What is an AoE Party?
An AoE party is a full party (6 people) that uses AoE's (area of effect spells) to damage multiple enemies in order to maximize experience gained.
Why Do I Want One?
Experience in DOMO is not just gained after defeating a mob like in other MMO's, you get exp while you fight a mob. So every time you hit an enemy you're getting exp. This means the more hp a monster has, the more exp it will give you. This also means the more mobs you hit with one skill (an AoE to be exact) the faster you will gain exp.
The Roles of an AoE Party
The Tank
Basic Info About the Tank Role:
The tank is exactly what it is in other games – someone who takes damage so the rest of the party doesn't have to. The tank in DOMO is the Mercenary. Mercenary skills can also be subbed on other jobs, so other jobs can tank if their stats are built for tanking and they have both Mercenary skill trees subbed, as well as Heavy Armor and Spear equip. A typical stat build for tanking is 2 durability 1 agility per level.
Important Skills:
- Wicked Windmill - your first (and for a long time only) AoE taunting skill. It does damage to surrounding enemies and will draw aggro/hate even if it misses.
- Mock Monsters - pick this up at 29 from the Ax tree (you will need to level up Taunt to get it - it's on the 2nd page). This is another AoE taunt skill that doesn't do damage, but draws more aggro than Wicked Windmill. You will want to alternate between Mock and WW to maximize your aggro.
- Circle Formation - this is a defense buff that buffs the entire party. How strong the buff is depends on how many people you have in your party - so having a full team of 6 will make your formations much stronger.
- Crane Formation - this is another party buff that buffs magic attack - which will help your AoEs do more damage to the mobs. Since most (though not all) AoEs use magic attack, this formation is more beneficial to use than Arrow Formation - though if you have the skill points, I recommend getting both. Only use Arrow Formation if you don't have any magical classes in your party (so pretty much if you just have dancers - as their strongest AoEs are physical). Note that Crane and Arrow Formations do not stack.
- Dustpan Formation - this is required to level up in order to gain access to Crane Formation. This increases the party's magic defense - which is not useful in most circumstances because most mobs you will be fighting are physical. It is worth mentioning however that you may end up in a situation where you need it. Note that Circle and Dustpan Formations do not stack.
- Taunt - this skill is required to level up to gain access to Mock Monsters. It is a single target taunt skill that does no damage, and it is found in the Ax tree as opposed to Spear (where most of your skills as a party Tank will be coming from). It is useful to level this up past the required level for Mock, as you can use it to grab stragglers that you missed with either Mock or WW.
The Doc
Basic Info About the Doc Role:
The doc is your healer – and is an abbreviation of the job name Doctor – which is the healer of DOMO. Doctors use a combination of their skill trees (Medical Treatment and Croakus Pocus) to buff and heal the party. The Doctor uses consumable items called Frogs to cast a lot of their skills. Some common builds for Doctor are 2 wis 1 agi, pure wis, or 2 agi 1 wis.
Important Skills:
- First Aid - the Doc's staple heal. Level this up as often as possible.
- Frog's Leg Soup - a fast casting heal that consumes a frog. Not required to get, but useful as an emergency heal.
- Regeneration - a HP regen/heal over time buff. Level this up as often as possible.
- Born Again - resurrects a dead player. Not required to get higher than level 1 unless you want to get Ultimate Healing.
- Inner Magic - a self-only MP regen buff (great for subbing on other classes). Obtained at level 33.
- Greater Healing - a party heal. Obtained at level 24.
- Prolong Life - consumes a frog to increase the target's maximum HP. Level this up as often as possible.
- Frog Forcefield - consumes a frog to increase the target's physical defense. Level this up as often as possible.
- Fantastic Frog's Leg Soup - a party heal that consumes a frog. Also not required to level up, but is another useful heal.
Not-So-Important Skills:
- Frog Force - consumes a frog to increase the target's physical attack. Not required, and is in my opinion a waste of skill points.
- Yin Frog - consumes a frog to increase the target's magical attack. Fencers and Wizards will love you if you have it, but it is another waste of skill points unless you don’t plan on getting equip or Ultimate.
