A Non-Traditional AoE Party

I don't really play anymore so I thought I'd go ahead and share some thoughts, especially since the sale on charms is ending soon and people are getting to the level range where AoE parties are going to get popular soon.

The traditional AoE party is 1 cleric, 2-3 damage dealers, 2-3 lurers. The clerics and DDs have an array open and then the lurers, either using mounts or AoE moves go around and lure mobs into the arrays while the mobs die slowly. It's the custom, easy to do, but burns the charms of the cleric and damage dealers like there's no tomorrow.

Right now, I'd have to say that charms really aren't *that* expensive, especially since you can buy them in-game for such cheap prices on a new server but it gets to be a drag, burning through 10 of them or whatever every day along with all the XP scrolls.

On other servers, where charms are much more expensive than they are here, some of the players have adapted to different methods of leveling, ones that don't require charms at all. So, the idea isn't that new, just not common because it can't be done afk like normal AoE parties. You can see the stuff described below on YouTube, among other places.

I realize that it's often faster to fish at 8x and do butterflies at 7x but those spots aren't always open.

Party composition: it varies but generally a couple of clerics, blademaster, couple of wizards (preferred for high damage to mob's weak element) but it's really wide open.

The short of it:
-Clerics lure about 20+ mobs each
-Blademaster stuns the whole set of mobs for 6s
-Wizards start charging their appropriate 59 skill (hopefully the element that the mob is weak to) since they have super long channel times
-Blademaster does Heaven's Flame (the +100% damage for 6s level 59 skill for axes)
-Wizards finish casting their 59 skills and do double damage
-Everyone finishes up with more AoE skills if needed and almost everything dies. Could be a leftover +mdef or +HP mob but whatever.
-The non-clerics start building up chi again right away (hug each other, shoot things, cast spells, use the +100 or +150 chi pots as a last resort, etc.)
-Repeat until your XP scroll is done

Now about this time, most people are wondering about that first step. "Cleric lures 20 mobs? That's suicide."

Initially it may be, until you get used to luring as a cleric. It takes a different mindset. All you really need is maxed IronHeart Blessing (the 15s heal over time) and a fast set of wings (2.0 m/s works, 2.5+ preferred).

If you've never lured before, it's best to try it on a really low level and slow moving mob. Normally if you fly or run away from a mob that has aggro on you, the mob will go back to its start spot after ~8-10 seconds. But the key is if you heal yourself, the timer resets. I have no idea why. Maybe a mob gets mad at you for healing because you're healing yourself and it wants to kill you.

So practice luring a mob around. Be flying since walking is way too slow and you can't cast spells while on a mount. Get aggro, fly for ~8s, then heal yourself with IronHeart Blessing. Then fly for 8s more and repeat. Don't wait too long or else the mob resets. I don't think you can drag a mob across the map but you can drag one around for enough time to gather enough for AoE to be relatively efficient.

You'll probably need to pop a level 30-40 MP pot, nothing higher needed. The higher level pots aren't as cost efficient and you're probably doing this for cost efficiency. The mobs will hit you once in a while, especially +speed ones but since you're constantly healing yourself, you should be fine for the most part. Worse case, just fly up higher and reset if the damage dealers fell asleep or something.

Note that this method of AoE works better on slower moving mobs (the level 92 icemen aren't too bad, for example; incidentally, they make great pets for bored Venomancers to park in the middle of Arch West to confuse newbies since they're about 3x the size of golems) but it also means you can start AoEing magic mobs too without much ill effect since if you do get hit with magic damage, the damage is greatly reduced with robes. It's a bit different than normal AoE where the lurers lure fewer mobs at a faster rate but it's much more cost efficient if you're feeling poor. It does take a while to get used to it and an open mind. If you're doubtful, try both and compare XP/hour and cost/hour and decide then.

If you have an archer in your party for some reason, make sure sharpened tooth doesn't get cast. It lowers the XP per kill for some buggy reason.

If this method doesn't work for you, nothing gained or lost. You can still AoE normally with arrays if you don't mind the cost or grind at fish or wherever. But it opens up more areas to level than before if it does work for you. Good luck.

TL;DR: If you're poor, you can AoE with clerics luring.