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  1. Nefra, Who Bars the Way Tanks -Tanks need to both stack in front of the boss to share the cleave damage. If one Tank is targeted by the droids then both tanks need to move, switch back and forth between 2 locations as needed. Tanking against statues is advised. Also, be sure that you have first and second threat. There is a chance that if you do not have second threat he will hit a dps with half of twin attack. Cleanse DoT if able. DPS- When you’re targeted by the Overloaded Assault Droids, they will run up to you and place a red circle that does a massive amount of damage. If you don’t move, it is possibly enough to one shot you. Other than the red circle you can sit in place and tunnel the boss. Some DPS classes, for example a Sniper, can self cleanse the dot. Heals- Stack with DPS behind boss. Split tank cleanses (priority cleanse) for mass debuff , then themselves, then dps (since they will be able to cleanse their own every other debuff). Avoid red reticle. [media ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf1pckepXKY
  2. Alright so I thought i would give this a shot. It is my first shot at writing a guide of any kind so there will be some trial and error. Bare with me and we will see about getting this slimmed down to perfection. So the first thing I would like to point out is that the adds that you have to go through to get to the first boss are not difficult but they are not easy either. In the first room with the droids you want to CC what you can. The droid in the back right ( The Malfunctioning Control Droid ) will be your first target. From there if you look in the video below you want to move in a counter clockwise direction until the last haywire droid is down. You should repeat this with the second group. When it comes to the larva in the next area what you would like to do here is have one of your tanks area taunt and then the second tank single taunt the big guy away from the little ones. If the big one explodes by the little ones then they will grow up and become a little more difficult. [media]http://youtu.be/UA6wDwk2aQU You will then run up the ramp and meet a bunch more adds. Just run by them. You do not have to kill them and they will evade when it comes down to it. However, it is now time for the first boss. The Writhing Horror. The Horror has 957k hit points in 8 man story mode and 1.76k in 8 man hard mode. Each jealous male that spawns will have about 85k in 8 man hard mode. I will be talking about the hard mode mechanics here so bare with me as I go over some very important details. So the horror will burrow during the fight and be moving to places that will be outlined in an image in the spoiler below. Tanks will need to use a gap closer ( force leap, force speed, ect. ) to get to the boss as soon as possible when she reappears. If this does not happen the boss will spit goo at the raid and it will cause raid wide damage. The next mechanic that will happen will be the Jealous Male and the Foul Offspring will spawn. During the fight red text will appear across the screen letting you know that the Jealous Male has spawned. This is when your assigned DPS/Healer will run to a red circle ( will be covered in a bit ) to attract the foul offspring while the tank that was on the boss ( the one that has the debuff ) moves to the Jealous Male. This is where the tank swap will occur. Every time the Jealous Male appears the tanks will swap from the boss to the Jealous Male. It has been noted that the first Jealous Male & adds spawn about 45 seconds into the fight. Second will spawn 2:15 into the fight ( 1:30 from the first add round ). Third at 3:45 ( 1:30 from second wave ). Fourth at 5:15. The image below will be what you see across your screen. There will be three different debuffs that you will be on the lookout for. They will be explained in the spoiler below. This is the debuff that you get if you move out of the red pool that will prevent you from reentering it again. If you do this before the offspring are killed then they will run wild on the raid and the red circle will disappear. Flowers the Red Circles will spawn around: Red Circles: This is the debuff that the tanks want to watch. It is called incubation. It does not always land and may be dodged so you might get different stacks of it. It will only go to 10 stacks and will determine how many foul offspring will spawn. The debuff will fall off if the tank that has it moves to the Jealous Male. This is why there is a tank swap. If the tank has 10 stacks he may explode. This debuff is the corrosive slime DoT that is applied to a random member of the raid. You should always be checking your debuffs in hard mode for this debuff so that way you do not place the yellow circle under the raid or the boss. In story mode there is no yellow circle when the DoT is cleansed because that is a hard mode mechanic. This DoT does about 3.6k damage every 3 seconds and can be cleansed. Yellow Circle: There will come a point in the fight ( usually at 10% but it has been known to happen anywhere between 5-15% ) that you will notice twisted spawn will appear. At this point tanks can try to tank them but the attention should be on burning the boss as soon as possible. The enrage timer for the Horror is 5:45. What should be your last ( 4th ) red pool would be dropped at 5:15 into the fight. Please remember that too many twisted spawns will wipe the raid. This is a video of the Writhing Horror fight in SM and under it I will link Dulfy's Hard Mode video so that you can see it done. Story Mode: [media]http://youtu.be/Wfq_SlFodJE Hard Mode: [media]http://youtu.be/q0z54DO2b94 ( To Be Cont...... )
  3. Twitch Multi Screen Streaming guide For many people Live Streaming is a way of gaming life and I know a few people in Ordo like to stream the games they play, but what some of you may know but many will probably not know is how to multi stream along with another person. After all an on line game is all about playing with other people, so why not live stream the same way. If two Ordo live streamers are playing the same game it's fun to stream both perspectives and to watch both perspectives side to side, and It's really easy to do. There's no hardware changes, you don't even have to change your software, in fact there's no change what so ever for either person streaming. There's just a simple URL to use. How is it done ? To run a multi stream is quite easy, first thing you need is the URL of both streams, so for instance if me and Kishoshima were live streaming and wanted a multi stream I would need the following URLs (Note: this only works with Twitch streams): www.twitch.tv/kishoshima & www.twitch.tv/esvakas Once you have both URLs you then go to KbMods multistream site Click Here From here it's simple. Make sure the setting is on "Custom" and decide which URL you want to be Stream 1 and which will be stream 2, for this example Kisho's stream will be Stream 1 (Note: when typing in the stream URL the page will automaticaly change to add the second stream box like in the image below) Then you add your second stream: It's worth noting you can have up to 8 streams in a single window using this method, simply keep pasting the separate URLs Once both streams are added, then pick your layout and click on Build layout: Once done you will be taken to a new URL showing both streams, and that's it, that's multi streaming set up. Each stream has it's own volume controls and dependant on lay out you can see no chat, chat from both streams or chat from just one preferred stream and you can change the layout at any time by using the side bar. Just remember though people still see your stream seperate from the other unless you give them the Multi stream page url ;) Hope you guys find it useful and have some fun with this especially on Planetside 2 nights or SWTOR ops from Esva :D
  4. > Wave 0 No adds, Burn Draxus as much as you can. Around 80% is recommended. But i've seen him been brought down to 75-70% the more you can damage him before he jumps up the easier the future waves will be in terms of making him go up again. > Wave 1 Just subteroths. Melee DPS need to watch out for when the subteroths are gonna die. Pop defenses if needed. Healers need to stand away a bit from their usual spot to avoid getting aoe'd by the subteroths > Wave 2 Simple add wave, Right side needs to focus Dispatchers over subteroths. > Wave 3 Establish a interrupt order for this one (since only 1 of the corruptors will spawn here on each side) Kill those first and then the rest. > Wave 4 Focus draxus first then the Dismantlers and lastly the subteroths. > Wave 5 Kill the adds in the back and then kill the ones on the side. Simple mechanics, ignore draxus for now. have the DPS on the left interrupt the left ones (or right ones if they are facing the adds) and the DPS on the right interrupt the right ones (or left ones if they are facing the adds) Optional: put the off tank on one side of the and the highest health dps (preferably in heavy armor) on the other side so that the healers do not get lightning up their ass. > Wave 6 Kill the adds in the back first (despoiler first since he heals but you want to make sure to interrupt the corruptor) and ignore the dismantlers for now (off tank try to take them) After the adds in the back are dead DPS draxus and force him up. > Wave 7 Kill the guardians and then the subteroths. Tanks try to take a guardian each although since they aggro switch a lot its not horrible if you lose aggro. > Wave 8 Off tank needs to keep the despoiler away from the groups on the left and right. Try to keep the dispoiler in the southern part of the map without LOSing the healers. Set which dps interrupts left or right corruptors. have BOTH dps kill the right one first but make sure that the person on the left corruptor focus target him (alt+f) > Wave 9 Put a ranged DPS on interrupt Duty, have him focus target the corruptor so he knows when its casted but have him DPS draxus in the mean time. EVERYONE else should be on draxus in this. After this focus on the adds in the back while the tanks take the guardians. (off tank might have to take both guardians for a wee bit while you all burst draxus) Reference Sources https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1q6nIMw_S4s/Uk64EXat7GI/AAAAAAAAAZY/IYrnPNbSAnY/w322-h647-no/Draxus.png Personal experience to dictate the kill order. While some groups keep adds alive during specific phases I feel that costs way too much DPS. So making draxus primary target in one of the later wave groups not only saves you time it also gives you more DPS as a result.
  5. This guide is meant to serve as an awareness as to what Parsec is, how it should be used. This guide is meant to be informative for any raid participant. As i will explain below Parsec is a tool and if you have faith in your fellow community members then you shall know that we will only use this tool for the betterment of Ordo. To start if off... According to a SWTOR DPS scoreboard the DPS range for top tier DPS over all classes is 3500-4100. All classes can be parsed however each class parses differently. Flaws in data: The first time parsing many people misjudge how to go about the fight and stray from their normal rotationOne of the basic goals behind a parse is to get the highest numbers possible, meaning that upon studying a parse DPS can easily increase a parse by cheating the system.However, on the other hand some of the data related to the above mentioned is not completely accurate. While, I acknowledge this I still full heartedly support parsing. Notes on how to Parse: I would ask that when Officers ask/encourage others to Parse that they are willing to join them that way they can offer insight into the parse. Why you may ask, Because parses can be manipulated. The Operations Training Dummy was added into the game so characters could test new skills and determine the damage over time of the abilities. However, this does not account for several ops mechanics... First in most fights Dps are not allowed to start for the first 5-10 seconds of the fight. Which, means that in a normal fight they would not be able to dps as high.Starting Rotations are rigged for parses, DPS rarely have time to lay down dps abilities before the start of a fight. However, when people parse it is important from to start with these unrealistic starters because it helps us to determine their maximum dps in a best case scenario.Finishing moves. While this may not seem like a big deal, this can actually change a parse by a decent bit. A sniper that ends with an Ambush when the enemy is at 100 health will lead to the sniper having done 510,000 damage over the fight, where as a Madness Sorcerers that kills the enemy with the last tic of dot will have only done 500,500 damage over the same time. While this definitely leads us to question the reliability of the parse, I would like to note that in a true fight you don't know what ability will finish off the enemy and encouraging the sniper to use his rotation to the fullest and end with an ambush is almost like following through on not giving up in a fight.Lastly remember that there are reasons as to why a dps does what he does. Find out why he maintains his set of abilities and you may find either new information that can help others, or the problem you should be addressing. Tanks: Tanks have many abilities that allow them to survive in a fight. However, Tanks do not have a solid test in place to determine their ops readiness. Which, is why gear is a large factor in their ops readiness. Heals: Just like tanks are an instinctual class that does not have much in the way of a solid rotation that they need to maintain. However, there are several key concepts that all Healers should be aware of. First they should be responsive so they can call out when they need help.They should be aware of cleansable debuffs in all fights.Lastly they should take advantage of their classes’ special abilities such as: Operatives stealth revives, Sorcerers Damage absorption shields.
