Game Guides Archive

This guide is based on my experience of hunting on Dantooine in a large group post-CU, some of the methods described within therefore might be swayed towards this type of hunting. Nevertheless, I believe a lot of the guide can be applied in most hunting situations, from solo hunting, to intensive grinding. Also, I'm sure some of the material here is duplicated in other guides, I've tried to hyperlink to them rather than duplicate if possible. Hopefully even experienced players will find something useful in the guide!

This is a working document, so please feel free to feedback any comments (positive and negative) to this forum.

This guide is also located here with inline graphics.

Cheers,

Haeson Rees, Intrepid Galaxy

1. Preparation
   

   Before heading out hunting, it's worth getting yourself inspired by the local entertainers (which will increase your earned experience by 10%)- depending on your server, you'll probably find loads either in Theed, Naboo or at the Dantooine mining outpost. Be sure to tip the entertainers generously! You will also want to make sure that your inventory is insured, and that you have stored your clone data at the nearest cloning center.

   
   

   If you have a doctor in the group, then kindly ask them to buff your speed and action, as those will likely be the two factors you will most be using during the hunt.

   
   
2. Finding a group
   

   The best place to find a group tends to vary from server to server, and depends on the CL of the group you are trying to find, but since the Combat Upgrade (CU) the best place to find a group interested in hunting is normally at the Mining Outpost on Dantooine. If you have bought the RoTW (Rage of The Wookiees) expansion, then you should be able to shuttle straight there using your starter craft.

   
   

   Once you've reached your 'pickup point' then you need to find a group. The following ways can be used at this point:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Use the /lfg command. This will place a LFG tag above your head so that other players can see you're looking for a group. The tag automatically disappears when you join a group (so remember to reset it if you leave the the group prematurely)

      
      
   2. 
      

      Ask if anyone is setting up a hunting group. Typically it's useful to know what role you will be playing in the group (e.g. medic, ranged, tank) - although you should try and keep your role icon (top left of your UI) up to date by clicking on it until the required icon appears. The key fact to remember when asking for a group is not to spam - try to keep your spatials to once every 10 seconds at the most - some group leaders will just refuse to invite you if you spam too many spatials.

      
      
   3. 
      

      Search for an active group. If there isn't much activity around the starport, then there are probably still groups hunting, and typically these slowly empty as people log off. So by going to around 900 - 1100m away from the starport and going around in a circle you will probably run into a group. Ask the group kindly if you could join, and hopefully they'll let you in!

   
   

   Once you're in the group, you can use the /groupchat (or /g) command to talk to your group. Since the CU, the Combat Level (CL) of the group will be set to the maximum CL of the members.

   
   
3. Getting the missions
   

   Each member of a group can take up to two missions. At Dantooine Mining Outpost, the mission terminal is located just outside the cloning center. When getting missions, bear the following in mind:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Use the refresh key to reload the missions, and you can sort the missions by other criteria than the name - I find it useful to sort by direction so I can easily find missions going the right way.

      
      
   2. 
      

      It's efficient for all members of the group to get missions in the same direction. If you are joining a new group, then ask the group leader which direction the missions should be in. If you're joining an established group, then you can check the (rough) direction of the missions by looking at your map and then checking the direction of the 'nearest mission for group' - this saves you having to ask the direction.

      
      
   3. 
      

      The difficulty range of available missions will vary from CL-2 to CL+2 (e.g. if group level is 80, then you will be able to get from 78 - 82). It's always best to get the higher mission level, because typically a full group will be able to complete all missions, and there is an experience (XP) bonus of 10% per level above the group CL. Always try and get at least the CL of the group (e.g. 80) - but if you're just sitting there waiting for new members, for example you are the first person to join the group and you expect a long wait, then use this time to keep refreshing the mission list until you get a level 82 mission going the right way! Remember you can also abort a lower level mission before you take the higher level one.

      
      

      Remember that is is more efficient to be in a group with everyone approximately the same level - so if you are a CL30 try to find a CL30 group, which might involve going to a planet that has a lower level of creatures, such as Naboo or Corellia. See the Maximising XP section for more details on why this is the case.