- Yang Frog - consumes a frog to increase the target's magical defense. Useful, but not required. Only level up if you have extra points to spend at higher levels (like 50+).
- Ultimate Healing - requires level 5 Born Again, instant-cast AoE heal that heals for a large amount with a long cooldown. Not required, but a fun skill and “Oh !@#$” button.
- Detox - removes poison and makes the target immune to poisons for a short time. Level this up twice to make it cast on the entire party. Not required. Only really useful in certain situations.
- Purify - removes all good and bad statuses affecting the enemy (useful in pvp). Pretty much ONLY useful in pvp…
The Muse
Basic Info About the Muse Role:
The muse is the buffer of the party – and is an abbreviation of the job name Musician. Party Musicians only use skills from the Musical Magic skill tree (Pet Sounds are for solo muse). If you are a muse and want to be a party muse but have pet songs, I recommend reskilling (you can reskill for free up to level 15 at an NPC in the dojo in Eversun City) as you will need all the skill points you can get your hands on to level up all your party songs. Note that Musicians can't move while casting songs and their songs can (and probably will) draw aggro from any non-engaged enemies. Common builds for the Muse are 2 wis 1 agi or 2 agi 1 wis.
Important Skills:
- Mystic Mantra – the most important song the Muse gets. This increases MP regeneration for the party. Level it as often as possible. Note that this does not increase the Muse’s own MP regeneration.
- Transfusion Tune (Fuse) – the 2nd most important skill the Muse gets. Obtained at level 29. This skill transfers the Muse’s HP into MP and gives it to the target. It is helpful for the Muse to have Prolong Life cast on them, so they have more HP to fuse with.
- Courageous Chorus – this song increases the physical and magical attack of the party. This should be the next skill you upgrade after Mantra and Fuse, as it makes your AoEs deal more damage to the mobs.
- Song of Concentration – this song increases the accuracy and magical accuracy of the party. This is another important song because it allows your AoEs to hit enemies more often.
- Diligent Ditty – this song increases the evasion and magical evasion of the party. This is especially helpful for pullers and tanks as it helps them avoid taking damage. Try and make sure the puller is in range before casting.
- Mars’ Song – this is the first “long song” that the Muse gets at level 30. It increases the physical attack, accuracy, and evasion of the party, and it stacks with all of the short Muse songs. Note that the long songs don’t need to be cast as often as the short ones.
- Hymn to the Goddess – this “long song” is obtained at level 31. It increases the magical attack, magical accuracy, and magical evasion of the party, and it stacks with all of the short Muse songs.
- Echo Guard – this “long song” is obtained at level 32. This song reflects damage and spells back at the enemies.
Not-So-Important Skills:
- Super Sonic Swipe – this is a very powerful AoE skill that Muse can choose to get. It does a lot of damage (and can grab a lot of hate). It is really up to you if you want to get this skill. I recommend choosing between this and Instrument equip.
- Pet Songs – this is including anything in the Pet Songs tree - rather than describe each skill in detail. If you plan to be a strictly party Muse, getting any pet songs is a risk that you will not have enough skill points to level your party songs up at proper intervals. That isn’t to say you CAN’T, just that I wouldn’t recommend it. What I sometimes did was only get the pet HP and MP heals and only make them level 1. This does set back your skills a little, but it also makes it so you don’t have to spend money to heal your pet at the pet shop. I do not recommend getting any of the pet buffs.
The Puller
Basic Info About the Puller Role:
Another important job, but one almost no one wants to do. This job does the most amount of work for the least amount of experience. The puller's job is to “pull” mobs to the party. They do this by using a bow (if not a Hunter, buy a beginner bow from the NPC in the summoning pool) and attacking mobs, bringing them to where the party is standing. Doing this sometimes puts the puller outside of exp-sharing range of the party – which decreases how much exp they get. Using a bow helps minimize how often this happens.
What Jobs Make Good Pullers?
