Group combat

Another outdated post, but some of this may serve useful.

This was written before the aggro changes so some of the aggro management tactics are now obselte, but maybe this will serve as entertaining at a minimum:



This is just a broad overview, I may be modifying this periodically. Feel free to offer feedback, good or bad.

Group Tactics:
The intent of this article is to provide a broad outline of various group roles in HZ. The purpose of this is what you make of it. If you're a new player, take notes. If you're a veteran, I hope you at least enjoy this article and relate to ithttp://www.guildportal.com/Faces/face_happy.gif

Let's define the roles.

Tank/Puller (for multiple mobs):
Due to weak intercept devices, it just so happens that the puller and the tank are the same person most of the time. I will assume so here. The role of the tanker is to round up the appropriate number of mobs, and stay standing long enough for the group to kill the mobs.

Healer:
This person has the primary role of making sure the tank stays alive. Secondary role is to heal others.

Nuker:
Mass damage dealer. These are the guys you see who may have trouble soloing one or two mobs but give them a tank and watch them drop mobs by the handful.

I will not go into support roles. Now, there's some things to understand about each of these roles as they pertain to the assumptions of other group mates. The biggest assumptions that are made, and thus should be followed, are:

1) The healer is capable of healing.

2) The healer will heal the tank.

3) The healer is not AFK.

4) The tank has some comprehension of the appropraite number of mobs to pull.

And by 1) above I mean "has the necessary tools" and not "is a smart player".
If any of the above assumptions are incorrect, the players responsible for this need to say so. If you're going AFK and you're the healer, you best say it. If you're using revit 2 at level 80, you best say it. Etc?

Before getting into tanking, I'll interject with:

Mob AI

Here is my interpretation on how Mob AI works in most cases. I could be wrong about this, this is based on observation from quite a few hours hunting. The mob algorithm basically works like this, from the Mobs head: 1) I Got hit for X damage. 2) I'm chasing the person that hit me. 3) I'm still chasing the person that hit me. 4) I'm losing interest in the person that hit me. 5) I think I'll go hit this other person.

It's 4) and 5) that are a concern. What if we use a DoT? (damage over time, i.e engulf/ruin/decay/stinger/immolate/channel vitae/soul link/ethereal leech/ethereal paroxysm etc) Then it's going to look like this: 1), 2), 1), 2), 1), 2), 1), 2), 1), until the DoT runs out, at which case the mob may then progress to 3), 4), 5) above.

I have noticed recently that mobs will tend to have a "Hit List" in that if they lose aggro from the tank, they will ALWAYS go to the same person in the group. Sounds far fetched, but trust me I've spent a lot of time fighting recently, and I've seen plenty of rogues (mobs that lose aggro during the pulling proccess), and they always go for the same person. Coincidentally, this victim tends to be either a healer or the lowest member in group.

So, to recap, Mob AI basically works in that if you hit a mob with damage, he'll go after you until he either gets sick of chasing you because you aren?t doing additional damage, or until he gets hit harder by someone else. Secondarily, the mob "knows" how hard it is getting hit, and if it is hit hard by someone else, it will consider switching aggro. It will essentially compare damage output and decide accordingly. It will not ALWAYS switch aggro when someone hits it hard. I believe it is some kind of probability that is damage dependent.

"On the pull"

There's two standard methods for pulling. One is the "cancellation" method, where you use a repeater bolt but you hit stop-action before it fires (this is a bug that will not cause damage but will seriously piss off the mob). This method works well for those that are good at doing it (ask Ticktack to show you), but for those that suck at it (like me) I will explain another method along with some strategies.

The second method for pulling involves using abilties that meet one or more of these requirements: 1) They can be done from a distance. 2) They can be done fast.

The following are therefore good to use as pullers:
Ruin
Decay
Engulf
Quake Attack
Whirlwind Attack
Energy Sabre
Corrosive Rain
Steal str/dex
Expulse
Soul Link
Channel Vitae
Magic Crush

I'm sure there are more, these are just examples. Thunder, for example, would NOT be a good puller because it is a spell and not an ability. Spells incur a delay prior to casting, whereas abilities have the delay afterwards, which makes the general rule: Pull with abilities, not spells (this applies to farming, not single mob pulls). The standard technique is to pull and run, using your DoT's first, damage dealing attacks second (magic crush, etc), and if you're near your group and need to pull more, you can use non-damaging pullers (I recommend these last). When running a trail of mobs behind you (suppose they are gold golems), if you need to tag another one you would select the mob with your select nearest enemy, press your ability, pause for about 2 seconds, and start running before you see the abilitiy fire off. If you learn to time it right, you'll have started running while the abilitiy is firing off, this will give you an advantage in space. The biggest mistake I see from rookie pullers are:

1) Pulling with single target melee-range attacks.

