Baddwin
New Member
I got this from the beta forums. Beta testers were asked not to post anything from those forums during beta, but now that the game has released, I thought this information was very worthwhile to share. Unfortunately, I didn't save the name of the original poster or I'd give him credit. I do remember, though, seeing his name very high on the Herald RvR rankings on the beta servers. I'd differ with him a bit in priority for killing squishies, but aside from that, this is great info.
_______________________
After spending much time on the Marauder, and getting killed while trying to run down ranged characters, I've started to notice a certain "flow" to most group vs group encounters in this game, and learning this flow I've come to, in my opinion, be very successful in most RvR encounters. I share here with melee beta testers as too often I see them suiciding into a zerg and getting nothing done. This mini-guide is specifically made for MDPS (melee DPS: the Marauder, Witch Elf, Witch Hunter, and White Lion) that are in a pug situation, although tanks could easily get a few pointers out of it too.
Before I get to the beefiest part of this mini-guide, let me give a few basic tips which supersede the things I have to say:
Vital Tips:
1. Healers are your lifeline. For myself, the difference in having a healer is having a tier 1 game of 8-16k damage vs a game with 25-40k damage. Healing is vital to every melee on the field. We're the most likely to get hit as tab target hits us first.
2. Never run strait into the zerg unless all the melee run in together. You will get tab targeted and focused down unless there are other melee (especially a shield tank) to absorb part of the damage for you. Running in all together is very effective, but takes some coordination that most pug groups aren't willing to display.
3. See who others are focusing, and assist in damaging their target.
4. Resists are your most important stat. Stack them over strength, weapon skill, toughness, anything. As a melee DPS your primary role is axing ranged guys, and they won't like to see you coming.
5. Always maintain what we call "situational awareness." This is basically being aware of your surroundings. Very often it is wise to pan your camera around to check if you're about to be flanked, or what your enemy is about to do. Don't get too caught up in the frenzy of battle.
The Flow: How a Normal Battle Takes Place:
Two armies come across the field, both sides anxious to spill the blood of mortal enemies, when after what seems like a lifetime of waiting they clash...in a fury of spells and swords they tangle until one emerges victorious...
There is, however, a method to the madness and chaos of battle. There are 3 distinct stages in a battle, and understanding these stages is key to success as a melee class. We don't have the luxury of sitting back safely, and running to the zerg to kill a ranged character is often suicide...as we're focus fired and killed so fast that often our healers can't even keep up.
Stage 1: The Skirmish
When 2 armies first meet, melee are at their weakest. There are many people that can easily tab target you and kill you before your healers (if you have any!) are able to help you. It is during this period that you must be most careful. It is never wise to go chasing kills into the enemy zerg during this phase. Instead, let your ranged teammates do most of the work. They can pick at the enemy players from a safe distance until the enemy melee get antsy enough to charge forth. See, you're already playing like a master: you're letting kills come to you, on your territory, instead of chasing them.
Don't get too excited yet, in this stage it is required for your ranged teammates to do their part and out maneuver the enemy. You're looking to weaken the enemy little by little at this point...and having ranged players to pick at them little by little is perfect for the skirmish type warfare. So, defend those ranged guys! Throw a snare on those foolish melee charging them, and proceed to dps them as much as possible. Even if they're a tank, they're the safest thing to beat on, and with many people focusing them, they'll go down eventually.
Stage 2: Mid-Battle
After most, and ideally all, the enemy melee are dead or otherwise preoccupied, it's your time to shine. You have 2 options here, and it will depend on if you can avoid attention or are already under some fire.
If you can avoid attention, and are unlikely to be killed, you're in a VERY ideal spot to rampage through the enemy back line. The true danger in stage 1 is not that the ranged will focus you, but that the more patient melee AND ranged will focus you. Remember how I said resists are your most important stat? This is why...because you're going to be in the back line against casters. My marauder, with a shaman or zealot buffing me, has (on the character sheet) 90% or more to all resists. I doubt that will last much longer due to balance issues (and I don't think I even get 90% damage reduction, it just says that on the character sheet). 50% is good and will ensure your survival in most situations once you get the hang of it.
