Should I not be touching BGS until I'm higher level?

nemo3813b14_ESO

I have no one max level, all my characters are between 10-30. I've almost never done PVP in any mmo because it always just seems like a giant cluster [snip] of people throwing random abilities everywhere and I don't understand it in the least. But I want to get more into it so I've been trying to do BGS dailies but my god nothing I do on any of my characters does anything whatsoever, everyone seems to have massive amounts of health and take zero damage from anything I throw out and every single match ends up with one team steamrolling both other teams. I've tried watching videos, reading forums, everything, the problem I'm seeing is all these guides and videos all show of max level pvp, no one ever talks about 10-40 PVP. I have a Guardian(26), Necro(24), Nightblade(14) and DK(17 {though he is my crafter so most of my skills are in crafting for him at the moment}) and I get steamrolled with all of them. Should I not be doing BGS without a premade group? Should I not be doing them until I'm in the 40-50s? Should I only be doing PVP with certain specific skill builds? It seems like unless I min-max for PVP I don't stand a chance whatsoever.

I absolutely abhor the 4v4v4 BGS mechanic, it makes mmo pvp EVEN MORE of a cluster [snip] than it already was. I understand the whole game is on this quasi three faction thing but it just doesn't work in BGS and there is no reason you couldn't still have 4v4 matches. Cyro FvFvF is fine but in BGS it is literally the worst thing you could do.

While most of this probably just sounds like complaining, I am looking for tips, tricks, pointers, any kind of help to understand what I should or shouldn't be doing in PVP(specifically BGS) since that's how you get the daily which is mostly what i'm trying to do, just with less death and rage.

[edited for profanity bypass]

VaranisArano

You certainly can do BGs at this level, though like with most types of PVP, it's a steep learning curve. My experience learning was that I got steamrolled, built tanky, got steamrolled a little slower just enough that I could start to figure out what was killing me, and start to work out how to survive. Now I've been PVPing for years and...get steamrolled less.

Even experienced PVPers die a lot. I dunno if that helps the rage, but it make it easier for me to relax.

A couple of things to keep in mind with BGs that you may or may not be doing already:

1. Stick with your teammates. There is strength in numbers, especially if none of you are very comfortable with your builds while leveling. It also makes it a lot easier to make sure your teammates are getting the kills you assist with instead of the enemy teams kill-stealing.

2. Proactive healing. Most PVP players will have Heals Over Time and buffs running before they get into a fight, so they instantly heal some of the damage they take. It helps them recover quickly when they do take big hits. Vigor is great on stam-based characters.

3. Burst Damage/Pressure/Windows of Opportunity - When you say it feels like your opponents take no damage, part of its the proactive healing and buffing. Chances are, you are unloading your damage when they are buffed up and strong. It's frequently better to trying to pressure them with steady damage to run them out of resources until their defenses are down. Then, you capitalize on it with your burst damage. If you stick with your group, you can take extra advantage of numbers to pressure the opponent into giving you a window of opportunity to burst them down.

It's all a balancing act that you'll only learn through practice. It may help to think of it as offense/defense. A lot of PVPers will run a defensive backbar for when they want to turtle up, and an offensive bar for damage. And finally, it's easy for me to sit here and describe the basic ideas of PVP combat, but actually doing it takes lots and lots of practice with managing your resources and learning when you've got a good window to attack.

So really, I say go ahead and practice in BGs, even at your low level as long as you can have some fun with it. It's okay to die. You're learning!

divnyi

Do solo queue if you don't do that already.

Don't play from 1cp to 160cp, that's when you get off <50lvl queue and get into the world of pain. You need 2 5pc sets at the very least to compete, and all your gear will be outdated rapid fast as you get more and more CPs, until 160cp gear cap.

SkaraMinoc

I encourage you to start PvPing ASAP to get as much experience as you can. It will take time to build muscle memory around blocking, target selection, movement, etc. The faster you get over the initial learning curve the better. Your first few BGs will be frustrating and you will panic and die. This is normal. Don't get discouraged.



