Succeeding at PVP – Steam Solo (2024)

Overview

In this guide, I’m going to give you some tips and tricks to survive PVP fights, primarily in the 1v1 arena.

Combo Defense

. The first thing you need to learn is the basic throws, block/Just Block, and proper stamina management. Running out of stamina makes you an easy target for ultimate attacks, and is extremely noticeable. Using dodges (shift for keyboard players) is a great tool if you happen to run out of stamina.

Just Guard is when you perfectly time a block to meet an attack. This can interrupt most strike attacks. Knowing how to use this can stun an opponent for just enough time to counterattack.

BIG TIP***** you CAN block EVERY type of attack in the game, except for escapes. What most new players don’t realize, though, is blocking a ‘hit’ (say you’re caught in a standard 10-12 hit kamehameha) takes stamina. Thus, blocking repeatedly will result in your demise by running out of stamina. I’ll assume everyone reading this TL;DR post knows the ins and outs of stamina recovery. You can also get really creative in blocking Ki-based attacks with your own Ki. This is done by performing a Ki super or ultimate attack in an attempt to overpower the enemy’s attack.

Throws can turn a combo around, just like Vanish/Instant Transmission. Learn how and when to throw, and the only way to do that is practice. Cut your teeth trying the more advanced moves in unranked 1v1. Learn your timing and reach of a throw, because that can save you. (Throws can interrupt super attacks and ultimate attacks, if they are interruptable).

Comboing

Combos. The bread and butter of fighting games. 9 times of 10, a player will try to end a combo with a Ki or Strike super, potentially an ultimate attack. We’ve gone over the basics of defending combos, now some tips on comboing itself.

W = Weak attack
S = Strong attack
KS = Ki Super
SS = Strike Super

Z-Souls and Gearing

Zsouls can straight up win you a fight, if you have a good one. Get the best z-soul to match your playstyle. Most players I’ve straight up destroyed in a bout lacked a sufficient z-soul to significantly enhance their fighting ability. I won’t give out ALL the secrets of the trade right away, but take the time to find a good z-soul that really fights with your preferred kit. Also, really LEARN how to use your z-soul properly. If you have Vegito’s z-soul, then you’re gonna spend most of your time in Super Saiyan, launching massive combo attacks and making the absolute most of your enhanced fighting power.

Transformations******** This is a big one. Okay, let’s assume you’re all big and bad with Super Saiyan 2. You get into a pvp fight, build your ki (preferrably to max) and then go SSJ2. Now you unleash an all-out offensive, but you weren’t able to kill your opponent.

KEY TIP*** EVERY TRANSFORMATION HAS A SIGNIFICANT DOWNSIDE. During the down-time of your Super Saiyan, you’re incredibly weak. Your Ki has been depleted. you’re out of stamina. you’re a freakin’ “Kill me now!” target. You need to strategically plan your use of SSJ2, Kaioken, or forgo it altogether if you must. Transformations give you X-amount of time as an incredible offensive weapon, but during the downtime, you’re incredibly weak and easy to beat up. This can turn the tide of a match within seconds.

Abilities & Gear — A lot of players pick the biggest, baddest attacks they possibly can. This allows them to straight up force-on-force overpower their opponent quickly. This will work against someone with half your experience (a newb). What you haven’t noticed, is most of these attacks have what I call an ‘escape time’. While you charge the attack, your opponent can easily get out of the way or dodge the ability. Big Bang Attack is the most abused one of them all. Kamehameha and its variants are a close 2nd. I LOVE when people use these abilities constantly, because their charge times (when used improperly) allows me to gain an advantage in position, dodge the attack, and close for a devastating counterattack.

TIP #1— I have 3 types of attacks that I use in my build. 1 that has a really short charge time, which allows me to follow up with combos and as a “get out of my face” ability. Again, I won’t reveal all my tricks, but this is crucial. My 2nd ability is my whammy. Get hit with this, and you’re missing 1/4 of your health. My 3rd ability is a situational. If I’m in 1v1, this is usually a combo finisher or a huge knockback. In teamfights, this is a team utility ability like Spirit Bomb/Super Spirit Bomb. My 4th choice is entirely based on my build, but I prefer a Ki Charging ability to use when I have time and space to keep Super Saiyan alive, or to get a quick bar of Ki in preparation for the next assault.

TIP #2 —- Ultimate attacks. This is entirely preferential, but use the attack that BEST compliments your toolkit. I greatly prefer nukes in this scenario, because my main is a Saiyan. This is the tip – your ultimate should compliment your inherent kit from your race. Saiyans have higher damage, thus I elect a massive damage ability that usually wins me the fight. DO NOT take abilities in PVP that have extremely long cast times. This will LOSE your fight.