Technically any job can be a puller, but it is recommended that the puller be wearing Clothing (such as Thief, Hunter, Martial Artist), Light Armor (Blademaster, Fencer), or even Heavy Armor (though it is not recommended as it lowers your attack speed). So if you are on a class that naturally wears Robes or Dancerwear, you should level up Blademaster/Thief to level 30 for Light Armor/Clothing equip before pulling (or be very very careful). Jobs that are considered pullers (unless subbing tank/AoEs/muse/doc) are Thief, Hunter, Martial Artist, Commoner, Merchant, Witch Doctor, Blademaster, and Fencer (before 22-23+ when they get AoEs).
The AoEs
Basic Info About the AoE Role:
The AoEs are the DPS (damage dealers) of the party. They are the ones who get – and therefore share – the exp in the group. If not careful, AoEs will get aggro a lot – it is best to wait for the tank to use Wicked Windmill or Mock Monsters BEFORE using any AoEs.
What Jobs Are Considered AoEs?
Jobs that start out with AoEs (meaning having them by the time they hit 15) are Wizard and Dancer. Wizard AoEs can be subbed on Shaman (Shaman does start getting their own around 30) without any equip (and possibly Witch Doctor – it was in AG DOMO, but not in IC DOMO) but uses scrolls – which can get expensive unless you farm them yourself. Dancer uses AoEs from both their skill trees – the ones from Different Dances are weaker, but are more spammable. Fencer gets AoEs in their 20's and is considered a full-fledged AoE by level 25 usually. Shaman is considered a full AoE without Wizard subs at around level 30.
Important Side-Note:
Having one or two AoEs does not make you an AoE/DPS. You must have at least 3 AoEs of comparable level to you (meaning not all level 1 AoEs when you're in a level 30 area) to be considered an AoE. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people with just the Different Dances Dancer AoEs (sometimes only level 1) subbed and no other AoEs and try to pass themselves off as a DPS. Likewise the puller-only classes do get AoEs, but are not considered DPS because they get two at the most.
Partying For Dummies
What to do as a Tank
- Always keep at LEAST two armor sets on you at all times. Make sure the armor is the highest you can wear (e.g. don’t wear level 15 armor set at level 25).
- If you are lower than 29, Wicked Windmill is your only AoE taunt skill, so you want to time it appropriately to maximize your aggro and limit how often your party members (read: aoers) will take aggro.
- At 29 you get Mock Monsters from the Ax tree (level up Taunt to level 3 to obtain it – it’s on the 2nd page), and it becomes a little easier to obtain – and more importantly keep – hate. Try to avoid using Mock and Windmill in succession with one another – try to use one while the other is in the middle of its cooldown.
- Try to wait for the puller to come back and for most of the mobs to be within range before using either Mock or Windmill. If you notice someone has aggro, use your judgment before using a skill. If the puller is really close, just wait for them before using a skill. If the puller is still far away, then use the skill to get your hate back.
- Your forms (Circle & Crane Formations) are party buffs that need to be up at all times. Try to make sure the puller gets at least Circle.
What to do as a Doc
- Keep Regeneration, Prolong Life, and Frog Forcefield on the tank and puller at all times. If the Muse is above level 29 (or is subbed and has fuse), put Prolong Life on them as well. You may buff the aoes and yourself, but it is not necessary and wastes valuable MP until you get to level 33 and obtain Inner Magic.
- First Aid and Frog’s Leg Soup are your staple heals. FLS is for emergencies as it heals for a lot more and casts almost instantly. Greater Heal is obtained at 24 and is useful for if 2 or more party members need to be healed (be wary of spamming this skill too much as it does cost more mana than First Aid).
- The puller will move out of your range a lot, but it is important to know when to move and when NOT to move to heal them. Most of the time, the puller will come back immediately if they need to be healed (or will heal themselves) so if they aren’t in immediate danger of dying, just stay by the rest of the party until the puller is in range.
- Before getting Inner Magic at 33, your MP is precious and should not be wasted. Leveling up Shaman for Spring Cleaning is helpful, and you may end up needing to ask for assistance healing while you sit to regain mana. This is normal, though at 33 you shouldn’t ever need to sit again.
