Marvel Avengers Alliance PVP Guide: Getting Into The Adamantium League (PVP team/Combo and Offence-Defence Method)

POOR-MANS GUIDE to PVP

1. PVP Basics
2. Setting up your agent and your PVP wrecking crew. 
3. Handling popular hero combos
4. Preparing your AI Defense Team A.K.A Artificial Id*ots.

PVP Basics

There are 3 main factors that affect your stat bonuses during PVP fights in order of importance.

• Hero Bonus - This works just like the ISO-8 but it applies to your whole PVP team. If you have +300 HP on you Hero Bonus that would be +300 HP to your whole team. So acquire as many heroes as you can and level them up for higher bonus. At higher level this would be one of the most significant differentiating factor that could put your team in advantage. 
• ISO-8 - This is the easiest way to add bonus stats to your PVP heroes and agent. Getting the right ISO combination for the right job is your main goal. You can either follow some of the popular builds here. What you must put in mind when building your ISO is the purpose of character you are building. Do you need this character to be a super human shock absorber? Then maybe you should focus on HP DEF and EVA. You can play with the ISO Builder so you can easily see how much stat bonus you are going to get based on your ideal ISO build(without wasting precious silver). I'll leave this experiment to you. There is no one ultimate build because its always a matter of situation.
• PVP Armory Bonus - This one is a little tricky. I'm pretty sure this does not add directly to attack or defense. My theory is it just calculates the percentage of difference from both sides and add this to the team with higher bonus. i.e. Your team has 10,000 attack on pvp armory bonus, enemy team has 15,000 attack on armory bonus, so it would be around +50% more attack to the enemy team (some other factors may contribute such as level of agent). This is just a theory, but what im trying to point out is don't get intimidated with enemies with higher PVP Armory Bonus, unless its like twice of yours. Just flush all your item with good PVP bonus in your PVP armory.

Setting Up Your PVP TEAM

Let's first categorize the heroes according to actual usefulness in PVP and adaptability in battle situations.

HIGH TIER HEROES

• Scarlet Witch
  
  Pro - wears a swim suit with cape, high survival rate, high single damage output, very helpful AoE attacks and buffs/debuffs, very adaptable, can get out of a 3v1 situation
  Cons - very much dependent on chance/probability, needs 3 rounds to unleash full-potential
• Captain America WWII
  
  Pro - high survival rate, great first-round hero, single attack and aoe protection and counter-attacks, one of the best if not the best protector in the game, can amplify damage received by enemies, makes any hero become better in PVP
  Cons - senior citizen army veteran, limited damage potential, vulnerable to DoT unlike other protectors
• Emma Frost
  
  Pro - can be sold for a high price, high survival rate, one of the most difficult heroes to go against with, very adaptable, can get out of a 3v1 situation, one of the best AOE attacks, keeps opponent in their toes with her debuffs
  Cons - limited damage potential
• Mockingbird
  
  Pro - nice tights, very adaptable, can easily wipe out a whole team, has one of the best buff skill in game, capable of dealing very high damage
  Cons - med survival rate
• Spiderman
  
  Pro - high survival rate, can protect allies from AoE and single target attacks, very high evasion, great front-liner and team player, capable of counter-attacking
  Cons - low defense, unreliable protection (great irresponsibility), too flashy and girly acrobatic attacks

MID TIER HEROES

• Colossus
  
  Pro - high survival rate, single target protection, very high defense capability, resistance against DoTs, crit resistance
  Cons - very low accuracy, limited damage potential, needs consistent waxing
• Human Torch
  
  Pro - always invited for barbecues and grill, above average survival rate, can counter attack+DoT melee attackers, high to very high damage output, can heal himself, has nice set of attack skills, burning will heal him and increase his attack
  Cons - can have trouble with protectors
• Hulk
  
  Pro - extremely high damage output potential, great attack skills, can stun enemies
  Cons - needs assistance to scratch his back, rather squishy, can miss often, can easily be protected against, needs some time to unleash full-potential
• Thor
  
  Pro - very high damage output potential, great attack skills, great support buffs, capable of unleasing very high damage attacks that can OHKO even a whole team, resistance against DoTs
  Cons - not hard kill, can easily be protected against, needs some time to unleash full-potential, always carrying a 1000 ton hammer
• Ghost Rider
  
  Pro - only hero who has the balls to bring his ride in battle, great offensive skill set, capable of unleashing great damage output, has Penance Stare which is a very adaptable skill with high damage and cannot be protected against, notable survival skill that can even turn dangerous situation into an advantage, great DoT and debuffs
  Cons - needs quite sometime to unleash full potential
• Black Panther
  
