Spiritmaster-Chanter update (video)

The video starts with me having a Wind Spirit. The Wind Spirit does pretty decent melee-range damage, and can cast a short stun with a low cooldown. I was trying to win the fight without chaining Fears, but using control and dispel abilities instead. The next couple of fights are with a Water Spirit, which has very low HP and does ranged attacks but does not have a stun. We moved to a less laggy location for the last couple of fights, but the location that the Chanter picked was disadvantageous for him because it was surrounded by walls. Toward the end, I settled into the sequence of: dispelling buffs and HOTs, waiting for Soul Strike, and then leading Fears with stuns. I revealed what I was doing to him after our duels --- his gears started turning and he exclaimed that he had discovered the "Achilles heel" of Spiritmasters. I expect more interesting counters from him in the future!

Level 47 Spiritmaster experiences vs Chanters

  
I had a couple of interesting duels last weekend. This was long overdue, as I have not been learning as much about each class as I should. Unfortunately, this post will not contain any videos. The duels were often frantic since I am still learning, and FRAPS stutters had cost me a couple of fights. What I have instead are a bunch of notes or tips that may help other Spiritmasters against Chanters, or vice versa (by understanding what SMs can or cannot do).

Key Chanter factors:

1. HOTs (especially Recovery Spell) and shields (especially Word of Spellstopping and Divine Curtain)
   These help to keep HP up through fears. The SM cannot out-DPS even the HOTs enough and must dispel them.
2. Soul Strike ranged stun (also, Parrying Strike and Binding Word)
   These are for kiting the SM. Stun to enter into melee/stunlock range, or stun to get out of fear range. The spell's damage also eats away at the SM's HP. However, drawing out the fight too much will lead to a draw as it allows the SM to refresh stoneskin and pot. One interesting thing to note is that when a SM does Stone Shock (stun) into Fear Shriek, there will be a small window between the stun and Fear Shriek where the Chanter regains control of his character. I.e., the stun duration is shorter than 1.5s. This is a good opportunity for the Chanter to reply with a stun of his own. If the stun lands, the SM will be disabled while the Chanter is feared away scott-free. A smarter SM may try a Body Root (to disable the stuns) into Earth Shock into Fear Shriek. But, remember that Body Root can be potted out of. Save stuns for stopping a Fear.
3. Celerity Mantra
   Mantras cannot be removed by the SM. With Celerity on, a snared Chanter will run at the same speed as the SM. This means that if the Chanter is feared, stopping to cast anything will put the SM farther behind the Chanter. If the SM lets himself fall too far behind, he will not be in range to chain other fears. The SM only has 1 or 2 "DOTs" that can be cast on the run (in addition to having pet damage). Having the Celerity Mantra greatly reduces the SM's damage, in addition to making it harder for the SM to chain fear. If the Chanter has a run speed scroll, the SM must slap on his speed scroll too. Note that speed scroll buffs can be dispelled by the SM.
4. High HP / magic resist
   This is the greatest counter against the SM at end game. The SM can only chain 3-4 fears (the fears are on a 30s, 1 min and 5 min cooldown). If a Chanter stacks enough HP to live through 3-4 fears, there is nothing the SM can do to kill the Chanter. Once the fear chain is up, the Chanter is free to kite and heal and the SM will be a sitting duck with his fears on cooldown.
5. Greater Healing Potion (to remove Silence/Root)
   When the Chanter is rooted, the SM has time to set up debuffs, DOTs and CC. Since Chanters cannot dispel roots, having Greater Healing Pots is a must. Some SMs rely on Silence or Body Root to stretch the fear chain. Pot out of Silence/Bind and the chain is broken.
6. Stay away from confined areas (see SM below)

Key SM factors :