      
      
   4. 
      

      The type of Mobile Object (mob) typically very important when choosing a mission. Mobs can be NPC (e.g. Dantari), or Creature (e.g. Pikets). Both of these types could be 'Social' and they can also 'agro' - which means that they will appear red on the radar. more about both of these later. Typically, for a pure grinding group (i.e. a group that just wants to get as much XP as fast as possible) the preferred missions will be non-social, non-agro creatures, e.g. on Dantooine these would be Bols. Many CL80 players on Dantooine prefer Pikets though because of the social XP bonus, and the fact that the social nature means that they can be killed more quickly. It's always best to ask the group leader what type of creature to hunt - once again, refresh the mission list and the correct type will come up eventually. A good place for information on which creatures are social/agro can be found on www.swgcreatures.com although not all creatures have been updated since the CU.

   
   
   
   
4. Heading to the mission
   

   First, ensure you have your 'onscreen waypoint monitor' enabled. Since publish 8.2 the nearest group mission is now displayed on everyone's screen, so this makes it very easy to find the mission. Bear in mind that the mission will only 'spawn' when the owner comes within 250m, at which point it will relocate to the actual location, and the lair will appear.

   Fig 1. Where to stand
   

   When approaching the mission, look out of red (agro) mobs around the target lair. If possible, try to dismount on the opposite side of the red mobs - so they don't agro while you're taking out the mission lair. If you can't avoid them, then ensure that they are all killed before taking on the lair otherwise they will interfere later on and possibly result in unwanted social behaviour. If there are red mobs on one side of the lair, then stand on the other side to avoid unnecessary agro (See Fig 1).

   
   

   Taking the higher ground will give you an extra half-second on the approaching mobs, and also give you a better chance of having line of sight (LOS) when targeting mobs. It is also worth trying to keep the group tightly packed so that the healers in the group can stay within the healing distance of any medics in the group. If you have /maskscent, then try and use this before heading to the mission, to avoid any unneeded agro

   
   
5. Mob Mechanics
   

   It is very important when hunting to understand some mob behavioural science. This will help you predict how mobs will behave when exposed to certain types of attacks, and help you be more efficient in their elimination.

   
   

   As mentioned previously, mobs can be social or non-social, and agro or non-agro . Bear in mind that agro mobs and social mobs give a bonus to XP gained during a mission.

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Agro mobs appear red on your radar, and will spontaneously attack players who approach within their agro radius. The agro radius has been defined by the developers as 'As a player becomes higher in level than an NPC or creature, the aggro radius vs. the AI becomes smaller. A grey con will never aggro. The exception to this is Imperial and Rebel NPC enemies who will still have a full aggro radius.'. However, some grey con creatures will agro for no apparent reason, so watch out.

      
      
   2. 
      

      Social mobs are more interesting. Social mobs work by attacking any player who attacks a 'friend' that is within their social radius. Experimentation shows this radius to be about 8m. Every time any social mob takes any damage, the game engine checks whether there are any 'friends' within an 8m radius, and if there are, then they will agro against the source of the damage. This means that even a mob 'on the move' will agro friends who are within the agro radius from the location it takes damage (see below for how this becomes important)

   
   

   All mobs will consider their lair a 'friend' and will agro anyone who attacks the lair however far away they are from the lair. This can be useful when a lair spawns inside a house, as it can pull creatures outside, but can also result in uncontrollable agro situations.

   
   

   Players should also be aware of Hate - which has become more prominent in the post-CU world. I won't explain hate in detail here, as there is an excellent guide on this here, but understanding this is invaluable in predicting who the mobs will be concentrating their firepower on.

   
   
6. Lair Science
   

   Lairs come in many forms, and there is a very good explanation of these by Fred_Skinner here. However, assuming you are hunting creatures on Dantooine (e.g. Pikets or Bols), the characteristics of the lair can be predicted fairly accurately:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Initial spawn. When you approach the lair, there will be a number of mobs surrounding the lair. These should be taken care of using the pulling techniques described below.

