backing while firing worth it?

Poorboy

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Max Poorboy Power
I'm very new to the game, so I figure I'd ask the silly question: Is backing away from a mob while attacking worth doing? It seems that way to me, even when the mob gets within range. For instance, the Drones I shoot at seem to return fire less frequently when I back up than when I stay still. But, I heard in chat that backing up is a waste of time and only noobs do it. I could be very wrong about this and was wondering if anyone has taken the time to study it. Thanks.
 
Yes, backing up while shooting to stay out of danger is worth doing.
 
only as long as the mob is not near you yet. i dont think you gain much, if anything at all, if the mob is already hitting you and you still move back (we are not talking about kite hunting where you dont get any damage at all)
 
I'm very new to the game, so I figure I'd ask the silly question: Is backing away from a mob while attacking worth doing? It seems that way to me, even when the mob gets within range. For instance, the Drones I shoot at seem to return fire less frequently when I back up than when I stay still. But, I heard in chat that backing up is a waste of time and only noobs do it. I could be very wrong about this and was wondering if anyone has taken the time to study it. Thanks.

Backing up is good until they start hitting you, at that point it no longer matters as you are in their range.
If the mob your attacking is a melee mob, then they have to get close to you to hit. If you have enough range on your gun with a fairly decent reload, then that means you may get one or two more shots in before it reaches you.
This can decrease your costs in armor and healing (if you use either). At low levels it may not really matter as much, or if the creature is fast then you may not get your extra shot, however if you go the "heal naturally" route (stand around after a kill until you are full health again), then this could allow you to get more kills in before you need to stand around waiting or less trips to the revive machine.
 
Also consider goal. Armor won't tier as fast if you aren't tanking em

Also pay attention to radar. Backing in deep red could just agro other mob, especially during events like migration where a longtooth may be 10 feet behind you when you are killing that level 3 mob...
 
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Not sure about this but doesnt higher Agility also increase backwards walking speed?
In that case you may with time walk backwards at same or faster speed than some mobs and avoid being hit all together. But as I said, I am not sure about agility vs backwards walking speed.
 
Better keep an eye on the radar though so that you don't back into something or someone (in which case you might learn some new information about your family tree :cool:).
 
I run backwards until they reach me, and once they are close and hitting me I run in circles around them.

You can cut their attack speed in half that way but it's a pain in the ass. I do it mostly against very hard hitters I have no armor against... :thumbup:

GL
 
All depends on your goals,

Fast kill rates seem to be the key to stability according to MA, so if it is to avoid big hits that could kill you then yes it will help maintain higher kill rates, by the ability to survive, and the ability to maneuver backwards to the next mob while you kill, reducing travel times.

I personally notice a pretty good reduction of hits on larger mobs going backwards (mostly to reduce travel times) at agility of 97, esp with pills/speed buffs. Though it can be a pain with a pet in tow sometimes.

But if you want to skill evade, hps, first aid ect, to the point you wont need to back up, you should take the hits.

Which brings the other part, Armor decays return in loot, and decays have been reduced by a good margin, so I personally would say tier whatever armor/tank the hits for skills if the surviving part isn't the issue, which by using armor/fap shouldn't be. It should in theory help modify the loot returned a little higher than if without.
 
All depends on your goals,
. . .
But if you want to skill evade, hps, first aid ect, to the point you wont need to back up, you should take the hits.
. . .

I hadn't thought about the advantages of being hit. That's a good point.

Thanks all for the responses!
 
I've spent years doing "back then run in circles" and then I spent more years doing "back then stand still". but lately (3 - 4 months at most) I've noticed that the only difference I get by backing up is I waste some time. It could be my connection or comp or probably lots of reasons...

I say let 'em hit you, and the reason is, getting hit comes with a chance to gain Evade, which is the single thing that is doing me the most good out there gunning down the local wildlife now. The armor replacement/repair cost is worth it, even the healing cost is worth it in the long run (I've only very recently switched to using armor - I think whether or not it used to help, the changes that came with loot 2.0 mean it helps now).

Afterthought: Rocktropia's "dumbells" missions boosted my Combat Reflexes enough to make a noticeable difference in how often I got hit. It's in Muscle Park, glad I did it.
 
You will notice fruit and rocks while backing up, just an added bonus
 
High level wiles from cyrene are great this way. Just back up while shooting and you never get hit. For some reason they swim above you, so you don't get hit at all.
 
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