Hi folks. I had a question about the usefulness of moving in combat.

Namely, is there a point to moving around while in combat? I can think of 2 reasons off the top of my head but was wondering if there was a deeper aspect I was missing.

Reason 1: Stay out of melee range. Mobs that want to melee me can't if I keep dancing away.

Reason 2: On my PA toon, I took an enhancement that increases the amount of damage dealt by my long range attack based on how far away I am from my target. The farther I am, the more damage I do. So, if I attack and keep moving away, I have a better damage output.

I can't really think of other reasons, yet I keep seeing references to combat being action and movement oriented.

And while I am on the topic, can anyone give me advice on blocking? Primarily, when do I block? I know I block when my opponents show the charging attack bubble over their head, but is there a reason to block at other times? If I am facing three opponents and I block to avoid damage I am not doing damage to them and chances are one of them is always attacking me. Perhaps I am using blocking wrong...

Thanks.

Mick

Well running around in combat often don't have so many reasons in MMO's.
I do it because it looks cool if you are multitasking, shooting and running is an awesome combo.

And blocking is for blocking Pve major attacks, like a boss superduper attack.
Otherwise it is mostly used in Pvp, when you are outnumbered and waiting for ure friends or just blocking so you can wait for a CD or let regen build up (if you have it)

Blocking while leveling is kinda useless, better to go for a passive defensive spell, and get a blocking at higher levels that fits ure demand and buffs ure weakness. Like lets say you need a block that is good against frontal attacks because you feel you got a specc/char that can take a blow or two from behind, then take a block wich only blocks from the front etc.

The normal block spell works for questing and soloing imo, wait with a special block spell till a lil later in game..
But im not an expert so u might wanna get a second opinion :P

Staying out of melee range is a big one. Even if you are a melee character, you can keep on the move to take out ranged henchmen while staying away from a melee villian. This isn't like wow where mobs are glued to you and running just makes you die tired.

LOS can also be a big deal. Not only can it save you some damage, it can help you position or pull mobs, and can even be used instead of block sometimtes to keep you pumping out damage when the mobs are many. lol.

You'll notice on your PA guy that Minigun owns and is cheap. Moving around to keep as many mobs as possbile in the cone is recommended, as is adjusting to a moving target to prevent your cone from pulling extra adds [MG has a long range].

As for blocking, not all attacks have a tell, sometimes you have to watch for the unique animations to see nasty holds or attacks coming. An extended left arm or two upturned palms are warning signs that your Z key is about to be toast.

Also, dumping your energy on a long range alpha and then blocking the mob alpha to regain your energy can be the difference between a fist pump or a face plant on a tough pull.

If your regularly block-locked on three mobs, you might need to pick up a heal, hold, and/or a nice click cast damage ability. If your not sure which ones to pick, look through the forums for posts titled 'ZOMG NERF X, IT'S RUINING PVP'. Don't use the search for that though, because 'ruining' is more than 4 letters, and will therefore be mispelled.

I noticed while fighting gunslingers, that when they do their "super attack" they are locked in their position.
So while blocking i moved side ways and some point bullets didn't hit me anymore and i could continue my attacks while gunslinger was still doing hes "super attack".
Maybe there are more of those kind of attacks out there.

If there are mobs behind you, it seems that they hit much more accurately than the ones in front of you.

I've found that melee mobs seem to do more damage to me than ranged mobs, so if you can shift to stay out of they're range it's helpful. I was only able to solo Medusa at equal level with my Fire/PA toon by running around the room to stay away from the Melee Villian's she summoned and blasting away with missles. It took longer than smashing her with Laser Sword over and over, but it worked.