Minecraft PVP, it's the best. 
PVP in Minecraft is such a big thing that there are countless servers and minigames dedicated to the practice of it. What can be more entertaining than fighting another player?
 
It's very easy thing to pick up, but difficult to perfect.

After being on many servers only to see lots of players complain and insult themselves and other people because of their not-so-elite PVP skills, I've decided to write a tutorial to kick-start my profile on PMC. 

I've played Minecraft since mid-2011. I've been there, I've done that, I'm pretty good at PvP. I'm not the best, I'm not ridiculously good, I'm just good. Not bad. Fancy. Overpowered. At least, it depends on the game and who's playing. 

Note: This is all based on my experience, and what I do to gain the upper hand in a PVP match. This is a blog, not the utmost word of truth. So any suggestions, tips, or any other relevant info is appreciated. 




Stats: 

There are two types of tools people mainly use for PVP use. Swords and axes. Mainly swords, but axes can do the job. These tools have stats, very basic, simple stats that can be seen if you drag your mouse over them of how much DHI (damage to heart index) they inflict on your opponent. DHI is measured in half-hearts, not a full heart. 7 full hearts are 14 HALF HEARTS. Here are the complete stats for most PVP tools for when an opponent is UNARMORED. 
- Wood & Gold sword: 4-5 DHI, 11 when critical
- Stone sword: 5-6 DHI, 13 when critical
- Iron sword: 6-7 DHI, 15 when critical
- Diamond sword: 7-8 DHI, 17 when critical
                                                                             
Swords are made for PVP. You don't use a hammer for screws. Axes do                                                                             damage but significantly less.

- Wood & Gold axe: 4 DHI, 8 when critical
- Stone axe: 5 DHI, 9 when critical
- Iron axe: 6 DHI, 11 when critical
- Diamond axe: 7 DHI, 12 when critical

- Bows: 1-10 DHI depending on how far the arrow is drawn. 10 is max critical damage. 


Criticals Explained: 

Criticals are your friend in any PVP situation. They can devastate unarmored players, and make armored less formidable. Criticals are attacks that do extra damage, around 100-125% more than a normal hit. You can tell you've made a critical hit if sparks fly out from your opponent. Arrows that are fully charged have sparks trailing behind it. 

You can only make a critical hit when falling. If you ever see me in a PVP-type game, I jump a lot. This is so to get a critical every single time and finish my opponent down quick. 

My tip here is to jump whenever striking, as much as possible. Stay aggressive and keep at your opponent, it'll be over soon.

Blocking: 

Blocking is feature added in more recent Minecraft versions. Blocking effectively reduces any damage you take by 50%, and I think, but I may be wrong, can deflect arrows with a direct-block. 

Block-hitting is a thing people do when they hit both LMB and RMB simultaneously. It attacks the player, and blocks their strikes. So you do full damage, while taking half damage. Unless, of course, your opponent is block-hitting. It looks funny, it's annoying, and it's cheap. 


The Half-Circle Method: 

I was shown this technique by a friend after lots of humiliating losses of Minecraft Survival Games. It's almost flawless and can give you the upper hand quickly. 

The Half-Circle is when you charge at an opponent, but instead of going face-on, you strafe left / right and turn to the right / left so you end up either behind your opponent or on their side. You can always repeat this. Add some combos! The half-circle method is proven most effective with criticals added into it. Here's a diagram: 



See what I kind of mean? I think the main goal of PVP and the almost perfect way to win the battle is to stay behind your opponent. You never want to face them head on, or else the odds are left to who can hit faster. 

I know this may seem confusing, if you have any questions comment them below. 


Knockback: 
Knockback in Minecraft is one of the hardest things to overcome during a PvP match. Since I play in Quake Pro FOV, knockback feels like I get hit very far away from my opponent. 

This is where the Half-Circle method comes in. If your opponent can't hit you, knockback isn't a thing to worry about. If you don't like feeling you get crazy knockback, lower your FOV to about 90 or so. 

If you end up in front of your opponenet and they are hitting you, instead of continuing to charge forward only to get hit, back up. Start walking backwards and then do the half-circle. Don't give your opponent the upper-hand by default. 


Bows: 

Bows are awesome! They're versatile, they take a while to break, and they're fun. Being a demon archer in Minecraft takes practice, you can't just run around expecting to hit somebody. You need calculation. 

A tip to get better at bows, is to understand the basic physics of the arrow and lead your target. Your arrow will drop after a while, there is gravity. Use your reticle for arrows, it's obvious. Your arrow may not tell you exactly where it will land, but use your basic knowledge and predict. You have to be quick. If they're running towards the right, aim to the right, and shoot ahead of where they are running. LEAD. YOUR. TARGET. 

Check out this guy, his IGN is 5Doum. I play with him on rare occasions in Mineplex One in the Quiver. He is possibly one of the best bow shots I have ever seen, and leads on his target perfectly. If you wanna see what I mean, check out his perfect run below: 



Jump for better range and accuracy! ;)

Bows don't do as much damage, so add combos! Shoot twice, hit once. Hit thrice, shoot once. 

Opponent is Aiming at Me: 

This is annoying, and scary. Especially if you're playing an insta-kill gamemode like One in the Quiver. To avoid your opponent shooting you, confuse them and thwart their leading. Move right, move left. Act like you're moving left, but then move right, vice versa. The point is, confuse your enemy, and then make them your target. 

The good thing about insta-kill gamemodes is you don't need to draw your arrow too far for it to have results. 


Armor: 

Armor is a great way to block damage if you're not playing an insta-kill type game. The better the armor, the better the defenses. I'm not going to go too much into armor, because it's not an essential part of getting better at PVP. PVP is mostly offensive, but the defensive comes in the armor. Here are some stats to the defenses: 

- Full Leather Armor: Ignores 30% of damage inflicted
- Full Gold: Ignores 40% of damage inflicted
- Full Chain: Ignores 50%
- Full Iron: Ignores 65%
- Full Diamond: Ignores 80%

Looking up there, you can see how strong diamond armor is. If you are equipped with a full set, a strike from a diamond sword does half a heart. As much as a fist to an unarmored opponent! 


Conclusions: 

PVP is something to get used to. You can slay everyone in a server if you're good at it. There are no limits to your skill, it just takes time. 

Again, this blog is just a blog. If you have anything for me to add, just mention it! 

Use these tips as much as you can. Practice on your friends, monsters, cats, etc.. Eventually, you can become an elite on your server! Well known, feared, and respected. Results may vary.

Here are two of my many favorite servers which I feel are incredibly good for testing your PVP skills. 

Official Survival Games: By far, in my opinion, the server with the best survival games experience. Pure, simple, and to the point. Join these servers to test your all around PVP skills!

Mineplex: Mineplex is a minigame-type server. I highly recommend the One in the Quiver gamemode type to test your bow abilities. ( Arrows do insta-kill damage! :D )


THANKS FOR READING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FRONT PAGE!