1. Dispel (especially Ignite Aether and Magic Implosion)
   A Chanter has various self-buffs, and some buffs mentioned above that give him the edge. These must be removed to level the playing field. The core Dispel ability has a cast time, a cooldown and only removes 1 buff at a time. There is no time to remove all the buffs of the Chanter one at a time, especially when trying to CC or follow him after a fear. Having instacast dispels that take off 3 buffs each is helpful. Note that Ignite Aether and Magic Implosion do not share cooldowns.
2. Curse of Water instant fear
   For high-HP Chanters, Curse of Water is a must, unfortunately. Against a high-HP Chanter, the only way to win is to try to get the Chanter's HP low enough to be able to finish with chained fears. If the Chanter is smart/conservative and keeps himself topped up... disadvantage SM.
3. Shackle of Vulnerability
   This is nice for the casting speed debuff and the elemental resist debuff (damage increase). However, it does not last very long and has a cast time, so choosing when to cast it is important.
4. Silence, Body Root
   Silence stops heals and Body Root stops the ranged stun. Body Root also reduces melee damage.
5. Running speed scroll
   The only way to get a speed advantage over a Chanter is to dispell the Chanter's speed scroll buff and for the SM to use one.
6. Having a pet already out
   Time is a scarce resource against a Chanter. Taking the time to pop the instant summon buff, followed by a brief stop and jump-cast to summon the pet means you either lose CC or damage time. The wind pet can be helpful sometimes for the additional stun. Note that all pet auto-attacks and Orb damage are physical damage (they can enable the Chanter's parry-based abilities).
7. Keep track of the Soul Strike (ranged stun) cooldown
   Soul Strike's stun lasts 4s, and its cooldown is 12s. If the Chanter is unable to chain stun for the ~6s after the Soul Strike stun wears off, the Chanter is vulnerable to the Stone Shock into Fear combo. However, stay out of melee range after Stone Shock to avoid the melee stuns.
8. Save Chain of Earth and Stone Shock
   They are useful for leading Fears. I think it is a waste to cast Chain of Earth on a Feared target, or when snared with the Chanter's Binding Word. Pot out of Binding Word instead.
9. Being in a confined area
   It is a massive advantage for the SM to be able to pin the Chanter against a wall. If the Chanter is pinned, the SM can plant his feet and go "PVE raid boss" on the Chanter while chain fearing: Spirit Wrath Position, Spirit Erosion, Shackle of Vulnerability, 2 Spirit Claws, Spirit Disturbance, Summon Orbs/Energies, Erosion, Sandblaster.

I'm very impressed with how balanced the classes are, and how the combat system allows for complex encounters. I cannot enter each fight with a fixed strategy, and I have to constantly act/react to my opponents actions. The fight could go either way at any point in the fight. I've been having alot of fun playing 'mental chess' --- going over scenarios in my head and having duels/discussions with guildies.

Update: I found more 1v1 matchup info here.

Infiltrating Eltnen through Rifts

Finally! I've found the rifts. Rifts appear at regular times in the PVE zone, but at random locations. To find a rift, you could check one of their possible spawn locations yourself, or check general chat in case someone has already reported one. One of the incentives for rifting is to complete "rift quests" that give you good rewards, proportional to the challenge of completing quests in enemy territory. The first video is of me entering the rift solo and as a small group. We popped up deep inside enemy territory --- sometimes inside a questing area right next to enemies. We then had to navigate our way out of danger and stay mobile so as not to have enemies converge on us, as our locations get broadcasted in their general chat.



After going on a killing spree, we get a debuff that makes our location visible to all enemies in the area, in addition to being banned from rifting for a while. This was probably from all the low-PVP-ranked farming bots we plowed through. The debuff is called Ariel's Curse: "You are under Ariel's Curse for killing too many lower level targets in Elysea. The curse prevents you from using the Rifts. Return to Asmodae and wait until the curse is lifted." Shortly after receiving the debuff, we were zerged down.