      
      
   2. 
      

      First wave. Once the initial spawn has been taken care of, the group should stand greater than 20m away from the lair, and then attack the lair until one creature spawns and then STOP FIRING. The first wave of creatures will then come out at a rate of approximately one every 15 seconds or so, and these should be eliminated as quickly as possible by concentrated fire from the group.

      
      
   3. 
      

      Second wave. Once the second wave has been dispatched, the group should tap the lair for the second time until the second wave appears and then, once again, STOP attacking the lair: Once again, creatures will spawn every 15 seconds and they can be taken out one at a time.

      
      
   4. 
      

      Take out the lair. Once the second wave is eliminated then the group can safely take out the lair - you'll know you're not about to get any surprises from future spawns because the amount of damage on the lair will be approximately tripled and it will only take a few seconds to finish it off.

   
   

   Bear in mind that the number of mobs that spawn is directly related to the number of people in the group. Research shows that an 8 person group will result in approximately 12 mobs emerging from each wave.

   
   

   The two key things to remember when taking out lairs are:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Stand away from the lair when attacking the first or second wave. This is because while you are attacking, more creatures might spawn, and unless you are able to eliminate it in less than 15 seconds, then your attacks on the existing one will immediately cause a social behaviour from that creature, and you'll end up in trouble! If you are standing 20m away then there is no chance of recently spawned mobs from 'insta-agroing' because they will be outside the social radius.

      
      
   2. 
      

      Stop attacking the lair when the waves spawn. I know how tempting it can be while waiting 15 seconds to keep tapping the lair during a wave spawn (I've done this too!), but this only causes more problems. Firstly - it means that less firepower is concentrated on the spawns so it takes longer to complete the mission, and secondly, it means that any spawns from the lair will immediately agro at the person attacking the lair, causing uncontrollable agro situations.

   
   
7. Pulling
   

   Pulling refers to the systematic and structured way in which individual mobs can be 'pulled' away from the lair without causing social reactions from the rest of the mobs. This allows all the group's firepower to be concentrated on a single creature, and more efficiently complete the mission. Since publish 20, the rules governing pulling with pets have changed substantially requiring more care to be taken when pulling creatures, especially in a weaker group.

   
   

   Assuming a weak group where the aim of the pull is to attract one creature at a time then, armed with your knowledge of the game mechanics outlined above, the following suggestions emerge:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      Nominate a puller. Agree a puller with groupchat, resist the temptation to pull when you are not the puller - it is possible that there might be delays while they identify the target and if a rogue puller ends up pulling at the same time, then that's two creatures to deal with, as well as a potentially split group.

      
      

      One additional tactic useful if you have a dedicated puller is to use the new assist feature by targeting the puller and attacking him to pass-through to the mob. You can even make this a macro and assign it to a keyboard shortcut.

      
      
   2. 
      

      Attack lone mobs. By attacking a mob that is away from other creatures, the social radius rules will mean that the creatures friends will not come to the rescue.

      
      
   3. 
      

      Don't attack the lair. Ok - I've said this before, but it's worth saying again, because this it the biggest mistake that I see groups making when hunting

      Fig 2. Attacking a mob over a lair
      
      
      
   4. 
      

      Don't attack a creature if it has to cross the lair. This might happen when a particularly daring puller will identify a creature on the far side of a lair that is outside the agro radius and hit it once to agro it (See Fig 2), and then wait until it passes over the lair and gets outside the agro radius before attacking again. If this technique is used then by attacking while the creature is running towards the group will agro the entire lair and end in disaster. If you are doing this cross lair pulling, then be sure to turn off your auto-fire (ctrl click on your default action) - otherwise you might accidently attack the mob as it crosses the lair.

      
      
   5. 
      

      Don't use area attack. Pretty obvious, and be forgiving when people accidentally use an area attack, but in general, since the CU, area attacks are not used when hunting in groups.

      
      
   6. 
      

