Teras Kasi Archive
Thread: The solution to HAM penalties...
...make friends, bring them along, everyone heals each other during combat, it works, it's fun,AND it's what the devs intended (and have been trying to tell everyone) since the beginning. Teaming is key to this game and those to chose to solo and then post complaints about how hard it is to overcome the HAM penalties should take a step back and rethink their gameplay strategies (or not, keep feeling frustrated if that's what you like)...
During combat? None that I know of. Has rarely been an issue for me during high level combat unless I get poison that affects the mind pool. The point is to get a diverse group together, develop a synergy between team members that allows mutual healing to take place at a tempo that doesn'toverwhelm the mind pool. In other words, heal when necessary, allow mind pool to regen, rinse and repeat.
Another thing many of the players I work with do is max out the stat (forgot whether it's focus or willpower) that increases the regen rate. Other players have a different strategy which is to maximize thestat that reduces the amount of mind pool used for eachaction (again it's focus or willpower).
As it is, they really aren't THAT bad when I'm grouped, so I agree, grouping is a darn good strategy. Now that medic types can't get exp from healing pets, they may be willing to adopt a TKA as a source of med exp.
Mori, I'm very glad to hear that you also have developed a strategy that mitigates HAM penalities for Health and Action pool. And even though mind pool is still a challenge at times, it is just that: a challenge. Hopefully we can all continue a positive dialogue to develop even better strategies to address this challenge as well! 
I think all classes suffer from the mind issue and some think it's a flaw in the game design. It's not just that it can't be healed in battle. It can't be actively healed at all. If anyone remembers the elaborate procedures mages in AC went through to convert stamina or health to mana, one is reminded why it was done like this. I think they went a little overboard...
But it's unreasonable to expect every fight to be without risk. If things are too hard--they kill you or leave you with too much downtime--you probably aren't ready for them.
So, in keeping with the grouping theme, what can a group member do to keep a TKA from getting beat up? Healing only goes so far.
How do you spread the incoming damage between group members?
I have one group of friends that i group with. They are ALL out of town, or too fed up to play (not TKAs, just fed up players in general) so basically i have to solo. Now, i can take out yellows without too much trouble, usually, so i'm not THAT concerned about the HAM costs, etc. But i just wanted to say that sometimes it's REALLY hard to find a group to join, or even another person on the same planet. Rori, 3 AM, for example. usually not a lot of people playing there. So are you saying i should just not solo? I agree that the game was made to be played with friends, and that's great, but it shouldn't be overly frustrating to solo. It's a littlemuch to expect every player to have a group at all times. I made the mistake of grouping with a kid once, just because i was bored, and this MORON runs around shooting whatever he sees. I mean, a TK Novicecan take on a Beldonna Soldier, sure, but to shoot a Beldonna's league Marshal?! argh, and then he aggros me and incaps me, and the kid i grouped with was a newb, so he lasted about 3 seconds.... ANYWAY. my point is, i like to stick to grouping with people i know and trust. I don't think i should only be able to enjoy the game when they are all logged in...
Excuse the lack of profile/signature. The website is under maintenance, or something.
regarding spreading damage.... I think the key hear is movement. My teams have various combinations of:
Creature Handler, Smuggler, Ranger, Doctor/medic
What we've noticed is that when one player has the aggro, you can easily change the focus of the aggro to another target (such as a pet, or another player) by shifting your position. A knockdown can help here also because it gives you a bit of time to move away if you are taking too much damage. Keep in mind here I"m talking about combat versus high level mobs (the ones that take several minutes to finish off).
Here's a typical scenario:
Smuggler approaches lair/camp, draws aggro and pulls the mob to the team.
Upon reaching the team, the Smuggler (or some other ranged profession) will fire a knockdown shot, giving time for melee folks and pets (like me :smileywink to run up and begin engaging the mob.
This usually means that I will get the aggro first when the mob gets up, so I take a few hits (get healed also), then myself or someone else will KD the mob and allow me to shift position.
Meanwhile pets are still hammering away and usually draw the aggro at this point.
Now I'm just firing away with specials all day long for maximum damage while the healers in the group are hitting me (and in return I'm hitting them) with heals from time to time to keep our action and health pools up.
Mob dies, we all get mega xp for our various professions. Next mob! 
I'm sure other teams have different strategies, but this works very well for us AND I'm never shafted on unarmed xp.
regarding being too postive... you can never have enough of that around here
Strychnine,
It's true that finding good teams (friends or otherwise) can be a challenge. But that IS one of the things that makes an MMO challenging in the first place. Keep working at it and you are welcome to team with me anytime on Bria