Looking for a Few Good Orks

[Nystul]

I think there are actually quite a few of us playing alliance. I've got a couple alliance characters in their low 20s right now. It is just that we have no guild, no organization, play at different times of day anyway, and don't always notice each other in the channel (if we are even using the channel at all).

But this is the orks thread! No talking about the alliance here unless it is plans and strategies for killing them and conquering their towns!

[Thenryb]

I have one of those beginning Sunday afternoon and I will be out of town Sunday and Monday. This means you will be going without MsElvira this week.

[--Pete]

Hi,

The idea with pulling (or at least my idea, most gamers don't seem to share it) is to bring the battle to the group, not the other way around.

Agree completely. Seems that a lot of players don't understand the "pull" part of pull :)

Kinda pressed for time, so just one quick remark before I forget:

The person pulling a ranged attacker can run behind the group and keep running until the ranged attacker moves within melee range of the group

The respawn problem has to be watched here. With the high density of mobs in this game, clearing an area using this technique could get the group attacked from two sides at once. There is no optimal answer to ranged mobs (yet?). Pulling one to where the whole group could use a ranged attack on it would probably be ideal, but most ranged attacks are too expensive to acquire and too weak to rely on.

--Pete

[MongoJerry]

Warriors - Especially in the instances, this is completely different from soloing as a warrior. If we pull one mob, one warrior has to taunt it. The other warrior would then be free to use battle stance. If pull more than one mob (with the full party), then both warriors need to go defensive and each taunt one (actually in this case the second warrior shouldn't need to taunt much since nobody will be attacking that mob, but will need to essentially stall the mob for as long as possible). Once you have bloodrage, having enough rage to taunt multiple times should not be an issue.

Actually, with my group experiences with my priest, I've found it better if one warrior goes into defensive stance and taunts *both* mobs. This makes it much easier on the person doing the healing to focus only on one person. Then, the other warrior is free to use battle stance and dish out damage.

Warlock - Maybe the best class to pull in this group, once we get aggro management down. The shaman could do it too, of course. Actually, they can both do it at the same time as long as communication is good about which mob is getting nuked. If we pull too many mobs for the warriors to handle, maybe the warlock is the next best class to stall one. If the voidwalker is up, this is an obvious choice... voidwalker stalls a mob, while everyone else (including the warlock) focuses on the primary target. If you go with imp (which for any other purpose than stalling may be the better choice) it would be harder... you'd have to pretty much devote yourself to casting fear on that enemy until the primary target dies. If the warriors are controlling all mobs, you are pretty much free to nuke things, curse things, and collect soulshards as needed.

Actually, in a group setting, imp might be better. As Bolty noted in his writeup on the warlock, Voidwalkers are good choices for soloing warlocks, because they provide a much needed tank for the warlock. However, our group already has two tanks, so why add a third? Instead, an imp can dish out a surprising amount of damage and provide some passive boosts to the group. All things considering, I think it would be best if our warlock did the pulling and brought the mob(s) to our warriors to taunt. As much as I would like to "take the lead" by pulling, the truth is that it does interfere with my ability to heal the party as I'm forced to heal myself at the start of every battle when I pull and often get my healing spells "stuttered" in the beginning if some of the mobs haven't been taunted yet.

[MongoJerry]

I'm sorry, folks. I'm going to have to bail on this evening's adventures, too. I've been procrastinating on grading these papers for too long, and I'd better do that this evening. Let me know what you did, and I'll catch up. Have fun!

[DeeBye]

I'm sorry, folks.  I'm going to have to bail on this evening's adventures, too.  I've been procrastinating on grading these papers for too long, and I'd better do that this evening.  Let me know what you did, and I'll catch up.  Have fun!

Just mark them all with a big fat F and go play WoW you wuss.

