Alrisaia's Guide: Playing your role
So... I saw someone else posting in the Warrior Class Discussion 'What is my role'?... being that this is a social game with team efforts being a key component of successful gaming, I thought I'd share an old guide I wrote for a guild I was previously in.
I played an archer on an old MMO and my name was Rainbringer - I thought I'd put together some basic strategies about playing MMOs for those who haven't ever done so. I believe there are some out there.
Sometimes it's not about the gear you have - albeit yes, having the best gear of course will make you better, but it's similar to that guy you know - yeah you know one - who always had the best stuff in school, or the best golf clubs, or the best ___________, yet he still sucked because he didn't understand the game or didn't practice, or whatever.
Well, I can tell you that I've been playing MMOs for a long time - longer than some of you have been alive... The common theme is that the game is designed so that players who work together the best, and compliment one another's skills, are the most successful.
All of the concepts I've referenced here are all based on past experience in MMO games plus what I've learned about this game since I started playing in December. So - I'm going to review some of those concepts and discuss how to best apply your skills to the group you're in.
The first concept and probably the most important in MMOs is Crowd Control. Crowd Control is handled in this game almost exclusively by Mages, however each class has their own slightly less effective version of crowd control. Regardless of whether or not you're running Elite dungeons or just running the Hauntlet or WT4 for xp - you need crowd control. A party without it will be far less effective.
Mages - you have many flavors of controlling crowds - in fact most of your spells help to thin the crowd, Fireball, Ice, Timeshift, Windblast thingy. Pretty much everything you can throw at an enemy to damage them, also either freezes, roots, stuns, or snares them.
When you're fighting alongside your buffed up warrior who has pulled the entire army of Mordor (pardon the LOTR Reference) down upon your lititle party and you've got only one warrior. You have to keep him alive. If the warrior dies, everyone dies. Thus, crowd control comes into play. Mages can root, freeze, stun, or snare those mobs. If Mobs are any of the above chances are they're dealing less if not no damage to your tank - this is a good thing. The less your tank has to spam pots - the more successful a group you are.
Rogues - Bring the Rain. Rogues are so cool... uhm... sorry... - yeah, so Rogues: Pop smoke, this is one of the best ways to reduce damage to your tank. Provided your tank knows to fight inside the smoke. There's a +15% damage and armor buff for all the toons who stand inside the smoke. Next - use your net and get the adept construction subskill so you can throw out a ton of them. The nets snare, and entangle crowds of mobs making them more vulnerable to AOE attacks from the whole party, you can also help reel in the archers and spellcasters into a nice tight ball in a corner. Lastly Be the assassin you're meant to be. If there's a spellcaster or archer that's hitting your tank hard from outside the smoke - go cut his throat. Seriously, hit the enemy where it hurts them most. With the exception of a boss. Combine your efforts with another rogue - Too many times I see rogues split up and fight different mobs in a battle - unless you're fighting a giant crowd your attacks should be focused and precise - typically on a spellcaster, archer, or necromancer.
When I used to run with single target daggers - Depraved Blades - I would go after the hardest hitting mob first, like a necromancer in the WT4 or archers and necromancers in the hauntlet. Killing them first prevents damage to your tank, and helps the group out by taking out the guys who can 1 hit kill the squishies.
Warriors - Stay alive. Keep your buddies alive. Fight Inside the Rogue's Smoke... You can help control the crowd by bringing them to a safe area to prevent adds. And use Skyward smash to stun them. Otherwise you quite literally are a meat shield, so play your role well and bring lots of POTS.
Nothing in this MMO is different than in other MMOs I've played with the exception of the length of time a battle takes (AL is much shorter). I remember dragon raids in Everquest that could take hours... OR PVP Mass Combat Siege Battles in Dark Age of Camelot that would take days and guilds would have to cycle manning the siege equipment and killing stragglers.
The theme is the same however across every platform - this is a social game, this is a game of cooperation, and this is a game of complimentary skills - learn your role, play it well, and play with others who know their respective roles and you will have great success and a lot of fun Don't worry you will die a lot also, at least we don't have to do corpse runs in this game... lol
