What to do when the mage doesn't take advantage of a bear's beckon?

[WhoIsThis]

I'm currently leveling my bird and to my increasing annoyance, I find myself when I am playing in random games where people don't seem to coordinate very well. There is a "noob" bear perception, but I have found that in the sewers, the proportion of bears that seem to tank properly is greater than in any other level of Pocket Legends. I haven't witnessed as many bears that run into the middle of a crowd and stomp the mob all over the place. Nor have I witnessed as much beckon "pinball" as before.

However, the problem is often not the bear, it is the mage. Now that I am not playing mage as much, and levelling my bird, I have found that often when a reasonably skilled bear plays, the other players seem to fail to realize what has happened when there is a competent bear player. The bear has just beckoned the entire enemy group of perhaps 5-15, taunted it, and possibly stomped (smashed) them into a wall. Yet I have found that there are many mages who do not open fire immediately with fire blast/hot flash and lightning, nor do they debuff (seeing so many possible targets that could be affected).

What to do as bird and bear? It seems that this is not an uncommon occurrence. I have tried casting thorn wall and blast shot/cruel blast, but it this is not anywhere nearly as effective as an int mage unloading everything they have.

[Australia]

As soon as the party your running with is formed, notify the mages of this and tell them to unload all AoE spells when the warrior beckons or stomps
If they still fail to do so, warn them once or twice and then kick them if the failure continues.

[Echelong]

As soon as the party your running with is formed, notify the mages of this and tell them to unload all AoE spells when the warrior beckons or stomps
If they still fail to do so, warn them once or twice and then kick them if the failure continues.

Its not that easy because the combo if not done properly can push the mobs on different ways and then the work the bear did pushing them to a wall would be for nothing. Normally I use lightning and debuffs first if there is a bird because of thorn root/lightning combo and then I unleash the frost/fire storm (hot flash) combo. This has work fine so far but birds help a lot when they know how to play and Whoisthis is a good one on both mage and bird.

[Moogerfooger]

Yes, nothing annoys me more while on my bear to taunt/beckon then stomp an entire group of 3-10 mobs against a wall, and a random mage (none on this thread so far) just stands there and auto-attacks.

Speaking of that...what annoys me even more are people being careless with their AoE attacks that set off live traps; there are a large number of players completely oblivious to this. I go way out of my way not to taunt or stomp near live traps for the benefit of all of the party (boom) but I see tons of - sorry to pick mostly on mages here - of mages just letting loose with fireblast in heavy trap areas. I asked one 54 to be careful pls, and the response was "Why? What do you mean?"

/facepalm then explained.....

[Necrobane]

I got sidetracked when I noticed that the first people to answer are all in the farming group . As a bear I notice this a lot, and its bl00dy annoying. There is only so long that I can keep a mob against a wall or in a corner for, so when mages don't act on them or an archer doesnt thorn wall straight away it often feels like a waist.

[Necrobane]

Oh, but something I find MORE annoying is bears that group mobs over fire traps, or archers and mages that freeze mobs while a bear is still rounding them up. *Cough* *Cough* Mitsiun *Cough* LoL jk, but it is really annoying.

[WhoIsThis]

Speaking of that...what annoys me even more are people being careless with their AoE attacks that set off live traps; there are a large number of players completely oblivious to this. I go way out of my way not to taunt or stomp near live traps for the benefit of all of the party (boom) but I see tons of - sorry to pick mostly on mages here - of mages just letting loose with fireblast in heavy trap areas. I asked one 54 to be careful pls, and the response was "Why? What do you mean?"

/facepalm then explained.....

Depending on the situation, it may be worth the risk of casting a fire blast near firetrap - especially if the probability of a death is high anyways. The Stronghold fire pit area in particular can be overwhelming as can the Catacombs. The best time to cast is right after the fire trap has gone off. Feel free at that point to cast directly over a fire trap, to use all AOE spells. It is generally safe to cast if you don't see a small flame from the fire vent either. in other situations, it is important for mages to remember when casting that not all players are going to have say, mana shield (even other mages) when they cast.

