On Thu, 2 Mar 2000, Reece, Tom - 25IDL G4 wrote:
>
> Conventional tactics in EQ when you pull multiple mobs is for everyone to
> /assist the main tank and take out the mobs one by one. This stategy behind
> this is that it will reduce the amount of damage inflicted on the entire
> party. I think it would be safe for me to say that almost every group I
> join follows this tactic when we fight.
It cuts the damage roughly in half. The exact amount depends
on the number of mobs (assuming the amount of hp a typical mob
has is comparable to the damage it does - there are several
exceptions to this, thus the rule kill the caster first).
For 2 mobs it's 75%, for 3 mobs it's 67%, decreasing
asymptotically until you get to 50% for infinite mobs.
> The problem with this tactic is that, due to bard hate, it opens up the bard
> to bear the brunt of the damage from the mobs that aren't engaged. This
> tactic also puts the groups healer at risk because unengaged mobs are likely
> to attack him as well.
Yeah, you usually won't get much sympathy from group members
if you complain about the extra mobs attacking you. You have
to mention that when the healer heals you, the extras will be
all over *their* healer. :)
> I wondering that if in situations where you get 2+ mobs, that it might
> actually be smarter if the tanks in the group each attacked a different mob.
> It would take longer to kill all the mobs, but it would help ensure that
> damage to the group was spread out better. Plus, if all the mobs are
> engaged, it would be safer for bards to sing Largos to debuff mob attack
> speed. Its quite possible that the damage multiple mobs inflict using this
> tactic (Largos in effect all the time) would be very close to the damage
> they inflict when everyone focuses on one at a time.
Well, if everyone is assisting and the extra mob is going to
beat up on the bard anyways, you might as well play Largo's.
:) So I don't see Largo's as having any effect on the
comparison.
The real unknown in this is how much better is a real tank at
tanking than a bard. If a real tank can take 75% the damage
of a bard or less, then it makes more sense to fight both at
once. That's for evenly splitting your resources though.
The best strategy would be one tank on the extra, everyone
else fights the primary target. The exact percentage would
vary depending on group size and composition.
--
John H. Kim
kim@...