[--Pete]

Hi,

No problem catching up since we didn't do anything :)

Ug and Grisk were the only shows, so we decided it wouldn't make sense to get too far ahead. I did a tour of the region around the undercity and found it to be rich in copper veins. Got my mining to 74 and smithing to 72 or 3. Of course, nothing I can make is as good as what I can buy :( but at least I'm close to maxing the apprentice level.

Hope we can all make it next week.

--Pete

[Bolty]

Actually, with my group experiences with my priest, I've found it better if one warrior goes into defensive stance and taunts *both* mobs.  This makes it much easier on the person doing the healing to focus only on one person.  Then, the other warrior is free to use battle stance and dish out damage.

This is exactly how I play my Warlock when I'm in a group that doesn't have a tank, so I use my Voidy. Most of the time, people "get" it - that the Voidwalker takes the beating. When an additional monster comes along, I just order my Voidwalker to attack/taunt the newcomer, and he continues to take a beating.

I grouped with a stranger playing a Druid and we survived an intense 2-on-4 fight one time, as adds kept spawning on us during the fight. At one point we were taking on 3 mobs at once, and survived without a scratch thanks to the tanking/taunting abilities of the Voidwalker combined with the druid's heals, and our combined attacks.

In an intense battle situation, the proper Warrior will realize their role is simply to allow his/her party mates to do the work while he/she sacrifices their body for the cause (i.e. taunting and drawing the fire of the enemy). Played in an efficient party, the Warrior will do just fine as he/she is healed and protected by everyone else.

Some people I party with don't get this, and when a new mob comes along will feel that they have to take it on instead of letting the Voidwalker handle it. It's hard to convince them to just ignore the newcomer and take the current target down first - they get flustered when adds start showing up. If you have a smart tank player, it's no problem at all, in managed numbers.

-Bolty

[Guest]

In DAoC the favorite class for any PvM group(asssuming you had some kind of healer) was a paladin. Largely because they were fairly defensive and had a chant that let they keep all the agro focues on them only.

[Nystul]

Bolty, am I missing something here? I don't see how the voidwalker can even hold aggro on one monster. Even when soloing, it was always an exercise in patience for my warlock to let the voidwalker build up enough aggro without get too aggressive myself. A single shadowbolt seemed to cause higher threat than a single taunt from the VW. Now you are saying that a voidwalker can hold aggro on that monster while he is busy running to and taunting other monsters, as multiple party members are wailing on the first monster? I don't see how it's possible.

With a warrior I can see it being possible, but it still doesn't sound routine. Assuming nobody attacks the second (and possibly third) mob, the warrior taunts a couple times and jumps back to his primary target. But then he's getting beat on by 2-3 mobs, healer is healing/bubbling him frequently, now where do the mobs that nobody is attacking go? They go right after the healer, unless the warrior jumps right back onto them again. I guess the good news is that the extra damage he's taking should give him faster rage buildup to taunt with.

[Bolty]

Bolty, am I missing something here?  I don't see how the voidwalker can even hold aggro on one monster.  Even when soloing, it was always an exercise in patience for my warlock to let the voidwalker build up enough aggro without get too aggressive myself.

Nystul, have you been purchasing upgraded Torments when they become available from the minion trainers? This is vital to having an effective "taunt" ability for the Voidwalkers.

Also, I don't let my Voidy do his own tormenting, because it doesn't do it whenever it's available. Place Torment on your minion bar and order it to Torment the moment it becomes possible (when the cooldown wears off), each time. Hotkeys are crucial here :)

Finally, use a wand - there's really no need to use Shadow Bolt when your DoTs and wand attacks beat down the monsters readily.

-Bolty

[Guest]

So would a warlock 2 priests and 2 mages be an extremely powerful group?

[Bolty]

So would a warlock 2 priests and 2 mages be an extremely powerful group?