When you aren't going to draw attention of enemy melee, and decide it's a good time to charge the back line...do it from a flank. Don't charge through the middle of battle, they'll see you and you WILL draw attention. The order of who to kill first: squishy healers first (Archmage/Shaman, then RP/Zealot), then Squig Herders/Shadow Warriors depending on your faction, then casters. Be prepared to retreat if things get ugly...you should get at least 1 kill if you waited for a good moment, but you should retreat well before you're in danger of dying. Use detaunts and sprints to quickly get out of harm's way.
If you will attract attention, your game plan has to change a bit. Either you are already getting hit, or have to cross the middle of the field and can't safely get to the casters in time. In this case, keep killing melee/defending your casters, or get behind a tank that happens to charge the caster line. You just have to be more cautious.
In either case, be very careful not to overextend out of your healer range. Don't go chasing kills when there are plenty more back closer to your support!
Stage 3: End Game
By this time, one side usually has shown dominance and will clean up. Feel more free to be aggressive and run your enemies off the field, using snare when you notice them use Flee (or Charge! if you have it and need it to catch up). Still, keep your awareness and don't chase too much or it'll bite you without you expecting it. Be very wary of chasing into guards. It's frustrating dealing with guard huggers, but don't play on their terms...leave the area and help capture/defend another objective.
If both sides are relatively even still, then it's going to come down to focus fire. See who everyone else is hitting, and pick who is going to die quickest...then kill them. Overextending and staying behind tanks doesn't play nearly as big a role at this stage, as melee can't be killed quickly enough due to a lot of dps being dead. Just keep your focus fire, and play your best small group vs group game...because that is what this situation truly involves doing.
I hope you, the reader, have learned a trick or 2 here. A true master lets those kills come to him, he doesn't waste the energy and risk being destroyed by chasing kills. He patiently waits for the right moment, using cover and flanking for safety, to strike at casters at the right time. Happy hunting!
_______________________
After spending much time on the Marauder, and getting killed while trying to run down ranged characters, I've started to notice a certain "flow" to most group vs group encounters in this game, and learning this flow I've come to, in my opinion, be very successful in most RvR encounters. I share here with melee beta testers as too often I see them suiciding into a zerg and getting nothing done. This mini-guide is specifically made for MDPS (melee DPS: the Marauder, Witch Elf, Witch Hunter, and White Lion) that are in a pug situation, although tanks could easily get a few pointers out of it too.
Before I get to the beefiest part of this mini-guide, let me give a few basic tips which supersede the things I have to say:
Vital Tips:
1. Healers are your lifeline. For myself, the difference in having a healer is having a tier 1 game of 8-16k damage vs a game with 25-40k damage. Healing is vital to every melee on the field. We're the most likely to get hit as tab target hits us first.
2. Never run strait into the zerg unless all the melee run in together. You will get tab targeted and focused down unless there are other melee (especially a shield tank) to absorb part of the damage for you. Running in all together is very effective, but takes some coordination that most pug groups aren't willing to display.
3. See who others are focusing, and assist in damaging their target.
4. Resists are your most important stat. Stack them over strength, weapon skill, toughness, anything. As a melee DPS your primary role is axing ranged guys, and they won't like to see you coming.
5. Always maintain what we call "situational awareness." This is basically being aware of your surroundings. Very often it is wise to pan your camera around to check if you're about to be flanked, or what your enemy is about to do. Don't get too caught up in the frenzy of battle.
The Flow: How a Normal Battle Takes Place:
Two armies come across the field, both sides anxious to spill the blood of mortal enemies, when after what seems like a lifetime of waiting they clash...in a fury of spells and swords they tangle until one emerges victorious...
