Fundamentals

These concepts apply to every run. Learn them once, then focus on what changes per strategy.

Communication and calls

• Keep calls short in critical moments.
• Call beforehand if you need more time to get your cooldowns before a spike or notice something wrong. (eg. You have been the target of Power BlockPower BlockElite / Mesmer / Domination Magic / SpellE 15Cast 0.25Recharge 20If target foe is casting a Spell or Chant, that Skill is interrupted. The interrupted Skill and all Skills of the same attribute are disabled for 1..12 seconds for that foe., missing Edge of ExtinctionEdge of ExtinctionRanger / Beast Mastery / Nature RitualE 5Cast 5Recharge 60Create a level 1..10 Spirit. If a non-Spirit creature within range dies, Edge of Extinction deals 14..50 damage to all creatures of the same type that are below 90% Health and within range of the Spirit. This Spirit dies after 30..150 seconds., Ether RenewalEther RenewalElite / Elementalist / Energy Storage / Enchantment SpellE 10Cast 1Recharge 30For 5..20 seconds, each time you cast a Spell, you gain 1..4 Energy and 5..20 Health for each Enchantment on you. has been stripped)
• Call shared targets to avoid overlaps with other spikers. (eg. which despair or which dreamy you MistrustMistrustMesmer / Domination Magic / Hex SpellE 10Cast 2Recharge 12For 6 seconds, the next spell that target foe casts on one of your allies fails and deals 10..100 damage to that foe and all nearby foes. in foundry, which rage or dryder you use Pain InverterPain InverterAsura rank / Hex SpellE 10Cast 1Recharge 20For 6..10 seconds, every time target foe deals damage that foe takes 100..140% of the damage it causes (maximum 80 damage). on)
• Call when you're overwhelmed (eg. unwanted aggros, hard to cover off-damage) so the team can help you out.

Cast range

Cast range is the distance you can cast a spell from your target. If your distance between you and your target is greater than your cast range, the game will automatically move you closer to the target - more than what's necessary for the spell to be cast. The target will then be able to see you before you can cast the spell.

This concept is especially important when targets have spells that can interrupt you, such as GaleGaleElementalist / Air Magic / SpellE 10Cast 1Recharge 5Knock down target foe for 2 seconds. (50% failure chance with Air Magic 4 or less.) or Cry of FrustrationCry of FrustrationMesmer / Domination Magic / SpellE 10Cast 0.25Recharge 15If target foe is using a skill, that foe and all foes in the area are interrupted and suffer 15..75 damage. in city. Instead of letting this happen, move manually to the target until your aggro range is just about to touch the target's yellow outline. Below, you can see on the left a minimap with aggro range only and the ideal distance, and on the right the GWToolbox minimap which shows the cast range.

This fundamental is absolutely critical to get right when spiking the Fury in foundry as Komalie guardians have loads of interrupts such as Power DrainPower DrainMesmer / Inspiration Magic / SpellE 5Cast 0.25Recharge 20If target foe is casting a Spell or Chant, that Skill is interrupted and you gain 1..31 Energy., Power SpikePower SpikeMesmer / Domination Magic / SpellE 5Cast 0.25Recharge 12If target foe is casting a Spell or a Chant, that Skill is interrupted and target foe takes 30..120 damage. and Cry of FrustrationCry of FrustrationMesmer / Domination Magic / SpellE 10Cast 0.25Recharge 15If target foe is using a skill, that foe and all foes in the area are interrupted and suffer 15..75 damage..

Aggro management

• Understand how Share Aggro, Bad Aggro, Chain Aggro and Corpse Aggro work.
• If you get aggro, do not bring it back to the team.
• You can lose aggro by dying, preferably in a spot where you are easy to rez.
• You can enable chain aggro and corpse aggro circles on GWToolbox's minimap to help you avoid delicate situations.

Looting

Sometimes, a valuable drop will land somewhere that requires you to go out of your way to pick it up. 👉 If grabbing it risks slowing down the run, leave it.

Remember: you’re part of a team. Every extra second added to the run wastes the time of all 8 players, not just yours.

The money you “lose” by skipping a drop will be more than compensated by finishing faster, starting another run sooner, and opening more chests. 😉

Chests

Don’t rush when picking up chests. In City and Veil, let the Emo and the Tank take them first as they need to quickly reach the next area.

Drop-sharing rules

At the end of the run, unassigned drops are usually free-for-all: first come, first served.

Exception: chest drops If someone had to leave their chest behind after opening it, the gems still belong to them and should not be taken by anyone else.