1 Mage and 1 Priest is already godlike...Mages are kings of damage, and with a Priest around to protect them (to make up for their weaknesses), it's game over...but since there's no way a Voidwalker can hold aggro on a mob when Mages are nuking, he'd be irrelevant. I've been a part of a few battles where a Warrior + Mage can't hack it, but a Priest + Mage can. The Holy Shields that Priests provide give the Mage everything it needs - protection from damage and protection from stuttering - so it can wail away on enemies with abandon.

-Bolty

[MongoJerry]

But then he's getting beat on by 2-3 mobs, healer is healing/bubbling him frequently, now where do the mobs that nobody is attacking go? They go right after the healer, unless the warrior jumps right back onto them again.

Contrary to popular belief, the amount of aggro generated by Holy Shield and Renew (heal-over-time spell) are actually quite small. Flash Heal (short casting time instant heal) generates a little more aggro, but again, it's not excessive. And if my priestess ends up attracting some mobs, she can always cast Fade and reduce her aggro.

I don't know, yet, about how much aggro shamans generate with their healing spells, since right now our Ork party pretty much crushes everything in our path. I'll probably get a better feel for this when we start taking on elite mobs.

[Charis]

I was playing softball on Sunday and... blew out my knee :o

Actually, it's quite likely not that serious, nothing broken and early response
suggests there may be no major ligament damage.

Still, it didn't allow me to get on this past Sunday. I also didn't get much
catchup time. I logged on for a while on Sat and tried to get some exp, but
spent too much time getting too little exp and getting too frustrated.
The thought of having to spend about 7x as much time to hit 14 is truly daunting.
I really want to "be 14-15" and do an instanced quest together, but my motivation
for getting to that point needs a kick in the pants or something.

We'll see what we can do by next week, in any case...
Charis

[--Pete]

Hi,

Well, I just logged in with Grisk. Took him back to the Undercity to get some gear. After I bought a mining pick, a blacksmith's hammer (probably could have waited for this, but then again it was a small item), sword, shield, and shoes (each best for his level) I was broke. So, he's naked from the ankles up (minus loincloth). I doubt seriously that he'd be worth a damn as a meat shield or a melee fighter in areas that normally would be appropriate for his size.

Looks like I have three choices:
1.) Go out looking for mines and small critters to "earn" the money to get almost to where I was before. Boooooring.
2.) Go back and look at all the quests we've done, trying to find those that give decent gear (many of which are probably gray by now). A little less boring.
3.) Bag it. Looks damn appealing right now.

So let's hear it. Who's still in? And if so, should we each take a few days to play solo/pick up and get re-geared or do we want to spend a Sunday or two doing it as a group?

I'll not delete Grisk for a while. And if we decide to go on, I'm in. But I wish Blizz would pull their heads out. At least give us enough cash to buy the best for our level from the vendors -- that's always been about the bottom end standard of gear.

--Pete

[MongoJerry]

I'm definitely in, and as most of our equipment could hardly be considered high-end equipment, I don't think we'll have any trouble getting back to where we were before. For the most part, we're slaughtering everything in our path right now (except for Sons of Arugal, of course :lol: ), because we've been doing quests that can be done solo. We still have quite a few things like that in Silverpine Forest left to do before we tackle anything tough enough where having good equipment will matter. However, I don't see anything wrong with people getting some cash on their own if they want.

Hey, actually, I have an idea. I'm not planning to play my priestess Ariadne much, if at all, and she has at least 3g left to spend. How about I send each of us 50s to help jump start us? That'd be perfect, actually. I think I'll do that right now.

[--Pete]

Hi,

You, sir, are too kind. OK, Grisk will go out half (three quarters) nekkid and kill whatever is in his path :)

--Pete

[MongoJerry]

OK, I sent our warriors 75s and everyone else 50s, so that should get everyone restarted a bit. Check the mailboxes at the nearest inn for packages. Enjoy!

[Nystul]

I probably won't be able to make it tonight. So, don't sit around waiting for me :) If someone can post a brief recap of any quests you get done that would be great.