Long post The Complete Guide To PvP/Factions In Minecraft

[poryy]

Welcome. This is my PVP guide, for Minecraft vanilla PvP only. For those of you who think there are too many, please leave. The refreshments are down the hall in Room 410.

I aim for this to be different than other guides. In this guide, I will cover everything, from Potions to avoiding Donators.

First, some background. I have been playing Minecraft since 1.0.0, and have PvPed for as long as I bought the game. I (along with my clan) has achieved greatness on a number of servers.

Table Of Contents:

1. Pregame Questions

2. Starting Out

-Leaving Spawn

-Travelling Far

-Building a Base

3. Infrastructure and Resources

4. Equipment and Potions

-Armor

-Weapons

-Potions

5. The Art Of Enchanting

6. Elementary Raiding

-How To Find A Base

-Scouting A Base

-Raiding Rules

-Raiding Strategies

-Base Defense

7. Allies and Enemies, or Dealing With People.

8. PvP and Combat.

-Basic PvP.

-PvP Techniques.

9. Recovering From A Raid.

-Emergency Measures.

-Recovering.

Pregame Questions:

Before you want to join a PvP factions server, ask yourself three simple questions.

1. Which server will we join?

2. Who will be in my faction?

3. What will be our playstyle?

Which Server Will We Join?

Looking for a server to play on is not fun. However, it is absolutely necessary to winning in PvP.

Look for these things on a server page.

-What are the Donation rewards?

This shows you exactly how OP the donators will be on the server. If the server gives out /fly and god armor for $50.00 donations, it's not the server to play. Look for a server with small donation rewards, like colored text or a nickname.

-Does the staff PvP?

This shows you how often you will be raided without a chance to fight back. If there are rules such as "No raiding staff", but you see staff members spawncamping or raiding, don't join.

-What plugins do they have?

The last thing you should do is go on the server to test permissions. If /f create, /sethome, and /tpa are locked to default users, cross of that server on your list.

Once you have found a server to play PvP/Factions, join that server. Get basic gear from /kit (if it exists).

Do not leave spawn until you have answered the second question.

Who Will Be In Our Faction?

Once you have joined the server, start calling or Skyping friends you trust. The number 1 rule when recruiting members is never to recruit randoms from the server. A random will almost certainly raid you from the inside. Once you get a crew of at least 3 friends, answer the third question.

What will be our playstyle?

Playstyle is one of the most important things in a PvP/Faction server. Playstyle is the different between having a thriving faction, and having a lava crater spawn in your base.

Each player has a unique playstyle. Mine is very subtle. I build sprawling underground bases ten kilometers from spawn, and instead of PvPing I sneak in and steal valuables. Make sure your crew of friends agrees as to how they will play on the server.

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Starting Out:

Once you have found a server and gathered a team of friends, it is time to start playing. The first thing to do is scout out spawn. Where are the crafting tables? Is there an enchanting setup?

Scouting spawn can save you resources in useful utilities.

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Leaving Spawn:

The first proper gameplay thing to do is leave spawn. Most PvP servers will drop you into a war zone full of spawncampers, that will eventually reach wilderness. Always take the exit with the least spawncampers. A spawncamper will slaughter your crew, and cause you to lose valuable gear.

Once you have escaped the spawncampers surrounding spawn, it's time to run thousands of blocks, so have plenty of food.

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Traveling Far:

The second thing you do on any PvP/Faction server is the infamous "world run." First, pick a cardinal direction (NESW). Then, travel 1,000 blocks in that direction. After this, roll a die and multiply the result by 100. Travel that many blocks diagonally, away from spawn. When this is done, use /f list to find out the number of factions on the server. Multiply the number of factions by 500. Travel that amount of blocks, using the same evasive running method.

Remember to gather resources (Especially food and wood) as you go.

The absolute closest you should live to spawn is 3,000 blocks. If there is an ocean where you end, don't worry, just build a boat and go across.

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Building A Base:

Take a look at the terrain, and forget it. The best way to determine where a base should be is to randomly throw an ender pearl or egg in the area you are in. Once you have found a spot, dig down using the AntVenom method. (Stand in the middle of two blocks and dig them both, stop if you see lava.) Once you have reached a Y axis of at most 30, stop digging and build a hub room. Place some chests, crafting tables, and furnaces in here temporarily. You will have proper rooms soon.

The hub room should contain wooden doors that lead to other rooms. These doors force raiders to waste creeper eggs on them, giving you a slight chance of surviving.

Once the hub is done, build these rooms when you have the resources.

