PVP etiquette for newbies?

I've had my first invaders today in Undead Burg, I've only read about invaders to attack to get back their souls and humanity, so I figured they were pretty dirty fights. I've now read the wiki on general PVP etiquette, but there was something not mentioned that happened with 2 different invaders.

The first invader hit me while I was in the merchant menu! I expected nasty tactics, but dang. We duked it out on the stairs and then he ran off. Then I see him in the open area, with a bag on the ground. He waves and appears to point to it. Now, he smacked me while I was talking with the merchant, so of course I was wary approaching! But he let me grab it, and he cheered. Then he bowed several times, so I bowed back. We had a pretty awkward fight, he kept backstabbing me (I gotta learn to do that!) But somehow with my luck, I won in the end.

Shortly after, I had a second invader, and this time, he didn't attack right away. He bowed and dropped two bags of goodies. This was before I've read the wiki, so I was beginning to think, maybe he's giving me goodies to let him kill me so he gets his souls back, ha ha. He ran to the same open area and signaled for me. Well, I figured he wanted to kill me? So I approached slowly with my shield down, and then he "went home."


TL;DR --Is it common to drop stuff when you invade? (And they were items that made my eyes pop when I used them!) Should I nab that sorta thing right away? Is that rude? Are there signs to understand they want a 1 on 1 or can I summon help?

Thanks! Loving this game, even if I'm still stuck on the Taurus Demon.

Some invaders are nice, some are mean, some are just doing their job.

Items dropped can be traps, or people trying to give you something. It all really depends on the invader.

Just try not to get frustrated too much with the PvP. There are a lot of dirty tactics to be used in the game. Some people have their own codes of ethics others don't. It's a world full of strangers and it's interesting to see all the different situations.

Most people who invade prefer 1v1's in my experience. However, a lot of invaders of the forest like the challenge of 2v1's or 3v1's. Sometimes, invaders see new players and want to help them out by giving them some nice gear. For instance, prior to the patch, I liked to give away titanite Slabs because I had unlimited. However, dropping items can also be a trap. Sometimes, an invader will drop an item to bait you into getting backstabbed as you pick it up. The same can be done by hosts as well. When I drop items, I usually point down to it using a gesture, and then walk a distance away so the host is sure that I cannot attack him/her as he/she picks it up. Still, this is not fool-proof as there are ranged attacks. Thus, an invader can do this and then shoot at you as you pick it up. All in all, high risk, high reward.

Win. When it comes to invading, use every trick in the book.

do on to others as you want to be done is best bet, BUT when invading you are allowed to use minor ****,

As an invader, since I don't have that much to lose by invading, I try to be "honorable" 1v1's, which believe to mean:
- bow before/after a fight
- don't buff against Japanese players (unless you want them to backstab you as you use the buff, or want to get some hatemail). I'm not trying to stereotype, but every time I've gotten a lot of Japanese hatemail because of buffing.
- don't grief or hide behind enemies
- don't chainstab
- in 2v1's and 3v1's all is fair
Again, I'm not trying to push my values on anyone. I'm just saying.

As a host, since I would have more to lose, my opinion of what I should/shouldn't do changes slightly. For instance, if I'm questing and not looking for a fight, I'll try to get an invader to voluntarily leave. Failing that, I'll use everything to kill the invader. On the other hand, if I'm looking for a fight, I use the same manners that I do when invading, but wait for the invader to bow first.

BrotherBob wrote:As an invader, since I don't have that much to lose by invading, I try to be "honorable" 1v1's, which believe to mean:
- bow before/after a fight
- don't buff against Japanese players (unless you want them to backstab you as you use the buff, or want to get some hatemail). I'm not trying to stereotype, but every time I've gotten a lot of Japanese hatemail because of buffing.
- don't grief or hide behind enemies
- don't chainstab
- in 2v1's and 3v1's all is fair
.

That's how I do it, but I would add, "Give them 5 sec. to buff after bowing." I've never got hatemail because I buffed my weapon, and I buff it whenever I can.

WandererReece wrote:

BrotherBob wrote:As an invader, since I don't have that much to lose by invading, I try to be "honorable" 1v1's, which believe to mean:
- bow before/after a fight
- don't buff against Japanese players (unless you want them to backstab you as you use the buff, or want to get some hatemail). I'm not trying to stereotype, but every time I've gotten a lot of Japanese hatemail because of buffing.
- don't grief or hide behind enemies
- don't chainstab
- in 2v1's and 3v1's all is fair
.

That's how I do it, but I would add, "Give them 5 sec. to buff after bowing." I've never got hatemail because I buffed my weapon, and I buff it whenever I can.

To that effect, I'm just going to quote one of string of messages I got from a Japanese player (I'm omitting some parts of course because there's a lot): "I am [sick] of u bs-ing full giant boys.... how's about a fair fight? no bs, healing, buffs or overpowered armor?" So, when I invade the world of someone with a PSN ID that might be a Japanese player, I don't buff. Why? Sure, I'll probably win that fight, but when I invade again, I won't have the opportunity to buff.

FiskStillman wrote:The first invader hit me while I was in the merchant menu! I expected nasty tactics, but dang.

Assuming he didn't backstab you it sounds like he was just trying to wake you up. Seems like you got 2 pretty decent invaders.

Though gifting op weaps/slabs is another big problem in this game, but at least it's a well-intentioned problem.

The general Etiquette of duels (Not invasions however i apply these rules when i invade)

1. Bow at start/end of fight
2. Give roughly 3-5 seconds to buff
3. Don't chain BS

4. 2v1 and 3v1 are all gloves off (No better feeling then winning that 3v1 eh?)

5. when i invade a world with say a blue phantom there fighting the host i wait to see who loses If the blue phantom loses then i let hose heal and we fight if host dies...well free souls for me (This is a personal rule i apply to myself however you will find most Darkwraiths and or Darkmoons do not follow this as i do.

You shouldn't feel bad for buffing, it's in your build so why wouldn't you? It's like pumping faith to 50 and not use any miracles.

It's what you're using for that build so no one should feel like it's wrong that you're using buffs.

It all depends on it your doing a 1v1 or just randomly invading. If your doing a 1v1, use bow and other gestures and approach in single combat. If your'e just randomly invading, use any tactics you have, such as luring the host to enemies, and attacking them while they're distracted, or trick them into falling off a narrow ledge (I did that in Anor Londo You could also bide your time, or use your environment to your advantage (e.g. Sens Fortress. Make the enemy try to backstab you, and roll out of the way, but use Force or WoTG to knock them off the bridge.)

Just wave to the invader. 90% of them will wave back and let you buff and heal yourself if you are not on full health.