Question on grouping

[gmoff]

So yeah, newbie here, asking more questions. I was wondering about gruoping. I got my first group yesterday, we were killing red bandits or something like that. The goo people on the newbie land. Anyway, so there is like 5 of us, 5 of them. Combat seemed to go VERY quickly, with little time to react. Maybe because i'm really low for that fight and it seemed liked 2 hits killed me.

I'm comming from a games like AC and WoW where you can tell that a mob is going after the healer, and you have time to disengage the current target, run over, and hit the over one without being all confused with qued attacks. Then i heard about these kitin attacks ran by players with 6 groups of people, and i wonder how the hell does someone keep up that chaos?

am i right in seeing group combat as being incredibly confusing? or is it not set up as a "tank", "dps", and "healers"?

[greymar]

It's not as, pardon the term, "simple" as it looks on the surface.

There is an art to every task. Even being the primary warrior, whose task it is to keep the kitin's attention, has to work at it.

Combat can be as easy, or difficult, as you want. You can go after things that don't pose a challenge, or you can do as my wife and I do, duo Supreme bosses that are only 50 levels below us (doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it is).

Combat can be chaotic, yes, but only if you don't know your role. You're new yet.. give yourself time to learn the game, and its mechanics. You won't often see terms like "dps" in Ryzom. And who handles the most damage can actually change depending on what the opponent is, and what levels you are.

Remember, that on the island, you're grouping, most often, with other new players. Once you're on the Mainland and group with some veterans, you'll learn how things work a bit better.

[otaku157]

The best way to learn and pick up your own groove in grouping is to do it a lot. I know everyone says this but that's because it's true. Once you've gone through it several times (and died several times I know!) then you start to notice small subtle things and you start to get your timing right. Don't give up!

<3

[thurgond]

...or is it not set up as a "tank", "dps", and "healers"?

The situation for your 1st group was atypical. Banditos have low hits and come in large bunches. The isle bandits come in smaller numbers than on the mainland where the entire camp/spawn will come if one is pulled. Typically on the mainland they are killed for faction by a single melee who gets little exp for the group or by several melee who can almost solo the camp.

Move the same group from the Chlorogoos to the jungle and hunt kipee and the you'll find the fights are more like what you're expecting. Kipee have high hits for their level so fights will last longer. If you're fighting one, others will assist so tanks need to taunt the adds off the healers/nukers.

Typical Ryzom group roles are tank, damage dealer and healer with the occasional affliction thrown in, but because the role is based on what is equiped at the moment rather than a fixed class there are more permutations for how a group assigns roles. If you have amps equiped, you can nuke, heal and afflict in the same fight. In small groups, everyone can go melee or nuker and heal each other after the fight.

Figuring out what roles are needed for the mob, or what mobs should be hunted for the skills the group want's to work is the real fun in this game.

[ydyp1978]

Move the same group from the Chlorogoos to the jungle and hunt kipee and the you'll find the fights are more like what you're expecting. Kipee have high hits for their level so fights will last longer. If you're fighting one, others will assist so tanks need to taunt the adds off the healers/nukers.

I have noticed that the kipees in the newbie area aren't social at all. You can kill on in the front of another without the other interfering.

And what I have noticed the aggro calculation formula is pretty complex, and I'm still trying to figure out how I best can tank multiple creatures while the mages can drop them from a distance, I already know that the more distance the lesser aggro you pull. So as a mage you best get almost at max range, this also gives the advantage for the tanks to see when one goes running rampant.

[ghyselsj]

I have noticed that the kipees in the newbie area aren't social at all. You can kill on in the front of another without the other interfering.

And what I have noticed the aggro calculation formula is pretty complex, and I'm still trying to figure out how I best can tank multiple creatures while the mages can drop them from a distance, I already know that the more distance the lesser aggro you pull. So as a mage you best get almost at max range, this also gives the advantage for the tanks to see when one goes running rampant.

My own rule of thumb when tanking is keeping the mob 15m away from the casters. I've noticed that when you go below that, the mob will sometimes break off to munch on your healer.

When dealing with multiple targets, I try to taunt them all on me, and make sure I swing at the one the group attacks, but then the problem arises that the ones im not hitting will go after the healer regardless of distance. This is where circle attack comes in. If I need heals while tanking a few mobs, I'll use circle and hope for the best... if I dont need heals (tanking mobs that barely hit me or for little damage) I'll usually just make sure the group target doesnt run off.

Contrary to some other games, it's not only the tank that is responsible for aggro management. If you're casting and a mob gets to you, wait till the tank taunts it off, and then move back. If you're right next to the mob and just keep nuking/healing, that's begging to get hit again.