Getting started in PVP

There's a lot of people out there who are wanting to get started with PVP, but when the queue up they encounter well prepared murder teams that run them over like they weren't even there.  It can be discouraging to be progressing through the game feeling pretty much invincible, and in a blink of an eye you're down two team members wondering what happened.

Today, we're going to talk about getting started in this game with PVP.  Unlike my usual posts like featured teams and the like, this is meant more as a primer on where to spend your Gold, what heroes to buy early, and what kinds of things to focus on to get out of the early roadblocks.  Let's get to it!

Q:  I want a new hero/quick levels, should I spend Gold to get them now?

A:  If you want to PVP, absolutely not.  The only things you should spend your hard earned (or bought for that matter) gold on are PVP armory pages, Armory items, or good 64 gold items (such as Scrolls if they're available, passive buff Protect items for your agent, or other similarly good things with high pvp bonuses for when they're not useful anymore).

Q:  Should I spend the gold to level up my items?

A:  Only when you're ready to stop leveling, or at the level cap.  Otherwise, it's not worth it.

Q:  When should I start doing PVP?

A:  There's a few optimal levels, and they correspond with the levels where you can research and unlock new Armory pages.  Level 25, and level 60 are both good breakpoints, so let's talk about them.  It's worth noting that you should definitely PVP any time a tournament is up, even if you can't do super well it's not particularly hard to get to Gold tier and the extra gold is pretty helpful.

Benefits of starting at 26:

• You unlock the first bonus armory through research.
• Many teams are not ready to face people who have more armory pages than the default.
• There's no new ISO tier so you have some time with a level playing field.
• You can buy Curative Reach with research.
• It's really fast and easy to get to 26.

Drawbacks

• It costs 20 more gold to start with a full armory.
• You'll face a ton of Torch/Strange teams which is really frustrating and dull at times.
• Lots of the top tier teams are all extremely optimized sandbagging alts.

Benefits of starting at 60:

• There's yet another armory page through research, so the total cost of getting the remaining pages is low.
• Many teams are no longer using Strange/Torch exclusively so it's not as repetitive.

Drawbacks

• There's a new tier of ISO, so you need to do a lot of research before you can play on a level playing field.
• It'll take longer to get here.

I started seriously doing PVP at 60, because I didn't have the gold when I started out to get my armory pages, which is unfortunately quite important.  You can get by without them, but it's much harder.

Q: What are good heroes to buy early for pvp?

A:  There's a few really good pvp bargains at low levels, a couple of which have been mentioned earlier.  Dr Strange and the Human Torch are both very effective, and to make a good (aka PVP costume) team with them will cost a bargain 54CP for Tactician Strange, and either 75 (Blaster) or 89 CP (Bruiser) for Torch, although I actually suggest sticking with Blaster torch at low levels because so many other teams will be the same as yours, and you want to maximize winning the mirror match.

The other PVP bargains are Tactician Grey Suit Black Widow, who is still in my opinion one of the best PVP characters at 45cp. and Wolverine, who costs 90 but his alternate costumes are only a slight improvement over his default costume.  Other good PVP characters include Storm (93 Tactician, 80 Blaster), who has the additional benefit of being needed to unlock mission 4-4's epic boss for CP farming, and when available, the Iron Patriot costumes (either mode) and Tactician Mk 42 Iron Man.

I personally prefer using Tactician Widow and either Wolverine or Storm, but you can get good results from almost any combination of the above heroes early on.  The additional benefit of going those routes is that you need Wolverine and Storm to get access to some of the best low level agent gear.

Q:  Why does nobody use Bruisers?  My blasters never get to critical hit!

A:  Because your Blasters get to critical hit them, and at low levels blasters are everywhere.  You start to see Bruisers again once you hit the mid 70s-80s and the teams become more diverse.

Q:  What are good items starting out, and where/how can I get them?

A:  While the best PVP items typically are the 64 gold items, when starting out you won't have access to the best kinds of gear like that.  This list is designed to help you build a cohesive Agent without those items.

1.  "Snikt" and Sabertooth's Claws, both are from mission 4-6 (and require Wolverine to unlock).
2. Electromagnetic Shield, which is a random drop from the epic boss Magneto in 4-4.  You will need Storm to complete the deploys (as well as a few other any hero or type specific deploys).
3. Curative Reach, which requires Medical Response to be researched, from the store.  (Medical Response requires Healing Factor I, and Rejuvenating Energy, and is available at level 26).
4. Digital Decoy, which is researchable through Stasis Fields at level 52.
5. Custom Posessed Pistol, which is available through mission 8.5's epic boss, is quite strong, but will not be available when you're starting out.  However as you level it's one of the best non-gold offensive items you can get.
6. Power of Four.  From the Chapter 5 Premium Mission (requires War Machine).  Don't leave this item on when you're defending, it can lead to some free wins for your opponents, but when on offense it's excellent.

Often enough, you'll be playing a supporting Agent, and I find that a bleed item for sustained damage, and those two powerful support items, are a good starting point for low level agents.  The additional bonus of Magneto in 4-4 being the best place to farm CP's until you're nearly level 100 (in mission 12-2) is an added bonus of going that route.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below and I will try to address them in the coming weeks.