With the recent dynamic of OMGHOLYWHATTHE:censored: raids, I've had a few questions raised in my mind - namely, what how do you keep these groups together and synchronized, and how do I get better at this? So, to all you combatants out there, I was hoping you might be able to pass a few pointers my way and to whoever may be reading this thread. What should a leader do in combat? A follower? How do you prioritize your targets? What are some general strategies that one should use? How should a group deal with splitting up and leaders dying? And anything else under the sun that could be useful to know about this.

>.> Yes, I realize this is a lot of questions to ask, but I'm a bit of a dumbarse in this regard.

Anything is appreciated! Thank you in advance, and sorry for so many questions!

I still want to see system where players are forced into smaller groups before fighting each other.

Sure I'll bite.

1. Keeping the group together is something the followers will have to work on as much as the leader. The followers are charged with quickly re-orienting themselves and then finding the leader, while the leader's task is to be a beacon for the followers to find through constant yelling and copious uses of the beckon emote. They also have to do their best to make sure everyone is following and not move too quickly. Only way to get better at this is to practice.

2. The leader is supposed to call targets, make up a target order, and then gather the followers to complete the task. He's expected to spam out orders, etc.

3. The followers are supposed to follow the leader (and his/her directions) quickly and efficiently and keep an eye out for their own safety. Run when needed, etc.

4. You prioritize your targets according to how annoying their effects are. A general good rule of thumb goes melder>bard~monk>guardian>warrior.

5. General strategies involve getting a way for everyone to get to you and follow you quickly, then getting them to focus fire on one person at a time. It really depends on the scenario.

6. Splitting up, like I said is pretty much on the followers, check map, squint/glance around, and get back to your leader as soon as possible. When the leaders die, generally it's expected that the followers keep together until the leader gets back.

Side note: this is nothing compared to the raids before the big changes. Yes, I dare talk about hai'Gloh/Xion on the forums!

Absolutely.

Few things are as frustrating as saying FOLLOW FOLLOW FOLLOW , having nobody respond, or having people walk off one by one to the slaughter, then whine about how no one does anything.

It makes me cry when I have to stand there for 5 minutes spamming beckon and yelling at people to get half of them to follow me. )':

Though Shuyin and a lot of people answered a lot of the questions, I'd like to chime in about something too.



To combat the latter part, the best thing I could suggest is to become a leader yourself - or, at least, learn enough to step up as a secondary or temp until they return. The problem a lot of groups face is that they only have one leader ever and if that leader falls, they scatter. Directions are stopped, target calling is practically nonexistent, and people panic. Even if you don't want to become a primary leader, you need to learn how to step up even if just for the 5 minutes it would take after your leader dies to fight off the enemy group and survive. Learn how to call targets, how to grab attention and get people to follow you for just that short a time for the primary to come back and you can defer leadership back again.

I'm far from being a primary leader myself, but from what I've seen, even the small act of calling out targets yourself is incredibly useful.

This is one of those things that seems so easy, but it's often strangely difficult when you actually attempt it. I never, ever wanted to be a leader, and I thought I was a darned good follower. Trying to be the leader frustrates us all when the followers are semi-clueless. Heh.

I often wonder about the scripting and automation being used by the other side, too. For example, do they call targets and automatically switch or is the switching done manually? I've seen a few scripts built to help with group coordination, but some of it just seems esoteric to me.

I suppose the best way to learn this stuff is to keep trying (and failing) until you eventually learn. The hard part then becomes keeping everyone motivated until you start winning more than losing.

The solution to this is clearly to get a moondancer to pooka everybody in the room to follow you.

The difference between groups which are and aren't willing to use squad unity is pretty huge in my opinion. It's a must!

My advice in line with that observation, is that some groups like to change rooms constantly. I don't really know why they think it's a good idea though... if you don't think you have a chance to win the fight, why are you there in the first place? Running around and losing people will only make things worse.

Oh if only that argument was accepted .

It also helps if people know what they should be doing during the fight. Much of group fighting isn't so much about 1v1 on the large scale, but contributing specific things to the group as a whole.

That bears repeating. Make sure that those you have following you know what their job is. Everyone should be working towards one kill condition. Having a third work on a mana kill, a third on damage kill and a last third hindering for a timed insta is ineffective. Having several people webbing/vining the same person is also ineffective, as afflictions don't stack. Be sure to give clear, quick orders. You can't be certain that they'll follow them, but if you tell them clearly whom you expect to do what, then it's up to them to actually do that when they enter the fray.

Targetting varies heavily, I am generally always manual on targetting, because 33% of the time my job isnt to kill the main target its to prep/kill/hinder someone else. One thing people under value is control. A group of enemies is only as strong as their efficiency, if they are relying on someone to move them along (choker, tendoner, pinleg, etc) then 1 person making an effort to remove them from the equation will get you better results than 1 for 1. An example of this is the "deal sealer", killing the telepath if someone is debating, killing the mana killer if they spam crowcaw/haegl/etc.


To the questions in general however....

Every member of the group has some specific tasks as well:
- Insta watch. You can see this one alot. LOTHRINGEN IS BEING JUDGED BY AZULA. And 3 webs go off.
- Ally saving. Lehki has been choked! Dont just sit there! move him!
- Mismatched fight. This is where you see squall/scissorflip go off, trying to equalize people even for a short time.
- High priority target moving. When Nydekion tumbles out of the room, I jumpkick after him to give others more time and hinder his escape. In many cases if they tumbled out you only need apply a little pressure to finish them off or even get them to bix out.

One thing no one seems to mention, a role generally handled by bards or guardians/wiccans is Swissing. Target = Monk, omen to speed this along. Target = knight, check for mana kill. Target is tumbling, ectoplasm, Etc etc etc.

Random tidbits from a tired mind, bai bai