There is, however, a method to the madness and chaos of battle. There are 3 distinct stages in a battle, and understanding these stages is key to success as a melee class. We don't have the luxury of sitting back safely, and running to the zerg to kill a ranged character is often suicide...as we're focus fired and killed so fast that often our healers can't even keep up.
Stage 1: The Skirmish
When 2 armies first meet, melee are at their weakest. There are many people that can easily tab target you and kill you before your healers (if you have any!) are able to help you. It is during this period that you must be most careful. It is never wise to go chasing kills into the enemy zerg during this phase. Instead, let your ranged teammates do most of the work. They can pick at the enemy players from a safe distance until the enemy melee get antsy enough to charge forth. See, you're already playing like a master: you're letting kills come to you, on your territory, instead of chasing them.
Don't get too excited yet, in this stage it is required for your ranged teammates to do their part and out maneuver the enemy. You're looking to weaken the enemy little by little at this point...and having ranged players to pick at them little by little is perfect for the skirmish type warfare. So, defend those ranged guys! Throw a snare on those foolish melee charging them, and proceed to dps them as much as possible. Even if they're a tank, they're the safest thing to beat on, and with many people focusing them, they'll go down eventually.
Stage 2: Mid-Battle
After most, and ideally all, the enemy melee are dead or otherwise preoccupied, it's your time to shine. You have 2 options here, and it will depend on if you can avoid attention or are already under some fire.
If you can avoid attention, and are unlikely to be killed, you're in a VERY ideal spot to rampage through the enemy back line. The true danger in stage 1 is not that the ranged will focus you, but that the more patient melee AND ranged will focus you. Remember how I said resists are your most important stat? This is why...because you're going to be in the back line against casters. My marauder, with a shaman or zealot buffing me, has (on the character sheet) 90% or more to all resists. I doubt that will last much longer due to balance issues (and I don't think I even get 90% damage reduction, it just says that on the character sheet). 50% is good and will ensure your survival in most situations once you get the hang of it.
When you aren't going to draw attention of enemy melee, and decide it's a good time to charge the back line...do it from a flank. Don't charge through the middle of battle, they'll see you and you WILL draw attention. The order of who to kill first: squishy healers first (Archmage/Shaman, then RP/Zealot), then Squig Herders/Shadow Warriors depending on your faction, then casters. Be prepared to retreat if things get ugly...you should get at least 1 kill if you waited for a good moment, but you should retreat well before you're in danger of dying. Use detaunts and sprints to quickly get out of harm's way.
If you will attract attention, your game plan has to change a bit. Either you are already getting hit, or have to cross the middle of the field and can't safely get to the casters in time. In this case, keep killing melee/defending your casters, or get behind a tank that happens to charge the caster line. You just have to be more cautious.
In either case, be very careful not to overextend out of your healer range. Don't go chasing kills when there are plenty more back closer to your support!
Stage 3: End Game
By this time, one side usually has shown dominance and will clean up. Feel more free to be aggressive and run your enemies off the field, using snare when you notice them use Flee (or Charge! if you have it and need it to catch up). Still, keep your awareness and don't chase too much or it'll bite you without you expecting it. Be very wary of chasing into guards. It's frustrating dealing with guard huggers, but don't play on their terms...leave the area and help capture/defend another objective.
If both sides are relatively even still, then it's going to come down to focus fire. See who everyone else is hitting, and pick who is going to die quickest...then kill them. Overextending and staying behind tanks doesn't play nearly as big a role at this stage, as melee can't be killed quickly enough due to a lot of dps being dead. Just keep your focus fire, and play your best small group vs group game...because that is what this situation truly involves doing.
I hope you, the reader, have learned a trick or 2 here. A true master lets those kills come to him, he doesn't waste the energy and risk being destroyed by chasing kills. He patiently waits for the right moment, using cover and flanking for safety, to strike at casters at the right time. Happy hunting!
