Basic Combat: Introduction

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*All combat situations or scenarios I refer to in these topics assume that both teams are roughly equal in size. It's assumed a "given" that an outnumbered or underpowered team will stand little to no chance at winning. However, knowing the strategies and hints within this forum will definitely even the player field more in such a losing situation.*

Before we get deep into this strategy guide, I want to make something very clear. If you don't get anything else out of all of this, I want you to get that the most important thing in any combat situation is awareness; paying attention. Most people have some kind of intuitive sense of how to handle combat, but if you aren't paying attention to the battle as a whole, or anything more than only what you yourself are dealing with, then that intuitive sense is wasted. With that being said, most of what I'll be explaining here in this guide is common sense that isn't so common.

Let's start with explaining the ideal combat scenario (and by scenario, I don't mean the battleground instances). The ideal combat scenario is both teams meeting at a location with the MDPS classes clashing in the middle to form a "front line." The ranged DPS are behind the front line attacking the front line, and the healers are behind the RDPS healing mainly the front line. Both sides would have an even amount of classes in each class group. Under ideal and equal conditions, this would cause a fight that could go on indefinitely. But a fight that goes on indefinitely in one area never accomplishes anything. Luckily, this ideal combat scenario rarely happens, and when it does, it doesn't usually take long for one or both teams to realize that they need to change something in order to win. After reading this entire strategy guide, you (and by "you" I mean an entire team) should always be able to turn an ideal combat scenario into a favorable combat scenario.

One of the primary methods for turning this ideal scenario into a favorable one is to dissipate the enemy's side of the front line, leaving the squishies in the back more vulnerable. There are an infinite number of ways to achieve this, and more often than not, it involves not concentrating on the front line so much. After all, the front line is being fed by healers, so in order to dissipate the front line, you need to disconnect that lifeblood from the healers to that front line. I'll go into more detail on this method in a later topic.

While an ideal combat scenario rarely ever occurs, similar battle structures arise all the time. Since class set-up within a team is rarely ideal and mostly random, I'm not going to go into ideal class set-ups. I'm going to teach you how to do the best and work most efficiently with what you have. It's nice to have healers on your team, but since you're playing Order, which is notorious for lack of healers and tanks, you can't always have one. That doesn't mean that you automatically lose, however. To think such a thing is one of the first paths to failure. If properly coordinated, you can overpower your opponents into submission.
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Know your class, and know your opponent's classes. Familiarize yourself with the different types of enemy classes, what they are capable of, and what their weaknesses are. This list should help you out:

Blackguard [Tank]: This class was designed to take damage, especially physical damage, because they wear heavy armor. If you are a class that deals physical damage, try not to concentrate on these guys much. In contrast, if you deal magic damage, you should focus more on these guys. Yes they have toughness which lowers your damage on them, but you are the most effective at taking them out. Don't focus all of your power on them, however. Most of the damage these guys will take is from AoE. These guys are generally low priority, but if you see the chance to take one out, don't hesitate to do so. Witch Hunters: At an early rank, you get an ability that ignores an enemy's armor when used from behind the target. You also get an ability that causes all directional triggers to activate for a short amount of time, which means that the armor ignorance can be done from any direction for the duration of the buff. This is very deadly to tank classes! If you specialize in directional damage, keep this in mind.

Black Orc [Tank]: This is another tank class with heavy armor and can be treated just like the Blackguard class.

Choppa [MDPS/AoE]: This class is designed to charge into battle and deal the most amount of damage as possible. They have medium armor and aren't exactly "tanks," but they aren't exactly squishy either. However, if they allow themselves to gain a certain amount of rage, they become much squishier. These guys are relatively easy to take out since they generally charge right into battle. BE CAREFUL not to turn your back to them. If they think to use it, they have a directional attack that deals a lot of damage. Their weakness is just about anything and everything. They are the first priority target on the front line because of the damage they deal. They need to be taken out quickly for two reasons: 1) They will accumulate too much damage if allowed to live, and 2) they are easier to take out than their comrades on the front line (the tanks), so taking them out first will dissipate their side of the front line more quickly.