  6. As a note to all readers, this post is very rough and will be refined at a later date. Dread Fortress Notes.txt
  7. http://tamrielfoundry.com/2014/03/tanking-primer/
  8. In addition to the information I'm going to provide, there are numerous other guides available. Considering S&V is a scheduled weekly run if you want to participate in ops with us I suggest you have at least a basic familiarity with the operation before going with us. I don't mind explaining the fight to new people, but it will help us all out if you have some idea of what you're getting into. NOTE: I lifted these images from Dulfy, my go-to site for all things TOR. Dash'Roode S&V doesn't Ffff around. The first fight in this op is a boss fight. Before the first pull you must pick up a couple personal environmental shields from the Shady Character. He hangs out in the tent by the shuttle. You'll notice a large rock and a shield generator over where the fight begins. I've seen the tank stand against the rock, which seems to be simpler for them, and against the shield generator, which makes it easier for the DPS. It's your main tank's call. If he's tanked against the shield generator, DPS and healers stand with your back to the rock. Dash has an AOE knockback that can throw you out of the shield into the exhaustion zone. If Dash is tanked against the rock do the best you can to run back under the shield as quickly as possible. After one minute the shield will fail and the off tank will need to pick it up. The tanks will bring Dash and the portable shield to the next generator. Keep up. There will be yellow circles on the ground during this phase. Don't step in them. If you do, you'll be teleported out into the storm. Use your personal environmental shield and run back to the group. Womp rats will spawn on you, but don't worry about them. The group can AOE them down when the big shield is back up. The off tank will drop the shield into the generator, giving you the big shield back. You have another minute to burn down Dash. This repeats a total of three times, so if Dash isn't dead by the time the fourth generator fails you're in trouble. Titan Six Titan Six has several attacks indicated by verbal cues: Defense Sequence Two: Lots of missiles, a raid wide AOE. Spread out at least 5m away from each other to minimize damage. Defense Sequence Three: Launch. Titan Six will prepare to launch into the air. You'll notice the rocks strewn around the area have orange areas behind them. Go stand there so you don't get killed. You can still use abilities while in cover, but you can't move. Defense Sequence Five: Air strike. Red circles appear on the ground. Don't stand in them. An add also spawns. The first phase is just lots of missiles and air strike repeated until launch. After launching Titan Six will land in a different spot. He lands a total of four times moving clockwise around the area. When he lands a bunch of adds will spawn. From my experience it's easiest if everyone groups up under the boss and gives the off tank a chance to grab all the adds, then AOEs them down. Just remember to spread back out when he attacks with lots of missiles. He moves on a timer, not on percentage. If he makes it back to where he started without getting to 20% he will enrage. When he hits 20% he starts his soft enrage. He will start spewing fire and missiles. There are holes in the fire for the melee DPS to stand in. Everyone else back up and stay away from each other because the missiles do AOE damage. At this point it's a DPS race to burn him down before your healers are overwhelmed. Thrasher You've made it to the weekly, congratulations! Thrasher is a fairly straightforward fight provided your DPS are paying attention. Before the fight begins I suggest assigning some of your ranged DPS to adds duty. If you have an off tank that can leap it will be nice to have them on adds, too. Thrasher has a nasty cleave so she should be tanked facing away from the raid at all times. Be sure to tank her against the wall, not the gate, because she can occasionally knock the tank through the gate which causes the fight to bug. Not that there's bugs in SWTOR. Bo Zarran will say "You'll like this trick, been working on it a while." Three snipers will appear on the ledge above. They need to be burned down ASAP. Not only do they do a good deal of damage, if enough of them are alive they will spawn turrets and kill everyone. When the snipers are down everyone goes back to boss. Bo will continue to spawn snipers throughout the fight so DPS has to be paying attention. One random person will be periodically targeted by a mercenary firebug. You'll know because they have a giant blue circle around their feet. That person needs to take the circle away from the group. Try placing it against a far wall. When the circle turns red it won't follow that person anymore and it's safe to return to the raid. The firebug will do huge amounts of AOE damage that can kill a raid if some dumbass drops it in the middle of the group. There's no burn phase or soft enrage. Just burn down Thrasher while killing snipers and avoiding the firebug. Simple. After you down Thrasher Bo Zarran will be waiting for you through the gate. It's a simple tank and spank. Operations Chief Now the fun really begins. You'll start off by infiltrating Oasis City. Everyone will be sorted into groups of two or four depending on whether you're doing 8m or 16m. Once you push the button to open the door the ten minute timer begins. That timer ends when you down the boss. Don't rush into something stupid, you do have time, but don't Ffff around either. The teams will need to go to their targets and wait for them to check in before engaging. There are droids patrolling the area. Try not to aggro any, but if you do just CC them and move on. They spawn forever so don't waste your time trying to clear them. Once your targets have checked in it's safe for your team to engage. Only the people on your team can engage them. If more than two/four people engage you'll wipe. The targets are here: Red team and green team are fairly unremarkable. Gold team has a healer, so burn it down and interrupt frequently. Blue team has a nasty cleave that can be avoided. While it channels, run behind them. When all the teams are down you can head into the building at the end of the path and engage the boss. The Operations Chief spawns four turrets in the corners of the room that hurt a lot. DPS need to be quick to burn them down. It might help to assign DPS to specific turrets. He has a casted ability called terminate that will oneshot anyone who isn't a tank, so it is imperative that tanks hold gro. Note that he does have an aggro dump after he knocks the tank back, so tanks will need to communicate and pay attention so they can taunt him back. He also has an AOE DOT called mass explosive probe. If you can cleanse yourself, please do. Tech healers, you'll need to cleanse everyone else. Do it as quickly as possible because this DOT hurts. Olok the Shadow This fight will require a decent amount of communication and pre-planning. If you (carefully!) walk over to the glass you can see a 4x4 grid of droids below. Now notice the panel in the room with a 4x4 grid on it. Yes, they are related. During the initial phase of the fight the boss will drop tokens which are used on the panel to buy droids. Yellow icons require two tokens and purple icons require one. The green number indicates how many tokens you have spend. You get a total of eight, so spend wisely. Any droid you do not buy you will have to fight in the second phase. You have one minute to down each row. Deciding which droids to buy is critical to preventing a wipe later. Dulfy recommends: And that seems like pretty good advice to me. Now, for the actual fight. Phase one is the Wealthy Buyer, who drops the tokens, and his two bodyguards. The Buyer can't be damaged until both bodyguards are downed. Then you switch to the Buyer and damage him until he drops a token. This repeats eight times. Once the Buyer is dead get into the elevator and go downstairs ASAP because poison gas will start filling up the room. I hope you clicked the right icons, because now it's time to fight droids. You have one minute for each row, then the shield will drop to release the next row. Recon and Assault droids are pretty simple, Frontline droids have low health but hit hard and target random raid members, and Artillery droids drop an AOE but can be tanked away from the group. Phase three begins when Olok drops. You may still have droids up. If so, have one tank keep Olok busy while the rest of the raid finishes the droids. After taking some damage Olok will stealth and spawn two adds. These adds can be CCed. The Underworld Arms Trader does quite a bit of damage and the Shady Customer does not. Try to burn Olok down as much as possible when he's visible. When he disappears he drops aggro so tanks should have a taunt ready when he reappears. Cartel Warlords The suggested kill order is Captain Horic, Vilus Garr, Tu'chuk, Sunder. I've also seen Sunder killed third and Tu'chuk killed last. Both Garr and Horic are immune to taunts so downing them quickly is very important. Also, when one dies the others are healed so focus fire. Horic has a nasty cleave so the raid should be spread out around him far enough that it only hits one person at a time. Sunder has a fixate ability that he will use after the first boss dies and usually targets the person closest to him. One tank should be kiting him around. The other tank should be kiting Tu'chuk and should be careful not to get to close to walls as Tu'chuk can throw them into walls and stun them. After Horic is down DPS should switch to Garr. He will pop in and out of stealth and if Horic is the first killed Garr will gain a grapple ability. After Garr is downed DPS switch to either Tu'chuk or Sunder, depending on what your raid leader decides. They are both pretty simple at this point. When Tu'chuk or Sunder dies the remaining warlord will spawn three adds and get a cool new ability. Sunder now has a five second cast called The End. It does massive damage but tanks can survive if they have lots of cooldowns available. DPS and healers will die horribly. Tu'chuk gets a stacking buff that increases his damage. Ignore the adds and burn him down quickly. Styrak The final boss and a pretty fun fight IMO. Notice the waves of adds? Don't panic, they only come at you one line at a time. Focus the gold first as it heals, then burn the rest. After they're down, pull the next wave. When all the adds are down the Kell Dragon will jump down. Don't Ffff with Styrak during this phase. He'll oneshot you. The Kell Dragon will spit at the tank. Don't stand in it. He will also do a channeled spinning spine attack. You can stand behind the tanks while they soak up damage. Ghost Styraks will appear periodically and stun the tank. DPS need to take them down quickly. Tanks should be prepared to swap here. Once the Kell Dragon dies Styrak will case force storm on the raid. Healers, be prepared. After Force Storm Styrak will jump down. He has a knockback that has a tendency to throw tanks into the exhaustion zone. Be prepared for a tank swap there. One random raid member will be teleported into a nightmare where they have to kill a companion. Your companion is a chump, kick their ass. The big ability to be worried about during this phase is Chained Manifestation. A huge Styrak will appear in the center with four mini-Styraks in a square around him and connected by lightning. The square will close in on the raid. You have to burn the big Styrak down before you are killed by the lightning. For this reason tanks should be tanking Styrak as close to the center of the room as possible and everyone (including you, ranged DPS) should be stacking up there when this happens. After the Chained Manifestation four Styraks will appear and shoot lightning at people. Burn them down. When Styrak hits 10% he will bring back the Kell Dragon. Styrak is immune to damage while the Kell Dragon is up, so get the dragon down. At this point I like to pull Styrak back to the wall where you started because he has a nasty knockback. He has a soft enrage so burn him down as quickly as possible. Congratulations, you've completed Scum and Villainy. If anyone has input please share.
  9. Compiled for your enchanting pleasure! :D 02/25/2014 - Still missing some of the Potency Runes - Got all the Essence Runes - Got all the Aspect Runes - Got all the Weapon Glyph combinations - Got all the Armor Glyph combinations - Got all the Jewelry Glyph combinations ------------------------------------ Potency Runes (Blue shrines) (Square shape) Potency Runes either have additive effects or subtractive effects. Examples would be a Glyph that adds elemental damage to a weapon or a Glyph that reduces the amount of damage taken from attacks. Additive Runes Rune - Translation - Potency level - Glyph Title - Gear level Jora - Develop - Level 1 - Trifling - Level 1 - 10 Porade - Add - Level 1+ - Inferior - Level 5 - 15 Jera - Increase - Level 2 - Petty - Level 10 - 20 Jejora - Raise - Level 2+ - Slight - Level 15 - 25 Odra - Gain - Level 3 - Minor - Level 20 - 30 Pojora - Supplement - Level 3+ - Lesser - Level 25 - 35 Edora - Boost - Level 4 - Moderate - Level 30 - 40 Jaera - Advance - Level 4+ - Average - Level 35 - 45 Pora - Augment - Level 5 - Strong - Level 40 - 50 Denara - Strengthen - Level 5+ - Strong - Level 40 - 50 Rera - Exaggerate - Level 6 - Greater - Level VR1-VR3 Derado - Empower - Level 7 - Greater - Level VR3-VR5 Recura - Magnify - Level 8 - Grand - Level VR5-VR8 Cura - Intensify - Level 9 - ??? - Level VR8-VR10 Subtractive Runes Rune - Translation - Potency level - Glyph Title - Gear level Jode - Reduce - Level 1 - Trifling - Level 1 - 10 Notade - Subtract - Level 1+ - Inferior - Level 5 - 15 Ode - Shrink - Level 2 - Petty - Level 10 - 20 Tade - Decrease - Level 2+ - Slight - Level 15 - 25 Jayde - Deduct - Level 3 - Minor - Level 20 - 30 Edode - Lower - Level 3+ - Lesser - Level 25 - 35 Pojode - Diminish - Level 4 - Moderate - Level 30 - 40 Rekude - Weaken - Level 4+ - Average - Level 35 - 45 Hade - Lessen - Level 5 - Strong - Level 40 - 50 Idode - Impair - Level 5+ - Strong - Level 40 - 50 Pode - Remove - Level 6 - Greater - Level VR1-VR3 Kedeko - Drain - Level 7 - Greater - Level VR3-VR5 Rede - Deprive - Level 8 - Grand - Level VR5-VR8 Kude - Negate - Level 9 - ??? - Level VR8-VR10 ------------------------------------ Essence Runes (Yellow shrines) (Trapezoid shape) Rune - Translation Dekeipa - Frost Deni - Stamina Denima - Stamina Regen Deteri - Armor Haoko - Disease Kaderi - Shield Kuoko - Poison Makderi - Spell Harm Makko - Magicka Makkoma - Magicka Regen Meip - Shock Oko - Health Okoma - Health Regen Okori - Power Oru - Alchemist Rakeipa - Fire Taderi - Physical Harm ------------------------------------ Aspect Runes (Red shrines) (Round shape) Aspect Runes determine the quality of the Glyph created. Rune - Translation - Quality - Aspect level Ta - Base - White Item - Level 1 Jejota - Fine - Green Item - Level 1 Denata - Superior - Blue Item - Level 2 Rekuta - Artifact - Purple Item - Level 3 Kuta - Legendary - Yellow Item - Level 4 ------------------------------------ Glyphs (Combine 3 Runes to make a Glyph) This is a list of Rune combinations and resulting Glyphs. To make a Glyph listed, simply replace “Add” with an additive Potency Rune or replace “Sub” with a subtractive Potency Rune, chose the desired Essence Rune and set the quality of the Glyph using an Aspect Rune. For Weapons: Rune - Glyph of … - Description Add + Dekeipa - Frost - Deals (x) Frost Damage Add + Haoko - Foulness - Deals (x) Disease Damage Add + Kuoko - Poison - Deals (x) Poison Damage Add + Meip - Shock - Deals (x) Shock Damage Add + Okori - Rage - Increase your Power by (x) for (y) seconds Add + Rakeipa - Flame - Deals (x) Fire Damage Add + Deteri - Hardening - Grants a (x) point Damage Shield for (y) seconds Sub + Makko - Absorb Magicka - Deals (x) Magic Damage and recovers (y) Magicka Sub + Oko - Absorb Health - Deals (x) Magic Damage and recovers (y) Health Sub + Okoma - Decrease Health - Deals (x) unresistable damage Sub + Okori - Weakening - Reduce target Power by (x) for (y) seconds Sub + Deni - Absorb Stamina - Deals (x) Magic Damage and recovers (y) Stamina Sub + Deteri - Crushing - Reduce targets Armor by (x) for (y) seconds For Armor: Rune - Glyph of … - Description Add + Makko - Magicka - Adds (x) Max Magicka Add + Oko - Health - Adds (x) Max Health Add + Deni - Stamina - Adds (x) Max Stamina For Jewelry: Rune - Glyph of … - Description Add + Taderi - Increase Physical Harm - Adds (x) Weapon Damage Add + Okoma - Health Regen - Adds (x) Health Recovery Add + Makkoma - Magicka Regen - Adds (x) Magicka Recovery Add + Kaderi - Bashing - Increase Bash Damage by (x) Add + Denima - Stamina Regen - Adds (x) Stamina Recovery Add + Oru - Potion Boost - Increase Potion effect by (x) Add + Makderi - Increase Magical Harm - Adds (x) Spell Damage Sub + Dekeipa - Frost Resist - Adds (x) Frost Resistance Sub + Kuoko - Poison Resist - Adds (x) Poison Resistance Sub + Makderi - Decrease Spell Harm - Adds (x) Spell Resistance Sub + Taderi - Decrease Physical Harm - Adds (x) Armor Sub + Denima - Reduce Feat Cost - Reduce Stamina cost of abilities by (x) Sub + Haoko - Disease Resist - Adds (x) Disease Resistance Sub + Kaderi - Shielding - Reduce cost of Bash by (x) and reduce cost of Blocking by (y) Sub + Makkoma - Reduce Spell Cost - Reduce Magicka cost of Spells by (x) Sub + Meip - Shock Resist - Adds (x) Shock Resistance Sub + Oru - Potion Speed - Reduce the cooldown of Potions below this item’s level by (x) seconds Sub + Rakeipa - Fire Resist - Adds (x) Fire Resistance Duplicated from ESO Forums
