Mounted Combat (Jousting)

Jousting

Currently, two Argent Tournament quests require jousting - formal mounted combat with a lance - on the Argent Tournament Grounds: The Grand Melee (a Valiant daily) and Among the Champions (a Champion daily). Two others require a deadlier version in the Court of Bones in southern Icecrown: At the Enemy's Gates (a Valiant daily) and Battle Before the Citadel (a Champion daily).

To become a champion in the Argent Tournament or to make serious inroads in the Valiant or Champion daily quests, you must learn to joust. Jousting has its quirks but is worth the time to master. (If you've fought on dragonback in the Oculus or around Wyrmrest Temple, jousting won't feel totally unfamiliar.)

• Your usual class-specific skills are unavailable.
• Your gear is irrelevant.
• You cannot joust on your usual mount; you must use a specially designated mount for this form of combat.
• For practical purposes, your health is replaced by the health of your mount.
• Your usual action bars are replaced with a new one whose commands are also tied to the number keys on your keyboard.

The Commands

Only five commands (keys 1-5) matter. (Duel - the 6 key - isn't used in questing and can be ignored.)

1. Thrust - Melee (close-range) attack for 3250 damage
2. Shield-Breaker - Ranged attack for 2000 damage
   • Removes one layer of Defend (i.e., one shield)
   • Wider range than Charge
   • Shares cooldown with Charge and Defend
3. Charge - Moving attack from medium range for 8500 damage
   • Most damaging attack by far
   • Removes one layer of Defend (i.e., one shield)
   • Narrower range than Shield-Breaker
   • Shares cooldown with Shield-Breaker and Defend
4. Defend - Reduces incoming damage by 30% per use
   1. One layer = 1 red shield = 30% damage reduction
   2. Two layers = 2 orange shields = 60% damage reduction
   3. Three layers = 3 green shields = 90% damage reduction
   • Stacks up to 3 times
   • One layer (one shield) is removed by opponent's Charge or Shield-Breaker
   • Shares cooldown with Charge and Shield-Breaker
5. Refresh Mount - Fully heals "your mount" (effectively you)
   • Cannot be used in combat
   • Longest cooldown (one minute)

Jousting Tips

• You can't joust without a lance! You can't even get on a jousting mount without having a lance equipped.
• Thanks to some sloppy development work, you are probably carrying around two lances. (Every quest that requires a lance tries to give you another - and then complains if it can't.) Equip either one; they are identical except for the names.
• Always start with three green shields (i.e., three layers of Defend).
• Target and challenge the stationed valiants or champions from behind: You won't have to turn to start fighting.
• Keep your eye on your opponent! At busy times, the jousting ring can get very crowded, and it's easy to lose sight of the NPC you're fighting, especially after a Charge. If you get confused, look for the red lettering that marks your target.
• Try to stay in the ring or at least close to it. If you get too far away, your opponent will despawn, and you'll have to start the battle over. (Occasionally, alas, this will happen no matter what you do, but at least you want to minimize the chances.) If combat takes you outside the ring, work your way back in.
• Avoid the fences, banners, and other obstacles Blizzard has left unhelpfully around the ring. They hinder your movements and mess up your camera.
• For these and other reasons, make a habit of backing up slowly while meleeing. (This keeps your opponent in front of you, where you can see and hit it, and counteracts the tendency to Charge out of bounds.) Aim for the center of the ring or, if it's crowded, an open space nearby.
• Remember to Refresh Mount between bouts.

Recommended Battle Sequence

1. As soon as the fight starts (generally), and periodically thereafter, your foe will attempt to retreat from melee range to Charge distance. The moment the NPC moves, use Thrust (the 1 key) once. If your timing is good, it's a free hit.

2. The instant your opponent reaches Charge range, Charge (the 3 key). This will reduce your opponent's shields, do damage, and (unless your latency is bad) prevent a Charge against you.

