Tuesday (13 Oct) - The "I Hate Jousting" Post

Tuesday (13 Oct) - The "I Hate Jousting" Post

"The Grand Melee" is an Argent Tournament daily quest in which players must win three jousting matches against npc opponents. It's one of four daily quests that JB can do at the Valiant rank. Note that the Valiant rank is only one step above pure amateur (aka Aspirant rank), so it's not like JB has reached the higher levels of this tournament.

But I can't joust. Poor JB is ready to denounce her own gene pool, since Wild is no better at it, and Wild gave up even attempting it after a few tries.

It's not that complicated. JB watched other players hoist their lance, hop on their steed, make their Challenge, and trot off the field a minute later with a victory. Not so, JB, who embarrassed herself time and time again, losing the matches, being tossed ignominiously from her mount, and having to make the walk of the defeated back to the hitching posts at the quest giver's pavilion to get another mount.

JB knows what to do, just not how to execute it properly.

Step 1: Before beginning the match, use the Defend skill to put up three shields. The shields greatly reduce the damage done by the npc opponent, but must be constantly refreshed. There is a four second cooldown, which is a lot of time while in combat, but those shields must be kept up.

Step 2: In theory JB's first move once the match starts is to use the Shield-Breaker (s-b) skill to remove the npc's shields. The npc starts with three shields, as does JB. The npc isn't standing around, though. He's also attempting to remove JB's shields and he gallops and wheels around on the field of combat. There are both near and far range restrictions on s-b; it can't be used at close melee range, nor at any great distance. Ideally, JB should be at Charge distance so that she can follow up a s-b with Charge.

Step 3: Charge is what most of us think of when talking about jousting. Two armored, mounted knights levelling their lances and charging at each other. It deals the most damage and is critical to winning the joust, and it's where JB has the most trouble. Getting at proper range, facing the npc, and getting off a successful Charge against said npc, who is also wheeling and moving to get his own Charge off, has been a frustrating effort.

There is also a Thrust skill which is a lower damage attack than Charge and can only be used at melee range. Since JB's command of a mount is so poor, she had to come up with another strategy which relies in part on Thrust. The many loses also helped JB learn certain patterns the npc used, and figured how to use that to her advantage.

JB approached a mounted npc for the umpteenth time. She stacked her three shields. She put the npc on focus because she had a bad habit of clicking in the wrong spot and losing the target. There can be as many as three matches going on at the same time - that's six mounted knights hurtling around a pretty small ring - and that can get really confusing.

JB made her Challenge and the match began. JB let the npc trot off, tossed a s-b on him to break one shield, and then got walloped when the npc Charged. Ouch! JB Shielded to get back to three shields while closing to melee. JB used Thrust over and over, as did the npc, refreshing shields if one dropped off. The npc wheeled away to get some distance. JB let him, turning to keep the lance aimed at him, and pulled back on the reins to get the mount a little further away. Then JB Charged before the npc could turn to face her. Bam! JB rocked the npc, wheeled around and closed again to melee range, Shielding and going back to Thrust. This was the pattern JB kept up. Sometimes JB tried a s-b after a Charge to knock down one of the npc's shields, but distance and aim made that a bit iffy. It also delayed JB refreshing her shields after the Charge, too, and that meant she'd take more damage while in melee until she got all three shields back.

JB's mount had fallen below 10% health when JB earned her first match win. Rather than elation, JB was mostly just relieved that she'd done it. Finally. At least once. She'd need to do it two more times to complete the quest.

Three different cities are represented for each faction at this match. JB healed up her mount (which can only be done out of combat, in case you're wondering), picked a new foe, and went at it again. She didn't immediately start winning every match, and she still lost her target sometimes, or tried something different that got her in trouble, but soon enough the second npc knight yielded to her, and then the third.

JB had won her quest. For the first time. For today. And tomorrow she'll go at it again.

JB completed the other three daily quests, including "At the Enemy's Gates" which also required mounted combat. Those are much easier, although it does take time just travelling from area to area.

The four daily quests moved JB from 58% to 67% of the way to level 80.