fox form for pvp/pve

I don't know. Personally I favor the human form, since fox form can't cast venomous scarab and I like to use it. I dislike fighting close range, too. a threat to hp ;p

As one of the only Fox Venos around I can say yes to both. I can often destroy Mage Venos in PvP as well as many other classes (though Dueling non Venos with your pet out is pretty mean considering that is not a DUEL anymore lol) and I can PVE as good if not better than any Mage Veno.

Mage Venos are very squishy, one hit and they crumple. Going Fox not only do you get Life Stealing abilities but if you work up your Evade your Befuddling Mist will make enemies miss you most of the time. You can hit rather hard as a Fox Veno and Tank a good deal more than most would expect from a Veno. Also, Amplify Damage is absolutely AWESOME when fighting Bosses and tough monsters and the Mage Venos have nothing up on that.

Do know in advance though if you go Fox that you want a pet still and that you will want to invest in Magic & Strength. This will not only give you better hitting power but will let you wear a combination of Heavy Armor and Arcane Armor. With both types equipped you can even out the differences between Magic Resist and Phys Resist and with your Fox form be rather well protected. Do not bother with Light Armor, takes too much Dex and offers too little protection on either side.

It is fun being one of the cute but deadly little Vixens running around. Play smart like a fox and you should do fine.

I play a fox, but only PvE. In PvE they are really good. They kill fast, have some really usefull debuff skills and aren't as squishy as normal venos. The core skills in PvE are befuddling mist and amplify damage. I think amplify damage is way more usefull then ironwood scarab, especially in a party: ALL damage is increased. On top of that, I have a pet with pierce. This reduces phys def for a longer time then ironwood scarab, and also benefits my own attacks.

I can't really tell you much on reall PvP or PKing mode. However, I noticed that some skills are really pvp orientated: A curse that reduces chi on each hit, another that stops regeneration (LOVE the animation of this one, so I also use it in pve ), an aoe manaleak ... Those skills are defenately pvp based. I can't say if they are effective though.

Contrary to Hasukurobi, I don't think light armor is a waist of time. Heavy/arcane can be better then light, but you must really know what you're doing, and it's more expensive. Personnaly I prefer to choose either arcane, light or heavy on a character so as not to get a headache from al calculations it involves making a good combination of equipment. Light armor has some other adventages: it's compatible with the highest mag weapon assuring you a good attack and pet heal, it gives extra dex and with that a higher crit rate (evasion is not usefull in pve), and it allows you to effectivly use humanoide form when you may feel like it. The lack of phys def disappears when you get lvl29 foxform anyway. This is just my opinion though.