What to do as a Muse
- Keep Mystic Mantra up at all times! I cannot stress this enough! If you run out of MP yourself and need to sit, do Mantra first and THEN sit until the cooldown for Mantra is up and then cast it again. This is how you regain mana as a Muse if you don’t have Inner subbed and before you get Transfusion Tune (fuse).
- Cycle through your four short buffs repeatedly until insane. When you get your long buffs starting at 30, cast Mantra FIRST, then do two long songs, Mantra again, then the final long song. Then back to repeating your short buffs until the long songs wear off.
- Fuse priority goes as such (unless directed otherwise): Doc > Tank > You > AoEs. AoEs can take turns sitting, you can sit in-between Mantras. Doc shouldn’t ever have to sit if you have fuse, and Tank actually CAN’T sit, and if they have no MP then they can’t Mock/Windmill or keep Circle up.
What to do as an AoE
- No matter what class you are, the rules here apply the same. First off, always WAIT before using your AoEs until the Tank uses either Windmill or Mock. If you don’t, you will get aggro and possibly die. After the Tank uses either Windmill or Mock, use 2-4 AoEs at most (Acid Rain Scroll counts as 2 in this case). It is not recommended to spam all of your AoEs as this will greatly increase your chances of getting aggro.
- If you do get aggro, do NOT just stand still and get biffed in the face repeatedly like a dummy. You can kite the mobs around the tank in a circle – but do not get too far away from the tank! You want to stay close to the tank so that when their Mock/Windmill is off cooldown they can get aggro back. I repeat: do NOT stand still when you have aggro! Kite the mobs in a circle around the tank!
What to do as a Puller
- Buy a beginner bow and some arrows (beginner bow is purchased by the sprite NPC in the summoning pool). Trying to pull without these is not recommended. Pulling puts you out of exp range a lot of the time, and using a bow makes sure that doesn’t happen as long – it also makes pulling faster.
- Never stop pulling! Don’t try to stand by the party and AoE or 1v1 some mobs. If there is a mob not pulled: go pull it! Consistent pullers are good pullers. Your exp may suck compared others, but your party will love you. If you want better exp, don’t level a puller job (or go solo or sub something on it like tank or AoEs).
Where to Party and When
Casks (Inn Basement)
You will need to do the Mysterious Elder’s quest in order to unlock access to the Inn Basement. You can also have someone bring you into the Inn.
Be wary as Caskmasters hit very hard – many people die on their way to their party’s location. The stairs are also treacherous and glitchy. There are a few tricks to navigating the stairs, such as turning WASD off or walking in a zig-zag or hugging the wall.
There are two favorited areas to party at in Casks – VIP and Platform. Platform is exactly that – a platform. It’s hard to miss, and a Giant Caskmaster boss spawns there occasionally so be wary when partying there. VIP is a room way in the back of Casks with a large amount of mobs and no stairs nearby to traverse while pulling.
Premonition will cancel out Boozy Vapor, though it will also spam an annoying message into the chat every time a Cask tries to cast it on you.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 15 (16 or 18 if Doc) before attempting Casks. You can stay at Casks until 22 before exp starts to get really bad.
MBoPs (Phoenix Tower)
Phoenix Tower is located in Swan Lake Basin – use Eversun North gate to get there fastest (or if you don’t have flying). MBoPs (Male Birds of Paradise) are located on the 3rd floor of the tower.
Two teams can share the MBoP room (one on each side of the pillar in the center pulling half the room), and one can be in the hallway. If both sides of MBoPs and hallway are taken, you can try MBoP/FBoP room on the 4th floor (note that this is more dangerous because Female Birds of Paradise are magic attack).
** It is recommended that players be at least level 20 before attempting MBoPs. You can stay here until 27 before exp starts to get really bad.
Neptune’s Temple
Neptune’s Temple is located in Swan Lake Basin. You will need to be able to fly to get there.
