the other geared one etc. Rinse and repeat.

[Rig]

What Sarryn said. If you ever need equipment just let me know!

[Dolens]

What Sarryn said. If you ever need equipment just let me know!

I need 2 silver meds, 2 ornate shirts, 2 herons. Thanks in advance!

[Razhak]

When I am online, normally barrel in TKD will have basics and more then basics for the picking.

[granit]

my advice is to know when things have taken a turn for the worst and being able to recognize this and get out of dodge, regroup to mobs, and figure out how you're going to win.

If you don't have a clear idea as to how you're going to win, that's a good time to head out. Focus on learning to run and surviving first (even though it sounds dumb and boring, it's a common trait amongst the better pkers out there). I'm not saying run at the drop of a pin or if a cat farts down the street but, just be aware of when you're losing badly and give yourself enough hps and time to get out and regroup.

The other little additive is the other side of what I stated above: Don't be afraid to fight (know when to run and regroup to fight another day) but, don't be afraid to brawl and throw some damage. You will get a feel for what you can and can't do on your char with your setup. If you're on DS just group with the fade and they'll dictate this. If you're on LS, pay closer attention to my first point as you'll end up in a lot of blackhawk down situations where you're man on an island and nobody's gonna come help you reliably lol. Some will, but don't leave it up to others to protect your neck.