Smelting hub: (For smelting all of your resources)

Storage room: (For storing your items. For obvious reasons, this should be the most well protected room. A good base has many fake Storage rooms. REMEMBER: You can put some valuables in these rooms to make your rooms appear legit and not as decoys.)

Farms: (You should have a sugarcane and carrot farm. Sugarcane for paper and speed potions, carrots for food.)

Enchanting Room: (Make sure you have the maximum amount of bookshelves for Lv. 30 enchantments.)

Brewing Room: (For making splash potions of poison and harming. These bypass armor, so are good for killing donators.)

When your base is done, use /f autoclaim and start running around inside it. Remember to visit all rooms, and make sure there are no holes in the claim. When you are done, use /f autoclaim again to turn it off. Set your faction home in a secure room in the base using /f sethome.

Finally, completely fill up the entrance with stone and conceal it from the surface. The only way into your base should be /f home.

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Setting Up Infrastructure and Gathering Resources:

Before you go PvPing and raiding, you need an easy way to get materials. The main materials you need are PvP are diamond, obsidian, EXP, and TNT.

Diamond and obsidian are easy to find while mining. The best way to find diamond is to branch mine at layer 12. A good branch mine has branches in each direction, with two blocks between branches. Obsidian is created when water is poured onto lava, and can only be mined using a diamond pick axe. Obsidian is easy to find in caves, simply by pouring water into lava pools. A slightly more advanced method of getting obsidian is the "Obsidian Generator." This utilizes a bug to create obsidian from Redstone.

The best way to gain EXP is by building an EXP grinder. Simply find a zombie or skeleton spawner, and add a water system so the mobs fall down a 23 1/2 block drop, bringing them down to 1/2 heart health. Simply punch the mobs once to kill them, or wait for them to build up and throw a splash potion of healing.

Finally, TNT is the hardest essential resource to get. If your server sells creeper spawners, simply make a mob grinder with the creeper spawner, but if it doesn't, you will have to go hunting for creepers at night and in caves. Sand is easier to get than gunpowder, being found in lakes and deserts. It requires 4 sand and 5 gunpowder to make TNT, so you will need to farm a lot.

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Equipment and Potions:

PvP in Minecraft is a test of who has the best gear. The person with the higher framerate and better gear will always win a fight, no matter what. Therefore, it is your job to always have the best gear. Always be prepared for a fight.

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Armor:

The best armor is diamond armor, no question about it. However, enchanted iron armor is both cheaper and occasionally stronger. The rule of thumb is to only use the materials you have. If you can afford losing a suit of diamond armor, wear a suit of diamond armor. If not, wear armor.

There are 3 other types of armor, leather, gold, and chain mail. These are borderline useless in PvP, and should never be used.

Each set of armor costs 24 resources to make. This makes armor expensive, but worth the cost.

Armor is not infallible. Several weapons completely bypass armor. These weapons should be feared and respected. Each weapon will be detailed, along with a counter.

Splash Potions of Harming:

Does various amounts of damage, depending on level. SPoH are without question one of the most deadly anti-group weapons.

Counter- Speed and Agility. A SPoH has a small blast radius, so if you have equipped a potion of swiftness, use it to escape the potions. If you are hit, simply splash yourself with a potion of healing.

Splash Potions of Poison:

Another deadly anti-group weapon. Does damage over a period of time. Note that this can prevent you from sprinting, so be careful.

Counter: Milk Buckets. Drink milk to instantly remove all potion effects.

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Weapons:

There are three types of weapons in Minecraft. Swords, Ranged, and Misc.

Each weapon has a specific niche, so be sure to train in each weapon's use.

Swords:

Run of the mill melee weapons. Can be enchanted to do extra damage or knock enemies away. A diamond sword is absolutely required to be competitive. They are cheap, so make plenty.

Ranged:

Weapons like bows and snowballs. Capable of keeping enemies away from you, and killing them without them touching you. Bows are enchant able, but most other ranged weapons are not.

Bows are slightly more useful than snowballs for taking out targets, as their fully charged damage is higher than a sword. However, snowballs do massive damage to armor and have extremely high knockback.

Misc:

Miscellaneous Weapons covers weapons such as water and lava buckets. There are many types of miscellaneous weapons. However, the most useful are buckets and a flint and steel. Both items are extremely good for holding ground. Pouring water behind you as you retreat can keep away enemies that are chasing you, and pouring lava does the same thing, but with a higher chance of a kill. Flint and steel is used to lay a trail of fire behind you as you retreat, causing enemies to waste time drinking fire resistance potions.

