by Jason Cheek
“Crowd Control abilities?” Unalia hesitantly asked.
“Err, yea. Crowd control abilities are like being able to freeze, trap or somehow stop one or more of the mobs the puller is trying to pull back to the group. This allows the group to kill the mobs when they are split up making it easier for the group to take out multiple enemies without being overwhelmed.” Seeing no more question, I continued. “Okay, so the puller pulls the mobs back to the group, and the main tank holds the mobs focus while the group kills the mobs one at a time. This is why a melee class with good armor and high Hit Points takes this position.”
“So far so good?” I asked looking around. Seeing everyone’s nods, I continued my impromptu training session. “Okay, let’s talk about the main damage assist next. Since most of you are on the lower level side of this dungeon, so this is going to be the most important concept that we are going to cover. It will mean the difference between wiping and living.” Making sure I had everyone’s attention; I went on. “For this run, we are going to use Tinyr in this position. Whoever he is attacking will be what everyone else will be attacking. Once the mob he’s attacking dies, he’ll pick a new mob to attack and we’ll all follow his lead.”
“Why would this be so important?” Sarka asked confused.
“It’s because we will be removing damage dealing mobs much quicker if we focus our fire and burn each mob down. By doing this, the main tank will take less damage throughout the entire fight and won’t struggle so much trying to hold the group of mobs aggro. Also, the healer won’t use as much Mana because they’ll only be healing the main tank, which I’m sure you will appreciate since you’re going to be doing most of the tanking Sarka.” I said with a grin clapping her on the shoulder.
“What? You’re the high-level tank of the team, why wouldn’t we just have you tank the instance?” Sarka said somewhat aggravated.
“Because I’m going to be focusing on my healing.”
“Healing? Are you going to be playing at healing? Seriously, what the fuck?” Sarka glared at me swearing.
“I’ll be doing other stuff too besides healing. You know, stuff like doing damage in-between healing and off-tanking when needed.” I said holding up my hands trying to calm Sarka down. “I just need to do this until I get my healing spell skill up to at least level 5 and then we can switch it up. Also, even more important, this will be an awesome way to level-up your warrior skills.”
“Okay, so that’s the basic plan in a nutshell. Sounds good?” We talked it through a little more as everyone got the concepts down. Sarka finally agreed even though she was nervous about being the main tank. Everyone else was good with the plan; they just needed to go over their positions and what to expect from an instance. That part was a little harder since we had no knowledge of the dungeon. The only thing Tinyr and Unalia could tell us was that the actual entrance to the dungeon was farther inside somewhere in the mob filled maze of tunnels.
I ended up heading in first with Yun following on my heels while Sarka led the rest of the group a couple of steps behind. This part of the entrance was constructed out of the rock itself and led to a set of stairs about twenty yards in. Every ten yards there was a flickering torch that lit the way that gave off just enough light to see dimly with our racial Darkvision ability. The five-foot-wide stairway that led down into the murky darkness of the mine made me feel uncomfortable, but there wasn’t anything to do about it except to head on down. Meeting the team’s eyes, I spoke in a low whisper.
“If there are guards at the bottom of the stairs, we might not have a choice but to rush them. If so, I’ll let you know. Just be ready. Tinyr, you’re with me for this part.” I turned around and paused as a second thought hit me. “Try to keep a flight of stairs between us, but if you hear fighting come on down ASAP. It’ll mean we ran into trouble and need our asses saved.”
My heart thudded in my chest as Tinyr, and I made our way down the dusty stairwell moving as silently as we could. It wasn’t fear as much as the excitement of the unknown that had our blood pumping. The game designers had outdone themselves. The musky smell of the earth, the hand-carved rock walls, the cobwebs, the feel of the rough uncut stone beneath our feet, the oppressive darkness as we went from one pool of torchlight to the next and the knowledge that unknown enemies awaited us in the tunnels, it all really added to the ambience of the place and made your skin crawl.
It felt like we’d gone a hundred feet down when I noticed that the stairwell opened up two flights below us into a larger tunnel. At the foot of the stairs were two groups of five level 10 elite Goblins standing around smokeless fires cooking as they spoke harshly to one another in a brutal sounding language. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tinyr instantly lockup in fear next to me. With a quick nod, we both carefully crept back around the solid stone corner to the previous landing.
