A bard AE kiting method / circle kiting guide. Feedback welcome.

[SCB]

If you turn left and strafe right, you run in a circle facing in toward the mobs. Think of Doom and circle-strafing.

[applesauce25r624]

Originally Posted by captnamazing [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

didn't read, but my feedback is this belongs in the Melee (bards) section of forum. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

true

move that dirty ass necromancer thread to the caster forum while you're at it [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Slowride]

Originally Posted by Videri [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

This method is not on the Wiki. I would like to add a guide there, but first, I'd like to hear any feedback or questions you folks may have on this write-up so I can add any points I may have missed and clarify any parts that are unclear.

A bard named Flipside Sideflip taught me this AE kiting technique in South Karana on p99 Red. It is incredibly easy and reliable, and it is not dependent on tap-turning, precision timing, or physical finger speed. It also does not strain my hands as long as I remember to relax them and not to squeeze the mouse or keys.

Summary: you strafe directly sideways, control the distance using mouse turn, and twist 2 DoTs while switching instruments for greater damage. You will need only two hands; any additional hands can hold a beverage or high-five each other.

SETUP
First, go into options > keys > movement and set strafe keys. Strafing is moving directly to the side like some kind of sideways Norrathian Michael Jackson. I use Q for strafe left and E for strafe right. It appears there are no default strafe keys.

Secondly, make a special hotkey set for kiting the mobs. You need to be able to hold down 1 strafe key and tap on and off 2 songs with one hand. Mine is:
1. Denon's Disruptive Discord
2. Chords of Dissonance
3. Selo's
4-10 can be Sense Heading or Beg, but not Bind Wound since you'll either be at full hp or fully dead.
I hold the E key with my index finger and tap 1 and 2 with my ring and middle fingers.

VIEW
Use first-person view, but zoomed all the way out so the camera is locked directly behind you a short distance. You can get to this view by scrolling out while you are in the default view that you see when you log in.

TRAIN
As usual, start by gathering up a train and then circling around it until the mobs are stacked up on top of one another. This part is done with Selo's. I like to pull with Selo's Consonant Chain so they can never catch up right away and stun me.

I usually use third-person view (hit F9 either 3 times or 4 times) while I circle up the mobs, then switch back into first-person view and zoom out for the damage part of this performance.

THE KITE
After stacking up all the mobs, turn off Selo's. It is not needed for this. I'm pretty sure it doesn't affect our sideways movement speed anyway.

All you need to do is strafe directly sideways. Do this by holding down one of your strafe keys with one finger. Do not move forward at all, not even diagonally. That's right: do not push the forward key; do not strafe run diagonally like you're escaping a mob; just strafe directly sideways using a single strafe key. Surprisingly, strafing directly sideways will allow you to stay ahead of any mobs with the standard movement speed - and, in fact, gain distance on them.

While your keyboard hand holds down a strafe key, your mouse hand will control the distance using mouse turn. To do this, right-click your screen and drag your mouse slowly to gently turn inward. It is best to turn toward the mobs so you can see them. That is, if you are strafing right, turn left slightly (or vice versa).*Turning back toward the mobs*like this will allow them to get slightly closer. You can control their distance with your mouse position. Make sure you are in first-person view (the default view) and zoomed all the way out. This should allow you to see them just inside*the edge of your screen.

While you control the distance with your mouse, your other hand holds a strafe key with one finger and twists your AE DoTs with two*other fingers. I hold down E with my index finger and tap 1 and 2 with my ring and middle fingers.

To avoid strain, don't put a lot of pressure on the strafe key while you're holding it. Try to relax the finger while you hold it gently but firmly down. Also, be careful of tensing up your mouse hand as this may hurt after a while. Make sure you are in a good ergonomic position so your RL body is happy. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Once you do this and find out how easy it is, start switching in instruments. Here's how that goes when I do it.*I hit 1 to start Denon's, use my mouse hand to*switch in a horn, mouse-turn to let the mobs come close enough for it to land, and wait for it to hit; then I turn off Denon's with 1 and hit 2 to start Chords, switch in a lute with my right hand, mouse-turn again and let it hit; and repeat.

PRACTICING
I recommend trying out this technique with one green enemy, just to get the physical technique down. You can practice on a couple kites of just a few mobs if you want. Once you've got it down, you can kite as many as you can pull. I spent 10-15 minutes gathering mobs in The Overthere, then kited them down in what feels like a few minutes. On Red, lower-level groupmates can gain a level with each pull. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If you let them get too close, or if your mouse hand jerks, you will get hit. Once you've pull a certain number of mobs, there's a threshold where you go from "annoying stun, now I have to run and regen" to "instant death"/"bard in a blender"/"blue splatter" (if you have Lambent).

Questions, feedback, comments, edits?
Readers, thank you for reading. Please give any feedback you may have on this write-up. Are there any parts that are unclear? What could use more detail? And did you already know this method, or is this news to you? Do you prefer one of the other methods? For those that try it: how did it work? Do you have any follow-up questions?

Respectfully yours,
Videri

I am Flipside btw. I almost forgot about this. I do it w/o selos most of the time it is alot easier.. But yea works like a champ with or w/o it. Just make bigger circles w/o selos.

[Slowride]

Also when you get into higher levels you wanna make friends with another bard... Higher level zones like burning woods are very buggy so you do not want to use your 48 dot because it gets you to close to the mobs and will get you killed. So to counter this have a bard friend follow your train with the lvl 48 dot and apply the second dot.. This is ofcourse after you get Aggro first. To be safe i like to get them to 80% before getting the second bard in on the kite.

[MudMan]

I used to tap circle and/or strafing all over a zone while switching instruments and twisting 2 dots. Now I'm just lazy and auto strafe/mouse look will twisting Denons so i can watch TV or not really pay that much attention.

Never done it this way. Will give it a shot later today.

[cor3nth]

Thanks for this alternative method - I'm burnt out on CoM groups and just want to get to 50. Will give it a shot!

[Slowride]

Originally Posted by MudMan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I used to tap circle and/or strafing all over a zone while switching instruments and twisting 2 dots. Now I'm just lazy and auto strafe/mouse look will twisting Denons so i can watch TV or not really pay that much attention.

Never done it this way. Will give it a shot later today.

Watch Tv is ya want too... This ain't as easy as you think.. you create a yo yo effect with mobs that you need to watch. One mistake and your dead.

[SPennLUE]

Could be just me, but the screen barely moves left or right while dragging with the right mouse button. Up/down are just fine, but I can only turn a couple degrees sideways.

[Kileras]

there is a much much easier way to AoE kite, that requires only moving your mouse. you could click a bit and hit buttons in order to do both of your dots, but the easiest way only requires mouse turning and thats it.

thinking of writing a guide up myself for it... but don't know if i want to put in the time right now.

[Sivaeb]

Anxious to try this method with a drolvarg in FV once i get off shift today.

I've been using autorun/left strafe and circling right w the mouse. Works well but takes awhile to get my circle tight enough. Also i can only do 1 pull per day due to how hard i am smashing the keys and mouse right click