Eldorian Swiftshot's Guide to successful targeting.

This is my personnal guide to targeting. I've been playing guild wars since it came out and it wasn't until after a week of playing I was introduced to the targetting system. However if not used correctly the targeting system can be as much a hinderance as it can be helpful. I've prepard this guide (Named after my first PvE character who is now my main tombs character) to cover everything you need to know about how to use targeting to increase your teams chances of coming out of an encounter victorious. Please read on.

THE BASICS

Skip ahead to the The Guide subheading if you're already familiar with the basic targetting system. If not read on.

Targeting in guild wars is a yell you can quickly announce to your team to better let them know what's going on. You yell just about anything in guild wars by holding the control key as you perform an action. I'll divide the calls into two categories. Targeting and Announcement calls.


TARGETING CALLS

Targeting calls are the calls that allow quick target selection for the rest of the team when used correctly. More on using them correctly later on.

* Hold Control as you press space to attack. The target is now announced to the rest of the team. This allows easy targeting for the rest of your team.

* Hold Control as you click a spell to cast on an enemy target. The target is now announced to the rest of the team. This allows targeting for the rest of the team.

* Ctrl+Shift+Space will designate a target without you attacking it. You'll announce "I'm targeting X," as opposed to Ctrl+Space where you say "I'm attacking X." (Contribution by Lord Avalon)

* Press "t" to switch your target to the nearest called target. This allows you to quickly switch to a previously called target.


ANNONCEMENT CALLS

These calls don't allow faster targeting but can allow you to yell some vital information to the rest of your team quickly and without crowding a voice program such as TS or VENT. This information will appear to the rest of the team via the team chat window.

* Hold Control and click your health/energy bar. This will announce your current health/energy.

* Hold Control as you cast a non-offensive skill/spell. This will announce the skill you are casting and it's target if there is one.

* Hold Control as you click a current effect. This will announce the effect to the rest of your team.

Here are a few less useful ones.

* Hold Control on your exp bar to announce your current level and progress to next level.

* Hold Control as you press space on an ally to announce you are following them.

There are more but I believe I've covered the more important ones.

THE GUIDE

GETTING STARTED

First up, designate a primary target caller. If everyone is calling targets then it's rendered useless. The primary target caller should be a warrior as it's easier for them to spot the best target as they haven't got as much to do at once as the other classes. If you are a character that has to cycle through opponents on the enemy team such as a poison ranger or a domination Mesmer then this is definitely not a job for you. Likewise monks are far to busy keeping the team alive to even contemplate calling enemy targets. Always get a character who focuses on single enemies to be your teams primary target caller.

NON-CALLER ADVICE

Here's a guide on how to use called targets to your advantage.



Calling helps, But there are always times where a quick bit of information can be the key between victory and defeat. Even if you don't have a microphone get on the ts/vent server so you can stay up to date on what's going on. These are both FREE applications so there's no excuse not to download them (Actually I got abused pretty badly from a deaf guy once so there are some excuses, just not many.) Obviously in randomly formed groups this isn't practical.



Once a target is called it's your primary duty to make sure to goes down as quickly as possible. Press T to switch to the target quickly. Assist as best you can. This means if you’re a shutdown Mesmer it may actually be better to target a nearby healer that is assisting the target. Likewise, if you're spamming poison across the enemy party you're probably going to be more effective to continue that. Use your head.



It's very tricky trying to find the weak spot in an enemy party. Sometimes your caller won't get it right the first time. Be aware that the target may be recalled. Listen for the ping and press T quickly. Be aware your target caller may also be feinting attacks. If the whole team is laying into a target that is being healed like crazy be prepared for the next call. I tend to target casters first, let the monks waste their energy keeping them up, then quickly switch to the monks while they're are busy.



...Assuming you have TS/VENT. Sometimes you may notice something the primary target caller misses. In drawn out battles where neither side is gaining an edge, it's the team that spots the weak point first that usually triumphs. The team's pounding the enemy’s monk but lacks the firepower to kill it? Let the caller know about that Mes that's draining your party’s energy and shutting them down! Suddenly noticed that that Mes/monk is actually a fast resser/protection monk? Let the team know! Found the enemy team's primary spirit spammer? Let the team know! If you don't have a mic and can see a clear weak point let the team know but calling the hexes on you followed by your energy and then call the Mes. I'd catch on to that. However in the end it's a lot more practical to have a mic. Announce you've found the weak point then call it so that the primary caller can quickly switch to it.