Deathmatch Battleground is the most fast-paced and arguably most difficult content in the game. I consider myself above average at PvP in MMOs and my first experience in battlegrounds wanted to make me quit. I expected at least 1:1 kd ratio and ended up something like 1:10. It was humbling.

Once you get past the initial learning curve and realize that PvP requires highly specialized builds, situational awareness, team coordination, tempo, etc. then it becomes much easier and enjoyable.

Stay with it, keep practing, and most importantly have fun learning and improving. Once you master a playstyle or build, ESO PvP is one of the most rewarding experiences in any MMO.

Iriidius

If you are below lvl 50 you get into u50 battlegrounds with only u50 players. Many players there are alts from experienced players and some players even create chars for u50 bg(with crafted gold gear every 10 levels) and delete them when they reach 50, but u50 bg are still easier than lvl50 battlegrounds.
Atm Battlegrounds u50 are harder and have longer queue time because there is only deathmatch battleground(only killing other players matters)

jaws343

PVP on low level is definitely achievable. But there are a large number of considerations to take into account.

I'd be very concerned that you just are not ready or properly geared for PVP. And properly geared doesn't even have to mean BIS sets and traits and what not, just level appropriate, complete sets. For example, I can craft a mag toon something like Seducers and Julianos, all in training trait, and wreck shop at level 10. Mostly because the gear is level appropriate.

Now, for the not ready aspect of this comment. I think a lot of players treat this game like Skyrim in a way. It's not uncommon to roll out multiple characters and spin up new ones before you even hit level 50 on your first one, I was guilty of it when I first started out. But what it really shows is that you haven't played any one character or class for anywhere near long enough to really understand how it functions or even how the game functions. In my example of having a level 10 character with level appropriate gear, I also have a slew of experience on every class in PVP that I can bring to bear on my level 10 character.

None of this is to say that you can't just jump right into PVP in the game, but the learning curve is pretty steep, and I would highly doubt you have proper enough gear setups for any of your characters given that you haven't even reached level 50 on any of them.

milllaurie

@nemo3813b14_ESO what platform/server are you on? I have a guild on PC/EU that specifically aims at hepling people get better at pvp. We are doing mostly solo/duo/small scale outnumbered pvp and we have trained loads of players!
I know the struggle, that's why I am trying to help people. Anything from setting up the build, to bash cancelling, to proper LoS, to best kiting-dumping spots, we teach everything 😉

WabanakiWarrior

Below 50 BGs is a blast man! In my experience it can be a really friendly way to get into pvp in this game. Crafted sets is a must. Find a guild with all the crafting stations and do some searching for the best possible combo, maybe try a few. You can't experiment like that and still be successful in the sweaty end game lobbies, live it up while you can

etchedpixels

If you do PvP with a pre-made group you will be grouped with other pre-made groups may of whom are four players in matching supporting gear, sat on discord with a leader calling everything - who to target, when to drop skills and ultimates to maximise effect etc. Level 50 bg also tends to be rather more serious players with near meta gear setups who have played a lot of PvP, so will mince anyone learning.

If you want to learn PvP then defintiely start at level 10 or so. It's a good idea anyway as there are some useful skills in PvP for PvE playing and the other way of grinding them is a rather tedious wandering around cyrodiiil repairing walls.

The best time of all is during one of the PvP based events because battlegrounds is then full of equally new people and you've got a sporting chance to learn a bit, as well as winning or coming second quite often because your team randomly got assigned more actual PvP players then the others.

heng14rwb17_ESO

PVP is serious business.
Your life depend on it.

HiImRex

If you’re totally new to the game, you should get to 50 first, and learn your basic game and class mechanics while grinding to 160 cp and grinding out basic pve and pvp gear sets (in that order)

Your best bet after that is to join a guild that is active in pvp and has people that can teach and guide you. Watch some YouTube videos as well to learn about eso pvp. GodZilla, Dottz Gaming, Deltia are some good helpful sources on YouTube.

Commandment

Don't listen to these people PVP is def fun 1-50. If you want, you can join a guild in which many people are into helping newcomers with starter sets. Get a decent starter set, and enter PVP. You will have a blast.

Don't worry about losing. It's just a game and shouldnt hurt your ego. Practice now and get better.