Chosen [Tank]: This is another tank class with heavy armor and can be treated just like the Blackguard and Black Orc classes.

Disciple of Khaine [MDPS/Heals]: This is a tricky class to fight against. This class can either be focused for damage, or for healing (and sometimes both), so it's hard to judge ahead of time what to count them as and how to prepare for them. Should I treat them as a healer? Or should I treat them as a tank class? I say tank class because the ones geared for damage are very good at healing themselves in the midst of combat, and therefor can take a lot of damage. Well the truth is, they can generally be treated as a healer, since they wear squishy armor and any DoK will heal at least themselves. Silencing abilities and lowering their healing effectiveness coupled with burst damage proves deadly to these guys. Generally witch hunters are the most effective at taking these guys out, but the problem is that it usually requires at least two people attacking one to kill it, even if the second attacker is only attacking via AoE. If the DoK is purely a healer, then they should be treated like other healers; distracted.

Magus : This class is a squishy RDPS class. They also share the unique ability with Engineers to create static NPCs that attack nearby enemies. These stationary NPcs are usually low threat and are best extinguished by AoE damage or mopped up by other DPS classes when the NPC is in a non-battle location. In a battle situation, this class should be killed whenever it's convenient. It rarely requires more than two MDPS per Magus, so try not to crowd it unless there are no other imminent threats. This class is capable of dealing considerable damage if allowed to run rampant, but is easy to kill once the front line is broken. Their weakness is MDPS, and any MDPS is encouraged to pass by enemy tanks (only tanks) in order to attack one, but highly discouraged from passing by any other form of MDPS or if you were assigned to attack healers, from passing by any healers in order to attack one.

Marauder: This is a medium-armor MDPS class like the choppa, however, they use stances rather than having a rage meter. As a result, they never become squishy. They also have less potential for doing damage. Don't let this fool you, though. They can still dish out a lot of damage, including AoE damage. While Choppas are of higher priority to kill, these guys reside next on the list for front-line battle. Their weakness is basically anything. Physical damage is effective enough, as well as spell damage for killing these guys. Generally their deaths comprise, like Choppas', of a combination of everything going on at the front line of battle or by being singly targeted when they attempt to attack behind the front line.

Shaman: Shaman are a squishy healing class, but don't be fooled. If left unchecked, they can deal a lot of damage as well. They are easier to kill than DoK in most combat situations, but if the shaman is prepared for your attack, they are often impossible to kill. Luckily, your reason for attacking one is usually only to distract the shaman from healing others. Depending on your amount of DPS, the shaman may or may not be able to attack back and/or heal others while you attack him. That is why it is key that healer killers (anti-healers) are able to keep a lot of constant DPS. This class's weakness is mainly physical damage of any type (MDPS or RDPS). Damaging multiple targets at once helps to counteract this class's efficiency.

Sorcerer: This class is another squishy RDPS class like the Magus. However, this class has a much higher level of threat. This class is capable of massive burst damage and AoE damage. These guys are to be attacked under the same conditions as Magus are, but at a much higher priority. Despite their amount of threat to your team, they remain somewhat low on the priority list because to try to kill one prematurely would cause even more distress for your team.

Squig Herder:/ This is a light armored RDPS class with a pet that can be sent after targets. They deal primarily physical damage and are capable of dealing AoE damage, but they don't specialize in such. This class is only to be attacked once the front line is weakened and all AoE threats have been eliminated.

Witch Elf: This is a lightly armored MDPS class that specializes in 1v1 damage. Due to their 1v1 capabilities and ability to be invisible, they are a high threat to your team's squishies. It is your tanks' and non-AoE RDPS's jobs to eliminate these infestations behind enemy lines. On the front line, they are of equal priority to marauders. They are relatively squishy, so their weakness is of course physical damage.

Zealot: This is another squishy healing class like the Shaman, however, their damage potential is lower. Their advantage is that they have a higher potential to heal their teammates. Overall, their priority is equal to that of the shaman. It should be noted that to the unprepared, they are easily extinguished.