07-30-2004, 08:18 PM
Hmmm... sort of right, but not quite. I think you've learned some wrong lessons along the way.
It is absolutely critical that the entire group focuses their damage-dealing abilities against one mob at a time. This is a no-brainer principle and is not something up for negotiation with me. If I'm in a group that's intentionally splitting damage among different mobs, I'll call it out and berate the group. If the group insists on continuing to do that, I'll either make a note never to party with those group members again or in extreme cases hearth out. The power of a group, players or mobs, goes up exponentially with each member added to it. This principle also works in reverse. That is, every time you eliminate one member of an opposing group, the power of the group gets significantly reduced.
However, the part of your post that is correct is that every mob should be accounted for from the start. In most groups I've been with (at least the good ones), prior to battles that will involve multiple mobs, the group will quickly check off how they're going to handle the situation. For example, "Sap the right geologist, sheep the left geologist, and focus on the boss." In this way, every mob is accounted for, but everyone's damage-dealing abilities are focused on one mob at a time. The same principle applies even when there are adds and things start breaking down. A mage can sheep the add, a warrior can taunt the add to him (and then go back to the original mob he was fighting), or a priest can shackle or even Mind Control the add. Every mob should be accounted for, but all damage-dealing should be focused on one mob.
Also, you seem to lightly dismiss Fade, and you shouldn't. If mobs start streaming toward your priest, because of a healing spell, then you should Fade so that they'll go back and attack other players (hopefully the warrior or someone with better armor). In my experience, the 15 seconds of Fade is more than enough time to allow the warrior to get a taunt off on any mobs that he or she didn't get a chance to taunt before. Fade is a good skill in that it allows the group some extra time to take into account all the mobs. If your warrior still doesn't taunt the rest of the mobs during that 15 seconds, you need to get a new warrior.
In addition, as I often tell my groupmates when they sometimes over compensate and try desperately to "save" me from a mob to the group's detriment, "I'm not that fragile." Heck, I've had group members who think it's a good idea to assign me a bodyguard, which is just silly. Priests can be pretty good tanks as long as they have mana. If I'm being attacked by one mob while the rest of the group is focused on another mob, I'll cast Renew and Holy Shield on me, continue to attack the same mob as my groupmates (using wand shots or staff hits to save mana), and just take the pounding for a bit while the group finishes off the mob they are working on.
Finally, with regard to target selection, there were some comments in this thread about focusing on the "most dangerous" mob. It all depends on what you mean by "most dangerous," though. Remember the principle about how group strength goes up exponentially with each member added. Rather than looking for the "most dangerous" mob, I tend to look for the mob who can be killed the fastest and focus on that mob first. The obvious case is killing spell casters who are both the "most dangerous" and "easiest to kill." But other examples are when a boss mob has bodyguards. I often prefer killing the bodyguards first, because they can be killed quickly, and then deal with the boss when he's alone. It depends on the situation, of course. If the bodyguards have nearly the same hit points as the boss or if they can be sapped and/or sheeped, then maybe going after the boss could be best.
More subtlely, though, are the situations you often see in the newer instances, like in Gnomeregan where mob groups can be a mix of elite and non-elite mobs. I always always always have my groups attack the non-elite mobs first. If it's a swarm of non-elite mobs (like gnome technicians), then aoe spells and bombs are used to try to weaken the mobs all at once. (Here, a priest should try to focus on keeping Holy Shield up on the group's mage). But once again, those characters without aoe attacks should focus on each non-elite mob one at a time. Once the easily killable non-elite mobs are out of the way, then the group can focus their damage-dealing abilities on the elite mobs one at a time.
So, yes, you are correct in that every mob should be taken into account, preferably before the battle has begun. However, all damage-dealing abilities of the group should be focused on one mob at a time.
It is absolutely critical that the entire group focuses their damage-dealing abilities against one mob at a time. This is a no-brainer principle and is not something up for negotiation with me. If I'm in a group that's intentionally splitting damage among different mobs, I'll call it out and berate the group. If the group insists on continuing to do that, I'll either make a note never to party with those group members again or in extreme cases hearth out. The power of a group, players or mobs, goes up exponentially with each member added to it. This principle also works in reverse. That is, every time you eliminate one member of an opposing group, the power of the group gets significantly reduced.
However, the part of your post that is correct is that every mob should be accounted for from the start. In most groups I've been with (at least the good ones), prior to battles that will involve multiple mobs, the group will quickly check off how they're going to handle the situation. For example, "Sap the right geologist, sheep the left geologist, and focus on the boss." In this way, every mob is accounted for, but everyone's damage-dealing abilities are focused on one mob at a time. The same principle applies even when there are adds and things start breaking down. A mage can sheep the add, a warrior can taunt the add to him (and then go back to the original mob he was fighting), or a priest can shackle or even Mind Control the add. Every mob should be accounted for, but all damage-dealing should be focused on one mob.
Also, you seem to lightly dismiss Fade, and you shouldn't. If mobs start streaming toward your priest, because of a healing spell, then you should Fade so that they'll go back and attack other players (hopefully the warrior or someone with better armor). In my experience, the 15 seconds of Fade is more than enough time to allow the warrior to get a taunt off on any mobs that he or she didn't get a chance to taunt before. Fade is a good skill in that it allows the group some extra time to take into account all the mobs. If your warrior still doesn't taunt the rest of the mobs during that 15 seconds, you need to get a new warrior.
In addition, as I often tell my groupmates when they sometimes over compensate and try desperately to "save" me from a mob to the group's detriment, "I'm not that fragile." Heck, I've had group members who think it's a good idea to assign me a bodyguard, which is just silly. Priests can be pretty good tanks as long as they have mana. If I'm being attacked by one mob while the rest of the group is focused on another mob, I'll cast Renew and Holy Shield on me, continue to attack the same mob as my groupmates (using wand shots or staff hits to save mana), and just take the pounding for a bit while the group finishes off the mob they are working on.
Finally, with regard to target selection, there were some comments in this thread about focusing on the "most dangerous" mob. It all depends on what you mean by "most dangerous," though. Remember the principle about how group strength goes up exponentially with each member added. Rather than looking for the "most dangerous" mob, I tend to look for the mob who can be killed the fastest and focus on that mob first. The obvious case is killing spell casters who are both the "most dangerous" and "easiest to kill." But other examples are when a boss mob has bodyguards. I often prefer killing the bodyguards first, because they can be killed quickly, and then deal with the boss when he's alone. It depends on the situation, of course. If the bodyguards have nearly the same hit points as the boss or if they can be sapped and/or sheeped, then maybe going after the boss could be best.
More subtlely, though, are the situations you often see in the newer instances, like in Gnomeregan where mob groups can be a mix of elite and non-elite mobs. I always always always have my groups attack the non-elite mobs first. If it's a swarm of non-elite mobs (like gnome technicians), then aoe spells and bombs are used to try to weaken the mobs all at once. (Here, a priest should try to focus on keeping Holy Shield up on the group's mage). But once again, those characters without aoe attacks should focus on each non-elite mob one at a time. Once the easily killable non-elite mobs are out of the way, then the group can focus their damage-dealing abilities on the elite mobs one at a time.
So, yes, you are correct in that every mob should be taken into account, preferably before the battle has begun. However, all damage-dealing abilities of the group should be focused on one mob at a time.