   • Certain NPCs occasionally will retreat a short distance, Shield-Break, and close, preventing you from Charging. If that happens more than once, do the same thing - Shield-Breaker and close - but do it first. (Some players use this technique all the time, but it drags out the joust and is riskier than Charging. Trading your Shield-Breaker for your opponent's Charge is a losing proposition.)

3. As your Charge carries you through your opponent, Thrust again.

4. Use the Charge momentum to loop around and return to melee range as quickly as you can.

5. As you loop, as soon as you are again facing your opponent, click Shield-Breaker (the 2 key), and continue to close.

6. As soon as you reach melee range, refresh Defend; repeat if needed to regain three green shields.

   • Never use Defend as your opponent moves away. Since it shares a cooldown with Shield-Breaker and Charge, it could prevent you from Charging and leave you vulnerable to your opponent's Charge.

7. Whenever you are in melee range, spam Thrust (the 1 key). Since it does not share a cooldown with any of the other abilities, it can and should be used as often as possible.

8. While meleeing, move slowly backward toward the center of the ring. This keeps your opponent inbounds, in sight, and in front of you.

9. Repeat steps 1-8 until your opponent is defeated.

   • Steps 1, 3, and 5 will not always work but are worth trying for the extra damage they add. Just ignore any error messages ("too close", "too far", "not ready") they generate.

Combat in the Court of Bones

Currently, two Argent Tournament quests take you to the Court of Bones in southern Icecrown: At the Enemy's Gates (a Valiant daily) and Battle Before the Citadel (a Champion daily). Both begin at the camp [49,71] just south of Corp'rethar, the Horror Gate. On the Icecrown map, it's at the bottom of the "E" in "CORP'RETHAR". (See map.)

• Phase warning: These quests are significantly easier with help. However, the Court of Bones is a "phased" area. Even people who are in your group will not be able to help you with mounted combat there unless they are on one of the two relevant quests. Otherwise, they won't even be able to see the camp, your foes, or you. You will see their dots on your minimap - but not them.

You must use the mounts stabled at the camp, but the basic mechanics of mounted combat in the Court of Bones are generally similar to jousting on the Argent Tournament Grounds:

• Your usual class-specific skills are unavailable.
• Your gear is irrelevant.
• Your health is basically replaced by the health of your mount.
• You use the same five commands (keyed to numbers 1-5 and displayed on a replacement action bar):
  1. Thrust
  2. Shield-Breaker
  3. Charge
  4. Defend
  5. Refresh Mount.

There are three significant differences, however.

• Things are scaled up. Mounted combatants' health is greater, but your attacks do much more damage:
  1. Thrust does 15,000 damage (not 3250).
  2. Shield-Breaker does 10,000 damage (not 2000).
  3. Charge does a whopping 45,000 damage (not 8500) but has a longer cooldown.
• Combat is not limited to one on one. It is easy to get swarmed by multiple creatures, but you can also bring a friend or two to gang up on hostile targets.
• A battle does not stop if you get dismounted. Combat is to the death!

Tactical Advice

• Try to have three green shields (i.e., three layers of Defend) before engaging an officer (lieutenant or commander).
• Remember to Refresh Mount whenever possible and necessary.
• Don't stand still! While meleeing, make a habit of slowly backing up toward the center of the road or a safe spot to the side. This will keep your target in front of you, trample any attacking footmen, and at least tend to get you away from the most dangerous area. Make sure your route is clear!
• Before targeting an officer, clear the immediate area of any scouts that are likely to aggro. (Since normal battle movement will kill the footmen, you don't really have to clear them.)
• Before targeting a commander, either kill the nearby lieutenants, or be careful to pull the commander in a clear direction.
• If you get swarmed (by anything other than footmen, at least), ride back to the camp. You may lose some of the pursuers, and you can switch to a fresh, unwounded mount.
• If you get dismounted, run away - back toward the camp, up the stairs, around a wall, or just away from the officers. If you're a druid or a shaman with an instant shapeshift, change form and run.
• If you get dismounted, but your armor is good, and your foe is seriously wounded, you *may* be able to pull out a victory with your normal battle skills. Try a fighting retreat, and hope for the best. (Don't forget to swap your weapons!)