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Potions:

Potions are extremely powerful in the right hands, as they are capable of providing buffs to allies and debuffs to enemies. Each potion will be covered, along with uses in battle.

Buffs:

Fire Resistance- Makes you completely immune to fire and lava damage for a time period. Always drink an elongated potion before battle or a raid.

Strength- Raises the base damage your attacks do.

Drink before a raid or throw on a group of allies.

Healing- Instantly recovers health. Splash on yourself or a group of allies while retreating.

Regeneration- Quickens health regeneration.

Drink elongated potion before battle or splash yourself with it during retreat.

Speed- Heightens speed. Splash on yourself while retreating. Great combined with invisibility.

Invisibility- Makes a player with no armor on invisible. This potion is good for making an escape. Simply switch your weapon to an empty slot and remove your armor, then splash yourself with the potion. Excellent combined with speed. Also good for scouting bases before a raid.

Night Vision- Gives you perfect vision in the dark. Has very limited use in battle. This should only be used when a battle is taking place in the dark, or when caving to avoid wasting coal.

Debuffs:

Poison- Does armor-ignoring damage over time to an enemy. Your attack should begin with one of these.

Harming- Does armor-ignoring damage to an enemy. Spam these potions at donators and people in god armor.

Weakness- Lowers an enemy's attack power.

Always throw one on an enemy while retreating.

Slowness- Lowers an enemy's speed. Throw one at the enemy at the start of a battle. This will make it impossible for him/her to escape, and make chasing you hard.

Potion Recipes:

It is imperative to know all potion recipes before PvPing.

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The Art Of Enchanting:

Enchantments are all but required to be competitive in PvP. Enchantments are received by placing an item in an enchanting table. However, there is an easier method, without risking your valuable gear. Simply enchant a book with your XP, rather than the item. If the enchantment is useful, combine the enchanted book with the item you wish to enchant in an anvil.

When enchanting books, always enchant at level 16+. Level 30 is not required to get the best enchantments.

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List of Enchantments with Min-Max Levels:

Armor:

Feather Falling- Reduces fall damage. Lv1-4

Protection- Reduces all-round damage. L1-4

Fire Protection- Reduces fire damage. L1-4

Projectile Protection- Reduces arrow damage. L1-4.

Aqua Affinity (Helmet)- Decreases underwater block breaking time. L1 Only.

Respiration (Helmet)- Increases underwater breathing time, enhances underwater visibility. L1-3.

Thorns- Does damage to attackers. L1-3.

Blast Protection- Reduces explosion damage. L1-4.

Notes: The best enchantments to use on any piece of armor are Protection 4 and Thorns, with Aqua Affinity on the helmet.

Swords:

Sharpness- Increases base damage. L1-5.

Bane of Arthopods- Increases damage to spiders, silverfish, and cave spiders. L1-5.

Smite- Increases base damage to "undead" mobs. L1-5.

Knockback- Adds more knockback to the weapon. L1-2.

Fire Aspect- Sets targets hit on fire. L1-2.

Looting- Causes mobs to drop more loot. L1-3.

Notes: The best enchantments are hands-down Sharpness, Fire Aspect, and if you can get it Unbreaking. BoA is essentially a waste of XP and Looting, and Smite are only useful for farming.

Tools:

Efficiency- Heightens block breaking speed. L1-5.

Fortune- Increases block drops. L1-3.

Unbreaking- Raises durability. L1-3z

Silk Touch- Causes all blocks to drop themselves, not by products. L1 only.

Notes: I run Efficiency 3, Unbreaking 3, and Fortune 3 on my pickaxe. Anything above Efficiency 3 gets ridiculous. Silk touch is only useful for getting grass blocks or saving ores to fortune later.

Bow:

Power- Raises base damage. L1-5.

Flame- Causes arrows to light targets on fire. L1 only.

Punch- Gives arrows additional knockback. L1-3.

Infinity- Firing arrows does not deplete inventory. L1 only.

Notes: Take Power 3-5, and Infinity. If you are facing foes with god weapons, take Punch as well. Flame is frivolous, as most PvPers drink Fire Resistance Potions.

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Elementary Raiding:

Raiding is the act of stealing resources from an enemy. There are many ways to raid. However, much preparation is required to perform a successful raid.

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How To Find A Base:

Finding a base is the first step in raiding. There are multiple methods of finding bases.