There are two main ways to party in Nept – zombies and globs. With globs, you will want to stay near the entrance and repeat the first quest Shannigan gives you. With zombies, you have pretty much one area where you will actually WANT to be – VIP
VIP in Nept has only zombies, and it is in a circular room further in Nept. This room almost pulls itself, so it is not completely necessary to have a full time puller. If there is a puller, however, they can pull the mobs in the hallway if the party doesn’t mind a turtle or two.
Turtles in Nept are magic attack and have an AoE. If VIP is taken, there is a spot outside VIP (called…Outside VIP…go figure) that is a mixture of zombies and turtles. This is not a good spot unless your doc has Greater Healing.
** It is recommended that players be at least 25 before attempting Nept (22 if doing globs). You can stay here until 30 before exp starts to get really bad. I’ve seen people stick it out until 32-33 though.
Grizzly Garrison
Grizzly Garrison (grizz) is located in Copperhorn Mountain. You will need to do the quests inside in order to have access to the basement (VIP) or have someone escort you down there.
There are two main ways to level in grizz – quest spam or aoe grind. Quest spammers will stay near the entrance – repeating the thug and chef quests the NPC gives you. The thug one will be repeated more often as there are more thugs in that area than chefs.
For aoe grind, you will need to go into the basement of grizz and find the VIP hallways. Technically VIP is in two different spots as there are two hallways that split off with several thugs and chefs down each. Most people consider the right hallway to be VIP over the left, though I’m not sure why as they look identical.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 30 before attempting grizz. You can stay here until 35 before exp starts to get really bad. I have seen people stick it out until 37 though.
Pandora’s Grotto
Pandora’s Grotto (grotto) is located in Blakatoa.
VIP in grotto is the room with nothing but Fugitives (fugis). If VIP is full, there is also spugi (spiders/fugitives), spiders (pure spiders), and wolves (wolves/fugis).
I haven’t tried quest spam in grotto, but I’d imagine the best way to go about that would be the mobs in the entrance – the closest you are to the quest NPC, the faster the exp.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 33-35 before attempting grotto. You can stay here until 40 before exp starts to get really bad. I have seen some tanks stick it out until 42 though.
Foggy Forest
Foggy Forest (foggy) is located in Blakatoa. You will need to do the quests in Blakatoa in order to gain access to most of foggy. You can also have someone escort you in.
In foggy, the only mobs you will be killing are Iron Hedgehogs (hedgies). There are several spots in foggy where there are an abundance of hedgies. VIP is an area further in – when you get to first area with hedgies, it’ll be the next portal after that. VIP has a middle area with two big pulls worth of mobs on either side. It also has a good safe zone for people to sit when afk.
There are three other areas you can party at if VIP is full: 2-way, 3-way, and pond. Pond is named because of the pond that is in the area – it is down the path right before the portal to VIP. 3-way is named so because it is the intersection of 3 paths that are full of hedgies. 2-way is named similarly as it is the intersection of 2 paths, and is the worst area there (though still not bad at all). If VIP is full, 3-way is the 2nd best option.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 40 before attempting foggy. You can stay here until level 49 before exp starts to get really bad, but stick it out until 50.
Casks (Inn Basement)
You will need to do the Mysterious Elder’s quest in order to unlock access to the Inn Basement. You can also have someone bring you into the Inn.
Be wary as Caskmasters hit very hard – many people die on their way to their party’s location. The stairs are also treacherous and glitchy. There are a few tricks to navigating the stairs, such as turning WASD off or walking in a zig-zag or hugging the wall.
There are two favorited areas to party at in Casks – VIP and Platform. Platform is exactly that – a platform. It’s hard to miss, and a Giant Caskmaster boss spawns there occasionally so be wary when partying there. VIP is a room way in the back of Casks with a large amount of mobs and no stairs nearby to traverse while pulling.
Premonition will cancel out Boozy Vapor, though it will also spam an annoying message into the chat every time a Cask tries to cast it on you.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 15 (16 or 18 if Doc) before attempting Casks. You can stay at Casks until 22 before exp starts to get really bad.
