(A crucible is the end result when you're looking at something. When you boil everything down)
It's my opinion and conclusion that the complaints received about 1v1 PvP in W101 are entirely miss-directed. As W101 Is a strategy-turn based game, the dynamics of 1v1 PvP are extremely different than other traditional MMO’s. In terms of fairness, and which schools have the “Best spells!” it’s all hearsay psycho babble. The reality of it is that 1v1 PvP and all combat in W101 is more like a chess match than a duke it out MMO battle. You have to anticipate your opponents moves, not just go for the kill every time.
I think that the biggest issue in 1v1 PvP is not the difference in character level, but the difference in age/intelligence/predictability. If you’re not winning your matches, try a new strategy, because yours is not working. Maybe take notice, and really see the trends of which school you hate the most.
--Tips against Balance Let’s say you always lose against balance, okay? Now I suggest breaking down their strategy, and finding its faults. The strategy of Balance is actually the most plain/boring strategy I’ve seen, and is the EXACT same every time. Blade blade blade, trap trap feint, judgment. I don’t know how much more predictable that can get. The only variation in their strategy is which order they place their blades (and no matter what order they are placed, it makes no difference) So what is your defense against this? Weakness, Tower Shield, Earthquake, or cleanse ward. Is your opponent stacking up blades? Then Anticipate a big hit, and cast an earthquake before they get a chance to use their blades. Buy one from the treasure card vendor, and keep just 1 in your side deck for every battle.
Balance’s biggest attack boost is the feint spell. My advice would be to not tower shield until they have at least 1 ward on you (Hex, Feint, Curse) so that way your tower shield will not be wanded away for no cost to them. The longer you wait to casting tower shield on yourself (without getting hit by judgment) the better.
Okay, so you survived their Judgment, now what? My strategy is to cast an infection on them (-50% to next healing spell), and let them blade up again, and start slamming with any attack I can. They will be wasting their pips on healing, and for only half value at that. Also, if you’re any school other than lightning, a minion first round is ESSENTIAL. My minion has won many a PvP match for me. The sorcerer you are facing will be forced to either power nova to kill your minion (Wasting 7 of their judgment pips on it) or will have to use judgment on it (even better, left with no pips). If you are storm, perhaps invest in a few treasure minions from the bazaar. Cyclops is probably the best for PvP, as it traps, blades, heals, and donates pips.
--Making the PERFECT deck Alright, so your strategy is the same as mine, but you still lose all the time! Then your deck is wrong. You do not have the right amount of certain cards in it, and too many of the other. I would say 3/5 of my deck is defensive (shields and heals, and I consider earthquake a utility rather than damage) 1/5 attacks, and 1/5 blades or auras.
Despite what level you are, or how many cards your deck can hold, The best PvP deck for anyone that is not Ice is the Runewarden’s deck. It allows you to hold 5 of ANY card from ANY school in it. The reason why it’s the best? Because you can have 5 tower shields. And if you have tower shield, then you have to have the volcanic shield, which is in my opinion, the best 2-shield spell in the game, so you should also put 5 of those in, too. I also suggest taking life up until Satyr, putting 3 of them in, and putting 4 myth-death shields in your deck. You might be thinking this leaves you weak against ice and life? Well as it turns out, Ice and Life have the WEAKEST spells in the game, so of all the heavy hitting spells, theirs are the heaviest-less. Another pro-tip in building your deck is getting trained in reshuffle. Why? Because if you put two in your deck, and you discard the first one you see, you will never run out of cards, unless you discard the second one. (the first one always gets reshuffled back in). Put at least 2 of your school’s auras in your deck. If for nothing else, then to get rid of theirs! So what if your aura helps them gain healing, too. It just makes the playing field level again. If you’re not storm, and you’re up against a storm, with their aura up, you benefit from this in no way at all. And at least 4 minions. Treasure minions if you have to. Use a life wand, to get rid of Life dispel cards. My side deck at any given time consists of 2 satyrs, 3 of my school’s boosted treasure aura(bought from the bazaar), and 2 treasure earthquakes (which I rarely am forced to use)
I’m planning on making a few random ranked 1v1 videos of different strategies against different classes to hopefully be able to teach any wizard of any age how to become a warlord in ranked PvP! If this was any bit helpful in any way, let me know what you think, or if there’s a class you have trouble fighting against, and would like to know a great strategy, I’d love to share. Thank you for your time!
Christopher LegendCaster – level 50 Myth Warlord Valkoor DreamThief – level 50 Life Warlord Oran DarkBlade – Level 34 Ice Warlord
