Ranger Kiting Guide

Movement

There are 3 ways in which we can move, the first is by pressing the forward key on the keyboard (default W also), next would be to click-to-move with the mouse, and finally to press down both mouse buttons (forward movement only, you turn by moving your mouse left or right).

It is possible to kite using the keyboard for movement and mouse to click for skills or you can just use the hotkeys, but it's kinda difficult. Also, I don't think you can kite effectively with only the click-to-move, so therefore I'll be using the last method to explain kiting.

Movement Modifiers


The next thing you'd like to know about Aion, is that movement does affect your combat. You may have already noticed some arrows appearing on the middle of your screen during combat, and these are the movement modifiers. These movement modifiers don't appear immediately, you need to keep moving in a certain direction for a while.

Below are the values of the modifiers, but if you note the damage and movement speed, you'll notice that there can be a huge difference that is worth taking advantage of.
%
Forward:
+10% Physical Damage
+10% Magic Damage
-20% Physical Defense
-20% Magic Damage

Backward:
+500% to Parry
+500% to Block
-70% Physical Damage
-40% Movement Speed

Left/Right Strafe:
+300% to Evasion
-70% Physical Damage
-20% Movement Speed

Kiting Basics

Whichever your definition of kiting, it involves doing damage to a mob while trying to maintain a distance as it comes towards you. If you can kite a mob perfectly (very doable in Aion), you'd be able to kill a mob without being hit at all.

The first thing you need to know is that along with the normal attack, there's basically only two types of skills that'll make a difference when you kite. Just note that you'll always be moving forwards kiting, and there's never a need to face your target manually to activate your skills.

Normal Attacks

Normal attacks can be done on the move and in jumps. However in order to initiate a normal attack, you'll need to face your target for a split second, and there's two ways in which this can be done.

Method 1:
When you're running (forward) away from your target, just release your movement buttons (either one or both mouse button will do), and press the normal attack key. You can then immediately move again. This can also be done during a jump.

Because of Auto Facing, your character will just fire arrow backwards (there's an animation too), and if you're fast enough on the ground, or do this in a jump, your character practically doesn't stop running at all.

Method 2:
When auto-attack is already activated (note that there was a bug that turns it off sometimes), when you're running (forward) away from your target, jump, swivel to face your target, land and continue moving whichever direction you like.

You don't even have to release or press any other buttons, and your character will fire an arrow.

For both methods you need to be in range of the target, and your normal attack must have already "cooled down".

Skills (Instant-Cast)

Entangling Shot IV
Gale Arrow IV
HeartShot II
Lightning Arrow I
Arrow Strike IV

Skills (Non-Instant-Cast)

These skills have an animation to them, and you're forced to stay still until the animation ends. The first such skill is Swift Shot VI. The best way to go about it is using the Jump shooting ability.

Jump Shooting

Jump shooting is the ability to eliminate the animation of the skill. This method is very useful in either PVP or PVE.

To perform a Jump shot, all you have to do is to jump (it can be in any direction or on the spot), release all movement buttons, use your skill after the highest point in the jump, and finally wait till you land before pressing any movement buttons to move again.

In a successful Jump Shot, there will be no bow-draw animation, and you'll just see an arrow flying out from your character. The advantage for the Jump Shot is that since the animation is cancelled, you can start using your next skill, or move almost immediately after you land.

In a failed Jump Shot, you'll see your character start to draw the bow in mid-jump, land, continue the bow-draw/arrow firing animation, and you'll be stuck in position for a second or so.

The Jump Shot is therefore only good for those non-instant cast skills, but it does help quite a bit to improve your kiting and burst DPS. The timing for the Jump Shot also depends a lot on your latency, you need to have 300 ms or lesser to Jump Shot.

Click here to watch the video.

Auto Attack Weaving

Interestingly enough, in Aion there is no such thing as a global skill cooldown (wow~) but animation instead is used to control the speed in which you can use your skills.

In fact this is the same for auto attacks, and if you compare your combat log with the on-screen action, you'll notice that the damage is already done before the animation (and the on screen damage numbers) even starts. We can take advantage of this fact by cancelling the auto attack animation with any skill.

Most of us (like me before I knew this) probably just used some skill rotation, i.e spammed our skills once their cooldowns are over. However (till level 30 at least), it appears to me that our damage from skills isn't very much above what we do with auto attacks, and in my opinion it would be advantageous to tag an additional auto attack damage before every skill.

The easiest way to learn to weave is to stare at your combat log, shoot a normal arrow, and press any skill once you see a new (damage) line pop up.

Click here to watch the video.

Using Terrain


In some areas you might find a slope leading to higher grounds. If you stand there and shoot at a mob at a level below you, especially if the slope is transverse-able, the mob would actually take the indirect path and climb the slope to get to you. And if before the mob reaches you, you jump down to the lower level, the mob will then again take the longer path down the slope (they won't jump down after you).

This works the same for those watch/guard towers you find scattered around in certain areas. If you start shooting at a mob from the top of one of those, the mob will climb the spiral path up to you, and if you jump down before it reaches you, it'd take the spiral path down again. Similarly, you can make use of this when fleeing a mob by running up a tower and jumping (gliding) down.

Doesn't work for ranged mobs.

This is all for now, maybe I'll add more later. Enjoy ~

 

Nice guide , some rangers should benefit from it ~

Well done Vaugn .

 

http://forum.gameznetwork.com/showt...d-retail-liked?p=592844&viewfull=1#post592844


Nice guide, again. You saw my post elsewhere already lol

 

My Ranger Guide will be coming up next, I hope this can help rangers in this server.

Yup, I saw it before I made the thread xD

 

Trust me most of the rangers do need help .

Some of them were born with a heroic bloodline & feel like tanking my templar in 1vs1 in balaurrea ... we both know the outcome ^^"

 

I'll post a different one on your next guide >

 

Silence arrow = iwin?
=[
esp with 2 rangers,gahhh

 

They have no time to land it ;o

 

Lol hope they'll be happy and appreciate the work that I made.

 

and by the way, I never told Nooblau/Chikko about the Movement Modifiers (he QQ this to me), so if you see him in game. Kindly tell him to read the thread, thanks.

 

nice one vaugn. i really love what you always do.

i hope you'll be back in gamez

 

thanks a lot, honestly I'm missing PvP in gamez

 

and now heiron is a pvp place once again..???

oh.. i miss the old times...

 

me either

 

nice job vaugn.

i hope it works with me xD

 

It will sure do

 

you're missing the fun here at heiron vaugn...

 

nice work vaugn^^

 

btw, you can click the "thanks" bottom right under my first post

 

hello vaugn jermaesinger here ^^ hehe