While it's still possible to target while dead it's rather difficult. Try and have someone else call if the primary caller goes down and can't be brought back quickly. Once again TS/VENT helps in these situations. If there's no target called and you spy a good weak point call it.

CALLER ADVICE

So you've been designated the target caller? It's not an easy job. It's your job to work out what the enemy team is doing and how to get then dead as quickly as possible.



One of the most important things to being a targeter is being able to target your foe as quickly as possible. The problem is there is no one RIGHT way to target. It all depends on the situation.

I rarely use the mouse but it still has its uses. Remember that the mouse is really only of use if your target is spread out from any other allies or enemies. Otherwise you’re likely to just click something else by mistake.

Try to use the "driver" keys (q,w,e,a,s,d,x) to move around. Used in conjunction with auto-run (r) you should be able to move around easily and be able to switch to other keys quickly.

Remember that holding control while attack (space) or using an offensive ability (Number or mouse click) on an enemy will target them. On some windows keyboards this is dangerously close to the Windows key so be careful, or if you hate it as much as I do remove the key from the keyboard.

Use TAB to cycle through all enemies in range. Very useful when you're not sure what to go after next and need a quick grasp at the situation.

Use C to target your closest foe. Used with the driver keys this is one of the quickest way to home in on an enemy target.

Remember that you can target your own called targets with T. This is useful if you some reason you need to look at elsewhere quickly or accidentally click the wrong spot and deselect your target.



Most likely you are a Warrior or Ranger. In most cases other classes are going to be too busy to scope out the enemy team or too weak not to get killed doing so. First decide whether your team is going to charge in or hang back. If they're going to charge in you're most likely a Warrior. Make sure you're in the front with the rest of the team right behind you. The enemy team is less likely to target you first and a lot less likely to be able to kill you then other team members. Use auto run (r) with the mouse to guide yourself as you charge towards the enemy. As soon as they are in target range start pressing tab to cycle through their team. Quickly determine the best target then hold Control and press Space. You'll run after your target while letting your team know what you're targeting long before the enemy team will figure it out. If your team is planning to stay out of melee range it's a similar approach. Just stand back, cycle targets and find the best choice. Though the enemy team will probably be doing the same OR may charge right into your ranks as you do. Be quick, and decisive.



It really helps if you are familiar with other classes skills so that you can quickly evaluate which skills are the most deadly to your team and how to shut them off quickly. In general though it's usually best to target Monks, followed by casters (Elementalists, Necromancers and Mesmers), followed by Rangers, followed by Warriors. The enemy’s Primary class will give you a fair indication of the damage they can absorb. Warriors have the highest armor classes, followed by Rangers, followed by Monks, followed by Necromancers, followed by Mesmers, followed by Elementalists. Sometimes it's a good idea to feint an attack on a caster type first to get the monks to wear themselves out on the casters before moving onto the monk. Be aware that many classes will hide their true potential in their secondary class. Many protection monks can safely hide in the guise of a Necro, Mesmer or Elementalist.



This is tricky. Once the enemy has been engaged things can get very ugly very quickly. Remember that you can press T to attack your own called target as well. So, while you're waiting for your skills to recharge or if you've got a second or two to spare, quickly take a glance at their team or, if you need to, use your res sig quickly. TAB through the enemy to see if a better target has come up. Then just press T to return to your current target. Also remember that C targets the closest foe to you. So if your see a monk that would make a great target run towards them and press C.

CONCLUSION

Well, that took a while! I've probably missed a few things. Please leave comments and such and I'll update as necessary! I'm off to play some more guild wars!



Thomasuwoo and a big thank you to Tracer for Spell checking this!

too bad most GW gamers don't follow these suggestions. lately i've had a lot of bad luck finding people to adventure with.

yesterday i was in a group that was constantly splitting up. as the healer of the group i obviously couldn't follow both groups to heal everyone. a few players died and wondered why i wasn't healing them! halfway through the mission half the players left the game. ridiculous.

why is it so hard to find players that want to work together?

