n_guy
03-24-2009, 06:31 PM
Since I am so bored, I have decided to make a guide on AoEing, even though maybe half the people who visit these forums already know how to do it. :p
Index
1. What is AoE?
2. Requirements for AoE
3. How to AoE
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Class
5. Tips and Strategies
6. Final Notes
1. What is AoE?
AoE stands for "Area of Effect". Some skills can hit more than one target at a time. AoEing is the act of gathering large mobs of monsters in a map then proceeding to kill them all at once with your AoE skill. If done properly, this will be a faster method of leveling than killing one monster at a time.
2. Requirements for AoE
There are numerous things which are required when you wish to AoE.
In-game Requirements:
These are what you need in-game in order to AoE.
High Enough Level : You will not be able to learn any AoE skill until you are high enough level to use it. The level required depends on which class you have picked. You should also note the each class will have more than one AoE attack skill. These are what they are (only lvl1 attack AoE skills are listed):
Skills written in red are for killing.
Skills written in green help with killing.
Skills written in blue are stuns.
Squire/Knight/Warrior/Warlord
Level 51: Reflection
Level 71: Wild Swing
Level 106: Fire Swing
Level 136: Sorrow Shout
Apprentice/Mage/Wizard/Arch Mage
Level 56: Lightning
Level 66: Frost
Level 76: Icicle
Level 96: Volcano
Level 136 : Freeze Splasher
Rogue/Assassin/Shadow Master
Level 66: Circle Trap
Level 81: Sandstorm
Level 116: Light Masque
Scout/Archer/Ranger
Level 66: Brambleway
Level 71: Reticle Trap
Level 111: Arrow Rampage
Disciple/Templar/Holy Avenger
Level 66: Chain Block
Level 81: Dead Lock
For an explanation on how each of these skills work, see List of all the skills from SoS (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143822).
Low Enough Level : What??? You need to be a high enough level AND a low enough level??? Yes, if you are too high leveled, monsters will start to run away from you. You can't chase mobs without wasting your time. Don't even try it.
High Enough Defense : This is one of the tricky parts about being able to AoE. You need enough defense to make the monsters do no more than 2 damage. Why? Well think about it: If you are fighting about 30 monsters at a time, then you have 30 monsters attacking YOU. Do you really want 30 monsters dealing 3 damage each every time they hit you? Once they start dealing 2 damage, they will also deal 1's and misses so you can survive.
Different maps around the world of Xen require a different minimum defense (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89707). In order to earn a high enough defense, you will need enhanced AP gears (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91386). If that is not enough, you can buy a Cloak of Love and/or other defense items from the Sparkcash store. If that still isn't enough, you can AoE with a healer, who can give you a defense buff. If that still isn't enough, you can go suicide AoEing. This is the act of AoEing with monsters doing more than 2 damage. This can be dangerous, so make sure your healer is a good one.
Money and Potions : No, there is no sitting down when AoEing. If you spent all your money on your gears, or never had any to spend in the first place, then that means you cannot afford potions. Your only choice will then be to buy potions from the Sparkcash store. If you CAN afford potions however, you should buy Tiny Potions and not Weak ones. The number of potions you should buy will be depending on how much weight you can carry, which class you are and how you are planning to AoE (alone, with a healer etc.).
Computer Requirements
You will need a fast computer and a reliable internet connection in order to AoE. If you do not, you may constantly lag (we are dealing with a lot of monsters on-screen here). You may disconnect, leaving your mob with nobody to attack and spread out, leading to lost time gathering them up again. The worst thing that can happen to you, however, is death.
3. How to AoE
You are almost set, now you just need to know exactly how to do it. To start off, what you need to do is to poke monsters around the map and let them all chase you at once. In other words, gather a big mob. You will not die from this because your high defense is not letting them do any more than 2 damage to you. Once done, spam your AoE skill away and watch all those little suckers die (you may need to turn down your speakers :p ). Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well no, there are a few things you will need to watch out for.
