Is kiting still possible?

[Tobann]

Im a 34 Ranger now ,so I dont have all my awesome high DPS skills yet. Im finding some of the grouped mobs and whits are getting me down to yellow health,so Ive thought of trying to kite some solo. The problem is I find I either cant keep far enough ahead of the mob to avaoid damage,or Im too far away and the encounter breaks off.Ive heard others talk about kiting on the boards here and wonder if the technique used could be described. Thanks ahead of time Buaf 34 Ranger Faydark <div></div>

[brandi7920]

<P>I've never kited, even when we could...so I don't really have an answer to that. I was just wondering...do you use high DD posions and stun potions suited to your level? Those 2 things combined can make quite a big difference in fights. I'm sure there will be others that will answer your question specifially about kiting. I just wanted to add in that poisons are a must for scouts in order to really do any decent 'get them before they get you' damage and the stun potions will help keep you from being beat on so much.</P> <P>Good luck! :smileyhappy:</P>

[Aenashi]

<DIV>not since LU 13 i think that was the number... no more kitting </DIV>

[Crychtonn]

LU13 didn't stop kiting it just changed it.  If you have the room it is still possible and not to difficult to kite.

[Fennir]

This is why we have a buff that increases our in-combat runspeed, 2 attacks that snare, another snare, a trap that snares when it breaks, and 3 separate DPS/haste buffs. Kiting is definitely not dead.  I only use it when I have to though. <div></div>

[Runewind]

The only way I've found to kite is to circle the mob. So that they're chasing me in a circle and I don't get too much distance from them. it's really quite annoying but still possible. <div></div>

[Jay]

Okay, but those of you who still kite, why not fill the poor guy in on HOW you're doing it? Despite the subject line, I think he wants some information on technique, not a yes or no answer about feasibility.

[Ithaspa]

This is how i low level kited. Sneak in, slam the dots on the heroic, hit Ensnare and circle run till dots drop, the repeat... Im sure Bow kiting is much the same, our snares have a safe range so just keep them up while pelting with arrows and ranged shots... btw, as long as you have a DOT or spell on a mob it will never drop agro, so you can keep the circle wide if you keep the damage on <div></div>

[Jeris Nefz]

<DIV>I was never a really big fan of kiting, before or after the combat changes.  However, I use foresters noose and leg shot if I do have to do it.  Unfortunately, those are still a few levels from you.  My suggestion would be to use your cheapshot.  Hit Cheap Shot and back up and unload your high damage bow shots.  Make sure you have the best poison you can afford.  I personally go with High DD, but if you plan on kiting a lot, maybe a High DoT might be better.  Use any skill that you have that might slow down the mob.  Sorry I don't remember too many skills at that level.  FWIW, 40+ kiting gets much easier, and 50+ I don't think kiting is necessary (unless you plan on trying to do something crazy).  Again, I am not a big fan of kiting anyway, but that's my 2cp for ya.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jeris 60 Ranger on Grobb, Council Elder for Legacy of the Fallen</DIV>

[Tobann]

Thanks for all the info. I hve been using a DD poisen...something of blades I think is the name.I have not tried a stun poisen yet. Anyone have the name of a stun poisen. On my server the poisen prices seem a bit high and are of limited choice so I may have to take time out to get my alchy skill up Buaf <div></div>

[xandez]

<P>Kiting is prolly just as effective now than pre LU13, maybe even easier imo. Just off stance on, maybe use high DoT poisons, snare, occasional cheap shot stun, then some ranged mayhem, continue to circle teh mob, spam DoT attacks when ca, leg shot, etc... not that hard, just requires some free space, adds usually are lethal.</P> <P>Oh, of course the mobs ability to stun makes things a tad more hairy, stun --> surrounded my mobs (or whacked by a bigger mob) usuallu = R.I.P.<BR><FONT color=#ff9900>*EDIT* <BR>referreing to all the mobs stunning post LU13 here... or atleast rooting / stifleing <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></FONT><BR><BR><BR>++Xan</P> <P> </P> <p>Message Edited by xandez on <span class=date_text>12-11-2005</span> <span class=time_text>04:59 PM</span>

[roblinb]

No kiting is not possible the same way it was before LU13.  You cannot run backwards or circle using all of your powerful ranged attacks like you used to, because almost every one will get interrupted.  The version of kiting that still exists is the one where you enable ranged attack and run away from the mob.  A few bow spells still work while kiting, but not many.  SOE increased the power of ranged attacks for us at the expense of the "old" version of kiting that some of us used to employ.  You shouldn't be able to kite groups of triple-up heroic mobs anyway, because it's not intended for a solo player to be able to take down stuff like that.  If you have a good tank that knows what they are doing, you'll be able to blast away with everything you got with worrying about drawing aggro very often.  I play a 53 ranger and my friend is a 55 SK.  He holds aggro very well when my guild goes out on hunting trips.

