Group or 1v1 combat

Rheve

Do you prefer group or 1v1 combat? Personally, I much prefer group combat. This is probably because I find 1v1 too complicated and have never been any good at it. I find raid defense very exciting, though I don't tend to see much of it in Ashtan.

On the other hand, group combat can also be confusing due to the speed text scrolls.

Vaehl

Needs more options: Depends on the size of the group. I prefer 2v2 > small skirmishes > 1v1 > raids. Small skirmishes can be up to like 4v4, but includes things like 2v3, 2v4, etc.

Sometimes I like small skirmishes more than 2v2, depends on my partner and other stuff.

Terra

Same here, pretty much. I hate large group combat, but I prefer small group fights to 1v1.

Don't know which option to pick!

Rheve

I can't edit to add more options, unfortunately. Just assume group combat is anything other than 1v1!

Iocun

Hard to say for me. In practice, I prefer 1v1, simply because I don't have any group to regularly participate in group combat with - and if so, only in things like raid defence with many people, some of whom very inexperienced, which never quite has the same intensity.

I agree with Vaehl that small groups fighting each other can be one of the most exciting things of all, if you have good partners: i.e. when you know they don't need your help to survive, but can act on their own, when you can coordinate in mid-combat without making any plans beforehand and without the need for anybody to give out orders, simply by reacting to what the other person does. I've partnered a few times with Tynil in party spars and it was always great because of that, even if runewarden+serpent is not as amazing a combo as some others would be.

So yeah, in an ideal world, I would prefer 2v2 and similar, like Vaehl. But in my current situation, I still get the most fun out of 1v1 fights. (This also has to do with class. Serpent is extremely versatile 1v1, but doesn't have quite as versatile team capabilities as some other classes.)

One option is still missing though: 1 v group! That one's really fun in the rare occasions you get to win alone against two or more!

(That being said, even huge group combat can have its charm. I really enjoy CTFs for their sheer craziness. It gives you the impression of real "armies" fighting each other, which no other form of combat produces. Nothing wrong with a zerg rush now and then, as long as I can stay in the background and just be one of the zergs and don't actually have to take any leadership responsibilities.)

Xer

Small skirmishes, but 1v1 combat is still amazingly good fun for me

Sohl

Small team battles > any other form of combat in Achaea.

Tanaar

I love evenly-matched raids. Hate huge groups though. Can't keep track of what's going on, and I don't have the system or arties to compensate

Achilles

Small Team battles the most fun if you have good partners.  Bigger group battles can be fun if you have a decent mix, leading a group of inexperienced combatants is incredibly frustrating though.  1v1 is okay but gets kind of stale since most classes only have 1-2 viable ways to get kills once you get past the loldamage tier.

Shunsui

Prefer 1v1, but smaller group combat is fun too (unless I'm against the dreaded occie/bm combo)

Delphinus

I'm a druid. Q.E.D.

Iocun

Even solo druid combat is large scale group combat anyways, due to those armies of bees.

Mizik

Groups against anything that doesn't have Absolve/Cath is pretty good.

Aepas

I prefer 1v1.

I suck at 1v1

Thaumas

I'd like 1v1 if it wasn't only knights and blademasters who did it. I have trouble finding any other class to even spar with. Besides, I hate monk 1v1. The only thing less exciting than that is bashing.

Lyr

Considering most anyone can be successful against a priest by setting mana priority sip, turning off focus/insomnia, or evading at 70% mana, I'm going with group as well, for the opposite reason as @Mizik's

Isaiah

There is just something about beating someone straight up althought I must admit group combat is quite a blast

Caeya

Definitetly 1 vs 1. It's only in these circumstances that you are able to determine the real capable combatants.

Tanris

There is something extremely satisfying about pitting your abilities against a single other person. Winning a high tier fight completely on your own merits while having noone there to bail you out if you mess up is probably the one thing which can still give me a rush in Achaean combat. Close behind this however is 2 v 2 with a good partner. I used to enjoy group combat quite a bit more, but the advent of the prone->spam bite metagame made it pretty uninteresting for the most part.  Hence I find large groups pretty tedious/uninteresting comparitively, but small group combat (particularly against people in lesser who have a clue) is extremely fun. (In other words, fighting team Jhui is mad fun when they're all around.)

