Equipment

Most people know certain things to bring with them when they hunt: good weapons, armor, bandages and the like. Here are a few more things that might help.

• Potions- Especially greater heals, cures and greater refresh. Potions are a fast heal or cure when you are waiting for a bandage or don't have mana. Potions are great in emergencies when timed with a bandage.

 
• Extra weapons- Always bring at least 2 weapons of each type you normally use. Certain weapons, notably katanas, wear quickly due to their speed. I normally take 2 katanas and 2 shields, and 2 bows in the case of archers.

 
• Extra recalls scrolls- So often, we rescue someone or a party member, only to discover he has no way of getting back. 3 recall scrolls is a minimum for me. These are in addition to the charges in your runebook. You should always have 3 loose recalls.

When recalling into a spot, have your paperdoll ready or prepare an arm/disarm macro. It is very likely there will be something very close that wants to hurt you. You should always assume that you will be recalling right next to the toughest monster that might spawn in that area.

Healing

Deciding what will be your primary mode of healing may dictate what your character's skill set will be. If you are planning to take up magery as a primary skill (over 50), it might be best if you drop standard bandage healing in favor of magical healing once magery and intelligence reach a reliable level. If you do not intend magery to be one of your primary skills, bandage healing is an absolute must for an adventurer.

The main strength of healing is the capability for healing greater than the greater healing spell, the ability to cure poisons and resurrect and, most importantly, its true power is in more than one person healing each other (cross-healing). This skill is so often the most underrated and overlooked in inexperienced warriors, and in my opinion, a measure of a true warrior's abilities lie in his healing.

There is a degree of timing and discipline when it comes to cross-healing. First, you always want to have a partner declared, especially in situations where there are several members and subparties within parties. Secondly, and most important, you will have to be able to trust your partner to be watching you. As a general rule, if my health drops to 1/3 - 1/4, I will apply my own bandage or use a potion. And finally, be generous, even wasteful with bandages. You never know when either yourself or your partner will get dp'ed, or flamestruck. Apply bandages as soon as you see or hear damage, whether hunting solo or in groups.

As a magic healer, you have the advantage of speed and range over healing others. But so often inexperienced magic healers waste mana on late cures and empty greater heals. This is because the mage is not aware of either the warrior's or his partner's ability to heal, and if in fact there is any healing going on between the two at all. In a “tank” formation, it's best to either immediately cure the person, or wait 5 seconds after he has been poisoned. Usually the former is the preferred method of curing. An alternative in the case of good cross-healing is to initiate a greater heal shortly after he has been poisoned, targeting once he has been cleared of poison.
 

In cases where you are being attacked by a diverse group of monsters, choosing the right opponent to kill first can be the difference between life and death. There are some general guidelines, but there are plenty of exceptional cases. But this may help you adopt the right mindset in evaluating these types of situations.

There are several factors in determining whom to attack first.

Poison ability and level
Attack and ground speed
Damage per hit inflicted
Magical or missile attacks
Hit points of the monster
Presence or absence of healer or other party member

• Example 1:  T2A north of Papua

A Wyvern, a Scorpion, a Stone Harpy and an Imp.
Defender type- Single melee style warrior
Order- Scorpion, Wyvern, Stone Harpy, Imp

• Example 2: Northeast peninsula near Minoc

An Air Elemental, an Orc Lord, an Orc Mage and a Troll
Defender type- Melee warrior
Order- Orc Lord, Air Elemental, Troll, Orc Mage

• Example 3: Northeast peninsula near Minoc

An Air Elemental, an Orc Lord, an Orc Mage and a Troll
Defender type- Mage/Archer
Order- Air Elemental, Orc Mage, Orc Lord, Troll

There is a class of creature that falls into the “vermin” type. Vermin are so easy to deal with, and do so little damage that there are cases where vermin are actually desired to encounter.

• Example 4- “The Amoeba”

Brigands, Mongbats, a Headless, an Orc Mage and a Snake
Defender Type- Any warrior type
Order- Snake, Brigands, Orc Mage, Headless, Mongbats

• Contingencies- There are some creatures, that absolutely take precedence over any kind of order. These creatures are called “juggernaut” class, because their combined speed, physical damage, hit points, and magic/poison ability are too much for even cross-healing to effectively counter. The best measure against these monsters is no contact at all, attack only with missile or magic.

Unfortunately for a pure melee warrior, juggernaut class monsters are impossible to destroy with any efficiency.

Includes more examples for both warriors and non-warriors, some group examples and more multi-class examples (like #'s 2 and 3).

This section considers tactical group formations for dealing with different hunting situations.

• Lead and trap - One or two preferably melee types with good parrying leads a group of spawn from its insertion point to a prepared area with a group waiting.

Best uses- Situations where there are more missile or magic types in group than melee, also where monster spawns may include juggernauts mixed in with lesser monsters.
Examples- Ophidian Mound, Terathan Fortress.

Worst uses- Areas where spawn is not highly varied and there are plenty of melee warrior types in group.
Examples- Shame Lvl1, Orc Forts.