The next video is of us practicing rifting as a guild for the first time. This was a little more difficult than small-man rifting for a couple of reasons. Communication and coordination were difficult, since we had to maneuver a big blob while the fringes of the blog would keep getting focus-fired and CC'd. Everytime we engaged, we had trouble disengaging and extending because part of our blob would get stuck behind. The other difficulty is that a blob attracts more attention. Attracting lots of attention and lacking mobility meant that we would eventually get zerged by increasing numbers. We even have a "300"-style standoff at one point :)



Bonus vid: Water Spirit: Spirit disturbance - "Crash". This is a situational spell that drops flying players out of the sky. The spell requires the Water Spirit pet to be out and the target to be close enough to the ground to be in the Water Spirit's range.



And here's some silly back and forth fighting in the Abyss, by the "layer teleporters". The teleporters of both factions that transport players to the different levels of the Abyss are placed right next to each other.

How I manage a gazillion keybindings

    Playing a Spiritmaster places a lot of demand on keyboard/mouse resources. This is exasperated by the introduction of flight in Aion, and having pet-related abilities. If key mappings are not ergonomic, they can lead to poor reaction times. Worse yet, bad key mappings and repeated contorting can result in painful hand injuries.

From my gaming experience, the following are my general rules for keymapping:

1. In-combat abilities should be bound to convenient locations near the movement keys (WSAD)
   I use the Function keys F1 through F4, number keys 1 through 4 (5 is a little too far), and all the alphabet keys around WSAD, up til R, F and V. I consider anything to the right of F4, 4, R, F, V too far away and I do not use them for in-combat actions.
2. Abilities that can be activated on the run should be placed where they can be hit while using the movement keys
   I find that I can comfortably hit C with my thumb while maneuvering on WSAD. I used to put the V key under this category, but I now feel that it's too far away to stretch the thumb while using WSAD.
   The other keys I have under this category are: Q, E, 2 and `. At first glance, these keys don't seem like they can be hit while using WSAD, but I've developed a habit to strafe one way or other if I have to hit them while strafing. And, I can hit any of them with my middle finger on W. The ` key is a stretch, so I reserve that for less frequent abilities or instant abilities with a long cooldown.
3. Abilities that have a cast/build time can be a placed within easy reach of the WSAD fingers
   Abilities with a cast/build time require that you stop moving. Hence, your WSAD fingers will be free. I like to put a frequently used spell with a cast time on 3. So to cast it, I stop and slide my middle finger from W to 3, and back to W.
4. Infrequently-used abilities that are important and require a quick reaction time can be placed a little farther away. But, they should still be relatively close and accessible without any modifiers
   I use R and V for these abilities. R is currently my "Silence" ability (and MouseWheelUp -> R is my "Disarm"). V used to be my "Blink" ability when I played a mage, and my "absorb damage" shield as a healer. It is now used to activate my long-cooldown "resist 1 magical attack" shield.
5. Actions that are less timing-critical can reside farther away
   The keys I have under this category are F1 through F4, and F. The reason the F key is here even though it appears to be near is because It's hard to stretch for it with the middle finger on W, or with a finger on the A or D key.
   Right now, my Function keys perform tasks like consume potions or select a pet to summon. When I played a healer, I would use the Function keys to select group members, in conjunction with clicking friendly targets on the screen.
   
