Ambush tactic, Bait and Pounce

[Ravenlute]

I've played a lot of MMO's and some of the most memorable moments are ones that have happened in a PvP setting.

One such moment was in Age of Conan. It's not a FFA PvP game but it does have arenas and siege zones where PvP is enabled. It is also important to point out that there are skills you can rank up in that game as well, including Stealth. All characters could learn Stealth and it was encouraged to have at least a little bit if you played PvP so you could have a chance of sneaking around. There is also a Perception skill that you could activate to counter the stealth, it wasn't automatic.

So, on to the story.

My guild members and I were helping defend a keep during a siege in a PvP enabled zone. We had arrived early to discourage enemy scouts and came up with a fun little game while we waited. We had our Conqueror (a warrior class) stand in the fields outside the walls, then the rest of us formed a half circle around and behind him and fell into stealth. When a lone enemy came upon us all they saw was the Conqueror by himself not moving around and more often than not they thought they would get the jump on him. Of course once that single enemy blew their alpha strike on our wonderful meatshield we all jumped out of stealth and slaughtered the foolish soul.

The best part was that we did this more than once while waiting for the siege to gather forces. All because of a lack of communication on the enemy side.

I bring this up now because of the recent stealth discussions. A tactic like this seems plausible with the current setup as well. If the hiding players are equipped with ranged weapons/spells/attacks they could stay out of range of perception of an enemy taking the bait until it's too late.

Remember:
1. Don't travel alone.
2. If you do travel alone, assume no one else is.
3. See 1.
4. Players are tricksy.

[Andius]

Stealth will always be an incredibly powerful tool in the hands if those who know how to take advantage of it, no matter what anyone says.

[DeciusBrutus]

Even better- once the enemy figures out the trap, go with the double-bluff: Have lots of tanky guys out chilling around enemy areas, but only some of them have overwhelming force waiting in stealth.

Things get interesting when the lone guy standing in the middle of the road says "Give me some coin, or the hidden ambush that you can't see kills all of you.", and you pay not because you believe that there is such a hidden force, but because if you don't, next time there will be, and the shakedown will be for many times as much.