“I never understood why the teams were going down two to three at a time. Now I freaking understand. What the fuck are we going to do?” Tinyr hissed anxiously.
“We got this; we just need to do it right,” I said clapping his shoulder confidently. “Come on, let’s talk to the team.”
The strategy session went quick, although no one seemed to believe we could handle so many elites at once they still took my directions hoping somehow I was right. Within a minute everyone was in position, although it looked more like a newbie wannabe formation then a well thought out defensive line. My plan had Sarka on the top landing to the third stairwell up waiting, Unalia and Yun on the bottom of the third with Tinyr and myself.
The last two flights were almost straight down, except for a small half landing between the two before they connected to the tunnel where the Goblins were. I’d shouldered my shield and firmly gripped my Jagged Bonesplitter Axe and Vile Blade, while Tinyr had his two new blades gripped tightly in his white-knuckled fists for a sneak attack just like I’d told him. Catching his eyes, I nodded for us to start heading on down to the closest sentry.
I tried to blend myself into the stone balustrade moving glacially slow as if I were part of the shadows. This was the most dangerous part of my plan. If either one of us were discovered before we’d had a chance to get into position, we’d be overrun and in all likelihood die. I had a feeling if I died here and now my nightmare quests would be lost. A part of me questioned why was I taking such risks, but I feared that if I didn’t level up my healing now, I’d lose the chance once I acquired my knowledge of the House of Kayden’s Dark magic. Also, the more friends I made now, the better chance I had of getting the help I needed until the guild could get together in one location. Who knows, maybe we’d get some new recruits for the guild.
Reaching the last step felt like it had taken forever as Tinyr scooched up on the other side of the stairway. Barks of jeering laughter and the harsh words of the Goblins’ foul speech filled the air as we prepared to strike the distracted sentries. Wordlessly I mouthed the countdown. Three … two … one, as one we each sprung with a double-strike Sneak Attack at our targets.
My damage meter flashed with 870 points of damage as the sentry I’d attacked crumped into a heap at my feet. As I sheathed my Vile Blade and Jagged BoneSplitter axe, Tinyr Backstabbed the stunned sentry as I blasted the Elite Goblin off Tinyr’s daggers with an Ice Lance killing it instantly. I was already unlimbering my Ironshod Shield and laying down covering fire with Ice Lances on the nearest Goblins as I took up a blocking position on the stairwell with Tinyr crowded in close behind me.
My Frost Magic slowed down the survivors charge just long enough for them to clump up at the entrance to the stairs. As they reached me, I cast Frost Nova and retreated up the steps focus firing Ice Lance on the closest elite Goblin. A Frost Blast and an arrow shot over my shoulder hitting my same target as Yun and Unalia stepped out at the top of the stairs. I got two more Ice Lances off as another Frost Bolt and two arrows slammed into the elite Goblin, bringing it down before it was halfway up the first flight of stairs.
I chose another the
next closest elite Goblin for my attack still backing up as Yun and Unalia followed my lead. All the while I mentally counting down the seconds left over to my Frost Nova spell. As we downed the next mob, the freeze broke as the wave of Goblins charged up the stairs after us. I got another three blasts off before they were on top of me. Pulling my Jagged Bonesplitter Axe out, I retreated around the landing battling at the lead Goblins while Tinyr faded back against the wall and let the first few Goblins pass him by. As soon as the mob’s back was to him, he leaped forward out of Stealth in a double bladed Sneak Attack as Yun and Unalia continued retreating up the steps behind me firing over my head.
Another elite Goblin fell before me only to have another take its place as I blasted out my Frost Nova again. Picking out closest elite Goblin, I slammed my axe into its disgusting face retreating back up the steps as Tinyr snuck in behind the mob hammering at its back with both daggers. The freeze from Yun’s Frost Blasts kept the mob slowed down enough for me to keep up with most of the attacks as Unalia chipped away at the Goblin’s Hit Point with arrow after arrow.