Your Foes

Boneguard Lieutenants, Boneguard Commanders, and Boneguard Footmen are clustered south [51,78] on the cobblestone path (the southerly gray-brown path on the map), just north of a large staircase [51,79 - 52,83]. Boneguard Scouts are scattered all over the Court of Bones.

Boneguard Footman - Level 80 Undead

• Health: 37,800
• Classification: Cannon fodder
• Groups of footmen surround each of the mounted officers (lieutenants and commanders).
• Footmen do melee damage only.
• While mounted, you can kill footmen simply by running over them.
• Don't bother using Thrust, Shield-Breaker, or Charge against footmen. Thrust and Shield-Break are inefficient against footmen, and Charge wastes a cooldown.
• If a group of footmen attack while you are fighting a lieutenant or a commander, simply backing up a few steps will dispose of the footmen without interrupting your primary fight.
• Summary: Trivial unless you forget to move.

Boneguard Scout - Level 80 Undead (Elite)

• Health: 20,000
• Classification: Pest
• Scouts are the flying gargoyles scattered throughout the Court of Bones.
• Scouts have a ranged attack - Necrution - whose most serious effect is to reduce your shields.
• Use Shield-Breaker against scouts. Two Shield-Breaks are enough to kill a scout.
• Don't bother using Defend between Shield-Breaks; it will simply give the scout time for another attack, which will negate your Defend, anyway.
• If a scout drops low enough for you to Charge, do so! A single Charge will kill a scout.
• If you aggro a scout, kill it immediately; otherwise, its attacks will leave you defenseless against the mounted officers.
• Summary: Easily and quickly soloed; dangerous only when you are occupied with a mounted opponent.

Boneguard Lieutenant - Level 80 Undead (Elite)

• Health: 75,000
• Classification: Quirk mounted opponent
• Lieutenants have an odd set of mounted-combat skills:
  1. A Sundering Thrust that removes a layer of Defend
  2. No Shield-Breaker
  3. A lesser Charge
  4. A single layer of Defend.
• Thus, lieutenants are typically identified by their single red shield icons.
• To start a fight with a lieutenant, Charge only if you have a clear path. For a safer pull, use Shield-Breaker.
• The Recommended Battle Sequence works against lieutenants, too, but you may prefer a simpler routine:
  1. Use Shield-Breaker to pull the lieutenant toward you and away from help.
  2. Slowly retreat toward the center of the road or a safe spot to the side.
  3. Spam Thrust as soon as you are in melee range; continue until your target is dead.
  4. Refresh Defend as often as the cooldown allows.
• Summary: Easy to solo and trivial to duo. The major danger in killing a lieutenant lies in aggroing others, especially a commander.

Boneguard Commander - Level 80 Undead (Elite)

• Health: 250,000
• Classification: Mounted miniboss
• Commanders seem to share a champion's skills:
  1. Thrust
  2. Shield-Breaker
  3. Charge
  4. Defend.
• Additionally, commanders have a nasty aura - Scourge Banner Aura - that makes getting swarmed particularly dangerous.
• Like valiants, champions, and you, a commander can stack up to three layers of Defend.
• The easy way to tell commanders and lieutenants apart is that a commander is typically surrounded by three green shields, while a lieutenant is limited to one red shield.
• To start a fight with a commander, Charge only if you have a clear path. For a safer pull, use Shield-Breaker.
• If alone, follow the Recommended Battle Sequence, and be careful not to aggro others.
• If you get swarmed, run away or die.
• Commanders in particular are extremely vindictive: They may chase you out of the area or even out of the zone.
• Killing a commander is not required for At the Enemy's Gates (the Valiant daily). Try to avoid them unless you're doing Battle Before the Citadel (the Champion daily).
• Summary: Soloing a commander takes skill, luck, and time. If you lack confidence in your jousting skills, bring a friend or two.