1. Buying coordinates:

On servers with economy, when you are ready to raid, ask in chat if anybody is selling coords. If somebody responds, ask them which faction's coordinates they are selling. If the price is reasonable, and the faction is worth raiding, say you want to buy. Remember to always say you will pay 1/2 up front, and 1/2 when you get to the base. If the base is already raided, is not worth raiding, or is not there, simply do not pay the other half. If it is there and raidable, pay up.

2. TPA Scamming:

This is a less scrupulous method of finding a base. First, empty your inventory and armor at home. Then, go to a wrecked base or desolate spot near spawn, as long as it is claimed by another faction. Then, yell into the chat that you are stuck in enemy territory and cannot escape. Ask somebody to go to spawn and use /tpahere. Then, do nothing for a while. They will forget about the request and go home to their base. In about five minutes, use /tpaccept. This will take you right to their base. Set home and log out.

3. Combing:

Combing is the hardest way to find bases. Simply put, it is leaving spawn straight in one cardinal direction until a base is located. This is excellent for locating people who have not read this Guide.

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Scouting a Base:

Scouting a base is the second step in a raid. Once you have located a suitable base, sethome and use /f home. Drop off all of your items, and drink an invisibility Potion. This is useful in case the owners of the base are online or come online. Then, explore the base. Make sure to look for chest rooms and other valuables.

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Raiding Rules:

Now it is time to raid the base you are at. But first, remember the 3 Rules of Raiding below.

1. Raiding is not Griefing.

A good raider should keep the base as intact as possible. This decreases the chance of the target faction rage quitting or moving, giving you more chances to raid them again.

2. Do Not Raid Newbies.

Newbies often do not have good gear, making raiding them a net loss in terms of TNT and weapons. Also, newbies may rage quit, giving Ku no chance to raid them when they are worth raiding.

3. Don't Be A Dick:

Don't do anything overtly evil. Killing horses is a classic dick move, as is TNTing everything.

This also covers personally insulting the people you are raiding.

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Raiding Strategies:

There are two main raiding strategies that work. It is always worth it to remember that minecraft supports "sneaking in and stealing stuff" more than actual raiding. However, raiding while the enemy is online is more fun, and more rewarding.

Method 1 - Zerging:

Zerging is the act of attacking an enemy base with maximum force and speed, like a less-offensive Blitzkrieg. A Zerg should open with TNT cannons breaking holes in defenses, and your clan mates pouring in. Expect some casualties among your clanmates.

Pros:

-The most fun you'll have on a PvP server.

-Tons of loot.

Cons:

-If done improperly, high casualties.

Method 2 - Ghosting:

This is a slightly less fun way of raiding, but with little risk. All you must do is raid the enemy faction while they are offline.

Pros:

-Free loot

Cons:

-Boring as all hell.

There may be some variations to these strategies, or combinations, such as using a Zerg to provide cover for a Ghost Attack. These are to be counted as Hybrid Raids.

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Defending your Base:

Defending your base is far harder than raiding a base. The only effective defense as of 1.7.9 is extreme distance and inaccessibility. If your base is 11 million blocks from spawn and buried in the middle of an ocean the size of Earth you should be fine. Skip this section.

Traps:

Traps are going to be your second-to-last line of defense. The two main traps are the lava floor and water floor. To set these up, simply rig all of your 2-block or 1-block wide hallways with concealed pistons in your walls. Wire this up to some Redstone. When you pull a lever, the floor will retract, dumping your foe into the water or lava. When they have fallen in, pull the lever again to reset the trap.

The water floor deserves special recognition as an easy way to get the raider's gear.

Remember that both traps are only effective against online raids and Zergs. The only defense against a Ghost attack is to be online all the time.

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Allies and Enemies, or Dealing With People:

Some people on a PvP server are allies, and most are enemies. This section teaches you how to identify them.

Allies- Allies are people who are in your faction, people who you personally know, and clan mates. Allies are occasionally as dangerous as enemies. Remember that allies are human too. An unhappy ally is more dangerous than 1,000 donators.

Unhappy allies may do things like give out your coordinates, or steal things from your faction. If this happens, kick them. If they betray you, they aren't worth it.

Enemies- Anybody else. Enemies will often actively try to raid you and kill you in PvP. Dealing with enemies is straightforward. Kill them first.

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High Value Targets (HVTs):

HVTs are players such as Donators or Staff. They often have extremely valuable gear, but are very dangerous. Always assume that if they are using enchanted gear, it has all possible enchantments at level 10.

Dealing with Donators:

Donators are OP beasts who have paid for the ability to slaughter normal people. They are often equipped with "God" armor. (Armor with all max enchantments.) Killing them is extremely hard, but gives you powerful gear.