Tvistor

I love 1 v 1 combat, but nothing is as intense as fighting 3 v 3 with competent teammates (or 3 v the world if you're really coordinated).

It depends a lot though. I despise extended LoS battles -- once you've taken the right precautions, it tends to dissolve into everyone trying to accurately gauge how much they can tank before needing to leave the area. Melee is great fun -- definitely a lot better than mashing a snipe macro.

On the other hand, 1 v 1 is often more balanced (barring artefacts). It can just be really difficult to find another group of opponents at your groups' tier with a class combination that isn't either a) going to instantly lose to you or b) utterly destroy you.

Thaumas

Tanris said:

There is something extremely satisfying about pitting your abilities against a single other person. Winning a high tier fight completely on your own merits while having noone there to bail you out if you mess up is probably the one thing which can still give me a rush in Achaean combat. Close behind this however is 2 v 2 with a good partner. I used to enjoy group combat quite a bit more, but the advent of the prone->spam bite metagame made it pretty uninteresting for the most part.  Hence I find large groups pretty tedious/uninteresting comparitively, but small group combat (particularly against people in lesser who have a clue) is extremely fun. (In other words, fighting team Jhui is mad fun when they're all around.)

Pitting=bad >:(

Tvistor

Yeah, I read it that way at first too.

Iocun

Lyr said:

Considering most anyone can be successful against a priest by setting mana priority sip, turning off focus/insomnia, or evading at 70% mana, I'm going with group as well, for the opposite reason as @Mizik's

Hey, I always wait with evading until I'm at 55% mana or so!

Terra

Iocun said:

One option is still missing though: 1 v group! That one's really fun in the rare occasions you get to win alone against two or more!

1 v group is definitely my favorite, especially as magi.  I kinda lumped that into small group combat, though.

Aktillum

I prefer group, just more fun. I do enjoy casual 1v1, too much coding involved for top tier.

Aerek

I used to enjoy group combat more, but that was mostly because I wasn't really that skilled at 1v1. As I've gotten better in the 1v1 department, I've come to enjoy the subtlety and complexities that exist in it more than group brawls. I expect once I hit my wall and don't feel I can progress much higher, I'll probably start to enjoy group combat more again.

Nellaundra

I suck at group combat mainly cause I can't bloody read it fast enough.  1v1 is pretty fun though, and I love going 2v2.  I need to start fighting with @Nim again.

Arador

Love 1vs1. Really satisfying getting a kill on a good oponent and knowing it was you. Group can be fun but once you get people who are really good at it, it becomes 1st hit wins. Nothing as bad as preparing to do a cool combo and then dying the second you enter because of some better combo and because the other team hit first. Most group fights are too short to be satisfying.

Vaehl

RIP 1v1 combat in Achaea. RIP those days were you go to NoT and people are taking turns dueling, trash talking, etc.

Kaie

I like fighting 1v1. It's just more interesting to me than a team since it's you and the other person, trying to learn eachother enough to predict their next action while developing your own. You can wing it more in 1v1 too, group requires some coordination and I tend to frequently end up getting stuck with "hangedman him!" or having to choose between initiating my own offense or falling into caring for my teammate. I usually know my limits but not so much others. Group can be fun sometimes but, I don't feel the same satisfaction if I teamed some one as I do when it's me vs them. You know you're better than them or at least they are dumber than you if you can do it on your own. Though, I do also agree with things being repetitious and sometimes boring, I feel that's a lot to do with how watered down our skills are now. We only have eachother to blame for it though, the opportunity arises to bring our classes to new heights (classleads) and we just focus on tripping others rather than stepping up our own.

Sidonia

I generally prefer 1v1 because it's what combat is balanced for. The fluidity of group melee is nice when you hit the stalemate wall in 1v1 but in general it's just focus-firing somebody with OP combos and removing them from the fight in a few seconds. That said, some of my favourite times were 2vXing people with Otha in Eleusis.