Hard Hitters : These are monsters that do more damage than the others, meaning that even though you have the required defense to AoE somewhere, there are still monsters who will deal more than 2 damage. You cannot include these monsters in your mob otherwise you will die.
If a hard hitter decides to attack you, you must do something to it to prevent it from chasing you. The most common way of preventing them is to use a long-lasting stun. If your character does not have a reliable stun or if you are waiting for the cooldown to finish, you can make the monster run away. There are certain skill which allow you to do that. If you are an archer of scout, use your speed-decreasing skill (Magic Ice/Ankle Binding). You may encounter times when you need to wait for a cooldown to finish. If the monster can attack from a distance, you can run actually away from them while still keeping your mob of "AoE-able" monsters. It is not recommended you kill the hard hitter because not only does this use up time, it also wastes your potions.
Dungeons do not have hard hitters.
Mob Locking : You may ask "What the hell is mob locking?" Well, mob locking occurs when you have gathered too many monsters, making you unable to move or attack. How? If you haven't noticed yet, you can not move when being hit. Also, a well-timed hit can cancel your attack. Gathering too many monsters will increase the chance of being being mob locked, so be wary. To reduce mob locking, you can gather monsters in only part of the map and not whole. Partying with one or more AoErs is an excellent way of preventing mob locks.
Dungeons show the highest chances of being mob locked.
Mob Dropping : Mobs chase you around (duh). If you run too fast, however, they stop chasing you (duh). When they stop chasing you, you just dropped your mob (huh?). If you wait too long, the monsters will spread out. This wastes a lot of time gathering them up again. If there are other people around, part of the mob will attack them, which may lead to killing them. People will start giving you the lip when they get killed by your mob, so try not to run too fast.
However, there is another way you may drop your mob, and this is not known to many people. Are there any aggros in your mob? (monsters you attacked you first) If so, did you attack them back? No? Well you should. If you don't feel like doing it, then don't stand in one spot for too long. If you do, these aggros will stop attacking you and start ambushing other people standing nearby. You do not need to worry too much about this, since you won't be standing around often. However, this will happen frequently in dungeons.
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Class
Different classes are different. They all have their advantages and their own problems to deal with.
Squire/Knight/Warrior/Warlord
+ High defense allows more maps to be AoE'd.
+ Can AoE at early level.
+ High potion-carrying capacity.
- Decent AoE skill learned at a late level.
- Reflection kills slowly.
Apprentice/Mage/Wizard/Arch Mage
+ Skill learned at an early level.
+ Very fast killing.
+ Can AoE with parties even when own defense is not high enough by Assist-AoEing.
+ Easy to gather mobs with ranged attacks.
- Low defense makes AoEing without a party a rare opportunity.
- Low potion-carrying capacity.
- High MP consumption, even when gathering mobs.
Rogue/Assassin/Shadow Master
+ Can suicide AoE more safely than other classes due to dodge.
+ Less mob locking and less damage taken also due to dodge.
+ Numerous escape tactics in case things get out of hand.
+ Quick movement allows the player to keep a distance from the mob at nearly all times.
- Weak AoE attack.
- High MP consumption.
- Low potion-carrying capacity.
Scout/Archer/Ranger
+ Can AoE with parties even when own defense is not high enough by Assist-AoEing.
+ Easy to gather mobs with ranged attacks.
+ Fast killing(?)
- Low defense makes AoEing without a party a rare opportunity.
- Skills learned at a late level.
- High arrow usage(?)
Disciple/Templar/Holy Avenger
+ Few HP potions consumed due to self-healing ability.
+ Low MP consumption when using Chain Block.
+ High potion-carrying capacity.
- High MP consumption when using Dead Lock.
- Very easily mob locked.
- AoE attacks are slow.
5. Tips and Strategies
There are numerous ways to perfect your AoEing. Here are some examples:
Keeping the Best Distance from your Mob : there is actually an artform to maintaining the distance, far enough that you dont get hit, and close enough that the mobs dont leave the pack. this means that the mobs are not touching you, and only get to touch you when you stop for a second to stun a hard hitter aggro. perfecting this artform is essential for the solo assasin AOEr, as we cant cary many pots, using many pots means that you need to repot every run, but avoiding hits means you can make 3-4runs out of a repot, saving time on repot. Written by Zeltar.
