Archlord would not be Archlord if not for the continuous struggle for the highest frag count as player versus player is getting more and more competitive. It is common knowledge that the game was supposed to be very PvP oriented, yet some might find the whole experience a bit overwhelming. Therefore, it is important to know your way around early on, just enough to keep you on the side of caution and give the opportunity to learn more about the wondrous ways of player killing.

After all, you can attack and be attacked by players anytime, once you reach level 6, although PvP will not work in certain safe zones like villages and towns. To attack a player, you must left-click to select them and force an attack by holding [CTRL] and left-click the target again. Acting this way will change your target's condition by way of the color code, switching it to red. Unless your opponent was flagged as villain, you will receive a 1st attacker symbol above your head, changing your status to purple. You don't want to be purple every too often, since it will effectively mark you as a free target for the next 20 minutes, meaning that players will receive no penalty for fighting you.

The real fun begins with higher levels. Once you've passed the level 15 mark, you are eligible to attend the sermons of the dedicated PvP combat grounds, suggestively called Battle Squares. I'm talking about a regular arena free for all rules, where villain points and other previous penalties do not apply, so be sure to swing away at your enemies like there's no tomorrow. Watch your agro though, since the Battle Squares are also inhabited by particularly strong monsters. They're way more powerful than the regular counterparts found outside the arenas, comparable in strength to the ones encountered in dungeons. In fact, there are quests requiring you to kill Battle Square monsters, at the risk of being obliterated by the rest of the bloodthirsty player mob. You can enter the queue for a Battle Square by visiting a teleportation stone and selecting the appropriate option from the menu.

Limitations do apply since Archlord promotes fair fighting. Thus, killing players 4 levels or more below your current level will grant you 2 villain points. Once you accumulate enough, you get pretty nasty disadvantages, starting with the rogue title, at 40 villain points. Subsequently, things can get worse as you gain more and more bad reputation. Villain points can be removed by use of Pardon Scrolls. It's actually a turn-in quest which can be completed at the Pardoner NPC, located in some towns and villages. Just like they did in the dark ages, you need to pay quite a good amount of cash for absolution, with a rate of 10 villain points per 50 pardon scrolls. These items are really rare and your rogue status will last another 2 hours once you successfully redeemed yourself in the eye of the law. All previous rogue levels are stackable.

- Level 1 Rogue starts at 40 Villain Points: Trading between players is disabled, guards will attack you, partying with other players is disabled and you will drop more items upon PvP death.
- Level 2 Rogue starts at 60 Villain Points: Trading with all NPCs and the Auction House is disabled.
- Level 3 Rogue starts at 100 Villain Points and gets you 9% experience loss upon death, 50% decrease in full experience gain and you can't be the first attacker any longer.

Should you meet such a bad boy (or girl), chances are you're going to be attacked, so knowing how to fend off such strikers is of great importance. After all, we're talking about a dedicated PvP game, thus this scenarios will happen often. There's no substitute for being prepared so keep a vigil eye on your surroundings. Players will often enough grind right next to you and if they're able to hold their own it means you have about the same power. Don't go low on health and don't tap too many monsters or you will just invite a swift death. Players displaying skulls right next to their names are rogues and unless you feel really confident about your capabilities, just change your leveling spot. Getting experience in groups is always a good option, since a couple of low level characters can usually kill a slightly higher level opponent. Parties also have the benefit of auto-looting so you'll actually stop wasting time picking up items and gold. To this end, it's a good idea to join a guild. You'll always find guildmates online and some of the time, even band up with characters from your level, for some safer grinding sessions.

But eventually, people will reach the desired status of max-level and focus will shift from leveling up to acquiring titles and better items instead. This is where Archlord really shines, with its stages guild versus guild battles for domination during Castle Wars. There are three castles to be captured, fueling the power of the wining guild. The Archlord title is also granted to one previously appointed member of these guilds. Trials are hard, yet the spoils of war are worth it.