[KaotiicxDream]

U said skilled Tank Bears? U most have been playing with me

[Moogerfooger]

Depending on the situation, it may be worth the risk of casting a fire blast near firetrap - especially if the probability of a death is high anyways. The Stronghold fire pit area in particular can be overwhelming as can the Catacombs. The best time to cast is right after the fire trap has gone off. Feel free at that point to cast directly over a fire trap, to use all AOE spells. It is generally safe to cast if you don't see a small flame from the fire vent either. in other situations, it is important for mages to remember when casting that not all players are going to have say, mana shield (even other mages) when they cast.

I was talking about people using taunt/fireblast/blast shot indiscriminately near live fire traps when it is not a total necessity....I mean, we are all guilty of inadvertently doing it sometimes by accident, but I mean just constant AoE around dense fire trap areas. I often hesitate taunting until the trap has gone off, or using blast shot while on the bird.

[WhoIsThis]

I was talking about people using taunt/fireblast/blast shot indiscriminately near live fire traps when it is not a total necessity....I mean, we are all guilty of inadvertently doing it sometimes by accident, but I mean just constant AoE around dense fire trap areas. I often hesitate taunting until the trap has gone off, or using blast shot while on the bird.

That I agree with. One tactic that I have found useful as archer is to target the trap before anyone gets close. Works best with crossbow for the long range.

Getting back on topic, this is a serious breakdown in team dynamics - the inability to coordinate attacks together. If the bear is in front and caught in the aggro, the bear will often die if left unassisted or at least have to burn up several health pots.

[Necrobane]

WOW. Someone who actually cares about the amount of post we bears demolish. Elf....I think I love you..

[Pharcyde]

How ironic.... I was in a group earlier where the bear was doing his job, taking aggro and wall smashing very well. I would hold all aoe back, until he beckoned.

It all amounts down to who you are playing with in your party.

[Necrobane]

So in short, don't play PUGS is the answer

[Pharcyde]

Also, just remembered something. I play all three classes quite commonly, so I feel the frustration of each class just as much as you guys do.

On my bear, I notice that I find myself doing my job, then sitting around waiting for other people to do theirs. I also start noticing things around my environment that I don't on my mage. I'm not gonna say bears have a easy job, cuz they don't. Their job is.. hmm.. how to phrase this.. clear and fast. That is exactly opposite for mages. Mages have very long and busy jobs to do, nearly 24/7 button and potion smashing. I hardly even notice my surroundings on my mage. My eyes are pretty much glued to my spells, my auto attack, my potions, my health and mana and the status of my party on the side list. It is a very dull and boring job. I hardly even notice things going on the screen, other then when my hp drops, a spell cools down, or someone needs revved.

So that being, us mages sometimes are really busy doing several things at once and wont notice players at all, let alone bears beckoning.

[Necrobane]

Archers require little sill besides thorn walling the minute mobs are where they should be and killing things like GF's chests. Mages need to multi task, and Bears need to be good at CC, and be able to know where their buttons are without looking. Ohh and have a but ton of potions if that counts as skill The thing is though, a fail mage you can get away with, a fail bird is even easier to put up with. But a fail bear is the end of your group.. That added pressure to perform makes them harder to play IMO.

[Pharcyde]

When a mage dies 13 times in a game, its "oh, barrel, hah." "oh, 6000 mobs jumped me, hah" "oh, gold fever 1 hit pwned me, hah".

When birds die, same reason as mages.

When bears die, party reaction is "WTF@!$(*#$*&(#$*()#$& BOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOB BEAR!"

saw that a few weeks ago actually xD

[Moogerfooger]

Archers require little sill besides thorn walling the minute mobs are where they should be and killing things like GF's chests. Mages need to multi task, and Bears need to be good at CC, and be able to know where their buttons are without looking. Ohh and have a but ton of potions if that counts as skill The thing is though, a fail mage you can get away with, a fail bird is even easier to put up with. But a fail bear is the end of your group.. That added pressure to perform makes them harder to play IMO.

Wait...what? Archers require no skill besides throwing thorn wall? What PL planet did you just teleport in off of? Good archers are extreme multi-tasking, almost on the level of mages and staying alive, re-targeting, trying to set up combos, and oh yeah staying alive to keep dishing out damage.