Self Buff : Keep this on at all times. you will instantaniously stop when buffing, meaning you will normally be poked, if you are fast enough, have enough distance from the mobs(right at the limit before they start to drop) and time it right, you can slot in a buff without the mobs touching you. I find the best opportunity to cast buffs is to do it just before changing directions, or just before stunning a hard hitter, as you would normally be poked once from these actions, and with the right timing you can slot in a buff without another poke. Originally written by Zeltar.
Avoiding Mob Locks : Mob locking is a common problem people face with. It is strongly advised that you do not stand in a single spot for too long, even when killing. This means that while you kill, attack a few times, then move around until you are no longer being hit by the mob. Stop, wait for them to attack, then rinse and repeat.
Etiquette : When you arrive on a map, shout with a white egg to see if anyone is already there. If they are, move on to somewhere else, unless that person says sure you can aoe here to (there are nice people out there that do this Also, if you notice while your running around gathering, and come across a party, make sure to slow down a bit around them so you don't lose your mob on them. And when you are ready to kill, be polite and warn them about a rapid respawn by using a white egg and saying "killing" .... These are just the polite things that I do when aoe'ing. Also, might add something about watching out for your healer if you choose to have one. Sometimes while stunning a hard hitter, the aco does not move fast enough away from the monster you have stunned. So make sure to keep an eye on him/her if they are getting hit or not, b/c if your healer dies, and you need that bless... you aren't going to last long either. Written by ChristinaM
6. Final Notes
Well, this is it. I obviously don't consider this guide complete, so if you have and comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them.
Right now I need more information on the pros and cons of each class. I play as a disciple, so I based the information about other classes from assumptions on what I have seen.
I am unsure if I should mention anything about map stealing.
The links I have provided link to threads which I have not written and take no credit for.
I am hoping a guide like this was not already written by someone else.
Hope you had a good reading and maybe learned something. Take care and good luck.
Index
1. What is AoE?
2. Requirements for AoE
3. How to AoE
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Class
5. Tips and Strategies
6. Final Notes
1. What is AoE?
AoE stands for "Area of Effect". Some skills can hit more than one target at a time. AoEing is the act of gathering large mobs of monsters in a map then proceeding to kill them all at once with your AoE skill. If done properly, this will be a faster method of leveling than killing one monster at a time.
2. Requirements for AoE
There are numerous things which are required when you wish to AoE.
In-game Requirements:
These are what you need in-game in order to AoE.
High Enough Level : You will not be able to learn any AoE skill until you are high enough level to use it. The level required depends on which class you have picked. You should also note the each class will have more than one AoE attack skill. These are what they are (only lvl1 attack AoE skills are listed):
Skills written in red are for killing.
Skills written in green help with killing.
Skills written in blue are stuns.
Squire/Knight/Warrior/Warlord
Level 51: Reflection
Level 71: Wild Swing
Level 106: Fire Swing
Level 136: Sorrow Shout
Apprentice/Mage/Wizard/Arch Mage
Level 56: Lightning
Level 66: Frost
Level 76: Icicle
Level 96: Volcano
Level 136 : Freeze Splasher
Rogue/Assassin/Shadow Master
Level 66: Circle Trap
Level 81: Sandstorm
Level 116: Light Masque
Scout/Archer/Ranger
Level 66: Brambleway
Level 71: Reticle Trap
Level 111: Arrow Rampage
Disciple/Templar/Holy Avenger
Level 66: Chain Block
Level 81: Dead Lock
For an explanation on how each of these skills work, see List of all the skills from SoS (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143822).
Low Enough Level : What??? You need to be a high enough level AND a low enough level??? Yes, if you are too high leveled, monsters will start to run away from you. You can't chase mobs without wasting your time. Don't even try it.
