Surefall Druid
 

Surefall Druid

6 November 2002

Charming

Charm is another great technique, but it isn't likely to work very well at this level. Practice it on greens first so that you know how long it lasts and how the mobs react. The problem with charm is that when it breaks, you are likely to have at least 2 mobs on you, extremely annoyed, quite possibly with one of them being extremely well buffed (by you). The solution to this problem, and it isn't a complete solution, is to make sure that both mobs are always snared, pet included, that your pet sits and fights as far away from you as possible (not very far when fighting, because the range of heal is short, and you need frequent updates on the 2 mobs HP), and that the one your pet is fighting is always rooted. Use charm initially to help with tradeskills, to collect the silks and pelts that would otherwise drain your mana.

Find an animal, snare it, and run back. If it is fast, root it first. Then cast your charm spell. Once it is charmed, tell it to guard (and run away from it), then sit to speed recovery from your root. Know how long root takes to break. If you are comfortable with charm, buff your pet with a pet buff (you get Feral Spirit at 19, and an upgrade at 44), skin, strength and a damage shield - in that order of preference, depending on how long you think charm will last, and how comfortable you are with resnaring. Then find another monster; if the pet is well buffed, it should be able to kill at least two of the same level as itself before being too low to fight on. Tell your pet to attack, then aggro the target to make it follow you back to your pet. Snare isn't the best for this unless the two are very close, as it causes aggro on you, and can lead to a long, slow pull - which is very bad, as charm has a maximum duration, as does snare. Once the two are engaged, root and snare the target. Re-root it if required, and consider healing your pet if required. There are two main approaches to this: the first being to never heal your pet and minimise buffs. That way it will die after the second fight, if not before; ideally being low on HP, you either hide or cast Camo on yourself to break the charm, then kill it quickly - no meleeing if it was buffed, one nuke is ideal. Alternatively, break charm, root it, then charm another animal to kill the first. The second approach is to buff your pet all the way, heal it, and root/snare/charm when charm breaks. This is much more feasible with your second pet buff at 44 (Savage Spirit, which is really vicious). With a lightly buffed pet and some heals, lasting 2 or 3 fights, I expect to be able to continually charm until my alertness fades (about 40 mins), maybe 3 or 4 charms, with no mana regen buffs. If more adjustment is required along the way to heal to ensure a pet victory, camo and kill. I expect to get through one or 2 pets in 10 mins, ending at 50% mana.

If there is a secret to charm, it is to know what will happen beforehand, and be prepared for it. Know how long root, charm and snare last, and how reliable they are - and this will vary for any given animal. Make sure that you reroot before it breaks, and are watching for charm to break. Choose your camp location well for the same reason.

Paul Lynch

Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: April 1, 2003
© Copyright 2002 Paul Lynch, All Rights Reserved

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