Curse

crazybanshee · Jul 06, 2008, 02:35 AM // 02:35

I apologize if this has been done to death or is in the wrong section, but I see a lot of people with no idea how to play dragon arena competitively so I thought I could help. I'm not the best DA player but I'm pretty good most of the time. So if you can't seem to win at DA, here's some basic tips to help, and feel free to add any I miss.

Try to keep Trade Winds (skill #3) up at all times. Don't cast it if you're in range of the enemy tho, as this will get you killed. Its especially good for sprinting in, firing off a shot, and running away.

Don't use skill #2 imperial majesty. It's got a very specific use so leave it to the people who know when to use it. It'll mostly get you killed using it unless you do it right.

Learn to dodge/kite effectively. When people are shooting at you, they're not shooting where you were, they're shooting where you will be if you continue on your current trajectory. Don't dodge back and forth like a rabid pomeranian. Zig zag, change trajectory. When running look backwards and alter your direction when you see someone shooting at you.

When you're very outnumbered, run back to the ressurrection point. Your team will res every 30 seconds to help you. It's suicide to stay alone or outnumbered (as a general rule, if you're alone and there's more than 1 person you're outnumbered, if there's 2 of you and at least 4 of them run back etc)

Learn to res effectively. Your teammates will res on their own every 30 seconds. Never res when the enemy is around. Both you and the person you res will be helpless, and you'll make 2 easy kills. Res away from battle. Also, look for the other team to res their members as they will be helpless (and lots of people won't even be paying attention so they won't realize they're rezzed and won't move away)

Also, when you're rezzing a teammate, ping the res. To do that, click control and the res, so you'll say 'I'm using res signet on teammate name' so they have a warning.

Don't go near the enemy res point when they're going to res. They're immune to harm for a few seconds when they res, but they can kill you. I've seen teams get an instant 4 or 5 kills that way. Let them move away a few seconds then attack.

The best kill shots are the ones they don't see. Instead of attacking the guy in front of you, look for shots on people across the arena. They won't be expecting it and may not dodge. A good tactic is for one teammate who's good at dodging to run out and draw the enemy in. While people are chasing that person, they often won't look for other attacks.

Don't fall for the tactic where the enemy goes up on the high ground area and stays there. It's easier for them to hit you, than for you to hit them. A good dodger on your team can draw them out for a kill. Once you get a kill, just camp the res point and keep killing that person. The rest of their team will be forced to come out and fight in the open. Often they're not good at it, which is why they were hiding.

Also, some people like to fight on high ground. Its a personal choice. Most fights will end in the middle anyway, and being on high ground can trap you if you're not careful.

Lately I've seen entire teams cowering in the start area. The idea is for you to open yourself up to attack and keep them safe. It's often effective since people get annoyed and rush in and die. Try to draw them out. They'll try to res their people inside there. Try to kill them when they res. Hopefully one of theirs will have to res at the shrine. Once they do, camp that person and keep killing them. Often they have no skills, which is why they were hiding, and they make easy kills. The rest of the team will be forced out and can be killed quickly, because if they were any good at it they wouldn't be hiding behind a cheap gimmick.

Watch for people hiding behind posts and pillars. You can hide behind them, run out, take a shot, and hide again. You can also hide behind the res shrine, between the wall and the edge of the arena, which is good when you're outnumbered and waiting for your team to res.

Don't get involved in chatting so that you're not paying attention. Better yet, be a good sport and don't harass the other team. It's just a game. You win, you lose. The best players can be caught offguard and killed. Don't be a leaver either. If you have to leave, don't wait till a new round starts. As soon as the round is over, and you've been declared a winner, leave right away. That way your team will get assigned a new player. If you leave too late they'll have to play 1 player short.

*edit* to add don't all crowd together in one spot. It makes it harder to dodge (I use the mouse, and if I click on a player instead of the floor I won't dodge and I'll be killed) and makes it harder for you to kill the enemy. Spread out across the middle to give them more targets and make them cautious.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps.

MercenaryKnight · Jul 06, 2008, 02:40 AM // 02:40

If your a good dodging person and very skilled, don't be afraid to run in front of the enemy and take some of the heat. Generally, people like to just press c and hit the 1 skill whenever an enemy hits aggro bubble. So if you aren't confident in your teammates, go and tempt the enemy team to attack you and dodge so teammates can take them out.

Also, depending on how good you are I like to cross the bridge near the enemy spawn as a lonely person while my team is in the middle area. Generally one enemy will come to take me out, or if 2 or more come, you can atleast distract them while your team out numbers the rest.

Kyomi Tachibana · Jul 06, 2008, 02:47 AM // 02:47

Use the mouse to dodge and not WASD, clicking the ground allows you to change direction much faster, as well as not having the lag WASD does.

DarkNecrid · Jul 06, 2008, 03:10 AM // 03:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyomi Tachibana

Use the mouse to dodge and not WASD, clicking the ground allows you to change direction much faster, as well as not having the lag WASD does.

basically this

Makes or breaks games.

dread slayer · Jul 06, 2008, 03:11 AM // 03:11

I've been playing DA since it came out and I've never been horrible at it.

The only thing for me is to dodge and never attack, whenever someone or some people shoot balls, I slightly move left or right depending on how many balls are commin

Chris37320 · Jul 06, 2008, 03:53 AM // 03:53

Another good idea is to use "Cancel Action" if someone is gonna hit you with a dragon blast and your in mid cast.

afya · Jul 06, 2008, 04:04 AM // 04:04

Learn to dodge.
Run in.
Take some fires.
Dodge them.
Let teammates kill.
#1 and cancel to trigger enemy's attack.
Dodge and hit.
/cheer or /rank or /zrank

[DE] · Jul 06, 2008, 04:12 AM // 04:12

Top Five Tips

1. You can dodge without Trade Winds - although having it up 24/7 is extremely helpful it's not necessary

2. Lrn2Cancl - If you and an opponent are casting Dragon Blast at the same time it's much more beneficial to cancel, sidestep, and then return fire which will usually result in a kill. Canceling can also help to confuse the other team as to when you're going to actually throw the blast - as soon as they stop to put up trade winds it's GG

3. Kite Effectively - Click2Move and Zig Zag, running in the same direction is the worst way to kite as the Dragon Blast aims towards where you will be in 1.5 seconds assuming you run in a straight line

4. WATCH YOUR RADAR - the radar is extremely helpful in determining the positioning of you and your teammates. If you don't pay attention to it you'll most likely die much more often.

5. Use Obstacles - using pillars and high ground can be to your advantage but don't rely too much on them, a little bit of lag can make you think a pillars in the way of you and a dragon blast but don't be surprised when it connects for a cool 1000