Dungeon Guide: The Basics
By: Herb “Oldgoat” Townsend
Terminology
Adds
Adds are mobs that are added by
someone you’re fighting, usually a
minor or major boss. They usually
need to be controlled, and often the
party leader will target these adds
in a specific order. Dungeon guides
should give a general idea which
adds are the most damaging to allow your party to choose whether to
ignore the adds, (hoping that AOE
will kill them) or fight them instead
of the boss, (hoping the boss doesn’t
kill you while you’re trying to get rid
of the adds) or some combination of
the two.
Aggro
Aggravate a mob, causing it to attack your party.
Armor Repair
Every dungeon has a place where
you can repair your armor. It costs
as much as it does outside the dungeon. Look for an anvil with a heart
over it. Bear in mind that explore
mode repair stations are not always
in the same location as story mode
repair stations. It is important to
note the nearest waypoint so you
can travel back as needed.
Pull
A single character with a range
weapon attempts to hit and cause
specific mobs to follow. That character then brings that/those mobs
to the rest of the group. Used very
often in conjunction with stacking.
Respawn
Upon your death as long as everyone in the party has left combat or
died, you can “respawn” at any open
waypoint in the dungeon. Bear in
mind, some situations, if everyone
respawns, can cause a boss to heal
completely and his adds to stay active, making the fight even more
difficult the second time around.
Run
Move through an area without stopping to fight or “smell the roses.” It
is best to use speed buffs and stability skills as necessary to make it all
the way through.
Stack
Everyone stands on the exact same
spot in the game. This can happen
in PvE, WvW, Dungeons, or anywhere a group of characters needs
to work together to defeat a common enemy. This technique may
render the present screen angle
useless. The mouse can be used
to adjust the view to an overhead,
which will allow more useful information to be seen.
General “Known”
Rules.
1. Rangers - control your pets.
2. Skills that push or pull your
foes - use sparingly.
During a battle, no one likes to be all
wound up and ready to smack down
an enemy just to have it pushed
or pulled away at the last second.
There are times when pushing a foe
into a corner is a good thing, but
there are times when pushing a foe
can cost you the battle. Use them
sparingly and with the knowledge
of the group.
3. It is not always helpful to
resurrect someone in mid
fight. It truly depends on the
situation.
a. If a player is just down but not
defeated the first choice should be
for that player to target a lower level mob. If that mob is killed before
the player becomes defeated, that
mob’s death will cause a rally.
b. Second choice is to try using resurrect skills, such as the warrior’s
Battle Standard, or Guardian’s Signet of Mercy.
c. If it is possible, have one or two
players kite the mobs or boss while
the rest try to resurrect.
d. If none of these are possible, explore the possibility of getting everyone out of battle so the defeated
players can respawn.
There are places that you can let
your pets run free, and there are
places that your pet will cost you
dearly. Pets can aggro the wrong
mob at the wrong time. When you
are running, sometimes your pet
can cause problems.
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