And I disagree, Phar...when I am on my mage, I am constantly checking surroundings, trying not to blow barrels or vents on people, as well as spam healing, buffing and debuffing when I should be, auto-attack, etc. My eyeballs about fall out my head trying to do all that on the mage. And it is the same on the archer....constantly stringing attacks/combos, health and mana pots to be effective, not blast shotting a fire trap when someone is on top of it. That said, you are a very good mage, have played with you several times so this was not pointed at you or any of the better mages out there....it is at the random ones who seem to be wandering around doing odd things, or doing nothing mage-like, and being generally ineffective.

[WhoIsThis]

Also, just remembered something. I play all three classes quite commonly, so I feel the frustration of each class just as much as you guys do.

On my bear, I notice that I find myself doing my job, then sitting around waiting for other people to do theirs. I also start noticing things around my environment that I don't on my mage. I'm not gonna say bears have a easy job, cuz they don't. Their job is.. hmm.. how to phrase this.. clear and fast. That is exactly opposite for mages. Mages have very long and busy jobs to do, nearly 24/7 button and potion smashing. I hardly even notice my surroundings on my mage. My eyes are pretty much glued to my spells, my auto attack, my potions, my health and mana and the status of my party on the side list. It is a very dull and boring job. I hardly even notice things going on the screen, other then when my hp drops, a spell cools down, or someone needs revved.

So that being, us mages sometimes are really busy doing several things at once and wont notice players at all, let alone bears beckoning.

When playing as mage, there are reasons why I prefer to be at the front of my group, despite being a pure int. If the rest of the team does not prove to be good, at least the mob will have received a heavy dose of AOE and will be near death anyways. That said, even with a good team, I prefer to be in front anyways for maximum DPS output. My tactic is to run to the centre of the enemy mob and blast away.

Archers require little sill besides thorn walling the minute mobs are where they should be and killing things like GF's chests. Mages need to multi task, and Bears need to be good at CC, and be able to know where their buttons are without looking. Ohh and have a but ton of potions if that counts as skill The thing is though, a fail mage you can get away with, a fail bird is even easier to put up with. But a fail bear is the end of your group.. That added pressure to perform makes them harder to play IMO.

Archer needs more skill than you might think. A good bird can at times out-DPS a hybrid int against mobs. Plus they have the essential thorn wall skill. If timed properly, nature strike and hot flash together are devastating, especially if the enemy has been debuffed and the mage is pure int. Where they attack is important - pick off the stragglers that the AOE missed or the enemy dodged.

Mage is easy to tell when they aren't doing well. Their AOE spells aren't effective and they aren't spamming heal. Dex mages again, should have very high DPS during their mana boost. For whatever reason, there isn't as much pressure on mages that aren't effective.

Bear on the other hand is the team leader - first one into the fight. The expectations I suppose are always going to be higher. It's very important that the mage(s) follow up very quickly be healing the bear and launching AOE.

[Pharcyde]

When I was a hardcore player, I used to stay at the front of the group, not even the front, like miles ahead of my lazy group. Now, that I'm not so hardcore and lost alot of my PL spark, I kinda just idle at the back. Also it is harder to be in the front in Balefort, birds spec quite literally 1 hit kills, and it takes 2 hits from a bear to die.

[WhoIsThis]

When I was a hardcore player, I used to stay at the front of the group, not even the front, like miles ahead of my lazy group. Now, that I'm not so hardcore and lost alot of my PL spark, I kinda just idle at the back. Also it is harder to be in the front in Balefort, birds spec quite literally 1 hit kills, and it takes 2 hits from a bear to die.

Sometimes staying back is a reasonable option. If you are the only mage, then stay to the rear. If you are a pure int mage with a staff, then consider staying back too. A group of bandit boy birds or those green things in the Catacombs can kill fast, especially considering that the Mastermind gear that you like doesn't offer the best protection. Plus int mages have very little dodge as well.

But the problem is not mages that stay behind the bears - the problem is the ones that don't know how to use their AOE spells properly.