the etiquette of buffs

hi all! don't' have any experience in this field and was wondering what the general etiquette on weapon buffs is. when is it appropriate? is frowned upon to use when invading? are some lesser buffs (i.e., great magic weapon) more acceptable to use in more situations? anyway, thanks for any input.

You can use buffs, be weary though.

Not everyone will wait for you to buff your weapon.

Also, it's not frowned upon at all.

Railage wrote:You can use buffs, be weary though.

Not everyone will wait for you to buff your weapon.

Also, it's not frowned upon at all.

great avatar! i had ron burgandy as mine previously +1.

When invading, I hear that proper etiquette includes letting the host buff their weapons after you exchange bows. Being the dirty Darkwraith that I am, I usually rush my opponents right after the bow. I figure that letting someone enchant a weapon freely is the same as letting them cast soul arrow at me.

its not looked down upon and etiquette is really not something you should worry about. im sure there are people who look down on it but its cause it kills them . but like some of the others said if i see someone cast slb or dmb i usally rush them and give them a wack or jumping r2. if someone trys the power within+buff i backstab them.

If I'm dueling I've been letting them buff, if I'm invading I'll typically let them buff once, if I'm being invaded and I seem them buffing I try to rush them.

Buffing is perfectly fine. However, I always backstab people who buff after they bow. When you bow, the fight has started, so expect to get hornet-ring'd.

see i dont always rush people i sometimes will give them one chance and see if they are buffing like a +10 weapon without any stats to scale with it then i kidna feel bad. but if someone has a great scythe and 40str40dex and casts power within then dmb+3 and then bows im going to backstab them.

I bow to signify i'm looking for duels, where waiting for an opponent to buff is fairly widely accepted.

Its not a breach of etiquette to buff btw.

If you need tips on when/how to buff and avoid being back stabbed, let me know. I'm no master but I'm pretty good at getting them off.

I get extremely irritated when what I'm expecting to be a duel turns into me being back stabbed while I buff. Hence I try to bow first so I can buff while they bow, or else only buff from a safe distance.

Follow up question on buff etiquette.
Here's the sequence:
I bow first
They bow, I cast SLB
They start casting CMW

Is it terrible of me to cast GMB while they are buffing? It's totally a counter-buff, and sometimes I feel guilty and don't cast it. Essentially it's reading your opponent (like choosing SLB/DMB based on their shield and armor), but it seems like a grey area.

I would say GMB is completely fair game. If they don't have some sort of back-up weapon than screw them, they have over-specialized and that is slow death. They should learn from it.

Back to the original questions though:
I let them buff any buff they want, as many times they want. Not because of etiquette but because it makes the fight interesting! Fighting a glass cannon can be fun as hell.

Why I don't let people buff:

- 20 Vitality
- Light Armor
- Potential to be OHKed by a Great clubs R1. (True story)

I'm too generous when people buff. Generally, it'll go like this:

- We both bow
- We both cast a weapon buff
- I go to charge my opponent, but he's eating a green blossom so I retreat to let him finish
- I go to charge my opponent, but he's casting Power Within so I retreat to let him finish

By the time my opponent had finished using his 3-4 buffs, I'm just thinking "Really? You're doing about 200% damage right now with increased stamina regeneration... I should've just put an end to this farce after 1 buff."