  10. . To make potions which confer immediate buffs or status condition heals that can be used in combat or out. . Solvents - Natural Water . Reagents - Blessed Thistle, Blue Entoloma, Bugloss, Columbine, Corn Flower, Dragonthorn, Emetic Russula, Imp Stool, Lady's Smock, Luminous Russula, Mountain Flower, Namira's Rot, Nirnroot, Stinkhorn, Violet Coprinus, Water Hyacinth, White Cap, Wormwood Skills: . Solvent Proficiency(1/7) Use natural Water for level 3 potions. . Keen Eye:Regents(1/3) Reagents in world easier to see. When your 20 meters or closer. . Medicinal Use(1/3) Potions effects 10 % longer. . Chemistry(1/3) Preduces 1 xtra potion per craft attempt. . Laboratory Use Allows use of 3 reagents while mixing potions. . Snakeblood(1/3) Reduces neg effects in potions by 50%. Potion Creation Notes JSylvan Dibella's Tester . Reagents must share at least one Alchemy Trait or the attempt will fail and you will lose all components . With a successful Potion creation, you will learn all common Alchemy Traits between the Reagents used . Potion's effects will be the shared Traits between Reagents . If Reagents share two Alchemy Traits, the Potion will have two effects . Alchemists will have to pay attention to the properties of the plants they create in order to make the best potions. Thanks to Teo Dibella's Tester an Alchemy list and basic guide: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/39955/guide-alchemy-the-work-so-far Blessed Thistle: -Restore Stamina -Ravage Health -Increase Weapon Potency -Speed Blue Entoloma: -Ravage Magicka -Restore Health -Invisibility -Lower Spell Power Bugloss: -Increased Spell Resist -Lower Spell Power -Restore Health -Restore Magicka Columbine: -Restore Health -Restore Stamina -Restore Magicka -Unstoppable Cornflower: -Restore Magicka -Ravage Health -Increase Spell Power -Detection Dragonthorn: -Increase Weapon Potency -Lower Armor -Restore Stamina -Weapon Crit Emetic Russula: -Ravage Health -Ravage Stamina -Ravage Magicka -Stun Imp Stool: -Lower Weapon power -Increase Armor -Ravage Stamina -Lower Weapon Crit Lady’s Smock: -Increase Spell Power -Lower Spell Resist -Restore Magicka -Spell Crit Luminous Russula: -Ravage Stamina -Restore Health -Lower Spell Power -Reduce Speed Mountain Flower: -Increase Armor -Lower Weapon Power -Restore Health -Restore Stamina Namira’s Rot: -Spell Crit -Invisibility -Speed -Unstoppable Nirnroot: -Ravage Health -Lower Weapon Crit -Lower Spell Crit -Invisibility Stinkhorn: -Lower Armor -Increase Spell power -Ravage Health -Ravage Stamina Violet Coprinus: -Lower Spell Resist -Increase Spell power -Ravage Health -Ravage Magicka Water Hyacinth: -Restore Health -Weapon Crit -Spell Crit -Stun Whitecap: -Lower spell Power -Ravage Magicka -Increase Spell Resist (*) -Lower Spell Crit Wormwood: -Weapon Crit -Reduce Speed -Detection -Unstoppable Alchemy is able to create several concoctions that are not found in the game world, including multi-effect potions. Poisons were not available in the November beta, and may not be present in this beta, so rest assured that if you create a potion that melts your insides rather than those of the enemy, don’t worry, that’s normal. To make a potion, you need at least two ingredients and a solvent. The ingredients you combine determine the effect of the potion, as well as grant you experience points towards alchemy. Every ingredient has 4 'traits' which start off unknown, but you may eat an ingredient to discover the first trait, and conduct experiments to unlock the rest. When you mix two ingredients with the same trait, you receive a potion with that effect - for instance, Water Hyacinth and Wormwood both have "Weapon Crit" as a potential effect, so if you mix the two, you will receive a mixture that boosts your critical strike rating a significant amount (by 601, according to the tooltip). The solvent is the liquid that you are mixing the potions in , and for now, that solvent is just various kinds of water that you find in the world. The solvent you use determines the level of the potion; a health potion made with the lowest level water will make a level 3 potion, whereas the next grade up will make a potion suitable for a level 10 character. There are also ‘anti-traits’ which will prevent you from making certain potion types. For instance, Namira’s Rot+Wormwood+Water Hyacinth would normally make a potion that improves all forms of critical strike as well as adding ‘Unstoppable,’ but because Water Hyacinth features ‘Stun,’ the potion will not be capable of Unstoppable, even though Wormwood and Namira’s Rot both have the trait for it. The most important talent of them all will have to be the triple ingredient talent, Laboratory Use, allowing you to mix 3 ingredients at once. This unlocks an incredible assortment of potential potions, as any third ingredient you use will add a number of effects based on how well it matches against the other two. This is what is going to make alchemist’s potions far superior than anything that can possibly be found while questing. Do note the experience earned does not increase with a third ingredient added; it is purely for making better potions. Thanks to Teo Dibella's Tester for effects discovered -Restore Health/Magicka/Stamina -Ravage Health/Magicka/Stamina -Increase Spell/Weapon crit -Decrease Spell/Weapon crit -Increase Spell/Weapon power -Decrease Spell/Weapon power -Increase Spell Resist -Decrease Spell Resist -Increase Armor -Decrease Armor -Stun -Detection -Unstoppable (total immunity to stuns and disorients for X seconds) -Invisibility (invisible for X seconds) -Speed (increases running speed 30% for X seconds) 1. Bugloss/Columbine creates a mixture that restores both health and magicka without the need for a third ingredient. Mountain Flower as a third ingredient will allow it to also restore stamina, creating a restore health+stamina+magicka potion with no negative secondary effects. All three ingredients are common, making it an incredibly useful potion that trumps standard single-effect restore potions. 2. Namira’s Rot is a mushroom that features both speed and invisibility. It can be combined with Blue Entoloma for invisibility or Blessed Thistle for speed. Mixing Namira’s rot, Blue Entoloma, and Blessed Thistle = invisible and fast. Nirnroot is also an acceptable replacement for Blue Entoloma, but unfortunately combines negatively with Blessed Thistle to hurt your health. 3. Emetic Russula is a mean ingredient with ravage traits for all 3 resources, plus stun. It can easily be combined with; Stinkhorn OR Violet Coprinus = drain either health and stamina, or health and magicka. Stinkhorn+Dragonthorn = drain health+stamina+armor, Stinkhorn AND Violet Coprinus = drain health+stamina+magicka (though there are varieties of ways to achieve this same effect) Stinkhorn OR Violet Coprinus after adding Water Hyacinth to add a stun in addition to draining health+stamina or health+magicka. If poisons do end up being implemented, this is going to be nasty. 4. Lady's Smock and Cornflower Restores magicka and also boosting spell power. This seems to be one of a couple potions that is fairly powerful with only two ingredients. That being said, it still has potential to be improved, and adding Water Hyacinth will tack on spell crit to the mix to add a little oomph to the next cast or two. Alternatively, Wormwood can be substituted for detection instead of spell crit; I don't know how strong detection will be, but it's possible that if some jerk is using potion #2 up there to get away, you'll be able to nab him. 5. Dragonthorn and Blessed Thistle share Weapon Power, as well as stamina regen. Throw in a Water Hyacinth, and you’ll also tack on Weapon Crit to the mix for an offensive potion. 6. Columbine, Mountain Flower, and Imp Stool would raise armor while restoring health and stamina. At least, it would if Imp Stool didn’t have “Ravage Stamina” tacked on to it. It still restores health and boosts armor, making a nice tanking mix. copied from: http://pastebin.com/9TfxSkBk
  11. The countdown has begun and everyone is preparing for launch. Let’s take a moment and examine one of more overlooked features of Elder Scrolls Online that will allow you to design a unique character, Mundus Stones. Mundus what? If you have played an Elder Scrolls game before then you should already be familiar with the concept of the Mundus Stones. In the early games they were known as just “birthsigns”, in Oblivion they were given an additional stone that you could interact with to receive additional benefits, and in Skyrim they were the “Standing Stones”. Throughout the series they have always been represented by the thirteen constellations in Tamriel. Now, in The Elder Scrolls Online, these Mundus Stones are scattered throughout the world. Each alliance has a complete set scatter throughout the regions and you are also able to find all thirteen in Cyrodiil for those players who are more dedicated towards winning the war for the Ruby Throne. Why do I care? Mundus Stones are a crucial part of building a character. While the game offers attribute point allocation, armor types, enchants, weapon types, and traits to help develop your character the way you want, Mundus Stones do not cost resources and are still very impactful. Think of Mundus Stones as being a second set of enchants you can change anytime you wish. I know for myself I have a Mundus Stone I prefer for group dungeons and a second stone I use when heading to Cyrodiil. Combine that with the armor traits that improve Mundus Stone strength and you can swing your stats pretty dramatically based on which stone you have. The Lover: Reduces damage taken from spells The Thief: Increases critical chance The Mage: Increases maximum magicka The Warrior: Increases power The Serpent: Increases non-combat health regeneration The Apprentice: Increases spell penetration The Atronach: Increases magicka regeneration The Lady: Increases armor The Ritual: Increases healing effectiveness The Shadow: Increases critical strike damage The Steed: Increases run speed The Lord: Increases maximum health The Tower: Increases maximum stamina http://tamrielfoundry.com/2014/02/mundus-stones-eso/
  12. A handy little guide I was working on today between alerts. Still finishing it, but I thought I'd post it now to get feedback. Since Infiltrators are now much more viable with the changes to Nanoweave, I've been playing them a lot - to great success. I'm probably not the only one who was hoping PU2 would revitalize them, and it most certainly did! It had fancier formatting, but the forum ate it, so this is a tad messy. Table of Contents 1.0 - Knowing the weapon [WEPN] 1.1 - Bolt-Actions [bOLT] 1.2 - Semi-Automatic [sEMI] 1.3 - Scout Rifles [sCOU] 1.4 - Submachine Guns [sMGs] 1.5 - Grenades [GRND] 2.0 - Positioning [POSI] 3.0 - Targetting [TRGT] 4.0 - Behind Enemy Lines [bHND] ======================== 1.0 - Knowing the Weapon [WEPN] In short, every rifle has subtle differences between them, and techniques which might work for one particular rifle may not work for another. Even rifles in the same category have noticeable differences which can require changes to your playstyle to get the most out of them, especially amongst bolt-action rifles. Generally, as a sniper, you want to kill enemies in one shot. Bolt-actions are the only weapons capable of one hit kills in the game, though their efffective range differs - some can kill enemies out to 300m, others are only effective within 50m. Semi-automatics are more difficult to use, and generally less rewarding at long range, but can be used as impromptu battle rifles, especially the short range KSR-35. If you play a more aggressive style, the semi rifles may be preferable, or even the scout rifles. ======================== 1.1 - Bolt Actions [bOLT] Bolt-actions come in four different varieties for the Terran Republic - none of them are unlocked by default, though players with the Alpha Squad package start with the handy SR-7 bolt-action. It is highly encouraged that, if you want to snipe, acquiring the SR-7, or better yet the RAMS, should be your first weapon purchase as an Infiltrator. M77-B The M77-B is, well. Meh, at best. It is essentially only around for a completionist to Auraxium. While it has the fastest reload speed of the three long-range bolt-actions, it sacrifices muzzle velocity and has to deal with a significantly higher bullet drop. You'll generally want to keep the stock scope, and while you can headshot enemies out to 250m with it, you should trend towards picking targets within the 100-150m range (from one Tower landing pad to the other) in order to hit them reliably. 10x+ scopes are overkill. SR-7 The SR-7 is, again, 'Infiltrator's First Bolt-Action'. It's well-balanced, and only gives up a tenth of a second in reload speed over the M77-B for a significantly higher effective range. Like other sniper rifles, it comes with a high power scope by default, and the scope can not be removed. This particular rifle can one-hit any enemy within 250m. Generally, in heated engagements (24-48v24-48) you will be able to kill anyone that renders around you. The main drawback to the SR-7 over the RAMS is a slower muzzle velocity, making those long-range kills a bit harder. For attachments, because of the average velocity, 12x scopes are not exactly useful - you'll have to arc up to the fourth or fifth dot in order to make the kill at those ranges, which is NOT very convenient or easy to get a hang of! RAMS .50 The big daddy of TR sniper rifles, and definitely the marksman's choice. Boasting the highest muzzle velocity and the longest effective range, the RAMS also has the fastest chambering time of the three rifles. The only drawback is that the RAMS has the longest reload of the three, clocking in at a whopping 5.6 seconds when reloading an empty magazine. While using the RAMS, if you see an infantry unit, you can kill it - it is a one hit kill to the head out to render range! As a result, you can hang back significantly farther then most other Infiltrators, and can use that valuable 50m gap difference between other bolt-actions to snipe with impunity. As a result, the RAMS gets the most out of high power scopes - you can generally decide which one based on your preference, or the situation around you. It is, however, important that you bring a suitable sidearm when using the RAMS - you will not be able to defend yourself if you are ambushed using the RAMS. The Repeater is a good sidearm just for that kind of situation. TSAR-42 The only bolt-action rifle available to TR that can use regular 'assault rifle' optics. This is for the cocky, and supremely skilled to use. The most important thing to take note of is that the rifle has terrible spread while firing on the move, even ADS'd, so it is not like the DMRs available to Engineers and Heavy Assaults. Another thing to note is that it has no scope sway, and can headshot out to 200m - you can comfortably use a 4x scope and engage enemies at mid-long range with lethal effectiveness. However, being a bolt-action rifle, getting into any kind of major gunfight with it is discouraged, and it is best used to pick off stragglers and loners attempting to flank a friendly position. The TL;DR M77-B is alright for beginners, but upgrade to the SR-7 or RAMS ASAP unless you want the Auraxium. Effective out to 250m. SR-7 is a good starting point for Infiltrators, but the slow chambering speed encourages careful aim. Effective out to 250m. RAMS is the preferred marksman rifle, with the highest muzzle velocity and fast chambering speed, but the worst for mid to close range engagements. Effective out to render range. TSAR-42 is an oddball, and effective in mid-long range engagements only, due to a lack of high power scopes. Effective out to 200m. ======================== 1.2 - Semi-Automatic [sEMI] Semi-autos are the bastard children of the Infiltrator class. They're essentially accurate versions of the DMR used by the Engineer and Heavy Assault - as a result, they do very poor damage, and are not capable of OHKOs like the bolt-actions. I am really only covering them because TR Infiltrators start with one. 99SV The standard issue sniper rifle for TR Infiltrators. Much like the M-77, drop it like a hot potato the moment you have the ability to purchase the SR-7 or RAMS .50. The main pro to the 99SV is that it has decent muzzle velocity and a large magazine. That's really about it. It's generally only effective in fights where you would be using DMRs with your Engineer or Heavy Assault, and the lack of versatility hurts it severely. Only if you are a completionist should you give this any more time then the absolute minimum needed to get an upgrade. KSR-35 This is slightly better, essentially behaving like a 99SV without the drawback of unnecessarily high zoom optics and scope sway. It can be used similarly to a TSAR-42 as a high power battle rifle, but can't get one-hit headshots. It is, however, a slight upgrade from the HSR Heavy Scout Rifle. Generally, you can use this at any time, but it is highly preferable to use a decent 2x - 3.4x scope so that you can engage targets at a safer distance. ======================== 1.3 - Scout Rifles [sCOU] HSR-1 The HSR-1 is essentially an Infil-only DMR, with similar performance to the AMR-66 available to the Engineer and Heavy Assault class. Aside from slightly higher move-accuracy and better hip-accuracy, however, you may as well stick with the semi automatic sniper rifles. Really just... redundant, and not worth the investment unless you are a hardcore completionist. SOAS-20 Do you like the T5 AMC? You doooo? Good. The SOAS-20 is essentially a carbon copy of the T5 AMC, but with even less horizontal recoil to worry about. The only drawback is the lower magazine capacity and no Advanced Foregrip unlock, but it's a fantastic choice for an Infiltrator that likes to get their hands dirty but don't want to use our crappy SMGs. Definitely preferable to the N7 PDW for short-mid range engagements. The Compensator / Suppressor choice is important, however. Suppressors have a very negative impact on ASRs like the SOAS-20, so do be careful - you're cutting your effective range by almost a third and losing a ton of damage. The Compensator is the better choice, provided you know where your next move will be. ======================== 1.4 - Submachine Guns [sMGs] Armistice The only real redeeming weapon in this field is the Armistice. With a blistering high rate of fire, the Armistice boasts the highest DPS in the game. However due to the inaccuracy and recoil, you will need to use the entire magazine to kill your opponent. It has terrible ammo economy, and has a razor thin margin of error compared to the other first-gen SMGs. With the laser nerfs, extended magazines are almost a necessity on this gun, and it doesn't gain much benefit from any of the muzzle attachments. Hailstorm At the other end of the DPS spectrum is the Hailstorm. The weakest of the six Empire SMGs, the Hailstorm barely even outguns the NS PDWs. The high magazine capacity is, frankly, not worth giving up a huge chunk of DPS. A beginner's SMG at best. Avoid. NS-7 PDW The PDW seems like a dream gun for the Infiltrators, but really, it's redundant and more or less a 'meh' gun. The only SMG weaker then the Hailstorm, its main advantage is the damage fall off and virtually lack of recoil - it packs a decent punch against other SMGs outside of close quarters, but it's easily trounced by the automatic scout rifle in almost the same range bracket due to the gap in DPS and accuracy. It has a niche role, but a good Infiltrator will not really plan to be in that niche - you're not going to be engaging every target from behind at precisely 32m away. MKV-S This weapon looks on paper to be pretty terrible, but it is an upgrade from the NS-7 if you prefer to keep your weapon suppressed - its muzzle velocity and damage fall off are both superior to all of its predecessors after suppressors are factored into the equation. It can even outpunch a suppressed ASR at most ranges to boot, and the higher RPM puts it just a smidge under the Hailstorm for damage output. If you prefer using a suppressor or liked the NS-7, in short, the MKV is perfect. ======================== 1.4 - Grenades [GRND] Decoy Grenades are generally useless. If you're being stealthy, it alerts everyone. If it's a gunfight, no one is going to even notice. Save the 150 certs. EMP Grenades on the other hand are incredibly valuable in a teamwork aspect, and especially for Saboteur types, however it requires coordination. EMP Grenades essentially strip all shields off of enemies and friendlies alike, shut down any active abilities - namely Heavies' NMGs - and are generally very unpleasant to be hit with. A Saboteur throwing one in the backdoor while the squad pushes in through the front can make a meat grinder into a one-sided demolition derby. If you cert into them, just take care in throwing them around, and make sure you or someone else can take advantage of the enemy's vulnerability, otherwise it's a waste of infantry resources. ======================== 2.0 - Positioning [POSI] It should be obvious at this point that Infiltrator weapons are not suited for fair engagements. The entire point of playing Infiltrator is to play dirty. Shoot enemies in the back, engage them from ranges they can only harmlessly pepper you with bb pellets at. Never give them the chance to set the terms for engagement. There are some basic key guidelines to remember for both snipers and saboteurs. 