Side/rear positionals - Phoenix Freeshard

I have played primarily casters and it was not until recently that I tried some melee toons in RvR. My first question is, how do you pull off side positional against a person you are fighting 1v1?
My left hand is using W and S to move forward and backwards in addition to hitting various other keys for styles. My right hand is on the mouse targeting and turning. How do you quickly get to the target's side if they are using /face or /stick?

Any help is appreciated for this melee novice.

Mon 24 Sep 2018 6:27 PM by Kralin

One way is to abuse the mechanics and try to "run through" them and get your style off when you're on top of them before their character turns to face or stick you. This works better for rear styles than side but the same abuse mechanics should apply. I haven't personally tested this on Phoenix but it worked most of the time on Live.

Mon 24 Sep 2018 6:49 PM by colechar

Meaning, run through the opponent and just as you are past them, /face and try the rear positional? Makes sense. Does it work in PvE as well?
How about side positionals? Is there a strategy/trick to successfully use those 1v1?
I appreciate the feedback.

Thu 11 Oct 2018 6:02 AM by depth

colechar wrote: ↑
Mon 24 Sep 2018 6:49 PM
Meaning, run through the opponent and just as you are past them, /face and try the rear positional? Makes sense. Does it work in PvE as well?
How about side positionals? Is there a strategy/trick to successfully use those 1v1?
I appreciate the feedback.

I wouldn't consider that technique as abuse, as most people you encounter will be using it to land positionals. Side stuns are very prevalent source of stun so be on the lookout for them.

The easiest way for me personally is to run through the target and mouse turn, not /face, towards their center. The arc for side positionals, to my knowledge, is the widest hit box in the game, or so it feels, and is actually incredibly easy to hit. You should also consider using your side style as a follow up to your anytime, or off block/evade chain in the event that your character performs the necessary defensive manuever while trying for your positional. You can practice this technique on a training dummy until you feel you have the timing mastered. I would then suggest practicing with a friend in some /duels to get the feel of using it on a moving player. Have them do some duels entirely /stuck to you (lots of players fight entirely /stuck), and fights where they also move through, until you have a good feeling for the movement. Even good players will not land this all the time but with just a little practice you will feel a lot more confident in your own ability.

Thu 11 Oct 2018 1:56 PM by Ganaka

This game does not have collision. Though not having collision reduces the realism in the game, running through someone is not abuse.

You can hit the side positional attack before you get to the side. It will land correctly as long as you are to the side when it fires, goes off, executes, whatever you want to call it.

Thu 11 Oct 2018 6:38 PM by Dve

Just a small hint:
You actually don't have to "face" your target (meaning in both ways: once in using the actual Face command, and once in meaning your characer looking into the direction of the target). The reason for this is because your enemy's hitbox is actually so big, that you can even hit him after slightly walking through him. Part of his hitbox is still "in front" of you. The only thing you have to make sure for positional styles is, where your character is positioned from the perspective of your enemy (where the enemy is facing to!). By just moving slightly through your target, you are already standing behind (or to the side of) the centerpoint of your target. But because his hitbox is bigger than just the tiny center point, you can still hit him even without pressing the Face key or without turning around manually with your mouse.

Learn the sizes of the hitboxes, considerwhere you are positioned from the perspective of the enemy (compared to where he is facing to), and press your styles while the hitbox is still "in front" of you because if it's size. It does not really matter where you are facing to - only where the enemy is facing to and where you are.