I stand by the principles of what was written here previously, however, it is now mid-August of 2023 and I will now give a greater effort to describe winning in PvP(of really any kind, but DS2 specifically.)

So, for starters, the game is solved; this is to say, the meta can't go anywhere and most players don't want to tryhard/sweat like they used to. The collective drive is no longer present, and I'm well-equipped for reading the room - especially this room. The people we tend to like and enjoy playing with, aka your average human being, is off playing Elden Ring with choppy frame times and laggy connections.

You read that correctly: They're gaming in a higher-latency environment on a newer game with newer hardware that isn't properly utilized by the game's engine or DX12. PvP in souls is dead, beyond stragglers in each keeping the meta alive and crushing newbies as they mistakenly leave themselves open to invasion or something.

I was never an invader(In DS2; in DS1 I invaded plenty). Invading another person's game is weak, as you're praying that you catch them in a disadvantageous circumstance; opportunistic gambling is not a winning strategy, I assure you, and you will discover this the hard way in the arena setting of this game.

There are even two "proof of concept" arenas beside the one with the wooden tower, the bridge and the walkway array. You can cling to opportunistic roots or you can accept that the most decisive moment of combat is the combat itself, no matter what.

Such is the beauty of animation cancels. The procedure for cancels in this game is trivial and fluid, absent in future titles. It is what gives the motoric connection to one's brain and allows a deeper level of human interaction; without it, you're just playing statistical rock-paper-scissors and will realize after enough time that every fight plays out exactly the same way.

I've spent about 2.5k hours PvPing in DS2 and can safely say that fights fall into one of five categories: Punk, Timid, Rage, Curious, and Random. You can guess how behaviors give us an archetype for what we're facing, based on emotes or how much attention is being paid to the game/your own actions.

These set the precedent for unique experiences every time, and I am shocked that Fromsoftware nor Bandai Namco saw the potential of PvP where antagonistic/negative energy is not some implicit forcing of this dark narrative about us as human beings. Shame that we lost our fun. Off to Fallout New Vegas modding I go.

Probably. I will keep instructions in simple form, so that they may be translated, and remain coherent.

If you like PvP but hate losing, this guide is for you. It is meant to change your perspective on victory and defeat, and give a new motivation to continue fighting other players, especially superior players.

By the way, lag will always happen when you fight someone from across the planet Earth. The speed of light is not infinity. Even if you're a great player, sometimes a laggy person will catch you with attacks from several meters away or even backstab you. To minimize this, I recommend restarting your modem or router often.

It really does not matter, except for one thing:

Keep your "equip load" under 40.0%. This makes two major differences in gameplay:

— Faster Stamina Regeneration
— Distance of your evasive roll

Your gear isn't the most important factor in PvP. What matters the most is actually your character stat-points. However, Flynn's Ring and Ring of Blades+2 can elevate almost any weapon into being viable, even with low stats.

Refer to this page and you will understand Agility, which determines your overall experience in the game: https://darksouls2.wiki.fextralife.com/Agility

For the sake of PvP, don't make a specific build, but instead, grind on ONE SINGLE CHARACTER. Make that character capable of diverse gameplay, rather than have 10 characters with completely different gear and stats. This is because you are able to re-distribute your stats at the Old Ladies at the start of the game, and because you will find switching between characters just to counter someone else's build is quite annoying and puts you at a disadvantage.

In short: You could level up your damage-scaling stats to around 50 in each, respectively. If you decide to level all of them up, you could find yourself significantly overleveled and have quite a significant statistical advantage. For the sake of fairness, you can opt out of using certain buffs or OP weapons, even taking off useful rings in order to eliminate your stat advantage.

The point of building characters in this way is to eliminate time needed to swap around builds, eliminate the statistical advantage of any opponents you come across who are themselves overleveled, and to play around with goofy non-viable weapons whenever the situation presents itself.

One specialization you could take advantage of: Flynn's ring. The lower your maximum equip load, the more damage boost you gain from the ring, up to +50. You gain a maximum benefit at 60.0 and below. So, you could save a lot of time by not leveling up your Vitality by much. You will have a damage advantage over most players by doing this, instead of relying on armor and defense points.

Let me give you the meat of the sandwich, then.

You will die, a lot. The worst thing you can do is get upset about it, because of the following:

— You will not enjoy your time playing the game
— You will change your playstyle adversely/negatively
— It will be a negative experience for those you are playing with
— Ultimately, you will never want to play the game again

When you die to another player, it could be due to mistakes you made, most of them unavoidable. But more than likely, the other player is more skilled, and has more experience in the game. Therefore, change your attitude now: You cannot easily beat players who have several hundred hours of experience in the game, while you have just started.

The PvP is based on fighting. Fighting is not a simple thing at all, in fact, it is one of the most complex and dynamic things humanity can do. If you want to "git gud" at PvP, then you have to get better at fighting.

Fighting is two parts: Physical, and psychological. If you ever quit, get angry, make excuses, or resort to only physical or only psychological aspects, then you have lost the fight. You have forfeited any of the benefits of participating. There is no longer a point to fighting if you don't want to see yourself and your opponent with clarity. You will simply never be victorious and more importantly, you will never learn in this state of mind.

Fighting other players is a genuinely unique experience. Everyone plays differently, and everyone presents a different type of challenge.

Start by recognizing the difference in style between two players that you have fought. Once you see the contrast between them, their individual strengths and weaknesses will become more obvious to you, and then you can start planning outside of battle.

Planning, however, takes some experience with the fight itself. So, throw yourself into matches and try things; See what methods can be utilized to evade attacks, counter attacks, or bait your opponent into making mistakes. Given enough time, you will memorize these aspects of the fight.

Even in defeat, you may have made one or two great moves on your opponent. So, recognize how your opponent took advantage of your own mistakes, and work on changing your style so that this can not be exploited.

Even when you're completely destroying your opponent, you can still analyze the pace of the fight itself, and how you can put additional pressure on them, or perhaps try new strategies that you have little practice with. Newer players will respond to advanced techniques much differently than skilled ones, however.

It is most important to learn how to deal with noobish techniques, rather than advanced techniques. After all, a noob will just do what they believe is the easiest, in order to win. A veteran will dance around and play with their opponents, usually forgetting the essential skills.

That's a huge mistake. You should realize that those who fight in real life have to put in an extraordinary amount of effort to make it to the professional level, and then even more effort to make a decent living off of it.

PvP is really no different, besides that it is simpler and requires less physical effort(none, actually.)

Put in the time and you will see results. It will not be quick, it will be work. Work is never fun, but it is ultimately rewarding. You will see personal progress the more you focus on making yourself a better fighter in this game. There is really no shortcut. Effort = result.