Newbie Guide to Dungeons

9 July, 2013. 342 words.

I am writing this newbie guide because there are a surprising number of people who go into the first couple of normal Rift dungeons without knowing these basics. Perhaps they have never played Rift before, or they have never played an MMO before, or they have never played in a group before.

General

Do remember that playing in a group requires different skills than soloing.
Do avoid using tank pets because they interfere with the actual tank.

Tank

Do verify that the party is ready before tackling monsters and especially bosses.
Do turn bosses away from the party, so that the big frontal attacks don’t hit them.
Do be aware of any boss mechanics that might kill you.
Do move bosses out of AoE effects, especially if there are melee DPS with you.
Do Not let monsters kill the healer.

Healer

Do heal the tank first, and then the rest of the party.
Do ask the support player for extra healing if necessary.
Do cleanse poisons, curses, etc. from the tank and the party.
Do resurrect DPS who die in combat - highest DPS first. (If the tank dies, the group will probably wipe anyway.)
Do be aware of any boss mechanics that might kill you.
Do tank if the tank dies. :)

DPS

Do wait for the tank to establish threat before attacking.
Do run toward the tank if you accidentally get aggro.
Do interrupt boss casting when possible.
Do be aware of boss mechanics and avoid taking unnecessary damage so the healer can concentrate on the tank.
Do Not use any pushback abilities.
Do Not pull aggro from the tank by doing too much damage. (Usually this is only a problem if you out-level or out-gear the tank by a lot.)

Support

Do be prepared to go full DPS, especially in expert dungeons. (See above.)
Do provide group healing if the healer asks, gets in trouble, or dies.
Do cast buffs and debuffs as appropriate.
Do resurrect if the healer can’t.
Do DPS when you have nothing else to do.

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