Game Guides Archive

1. Target the friendly entity you wish to assist. This can be a pet, an NPC faction character, or friendly player. Please note that this method does not work onyellow con NPC characters, they must be friendly characters.


2. Wait until they have engaged a target in combat.


3. Select the attack you'd like to use. This can be any special, including sniper shot (if you're prone first of course), body shot or even just plain old ranged shot.

Because you can use any special attack, you can determine how you will assist your intended target. This is better then the way it used to be when all you could do was a basic attack, with no specials. Now you can determine your role in the group with the specials you pick and time them according to the person you've selected to assist, letting them act as group puller.

Using your assist to optimum effect

This new assist option has opened up a whole world of new teamplay possibilities, that I have noticed is not really being used to its fullest potential.

Its all about timing!

For example. Being a rifleman, I tend to out damage most people in the group. Its important that I wait for a melee type character to pull a mob, and do a few hits on it first before I lay on the hurt. This new assist system makes my job easy. I simply select the designated puller for the group and wait until he's engaged a target. That's not what I wait for though... I wait for the magic moment, when the melee user performs the following specials;

1. +ARMOR BREAK+




• This will significantly decrease the targets resistance to your attacks


• (If you're planning to use an attack with a "windup" time, such as sniper shot, this is the PERFECT time to start charging it up)


2. Knockdown




• Not only does this special keep your enemy from firing at you for a brief moment, it adds an additional 20% to your damage!


• If you started your "windup" shots when you saw +armor break+ on your team members opponent, it should land just after they're knocked down. For a Rifleman, this can add anywhere from 200-400 points of damage!


3. Volleyfire




• If you're lucky enough to have someone in the group with volleyfire, its very advantageous for them to apply it at the moment of +armor break+ also, for an additional 15% to the accuracy and damage against the enemy!

A melee users knockdown attack is generally longer lasting then a ranged users, and is the perfect time for ranged users to engage the target. You should also have enough time to put in an extra shot or 2 before the target gets back up! Do the math, and you realize that you have a target whose armor resistance has been lessened, and is suffering anywhere between 20%-35% damage and accuracy bonus from every incoming attack during that one moment...

IF they get up, the target wont last long.

The key is coordination and timing by using a master puller and /assisting them.

Melee pullers and AOE assists

Area of effect attacks can be good and bad. I'm sure many of you have realized the bad effects already, when your group is overwhelmed with mobs that may not have swarmed had someone not used an AOE at the wrong time (shame on you grenade users!). There is a time to use AOE attacks however... and its best if you coordinate those attacks under the following circumstances;

1. When the master puller is swarmed and surrounded. Swarming happens at times, whether or not someone uses an AOE attack. Some monsters, such as Pickets, will rush to aid members of their herd. This can lead to the quick demise of the group. When you see this coming, its time for the group to start laying on the area attacks!


2. Its the pullers job to always have a living mob targeted so the ranged users can continue to rain down death to the area.




• Pullers! Are the mobs dying too fast for you to keep up? Create this macro and hit it to keep your group blasting!


• /target self; /pause .2; /ui action cycleTargetOutward; /(name of special attack)


• This automatically and nearly instantly selects the next closest living target and attacks them. The faster you do this, the easier it is for your ranged users to keep laying down the area attacks.

Most people don't realize that AOEs cause a lot of mob confusion. One user firing an AOE makes it easy for mobs to single out a target and eliminate it. What if it were 5 people all firing off AOEs? Who do they go after then?

Thats the beuty of an AOE assist. Just remember not to AOE unless you HAVE to.

Medics and the new assist method

You medics out there could fight almost exclusively using the new assist method! All you need to do is look at your group member window and watch for members that are in combat and suffering damage. To heal them, you simply click on their name and select the type of heal you would like to perform.

Instead of retargeting a mob to attack it, you simply keep that group member selected and fire off a special attack, which will make your character fire at that group members target! Now you can heal and hurt by simply targeting embattled group members and doing what you do best!

Dont forget, you can use the F1-F8 keys to select group members also!

Macro assisting

Macro assisting can make your job very easy when it comes to assisting. There are times when you do need to break your targeting to target someone else or to target even yourself (to heal yourself for example). A smooth assist macro can get you right back into action with one easy keystroke! Here is a sample;

/ui action targetGroupX; /pause .5; /(name of special attack);

Thats it! Just a few notes;

• /ui action targetGroupX, X= the number of the member in your group member starting with 0. In other words, the very first member of the group window is actually member # 0. The second is member #1 and so on. You will want to change this towhen the group determines who the master puller is.


• Remember, text is case sensitive!

Medics assist macro

Again, very simple with just a few minor differences

/ui action targetGroupX; /pause .5; /follow; /pause 2; /(name of heal); /pause. 5; /(name of special attack)

This macro is designed to get you within range of your target, heal them and immediatlyplace a special attack in your quewith one easy keystroke! If you're a combat medic and prefere using /bactatoss you might want to remove the /follow command and just stay within 20 meters of the member you wish to heal.

Looping assist macro

Looping assist macros can be good, and bad. It entirely depends on the member you're targeting. Remember, a looping macro is no replacement for a cognative person at the keyboard and should not be used for long. You most definetly want to make sure the member you're assisting is also present and not AFK.

/ui action targetGroupX; /pause .5; /follow; /pause .5; /(name of special attack); /pause .5; /macro (whatever you named this macro)

In addition to this macro, you medics will want to run this macro;

/(name of heal); /pause 4.2; /target self; /pause .2; /(name of heal); /pause 10; /macro (whatever you named this macro)

This second macro for healers is intended to regularly heal your teammate, and yourself, with enough time to regenerate your mind. Some tweaking will be required to get the timing just right. You will want to adjust the first macro so a longer pause time so the targeting macro doesnt interrupt the healing process by targeting your group member again.

In conclusion!

Hope this helps you guys realize the new assist system and its greater teamplay potential! Enjoy!

-Q