1. Engage at Range - Remember the effective range of your primary, and stick to it. Don't go into a building with a RAMS, and don't try engaging in close quarters with a TSAR. Don't try to pepper them ineffectually with a SOAS or PDW either. If enemies are barely within render range, odds are your M-77 and SR7 will not be effective either. 2. Flank - Never engage head-on if you can. Rookie infiltrators will always keep their focus on the front line, which leaves them more likely to be attacked by other rookies, or becoming collateral damage to the copious amounts of high explosives and rapid fire weapons. Try to position yourself so that you are at least 90 degrees away from the enemy, and preferably engaging them from behind if at all possible. 3. Silhouettes - Never run along the crests of hills or stand on top of large, exposed open areas - namely, stay off the damn Tower landing pads!. The moment an Infiltrator breaks the horizon line, every other Infiltrator can see them, and most of the hapless schmucks engaging in close combat will see you as well, and adjust their own positions accordingly (if an enemy Infiltrator doesn't just pop your head off). Use ravines, trenches, and ditches to move from position to position. If you need to crest a hill or ramp, turn on your cloak before you do. When you're settling into snipe, make sure you have a background behind you to help blend in against. 4. Blend In - Not with the enemy, but with the terrain. Use shadows and obstacles in the terrain to blend in. The cloak is not 100% effective, but if the area behind you is varied and detail-heavy, you will be much more difficult to pick out then a cloaker running across a plain road or wall. 5. Know where to go - Before you even take your first shot, familiarize yourself with potential escape routes. Know which ways lead away from the enemy, and which leads to a new vantage point. If you get caught and don't know where to go, you're as good as dead. ======================== 3.0 - Targetting [TRGT] The most important thing about Infiltrators is accuracy. If you don't have good accuracy, you're going to die, a lot, and you are not going to have fun. Patience is key to this as well. Generally, it is important that you kill your target as quickly as possible. Hit indicators and the sound of missed bullets are very easy ways to give your position away. 1. Use the VR - Familiarize yourself with the effective range of your weapon, as well as how much you need to adjust your scope vertically. Those dots on the high power scopes are there for a reason! Familiarize yourself with how big the target is, and roughly where it aligns with the scope in order to score a headshot. 2. Start Simple - Go for those oblivious, prone characters just standing in position while they tunnel vision in on someone else. Start with them, then once you're in the rhythm of things, start aiming for the more mobile types. 3. Avoid Weavers - Weavers are the guys who KNOW you are around, and/or obsessively change angle abruptly and randomly. Wait until they calm down or become more predictable before engaging them. The last thing you need is an aware player to know of your existence and possibly position - they are the bane of Infiltrators. If you are using a bolt-action, they are generally the least appealling targets due to the difficulty involved in headshotting them from range. 4. Prioritize - Aim for medics, engineers, Infiltrators. Light assaults are generally highly mobile and not very appealling targets because of that. Heavy assaults may have their NMGs on, and can lay one hell of a hurt on you if you miss. Medics are the lifeblood of an infantry force, and if you see one vulnerable, take advantage of it. Engineers are also important - if you can kill a MAX's pocket-engi, that MAX is effectively out of commission and increasingly vulnerable the longer he goes without one. That said - never engage MAXs. Even a RAMS headshot is just tickling them. 5. Terminals - Nothing incurs as much rage as sniping people idle at a terminal of any kind, and nothing is quite as effective when your outfit is engaged in a vehicle fight! Just be prepared for the kind of furious wrath normally reserved for hackers and aimbotters if you decide to target them. ======================== 4.0 - Behind Enemy Lines [bHND] Or "What do when team pushed back?" 1. Ammo Replenishment - Ammo Bandolier is vital for any kind of prolonged flanking and sniping. The first three tiers are cheap, and give you three magazines total for both weapons. Unless you're going the 'saboteur' route and using an ASR or PDW, you should have Ammo Bandolier on at all times. You can use enemy ammo packs to reload as well, but this can be risky at the best of times. 2. Hacking - Avoid hacking terminals in major facilities unless preparing it for a major assault. It will be noticed, and at higher population areas, the risk is not worth the reward which will be quickly undone and just serve to alert the enemy that you are around. Turrets, on the other hand, are a-ok. Most people don't even pay attention to the color, but if you plan on being stealthy, avoid hacking manned turrets. 3. Running Man - aka. Pick off all the stragglers. Don't hesitate to dump ammo into the guys hiding behind vehicles or running at the back of a foot zerg. No one will mourn their loss, and if they do turn around to revive them or root you out, you just bought your friends valuable time to prepare for their arrival. If they don't, you'll be in a prime position to flank them and pick them off at will once they run into your teammates.
  13. Being a Squad Leader is one of the most rewarding things you can do in Ordo and it can be fun as well. In this thread I will essentially be going over how to be an effective Squad Leader, their tools, equipment and giving tips on how to be an effective one as well. This does not cover everything as of yet, it's just going to cover a few basics to get some gears turning. I will update this post periodically. A good guide to PS2 leadership is here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/comments/1bnnjz/guide_warfare_in_planetside_2/ It's a good read if you have time and want to learn more. ________________________________________________________________________ Squad Composition Having variety in your squad is important. Having too much of one thing will make your squad more specialized and in most situations will cause your squad to be ineffective in what you want them to do. While this is something that you, the Squad Leader has less control over, you can request people to switch classes. Most people within Ordo are happy to oblige. Here is an ideal list of squad composition along with an explanation of how specific classes are used in combat during a squad setting. A better understanding of how each class can be used will allow you to be a better Squad leader. Medic: 2 - 4 Heavy Assault: 2 - 4 Light Assault: 1 - 3 Engineer: 1 - 2 Infiltrator: 1 Max: 0 - 2 Medic: Medics are a very versatile class. They can easily fit an assault, defensive and supportive role. The rifles they are given by default are some of the most useful weapons within the TR army. They have the ability to keep your squad members alive and revive them. Having at least 2 allows them to revive each other in case one goes down. Having up to 4 allows you to easily keep your squad up and running. Medics make good squad leaders due to being able to hang back in a supportive role to command and still be useful to the squad. Heavy Assault: As the name states the Heavy Assault has the equipment needed for it’s job. The class specific machine guns allows the Heavy Assault to lay down suppressive fire and mow through the enemy with ease. In addition to that the rocket launcher enables to the Heavy Assault to be Anti Armor, Air and Max. Having at least 2 in your squad can take down a Sunderer or tank with ease while up to 4 allows you to keep the enemy armor away. Light Assault: This unit is often overlooked as not useful to a squad. Being purely offensive, in the right hands a single Light Assault can quite literally be a flanking nightmare. The jetpack allows this unit to get to places that the enemy least expects. They can flank in any number of ways, you just have to put your mind to it. They are most effective with shotguns and certing twice into C4. This unit can take out Max units with ease and in the right hands they can take out entire squads. Having one in your squad is useful for having a strong flanking unit to cause chaos. No more than three is recommended as they have no support tools and abilities. Engineer: Often seen driving vehicles, repairing turrets and friendly Maxes, the Engineer plays mostly a supportive role in a squad. What makes them useful is their Ammo Pack ability and turrets. They are the sole providers of ammo in a squad and keep the squad from running low on ammo during a firefight. Their Anti-Infantry MANA Turret is excellent for providing suppressive fire while assault and excellent at interior defense against soft targets. The Anti-Vehicle MANA Turret is a good alternative for outdoor engagements against armor. Keeping no less than one in your squad ensure that you won’t have a shortage of ammo and your Sunderer will be repaired when needed. No more than two are need for a squad as it would cause your squad to lose offensive capability. Infiltrator: This class has a variety of uses. Their primary use in a squad would be hacking terminals and turrets. While they can be counter snipers, when given the order their primary goal needs to be squad support. Hacking terminals allows allies to spawn vehicles, resupply special gear (C4, Grenades, Mines) and change loadouts without needing to go to a friendly terminal or sunderer. They also have a motion tracker beacon wish is useful for surveillance in large facilities or watching the squad’s back. At least and no more than one per squad is good. One can hack terminals and do what the squad needs for Infiltrator support, any more than that then you lose the offensiveness and squad support tools the other classes bring. Max: Slow, but have the most firepower and armor among all infantry units a max suit can provide a squad with the much needed firepower to breach a room and more. These units bolster a lot of firepower especially with their Lockdown ability. They can be excellent on offensive and defensive situations. They are highly effective against enemy armor, infantry and aircraft with the right combination of weapons. They work best paired with an engineer to provide them with armor repair and ammo. A well certed Max and Engineer is a strong combo on the battlefield. These units are not necessarily required for a squad, but having one provides extra fire power and up to two allows you to cover an area of specialty the other is lacking. Having more than two and your squad will lose much needed mobility and support tools and equipment. It’s best if light assaults switch to Max than other classes if needed. ________________________________________________________________________ Orders Giving orders to your squad is essential to keeping them engaged in what the platoon is doing. It gives order to the platoon and directs their focus to where it is needed the most. In addition to that it allows the platoon lead to focus on the bigger picture than the little details. Keep your orders short and simple. Remember KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. - Platoon lead: Big picture a generalized over look of everything what's happening now and what needs to be done in the future. - Squad lead: Small details, what's happening right then, there and now. While the future is important, they rely on the Platoon Leader for direction without question. While the Platoon lead gives a general order for each Squad. As the squad leader it's your job to do the fine details. Example below: The platoon just arrived at the front gate of a hostile Amp Station VIA Sunderers. Platoon Lead: "Alpha take out the Vehicle Shields, Bravo Take out the Interior horizontal and vertical shields" Alpha Lead: "Alpha 1 through 4 get West, 5 through 8 get East, 9 through 12 get South" Bravo Lead: "Bravo 1 through 3 get East, 4 through 6 get West" All shields are down and the Sunderers move inside the Amp Station and deploy. Platoon Lead: "Alpha I need you to guard the point and the sunderer. Bravo I want you to capture outlying points" Alpha Lead: "Alpha 2 through 6 guard the upstairs objective, the rest guard the lower and Sunderer. I want those vehicle terminals hacked" Bravo Lead: "Bravo 2 and 3 pull Harassers, everyone load up and move out to waypoint" Alpha captures the point guarding it and the Sunderer, Bravo moves out and captures outlying outposts effectively denying the enemy a means of locally obtaining vehicles. The base is halfway captured and the SCU shields just went down. This gives us more control over the base than what we had before. Bravo Lead: "All outposts captured, Orders?" Platoon Lead: "Move back inside and guard courtyard, don't let those generators get repaired" Alpha Lead: "Alpha 7 and 8 take out the SCU, everyone else stay" Bravo Lead: "Bravo, spread out focus on guarding base generators" Base capture ticks down and the Amp Station is ours. Platoon Lead: "Clean up, repair generators, then load up to move out to Platoon Waypoint" The Platoon Lead gave more generalized orders, while the squad lead directed his squad on a more detailed basis. This allows the Platoon Lead to plan and focus on the entire area of operation than trying to focus on each individual detail. This also gives more order and direction to the people within the squads than everyone running around and it being a cluster Ffff. Without the base being captured we gained the majority of control over it by taking their means of spawning vehicles and capturing the surrounding outposts. Don't be intimidated to give orders to your squad. Be firm when you give your orders and do not second guess yourself. Follow your Platoon Leader's orders and do not argue with them, you would expect the same respect from them if you were leading the platoon instead. ________________________________________________________________________ Squad Management To have a squad that works efficiently and effectively, proper squad management is essential. Its a lot more simple than one may think, but you must assert your authority as the squad leader. Which means you could look like an asshole if done improperly. Which goes both ways, being overly zealous when you booting people is just as bad as not managing the squad at all! Its a thin line to walk, but having a well managed squad can mean the difference between you and everyone in the squad having fun, to running a cluster Ffff and you getting irritated that no one is listening. Closed Squad: Closed squads tend to be easier to manage due to everyone being in your outfit and being on TS3. But that does not mean some people won’t wander off and do what they want. If someone wonders off, tell them to get with the squad. If some people are refusing to follow orders, remove them from the squad. These take a strict hand to manage and get the point across. Most outfit members don’t have this issue, thankfully. But there are times where people would rather play solo than with the squad, but are for whatever reason in the outfit’s squad. Theres times where it might make you look like an asshole, but when a squad sticks together they tend to have a much more enjoyable time. TLDR/Tips: - Remind people who stray off to stick with the squad. - Try to keep side chatter to a minimum so orders can be heard. Don’t cut it out entirely, that’s just awkward and people want something fun to do during the down