High Enough Defense : This is one of the tricky parts about being able to AoE. You need enough defense to make the monsters do no more than 2 damage. Why? Well think about it: If you are fighting about 30 monsters at a time, then you have 30 monsters attacking YOU. Do you really want 30 monsters dealing 3 damage each every time they hit you? Once they start dealing 2 damage, they will also deal 1's and misses so you can survive.
Different maps around the world of Xen require a different minimum defense (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89707). In order to earn a high enough defense, you will need enhanced AP gears (http://www.outspark.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91386). If that is not enough, you can buy a Cloak of Love and/or other defense items from the Sparkcash store. If that still isn't enough, you can AoE with a healer, who can give you a defense buff. If that still isn't enough, you can go suicide AoEing. This is the act of AoEing with monsters doing more than 2 damage. This can be dangerous, so make sure your healer is a good one.
Money and Potions : No, there is no sitting down when AoEing. If you spent all your money on your gears, or never had any to spend in the first place, then that means you cannot afford potions. Your only choice will then be to buy potions from the Sparkcash store. If you CAN afford potions however, you should buy Tiny Potions and not Weak ones. The number of potions you should buy will be depending on how much weight you can carry, which class you are and how you are planning to AoE (alone, with a healer etc.).
Computer Requirements
You will need a fast computer and a reliable internet connection in order to AoE. If you do not, you may constantly lag (we are dealing with a lot of monsters on-screen here). You may disconnect, leaving your mob with nobody to attack and spread out, leading to lost time gathering them up again. The worst thing that can happen to you, however, is death.
3. How to AoE
You are almost set, now you just need to know exactly how to do it. To start off, what you need to do is to poke monsters around the map and let them all chase you at once. In other words, gather a big mob. You will not die from this because your high defense is not letting them do any more than 2 damage to you. Once done, spam your AoE skill away and watch all those little suckers die (you may need to turn down your speakers :p ). Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well no, there are a few things you will need to watch out for.
Hard Hitters : These are monsters that do more damage than the others, meaning that even though you have the required defense to AoE somewhere, there are still monsters who will deal more than 2 damage. You cannot include these monsters in your mob otherwise you will die.
If a hard hitter decides to attack you, you must do something to it to prevent it from chasing you. The most common way of preventing them is to use a long-lasting stun. If your character does not have a reliable stun or if you are waiting for the cooldown to finish, you can make the monster run away. There are certain skill which allow you to do that. If you are an archer of scout, use your speed-decreasing skill (Magic Ice/Ankle Binding). You may encounter times when you need to wait for a cooldown to finish. If the monster can attack from a distance, you can run actually away from them while still keeping your mob of "AoE-able" monsters. It is not recommended you kill the hard hitter because not only does this use up time, it also wastes your potions.
Dungeons do not have hard hitters.
Mob Locking : You may ask "What the hell is mob locking?" Well, mob locking occurs when you have gathered too many monsters, making you unable to move or attack. How? If you haven't noticed yet, you can not move when being hit. Also, a well-timed hit can cancel your attack. Gathering too many monsters will increase the chance of being being mob locked, so be wary. To reduce mob locking, you can gather monsters in only part of the map and not whole. Partying with one or more AoErs is an excellent way of preventing mob locks.
Dungeons show the highest chances of being mob locked.
Mob Dropping : Mobs chase you around (duh). If you run too fast, however, they stop chasing you (duh). When they stop chasing you, you just dropped your mob (huh?). If you wait too long, the monsters will spread out. This wastes a lot of time gathering them up again. If there are other people around, part of the mob will attack them, which may lead to killing them. People will start giving you the lip when they get killed by your mob, so try not to run too fast.
However, there is another way you may drop your mob, and this is not known to many people. Are there any aggros in your mob? (monsters you attacked you first) If so, did you attack them back? No? Well you should. If you don't feel like doing it, then don't stand in one spot for too long. If you do, these aggros will stop attacking you and start ambushing other people standing nearby. You do not need to worry too much about this, since you won't be standing around often. However, this will happen frequently in dungeons.
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Class
Different classes are different. They all have their advantages and their own problems to deal with.
