10-13-2005, 04:58 PM
Well, for the first couple situations you posted - there's really no helping that. When the lowbie comes back with four friends, you're pretty much dead. Similarly when you encounter someone with a healer - especially at those levels, you cannot out-efficient or out-damage heals.
Winning solo fights, though is something different entirely.
Firstly, I'd recommend a respec. Arcane/Fire is good, but the jewels of PvP are all in the mid-range of the Arcane tree and not until very late in the fire tree. With your 22 talent points, I'd suggest 5 IAM, 5 Arcane Concentration, 5 IAE, 2 Imp Counterspell, 1 Evocation, 2 (focus, subtlety, imp mana shield, whatever) and 1 PoM, with the last point into improved fireball. PoM, Improved Counterspell and IAE give you the flexibility you need to win some of these fights.
Secondly, practice the instant turn for a while until you get good at it. It's important that you aren't using time keyboard turning.
For open-world PvP, chances are that you're going to be either ambushing someone who doesn't know you're there, or being ambushed by someone.
If you're attacking, try your best to burst down your target. Wind up a fireball before they see you, and follow it with a PoM fireball as you run toward them. Fireblast and Cone of Cold as you close range. With any luck, you should burn off 60+% of their life in that one volley. The object isn't just to kill them, though you're doing that. It's to cause panic, force mistakes. The best thing is to scare them into trying to run away. Since you can run at the same speed and have instant ranged attacks, someone trying to flee won't find much success.
If you get attacked, the first thing to remember is not to panic. Get time and distance. If you're attacked by melee, frost nova, take a couple steps, turn, and sheep. This gives you ten to fifteen seconds to bandage to full and set up. Against ranged attackers, just sheep, or if necessary, PoM sheep. At the least, the polymorph gives you time to get a fireball off.
After the initial stages, however, you get into what I consider the main form of mage combat, which is up close and personal. This applies after your initial volley when attacking, after your fireballing the sheep when you were attacked, and most of the time when you're dueling. The fact is, most classes are going to try to get close; and those that don't have greater advantages than you do by staying at range. Your main weapons in this combat are fireblast, cone of cold and instant arcane explosion. Fireblast and CoC; IAE when those two are on cooldown. Use Frost Nova whenever it comes up, and IAM if your mana's running low. Whenever possible, stay on the move to keep them facing away from you and blink at unpredictable times and directions to confuse them. This last bit is very much something you can only learn through experience, but these are the general ideas.
Winning solo fights, though is something different entirely.
Firstly, I'd recommend a respec. Arcane/Fire is good, but the jewels of PvP are all in the mid-range of the Arcane tree and not until very late in the fire tree. With your 22 talent points, I'd suggest 5 IAM, 5 Arcane Concentration, 5 IAE, 2 Imp Counterspell, 1 Evocation, 2 (focus, subtlety, imp mana shield, whatever) and 1 PoM, with the last point into improved fireball. PoM, Improved Counterspell and IAE give you the flexibility you need to win some of these fights.
Secondly, practice the instant turn for a while until you get good at it. It's important that you aren't using time keyboard turning.
For open-world PvP, chances are that you're going to be either ambushing someone who doesn't know you're there, or being ambushed by someone.
If you're attacking, try your best to burst down your target. Wind up a fireball before they see you, and follow it with a PoM fireball as you run toward them. Fireblast and Cone of Cold as you close range. With any luck, you should burn off 60+% of their life in that one volley. The object isn't just to kill them, though you're doing that. It's to cause panic, force mistakes. The best thing is to scare them into trying to run away. Since you can run at the same speed and have instant ranged attacks, someone trying to flee won't find much success.
If you get attacked, the first thing to remember is not to panic. Get time and distance. If you're attacked by melee, frost nova, take a couple steps, turn, and sheep. This gives you ten to fifteen seconds to bandage to full and set up. Against ranged attackers, just sheep, or if necessary, PoM sheep. At the least, the polymorph gives you time to get a fireball off.
After the initial stages, however, you get into what I consider the main form of mage combat, which is up close and personal. This applies after your initial volley when attacking, after your fireballing the sheep when you were attacked, and most of the time when you're dueling. The fact is, most classes are going to try to get close; and those that don't have greater advantages than you do by staying at range. Your main weapons in this combat are fireblast, cone of cold and instant arcane explosion. Fireblast and CoC; IAE when those two are on cooldown. Use Frost Nova whenever it comes up, and IAM if your mana's running low. Whenever possible, stay on the move to keep them facing away from you and blink at unpredictable times and directions to confuse them. This last bit is very much something you can only learn through experience, but these are the general ideas.