time. - Individuals refusing to follow orders? Remind them they are playing with in a squad and to follow orders. - Remove people who consistently refuse to listen and follow orders. Save yourself and your squad from a headache. - If people would rather play solo, remove them to free up space for someone who wants to play with a team. - Even though we are an organized Outfit and need to help with capturing Bio Labs and such, squad members want to have fun. Banging our heads against the wall trying to capture a Bio Lab from the NC for 3 hours is NOT fun. Its a waste of time and will kill the squad. Open Squad: Managing an open squad can be the difference of having fun to having a miserable time. Open squads take the most effort to manage since you’re playing with public players, or pubbies. These players are trained in the art of Call of Duty and need direction, otherwise they won’t know what to do or where to go and will wonder off. There are often times where they won’t listen and thats where you need to cut them out. These tend to be less organized than a closed squad due to pubbies. Don’t stress yourself in making sure they are following every tactical command in the book. TLDR/Tips: - Give direction to the squad. Use waypoints and the squad objective to give direction. - Use in game squad voice chat to command the squad. - Check global map periodically to check for people on different continents or facilities. Remove them from the squad and replace them with someone new in your area. - Ensure the squad is having fun. Pubbies want to kill people, not capture empty outposts. - Occasionally ‘Pimp’ the outfit on squad voice to get more recruits. “If you enjoy playing with us join us on Ordoimperialis.com!” ________________________________________________________________________ Tools ____ Squad Waypoint: Using this gives your squad direction. You can do a lot of things with a squad waypoint. You can use it to tell your squad where to move, mark areas and immobile targets. Theres no secret to what the Squad Waypoint is used for, but it is often forgotten and even under used. The other squads in a platoon cannot see your squad's waypoint, but the Platoon Leader can. ____ Spawn Beacon: This is an essential for being a Squad Leader. Lets get into the basics of the squad beacon, its essentially a back up spawn for your squad. Lets say you don't have a spawn close by or your Sunderer explodes. This enables your squad to quickly deploy at your location and regain control of an area. But they can have other effective uses as well. Using a squad beacon an individual can get to places such as the top of a building or to an enemy Sunderer that's heavily guarded. Soldiers can use teamwork with dropping and breach the enemy lines to clear out a fortified building and destroy the enemy's primary spawn point they are assaulting or defending from. These beacons do not need to be heavily certed, even just one cert into them to obtain them is very useful and highly recommended.The first cert into them is 30 certs then 100 and it goes up by 100 cert increments from there. ____ Rally Point: Similar to that of the Way Point, the Rally Point can give your squad direction by dropping colored smoke on a given location on the map. Smoke is Empire specific, so only TR can see it. It can be seen in world, on the minimap and on the world map, if you’re in the area of it. Rally points are often overlooked as being useless and they are rarely used for anything but 'party smoke' There are four different colors, Green, Orange, Purple and Yellow each one is 50 certs each. Once used the smoke has a 5 minute cool down period before you can drop one of the same color. Which means you can drop 4 rally points at a time. Some uses for it are - Using it as a rally point for your squad (obviously) - Marking objectives - Marking the area the enemy is assaulting from - Marking enemy Sunderers that need to be destroyed - Marking bombing runs for aircraft Theres a large variety of uses for the rally point, you just need to use your brain and be creative. Keep in mind of what smoke is already active on the field and what smoke you’re about to deploy. Other squad leaders might be using smoke to mark targets as well, so certing into more than one smoke is recommended. ____ Squad Objectives: Accessible by highlighting an Objective and holding the Q button to bring up the radial menu, Squad Objective can give your squad an attack or defend command. Viewable by your squad only, the Squad Objective has a set of carrots that box your designated objective on the minimap and on the Hud display. This is useful for giving your squad visual direction instead of just verbal. As of right now only ‘Lettered Control Points’ work for this. ____ Command Channel: Not quite the most useful of the tools for the squad leader, it can be used to request reinforcements or listen to what the entire Terran Republic army needs. As a squad leader this cert is not essential unless you're running a squad outside of a platoon. 100 Certs You can use /leader to talk to other squad leaders and platoon leaders, it doesn't have to be on the same continent. You can also use /order to send a request for reinforcements to your location, keep in mind you can only use it once every 3 minutes to prevent it from being abused. There is also a voice chat for the command channel, it tends to be a cluster Ffff. ____ Request Reinforcements: Another tool thats not essential to leading a squad, it allows you to place objectives on the world map to give the entire TR army an objective at where you place them. Its simple enough, it puts an attack or defend objective at a specified location on the continent map that all friendlies can see. Theres a 5 minute cool down before you can place another one. ________________________________________________________________________ TIPS Will update regularly. - Pick a class that does not put you directly into combat so you can focus on giving orders and leading your squad. Medic is a good choice, its a good supporting role and keeps your squad alive. - Keep orders short and simple. Remember KISS, Keep it Simple Stupid. - Keep your squad working together as a team. You have more ability and control over this than the Platoon lead. - When giving orders be firm and do not second guess yourself. - Do not question your platoon lead, follow your orders and if needed give suggestions VIA Tell in game or PMs. - Give your squad direction with waypoints and rally points. - Listen to your squad and their needs. - Cert into Spawn Beacon and deploy it when you can to give your squad an additional respawn point. - Manage the squad if it’s open, kick pubbies that are not following the squad and orders. Check Continent and Global map for stragglers. - Use Rally Point to mark Targets of importance for ground and Air. Typical usage is Pop Smoke on an enemy sunderer and broadcast “/re hostile Sundy at (color) Smoke” - Wolf Shaman - Be Observant about what smoke is currently active and what smoke you are about to deploy. Multiple smoke certing is recommended for minimal overlapping with other squad smoke and staggering cooldown timers. - Wolf Shaman - Squad objective is useful for directing open squads with pubbies so they have a visual marker to run to. - Wolf Shaman ________________________________________________________________________ If you have any tips or anything you'd like added, tips, suggestions or otherwise, feel free to post in this thread and I will update when I can. This is a working progress so do not assume this is everything about being a squad leader. There is much more.
  14. Flash + Scout Radar (UPDATE: radar is no longer active when not in use.) (Flash With attached Scout Radar System) The Scout Radar system on the flash is possibly one of the most useful tools for small group and solo work. I use it a lot for late night base capping, and for solo/small group capping territory on the fringe away from the main zerg. The Scout Radar system is unique in the fact that it sends the detection information to all friendly units in the area, even while the flash is left sitting someplace and unmanned. IMO It is something that Everyone should have at least 1 point put into and equiped at all times when not using the Wraith system. --- (Equipment selection screen - Flash - Utility) Detection Range Starts at 25 Meters. Tiers are 25, 50, 75, and 100 Meters. Cert cost starts at 50, then increases to 100, 200, and tops at 500 for Tier 4. It uses the Utility slot on the Flash, the same that the smoke, Turbo, Fire Suppression, and the Cloaking device uses. --- Tactics. I typically Place the Flash between myself and the most probable direction the enemy is likely to come from. Most times that is the spawn room. I look for a spot that hostiles are likely to overlook or not go in their quest to try and clear me from their cap point. Since the flash is small, it will fit in buildings, and sometimes, that's a good place to stash it in behind some boxes. It mostly is a matter of the area you're working in that will determine where you place your Flash. For this example, I used North Grove Post on Amerish as It was the place I most recently used this tactic. The Spawn is the building to the North Placement of the Flash Flash is hidden by the box on one side, and obscured by the bush on the other. Hostiles are likely to miss seeing it from both sides of the building heading towards the cap point. With a Single point put into the Radar system, You get 25 Meters Radius (50M Diameter, 1936.5 square Meters, 65449.8 Cubic Meters!) You get a nice early warning and direction system for you and anyone around you. Here's an example of where hostiles will start showing up on your minimap from where I placed the Flash. Note the waypoint range on the screenshots. ^^ Going through the building to attack the from the west Side ^^ Going along the east Edge with a possible route of entering the south east of the capture building. Now I have 2 points put into the radar right now, so I have 50 meters to work with. That will cover the whole building that the Flash is parked next to, as well as all the way back to the cap point itself. Now, If you had max points put into the Radar, the range would probably cover the whole base, letting you know exactly where the hostiles are, how many, and where they're moving, and you'll know exactly where to go to ambush them before they get you. If you are running in a group, You can add a second or third flash and form a sensor net that can cover more ground!
  15. ILLUSTRATED VERSION ------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Full OT thread. Community/Reviews/Resources post. This is an image-free version of the NeoGAF Official Topic (linked above). This document was designed for those who have trouble loading images (such as those on mobile devices) or simply want a streamlined version of the OT. Beyond that, this can serve as a handy guide to reference or give to new players with questions. Clicking on the table of the contents below will take you a section or one of its sub-sections. Clicking on a section’s header will take you back to the top. (Table of Contents) The Aethernet ♦Game Information | ♦Official Links ♦Getting Started | ♦System Requirements & Benchmark ♦Product Information ♦Subscription Fees ♦Veteran Program ♦Early & Free Access ♦The Story So Far... | ♦On Hydaelyn… (Story of FFXIV 1.0) ♦On Earth… (Road to ARR) ♦Armoury System | ♦Classes ♦Disciplines ♦Jobs ♦Gear sets & Armoury Chest ♦Class & Job Links ♦Races ♦City-States & Grand Companies | ♦Ul’dah & The Immortal Flames ♦Limsa Lominsa & The Maelstrom ♦Gridania & The Order of the Twin Adder ♦Characters & Community | ♦Grand Companies ♦Linkshells ♦Free Companies ♦Transportation ♦Mounts ♦Companions ♦Markets ♦Retainers ♦Housing ♦Mechanics | ♦Mouse & Keyboard UI ♦Gamepad UI ♦Combat System ♦Combos ♦Limit Break ♦Attributes ♦Duties | ♦Duty Finder ♦Level Sync ♦Quests ♦Guildleves ♦Guildhests ♦FATE ♦Instanced Dungeons ♦Primal Battles ♦Personal Logs ♦Achievements & PS3 Trophies ♦Player vs Player | ♦Mechanics ♦Wolves’ Den ♦Frontlines ♦Crafting | ♦Synthesis ♦Materia ♦Materia Melding ♦Dye ♦Gathering | ♦Botany & Mining ♦Fishing ♦Apps | ♦The Lodestone ♦Libra Eorzea ♦One Time Password ♦Miscellaneous | ♦Credits ♦Links (Return to Home Point) ♦Game Information Release Date 8/27/13 (Worldwide) Platform* Windows / PlayStation 3** (PlayStation 4 - Early 2014) Genre MMORPG Developer Square Enix Rating T * This game is cross-play between platforms using one Square Enix account. Accounts must register that platform’s version of the game in order to play on it. ** SE accounts can only be linked to one Sony Entertainment Network account; However, a SEN account can be linked to multiple SE accounts. Official Links ➡FFXIV Official Website ➡The Lodestone ➡Twitter ➡YouTube ➡RSS Feed ➡Screenshots ➡Trailers ➡Art ♦Getting Started System Requirements & Benchmarks ➡Character Creator Benchmark Minimum System Requirements Recommended System Requirements* Operating System: Windows® Vista 32/64bit, Windows® 7 32/64 bit Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800 Series, ATI Radeon™ HD 4770 Memory: 2GB (4GB recommended for 64bit OS) Disk Space: 20GB. Operating System: Windows® 7 64 bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i5 Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® GTX 660 or higher, AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or higher Memory: 4GB of RAM. Disk Space: 20GB. * The performance of the PS3 version can be substantially improved by installing a SSD. Product Information For details on the different editions, pre-order rewards, and retailers: ➡Product Details Additional links: ➡Pre-Order Registration ➡Purchase Flowchart for 1.0 Players Subscription Fees Membership Price/Month Days Legacy* £6.89/€9.99/$9.99 30 Entry £7.69/€10.99/$12.99 30 Standard £8.99/€12.99/$14.99 30 Standard £8.39/€11.99/$13.99 90 Standard £7.69/€10.99/$12.99 180 “Entry” accounts can have 1 character per world and 8 characters total. All other accounts can have 8 characters per world and 40 characters total. * Legacy accounts are ones that were subscribed to Version 1.0 (“1.0” or “1.x”) for at least three months. Legacy characters and worlds (servers) refer to any character or server carried over into A Realm Reborn. Legacy characters are currently restricted to legacy worlds. ➡Subscription Methods Veteran Rewards Players who subscribe to ARR will have special items called Veteran Rewards delivered to all of their characters. This consists of minions, mounts, and unusual items spread over several months. Rewards are based on the amount of days paid for, not played. This means all rewards can be obtained immediately. ➡List of Rewards Free & Early Access Purchasing and registering a new copy of the game for either Windows or PS3 will add 30 days of subscription time. Both can be registered for a total 60 days; however, the same version cannot be registered to an account twice. Unused FFXIV 1.0 codes will register the Windows version and grant 30 days as normal. Everyone who previously registered a copy of FFXIV 1.0 is considered an owner of the Windows version of ARR and does not need to buy the game again (nor can they register another Windows version) under that account. If registered during 1.x, they also qualify for the Welcome Back Campaign. This means they can play for free until September 9th. Added subscription time is only used after that date. Early access (August 24th to release) will be granted to all legacy accounts and those who register a pre-order code. ♦The Story So Far... On Hydaelyn. . . The realm of Eorzea consists of the continent of Aldenard and its neighboring islands. Within is a variety of terrains and climates filled with opportunities that attract adventurers. For decades these heroes have been in the service of adventurers’ guilds within the governing city-states. From the north, the shadow of the Garlean Empire hangs over these nations. Twenty years ago, the Garleans attacked and subjugated Ala Mhigo, the most militant city-state. Before they could push the invasion any further, the flagship Agrius and dragon king Midgardsormr would destroy one another. Although this saved Eorzea from war, it broke the seal containing the Beastmen deities known as Primals and desolated the Mor Dhona region. Five years ago, newly arrived adventurers were gifted with the Echo, allowing them to see hallucinations of the past (unknowingly at times). They met the scholarly Circle of Knowing in these visions and joined the echo-gifted Path of the Twelve in the present. Two great dangers lay ahead: the Primals who would drain the earth dry when summoned and the returning Garleans that sought to combat them, namely the VIIth and XIVth legions led by Nael van Darnus and Gaius van Baelsar, respectively. Urianger of the Circle of Knowing then began spreading the word of a new Umbral Era, the next sequence in Eorzea’s cycle of joined calamity (Umbral Eras) and prosperity (Astral Eras). Tied to the six elements, a Seventh Umbra Era was never imagined. The lesser moon Dalamud was seen as a harbinger, now red and growing in size. In truth, it was getting closer. With Dalamud locked over Eorzea, abnormalities began to occur; Monsters grew in size and demonic voidsent appeared. Eorzea was politically transformed as well. To combat the Garlean and Primal menaces, the major city-states (sans isolationist Ishgard) channeled all of their resources (including adventurers) into organizations called Grand Companies and formed an Eorzean Alliance. The wise Louisoix and his Circle of Knowing arrived to assist them. Cid nan Garlond, a Garlean defector, warned of the Meteor project. Despite Gaius’s opposition, the increasingly insane Nael revived the project to smash Dalamud, revealed to be manufactured by the ancient Allagans, into Eorzea. Although adventurers were successful in stopping his Lunar Transmitter, the White Raven’s own body began guiding Dalamud. A final battle with him in the skies above Coerthas still wasn’t enough. Louisoix had one last plan: Use a spell directly below Dalamud to summon the power of the Twelve deities. At that very spot, the rogue VIIth legion waited. The Battle of Carteneu began and the White Raven’s true intentions would soon to be revealed. ➡The conclusion to Final Fantasy’s XIV 1.0 