Preparation:

-Swap out your good armor for Prot 1 Diamond or Iron.

-Stock your inventory with a splash potion of slowness 2, 6 splash potions of instant harming 2,

2 splash potions of poison, and a potion of fire resistance.

-Bring an opple. (Golden apple crafted with gold blocks.)

-Bring a bow with Punch II, and a sword with knockback II.

The fight:

Go to spawn and look for a spawncamper in enchanted diamond armor. Look for what he does when a person drops out of spawn. Does he attack by weaving and critting, or does he rush and spam click? Find out his fighting style. Do you want to attack him? If yes, quickly eat the opple, then when he looks away, immediately enderpearl right to him. First, splash him with Slowness II so he can't get away. Then, spam him with potions of poison. Make sure he gets affected by the poison. Then, crit him with your knockback sword. When he charges, keep spamming your Punch bow at him. After about 10 hits, begin throwing harming II potions at him. He should die after about 5 potions, and his items will be yours.

Dealing with Staff:

The staff of a server are those charged with enforcing the rules and banning hackers and people who cheat. Even though their duty is to be impartial, do not trust any staff member completely. A subtype of this is the abusive admin. Abusive Admins will use admin commands such as /tp and //replace to grief and raid. If you encounter an abusive admin, immediately log off and post a complaint on the server's thread or private forum. Remember to provide screenshots.

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PvP and Combat:

Again, PvP in Minecraft is a gear check. The person with the best gear and higher framerate will usually win. This part of the Guide covers 1-on-1 PvP.

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Basic PvP:

Basic PvP covers techniques and tips everybody should know to in order to be competitive.

1. Spam Clicking:

PvP in Minecraft is a clickfest, so a fast mouse click speed is imperative. Remember to alternatively spam right and left click. This lowers your the damage enemies do, and still allows you to attack.

2. Knockback Attacks:

The Knockback enchantment is not required to knock your enemies back long distances. Simply sprint at an enemy and spam click. The knockback will send them flying.

3. Critting:

Attacking while falling does extra damage to your enemy. If you jump during combat, you can milk some extra damage points out of the game.

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PvP Techniques:

There are several techniques for fighting in 1-v-1 PvP. These techniques will be sorted into 3 Sections.

Easy:

Break-Away Maneuver:

Hit the enemy with several Knockback attacks. While the enemy is still in the air, splash yourself with a speed 2 potion and retreat. Remember to zigzag to avoid arrows.

Medium:

Snowball Assault:

Fill your inventory with snowballs. Then, find an enemy and make him chase you. Run up a hill and start spamming snowballs. The constant stream of knockback will drain his armor's durability and cause fall damage.

EnderPearl Attack:

For this trick you will need two ender pearls. When an enemy is chasing you, throw an enderpearl far away. Immediately afterwards, throw an enderpearl directly at him and spam attack him. He will be too surprised to reply, and when he does the enderpearl thrown away will hit the ground, teleporting you there.

Hard:

Combat Engineering:

While an enemy is attacking you, build a glass wall between you and the enemy. Hit them with a knockback sword when they go around the edges of the wall. Keep the wall between you and the enemy. If done properly, this can kill an enemy with little damage sustained in return.

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How to Recover From a Raid:

Getting raided is a bad experience. You lose loot and resources, and your base is in all likelihood damaged or destroyed. This section of the Guide tells you how to recover your faction.

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Emergency Measures:

These measures should be in place before you get raided. Even if you have no formal enemies, always set up these measures just in case.

- A secondary base at least 2000 blocks from your current base.

This makes it easier to rebuild your faction in the event of a raid by safeguarding some of your stuff. When you first set it up, do not claim it. Remember to write down the coordinates. The secondary base should contain some supplies, and some backup farms and facilities.

-Ender Chests.

Have each faction member store some stuff in their ender chest. Your rarest items should be stored in an ender chest owned by somebody in your faction. Another person should store food and supplies in their ender chest for easy transition to the secondary base.

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Recovering:

If your base has been located or raided, immediately move and take your valuables with you. Withdraw the claim on your base, as well. The first thing you should do when you reach the new base is to unpack your supplies. Set up new arrangements to keep your supplies safe. Then, find out how your base got raided and remedy the weaknesses that it had.

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Conclusion:

Minecraft PvP is exciting and fun. You can learn things about base defense, and raiding feels great. If you play skillfully, and follow the Guide, you will be fine.

Note: Upgrading to Modded is in progress.

Edited May 25, 2014 by poryy

[poryy]

Yah, I understand you enjoy hammering the like buttons, but replying is what actually helps.