Guide to Successfully Solo/Duo Phoenix Valley

This guide is mostly for Seekers level 59+ with Yataghan Vortex.

I think that an AoE class like a Seeker may work well in PV at the lower levels (anything under 59) with a cleric. I suggest only bringing a cleric though, if you're looking for exp, because of course, bringing more people means less experience. Those classes who want to go alone and don't have AoEs to assist them would most likely have to lure one mob at a time, which would be very monotonous, but I'm not exactly sure as this Seeker is my first and only character.

I'm also not sure about PV for any other classes at higher levels, though I have seen some people looking for PV squads in the 45-84 level range. I can only personally speak for Seekers, though. Once you get to 59 with any Seeker, you're capable of soloing PV. Yataghan Vortex is physical and therefore compatible with Bloodpaint, while Seekers also have the survivability to tank whatever else is needed. In the higher levels, the Equine Shades will start to immobilize and silence you, so you have to move quickly and set up vortex as fast as possible. With hypers at 59+, Seekers can solo PV with Bloodpaint for up to 600-800k+ spirit and 2mil+ experience per successful run.

I have a Sin partner that I do PV with every day he's available, and when he's not I solo. Eventually, after doing it for long enough, you start to get good at it. The level 75 crab and herb pots are extremely useful here. For Seekers, usually the process involves..

1. Build up enough chi for Vortex.
2. Lure out any shades that you can without getting close enough to take aggro from the other mobs using Heartseeker/Arme Nier/Battousai.
3. Tab or click on a the furthest Shade you can get to without running too close to other Shades that you couldn't reach to lue out. (If you run by these other shades they will either immobilize or silence, and in most cases you will die from this due to inability to set vortex up fast enough.)
4. Turn your hyper on.
5. Unfetter to this Shade as quickly as possible (If you run slowly, you have a higher chance of getting immobilized/silenced before you get close enough to vortex it.), grabbing as many non-Shade mobs as you can during the process before Unfetter wears out.
6. As you come near your target Shade, activate Blade Affinity, and start your vortex. With a combination of increased running speed and increased channeling, you should be able to get vortex started before the horde of mobs catch up to you, or before you get silenced by the Shade.
7. Spam MP pots (and HP pots if you want to be extra careful) and watch everything around you die as you continuously heal yourself for thousands of HP per second with Bloodpaint.
8. If you have a Sin partner, keep up Vortex while they Maze Steps through another large group of mobs (Maze Steps in order to avoid the immobilize from the Shades) and bring as many as possible back into your vortex. Be careful to those Sins who play this role, as you may die as a result of taking too many hits along the way. I suggest using HP pots while you do this. Usually I give my Sin partner some crabs for him to use just for this step.
9. Watch all of the mobs around you die once again. Usually this is when my Sin partner uses Subsea Strike, and I'll have my genie use Tangling Mire, just to kill everything a bit faster.
10. Turn off hypers and repeat from step one by luring the closest mob with Heartseeker/Arme Nier/Battousai. Anything that can hit them without getting close enough to take aggro from everything around them.

Once you get to the boss, you may be able to tank it with vortex/crabs/Bloodpaint. Always debuff with Heart Shatter and Soulsever before setting up vortex at the boss, if you can. If you can't tank the boss, then it's fine, 95% or more of the experience from PV runs comes from the mobs, so you've pretty much had a successful run. That's..about it.

If you're soloing this instead of doing it with a partner Sin, then skip steps eight and nine. Also, soloers, your goal as a Seeker is this; "KILL EVERYTHING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT BLOODPAINT WON'T WEAR OFF." Usually if I'm soloing, I'll stop with about five minutes left on the Token to go outside into Archosaur and beg some Sin to refresh my Bloodpaint, just to be safe.

And if you are doing this with a partner Sin, then PLEASE remind this Sin to refresh your Bloodpaint every one or two lures, even if it seems excessive. The worst thing that can happen to you is to run out of Bloodpaint right in the middle of a vortex or a huge pull, only to die and watch your Sin partner (if you have one) go into stealth before a moment of silence eventually drags out the question, "..Cleric?", because you've noticed that your token to come back expired.

Because I just reached 85, I haven't gotten a chance to really do the 85-94 PV yet, although I do know that the dungeon and mobs are completely different, and that a complete run would give a LOT more exp and spirit than the lower level ranges (of course). I also need to start learning how to make the use of more PvP pots, as I haven't looked into them at all yet, and I'm sure they'll be useful for PV and more.

I'll update this as I remember more information that I might have possibly forgotten, or when I explore the 85-94 PV, to keep things fresh.

Happy learning, exploring, and leveling, everyone.