Storyline: A New Beginning (Video) ➡FFXIV 1.0 Storyline links On Earth. . . Three years ago, Final Fantasy XIV (1.0) was launched. It was met with an overwhelming negative reception from both players and critics, citing issues such as input-lag on server-based menus, a significant focus on generic quest content with no real end-game, and randomized class progression from repeating actions. In the midst of this backlash, then-CEO Yoichi Wada announced an unprecedented effort to “save” the game. Veteran producer Hiromichi Tanaka stepped down to be replaced by the little-known Naoki Yoshida, a.k.a. Yoshi-P, and the whole team saw a reshuffling. From that point forward, they focused on both making FFXIV playable and the new version which would come to be known as A Realm Reborn, essentially working on two games at once. Beyond just fixing issues, FFXIV saw a slight remake: a combat system resembling a more advanced FFXI, mechanics and end-game content that has been loosely be carried over into ARR, and a new storyline detailing the events that would create Eorzea as we know it five years later. With ARR the game has been remade yet again: the combat system is now of a more common MMO style, a much stronger content pipeline is in place, and the areas and storylines are entirely new. Moreover, Yoshi-P has openly approached players in a fashion that is uncharacteristic of Square Enix. Reception to the game’s beta has generally been positive, with aesthetics and level of polish being at the front of that praise. ♦Armoury System Classes The classes of the Armoury system are based on the weapon or tool characters have equipped in their main hand slot. Changing classes is as simple as switching what is equipped. The Armoury system opens up upon completing the lv. 10 class quest and requires registering at guilds to unlock classes. Legacy characters will immediately be able to switch between classes they have leveled, but are restricted the same way for other classes and are not consider members of any guild. Each class has its own level and set of attributes. Disciplines Classes are grouped into four types of disciplines. Disciplines of War and Magic make up the battle classes. The Disciplines of Hand are the crafting classes and Disciplines of Land are the gathering classes, neither fit for combat. Certain actions (weapon skills, spells, etc.) acquired by a class can be carried over to other classes. In addition to which actions being specified, there are several restrictions: some actions are held within discipline groups (e.g. offensive magic) and battle actions are only available to battle classes. Jobs Jobs are advanced forms of battle classes unlocked through quests accessible upon reaching lv. 30 on the corresponding class and lv. 15 on one other. As each job is an extension of a class, they use the same level and (mostly) actions. Switching to a job is as straightforward as switching classes, except using the “soul” slot instead. In exchange for new actions and further specialization, jobs only allow access to a fewer amount of cross-class actions of two specific classes. A class can have access to multiple jobs, but this is currently only observed with the Arcanist. Gear Sets & Armoury Chest Based on the Armoury system, gear sets can be saved and instantly loaded onto characters (allowing for a one-button class switch on the go). They draw upon the game’s Armoury Chest: a separate inventory for equipment which holds up to 25 pieces per slot. Additional gear sets become available upon joining other guilds, though they are not tied to any class. Characters can’t change their equipment in battle, thus they can’t switch their class or job either. Some content, like dungeons, also restrict class/job switching. List of Classes/Jobs (Including job secondary classes on the right) Discipline of War / Discipline of Magic / Discipline of Hand / Discipline of Land Class Job Secondaries Gladiator (GLA) >> Paladin (PLD) MRD, WHM Pugilist (PGL) >> Monk (MNK) LNC, MRD Marauder (MRD) >> Warrior (WAR) GLA, PGL Lancer (LNC) >> Dragoon (DRG) PGL, MRD Archer (ARC) >> Bard (BRD) LNC, PGL Conjurer (CNJ) >> White Mage (WHM) THM, ARC Thaumaturge (THM) >> Black Mage (BLM) ACN, ? Arcanist (ACN) >> Summoner (SMN) CNJ, ? ↳↳ Scholar (SCH) THM, ? Class Class Alchemist (ALC) Culinarian (CUL) Armorer (ARM) Goldsmith (GLD) Blacksmith (BSM) Leatherworker (LTW) Carpenter (CRP) Weaver (WVR) Miner (MIN) Fisher (FSH) Botanist (BTN) Starting City-State Characters will begin their adventuring career in one of three city-states, as decided by their first class (a discipline of war or magic). This is due to the preliminary storyline guiding players to the respective class guild and travel between cities being difficult for the first dozen levels. Players should consider that the original choice for class and city-state won’t matter much at all after roughly 15 levels. One shouldn’t feel they are making a permanent choice when picking their class. Below are the guild locations by city-state: Ul’dah Gladiator - Pugilist - Thaumaturge - Alchemist - Goldsmith - Weaver - Miner Limsa Lominsa Marauder - Arcanist - Armorer - Blacksmith - Culinarian - Fisher Gridania Lancer - Archer - Conjurer - Carpenter - Leatherworker - Botanist ♦Races Races have different starting attributes, but these differences quickly become negligible. It is better to pick a race for aesthetic reasons, as classes can be switched freely. (The same can be said for patron deity.) A later patch will add a “barber shop” for changing hair style and other features. Additionally, one of the veteran rewards is a complete character remake. Hyur Naming Conventions Miqo’te Naming Conventions Elezen Naming Conventions Roegadyn Naming Conventions Lalafell Naming Conventions ♦City-States & Grand Companies Ul’dah & The Immortal Flames Amidst the arid region of Thanalan, the mercantile metropolis of Ul’dah serves as a beacon to all traders. Decorated in the finest gemstones and fabrics, this city-state provides for any vice or indulgence – if one has the gil. Paralleling its patron deity Nald’thal, Ul’dah balances its prosperous and nether elements on a loose scale. In the shadows, tensions are building between the Syndicate, a group selected by wealth, and the royal Sultana, Nanamo Ul Namo. The Immortal Flames is the grand company of Ul’dah. This contingent is led by Raubahn Aldynn, an Ala Mhigan man so successful in the coliseum his blood money has earned him a seat on the Syndicate. In a political landscape that strongly favors the elitist Syndicate, the lone devoted Raubahn and his army empower the more compassionate Sultana to stand a chance. Limsa Lominsa & The Maelstorm Off the windy meadows of La Noscea on the volcanic island Vylbrand is the thalassocracy of Limsa Lominsa, a maritime power. While the city’s many bridged island towers are a beauty to behold from afar, Lominsans tend to be more vulgar (and cutthroat) than most Eorzean folk. Part of this is due to a spotty history with piracy. Using her power over all ships in Lominsan waters, the ex-pirate Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn cleaned up the place when she became admiral and, later, chief admiral. Led by the admiral herself, the Maelstrom heads Limsa Lominsa’s crimson-bannered military. Over the five years since she became chief admiral she has done the impossible and made marauders trade their axes for tools. For some, however, old habits die hard. The thalassocracy also has not one, but two beastmen tribes trying to summon a primal on its doorstep. Gridania & The Order of the Twin Adder The Twelveswood, known as the Black Shroud to outsiders, is a dense, ample forest home to the protective, yet wrathful elementals. Within it, the nation of Gridania pays its upmost respect to these spirits, and thus nature itself. From construction to resource extraction, citizens are dedicated to harmony with the environment, lest they face certain death. The conjurers and, above them, the padjal Seedseers speak with the elementals directly and lead the nation by their will. Closest to the Garleans, the Elder Seedseer had the Order of the Twin Adder revived to bolster Gridania’s defenses. Forever youthful like all padjal, Kan-E-Senna is deceptively wise and confident. It was her who allied the three grand companies. She must not only face several threats, but meet them without upsetting the peace between the elementals and mankind. ♦Characters & Community Grand Company The grand company (GC) characters join works as an allegiance to one of the three nations. The city-state characters begin in only affects the central storyline for the first few levels; the GC they join will mark their true home. Characters in a GC will be able to use and purchase associated gear and other items with company seals. GCs can be joined through the central storyline, somewhere a little above lv. 20. Switching GCs is possible, but associated seals and gear will be unusable until returning. Characters will never be isolated based on GCs. An exception to this may be certain PvP content. ➡Grand Companies Linkshell Invitation-based chat channels called linkshells (LS) can be used for virtually any purpose, including casual conversation. Characters can be members of up to 8 LSs at a time. Players will be able to browse and chat with all of their LSs at any given moment. Free Company Players can also join together to form an organization (i.e. “guild”) called a free company (FC). Unlike LSs, characters can only be in one FC. In addition to having a chat channel and shared storage, members of FCs will be able work together to gain free company EXP and credits to earn expanded features and benefits. This includes company-wide bonuses with both low-level and end-game utility. FCs can also obtain customizable crests, which can be put on equipment. Although FCs branch off GCs, there are no restrictions based on allegiance. Transportation Characters can instantly warp back to their home point once every 15 minutes, or upon defeat, with return. This first requires attuning to (i.e. touching) one of many aetherytes found around the world. Players can also teleport their party to any aetheryte they (including the party members) have visited with a fee of gil. Additionally, characters can warp between the aethernet shards situated within city-states free of cost. More physical modes of transport include ships and airships, which also cost gil and are instantaneous. Access to airships is unlocked through the central storyline at around lv. 15. Chocobo porters are safe automated chocobo rides that will take players to and from locations where they’ve spoken with a chocobo porter. At lv. 10, temporary mounts called rental chocobos become available from chocobokeeps found in cities. Mounts As the name implies, mounts are creatures or vehicles ridden to increase movement speed. The typical mount is a personal chocobo acquired after buying a chocobo issuance from a GC using company seals at around lv. 20. There are also several other mounts to obtain (e.g. the Coeurl from the CE), but they may first require having a personal chocobo. Chocobos can be outfitted with barding and it has been said magitek armor will have customizable parts. Companions Companions are NPC allies summoned to join a party outside of dungeons or cities. This mainly consists of using a personal chocobo for battle, although magitek armor has been hinted at. Chocobos gain skills by players putting skill points earned from battle into defender, attacker, or healer specializations. They have four freely switchable tactical stances which mirror the specializations and include a hybrid free stance. Companions are not to be confused with minions: collective pets with no battle application. Markets Functioning as an “auction house” of sorts, players can sell items on the market through a retainer and purchase those player-sold items through market boards found in cities. There is an assortment of search features to find specific items and price history for previously sold items. The market is globally linked, but shifting tax rates will differentiate from where one decides to sell goods. There is a transaction fee for purchasing from retainers outside the city-state. Retainers Retainers are fully customizable NPCs players hire from retainer vocates after unlocking them during the main scenario at around lv. 20 (unless they were carried over with a legacy character) to store and sell possessions. They are contacted and managed through summoning bells found at the adventurer’s guild and market area of each city, among other places. A character can have two retainers to their name, each carrying up to 170 items (more for crystals and gil) and selling up to 20 items on the market for as long as a week. In the future, retainers will be able to do more, such as gather for you. Housing In a later patch, players will be able to purchase expensive plots of land in shared instanced areas for housing, both small and large. Land deeds can be bought for personal or FC use and be freely traded or sold to other players. With property owned, players can build, expand, and add furniture to houses of their liking. Adding things like battle trophies, parks, or chocobo stables will grant benefits (e.g. EXP bonus) to be shared with fellow FC members. This also includes a storefront for selling goods. Owners can set permissions depending on how they’d like to use the property. As there is limited space, developers will add a new instance only when the current one is getting full (similar to Dragon Quest X). ♦Mechanics Mouse & Keyboard There are two UI designs instead of a hybrid for mouse & keyboard and gamepad, a first for a Final Fantasy MMO. This allows for more mouse-specific features, such as mouse-over for action targets. Virtually any option can be placed on a hotbar (e.g. actions, emotes, macros, menus, gear sets/class change). It is highly recommended, when starting out, players go through all the settings and adjust as necessary. There are also settings to play with just a keyboard, like players could in FFXI. (It goes without saying that Windows users are able to use gamepads.) Gamepad The only option for PS3 players, FFXIV has been designed to accommodate gamepads. Most notably, there is the cross hotbar: players activate hotbar commands by holding “L2” or “R2” (default) in conjunction with the face buttons and D-pad. Using “L1” (default) in the same fashion can change tab targeting modes or enable cursor control (with “R3”). “R1” (default) is used to cycle between or select different hotbars. The same rules for hotbars apply here (and, again, it would be best to first configure controls, camera, and UI). A XMB-like main menu has also been implemented. Combat System FFXIV: ARR could be described as a “tab-targeting MMO”, combining mechanics of the previous iteration of FFXIV with a more common style similar to World of Warcraft. There is free movement and it mainly consists of selecting a target while using actions on hotbars. Some of these actions are tied to the global cooldown, a shared cooldown timer of roughly 2.5 seconds, while others will have no interaction with it (likely having a longer cooldown). The claiming system for monsters outside duties is very loose. The first player/party to attack an enemy will always get EXP and quest progress, but anyone else will be rewarded if they make a solid contribution to the fight. Similar to FFXI, consecutively defeating worthy enemies gives a chain bonus to EXP earned. Characters will be defeated when their HP is depleted to 0. Battle actions will often require spending MP (e.g. spells) or TP (e.g. weapon skills), two resources that recover very slowly while in battle. CP or GP will take the place of MP while crafting or gathering, respectively. The Armoury bonus gives more EXP when on battle classes other than the highest leveled. Additionally, standing in sanctuaries or an inn room will generate a rested bonus to EXP, even while logged out. Combos Combos are an extra effect granted when specific actions are used in a timed sequence. Additionally, proper positioning can enhance some actions and such positions are usually required for combos. Actions that are readied to combo will be highlighted on a hotbar. This also applies to other actions with conditional effects (e.g. being required to evade an attack first). There are also a few actions that directly influence others, such as having a chance to make another action free. Pugilists have their own pseudo-combos with forms: short lived status effects enabling weapon skills that chain into other forms. Limit Break Characters will have access to very powerful actions called limit breaks when in a “light party” (4 or more members) or “full party” (8 members). In order to use a limit break, the party will need to fill a shared meter called the limit gauge through dealing and healing damage. When the gauge is full any one party member can activate a limit break based on their party role (tank, melee, healer, or caster) and how many full gauges the party has, if multiple gauges are accessible. Attributes Starting at lv. 10, players will earn bonus points they can allot to attributes. Classes have separate allotted points, which are also used for their jobs (even for Arcanist). Allotment can be reset with items. Strength (STR) Increases melee attack power and percentage of damage mitigated by block and parry. Dexterity (DEX) Increases ranged attack power and the chance of blocking or parrying an attack. Vitality (VIT) Increases maximum HP. Intelligence (INT) Increases attack magic potency. Mind (MND) Increases healing magic potency. Piety (PIE) Increases maximum MP. Accuracy Increases accuracy of physical and magical attacks. Crit. Hit Rate Increases the probability that an attack will deal critical damage. Skill Speed Reduces recast time of weapon skills. Spell Speed Reduces the cast and recast of spells. Determination Increases the amount of damage dealt by all attacks and the amount of HP recovered by spells. ♦Duties Duty Finder Duty finder is both the main method to access instanced duties and a way to randomly match players together to create or fill up parties (drawing only from regionally-linked servers). Characters are restricted to the flagged class/job when the party is assembled, but are not while it is