PvP is far superior in Dark Souls II- it's pretty much agreed. The netcode is better. There's more ways to do PvP (now there's PvE in your PvP so you can PvE while you PvP!). Key notes: Iron Keep Bridge is the place for duels unless you're in a PvP covenant. Agility is key. Getting that up (primarily via adaptability) gives you more iframes. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfo_sbhI5oY]Proof of concept[/url]. The 'level 150 softcap' thing is trash- ignore it. Unless they changed Soul Memory since I played a month or two ago. Common courtesy to bow and let you opponent buff up before a duel. You should do the same. Lightning damage is probably the easiest to use.

Stunlock2win

Get the mirror knifhts great shield....you'll need it lol.

This is a little irrelevant, but can someone explain why they match players based on SM instead of SL? I think it's stupid that you're matched up against players based on SM.

Are you one of those guys who invaded newer players like the Darkwraiths in Dark Souls? One example for me is the trio of them that invaded me in the Undead Parish

Also, be wary about constantly keeping your shield up. Players can execute a guard break on a blocking opponent and follow it up with a riposte. Very deadly.

Watch out for Monestary Scimitars. It got unerfed since the update and is now a guaranteed parry, no skill required. But, two-handed heavy weapons can't be parried, so use those if you see a magical parry banana.

Poise is practically meaningless, it's all about speed; halberds, ultra-great swords and great clubs are pretty much useless as they can all be dodged and leave the player open to an easy backstab. Parry timings are very precise, more so than DS1, and most people uses cheap combos: e.g. Jester chest piece, Havel everything else, buffed dagger and a curved sword. No that I've vented/rambled... You should not and cannot tank hits, you should put points into adaptability 'til you have around 100 agility, have 50% or less equip burden, only parry if you know the move sets and timing of your opponent and learn while fighting (since you shouldn't rush in to a fight, size up your opponent from the start to the finish of the fight.) I hope I could help. P.S the Brotherhood of Blood's ranking system is completely broken as you only rank up by getting consecutive wins. Because of this many people tryhard and use cheep builds, like the one stated above. Also when you invade, many people may treat you with little-to-no respect (except for fight club hosts). The Blues receive a bit more respect (except they receive less from fight club hosts) but it's pretty much the same.

Unfortunately in this game you are matched with players based on soul memory, not soul level. If you're the kind of guy who likes to follow the PvP meta it was decided to be 150 by the community. Not that it really matters, you'll still be fighting players 300+ due to soul memory.