  Pro - has one of the greatest self-buff in-game (IMO), has notable survival rate, can survive a disadvantageous situation if fully buffed, has ignore defense attack with DoT, able to debuff
  Cons - needs time to unleash full potential, will have a hard time picking his nose with vibranium claws
• Hercules
  
  Pro - very macho looking, great attack skill with debuff that can decrease opponents attack significantly, can protect against AoE and single attack, best counter attacks during protection buff, has AoE stun skill, has great self-buff, has 99 problems but stamina ain't one
  Cons - not very hard to kill, protection only last a round
• Magik
  
  Pro - looks like Lili (DAT Bangs) from Tekken, has high attack output, great follow ups and passives, great offense hero overall
  Cons - not very hard to kill, needs time to unleash full effect of skills
• Quick Silver
  
  Pro - he is fast, he is very fast, he makes fast people look not fast, 2 turns every round, stealthy attacks, counter-attacks, can do a OHKO if fully buffed, can AoE stun (best one ever), with proper ISO and buffing of attack, can wipeout a team in just 2-3 turns single handedly.
  Cons - not very hard to kill, takes time to produce significant damage, have trouble with shields protections like IW
• Gambit
  
  Pro - great passive support skill, AoE skill with debuff, can produce great damage output, always wins in casinos
  Cons - not very hard to kill, takes time to unleash full damage potential
• Invisible Woman
  
  Pro - has good survival skills, passive evasion, invisibility can still trigger even if spotted with LS, MS or TP, great defense-support hero with notable attack skills, has shield that increase teams survivability
  Cons - limited but not bad damage potential, shield is not that great unless you have FF alt suit for reactive shields, show us some skin
• Beast
  
  Pro - can cast combat expertise for all members, capable of counter attacking, can neutralize protectors and counter attackers, can remove class bonus from opponents
  Cons - OK damage output, not hard to kill, is blue
• Ms. Marvel
  
  Pro - sexy modern outfit, passive evade that grants extra turn if triggered, high damage output, can gain extra turns, stamina is not a problem, energy attacks are 50% reduced, can heal from energy attacks, very notable survival skills if used properly, adaptable, can survive disadvantageous situations like 2v1
  Cons - can easily be protected against by the likes of CA or Colossus
• Deadpool
  
  Pro - great costume, can use laptop during turns, can neutralize attacking skills of opponents when using laptop, can nerf and damage opponents while using laptop, has ignore defense attack, has great attack skill synergy, can debuff opponents and prevent buff, capable of taking a 3v1 situation if fully buffed and w/ Super Heroic
  Cons - can easily be protected against, not very hard to kill, mutilated face, needs sometime to unlock full potential
• Kitty Pride
  
  Pro - has a pet dragon, great survival skills, can produce significant damage output, can become invincible, great counter attacker
  Cons - without Phase can die pretty quickly
• Dr. Strange
  
  Pro - has el guapo mustache, great supportive and defensive skills, has good potential in PVP with his newly released modern suit, capable of high damage, has DoT, can heal allies, can cast a strong shield to any ally
  Cons - can easily be protected against, can easily die
• Storm
  
  Pro - can fly, has buff that grants high evasion for all allies, has powerful AoE skills
  Cons - needs time to make significant damage, Shroud's evasion chance is not that high and can easily be countered by AoE
• War Machine
  
  Pro - cooler looking that Iron Man, Blade Punch is great because of the ignore defense and critical, focused on dealing damage
  Cons - no survival skill whatsoever, dies pretty quickly, overall damage output can easily be overpowered by other heroes.
• Thing
  
  Pro - high survival capability, capable of being almost invincible, great counter attacking skill paired with his protective skill, resistance against DoTs
  Cons - has mediocre damage output, low accuracy and evasion, can't protect against AoE
• Rogue
  
  Pro - pretty cool hair style, high adaptability to class disadvantage situations, capable of being a powerhouse, can take out a whole team given a right situation, good damage output
  Cons - can be killed easily

BOTTOM TIER HEROES

• Iron Man
  
  Pro - good damage output, capable of extending its survivability, has AoE with Burning
  Cons - an average joe
• She-Hulk
  
  Pro - great first rounder, has good damage output, can stun
  Cons - can easily be protected against, not hard to kill, looks like a dude with long hair
• Cyclops
  