still assembling. There is also the option to join ongoing duties with missing spots. Parties require specific roles (e.g. 1 tank, 1 healer, and 2 damage dealers) unless fully assembled beforehand. Once the party is assembled, characters are teleported to an instance shared between servers. When the duty is over, they will be brought back exactly where they left. (There is also a player search function with party seeking tags in the game, but it doesn’t integrate with duty finder.) ➡Duty Finder Developers’ Commentary Level Sync Players with characters that are above a recommended or required level of a duty can opt to or will be forced to level sync and match that level (or a few levels above it). Higher-level gear can still be used and will scale down. Characters will gain EXP based on their newly synced level. Quests Being one of the more frequent activities players will engage in, quests are anything listed in the journal that isn’t a guildleve or any other kind of duty. Like other duties, the journal will explain where and how accepted quests can be done. The solo instanced quest battles will grant an enhancement upon retrying after defeat. Players will find quests easily using the recommendations menu. -Main scenario quests feature the game’s central storyline, while also working as a guided tutorial for the first two dozen levels. During the main scenario players will likely access most types of content for the first time. Voice acting is limited to these quests. -Side quests present the other stories of Eorzea. A few will introduce new utilities (especially those that branch off the main scenario). They are the source of many EXP and the ideal way to level the first few classes. -Class & job quests are noteworthy as they unlock new actions to use as characters go through a class/job’s storyline. For jobs, this is the primary source of actions and progression. Guildleves Guildleves are acquired from a levemete NPC once that area’s guildleves have been unlocked. The first set is accessed through the main scenario at around lv. 10, another from a quest directly following that, and the rest by doing quests for other levemetes at the required level. Guildleves are used to do levequests: repeatable duties which reward EXP, gil, and items. Once the player sets the difficulty (based on level), they will need to reach the marked location and complete their objective. The reward will be based on difficulty and a performance rating. Players can leve link to team up on duplicate levequests so they only have to be done once. Occasionally, wanted targets and treasure coffers will appear for a bonus. Accepting or retrying a levequest upon failure will cost a single leve allowance. Allowances refresh at a rate of three every 12 hours, up to a hundred. There are battlecraft, fieldcraft, and tradecraft guildleves associated with respective discipline types. Guildhests Characters can speak with a battlewarden to participate in guildhests (and use duty finder thereafter) after completing a quest that samples guildleves following their unlocking. These are small scale battles which often require special tactics. Guildhests are highly instructive and work to teach inexperienced players how to use strategies for complex encounters. A large EXP and gil bonus is granted on the first completion of a guildhest. FATE Full Active Time Events (FATEs) are dynamic encounters which will randomly appear in the game world, marked by blue circles on the map, open to everyone who enter their boundaries. FATEs will sometimes occur in a sequence that may change depending on how previous events unfolded (e.g. having to rescue NPCs after failing to protect a settlement). These encounters will scale based on the number of participants, balancing factors such as the number of NPC allies. Although primarily a source of EXP, certain FATEs have unique loot (e.g. Behemoth, Lightning). Each FATE has a recommended level, with characters over (without level sync) and under it being penalized. ➡Collaboration (FFXIII Lightning FATE) Instanced Dungeons Large instanced areas with unique bosses and mechanics, instanced dungeons serve as a primary piece of FFXIV’s group content. This includes everything between 4-man leveling dungeons starting at level 15 and multi-party alliances of 24 players doing end-game raids. Earlier dungeons will be revisited later on with “hard mode” versions, with new enemies and paths. The Crystal Tower and Great Labyrinth of Bahamut, the two main raids, will grow with content updates. Primal Battles Primals are the “summons” equivalent of FFXIV, although they are mainly antagonistic. One way primals will be faced is through the aptly named primal battles. These are multipart battles within small areas. At launch, players can challenge Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan. Three tiers of increasing difficulty are planned: “story”, hard, and extreme. Primal battles are different from instances of facing primals in FATEs (e.g. Odin) or dungeons (as speculated with Bahamut). Personal Logs Characters can use guild or GC associated hunting logs to track down and defeat specific monsters for EXP or seals. The crafting log is used to initiate synthesis and gives bonus EXP with new recipes. Similarly, the gathering log tracks and rewards new items gathered. For fishing, this functionality split between the Fish Guide (records fish and gives EXP) and Fishing Log (records fishing areas). Achievements & PS3 Trophies Achievements are extraneous goals which can reward name titles and, rarely, unique items. Achievements are separate from PlayStation trophies. ➡Achievements ➡PS3 Trophies ♦Player vs. Player Mechanics Player vs. Player (PvP) combat has been described as being designed to be different from the usual mechanics. A whole separate set of actions will be earned from and used for PvP. It’s been said some of these actions may change based on Grand Company allegiance. The Morale attribute lowers the damage taken from other players. PvP won’t be available at launch; the Wolves’ Den will come in the first patch after release, while Frontlines (along with less understood content, like companion vs. companion battles) is coming much later. Wolves’ Den The Wolves’ Den is an island arena where players can take part in straight 4v4 or 8v8 matches with the victory condition being the other team having no surviving members. If time runs out, both teams lose. PvP points used to purchase special actions, equipment, and items will be earned from dispatching enemies or winning matches. The Wolves’ Den requires lv. 30 to be unlocked and is accessible through the Duty Finder. Frontlines Another mode of PvP will be large open-areas, called Frontlines, where three armies of the Grand Companies will clash over lucrative ancient ruins. Little is known about it other than it will feature players battling over forts and crafters being more involved. ♦Crafting Synthesis Having 8 classes dedicated to it, crafting is a major part of FFXIV. With a tool equipped and the crystals and ingredients held, players can begin synthesis from the crafting log menu. This process primarily consists of using actions to fill the progress bar (based on the craftsmanship attribute) at the expense of durability, which causes failure upon hitting 0%. Using actions to instead fill the quality bar (based on the control attribute) exponentially increases the chance of making a high quality (HQ) item and adds to EXP awarded once the progress bar is full. Using HQ ingredients gives a boost to starting quality. Crafters must be mindful of stability, represented by the color of the glowing light, which can make actions risky. Quick Synthesis, obtained by reaching lv. 10 with any DoH class, will give instant results at the expense of quality. The condition of equipment will decrease through use (and characters being defeated) until becoming useless at 0%. Equipment list a DoH class and level that can repair it with dark matter. Currently, characters can only repair their own gear. For everyone else, certain NPCs will repair it for a fee of gil. Materia Equipment with slots can gain more attributes through crafters affixing materia to it. Players can do a quest available at lv. 19 to unlock the ability to permanently convert pieces of gear with a 100% spiritbond rating into materia. Spiritbond on equipment is earned upon use in battle, gathering, or crafting, which immediately prevents it from ever being traded or sold. The type and strength of materia is depended on the converted item. Materia can be removed from equipment, destroying all of it, by speaking to the NPC who gives the materia quests, Mutamix Bubblypots. Legacy characters will find their materia and melded equipment “cracked”. This materia can be exchanged for new ones or towards a currency that buys rare equipment. Materia Melding To meld materia onto equipment, a discipline of hand must first complete a second quest available at lv. 19. Eligible gear lists a required class and level for melding. Materia also must be affixed to equipment of a minimum item level (not the required level to equip) and be used with the stated catalyst item. After another DoH quest at lv. 25, crafters can use advanced melding to affix more materia than an item has slots (up to a total of 5). Advanced melding has a risk of failure that will cost the materia and catalyst used in the attempt. Based on the item, there are maximum enhancement values that cap how much gear can give of a single attribute, negating stacking. Crafters can meld equipment in the inventories of characters who Request Meld. Dyes Upon completing a side quest at lv. 15, players can use dye items on most visible equipment. There are no color restrictions and changing colors just requires using another dye. Some equipment, including a lot of dungeon loot and job artifact armor, can’t be dyed, but this may change in the future. Dyes can be crafted by any DoH class, as lv. 30 recipes. ♦Gathering Mining & Botany Gathering is essential to the economy as it is the source of crystals, catalysts, and many crafting materials. Botanist and Miner operate very similarly to each other. Gathering as either comprises finding a point on the map to either mine/quarry or log/harvest and then engaging it. This will bring up a window showing gatherable items, along with the chance of success (based on the Gathering attribute) and chance of obtaining a HQ item (based on the Perception attribute). Unknown items are obscured until gathered for the first time, which is both more difficult and rewarding. Consecutive successful attempts will provide an increasing chain bonus to EXP and enable some actions until a failure occurs. As gatherers level up, they will gain access to more points with new items to gather. Although DoL classes are unfit for confrontation, they can still travel through dangerous areas with stealth actions. Fishing Although fish (and other materials) can be sold and used for recipes, fishing is meant to be a casual activity for quieter moments. Fisher is by far the simplest class. Fishers simply designate some bait through the Bait action and use Cast near a body of water (or similar, as sand and sky fishing is later possible). They will have a few seconds to use Hook to reel in a fish tugging at the line (based on the Perception attribute). Which fish can be caught is based on the area, the bait, and misc. factors like weather. At lv. 30, Mooch allows fishers to sometimes use the HQ fish they just got caught as bait for the next cast. ♦Apps The Lodestone Redesigned since 1.0, The Lodestone is the official community and database site of FFXIV. Here players can access a game database, the forums, player blog posts, character data, manage FC features, and other utilities. It is also where news, patch notes, and direct messages from the developers will be posted. All players should check The Lodestone frequently. Libra Eorzea Libra Eorzea is a free app based on the Lodestone which is accessible through mobile devices. It will thoroughly cover characters, actions, items, quests, etc., serving as a guide for the entire game. It will be released for iOs devices a week from launch and to Android devices soon after. More advanced features, like market access, have been hinted at as a later addition.
  16. This week's tips are Engineer: >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Jxh6TGOpU
  17. >http://youtu.be/NLSUqMNHyHc (Survivability during engagements) >http://youtu.be/02hNBoukE8A (Wingman work)
  18. Needless to say, if you haven't looked at this spreadsheet you really need to. It gives lots of details on the weapons of all factions in a much more useful format that just glowing bars. However, aside from the fact that there is some imbalance, unless you understand the raw numbers the spreadsheet won't do you much good. I will focus on explaining the "Gun Stuff" tab here. You are on your own for the rocket stuff, although I will say all the standard launchers are the same. Let the thread begin! First, a quick note about player health: All infantry classes have 500 Health. Every class but Infiltrator has 500 Shields. Infiltrators have 400 Shields. The "Nano Weave Armor" cert increases the health by the percent listed in the cert's given level(10%, 12.5%, 15%, 20%, 25% Respectively). Secondly, acronyms and terms: ADS means "Aiming Down Sight". COF means "Cone of Fire". ROF means "Rate of Fire" "Hip" means firing when not aiming down your sights (so you are using the big ol' crosshairs). Thirdly, all of the columns can be specified by field using the drop-down menus (so for example, for faction you can select TR) and then sorted by clicking their name. You can toggle between ascending or descending. Some columns don't like to sort well, such as the damages when the shotguns are around, but most sort just fine. The first three columns should be self explanatory. If you need help understanding "Name", "Faction", and "Type" you have bigger issues to worry about, so lets look at damage. Max Damage / Min Damage These two columns go hand in hand with how damage works in Planetside 2. With the exception of shotguns, sniper rifles, MAX weapons, and for some reason the TR MCG, weapon damage is a function of distance. You have the maximum damage that persists up to a given distance, then a minimum damage which occurs at another distance. For explanation lets look at the three default Assault Rifles (what the medic's use). T1 Cycler: 143@10m -> 125@65m NC1 Gauss: 167@10m -> 143@75m Pulsar VS1: 143@10m -> 112@115m What this means is that from 0m-10m the weapons do their maximum damage. Then the damage tapers off in a linear manner until the minimum damage distance, at which point they level out and just do the minimum damage from there on. To give a better visual depiction, I have made a nifty chart. These three rifles also start to hint at the characteristics of the rifles. The NC rifle always will win if all other things are helt the same (ROF and all shots hitting the same location). Its lowest damage occurs later than the TR's distance wise and is the same as the other faction's maximum damage. The VS rifle does the same initial damage as the TR rifle, but its minimum damage is lower. However, the minimum damage doesn't happen until almost twice the distance. Within 70m if the ROF was the same and all rounds hit the target, the VS rifle would beat out the TR. Beyond 70m, the damage dealt by the VS rifle continues to decline further, so the TR rifle would win. Most importantly this should explain what the "@XXm" portion of the stat means. Fire Mode A simple one. This lists the fastest fire mode that can be selected on the weapon. If a weapon has semi, burst, and auto, it will be listed here as "Auto" Short Reload The best term for this is a "Tactical Reload". This refers to reloading before your weapon is completely empty. As such, the only action that is require is to change magazines. It is in units of seconds. Pump action shotguns are not listed as they allow for shell-by-shell reloads. Shell-by-shell reloads have the benefit of being interrupt-able; you can fire while doing them. Long Reload A "Full Reload". This refers to reloading after you have fired off all of the rounds in your weapon and your chamber is empty. This is longer as you have to swap out magazines and then either work the charging handle / bolt or hit a bolt release. Magazine Size How many rounds each magazine can hold. Extended Magazine cert increases this. Ammo Pool How many rounds are carried on your person. Ammunition Belt cert increases this. Vertical Recoil This is how much the muzzle of the weapon will climb per shot. I stress the per shot part because while a given weapon may have a lower recoil value, if it fires much faster than the other weapon you are comparing it too you will be off target much faster. I have no idea what the units on this are so unless we can figure it out, use these numbers as comparative values only. Lower is better. *Update* I think the units are degrees/shot *Vertical Recoil is not always vertical. See "Recoil Angle"* Horizontal Recoil Min/Max This is the range that your weapon can move from side to side per shot. As with vertical recoil, I don't know the unit on this but it does seem to be the same as with vertical recoil. It may be degrees/shot. Recoil Angle Min/Max This is the angle between which the "Vertical"l recoil will occur. If you picture an upside down T, the vertical line is 0 degrees, the left point is -90 and the right point is +90. If a weapon has a distinct horizontal pull it will occur between these angles. The majority of TR weapons do not pull and have "0/0" listed in this spot. They recoil, but it is more random bucking than a distinct drift. I find this to be a good thing as a upwards recoil is easier to compensate for while trying to stay on target. Recoil Horizontal Bias Angles too confusing? This is a simple symbol that shows a weapons tenancy to drift in a given direction. ← = → is balanced horizontal, ← is always left horizontal, → is always right horizontal, and ← > → or ← < → is unbalanced horizontal that will shake left and right, with an overall bias in one direction. The majority of TR weapons are "← = →". Recoil Decrease Recoil Decrease is the amount of recoil countered in units of Degrees/Second. Recoil decrease takes place