[xandez]

Well, our snares actually work now... and we still have 2 ranged attacks which can be used in the run (Storm of Arrows and Debilitating arrow). Also like i said before we didnt have any offensive stance proccing before.... But, kiting is not fun, its slow and i dont like it. You cant make too many mistakes doing it, you'l be dead soon enough to find out why not <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> There are however cases where its proved to be imvaluable. Eg. duoing with a tank (w/o) healer and if the tank happens to die (fooling with some tougher mobs or sumthing...) then you could always finish the mob kiting. So, it is possible but the real question is, is it worth it? ++Xan <div></div>

[Ronin]

Coming to a ranger from a tnak class . . kiting is actually a mildly relaxing thing, specially when you take a series of bad hits. If you have some space, always setup your attack angle so you'll have a path behind ya. I tend to save my stun for that instance also. run in invis, backstab, HO, put all my CA dots up, stun, run back pop open shot, if mobs still alive, Just pop off a couple more bow shots and the dots will finish them off. Also, if you want to just outright kite. This is my style...  Normally I setup and use the hardest hitting bow shot first. My level its back shot. Once its firing, i que up Open shot, it fires faster so normally has time to get off before mob closes the gap. Then hit snare,  and start running backwards. If it works right you'll be able to hit left and right arrows to sidestep instead of turn, if it locks into that mode, sometimes it does, but it does help. Just sidestep while running back to go in a rather large oval patern. All the time your plucking arrows. Make sure to atleast  have one Poison running, I tend to perfer the high dmg dot versions since not all hits will proc, so each will get more benifit from a higher dot dmg then higher DD dmg. Now just keep snare up, and each time open shot pops up you will have room to stop, pop it off and then run. also WOunding arrow fires just fast enough with a long enough range for this as well. Key to bow kiting is the arrows you use also. The grade of arrow means a TON, for the dmg you do. So For the arrows i use this scale myself. T1-T2 = Iron arrows, T3 = Carbonite, T4 = Feyiron, T5= Fulganite, and T6 =  Indium. There is however a bow that can allow you to skip t4 arrows and some of t5 arrows if you want to get it. This is the Stormfire. Usable at lvl28, its a Legendary Class bow, with over 400 dmg top end for a T3 class bow. This lets you continue to spend only for Carbonite arrows and also use makeshift arrows to save money. Since its a good amount of dmg also, tho slow, its comparable to most standard non-imbued T5 bows for dmg  but with t3 class stats. While this is great, its also very bad from a kiters angle. Cause Kiting isnt just about How big of numbers you put up per hit, its about How often you hit. Short bows rule this from my tests. I tried kiting with Imbued Bone Longbow and Imbued Bone shortbows, and the shortbow won each time. SImply put, every 2 longbow shots = 3 shortbow shots. And when its imbues, the more shots the more proc chances. And honestly, i know things proc more with slower delay, but the difference for the procs betwen 4.5 sec and 7 sec is not noticable really. Cause your not just procing bows, your procing poisions also, which add up alot. So I'd sujest using a shortbow for kiting, and Longbows for dps in groups, even then i still elan twards shortbows for the faster fire rate. Plus if you think about it... 2shots to 3 doesn't sound like much, but over the corse of 1000 arrows, its  a ton. You'll get off more shots, and you'll miss the same with either bow also, meaning the faster fire rate then helps you get back to dmg faster after a miss. BTW... The bit about arrow types is so noticable also. Take a T3 basic bow. You use an iron arrow, and your max dmg drops from the listed value of the bow, to about half of the listed value.  when a bow says it will hit for say 50-120, thats only with the proper tier of arrow, step one notch down and you have lost the better part of your dmg droping your dmg to 50-75 about roughly. So make sure you get the proper arrows. Also for kiting, Quivers are a HUGE thing also. No one wants to run outa arrows thats ready to fire. So don't take a small quiver, save up and get the bigest you can afford reasonably. I went with a Etched quiver with 10 slots. thats just under 1000 arrows in my quiver. Now, for what to kite, No casters, stick to tanks and scouts. Casters will chew you up, and fast. Priests are ok also, cause when they stop to cast a heal, you can unload your bow CA's on them, and level them fast. Plus priests tend to parry less, and get hit for harder.  Also till your midway into your 20's try to steer clear of ^^^ mobs, I perfer groups of 3-5's cause the exp gain is faster cause the mobs die faster,  even to yellow cons. I've so far taken down mobs 2 levels above my own with kiting, and those are heroics. Takes a lil time, but the drops you can get are nice, and the exp per encounter is nice also. Tend to get between 1-2% per kill on most groups of 3-5 heroics. Named mobs are also harder and I don't tend to kite them unless they are atleast 2-3 levels below mine. This is cause of thier beefed up skills and much higher dmg hits if they do hit me.  Thats about it, sorry to have rambled along through that, but hope it helps. <div></div>

[xandez]

Actually caster mobs are easier since they have less hp:s and they stop to cast spells when you can chew em to death... imo they are in teh same category as the healer mobs... Of course if they cast heavy DD spells or high dmg DoT:s... no. But usually they are not that bad... well this is just my observation of course <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ++Xan <div></div>