[Guide] Gladiator PVP .

Eeorbej Sat Jun 01, 2013 7:08 am

This guide is meant to educate any and all gladiators on how Gladiator should be used in PvP. To most people, Gladiator is just facerolling your keyboard. However, most people don't notice that after a while, your face will start to hurt and you will need to start using your hands.

There are several tips I can share to help you in your PvPing:

1) Get a chain set and put some MR in it. How much MR is up to you. If you want to resist debuffs and a few sorcerer spells, get MR or you will regret it.

2) Get an EXTEND WEAPON. It hits less, so what? I find myself using extend weapon 95% of the time in PvP and I'm very sure it's worth it.

3) MAKE KEYBINDS! I simply cannot stress this enough. I don't care who you are, where you're from, or what your dog's name is. Get keybinds set up and start using them. Clicking is simply not an option for gladiators to excel. If you think you pwn without keybinds, try using keybinds. You will pwn 10x more, guaranteed.

4) Using spear or greatsword is totally up to you. Spear is generally for those users with higher ping, and greatsword is for low ping.

5) You can build your gladiator two ways: to tank or DPS. With DPS, you should socket accuracy and crit. For tank, socket MR or parry. I do not suggest using parry simply because gladiators already have defensive buffs, and socketing parry can be good, but overall, it's a waste.

6) I'm not going to tell you what you want crit/accu/mr/attack to be. It's your build. Don't copy someone else simply because they're a good player. Their build may not work for you.

7) Don't use UD in a 1v1 unless the opponent is a sorcerer or your opponent already has UD up.

Ultimately, how you choose to play gladiator is up to you.

Solo PvP

Gladiators can excel in solo PvP if they are used correctly. Gladiators can decently tank other players while maintaining a moderately-high DPS ratio.

I'll start with the classes that are easiest to PvP against, to the hardest:

Ranger: Rangers are the easiest class to fight against. They die the fastest and you can break their arrows before they reach you by using a defensive buff if you really need to. Rangers can not kite if you are using extend.
To start a battle with ranger, I usually use Tendon Slice followed by Lockdown.

Here is a video of how I usually handle rangers:

Assassin: This class is easy simply because they're broken. Any tactic works vs them, just keep an eye out on godstone procs and blinding burst. Don't stay in one place too long or you will get stunlocked.

Cleric: Clerics can be hard if you don't know how to take them down. Start by using weak skills to bring their HP to at least 50%. They may heal several times but if you're quick enough, you can take them to 50%, then stumble them and kill them before they can heal.

Chanters: Use the same strategy you used vs clerics. Chanter debuffs can not be resisted and are very tedious. Try to get them to use remove shock before you stumble them.

Gladiator: Gladiators are next. If they don't have extend then you can kite them fairly easy.

Templar: Most Templars are easy if you kite their buffs. Don't DPS them unless you know you're going to do some damage. Templar fights usually last at least two minutes. Spam Lockdown as much as possible and know when to use Dauntless Spirit. Dauntless Spirit allows you to resist their lures. If you see them use damage buffs, be ready for a lure. They are going to try to use BP.

Spiritmaster: I find SM's easier than sorcerers simply because they're easier to kill. Don't stumble them until their HP is at least 25% or they will insta-fear you.

Sorcerers: Sorcerers are easily the hardest class to kill for gladiator. You MUST go all-out on them or you WILL die. When fighting sorcerers, ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON THEIR BUFFS. They are going to use Wintry Armor and Boon of Iron Clad whether you like it or not.

If you are good with your keybinds, you can fight a sorcerer at 6 meters so wintry doesn't affect you.
To start a battle with a sorc, I usually use weak skills until I see a sleep spell or a nuke, then I use stumbles. Extends are a must when fighting sorcerers.

Here's how a battle with a weak sorcerer usually is:

Group PvP

There's not much to say about group PvP. Most of the time, gladiators are the MVP in group PvP. Their AoE's are invaluable when doing 6 vs 30. To start off a war, I like to spam AoE's in the middle of them, then run back and wait for those 10 lightbursts to hit me. After that, I either tab for sorcerers or defend healers.