hi!

recently I was in a combat against a druid (we need more threads about druids, I didn't see much of them around) and, oh, god!... it was like being cursed by all gods together. all aflictions one could imagine he did against me... but I had luck, once he wasn't the most skilled of all (though neither I am, as a bard).

ok, the point is: I did need to find a way to heal myself, once I am not the best with curing afflictions... I am really slow and don't know every cure (I have some herbs, but not all that could be necessary). I do not have neither a system for it... so, my healing is really the worst. Where did I find my time? In the skys!! This was also useful to find where he and where his demense were.

another point: he couldn't teleport to me or to find where I was, once he didn't suspect I was flying. Even when he did percept where I was, he wasn't able to do lot (rather than this, he didn't anything against me when I was flying). of course, to attack him I had to land. but I didn't land inside his demense... it was near it... I arranged the room with an octave, made a reflection of myself... then he had to walk out from his demense and, surprise! a magic mouth told me he was around (the first time spooked him, heheheh)! Manabards made him to stay with me (he didn't know this affliction, oh, luck!), a tritone made him suffer everytime he used mana, blank notes killed his shields and the minor second worked well -- if I was too cursed, I did fly and healed myself.

so, is there any kind of attack that range the skys to put down trills and faelings? once I am loving this way, I would like to know more.
I'd like to know other ways of using my wings... is there any way of attackin' one while you are flying?

p.s: ok, I know this is a bunch of newbie strategies, once I am starting now at combat... but, sniff... think on then as if they weren't, huh?

Yep, there are. All demesnes have a demesne effect that can pull you from the sky (either the Druid you were facing doesn't have Treelife, or didn't cast it in the demesne). There's also a spell called Geyser that's enchantable, as well as a Highmagic spell called Hexagram. Bards have Highjump, and there are even bard guards that can knock people from the sky. Further, wind in the mountains will slam you to the ground, and you can't even fly there. Brumetower will stop you from flying, or entering a room where there is a brumetower. Being knocked prone at *all* in the sky will set you to the ground elevation. Wind knocks you around in the sky, mucking up your balance. You can't fly in the Avechna arena, period. Hmm... I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but that's a pretty decent list to start with.

Oh, and as to the last one-- it's possible for Druids/Mages to point their cudgels/staves while flying, or for Crow users to hoist.

Really, though, flying is pretty darned easy to stop if you know it's happening, and it's impossible to actually fight in the air.

Hexagram in Highmagic. Geyser in Elementalism, which can be enchanted (very useful against those pesky flyers).

You'll quickly learn to lean on the geyser when fighting Glooms, and when I say Glooms, I mean Xenthos.

(But yeah, I think I am pretty high on the list of 'people who have tried to figure out how to make air combat work'. It's tough. It's a lot better for helping to split up a group, when you have choices between charge, hoist, and squall. Which one am I going to pick, Sojiro? Which one??)

I get more annoyed getting people back together after a squall, because getting Serenwilde to regroup quickly is like herding cats at times, if anything.

Oh. So the Serenwilde likes cats. Can I direct you to a wonderful little cat-faeling? I'm sure you'd love her.

I seem to die less on my own than as part of a zerg. Less confusion, more freedom to do what I need to, and all that.

Kaervas used to fly around Faethorn quite a bit. He killed my eagle very quickly, and there I was hanging in the sky like Wile E. Coyote without his rocket skates. (Thank the gods for arti-wings!)

No. Just no.

Sylph too!

/slight hijack - does the sylph need to be on the same elevation as the person that is targetting now to knock them out of trees/sky?

Last I knew, yes. I don't remember that being changed again.

No, that was changed a few months back. It makes the druids very, very, very, very, very sad. Very. It's just pure sadmaking.

so...

lots of counter air strategies... but not much about attackin' others while you are flying...

we could have more options... wings should be best used. imagine one being able to drop things in the head of people inside a room, kamikaze attacks, or even a bit of wind work for the magic users.

also, while landed, but still hovering, a faeling shoudn't have his/her legs broken... rather than being an emote, hover should be a skill... so, the real dexterity of the faeling would be noticed while hovering. this would afflict also the acrobatics skill of the faelings... less land skills and more looping air acrobacies. more dodges for faelings also... though, of course... if damaged by a physical attack that would hurt more, once that could also mean falling onto the ground. maybe there could exist some kinds of afflictions that curse only the faelings, making them hover to the ground, bomping the head, or something like that... other point: to be catched by vines attacks that trap one should also be more difficult while hovering.

err... too insane ideas? what you say?

Faelings already get more dodges (when stancing) due to our high dexterity.

It'd be neat if we got an levitate-effect by hovering, but not really essential. It wouldn't make-or-break the race, it'd just save us some enchantments.

Fighting in the air just isn't coded to be viable at the moment, unfortunately. Probably won't be for a long time (when Aeromancers come out). Even then, it may only be viable for them... if it even is for them.

I wish higher dexterity meant you could dodge hexagram, geyser, tackle, barge and what not more often than people with lower dex. Alas. It doesn't.

Don't forget that acrobats can Highjump to pull people down. Of course your druid friend can't do that, but you could do it to him.

I did reference highjump. Of course, I said "Bards" instead of Acrobats, so-- we'll split the point.

I used to do something much like this on Achaea, as did many others. We'd fly over a group and cast holocaust bombs which would fall to the ground and explode. You could also drop/throw certain types of bombs, too, from what I recall.

It would be interesting if we had effects we could literally drop in a room, whether they be manufactured and sold like the bombs or spells you conjure toward the ground or what have you.

One time I was flying, and Yrael showed up to try robbing me, and I geysered him into the Inner Sea. Good times

...are you sure? Last I had it, not only did it have to be on the same elevation, but it was blocked by cling and on some slow-ass 10 second or higher tick. Pretty much irrelevant.