  Pro - actually has two eyes, pretty neat buff, capable of counter attacking, can produce high damage output, has AoE, great support especially with Pheonix Five suit
  Cons - a give away to kill
• Dare Devil
  
  Pro - immune to Blind because he is already blind, high critical and hit rate, high evasion, can counter attacks, notable survivability
  Cons - not very impressive damage, average scrapper
• Wolverine
  
  Pro - can stack Bleed pretty quickly, can regenerate health, capable of dealing good damage
  Cons - awkwardly easily killed, Adamantium made in China
• Pheonix
  
  Pro - great on getting around protectors, great last skill to counter heroes that relies on buffs and round build-ups, little to no trouble facing dodgers
  Cons - easy to kill without protector
• Mr. Fantastic
  
  Pro - can't think of any without the FF costume,
  Cons - very average and other tacticians are way better
• Sif
  
  Pro - resistant to DoT, can be devastating with its alt suit, great for Bleed party
  Cons - no significant strength
• Black Cat
  
  Pro - great for Bleed party, capable of doing high damage output, has some useful debuff
  Cons - can be killed easily, no significant strength
• Spiderwoman
  
  Pro - can counter attack with DoT effect, Phermones can reduce a party to non existent.
  Cons - Phermones needs to stack to do significant effect, average damage output
• Nightcrawler
  
  Pro - can not be countered, can set up a great combo attack
  Cons - can easily be killed without Shadow Guard, needs time to spread Dizzy before exploiting the Triple Threat
• Luke Cage
  
  Pro -
  Cons - 
• Iron First
  
  Pro -
  Cons - 
• Hawkeye
  
  Pro -
  Cons - 
• Black Widow
  
  Pro -
  Cons - 

OFFENSE PVP

SELECTING HERO CLASSES

The first thing you should consider when building a PVP team are the classes.

• Scrapper - Follow-up attack when attacking Infiltrator. Note: You still get follow up attack even if you attack other classes if you recently attacked/been attacked by an Infiltrator.
  
• Infiltrator - Combat reflexes and counter attacks a Tactician. Combat Refelexes gains 30% attack on when counter attacking and makes all your attacks stealthy. Pretty handy.
  
• Tactician - Gains extra turn when attacking Blasters.
  
• Blaster - Attacks against Bruisers ignore defense and always crits
  
• Bruiser - Gains Enraged when attacking/attacked by Scrappers. This Enraged Bruisers can get out of hand if you don't have ignore defense attacks. they can add up to +200 to atk and def
  

I'll discuss a couple of strategy on choosing the class of heroes to put in PVP and types of strategy.

1. Defensive Circle - Select the classes that covers up the weakness of the others.
   
   i.e. Scrapper-Tactician-Blaster or Infiltrator-Bruiser-Tactician - you'll get the idea.
2. Contemporary Heroes - Set up a team that counters the most common PVP set up classes.
   
   If you're sick of Tactician CA appearing in every battle. Why not counter him with Infiltrator Spiderman. You don't know who you might go against with, but if 90% of those battle includes a tactician, then it might be a good idea to bring an infiltrator. That means you have a 90% chance to get the advantage. 

SETTING UP YOUR AGENT
POOR-MANS GUIDE TO ADAMANTIUM LEAGUE
From here on, these information is tailored for those non-gold buyers and medium gold buyers. The purpose of this article to help those small time hit the big time. (Because fortunately we don't have to teach those heavy gold users to buy 36 pieces of Ankle Biters to put in their PVP Armory)

Cheap PVP Gears

• Magnetic Field Generator
  great way of getting extra turns, now that QJ got nerfed again this might be a better option in some situations
• Digital Decoy
  cheap gear to increase your survival and avoid those heavy damage single attack like Coulson's Revenge
• Curative Reach
  for survival purposes, can turn a situation in opposite direction if used properly
• Sudden Support
  poor-mans Chrono Overdrive, this is great because you can also use it to amplify your healing power with Curative Reach not to mention it ads huge buff to your accuracy for attacking =)
• Laser Spotter
  will get you through any CA, Spidey, IW, SW situation almost every time
• Target Painter
  works like LS, last shorter but with crits

Notable PVP Weapons

• Ignore Defense Weapons
  if you can, bring a weapon with this attribute to easily kill protectors like CA, Colossus and such.
• Stealthy/Psychic
  if you happen to have a Goblin Glider it would be a nice addition for your PVP gear, you can snipe any opponent and get a Class Bonus, i.e. if you are a Tactician you can snipe those Blasters hiding behind protectors and get your extra turn =)
• High Damage + High Critical
  you can use this instead of Ignore Defense Weapons if you feel its much more reliable
• Counter-Attack
  this is a nice weapon for support agents, since you won't be using your turn to attack, you can still deal damage when you are being attacked with AoE or Single Attack

CHOOSING YOUR AGENTS CLASS

This depends on your purpose and team members as mentioned before. I prefer scrapper since i can almost always 1 hit kill any infiltrator in PVP which is a very common class, and then I can still keep may Close Combat buff for the next attack so probably another 1 hit kill.

