Traps

This is probably a stupid question but I haven't been able to figure it out: How do I trigger a trap? I got the elite skill Spike Trap but I can't seem to get it to work. I thought all I had to do was cast it succesfully, but so far I haven't been able to detect any effect on the enemies.

The only stupid question is pone not asked. Now on to your question, all traps are automatic. They should trigger when an enemy walks onto them, or after a set amount of time if nothing walks into their range. Hope this helps out.

Mega Mouse

Yes, set the traps and lure the enemies onto them. Or set them in the path of the patrol and move away. Wandering animals will set them off as well - tigers, bears, moas, etc.

The true challenge is keeping the rest of the team behind the traps so that the enemies actually make it to them!

You per se cannot physically manually trigger a trap. When you lay a trap down, it will be activated for whatever the duraction of the trap is (usually 90 seconds). The only way to trigger the trap is to wait the time duration (where it will automatically trigger) or lure and wait for an enemy to come running into the trap. So it is best to lay the trap in the path of a patrol or set it and pull an enemy to it. When an enemy does run into the trap, the trap will automatically trigger. When it hits an enemy, you won't see yellow damage indicators on the screen showing that it did damage, but the damage will be applied.

On a side note, if you want your traps to activate faster, there is a Nightfall skill called Trapper's Seed that may be helpful. Also, if you plan on being a trapper, I would recommend to bring along a wand/staff with an energy bonus (since traps can be sort of hefty in the energy department). Depending on where you are, you may also want to consider skills like Mantra of Resolve/Concentration so that you aren't easily interrupted when laying the traps.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iLql33Di-0U

Watch that... Thats how traps work.

To trigger a trap, you need to lure the enemy onto it. A trap is set at the specific location you activate it at. If the enemy doesn't step on that spot, no effect will take place.

Just to clarify - the trap you place is only on the ground where you "cast" the trap. If you're playing ranger, perhaps the trouble is you're standing back shooting and you lay a trap. That trap won't trigger unless a non-ally thing walks over where you placed it.

No, it's not a dumb question at all. The descriptions don't really say that, and it's not automatically understood the first time you read a trap description. Took me some trial and error to figure out what my first trap skill did, too. I was expecting something like corsair's net ... and this was back when there was only prophecies and you couldn't throw nets on stuff.

I know of one "trap" you trigger yourself, Healing Spring. It's a ... friendly trap that heals you and your allies.

Luny

A lot of times, you can run right into the middle of melee and set a trap that springs instantly. You would think that would be suicide, but as often as not you will never get hit. Using Troll Unguent before rushing in is a good idea though, and I'm not saying that this stunt will work everywhere.

Talking about PVE, by the way.

The trap will auto-trigger when a foe walks in range. It will also auto-trigger after 90 seconds.

I've gotten away with that a couple times in PvP. Most opps stop paying you so little attention after the first or at least the second time, though. grrrr