Squire/Knight/Warrior/Warlord
+ High defense allows more maps to be AoE'd.
+ Can AoE at early level.
+ High potion-carrying capacity.
- Decent AoE skill learned at a late level.
- Reflection kills slowly.
Apprentice/Mage/Wizard/Arch Mage
+ Skill learned at an early level.
+ Very fast killing.
+ Can AoE with parties even when own defense is not high enough by Assist-AoEing.
+ Easy to gather mobs with ranged attacks.
- Low defense makes AoEing without a party a rare opportunity.
- Low potion-carrying capacity.
- High MP consumption, even when gathering mobs.
Rogue/Assassin/Shadow Master
+ Can suicide AoE more safely than other classes due to dodge.
+ Less mob locking and less damage taken also due to dodge.
+ Numerous escape tactics in case things get out of hand.
+ Quick movement allows the player to keep a distance from the mob at nearly all times.
- Weak AoE attack.
- High MP consumption.
- Low potion-carrying capacity.
Scout/Archer/Ranger
+ Can AoE with parties even when own defense is not high enough by Assist-AoEing.
+ Easy to gather mobs with ranged attacks.
+ Fast killing(?)
- Low defense makes AoEing without a party a rare opportunity.
- Skills learned at a late level.
- High arrow usage(?)
Disciple/Templar/Holy Avenger
+ Few HP potions consumed due to self-healing ability.
+ Low MP consumption when using Chain Block.
+ High potion-carrying capacity.
- High MP consumption when using Dead Lock.
- Very easily mob locked.
- AoE attacks are slow.
5. Tips and Strategies
There are numerous ways to perfect your AoEing. Here are some examples:
Keeping the Best Distance from your Mob : there is actually an artform to maintaining the distance, far enough that you dont get hit, and close enough that the mobs dont leave the pack. this means that the mobs are not touching you, and only get to touch you when you stop for a second to stun a hard hitter aggro. perfecting this artform is essential for the solo assasin AOEr, as we cant cary many pots, using many pots means that you need to repot every run, but avoiding hits means you can make 3-4runs out of a repot, saving time on repot. Written by Zeltar.
Self Buff : Keep this on at all times. you will instantaniously stop when buffing, meaning you will normally be poked, if you are fast enough, have enough distance from the mobs(right at the limit before they start to drop) and time it right, you can slot in a buff without the mobs touching you. I find the best opportunity to cast buffs is to do it just before changing directions, or just before stunning a hard hitter, as you would normally be poked once from these actions, and with the right timing you can slot in a buff without another poke. Originally written by Zeltar.
Avoiding Mob Locks : Mob locking is a common problem people face with. It is strongly advised that you do not stand in a single spot for too long, even when killing. This means that while you kill, attack a few times, then move around until you are no longer being hit by the mob. Stop, wait for them to attack, then rinse and repeat.
Etiquette : When you arrive on a map, shout with a white egg to see if anyone is already there. If they are, move on to somewhere else, unless that person says sure you can aoe here to (there are nice people out there that do this Also, if you notice while your running around gathering, and come across a party, make sure to slow down a bit around them so you don't lose your mob on them. And when you are ready to kill, be polite and warn them about a rapid respawn by using a white egg and saying "killing" .... These are just the polite things that I do when aoe'ing. Also, might add something about watching out for your healer if you choose to have one. Sometimes while stunning a hard hitter, the aco does not move fast enough away from the monster you have stunned. So make sure to keep an eye on him/her if they are getting hit or not, b/c if your healer dies, and you need that bless... you aren't going to last long either. Written by ChristinaM
6. Final Notes
Well, this is it. I obviously don't consider this guide complete, so if you have and comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them.
Right now I need more information on the pros and cons of each class. I play as a disciple, so I based the information about other classes from assumptions on what I have seen.
I am unsure if I should mention anything about map stealing.
The links I have provided link to threads which I have not written and take no credit for.
I am hoping a guide like this was not already written by someone else.
Hope you had a good reading and maybe learned something. Take care and good luck.