HOW TO HANDLE POPULAR COMBO HEROES

• Any team with Captain America
  
  Well as if you have a choice. Kill Captain America first, but this task becomes hell if you don't have the proper gear. CA will just block and counter until you die.
  The secret? Laser Spotter. Its works like a nerf-bat for the likes of CA, he still gets to counter but your attacks won't get blocked or miss.
  
  You're welcome.
• Any team with Emma Frost
  
  Well the obvious choice here is leave her for last. He takes a lot of time to kill but can do minimal help to her allies aside from the migraine and real life head ache.
  
  Always play safe when you are fighting her. Heal if you have to because there are moments that you think you can kill her but then her Diamond Body resist to give in and then turns the table around. Also, be aware of the mental anguish before you hit attack, play safe even if it bores you to death killing her.
  
  Update: DoT's kinda work pretty nice against her since with the new patch because she can't remove buffs passively anymore, also if you have follow up attacks, it will damage her normally. So basically if you go against an Infiltrator EF and you have a scrapper, she wouldn't be much of a trouble, because the follow up attack will always hit its normal damage.
• Any team with Scarlet Witch
  
  If SW don't have any protector? Kill her first of course if you have the fire power. But again her Reality Warping might change the game. So this is where the poor-mans nerf-bat comes into play. Laser Spotter that witch! Even if you are hexed you still get to hit her but the backfire still might happen.
  
  Again you're welcome.
• Any team with Spiderman
  
  For me as a scrapper agent with SBP and LS I just squish that bug. I hope they don't make the LS Gold Priced because of my thread LOL.
• Any team with Ghost Rider
  
  If the other hero and agent aren't a much of a threat. Get GR first. But If the agent is too arrogant to put his Coulson on the first weapon slot, then that is a good sign that you have to kill it first. If he happens to be with CA. Look at the CA section above. Be aware that he can survive a killing blow 50% of the time. I died 2v1 because he survived 8 times in a row and thats very disappointing. So play it safe when you encounter him.
• Any team with Magik
  
  Magik has pretty decent damage and hurts if she crits, her AI doesn't use any other skill most of the time except for her first skill, but her Fiery skill procs like crazy, even if you kill her, her party member can still cast the Fiery skill, so since you already know what to expect from Magik, you can make a better plan of whether whom to take out first.
• Any team with Colossus
  
  P5 Colossus is just plain annoying. Put CA with him and the AI just procs the Guardian sh*t all over the place. If CA is with him obviously CA first. But if no CA and he still have not yet used his Steel Curtain, get anyone that you can kill before Colossus gets his turn. It would be a waste if time if you squandered your whole round trying to kill Colossus and then he survives.
• Any team with Invisible Woman
  
  So it seems that the LS, MS and TP won't work with Invisibility but you can still use it so she can't dodge normally, you can use DoT, obviously its better to use weapons with ignore shield against her, GR's penance stare would eat her alive, and also Magiks first attack can easily hit her if Invisibility is not triggered, attacks with ignore defense work well because you can just shatter the shield. Scrapper agents normally wont have problem with her.
• Any team with Human Torch
  
  Laser Spotter can do lot in this battle because you can be assured your ranged attacks will hit him for sure. If you are using CA and you got hit by Ring of Fire. Dont attack just rely on your counters, the protection from AOE is much more important than the damage CA can do, unless of course you can already kill someone with CA before he dies.
• Any team with Hulk
  
  Be a little careful with the Hulk don't make him angry too much, and if you do, make sure you can make him go to sleep in a round. Don't tease him with attacks and then back off. If you have CA in your team it would be easier to handle him. And to make sure always use LS even for Hulk because apparently he can dodge my high accuracy SW out of nowhere! Play safe when you are against this green giant.
• Any team with Thor
  
  Thor is one scary hero for the AI to handle. So if you can go for him first. It's easy to take him out if he doesn't have any protector. Just don't let him survive more than round 2 if you can. If you have CA in your team or Spidey you a chance to survive when Thor calls his Thunder Skill, other wise you might get wiped out.

