The Strategy Thread

The former Blackrazor addiction.
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NukeHavoc
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The Strategy Thread

Post by NukeHavoc »

Just thought I'd start a new thread to talk about our personal and group strategies. :)

I know that it drives Lance a little crazy when we become aggro monkeys and steal all the attention away. I understood the strategy before, but it really struck home when we were doing the higher level stuff and it was hard for him to get aggro, let alone hold it (no doubt made more challenging by our over-eager attacks).

For my part, I've been trying to use polymorph more in my solo adventuring, so I remember to use it in the group quests. It's really coming in handy; it saved my ass last night in darkshire with a bunch of those damn higher level worgens. It really helps with snipping groups of 2-3 mobs.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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Lars Porsenna
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Post by Lars Porsenna »

Personal strategy: buff up as much as possible beforegoing into combat (most of ny buffs are instant cast), and save Lay on Hands fo when things look desperate...

Damon.
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

When I'm solo adventuring, I try and launch two fireballs at an enemy, getting them good and mad, and then using my frost nova (well, not sure what the name is) to freeze it and fall back, allowing for a battery of short-refresh fire spells that have a chance of stunning the enemy.

You can see how I have trouble ...waiting to fireball things when I'm with the group. :)

This approach doesn't work well in duels, because humans move and jump much more than the AI does. All of my mage duels have ended badly because I'm use to this focus-and-destroy approach, and I haven't come up with a good alternative yet (last duel I fought, someone nailed me with a fear effect, which I then ran screaming from).
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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erilar
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Post by erilar »

Ken, perhaps when dueling a melee class, freeze them first - then proceed to fire away.

I'd really like to start practicing some duelling amongst ourselves. I think it would be a blast for the five of us to go the 5-man Warsong Gulch battleground some night. (That and we'll be much more prepared next time Damon assults some random Tauren, hehe).

As far as aggro goes, we've really been doing pretty good our last few sessions. The only reason I was having trouble in the marsh was that my taunt moves were getting resisted. Normally, if one of you pulls aggro, then I can just taunt the mob back to me until I can establish permanent aggro. Taunt is a level-based check though, and is frequently resisted by mobs of +4 levels.

As far as aggro management goes, I need Rage (a warrior's energy bar) to cause threat and hence gain aggro. As opposed to casting classes (who start with max Mana), I start with zero Rage and must build it up. I have two ways to do that. One is Charging, which stuns the mob and gives me some instant rage. The second way is Blood Rage, which buys me a small store of rage over a fwe seconds at the expense of a little life. I usually use Blood Rage when I pull the mob with an arrow.

After that, I usually try to get in two Sunder Armor's (a debuff that reduces the target's armor) as fast as possible. That move causes a large amount of threat, and is generally enough to get my aggro locked in tight. If you guys wait at least until my 1st Sunder before starting to channel your spell, then we should be ok. By the time your spell fires, I'll probably have my second Sunder on him.

Fighting multiple mobs is a different story. I can usually lock in the mob I charge or pull pretty well. The other few mobs though are just aggro'ed loosely (probably via a Demoralizing Shout, which is my AOE Attack Power debuff). If a great deal of healing goes on, or someone casts an AOE damage spell, the loosely-held mobs will probably aggro onto the culprit. So, best for the DPS'ers to focus on the first mob I charge, kill him, and then the others one at a time. We can set up the focus fire (FF) target ahead of time to make things easier. (I'll help you all make "assist" macros and bind them to a hotkey.)

If we're going to kill mobs via massive AOE, then that should be discussed before the pull. With two mages, this will definitely be a viable multi-opponent strategy, but we'll probably need Quen to Shield you guys so you don't get killed - you WILL pull aggro. :)

Right now though, we're really dominating our current enemies while questing. We're all doing a lot of damage, and burning the mobs down before they can do much harm.

The time when we'll have to be more careful about aggro is in our next Instance. Elite mobs hit very hard and have lots of hit points (up to three times that of a normal mob of their level), so the fights are long. If one of you pulls aggro in STV (Stranglethorn Vale), then no biggie - tell me over Vent and I can just Taunt them back. In an instance though, the Elites can kill squishies much faster, and we'll need to be more careful.

I'm becomming more relaxed about the aggro as I see that we can handle the enemies. Jon broke me in pretty good the last time we played by going all Priest of Erythnul on us. :)
"This enemy you cannot kill. You can only drive it back damaged into the depths, and teach your children to watch the waves for its return." - Quellcrist Falconer
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erilar
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What to do when you pull aggro (and don't want it) :)

Post by erilar »

What to do when you pull aggro (and don't want it) :)

1) Don't run away like your arse is on fire! Running and jumping around like a caffeinated monkey might help in PvP, but mobs aren't so easily evaded.

Your MT does not have ranged abilities, and will have a much harder time getting aggro back if he has to chase the mob. Instead of fleeing, stay calm, clearly announce your plight on Vent or party chat, and drag the mob towards your MT.

2) Stop attacking. The more damage you do to the mob, the more threat you build, and the more difficult it will be for your tank to get aggro back.

3) If you have a damage mitigating power, like a priest's Shield or a mage's Ice Block, consider using it.

4) If your tank is incapacitated, and you have a move that sheds aggro (a hunter's Feign Death or a rogue's Feint), think before using it. Sure, you might be able to dump aggro, but the next-highest group member on the threat list might be your healer! Getting the only member of the party that can ressurect killed is a serious no-no. Rezzers are to be protected at all costs. If you can sacrifice yourself to keep the rezzer alive, do so happily!
"This enemy you cannot kill. You can only drive it back damaged into the depths, and teach your children to watch the waves for its return." - Quellcrist Falconer
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NukeHavoc
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Re: What to do when you pull aggro (and don't want it) :)

Post by NukeHavoc »

erilar wrote:3) If you have a damage mitigating power, like a priest's Shield or a mage's Ice Block, consider using it.
I need to work on this. I have abilities that I don't use often because for the most part, my role has been fire support. I do have abilities that, for example, channel physical damage into mana, which should protect me nicely.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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erilar
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Post by erilar »

FYI, the mage talents are getting a re-vamp with this next patch 1.11 (which is probably next Tuesday). I heard on one of my WoW podcasts that there will be a hate-reducing talent for each talent tree. For example, the fire one is called (IIRC) Burning Soul and reduces the threat of fire spells by 40%. Pretty cool!
"This enemy you cannot kill. You can only drive it back damaged into the depths, and teach your children to watch the waves for its return." - Quellcrist Falconer
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