Notes: In the case where there are several decent parry in the group, defer to the weakest healer to be the “leader”, as healing will be more important for the ones keeping him healed.
 

• Dispersed with partners - Entire group splits into subgroups of 2-3 and covers a predetermined area. Subgroups are mainly responsible for healing within themselves.

Best uses- Open areas where spawn is not highly varied, or not difficult for the group.
Examples- Shame Lvl1, Orc Forts, Outdoor hunting such as Oasis.

Worst uses- Situations where monster spawns may include juggernauts mixed in with lesser monsters, or monsters require more than 1 dedicated healer for the targeted person.
Examples- Ophidian Mound, Terathan Fortress, Destard, Wrong Level 2.

Notes: It is best to “even” the healing abilities of subgroups. Pair strong healers with low hp or weak healers, pair average hp/healer types together.
 

• The Tank Formation - Of all group formations discussed, by far the most important, due to its overall versatility and convenience of use, is the tank formation. The tank formation can be used in almost any situation, and should be considered the default formation in highly dangerous encounters. There are a few roles in this formation:

• The Point Man- The point man is usually the toughest guy to kill in the group standing still. He should have good melee skills, parry, and preferably good magic resistance. He will function as the tank's armor, and will lead spawns to the formation. He will also flag anything that spawns near the group.

 
• The Body- The body is responsible for keeping the point man alive. Good healers, warrior types up front, followed by bandage healing archers, bards and others. Keeping the point man alive is actually more important than offensive capability.

 
• The Cannon- This is the high powered range, heal and cure on the fly end of the tank. It should be mainly inaccessible, made of combat type mages, bards, and others who heal with magic. This point should also be collapsible in cases where spawn is totally encompassing.

There are millions of different variations on the tank, but the concept is always the same- tough, rigid contact point with enemy backed by solid healers and powerful ranged healers. Cross-healing and keeping the enemy off the soft spots of the group is as critical as group coherency. A moving tank formation can perform sweeps of hostile areas, and helps guarantee the gating mage does not get disturbed while providing a quick getaway. The point man should be able to give directions on whom to kill first. After all, he knows which of the enemy is hurting him the most.

Regardless of his role in any formation, there should always be a designated hunt leader, either appointed by the guildmaster, or elected by the group. Hunt leaders are responsible for the entire group, but that does not mean he should die with the group (see later). This section deals with some considerations for the hunt leader.

Tips for hunt leaders:

• Head check- Make sure you know where your party members are, especially if you cannot see them. Make sure those who are lagging respond to you; if not, you may need them directly in your presence. Be aware of people joining and leaving the group.

 
• Equipment check- Knowing where you are going ahead of time is great for making repairs or getting appropriate equipment prior to the hunt. As a leader, it's a good idea to carry more than just what you need; expect some of your group to be lacking things like extra cloth or recall scrolls, so carry a few extra.

 
• Ammo check- About every 45 minutes to an hour it's a good idea to ask your group if they need to bank, if they are running low on supplies, and to take a break. People tend to die when they get greedy with hunting and overloaded with gold, and haven't checked their regs, bandage or arrow supplies. The most entertaining hunts usually do not last longer than 1 hour (also the best survival rate).

 
• Check in, check out- The hunt leader should make arrangements for when people arrive or leave. More importantly, when someone dies due to lag and his ghost is stranded, it's a good idea to mark where the person died to send a gate for the ghost in the future. If this can't be done, make arrangements for the ghost's rescue.

 
• For the good of the group- This section is where many leaders have disagreements about, as some of the things here might be considered cowardly, or un-herolike, but these are things that should be considered:

 
• Sometimes there are members of the party who constantly wander off, get lost, or are a continual problem to keep track of. Those people are important, but never as important as the rest of the group. Someone that is constantly a problem like that should be left behind in cases where the rest of the group is at risk. Warn the member that by doing their own thing, they are compromising the safety of the others as well as themselves.

 
• There are members of the group whose lives are more important than the others’. These are the rezzers, the gaters, and you. If the team only has 1 person who can res, that person should be allowed to live save all others, as in a case where there is only one member alive you would want it to be the one who can res the others! You are an important member to keep alive as well, but if it comes down to you or the guy who can res, I hope you can understand.

 
• Some people think that members of the guild have an obligation to lay down their lives for each other. While no one disputes this is a noble thing to do, always keep your brothers in mind when you decide you want to go back to that dungeon or spawn and get your stuff back. Is that stuff really worth potentially more than what your friends are risking for you? Their lives and their stuff? Are you selfish enough to gamble someone else's lives and things for the sake of yours? Of course people are willing to do this for their friends, but it should not be expected. And why would you be bringing something so valuable that your friends may have to die for it?

 
• Don't be afraid to be bossy- After all, what are you there for? If there is a someone who has a clear understanding of what to do, who should do what and how, by all means delegate! More often than not, your team will admire your leadership if you are making the right calls. If you are not the boss, and you feel the leader is making a dicey call, politely suggest an alternative.