My First Time in sPvP

The other night, Majyst informed me that there is a place in The Heart of the Mists where you can try on all the armor sets in the game. I was like, "WHAT? Really and for true??"

The real reason I went to sPvP...to try on clothes!
(But notice that Pol is there too.)

So of course I dropped everything and headed on in. I had to ask how to get there actually, since I first thought I had to press B, but that is WvWvW. You actually press H and then choose your PvP tab at the very bottom left. (This is where I also discovered I'm a bunny!) This takes you into the Heart of the Mists, which is really just a lobby of sorts for accessing the Structured Player versus Player matches, known as sPvP.

I made a beeline for the PvP lockers and opened them up. Oooh, a vain girl's dream! So many pretty clothes to try on! I literally previewed every single item of armor I could. I am just astounded by the artistic talent and creativity of the fashion designers of the game. Whoever put together these sets is truly gifted. I would be super-pumped to see any of these outfits in real life, maybe at ComicCon or wherever it is that those people make costumes based on their game toons. If I was better at sewing or welding or hot-glue-gunning I would make one of these costumes for Halloween. :D

The PvP Locker screen with all the amazing outfits to try on. I think I'm wearing the Sylvari cultural set in this picture. I left the colours as red & yellow, which were the colours I had on my default PvP gear.

After feeling all super-pretty for a while, I left to explore the little area I was in. There were vendors for gear and weapons and runes and sigils, all of which seemed to cost zero glory, but I figure that's cuz I was Rabbit level and it would unlock later. There were large areas set aside for fighting practice, including sparring partners of all classes, a forest full of golems for target practice, an underwater fighting area, and even a place to work on your trebuchet skills. (There were cannons there as well but I couldn't figure out how to work them.)

I also found the Dodge Roll Trainer 2000, a golem that spins his arms around and tries to remove your head from your neck. A neat addition, since dodging is a vital part of combat in this game and something that can save your butt...or your head!

Check out my melons! ;)

Trebuchet practice. Would be more fun if there were skritt or something out there, although the barrels did make an earth-shattering kaboom!

Dodge Roll Trainer 2000! Sooooo cool. :D

Majyst kicking my teammates tiny Asura butt!

I ported away when I was downed and ended up stuck in a bush.
A classic Spiral move!

My Death Breakdown.

I tried everything out, and then just said "Foo this!" and joined a sPvP match by visiting the PvP Browser NPC and selecting Play Now at the bottom left. It sticks you in a match based on your total glory earned.
The first match I did was over quick, as I guess I joined at the very end of the game. By the time I read the instruction screen at the start, my team had lost.
The game automatically tosses you in another match when your current match is over, so you don't have to go back to the NPC and choose again. The second match I was in, we actually won! I was pumped! I think I even killed someone, or maybe my leafy-dog did. It was crazy and hectic and stressful and fun.

After that, I invited Majyst to come play with me. I figured we might be able to join a server with zero players in it, and just duel each other. That actually worked for a bit, but then someone else joined in on my team and started attacking Majyst! I laughed and stood back and just admired Majyst and his lizard kicking the little guy's butt! Majyst commented, "That guy probably hates you now!" Doh. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed Majyst and I had the same guild tag.  :)

My time in sPvP ended with a typical Spiral fail-move. As a mesmer I have a cool downed move called Deception that teleports me away from my location and leaves a downed clone in my place. (Hmmm, just realized I may be giving away mesmer secrets to those who don't know about my class. Oh well.) Well, I teleported away into a bush. Yeah, totally stuck in the shrubberies! Had to do a stuck report cuz for some reason I couldn't use a waypoint. Truly, I'm not a lily-livered chicken...or whatever the botanical equivalent would be! :D

My final opinion on sPvP: good times! I think it would be loads of fun to go in there with a team of guildies and fight together, although I'm not sure that's possible. Also, all that gear that I previewed is unlockable only in PvP, because everyone knows you gotta look hot while kicking another player's butt. Or at least distract them with some boob while you stab them in the face. :)