Practicum 4: Managing Aggro

In my last post I explained how I was learning how to use my new skills to take on more than one attacker. I'm happy to report that I can now handle quite a few at once! I finally got past the bandits I mentioned in my last post and completed that quest. I've now moved on to some creepy catacombs. Here's a shots to explain:

The Catacombs (my character has just destroyed a Restless Corpse).

A dead Devourer (giant scorpion like thing).

I'm able to handle more intense battle situations now thanks to some real life coaching. I was getting very aggravated with my inability to pick up on how to handle multiple attacker situations, and couldn't find any useful advice online (I really don't understand video game lingo in general apparently) so I asked for help. I had a friend coach me through an adventure through the catacombs. I learned that I was terrible at "managing aggro" which basically means that I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. On the map that shows where friends and enemies are, there is a circle around my characters position, when the little red dots get in that circle, they attack. My character is the green in the center of the map, the red things are enemies that are coming up.

If I watch where the enemies are, I can keep them from attacking by keeping them out of the circle around my character. This is especially useful if there is a large group ahead. If I attack the closest member of the group with a distance attack (like a javelin or arrow) and then run away, only the one I attack will chase me. Enemies will only attack if they are in my circle, so if I keep them out, they will leave me alone. This helps me avoid having all of the group attack me at once. Then once I've slimmed down the group to a manageable size, I can easily handle the situation. After a few instances like this with some helpful coaching as to what attacks to use when, I think I've really got the hang of it. I'm actually starting to feel confident in my skills. I'm only a level 5, so those skills are pretty limited. 

In other big news, I've run into the quest that takes my character out of the relatively safe learning area and into "Post-Searing Ascalon" (the full-fledged game area). I check out each quest on the Guild Wars Wiki (wiki.guildwars.com) before doing most quests (because I'm terrified of getting in over my head at this point).I didn't take the quest yet. I'm thinking I'd like some more practice in the "pre-Searing" area before I lunge into Ascalon proper. After a few more levels, and hopefully some more elemental skills, I should be ready to help Prince Rurik battle the Charr! 

P.S. For the story line behind the Searing check out http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Searing