We were down to a handful of elite Goblins left, Yun chose the next target as Sarka stepped up beside me locking her shield with mine as we met the enraged mobs together. We battled to the next landing keeping the same strategy, but with my fellow tank sharing the brunt of the attack, while Tinyr kept attacking from behind as Unalia and Yun kept up their attacks behind our shield wall. Within no time at all, we took out the remaining elite Goblins with little damage to either Sarka or myself. As the last mob fell, we all looked at each other stunned, giddy with exhilaration. I took a second to cast heal on myself as everyone began talking excitedly.
“Oh my fucking God, that was insane!” Tinyr said as everyone cheered and laughed together.
“I can’t believe we did it!” Unalia said, happily hugging her man with both arms.
“When that wall of Goblins charged up the stairs, I about shit my pants,” Yun said as he clapped me on the back as I finished my spell. “Dude that was some awesome footwork.”
“Yea, it was pretty cool. The only thing I would’ve change is having Sarka with you and Unalia. I was afraid if there were too many people trying to retreat up the stairs at once that we’d trip over each other’s feet, but everyone did their part flawlessly.” I finished healing Sarka and myself to full health before joining everyone in looting the corpses as we talked about the fight and made our way back down the stairs.
“I still can’t believe that double-bladed Sneak Attack worked. I did 570 points of damage in one attack!” Tinyr said excitedly going through his interface. “Holy shit, I just learned dual-wield too.”
“Tinyr, you heard of groups entering the mine together?” I asked as we made it to the bottom of the stairs.
“From what little we heard, groups tend to go in three at a time now. You see two groups going in every once in a while, but that’s rare. Supposedly too many teams were wiped out just trying to get through the maze of tunnels to the entrance of the dungeon. Everyone says the dungeon has multiple instances, so while only a group of five players at a time can access an instance, the dungeon is available to any teams that make it through.” Unalia answered for her man who was still lost in his interface.
“If it’s so hard, then why bother coming with us when we’re heading down by ourselves?” I stopped slightly confused.
“Why not? You guys are cool. You saved our asses earlier with the Goblins and again with those Syndicate players. Now you’ve given us a shot at hitting the dungeon. How could we pass up on that?” Unalia said with a happy laugh heading down the last flight of stairs ahead of Tinyr and me.
“Heads up!” I said bumping Tinyr to get his attention as we reached the bottom of the steps. A quick search brought up a chest with several bags of supplies. Old moldy bread, rancid meat, some jugs of liquid that I didn’t bother to touch, some old cloaks which we passed out and a small backpack that Unalia took for herself. In the distance, we could see dark shapes moving around as the sounds of harsh voices speaking in a language none of us understood echoed down the tunnel along with the constant clanging of metal on stone.
“How did they not hear the fighting and come running?” Sarka asked, peering intently into the gloom.
“Maybe there is a set aggro radius,” I said with a shrug. “You want to lead?”
“Oh just great.” Sarka bitched rolling her eyes. “Make me go first into the dark cave infested with monsters. Some gentleman you are.”
“You know how it goes. Ladies first and all that.” I said with a grin.
Sarka turned to face the tunnel with a huff as if she were pissed, but I saw the twinkle in her eyes from the trust I was showing in letting her take the lead. We headed out slowly with Sarka leading, Yun and I behind her and Tinyr and Unalia bringing up the rear. When we got close to the clanging noises, we saw that it was a group of twenty small creatures with brown scales and thick lizard-like tails. Each held a metal pick that they were using to mine the various mineral deposit outcroppings that seemed to grow out of the floors and walls of the tunnel.
The little humanoids looked weak and pathetic, but there were a number of them spread out down the tunnel before the curve of the walls blocked our sight further. We stopped at what Sarka thought was the outside of the small creatures’ aggro range as we silently studied the mobs. The name above the heads of the creature said they were level 8 Kobolds. None were elite. As we watched, a familiar looking shape strolled confidently into view around the curve of the tunnel. Another level 10 elite Goblin, but this time the creature didn’t look like a warrior. Instead, it was dressed in crude leather wraps and carried a sword and a nasty looking whip in its clawed hands, looking more like a slave driver than anything.
“Are these creatures slaves or are they working together,” Sarka asked, peering at the little humanoid beasts.