PREPARING A DEFENSE TEAM

Well how ever great you hero combination when you are playing PVP, it halves their effectiveness when used by the MAA AI. Who ever in-charge of the programming of the AI can suck it.

So obviously what you have to do is to set-up a team that can easily be handled by the AI. Don't use heroes that needs a lot of preparation like Black Panther for example. He is great when you use him, but he is less than useless when AI uses him. AI don't know how to properly use his buff. Observe the behavior of AI during your encounters and you can see how well they can play in your team. 

The best AI so far:

Captain America - this is the main reason he is overused and very popular in PVP. Not just because of his awesome skill, but because the AI can handle him quite nicely. Since his skills are no-brainer which in this case suits the AI with no brain. And mostly because he is the only one that can protect from AoE attacks at the start of battle.

Scarlet Witch - Good thing about her is that all of her skill which ever she prefers to use will be useful to the whole team. And she always prioritize her Probability Field and Chaotic Shield whenever they are ready to use. Paired with her Hex and passive evades, she can kill a whole team on her own.

Emma Frost - Same reason on SC. Which ever skill she use it will benefit the team. That's the main goal in setting up an AI team.

Torch - Torch is sometimes hit and miss when it comes to AI. He is a good nuker but sometimes makes bad decisions when handled by AI. Like using Flame Stream twice in the same opponent. But damage wise he is still worth it. 

Spiderman - He is a well tested and effective AI candidate. He is focused on counters and the skill he uses for offense is just perfect. One of the best AI because of the simplicity and usefulness of his skills.

Thor - His AI is pretty decent, so if you can protect him until round 2 or 3 you can almost guarantee a win during your offline PVP.

Invisible Woman - Skills used in PVP are quite great always using Force Volley and Shield, other than the isolated misuse of Force Cage she is one decent hero for Defense AI.

Magik - This is kinda awkward but the AI being unable to use Magik properly is an advantage, since AI Magik only uses her first skill, it ensures your team with consistent damage that always hits. And with all those follow up attacks that is shared through out the team, you can consider her being in your AI Defense Team.

Dr. Strange - He is a great hero for defense with those random recreating shields and healing, not to mention he can now use most of his skills as Quick Action, you can never go wrong with him as an AI, just partner him up with some good defenders also. 

Ghost Rider - His Infernal Contract can really save you in Offline Battles, and of course those stacking sins and Penance Stare can grant OHKO, and don't forget about those nasty DoTs and Melt Armor that can make a Protector less efficient in long battles.


WEIRD BUT USEFUL TIPS
Encapsulation

Put the least threatening gadget or weapon on your first slot. It doesn't have anything to do with the game itself but with the people who encounters your AI team in PVP. This is called encapsulation and also gives the opponent a big surprise later on. Don't flaunt your Coulson's as you will be considered a major threat and get targeted earlier than expected and then you'll not be able to use it anymore. Also I carelessly attacked a person with counter-weapons too many times because of this strategy.

Some Popular PVP Combo


Tactician Agent w/ Chain Tonfa, PO4, Deep Field Cannon, Hoarfrost Mace + Scrapper Black Cat + Tigra

Tactician Agent w/ Monstrosity (needs to be Subtle and Quick Action), Heroic Call, Isotope Cannon, The Doombringer + Spiderwoman + Bruiser Cap

Infiltrator Agent w/ Phoenix Flare, Heroic Call, Sudden Support, Sinister Scepter + Thor + Emma Frost

Infiltrator Agent w/ Phoenix Flare, PO4, Mechanical Mjolnir, Sudden Support + Thor + Emma Frost

Tactician Agent w/ Galvanic Arm, Eletrostatic Arm, Hoarfrost Mace + Sinister Scepter + Bruiser Thor + Blaster Storm


Scrapper Agent w/ Golden Screaming Eagle, Target Painter, Sudden Support, Only For Killing


or

Infiltrator Agent w/ The Knight, Sinister Scepter, Hex Wand, Loki's Scepter + Blaster Dr Strange + Ghost Rider

Generalist Agent w/ Vampiric Scepter, Barrowguard, Odin's Cane, Hoarfrost Mace + Tactician Dr Strange + Scarlet Witch

Bruiser Agent w/ Hoarfrost Mace, Momentum Generator, Girl's Best Friend, Scroll of Melsalam + Black Widow + Quicksilver