Battle Strategy: The Paralyzing Onslaught

I don’t see the Paralyzing Onslaught used often enough by other Dragon Knights which is a shame because it is one of the most useful skills in the Knight’s bag of tricks especially when you’re going adventuring solo.

I employ the Paralyzing Onslaught for the following purposes:

Escaping a horde of Monsters that’s trapped you

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I’ve lost count of the times this scenario has happened to me, being prone to rushing into battle only to realize too late that I am vastly outnumbered. The sensible thing to do when this happens is to beat a hasty retreat but sometimes this is not possible either because:

1. Too many enemies surround you, blocking all escape routes
2. Enemies and your surroundings prevent your escape (I call this the “stuck between a rock and a hard place scenario”)

For Dragon Knights, the Paralyzing Onslaught can be used as a means of quick escape but it must be done correctly or you’re going to find yourself back where you launched.

The Paralyzing Onslaught only requires 20 Rage points for use. Starting dry, you can reach the required amount of Rage with two Angry Strikes on the nearest enemies. With so many enemies taking a stab at you however, you’re probably going to reach the required amount just by standing there since a small amount of Rage is generated with any attack against your character but I wouldn't recommend it (who wants to stand there doing nothing while taking a pounding?).

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Once the proper amount of Rage is reached pick the enemy farthest from the ring of marauders attacking you, preferably with lots of space to run around in. All the enemies between your launch off point to your landing point will be stunned for 2-3 seconds lessening the numbers of those who will be going after you.

A word of advice though: don’t panic and just launch into the Paralyzing Onslaught because chances are you’re not going to get far and you’re going to find yourself pretty much where you were with your hit points dwindling while waiting for the skill to recharge. Chances are you’re probably going to be dead before you can use the Paralyzing Onslaught again.

Don’t launch-off half-cocked. Take a second to figure out where you’re going to be headed after you land to regroup.

Fighting a number of 2-3 Tough Opponents all at once (or facing down the Boss)

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There are occasions that you’re going to have to fight 2-3 (even 4) tough opponents and retreat is not an option (I haven’t participated in a PVP battle so I’m not sure how useful it is against other players). Simple math will tell you that just standing there exchanging blows with monsters that can dish out high amounts of damage is not the wise thing to do even with potions thrown into the mix.

Sun Tzu, author of the classic The Art of War, said that mobility is key and that has never been more true here. Using the Paralyzing Onslaught, employ a hit and run tactic. Tear at your enemies’ hit points bit by bit and eventually they will drop dead. It will take some time especially for opponents that have high hit points but it is the most effective method of dispatching them without taking a lot of damage yourself.

The way to do it is to raise your Rage to the required level to be able to use the Paralyzing Onslaught skill (either by doing 1-2 Angry Strikes or using the Furious Battle Cry). Get your opponents to chase you until they line up then use the Onslaught hitting all your opponents (really useful when faced with 2-3 monsters but a bit more challenging with 4). After landing, use a couple of Angry Strikes at the enemy nearest you to make sure you maintain the required level of Rage then high tail it out of there. Two’s the optimum number of strikes you can land before you need to run and avoid retaliation (victims of the Paralyzing Onslaught will only stay stunned for about 2-3 seconds). More than that and you’re sure to receive damage when the uglies come to.

While waiting for the skill to recharge you basically execute evasive manoeuvres as your opponents chase you (make sure to set them up for the next attack). Once the skill is ready execute like before and repeat as necessary.

The tactic is basically the same for Bosses except for the really nasty ones.

How about you guys? Got any tactic you’d care to share?