“No clue. I wish we knew what else was around the tunnel.” I said frowning.
“Maybe if we took the Goblin out the Kobolds will run away,” Unalia said thoughtfully.
“Good a try as any,” I said, eyeing the Kobolds warily. “We need to be careful how many adds we get. Sarka, you tank the Goblin. We’ll try to burn him down as fast as we can. Yun, focus on damage for now, but if the shit hits the fan, you’re the primary healer. I’ll start out as off-tank with Sarka against the Goblin. And, depending upon how the Kobolds respond, I’ll either go full DPS or off-tank. Everyone else should focus their attacks off of Tinyr like the last time.”
“What should I do after we take out the Goblin?” Sarka asked with a frown. The concern was clear to see on her face as she eyed the number of Kobolds. “Because that’s a lot of mobs to tank all at once.”
“Take your group to tank until the team can burn them all down.” Seeing Sarka’s sick look, I clapped her on the shoulder with a grin. “Don’t worry; we got this either way. Keeping the team alive is what it means to be a tank.”
“I’ve got your back,” Sarka said lifting her chin with a determined look. “Let’s do this.”
The fight started off with a shrieking war cry as Sarka charged full tilt into the elite Goblin Task Master as the entire group of Kobold diggers froze in shock. I was a step behind her as she Shield Bashed the Goblin and began hacking at its head and shoulders with her Rockchopper Axe. As I circled behind the mob with Tinyr at my side, we both joined the attack as the first arrow and Frost Blast came flying in. With a guttural yell, the Goblin recovered from the overwhelming assault. Cracking its whip, the Task Master bellowed out harsh commands to the surrounding Kobolds and struck back with its jagged sword as the tunnel exploded with the cries of battle. Seeing the Kobolds’ faces twist in rage, I shouted out urgently to my teammates in warning.
“They’re all attacking!”
I wordlessly howled casting my Frost Nova spell as everything went to shit. Immediately, the super-cold wave blasted out from me in a 360-degree circle instantly freezing everything around me, except for my t
eammates, in a thick layer of ice. The blast stopped the Kobolds’ bum rush in the blink of an eye as the creatures strained against their icy bonds angrily yipping in their high pitched language. Their hate-filled, beady, red eyes didn’t make them look like harmless slaves.
Although they were probably slaves on some level to the Goblins, they obviously had no love for Elves. From every legend I’d ever read about the creatures, Kobolds were a cruel and hateful race and could be very dangerous in high numbers. I knew we had to burn them down before they could overwhelm us with their numbers, so, without hesitation, I began blasting the little buggers with double taps of my Ice Lance spell. I managed to kill four of the twenty little bastards surrounding us when the Frost Nova spell’s frozen prison shattered.
At once sixteen of the scaly runts leaped at me yipping shrilly. Their primary weapons were the pickaxes they’d been using to break up the mineral deposits throughout the tunnel, which ended up being a decent enough weapon when wielded by their strong stubby arms. Pain shot through my back, arms and legs from multiple strikes and bites as I smashed through the small horde of kobolds. The little bastards moved surprisingly fast as I struggled to get them all on one side of me as my Hit Points suddenly dropped almost 400 points.
This was no straight-up fight. There was no outrunning the fast-moving scaly midgets as the battle turned into an epic smash fest. I clubbed and slashed, kicked and stomped and threw my back against the tunnel’s walls trying to dislodge the slippery lizards clinging to my back as clawed fist dug into my skin, hair, and armor as their blows repeatedly fell on me like rain. The agony of it all was overwhelming as pain shot through my body entire.
It felt like the time I’d dated that psychotic metal chick who took me to my first Industrial Metal concert, Flight of the Valkyries, for Hatebreed. Her name had been Lisa, and she’d been completely insane. It was also the first time I’d ever been in a mosh pit. Lisa loved leaping into the center of the action, bashing her head at anyone that came near her. Dating her had been a wild and crazy time and the sex. The sex had been completely insane. Unfortunately, although it had been fun, it hadn’t been one of my better relationship choices at the time. That’s where I came up with the saying, crazy is only fun in bed and not always even then.