after a short delay (generally equal to a weapons time between shots) when you have stopped firing. Basically think of this as "catching your breath". When you stop firing, even for a brief period, this is how fast your weapon will get back to its point of aim. First Shot Recoil Multiplier Very simple. This is how much your recoil values are increased for your first shot. ADS Move Speed Multiplier Also very simple. This is how much your move speed is multiplied by when you are aiming down your sights. It is always less than one, which means you are always moving slower than normal. Typical values are 0.75 and 0.5, which correspond to 3/4 and 1/2 movement speed respectively. Cone of Fire (CoF) This is one that spans 11 columns and 4 sections of the spread sheet. There is a reason for it though! It is very important to gun performance. But first, what the hell is a "cone of fire"? Well it isn't a volcano or waffle cone flambe. It refers to the area your bullets can occupy at a given distance. For those of you who were in our SL faction: Remember when i would go on about "conical spread" and say "the spread is Xm in radius at 200m"? That is CoF. Basically, picture a cone with the pointy part glued to the muzzle of your gun. When your bullets fly outward, they can occupy an ever increasing area, a circular slice of the cone, at a given distance. This picture, although from Planetside, should help with understanding. While massively exaggerated, it gets the point across. So the numbers in these columns have to do with what your CoF looks like when you are in a given stance, moving at a given rate, and whether you are aiming down your sights (ADS) or not. Now the Numbers! The listings are divided into 4 categories: Stand ADS, Crouch ADS, Stand Hip, Crouch Hip. Knowing what ADS stands for, this should be pretty self explanatory: Stand ADS: You are standing and aiming down your sights. Crouch ADS: You are crouching and aiming down your sights Stand Hip: You are standing and aiming from the hip Crouch Hip: you are crouching and aiming from the hip. Then there are the movement modifiers: Still, Move, Sprint, Jump. You don't see them in all categories because they don't exist for all situations. FOr example, you can't sprint while crouching or aiming down your sights. Still: You are not moving. Duh. Moving: You are moving at the normal pace. This speed is reduced when crouching or aiming down sights. Sprinting: You are sprinting. Duh Jumping: You are jumping. Duh. Now you might be saying "But wait! I can't shoot while sprinting!". That is correct. You come to a stop and shoulder your rifle first. However, when you sprint your CoF expands. Think of it as the effect from breathing heavily. After you stop sprinting, your CoF will slowly contract to the level that corresponds to your level of movement and stance. Jumping is the same way. Note that some weapons, such as the SMG's and pistols have the same values for moving and still when aiming down your sights. Ok, so no you know what the columns mean, but what do those numbers really mean. Well that is the angle of your base CoF in degrees. They look small, but remember that a cone gets bigger as it extends out. For example a CoF of 0.3 degrees means your bullets can be anywhere withing a circle that is just over 1m in diameter if your target is 200m away. That is a big circle! Curious how I found that number? Basic Trigonometry! If you look at a cone from the side, it looks like a triangle. Cut that triangle in half at the tip and you get a right triangle. Now since you have cut the cone in half, your angle is half as well. You can now use this to find out how big of a circle your bullets can occupy at a given target distance TargetDistance x tan(CoF/2) = Radius of Bullet Circle for the Given Target Distance Yay Trigonometry! Just remember that this gives you the radius, not the diameter. Multiply the radius by two to get the diameter! I left it out of the formula to keep the equation as simple as possible. CoF Bloom/Shot: Just like a flower gets larger when it blooms, so does your CoF when you shoot. This is how much your CoF will expand with each shot. To my knowledge it is also in degrees, which knowing that the other things are in units of degrees would make the most sense. This section is divided into ADS and Hip columns and if you notice the bloom while hip firing is usually twice as much as the ADS value. SMG's are an example of an exception, as they have the same value for both. Lets look at how this effects your CoF. Using the CoF example from earlier (which matches the NC and TR SMG's, hence why it was horrific at 200m). They have a bloom value of So if your target is at 100m, your bullet circle is 0.52m in diameter. Now you fire a burst of 5 shots. Lets see how the circle changes. Here is the diameter of circle your round can end up in, approximately: 1st Round: 0.52m Diameter 2nd Round: 0.61m Diameter 3rd Round: 0.69m Diameter 4th Round: 0.78m Diameter 5th Round: 0.87m Diameter Well, That Escalated Quickly. To put that in perspective, imagine a person as a rectangle. A person who is 5' 9" tall and 15" across at the torso is a 1.75m x 0.38m box. After just 5 shots the circle that your bullets can land in is over twice as wide as their center mass. Assume the center mass is 0.55m (22") tall and your bullets are going above and below center mass as well, if they even hit horizontally. Keep in mind that the values used were for standing still and aiming down sights with an SMG. They also assume that the gun can magically stay right on target. To put it in perspective I made a little target based on these measurements. Assuming your gun was aimed exactly at the red dot, which is centered on the center mass of the target, and did not move, the rings represent the circle your shots could fall within for the target at 100m. Rate of Fire (ROF) This is an easy one. This number is how many rounds your weapon can fire in units of Rounds Per Minute (RPM) based on the cyclic speed of the weapon. In other words, if you never had to reload, this is how many rounds you could spit out in one minute. Bullet Speed Exactly what it sounds like, this is the speed of your projectile in meters per second (m/s). While this directly means how fast your bullet can reach the target, it is an important factor in how much your bullet will appear to drop. A slower projectile will seem to drop faster than a faster projectile that has the same drop rate. In reality they drop just as fast so it is when they drop, but read on for that part. Bullet Drop This is the rate your bullet will drop. At first it was thought these numbers are in m/s, but then you have bullets making it maybe 85m. If you assume these are accelerations, things make much more sense, so I will assume the units are m/s2. For small arms there seem to be three drop rates: 11.25m/s2 for all NC & TR non-sniper rifles 7.5m/s2 for all sniper rifles except the VS Spectre and Phantom 0m/s2 for all VS weapons except the four bolt-action sniper rifles. This basically tells you the maximum range your projectile can go if everything else is held constant: fired perfectly level from flat ground. Using the person measurements from before as an example, if I fire a shouldered rifle from 1.5m off the ground (shoulder height) you could combine this with the weapon's bullet velocity to determine when it will hit the ground. 1.5m at 11.25m/s is 0.133 seconds (2/15ths of a second). So if my rifle has a projectile speed of 640m/s it can make it 85m before hitting the dirt. Actually doing the math on that, there is no way these values are in m/s of drop. Assuming these values are in m/s2 you can use simplified kinematic equations for the time it takes for the projectile to reach the ground from shoulder height and then use the projectile speed to calculate how far they can optimally go. 0m = 1.5m + 0.5(DropRate)(DropTime)2 So from this height: 11.25m/s2 Drop Rate: 0.5163 Seconds 7.5m/s2 Drop Rate: 0.6324 Seconds So the distance before these rounds will hit the ground can be found by multiplying the projectile speed by the time. For the sake oc comparison lets use the same projectile speed for the two different drop rates (the Gauss Rifle for some reason has the same projectile speed as the three top-end bolt action rifles...) Using 650m/s as a projectile speed: 11.25m/s2 Drop Rate: 335m 7.5m/s2 Drop Rate: 411m This is why you need to compensate for distance by aiming above your target for long shots. The slower your projectile the more you need to compensate! Ok. That is the end! I hope you all found this informative enough to be worth your reading time. Remember that stats alone do not make the weapon "good" and that rate of fire has a large effect on things. This spreadsheet can make finding a weapon that fits you easier. Find a weapon you are good with and enjoy the fight! (Also Vanu put some damn pants on.)
  19. For those that do not know, Datacrons are items that when found give the character that found it a permanent boost to stats or give a matrix shard. Most give +2 or +3 to a single stat, however there is one that gives +10 to all stats. We plan to schedule an event in the near future where a group of 6 or more of us get the +10 Datacron from Fleet. in order to get this Datacron you need a grappling hook (MGGS) it can be purchased on Alderaan (Map) for 10,000 credits. The only other requirement once you have that item is that your character has reached the fleet since you can trade the MGGS between characters. According to this video you need to be 50 to get the +10 at the end even, unless this is changed in a later patch after the video was made.
  20. TR Optics Pictures are taken in WG Spawn area. One showing zoom mag, and one showing impact point. Found out that the DMO did not hit where I thought it would hit. There is the 1x FOV. Standing in front of center spawn tubes at WG HDS 3.4x DMO 3.4x ACS 4x TMS 4x S3 6x (no sway) Updated 23JUN13 - Added 6x
  21. Welcome to the Ordo Imperialis Forums, there's a lot to do here, there's a lot of information, it changes daily and can get overwhelming, especially with the more access you gain, the more there is to keep up with... WELL here's a few tips and tricks from all of us and some newer or unused features to help you on your way to exploration! We made a good investment with this powerful forum software, let's be sure we use it to the fullest capabilities. Start Page The first page of http://forums.ordoimperialis.com is the 'start' page of our forums. You can get here easily by using that address of course, or if you're already in the forums, just clicking [The Ordo Imperialis] Tab or the banner above. Posting a topic or reply If you wish to start a topic under an area, you may select [start New Topic] at the top right of that board. These topics are often moderated so please keep it on topic and respectful. If you wish to reply under an already started topic, you'll find a 'quick reply' option at the very bottom of the thread. The quick reply is a simpler mini editor you can use. The difference between the full and mini editor is a few management and file tools. The editors are pretty straightforward, there are plenty of options at the top you can explore to fullfill your layout needs just like any word document. Play with them, make sure you know what they do. When you create a thread or edit your own with the full editor, you also have the option to add tags to your thread. These help sorting, searches and disovery of your topic. Keep tags simple and basic, relevent to the topic you are posting. If you are pasting content from another area, it is always best to use the "Paste as Plain Text" button in the top right with the other paste options. This is good practice to ensure a clean transition. Other options would be to paste it from a notepad or Ctrl+Shift+V if you have that option on your browser. Quoting Quoting someone allows you to present who you are talking to or replying to in your thread, this also sends them a small notification ping shown in the top right of the forums next to your login name if they have those notification options turned on. To do this you can select the |Quote| or the |Multiquote| button at the bottom of their post. It will place what they posted in a quote box, in your quick reply at the bottom. If it's long or there are parts that are irrelevant to what you are replying too, you can delete these parts, as long as the information within the |quote name| remains. Images It's the internet, what site doesn't support the posting of those irrelivant, crazy, funny or trollish pictures!? One of the best way's to make a thread more fancy or interesting is visual stimuli. When working on your post, you can find a button on the top of your editor that lookse like a window. If you click this, you can post a link of the image you wish to post. If you feel the image is too big for the post, a good option is to drop it between spoiler tags. All bbcode can be entered in the code view mode (the lightswitch at the top left of your editor), only a few like ['spoiler'] can be used in the standard editor. Images [img=http://www.images.com/myimage.jpg]Spoiler [spoiler]Stuff I want to put under a button you have to click to show.[/spoiler]You can find plenty of other BBCode options, under the "Special BBCode" button in the top left. Unread and New As stated in the introduction, the forums here change often, we keep pretty busy. To help many of us keep track of what's going on, and observe everything everyone is saying so we don't miss anything, there are some pretty nifty features. At the very top right of the forums you'll find a [View New Content] link. If you click this, it will take you to a page showing every thread that has a new post since last you marked the thread as read or opened it. If you want to see a summary or quickly mark the thread as read, you can hover over the thread and an down arrow will show for you to click on, a few options are available there. To view this thread from the first page, you can click on the title, or you can click on the last poster's date at the end of this display to open the thread at the last post. Read Once you've read or opened a topic, it will marked as 'read' and will not show up again in new content, until someone makes another post. This doesn't mean however you have to read every post to remove it or clear it from the list. There are some threads that may not really interest you for one reason or another. Again you can mark these as read by popping down the summary with the arrow or finish reading what you were interested in and at the bottom left side of the forums there's a selection menu called [Mark Community Read]. You can open up this menu and select "Mark all as Read" or any other relevant selection. Following, Liking & Rating Following allows you to follow a topic you may be interested in, with additional options tied into your notification settings. This can be found at the top-right of every thread. When a topic is changed or replied to, you will get this notification either in the top right, next to your login name as well as a possible email, depending on your notification settings. Right below following, is your thread rating. This allows an individual to rate a topic by interest, entertainment value or how well on track or relevant it may be. While we don't really focus on thread ratings, it's there for anyone who want's it, use it realisticly and don't take advantage of it. In every post you will find a 'like' button at the bottom right, this allows members to mark a sort of appreciation for the post that can lead to the popularization of the thread as a whole and easily allow others to find relevant or helpful information. The amount if liked posts can also be found on your profile. Again, this is not something to be taken advantage of, as it amounts to no personal gain. Location Every thread you find has a 'location'. Forums are often built like trees. The root being the main forum page, the branches spanning out to other boards of various interests. If you are unsure of where a thread is located, you can find it at the top of every forum page like your standard file browser "|The Ordo Imperialis| > |Announcements & Guidelines|". This also shows where you are within the forums tree. You can also use this to go back to previous levels or go to the begining. If you're unsure where a forum resides or if it's relevant to you, be sure to check this location! Search One of the most important features to find conversations that may already exist. You can click the eyeglass or the advanced options gear to search with additional features. This includes titles only, content only or both. In addition to searching forums, you can also search for members. Members Members list can be accessed via the top left tabs. This shows a list of all our members their levels and links to their profiles. You must be logged in to see this information. Your Profile & Content All your profile, content, replies, settings and more can be found under a menu when you click on your login name at the top right side of the forums. In this area you can also find your messenger, notifications and friend lists. Again, though the information you place in your profiles is not public, it is available to any registered members. Calendar Members can access the calendars by the tabs at the top of the forums. This is a place where we post official event plans and information you can view. You can also follow these events, rate them, RSVP to them and make comments. Officers and other coordinators can post these events using a detailed outline. Example [b]Title[/b]: Operation Dominance[b]Coordinator[/b]: Chris Herbert[b]Division[/b]: The Ordo Imperialis[b]Type[/b]: Operation[b]Time/Length[/b]: 1400 (2pm) PST ±60min (1hr)[b]Access[/b]: Public - Active[b]Location[/b]: Location Spawn, Teamspeak Gaming 1 Channel[b]Participants[/b]: Any Personnel[b]Attire[/b]: Any Uniform/Class[b]Notes[/b]: Some Additional InfoIf you intend to participate, please RSVP.Please comment below any additional information.Calendar events are subject to change at anytime without warning. In short though, explore, click things, see what they do. If you have a tip or trick, or any questions, we're available, just let us know!
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