      Be patient. If you can't find a lone creature, then it's worth bearing in mind that mobs are Mobile, and will move around - more often than not one of the creatures will run away from the lair for a moment, so you have to be ready to attack it at that point

      
      
   7. 
      

      Know your limits. A well balanced group with eight CL80s will probably be able to agro an entire lair of mobs and take them down with no problem, especially with a few medics around doing area heals. However, a smaller group with perhaps fewer CL80s in it might only be able to handle one mob at a time, and so you should use all the techniques described above.

      
      
   8. 
      

      Know your specials. Techniques such as crippling shot, kneecap shot and stopping shot can be very useful when mobs agro - so if you are a Bounty Hunter, Pistoleer, or a Rifleman, then use these shots - but remember that the first two are only best used on secondary targets while the main group takes out the primary target (as they break on damage).

   
   
8. Maximising XP
   

   Most players hunt for the experience, be it for the Jedi or Force Sensitive grind, or just to work their way up their chosen profession. It is therefore bearing in mind the following points:

   
   
   
   
   1. 
      

      You get full experience at the death of the mob, so long as you contribute towards its death in any way.

      
      

      This could mean doing 1 hit point (HP) of damage on the mob, or it could mean healing someone who is attacking the mob by one HP. Either way, you get full XP. Remembering that a mob will turn red on the overhead map when you have damaged it, it is therefore advisable, especially in a high level group, to look around yourself on the overhead map and check that all the mobs around you are red, and if not, shoot any that are yellow to ensure you get a cut of the XP.

      
      

      If you perform any healing during the battle, you will get medical experience in the ratio of the amount of damage you caused vs the amount of healing you performed. You will only get combat experience for dealing damage, and not for healing.

      
      

      You still gain XP if you are incapacitated when the mob dies - useful for doctors who might perform a group heal of a high level group during a massive agro attack, resulting in massive hate and incapacitation - just sit back and watch the medical XP roll in - since you are guaranteed to have healed the killers of the mob.

      
      
   2. 
      

      XP depends on two things:

      
      
      
      
      1. 
         

         Your CL. The higher your CL is, the higher the amount of experience you will gain. This will 'peak' at about 5k (of weapons XP) for a CL80. Jedi XP uses a different scale but the rules are the same.

         
         
      2. 
         

         The difference between the CL of the mob and the CL of the group CL . Remembering that the group CL will be equal to the CL of the highest level player, you will get a 10% bonus over your base XP for each level the mob is above you - e.g. a CL82 mob will earn you 20% more XP than a CL80 mob (assuming your group CL is 80).

      
      

      Example 1: You are CL80 and your group is attacking a CL82 mob. Your XP 'pool' will be around 5k (depending on whether the mob is agro or social). If you deal no damage and only heal then you will get 5k of medical XP. If you do not heal at all then you will get 5k of (e.g.) pistol XP and 500 combat XP. If you do the same amount of damage dealing and healing then you might get 2500 pistol XP, 250 combat XP and 2500 medic XP.

      
      

      Example 2: Same as before, but you do no damage and only heal. You will only get 5000 medical XP and not get any combat XP.

      
      
   3. 
      

      Group with similar minded CLs

      
      

      The rules of XP mean that a CL5 player killing a CL7 mob on their own will earn the same amount of XP as a CL5 player in a group with a CL80 killing a CL82 mob. This is why it is always better to try and find a group of approximately your level, because a group of eight CL30 players taking CL32 missions will be able to complete missions far faster than seven CL30s and one CL80, taking CL82 missions, while the XP earned for the CL30 players is identical.

   
   
9. After the mission
   

   After the mission you will want to regroup and have any doctors present rebuff everyone in the group. Often an efficient doctor can buff the group while they are waiting for their vehicles to spawn. If you feel yourself being buffed - then don't run away from the friendly Doctor!

Message Edited by willphaser on 07-29-2005 10:23 AM

Message Edited by willphaser on 08-26-2005 07:33 PM

Excellent guide!!!

Any chance of getting a sticky for this either here or in the PA and grouping forum?

Nice guide!