Matters of perception

[Shratisfaction]

Often when Im in a skirmish type battle, I view all of my suroundings then I envision what it would look like from a birds eye view. I use this info to predict and plan my personal movments.
Do any of you do any other sort of vision/perception tricks to help with movment/ weapons skills?

[RedBeard]

OK.. when I am not fighting well, I just chase you and get killed a lot.

When I have felt most "in the groove" It has been due to un-focusing: taking in the whole of everything and not letting any one action take your whole attention. By staring at nothing and listening, while moving your head to take in as much as possible in sweeping motions (not quick furtive movements), I find that I can keep a pretty good groove on, and take on a couple of fighters pretty effectively.

I still find that this sometimes lacks a lot of depth, and even while in a good groove, javs and arrows often spoil an otherwise good moment. I don't think this is a lack of the visualization technique, just a lack of my ability to implement it.

RB

[Dabbanoth]

I like fighting support to a side or portion of a line that might need it, i look for a point that may not necisarily be weak, but outnumbered or outclassed by the other side.

[Aegis]

I like fighting support to a side or portion of a line that might need it, i look for a point that may not necisarily be weak, but outnumbered or outclassed by the other side.

ya thats a ton of fun, crashing into an uneven side and turning the tides is an amazing experience...


i must say, i need a swivel for my head or a helmet, surprise arrows to the nose ruin more fights for me than anything else i think...13 of them this last beltaine, lol. I still had a wicked blast.

[Soo Ma Tai]

For me, awareness comes down to relaxing and letting my instincts guide me. This is when I am in my groove and am the most effective.

[Kyrian]

On the melee scale, I'm very much in an analytical mode. I evaluate forces and threats on both a threat level and distance from me. I see where there are gaps (and there always are) and the people who are passing into those gaps. I scan for major "power players", i.e., the ones who can tear up your side if you give them a chance, and note where they are and where they're moving to. I watch the general sides and how the battle is developing. For example, I'll see our left side collapsing and try to get some people over there to slow them down. If I see that we have overwhelming local superiority, i.e., an area where we outnumber the other side in combat power and/or numbers (they're not necessarily the same), then I try to direct them to take advantage of that. If I had to use an analogy, then I'd probably use some of the approaches you might use in a real-time-strategy game: Identify the enemy's locations, gauge the enemy's capabilities, determine the strengths and weakness of both sides, apply combat power to the enemy's weaknesses, and avoid exposing your weaknesses.

At an individual level, say when there are multiple opponents and I'm the only one left, I tend to shut off the analysis and let the "lizard brain", i.e., instinctual and sensory responses take over. I can recall several times when I could not easily remember what I did only the way it felt.