Targeting, positioning, and survival
Health and armor help, but dangerous attacks need dodges, defensive skills, or movement. In a party, stay close enough to receive support.
🎯 Targeting
For aiming, think of skills as requiring a target, usable without a target, or aimed at a ground location. A small reticle on the skill icon identifies ground targeting. Check tooltips and try skills to learn which require a selected target.
| Type | How it works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Target required | Acts on the hard target selected by clicking or pressing Tab. Cannot activate without a target. | Skills such as Phantasmal Berserker |
| Usable without a target | Can be used without selecting a target, firing in the direction your character or camera faces. With a target selected, it aims toward that target. | Fireball, cone attacks, and directional movement skills |
| Ground-targeted | Use the mouse to position the area of effect. Snap Ground Target to Current Target moves the marker to your selected target’s location. | Many area attacks and combo fields |
An enemy highlighted by hovering over it or aiming at it in the center of the screen, without explicitly selecting it.
A target explicitly selected by clicking or using Tab. Targeted skills act on it. Click empty space to clear it.
⌨️ Tab and mouse targeting
Tab cycles through nearby enemies; Shift+Tab cycles the other way. You can also click an enemy directly, which can help select a specific foe in a crowded fight.
🔴 Recommended ground targeting mode
In Options (F11) → General Options, set Ground Targeting to Fast with Range Indicator. Hold the skill key to see the area, then release it to cast. This lets you check placement without a separate confirmation click.
⚙️ Recommended: turn Autotargeting off
With Autotargeting enabled, using a skill automatically selects a nearby enemy. Movement skills can behave differently with a target selected, sending you toward an unintended enemy. Turning it off is recommended.
🔗 Combo fields and finishers
Combos occur where a field and finisher interact. Use a blast finisher inside a fire or water field, for example, or send a projectile finisher through one. Some projectile finishers trigger only a percentage of the time.
⚔️ How enemies choose targets
Enemies follow their own targeting rules. Ordinary enemies usually respond to distance and threat. The Taunt condition exists, but cannot force a boss with a breakbar to attack you.
📍 Proximity
Most ordinary enemies attack the nearest player. Fighting in melee often draws their attention.
🏃 Keep enemies together
When players scatter, enemies can spread out too. Drawing them toward one area lets the party concentrate area attacks.
🔒 Boss targeting rules
Raid and fractal bosses have their own targeting mechanics. Some select targets by attributes such as health or Toughness. Learn the rules for the encounter.
🗺️ Choosing your position
“Ranged means safe” is an unreliable rule. Enemies can fire projectiles, place area attacks at range, or use mechanics aimed specifically at distant players. Depending on the fight, being close can be safer.
| Situation | Useful position | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frontal cone attack | Close to the side or behind the boss | Stay outside the frontal attack while continuing to deal damage |
| A ring-shaped attack with a safe center | Inside the marked safe area | Read the attack indicator and confirm that the center is clear |
| Ranged projectile barrage | Close range or behind cover | Use terrain to block projectiles aimed at distant players |
| Receiving party boons | With the party, inside the support skills’ range | Boon range and target count vary by skill |
| Persistent damaging area | Move out promptly | Remaining inside causes repeated damage |
In fractals and raids, players usually stack close together to share boons and area healing. Ranges vary by skill, so follow the group’s position and spread out when a mechanic requires it.
If a boss focuses its attacks in one direction, stacking behind it or to its side can avoid frontal attacks while keeping the group together.
🗡️ Positional bonuses
Some skills, including several Thief skills, gain extra damage or effects when used from the side or behind. Look for “flanking” or “behind” in the tooltip.
🛡️ Defensive positioning
Read attack animations and move or dodge before the hit lands. Changing position at the right time can avoid many boss attacks.
💚 Surviving with active defense
Defensive stats cannot let you survive every attack. If a large hit keeps defeating you, first check your dodge timing, defensive skills, and position. Also check that your gear suits your level. For more room for error while solo, add survival skills or defensive stats.
🔄 Time your dodge
Dodge just before the dangerous hit lands. Dodging as soon as a warning appears can leave you exposed when the attack arrives. Vigor restores endurance faster, helping you prepare your next dodge.
🛡️ Use defensive skills
Use tools such as Block, Invulnerability, and Stability when they are needed. Even a long-cooldown defensive skill has no value if you never use it before being defeated.
🏃 Kiting
While solo, moving away can keep you out of melee attacks. Some enemies can still follow with charges or leaps. Keep attacking from range while watching the enemy’s movements and nearby foes.
🧱 Line of sight
Pillars and walls can block ranged projectiles by breaking line of sight (LoS). Use cover to draw a troublesome ranged enemy closer.
Party boons such as Protection, Regeneration, Aegis, and Resistance help you survive. You must be within the supporting skill’s range to receive its effects. Range and target count vary: Guardian’s Symbol of Protection, for example, has a base radius of 180.
Wandering away from the group makes it easier to miss boons and healing. Unless you have a separate role or need to spread, fight where the party is gathered. Move into supportive ground effects when you see them.
⚡ Use consumables
Food and utility consumables can provide stats that help survival. Consider them for difficult open-world areas or champion enemies.
🎯 Avoid pulling too much
Several enemies at once can be overwhelming. Use ranged attacks or pulls to bring enemies over in manageable numbers instead of jumping into a crowd.
🔁 Keep attacking, save the right tools
Use offensive skills when you have the opportunity, and time dodges, defenses, and crowd control for when they are needed. Watch the enemy so you do not spend a defensive tool just before a dangerous attack.