Guide to Using Weaknesses

by Dalmarus

QUESTION

I've heard there is (or was) a "weakness" system that would allow you to do more damage to targets? Is this true?

ANSWER

Yes, there is a system of weaknesses in the game that you can exploit as designed by the game developers. Enjoy.

...No, of course I'm not going to leave the answer at that. I think if I did that would make for the shortest "guide" ever!

What IS the Weakness System?

Basically, every class within the game has the ability to cause a weakness on a target with various attacks. Every character also has the ability to exploit a caused weakness. In your Abilities book, under the General tab, you'll see an icon that says, "Using Weaknesses." This is actually a pretty good description of what it is, and what you need to do, but when the system is brand new to you, I think the instructions need to be expanded just a bit. That's where I come in.

Where Do You Start?

The first thing you need to do is figure out which abilities you have that can cause a weakness, and what they are. Any ability you have that can cause a weakness can exploit a different one. Sound confusing? Don't worry. It won't be for long. The easiest way to determine which abilities can cause a weakness is to read the tool tips that pop up when you run your mouse over an ability's icon. Any icon/effect beside a downward red arrow is what you're looking for. If the arrow also has a plus sign beside it, then this is a weakness you cause. The arrow without a plus sign is a weakness you can exploit.

The Nuts And Bolts

Let's take a look at the abilities used to test the system this weekend. A friendly bard was kind enough to assist me after discovering we had at least one effect in common, so many thanks to him!

To cause a weakness, you simply have to use an ability that has the weakness you wish to affect your target with. For example, a bard has the ability to cause Lethargic by using an ability called Thread the Needle. As a necromancer, I have a couple of different abilities that I can use to exploit Lethargic. For this example, I'll be using an ability called Devouring Shadows III.

How To Tell A Target Is Affected

There are a couple of different ways to tell if the target you are fighting has been affected by a weakness. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. I'd like to say that by the end of the weekend, one had emerged as a clear victor, but that just wouldn't be true.

1) The easiest way to tell is to right click on your chat tab and select "Weaknesses" as one of the messages that will now appear in your window. The plus side of this system is that it is very easy to read the message when it pops up. Not only does it let you know that you've recognized that a target has been affected by a weakness, it also tells you exactly what the target is affected with. This makes choosing which spell to cast (or ability to use) next very easy. Unfortunately, there is a huge downside to this method - a message doesn't always show up. In fact, it seemed to go in streaks for me. Sometimes it would let me know all the time, while other times, I could go through 10 battles without seeing a single message. If this was related to some aspect of not always being able to recognize a target has been affected by a weakness, similar to the Spell Identification skill, I could understand, and even applaud it. See number 2 for why this isn't the case though.

2) The other way to tell is to look for the small "mini-icons" underneath whatever effects have been stacked onto your target. If you run your mouse over them, a tool tip will pop up letting you know what they are. The reason I have an issue with the solution listed in number one is that the method listed here always works. Yes, I said always. At any time, I can run my mouse over the icon and see what it is without fail.


So you have a bit of a dilemma here. Do you use the first method so you can clearly see what you need without running your mouse cursor everywhere while you're in the middle of combat? Do you try and get the point of your cursor on a miniscule icon in the heat of battle to see what you can exploit? Eventually, a method of both seemed to work fairly well for me. Even though there are a number of possible weaknesses (19 at last count) to exploit, you'll only be dealing with a handful within any given group, so it doesn't take too long to recognize the small icons by sight.

So What Happens Now?

When you exploit a weakness, unless you have the right combat message going to your chat window, if you want to see what happened, you'll need to go into your combat log. Here you can see just what kind of extra damage you pulled off, just by taking an extra second to see which ability would be the most beneficial to your group at that moment. Behold...
Just by taking a few extra moments to choose, an extra 337 points of damage were dealt to our target. After a short time of using these weaknesses and exploits within a group, you'll start to see patterns emerge. And when everybody (that can, depending on class) gets into the groove, you'll see some battles becoming much shorter than they were in the past. A good group with a string of chaining weaknesses and exploits can deal a lot of damage, very quickly.

Who Should I Group With?

Whether your group (or pair) can exploit each other's weaknesses shouldn't be the deciding factor in choosing to play with them. However, there is something to be said for effectiveness. In a full group, this isn't normally an issue, as the chances are pretty high that the classes will be able to feed each other. There are some classes that make better duo teams than others, and you may be surprised by some of them. For example, a monk and a necromancer cannot create any weaknesses the other is able to exploit. A shaman or ranger on the other hand, makes a very effective partner for a necromancer, as there are a number of effects they can both use to set each other up.

Below, I've created a chart to help people figure out what may be a good class to hook up with sometime to test this whole "weakness thing" out. If a class can cause a weakness, there is a "C" in their column. If they can exploit a weakness, then there is a large "E" in their column.

The Rules of Engagement

There are only a couple of rules to keep in mind when using the weakness system.

• After a weakness has been applied to a target, it can be exploited for approximately 8 seconds afterwards.
• A group is not limited to how many party members can exploit a weakness. If 3 party members have the ability to exploit a weakness, they can all do so. A weakness doesn't go away just because someone exploited it (as long as there's still time - see the 8 seconds above).

Conclusion

There you go everyone. I certainly hope this helps spread the word that weaknesses are not only in the game and working, but that they're also very advantageous to play with. While it's great to use in small hunting parties, the real value may be seen when coordinated raid groups start hitting the Ancient Port Warehouse soon. While I've tried to gather as much information for this guide as I could, it appears to be a pretty deep system. If I've missed anything you've discovered and would like to share, send us an email here!

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