6. Swap Caps Lock with Ctrl
   I feel that it's awkward to hit Ctrl in the bottom left of the keyboard. Which is a waste since Ctrl is such a great modifier key. And look at Caps Lock there. A big fat key between Tab and Shift. How often do you use Caps Lock? I always swap Caps Lock and Ctrl for work and play. With Ctrl in the place of Caps Lock, I can now hit Ctrl with my pinky without moving my hand.
7. Use modifiers whenever it makes sense
   Modifiers are keys like Alt, Ctrl and Shift. These allow you to effectively double/triple the key functions right under your fingers. E.g., for a key in a prime real estate such as E, you have plain ol' E, Ctrl-E, Shift-E and Alt-E at your disposal. My general rule of thumb is to avoid modifiers for timing-critical or frequently-used functions. For less critical functions, consider using modifiers to overload a nearby key, instead of using a key farther away. However, be careful with the modifiers as they can sometimes cause you to scrunch or tense up your hand unnecessarily. This can lead to untimely fatigue or worse, injuries. I tend to avoid Shift and Alt for this reason, and only use Ctrl since I have it bound to the Caps Lock position.
8. Overload the scroll wheel
   It's a waste to use the scroll wheel for the simple task of zooming in and out. Move the function of zooming to the keyboard, or a secondary mouse. However, not all games support mapping the scroll wheel. Fortunately, I have a mouse that lets me reprogram the scroll wheel to simulate hitting keyboard keys. I currently use the scroll wheel for tasks such as:
   Scroll Down: Hotbar 1 (primary; frequently-used actions)
   Scroll Up: Hotbar 2 (secondary; long-cooldown actions)
   Ctrl + Scroll Up: Hotbar 3 (infrequently-used actions)
   Shift + Scroll Up: Hotbar 4 (other infrequently used actions like marking targets or emotes)
   Ctrl + Scroll Down: Assist target
   Shift + Scroll Down: Cycle through friendlies
9. More buttons on the mouse helps
   The mouse hand is often neglected, with the keyboard hand doing most of the work. Getting a mouse with more buttons means you get more keys to bind. I use the extra buttons on my mouse for flight-related actions and to control my pet. One benefit of using mouse buttons is that it's often faster/easier to hit a mouse button and a keyboard key sequentially; compared to hitting 2 mouse buttons sequentially or 2 keys sequentially. This is why I prefer switching hotbars with my mouse, instead of the keyboard. However, I don't place frequently used abilities on the mouse --- the only mouse buttons I want to press often are left-click and right-click.
10. The spacebar is a button too (and so are W, S, A and D)
    Typically, the spacebar is used for Jump. In Aion, it is also used to toggle gliding. But, with modifier keys, we can overload the spacebar with additional actions. I use Ctrl+Spacebar to cancel flight in Aion (fold my wings). I figured that if Spacebar toggled gliding and I won't be jumping when I'm flying, Ctrl+Spacebar made sense. The same idea can be applied to the W key. W is already used for moving forward, so it's not a stretch to have Ctrl+W toggle Autorun (instead of wasting some other key). Having Ctrl remapped to the CapsLock position helps for things like this.

Level 28-31: key skills and the consequence of reaching terminal velocity

Level 28 is when the Spiritmaster begins to feel more like a Spiritmaster. The CC ability I have been looking forward to is Fear (level 28). Fear is a CC that puts the target in a feared state and doesn't break on damage. The downsides to Fear are its long cast time, high mana consumption and long cooldown. Another neat ability, Summoning Alacrity, came at Level 31. Summoning Alacrity makes summons instacast for 10s. Apart from the pet summons, this ability also affects the DOT servant summons.

Now to the videos. For reasons outside my present sphere of knowledge, zergs happen in the Abyss occasionally. I was exploring around the lower Abyss when I find myself caught in the middle of a clash between an Elyos force and an Asmodian force:



Here's a video of something unexpected happening in an aerial fight. A high-level priest was trying to get away from a few of us lowbies by flying really high. He just bolted and shot up vertically for minutes as we followed him. As he kept ascending, I saw that my flight timer was depleting and I popped a flight time potion. This bought me some extra time but the priest kept ascending. But we weren't making any progress on his HP bar, so I started to wonder how I was going to get down, now that my flight timer was nearly empty, my flight time potion was on cooldown and I was so far up that the ground was clipped by my draw distance. Then I thought, "okay, I'll save a few seconds of flight time, cut my wings, allow myself to freefall til just a few seconds from the ground, then reopen my wings." This didn't work quite as expected and I mysteriously died in mid-air. Apparently in Aion, you die if you reach terminal velocity:



And finally here are 2 fights from me stumbling into some Elyos. The first one was against a warrior, who retreated back to his guard tower. I underestimated the range/power of the guard tower and died a foolish death from being zapped by it:



What's sucky about the Spiritmasters right now is that the pets have trouble following, especially when flying. That's why my pet is rarely with me in the videos, except when duelling. It's not that bad of a problem at these lower levels, since the pet is mainly a DOT with a HP bar. It makes more of a difference at higher levels, when pets enable more interesting abilities. Flying pets are already on the Korean test servers, so hopefully pets will be able to fly by the time it matters to me :)

Level 26 thoughts on the Abyss and Rifts

One thing great about the Abyss is that it merges PVE and PVP into a single zone. However, that's not all. It also puts everyone on the server (of all levels) in the same place. Here's an encounter I had with a lvl 37 Templar (10 levels above me) and his friends while I was trying to complete a quest in the Abyss. I was on my way to meet an NPC as part of a quest, and apparently the farther I travel from the starting Fortress, the more likely I am to run into enemies (and PVP). The video shows how much effect level differences have. A few of us lowbies tried our best to scratch at their HP bars, but they bullied us with their level gap and I was forced to retreat.



The next video captures some Rift action. We were completing some quests in Morheim when random rifts opened near us, spilling Elyos into our PVE zone. Similar to the Abyss, the rifts open at the higher level areas in the Zone. I.e., you will be less likely to encounter PVP when you start PVEing in the zone initially, but as you start progressing to higher level quests in the zone, you could find rifts opening next to you and be forced to PVP. The last part of the video shows a swirly vortex thing in the sky and a column of light that some say indicate where rifts open. But nothing happened and I failed to find a rift yet again.

Aion update: Level 26 Spiritmaster duels

I'm back! It took me 2 weeks to level up my Spiritmaster above the level I was when I made my last Aion post. I'm now level 26. Level 20 granted me access to Stigma stones. These stones allow players to customize their class' "spec". But this only gave me a new ability or two to play with. Levelling 20-25 were the worst levels for me. PVE was starting to get tiresome. Levelling up professions was (is) lame and a boring time sink. It's the usual minigame of spending tons of money, pushing the button a quadrillion times and watching the progress bar wrestle its way full. But, most annoying to me was that I was starting to see some PVP, but the key abilities that define my class weren't available to me until Levels 25 and 28.

Then it suddenly got interesting again at level 25. The game funnels you into quests that prep you for access into the Abyss (the ORVR zone). From what I can tell about the Abyss, it's more like DAOC than WAR is, was or hopes to be. A whole bunch of new Abyss quests popped up and so began my char's journey into the world of PvPvE. The Abyss is like WAR if there were no separate PVP/PVE zones, but instead one massive zone with PVE, fortresses, relics and the possibility of PVP encounters at any time. The difference with fortresses too is that they are hubs for PVE and PVP activity. People would go there to get their stuff done. If a fortress gets attacked, it's like the alarm sounding in a fire station. The PVP in the Abyss totally sidetracked me from my questing. I didn't even get to figure out what to do for my first Abyss quest before I saw combat log spam and a cluster of red names in the distance!

Eventually I was back at Morheim, and I tried to catch a rift to complete some quests. The sucky thing about rifts is that they open at any one of seven locations at random. I followed a report in General Chat hoping to catch a rift and some PVP, but when I got there, there were only a group of friendlies chilling while waiting for the next rift to appear. I can't figure out why WAR wouldn't allow duels for the life of me. We were bored, so a fun  way to kill time was to duel to tweak our skills and strategies.

There weren't many around my level, so I only managed to duel with a Ranger, Sorc and Assassin. I hadn't duelled since beta and PVE has been rotting my skills, so this was a nice chance to practice:



The assassin I duelled with didn't have Aethertwisting slotted --- that would have changed everything. I need to figure out a game plan for Aethertwisting. That reminds me... I watched a fight between a Cleric and Spiritmaster a while back and the Cleric summoned a Holy Servant. I'm going to see if the in-game Spiritmaster channel can give me more info about that too.