u/BashOuntz

Been doing PvP a bit recently, very fun! I’m level 200+ and my win ratio is certainly NOT impressive. But it’s a blast regardless. Something that continues to be a consistent issue for me though is I am consistently just a bit over 20 poise. I don’t like how armor looks, the cloth sets look way more cool in my personal opinion; so I favor my appearance over functionality.

A problem, if I’m going up against a mage? I can usually chase them down like an animal with rabies and just barely (sometimes) squeak out the win. Or someone with medium poise armor is like a 50-50. I lose a LOT. My trusty heavy warped axe isn’t much but it’s honest work. But HEAVY ARMOR. I COULD land a hit, yet they don’t flinch; and just immediately turn to remind me how foolish my strategy was as they give me a kiss on the forehead and then deliver the most vial slap that disintegrates my very being.

With all of this in mind, not sure what to do against high poise opponents? I can’t poise break them, but I don’t want to be annoying and run so I try to face them head on. I wait for an opening, and just when I thought I got the perfect hit; it even gives the little blood visuals and sound, they just then roll away with no damage taken. They KEEP getting away JUST barely. But on my end it registers something like a hit, I think?

Is there a ashe of war for this? I don’t wanna spam so I have just been using bloodhound step so I can get the affinity I want and I hardly ever use the skill. Apologies for the long, drawn out post this has been a problem that has driven me insane but I’m far too stubborn to give up my tarnished’s fashion.

I’ve been doing a bit of pvp recently, very fun! I don’t win much but it’s still amazing. Something I consistently keep wrestling with tho is the problem of ashes of war. I hear a complaints of spamming and how annoying some can be, broken or unfair? So I generally just use bloodhound step so I can choose the affinity I want and will rarely ever use it now.

A problem I run into tho, is playing with just my trusty warped axe and just fighting with no ashes of war is very… challenging. Specifically when my opponents will use their Ashe of war 3 times back to back, or a if they are very allusive. I have maybe a bit more than 20 more poise on average because I care about the fashion more than the function. I know it’s sort of stupid hit all heavy armor just is kind of…. Ugly? In my opinion at least. I like my character to be slim.

I also just don’t like armor. Cloth is cooler. I’m unsure what to do? I want to be fun to play against, but I also want to have fun. Is there an ash of war that has flexibility, so I can control it and is not just a pre-baked attack; and is actually fair and fun for the opposing player?

Basically, this is my first playthrough and I picked prisoner for some reason.

Whenever I play pvp though and someone uses a magic coat buff thing on their weapon I just think it looks cool. Like a light saber. My favorite in looks of all the elemental affinity based greases. So that got me thinking, could I theoritcally have a blade that sort of scale with a lot of magic or primarly magic, and just also buff it with Scholar's Armament? Would this make sense for my starter class, AND deal good damage? or would it basically do nothing to everyone? I dont know how common magic resistance is im pretty new to pvp and this game in general.

I just want the Scholar's Armament to actually have a purpose besides looking cool.

for more of an explnation, I feel like daggers and claws are the most satisfying to me and their animations just make the most sense to me for some reason. But I just can't seem to really have success in pvp. Below is the scenarios I find I hardly ever come out on top, and usually just end up getting brutally spanked. (apolgies for the long post)

- Spears/Halberds (if someone knows how to use their distance against me they can just run a bit and throw jabs from time to time and win. its smart I have no problem with it I just dont know what to do)

- Collassal Weapons (I feel like with my build it relies heavily on getting a good combo off, with collassal weapons though, if their running high poise and a big bonk I just get one hit and then my kneecaps are broken.)

- Powerful sorceries/incantations (I can usually counter a mage if I just catch them once. BUT. its the specific spell users that will activley run away and then use spells that near one shot. Not sure what to do. no disrespect against mages, only these specific ones)

- bows (I feel like im in monkey in the middle and their just slowly walking away from me throwing pots and shooting me and since they deal damage from range they have no reason to get close to me so I just sit there looking like a bafoon with 19 arrows stuck to my forehead.

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So in summary, close quarters, I feel I can win and its very fun! but I fall short in range. Is this player error? Is there anything I can use that will be useful, Ive considered throwing daggers but I feel that can still be annoying to the other player and I want them to have fun. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!

(also one specification, I do focus on how my character looks over the stats so I end up struggling in poise and resistances but I don't know how much this is affecting this?

My weapon before this was a talon claw with occult bleed, and bloodhound step it was a arcane build.

My main issue is regarding a lot of pvp. I want to be fun to play against and I really enjoyed claws for that reason. The primary issue with claws is it felt like I could never quite get the scaling super high? Nor could bleed every get to the speed at which I was super satisfied. I know scaling isn't EVERYTHING but seeing the S rating or the A rating just makes me feel satisfied.

I like weapons that have good recovery, so every attack doesn't feel like a gamble of if I'm getting hit or not. (this was another reason why I liked claws.) I also like fast weapons with short combos that works well bloodhound step as that is my go-to ash of war cause I think it looks cool. I also prefer bleed builds as it's just what im most familiar with and it's satisfying. If anyone has any suggestions, weapon class and or a specific weapon that you think would fit my playstyle that would be greatly appreciated!