MBoPs (Phoenix Tower)
Phoenix Tower is located in Swan Lake Basin – use Eversun North gate to get there fastest (or if you don’t have flying). MBoPs (Male Birds of Paradise) are located on the 3rd floor of the tower.
Two teams can share the MBoP room (one on each side of the pillar in the center pulling half the room), and one can be in the hallway. If both sides of MBoPs and hallway are taken, you can try MBoP/FBoP room on the 4th floor (note that this is more dangerous because Female Birds of Paradise are magic attack).
** It is recommended that players be at least level 20 before attempting MBoPs. You can stay here until 27 before exp starts to get really bad.
Neptune’s Temple
Neptune’s Temple is located in Swan Lake Basin. You will need to be able to fly to get there.
There are two main ways to party in Nept – zombies and globs. With globs, you will want to stay near the entrance and repeat the first quest Shannigan gives you. With zombies, you have pretty much one area where you will actually WANT to be – VIP
VIP in Nept has only zombies, and it is in a circular room further in Nept. This room almost pulls itself, so it is not completely necessary to have a full time puller. If there is a puller, however, they can pull the mobs in the hallway if the party doesn’t mind a turtle or two.
Turtles in Nept are magic attack and have an AoE. If VIP is taken, there is a spot outside VIP (called…Outside VIP…go figure) that is a mixture of zombies and turtles. This is not a good spot unless your doc has Greater Healing.
** It is recommended that players be at least 25 before attempting Nept (22 if doing globs). You can stay here until 30 before exp starts to get really bad. I’ve seen people stick it out until 32-33 though.
Grizzly Garrison
Grizzly Garrison (grizz) is located in Copperhorn Mountain. You will need to do the quests inside in order to have access to the basement (VIP) or have someone escort you down there.
There are two main ways to level in grizz – quest spam or aoe grind. Quest spammers will stay near the entrance – repeating the thug and chef quests the NPC gives you. The thug one will be repeated more often as there are more thugs in that area than chefs.
For aoe grind, you will need to go into the basement of grizz and find the VIP hallways. Technically VIP is in two different spots as there are two hallways that split off with several thugs and chefs down each. Most people consider the right hallway to be VIP over the left, though I’m not sure why as they look identical.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 30 before attempting grizz. You can stay here until 35 before exp starts to get really bad. I have seen people stick it out until 37 though.
Pandora’s Grotto
Pandora’s Grotto (grotto) is located in Blakatoa.
VIP in grotto is the room with nothing but Fugitives (fugis). If VIP is full, there is also spugi (spiders/fugitives), spiders (pure spiders), and wolves (wolves/fugis).
I haven’t tried quest spam in grotto, but I’d imagine the best way to go about that would be the mobs in the entrance – the closest you are to the quest NPC, the faster the exp.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 33-35 before attempting grotto. You can stay here until 40 before exp starts to get really bad. I have seen some tanks stick it out until 42 though.
Foggy Forest
Foggy Forest (foggy) is located in Blakatoa. You will need to do the quests in Blakatoa in order to gain access to most of foggy. You can also have someone escort you in.
In foggy, the only mobs you will be killing are Iron Hedgehogs (hedgies). There are several spots in foggy where there are an abundance of hedgies. VIP is an area further in – when you get to first area with hedgies, it’ll be the next portal after that. VIP has a middle area with two big pulls worth of mobs on either side. It also has a good safe zone for people to sit when afk.
There are three other areas you can party at if VIP is full: 2-way, 3-way, and pond. Pond is named because of the pond that is in the area – it is down the path right before the portal to VIP. 3-way is named so because it is the intersection of 3 paths that are full of hedgies. 2-way is named similarly as it is the intersection of 2 paths, and is the worst area there (though still not bad at all). If VIP is full, 3-way is the 2nd best option.
** It is recommended that players be at least level 40 before attempting foggy. You can stay here until level 49 before exp starts to get really bad, but stick it out until 50.
I hope this guide has been informative. If you would like more information about where to go to level, please check out my Leveling Guide.
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