To keep the cabal topic at least somewhat on track, I'd like to start this thread on player vs environment, or specifically exploration/mob killing tips. I know I personally struggle a lot more in this department than I do in the PvP department, but wouldn't mind collecting some tips.

For instance, I know a goodie conjie is a good exploring character, but what if you don't want to create an explore character so much as explore with a character you already have, or are playing for reasons beyond exploration.

For instance, let's say you're going into an area explore, what sort of preps do you make sure you have? If you encounter a big mob you're looking to take down, what sort of strategies do you usually employ? What sort of characteristics (strong tank, good innate DR, healing, etc.) do you find are best to have in an exploring character... Do you gear differently for exploration than pk? Less +stat, more saves, more resists, more DR, more HP?

If you're picking legacies or edges to help with exploration, what would you consider picking, that sort of thing. Is it about "knowing your opponent" meaning you'll have to fight a mob a few times before coming up with a good strategy, or can you generally just have a good exploring character and deal with what comes your way.

There are lots of tips for newbies in PK, but very few in exploring, and those can be just as helpful, because knowing where to get the +5 bastard sword of ultimate slaying at level 15 can mean all the difference when your skill set is mostly limited to dirt and disarm, so consider a guide from zero to hero on how to explore.

Also, what do you do when you know there is a puzzle/quest/something going on in an area, but don't know how to start/trigger the quest/get stuck. Do you ask for help IC, is there a method you use for collecting information, or how you search for the start of a quest? Like say you uncover a note that says "Hey, the thieves carried off the tablet, but if we can get it back, it'll fetch a high price." but that's all the info you have, how do you go about searching for more?*

I've rambled a bit, so I'll stop there, but hopefully people get the idea.

* This is the part I struggle with the most. I *know* of like 10 quests that I want to do, figure out, etc, but I what I don't know is how they start, or how to proceed past a certain point, and so I get stuck and then it sits in the back of my mind and slowing drives me (more) insane.

Tac

Few thoughts - and this is going to vary person to person - but here's my basic tips:

1) Have some means to poison mobs. This is very useful because it disables their ability to heal - while also hurting them.

2) Resists are nicer against mobs than against PC's. Mostly because mobs are less likely to dispel and ones that do elemental damage rarely maledict.

3) Ability to blind is very handy.

4) Carry gear that ups your saves.

5) Carry something to cure poison and disease. This mostly applies to hero level exploration where you can get hit with 12 hours of poison pretty easily that will require you to get to a healer if you don't have some means of healing yourself.

6) Carry something that lets you pass door. I can't even begin to count how many times this has saved my ass.

That's about all I can think of in terms of solo exploring. It isn't quite the same in large group exploration - like hell and such - where the types of strategy you'll use is very specific to whatever it is you're fighting.

nt

As a disclaimer, my game starts at hero. Levels 1-50 are usually tossed aside as a speedbump, so this regards mostly hero level PvE. First off you do not need a supreme explore character to find out about mobs. You do not need to kill a mob to study a mob. And not all builds can kill all mobs, but after you have at least fought the mobs you might want to later kill, you will come out all the wiser. If you don't know what's waiting, how can you create the fitting combo or group? Ok, this guy does stupid melee damage? You will need to tank well. Lots of spec damage? Need healing or DR. If the mob has lots of hp, you will need staying power. If it has few hp, big damage output will get the job done. Remember, you will only need to get a mob covered to gauge it's hp reliably. Does the mob have vulns? Does the mob track (crucial). Will the mob attack you with a prog, or is it just agro. This is also critical information, since an agro mob will stay agro only to the character it is hunting, thus giving others in the group free manuevering space. Attack progged mobs might do various things depending on how they are coded.

Once you learn about mobs, it is time to build accordingly. At the point I pick my legacies as a warrior, I don't limit the consideration to just how it stacks against players, but also mobs. Remember that straight up, picking legacy x with awesome malediction ability might straight up make you stronger than legacy y that gives you awesome tanking power. But legacy y might make you able to fight some critical mobs that will enable you to get the fabled +5 sword of instant deathfullness, and the potion of utter imbalance, which combined will make you able to take on a larger set of opponents. So, it comes down to your preference whether x or y is better. Also remember, once you have built one character that can kill a mob of certain type easily, it will work for you against other mobs of similar quality. Furthermore, other characters who might be more knowledgeable than you, might wish to pull you along to kill mobs. Even though they swipe the eq, you will come out all the wiser. On your travels with this character, you will find many mobs that fight in a style that doesn't favor your build, but you can either get a group, or build your next character to fight these.

Finally you have an awesome build, and you know what you are facing, so what tactics should you use? A couple of key points.
- Hamper regen
- Use vulns (can carry extra weapons if killing the mob is critical)
- Take your time healing
- Bring preps to cure various ailments, such as poison and plague
- Healing preps can save your ass
- Clear enough space for manuevering. The last thing you want to do is bounce between mobs.
- When you flee for healing, pick a good spot to make your stand. One exit room, or a corner of a hall is better than the middle of a tunnel, since you might need to move fast after fleeing.
- Be patient, and do not push your luck. If there's a chance of getting lagged or eating lots of damage, flee early.
- Always expect the area to repop. (It is a little known fact that agro mobs have been coded to notice your group getting split or going below 30% hp, and repop accordingly :P)