XP 101

[Torasu]

One of the issues I've seen come and go in cycles is xp groups. Often times new players don't learn how to xp, and this is through no fault of their own. Lets be honest, solo xp when your new to the mud, its boring. XP groups with a good leaders is much more fun, because you can often strike up conversations with your group members. The problem with this is that the good xp leaders tend to be too good, and hit mt90 and Hero very quickly. This leaves those newer players wondering what to do, as they don't know where to xp at their new levels.

Currently, the best solution is to teach those who don't know what to do, how to lead xp. Therefore, this topic will be an attempt to help those players out with just that.

Step One: Group Basics

Formation - First as a group leader you need to know about the formation. The Front row takes the bulk of the damage. The Middle row gets hit less often than the front, but in trade for that some of their attacks are occasionally blocked by the front row. You will recieve a message You try in vain to attack when your attack is blocked by formation. Finally, the back row is the safest place to be in a group, but is more likely to have their attacks blocked by the front 2 rows. I have also heard that as you move back a row in the formation your experience diminishes slightly, but I can't confirm it. Also, most rangers will prefer the 2nd or even 3rd row, so that they can use archery during combat. The positions are as follows:

Front row:. 0 1 2
Middle row:3 4 5
Back row:.. 6 7 8

Character Types - In groups there are 5 basic archetypes that most characters fit under. Some characters will fit under multiple roles.

1 - Tank: Most people are familiar with this concept. This character is able to stay in the front of the formation and soak up the hits from the mobs. Tanks usually have good AC (-151 or higher), or have damage reduction spells (most common are Tower of strength, sanctuary, or Vengeance Shroud)

2 - Hitter: This character specialized in damage dealing. Usually a warrior or some other fighter. These characters work well in the 2nd row, not directly behind someone, unless of course they are also a tank.

3 - Offensive Spell Caster: This character is a spell casters whose spells are primarily offensive. The most obvious one is Chaos Cleric, who does have access to heal spells, but one of its most useful contribution is the Desecrate Spell.

4 - Defensive Spell Caster: This character is a spell caster whose spells are primarily defensive. The most obvious one is the Order Cleric, who has access to heals and the spell Sanctuary.

5 - Assister: Any character who doesn't fit in the other roles is this. Most characters that are assisters are so because they lack the levels or equipment to be in any other category.

Step Two: Know your character.

This sounds simple, but it is essential to successful leading. Know what roles your character can fill, and which ones they can't.

Any character can tank, but they need the eq/spells. Getting to -151 ac or below is do able for any character. Most Hitters can tank with a good DSC, but without that, they are in trouble. They usually have sacrificed all their eq slots for damage rather than -ac. In order for a spell caster to tank, they usually need all their mana, so they will be unable to cast spells for the group.

If your party lacks hitting power, help yourself out, buy a demon prince or two. They are located 1w3n1e from []. They cost 6k, but if you loot while leading, you will easily make that up.

Step Three: Know your Limitations.

Having someone die in an xp group is a bad feeling. When it is the leaders fault, its even worse. If your group doesn't have a cleric to cast FA, skip mobs that hold (myrdralls in trollocs and tendriculous in cup are prime examples). If you group can't handle a mob because it hits too hard, or there are to many of them grouped together, skip them. Not getting the xp from one encounter is preferable to having to make up 1-3 levels.

Step Four: Know your Zones.

This sounds daunting, but it isn't as bad as you might think. You don't have to know the zone inside and out to xp well in it, but you need to know where the mobs are, and if there are any Death Traps (usually refered to as DTs) in the zone.

The easiest way is to ask someone as they are leading to show you the zone. Most leaders will slow down and teach someone a zone so that they don't always have to offer to lead. Otherwise, take a couple demons with you and explore the zone. Don't forget the FFall eq. Directions to the zones can be found at aocblackbook, http://aocblackbook.com/directions/?id=gendirs

Once you start knowing individual zones, learning to string several zones together before returning to town is the next step. Here are a few arcs that I use:
Jungle, gnoll village, ziggurat, apewood, (hounds if horses aren't dead yet)
Zephyrs Sigh, Draholium, Forest of Shadows, Hunting Grounds
Briargate, Keziahs, Hidden Village, Trollocs
Goda, Archedis, Dandrell

Final Thoughts:

Don't forget about your tracker. Sometimes you should run a zone with sub par xp, for no other reason than getting those mobs on your tracker to get the better xp zones off it.

Spells in groups: Most spell casters and group leaders have these basic rules concerning spells. Sanc is only for the front row and fragile members (low level MUs generally). If you are an assister, don't ask for haste. II (improved invisibility) is good for everyone except tanks.

Hope this helps.

-Torasu

[Rinn]

Gonna sticky this, good general advice on starting to lead exp.

Thanks Torasu.