There are 3 main modes/type of PvP in Dragon Nest (Not refering to captain/respawn/rounds/ghoul/etc)
Compensation ON
Compensation OFF
Ladder PvP
Here are the things you MUST know regarding this 3 different forms of PvP in Dragon Nest.
1. Compensation ON
Gears/Enhancement Heraldries/Suffix don’t count.
What this means is, no matter how enhanced your gear is, be it +15 or +0, within the same class that you are, you will have the same dmg/hp/mp/crit/para/stun etc as anyone else.
Skill Heraldries DO WORK
Meaning equipping Half-Moon Slash Action Speed 50% does works in Compensation ON PvP
Same goes for all the other skill heraldries effect like cooldown reduction, dmg increase 20% etc.
All stats are normalized across the SAME class.
Meaning, swordmasters will have around 50kHP in Compensation ON PvP, and any other swordmaster who joins the game with compensation ON will have the same HP as you, if you’re a swordmaster.
Note that defensive classes like priest/paladins have higher hp/mp pool, and other classes like EL/FU/Acrobat/BM have a lower hp/mp pool.
Point is, across the same class, you will have the same stats, REGARDLESS of gears/heraldries/blahblah.
So what works?
The level of your skill affects the dmg/effect of your skill.
Meaning in Compensation ON, a Lvl1 Moonlight Splitter will do lesser damage than a player with Lvl2 Moonlight Splitter.
Therein lies the reason why there are pvp skill builds.
Also note that some skills for certain classes have additonal effects when they reach a certain level.
For eg, Stomp for mercenaries have increased slow when level past 4, and these increased slow effects do work on Compensation ON PvP
Skill Accessories crafted from Blacksmith Works!
Note that skill accessories do work in Compensation ON PvP as well as all the other 2 mentioned modes.
However, skill accessories DO NOT STACK.
Equipping TWO skill rings with +1 to provoking slam will not give you an increase of +2 to the level of the skill, only +1 will be applied.
Also note that skill accessories can help you increase the level of a certain skill PAST the highest possible level in the current level cap.
Eg. Lvl4 Provoking Slam is the max you can get normally at lvl40 cap.
Having a +1 Provoking Slam skill ring CAN get the skill to work as a Lvl5 provoking slam would. (Increase from 30% to 35% dmg taken)
In summary,
Only level of your skill(meaning your skill build) as well as skill accessories directly impact Compensation ON PvP
weapon/armor suffix do not work if you are still wondering
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Compensation OFF
This is actually very simple.
EVERYTHING works.
In lay man terms, simply treat your opponent or player you up against like you’re treating a monster.
The relevant values such as 850 final damage to deal 100% more damage at lvl40 cap applies.
Note many believe that FD is nerfed in PvP, but it is NOT in compensation OFF PvP.
Expect to deal 95% crit rate with 10-11k critical on players as well.
Note that the HP/MP you have is exactly what you have in PvE as well.
Meaning the gears/suffix works.
In other words,
Compensation OFF PvP is like PvP-ing using PvE rules/setting.
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Ladder PVP
For Ladder PvP, it works similarly to Compensation OFF PvP
But there are certain nerfs or soft-caps in place to make possibly make it more balanced.
Everything is the same except for the things mentioned below.
Final Damage - this stat is definitely nerfed. Watch the video below to see for yourself
Critical Stat - Crit rate is also nerfed to what I believe to be around 25%. Meaning there’s a soft-cap for crit rate at around 25% for Ladder PvP
Herein lies why people who are strong in PvE might not necessarily own in Ladder PvP.
So how to have an edge over players in Ladder PvP?
Ladder PvP Item Builds
Weapon Suffix (Knight/Restraint)
Armour Suffix (4/5 HP Set Definitely)
Pure Stat Builds
Knowing that FD and Crit builds are nerfed in Ladder PvP will thus mean that Pure Builds are actually more effective.
For eg.
Full STR Paralyse Build for Mercenary/Swordmaster
1 Strength gives 2.5Stun and 3 Paralyse
Hence going full strength build meant that you can have very high paralyse stat.
For the current cap, it is known that you need around 11k paralyse stat for you to have a high chance in flinching your opponents.
I wrote a 17k Paralyse quick item guide for a person who requested in the forums earlier, here it is:
get all 3rd stat para plates.
688 para x 7 = 4816 para available from plates
weapons with the para 13.5% potentials on both weapons (27%)
redemption plate = 20% paralyse + 1377 para
redemption sylvie ana ring x2? no para % on rings though 960x2 = 1920 para
overall para =( para from overall base strength + 4816+1377+1920) x 1.47
i’ll just use the strength with my str/agi crit build sm as a small gauge, which is 1220STR
overall para =( (1220x3) + 4816+1377+1920) x 1.47 = 17306 paralyze
there you have it.
meaning you need around 1200 base strength and all the above i’ve mentioned.
meaning 17k paralyze is achievable in 40 cap. this is based of 40 gears, hence it also means that at 50 cap you can achieve this and have tweaked out patk as well, since lvl50 accessories and lvl50 redemption plate will be available
For myself, I believe that having hp/knight/prefix will be sufficient for being competitive in Ladder PvP.