2) Stopping to wait for the ability to fire off in it's entirety.

When you stop to use an abilitiy, you risk getting brutally pummeled by the ones you've already pulled. This is why it is important to learn to pull and go.

In Closing, here are two asides:

1) Foot speed helps a ton. USE GIFT OF SPEED, and use swift feet. I recommend getting the highest tier swift feet, and one below it, so 1 will always be up.

2) If you're out to level, remember that the biggest exp killer is downtime. Unless you literally have to wait for mobs to spawn, get out and start pulling. It's all about exp/time.

"On the return"

Great, you just pulled 8 golems and you're heading back to your group. Your job is done, right?

Wrong.

Now you are obligated to bust off as much AoE damage as possible in the next 30 seconds or so, to keep aggro on you. For if the nukers start firing right when you get back, they're going to pull aggro from you and all hell breaks loose. So, you need to start dishing it out. First though, you may want to do a few things that are pretty standard from a tactics standpoint when fighting multiples:

1) Ethereal Paroxysm (area Leech over Time LoT)

2) Dispirit Foes

If you have either of the above, the best time to fire it is on the incoming pack of monsters. Next you'd typcially fire off any area attacks or area spells such as nature nukes, mage bombs, quakes, phoenix rising, etc. The object at this point is to dish out as much area damage as possible so that aggro stays on you. For me, I will tend to use spells first and my aoe abilties as finishers.

Medic!

Healing is easy, right? Well, yes it is, and no it's not. The healer is the most critical role in a group, and because of this, it just so happens that good healers are elite, and bad healers are very easy to spot and are nearly useless. There are a number of axioms that I'll post that should cover the art that is healing:

1) Stay on the tank. In general, your tank is the best at absorbing damage, and if the tank goes down, the group tends to be in danger. Pay attention to your tank.

2) Heals take time. When you choose to cast a heal, you incur a delay. While you are casting, you cannot perform other actions. Consider this with 1) above and just realize that healing someone other than the tank can indirectly endanger the tank. At times it is okay, at times it is a poor choice and you just may have to let someone die for the safety of the rest of the group.

3) Lag occurs! My rule is this: If I see the tank is surrounded but his health bar isn't moving, I toss my two revitalizes, and I watch the combat message to see if they healed. If they did, I dump everything on him, because I am experiencing a display lag w/ his health bar. If the heals didn't heal for anything then he is fine.

4) Everyone loves a Coward. Tank dead? Other members dying? Here's an idea: RUN!! You are obligated to stand up dead members, but not when doing so leads to more deaths. No sane groupmate will lecture you for running, it is one of your duties if you see fit.

5) Be prepared. As mentioned, if you're level 80 and you're using revitalize 2, you're doing a large disservice to your group and you should make them aware.

6) Instant Success. Instant Heal and Group Instant Heal are NOT to be used as downtime heals, EVER. If the group is not in any immediate danger you should not fire these off. They are fast firing and fairly potent, so save them for dangerous times.

7) Healthbar First, Group Chat Second: These are your priorities, hopefully you can do them both successfully. Your personal chat log is not your priority, nor is marketplace or your bag of chips. Successful healing comes from knowledge and experience, but mostly it comes from attentiveness. Reading group chat is important because someone may need detoxing, someone may have a healthbar bug, etc.

"Bombs away!"

The nuker is actually the easiest role to play in combat, since you really can only do 1 thing, nuke. Your job is to dish out massive amounts of AoE damage, as fast as possible.

Caveat: Timing is important. The biggest rookie mistake made by nukers is to fire off multicast right when the tank shows up with his catch. This typically results in immediate death for the caster, as he tends to pull aggro from the mobs.

With that said, there are two viable strategies.

Safe: Use normal bombs first for 2-3 spells, then use multi, then perfect, then nuke.

Safer: Wait until you are sure you can kill what is left, and multibomb with no prior nukes.

EDIT: "rookie" sounds judgemental, it's not my intent.