I made the same observation too.

The jerks are slowly making their way to the end of the map....

Lots of new players make pvp only characters, so they may not be farmiliar with targeting. When I was new I thought targeting was retarted... I've learned.

Ctrl+Shift+Space will designate a target without you attacking it. You'll announce "I'm targeting X," as opposed to Ctrl+Space where you say "I'm attacking X."

Awesome. Well written. I hope this gets stickied and shown for all new players.

Thanks avalon I've added it to the guide.

Well at least the guide got some views but I'm a little disapointed at the amount of feedback. Surely there are some places to improve right? Then again it is faily long so i suppose most people have just jumped in, seen the lenght and then jumped out.

Well, in the interests of trying to provide constructive feedback:

Provide more structure. It's just a forum post now, and while I think you've done a great job of formatting it as much as you can, it really is long enough to need a bit more structure. Things like a summary of the entire document at the top, including what's currently bolded in the headers that jump to the expanded sections, etc. Ultimately, doing this "right" might require making it a web page of its own, not just a forum post.

It seems like the most important parts are after the basics of targetting, and right now someone might just glance at it and see that it merely tells you what target calling is, without seeing the important parts about using target calling in actual combat and best practice ways to do so.

For instance, the first line says to "skip this" if you know about targetting. I imagine most people glancing at this forum post assumes that means the whole post, not just the "Basics" section. People should be able to see at a glance the various sections and know what parts they should care about, etc.

But again, I think this is great... and should be stickied by the moderators somewhere. (Not sure if it is already, but I've glanced around and didn't see it anywhere.)

/doh !
Urg that is a very good point. I've written a breif introduction to the guide to hopefully clean up this misunderstanding.
I'm afraid that my web skills are fairly lmited. While i wouldn't mind putting such a guide to a page I wouldn't have a clue where to begin

Better rather it get moved to the Community Works forum.

While targeting an enemy. ctrl + click on their skill will say "pvp 1 is using X". Just thought to add that. it could be useful if somebody is using ressurect or sumthing. otherwise i liked it

before I go further, great post by the OP. Lots of good info.

The thing about targetting is you have to write a lot to be able to cover all the aspects of being a good caller. They have to know what every profession combo can possibly do and who is the most dangerous.

It is a key position on a pvp team and one that is only for certain people. A caller isn't something anyone can do.

Let me say excellent guide for advanced players to revisit, and critical knowledge for the noobs/novice players.

Only other thing you might want to mention is how the hench respond to target calling. You mentioned how various characters spam the entire group and need to cycle targets, and more or less ignore the called targets.... However when Henchmen are in your group they BLINDLY and FAITHFULLY focus on any called target.

lol I've had this game since launch and well i was on like a 3 month hiatus from the game hehe just restarded playing since my then fav game SWG is a retarted game to play now with thge patch. But anyways I was wondering how ppl were making them calls so quickly in the heat of battle and now I know thanx a bunch for the post. Ill be using this regularly now.

so since the henches attack whatever target is called can you call one target and attack another target and have the henches attck the one called thos dumb henches follow me when i need them for other things

Positioning, and "pulling" (luring) is very important, if not more than target calling... I've found that this is where PUG groups are lacking most (based on my experience joing random PUG groups at Deldrimos' War Camp, the majority of groups can use target call but simply dont lure down the first ramp and nearly always get a nearby foe group add + another dwarf patrol; most PUG groups don';t even get past that without serious health loss or death, rather pityful).

This guide would benefit imho from positiong/luring advice, as it comes in pair with target calling. Example : monks stay out of aggro radius, use walls/blocking line of sight to your advantage (vs rangers), against weak damage but strong healing (Wroth Yakslapper) get members to surround target and then use AOE spells so the foe can not run away, etc etc.

As for the targetting guide it lacks the essential piece of advice to all the Tanks out there : IMMEDIATELY announce to your group you are the target caller as soon as PUG enters the zone, that's all you need to do. If some annoying kiddie argues let them do the target calling, just as long as the group knows who is supposed to do it.