Stat pooling

I don’t have SSJ4 Gogeta or Omega Shenron because I spent a significant amount of time collecting dragonballs to reset my attribute points and expirement with multiple builds to find a) the one that works for me as a player b) gives me the highest gain and advantage as a player.

TIP #1— I got beaten down in 1v1 by a Namekian with entirely Strike supers and max health. This was painful. I spent the entire match completely locked down by his health bar and his ability to chain his melee combinations together. He was exceptional as a fighter for one reason alone – he played to his race’s strengths, and he played a fighting style that suited him. His build was the final touch.

This is my current build-
HP – 30
Ki – 40
Stam – 40
Basic atk – 30
Strike – 0
Ki blast – 97 ——-> 237 pts.

I play to my strength, which is all-out offense. My z-soul is equipped to compliment this build by keeping me alive longer. I use Super Saiyan as a fight-ender (when I absolutely know that once I go Super Saiyan, the fight is over. I’m going to win).

Phases of Combat

I’ve broken a 1v1 fight into a few phases. DISCLAIMER #2**** PVP TAKES AN INHERENT KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO DODGE MOST EVERY SKILL USED IN THE GAME. THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EATING A SUPER SPIRIT BOMB AND DODGING IT, AKA 1/4 OF YOUR HEALTH.

Phase 1- The Vanish Rush- This phase consists of constant vanishing, kind of jabbing your opponent and forcing him to use a stamina-consuming escape. The goal of this phase is to force more escapes than you use, so that you can begin running some fierce combos. WATCH THAT STAMINA BAR! If you move in to finish a combo with 1% stamina and you burn it by flying, then your entire offensive was pointless unless you manage to get in your hitbox and deal some damage. During this phase, you want to feel out your opponent as well. Figure out what kind of build their using. Try to bait some of their supers so you don’t get surprised by one. (Before you engage in PvP, you should know how to use Vanish at whim.)

Phase 2- The Damage Rush- At this point, both players have exhausted their initial offensive strikes and play more defensively. At this point, you both have enough ki to really start using your supers. Watch out! Some Saiyans or high-stamina players like to pop their transformations here and try to gain a big lead in compensation for their lack of ability. If you get caught by SSJ2 Ulti spammers, then just play it safe, back off, and let them burn their ki. A fan favorite is going SSJ2 with a Ki restore capsule on standby, spamming big damage ultis with big hitboxes like Final Flash or Super Electric Barrage. Most of these players lack the intuition in knowing how to use these abilities properly. Take advantage of this.

Phase 3- Settling down & trading- You are GOING to take damage. The goal is to out-last your opponent, not completely annihilate them. If you’re lucky, you will have already won the fight in Phase 2 and you’re just looking to finish it. Most of the time, you’re going to come into this phase with a good chunk of HP missing and you’re low on stam/ki. Focus on comboing and preparing a good defense. Use some anticipation and try to sneak in a cheap super attack to keep them off guard. The focus of this phase is to do more damage than you take. THIS IS WHERE THE FIGHT IS TRULY WON!

Phase 4- Finishing- Too many times I’ve seen players get super excited when I’m on the ropes and try to finish WAY too early, using their ultis too quick or burning out a poorly timed transformation. An example- I fought an Earthling who managed to knick me down to about 10% hp. He was a decent player, and I was playing rather poorly, getting frustrated and making supid mistakes (hint hint- don’t lose your cool!). He started spamming abilities trying to finish me off, and I managed to make some good Just Guards, throws, and land some critical damage that evened the fight. I won with 5% hp to spare.

The trick to finishing is this- play like you’re about to lose the match. Play safe. Watch their healthbar. If they’re regenerating hp (Namekians, mostly) you need to close in and execute some good trades to mitigate that loss. Look for a good time to use that Ultimate Attack, potentially in conjunction with a transformation, and finish them off. THIS IS WHERE THE FIGHT IS TRULY LOST!

Final Comments

I hope everyone reading this with a thirst for player on player combat now understands Dragonball Xenoverse better. I look forward to fighting you online! My final comment is this- play the game. Cut your teeth in Parallel Quests, beat the game, and don’t just farm Super Saiyan (they’re all unlocked via main questline anyways smh). Beating the game and scoring Z on some difficult PQs, while practicing your combos and defenses, will help you understand the game that much more. Most importantly, when you feel ready for combat, don’t just jump straight into ranked matches. You need AT LEAST 20 hours or so of 1v1 unranked quick matches to really be ready for ranked. If you have any questions, just post a comment or send me a message via steam. I’m open for adds, and I’m always down to play some PQs with people. Most importantly, find players you like playing with and add them! Interacting with other players will open up new avenues for your abilities.

“I have to try! KAIOKEN TIMES FOUR!”