A Brief Introduction to Zhen

You may have heard many world chats about people who are looking for zhen parties. Basically, a zhen party consists of damage dealers who are channeling aoe attacks, a cleric who is channeling blue ball, and lurers to bring mobs into the killing zone. The names of these aoe skills are Dragon's Breath for the Wizard, Barrage of Arrows for the Archer, and Regeneration Aura for the Cleric. Silver or Gold MP charms are required for longer sessions. Exp scrolls are highly recommended; this is the fastest way to level. A barbarian runs around to aggro mobs, and then runs back to the zhen, which draw aggro away from the tank, who then goes and aggros more mobs. It is wise to have a veno to add aoe in times of need, as well as attack any ranged mobs that happen to be lured, but do not walk into the aoe attacks of the DDs. Make sure to repair before you go, and if you plan to go afk, an HP charm would be good, too. Here are a couple of screenshots of me in a zhen party at Nightscream Island (near Dreamweaver Port).

Greetings,

As many of you know there has been a Salvation Zhen Party recently. I felt it best to add a few lessons learned from what was a most surprising experience.

[Edited - Appears as Green]

--Firstly I need to apologize to anyone (Lady Lysistrada or Director Falcus) who lost too much XP from dying due to lack of experience on my part--

Here is a list of what happened to get the Zhen party on it's way:
Firstly I had to grind two weeks for enough DQ items (amongst other things) and Mirage Celestones to sell for the Charms . Once I had the money I bought them as follows.
3 Gold MP Charms
3 Gold HP Charms
2 Bronze HP Charms.

We needed:
3 Gold MP Charms
3 Gold HP Charms
3 Bronze HP Charms

We had:
Two DDs
One Healer
Two Pullers (Joined by Lord Zain later, who pulled alone.)

We needed:
Three DDs
One Healer
One Puller
One Centre

The Healer and DDs each got one Gold MP Charm, with the DDs getting a Bronze HP charm each as well.
The two pullers got the Gold HP Charms. We had one Gold HP Charm remaining as we were short one puller/centre.

Every member brought their own XP Scrolls.

Lessons learned:
1) Pullers need Charms - To back up the Blue Bubble AoE.
2) DDs (wizards who can disengage AoE and re-engage at will) need powders for HP recovery as well as the Charms - Wizards are squishy.
3) The Healer will need a Bronze HP charm in case they get too much aggro before enough damage takes place to aggro the MOBs to the DDs.
4) There must be a centre (BM or WB) to stun. If the centre uses AoE attacks they will regain Chi fast enough to stun comtinuosly as soon as the stun's cooldown is complete.
5) There should be someone to get pickups - Even the puller can assist
6) One puller is more than enough - Too many MOBs pulled will overcome the Zhenners and kill the DDs and Healer.

DDs:
The DDs will initiate AoE for prolonged damage to any MOBs pulled within range.

Archers will need to Duel with a Party memeber to initiate the Barrage AoE used in Zhenning. It is a Phys attack and will require a Char with a very low Phys resistanc to lose fast enough for the MP Charm to take over from normal mana (see below). Archers need to have a minumum of 5k Arrows to last about an hour.
Wizards will have no problem as their AoE may be cast without any outside assistance.

It is not advisable to Duel for the Archer AoE while Blue Bubble is in effect unless you have PW's second best BM on hand. Blue Bubble will cause the duel to last too long and MP Hieros (Charms) do not work in the duel, so the Archer willl run out of mana before the duel ends.

Healers:
The healers initiate a skill called Blue Bubble. [Red Bubble is an AoE for increased damage]
This is a very Powerful tool for mass healing. This skill is how the aggro is transferred from the puller to the AoE'ers and the healer.

Puller(s):
The puller lures the MOBs from the rePOPulation point to the AoE and Healing Zone.
It is best done on an extremely loyal mount, but is also just as effective on aerogear or in tiger form. The Puller should allow themselves to be damaged by the MOBs and only then may they outpace the MOBs while flying/riding/running. The best way to guarantee aggro until the pull is complete to the AoE Zone is for the puller to AoE or attack the MOBs.

When the Puller returns to the AoE Zone they will be healed by the Blue Bubble. This will transfer all aggro to the healer. Once the MOBs are in the AoE Zone, they will then Aggro the DDs as the healer has only healed a minimal amount (one or two hits) on the Puller. The MOBs will switch Aggro between the DDs and Healers depending on who damages or heals the most.

Centre:
The Centre is to Stun MOBs to prevent them from overwhelming and killing the DDs and Healer. The Centre is also to pick up all items dropped by the MOBs. It is advisable for the centre to carry MP regenerating substances or Bronze MP Hieros.

If any of the DDs or the healer is killed, the Centre will need to make sure that everyone gets out before more casualties occur. Barbs can use AoE aggro, BMs if your stun is in cooldown ... good luck.

I would appreciate it if anyone who can, would please edit this passage as they see fit. It is imperative to get the facts perfect for any future Zhenning.

[Edited - Appears as Green]
___________________
Your Blade,
Siah

And here are some screenshots of our Zhen excursion (which was really quite fun, thank you Siah )









And one that has Zain in it

Edit: As I said, no pictures of Zain without my approval XD

A few notes to make:

1) If pullers hit the mobs before pulling, they can pull a bit further, getting them into agro range of the AoEs.

2) Pullers still must be careful because of the damage they will be taking. A BM with a decent lvl of Alter Marrow Physical can lower the damage enough to recover from the blue bubble but a charm might be needed just in case.

3) If the group starts to fall, as Siah said, the ones stunning the mobs have to hold. The pullers also need to move in to hammer as fast as possible (6 mobs against Zain was not fun X_X. Don't know how in the world I survived that battle)

4) Should have at least 3 AoEs attacking so the mobs die faster.

Other than that, it was a good learning experience.

I haven't zhenned in quite some time, but I'll try and recall things that might have been missed...
i) Clerics and wizzies (maybe pure archers as well) should have an HP charm of some sort.
ii) Lurers should start off slow (2-3 mobs at a time) to test the integrity of the zhen, and also gauge the limits of how many the party can successfully hold.
iii) Once the zhen has been established, pop scrolls and have fun, lol.
iv) For the zhenners that go afk, make sure it's only for 5-10 minutes max.
v) If the zhen is not going well, fly up and away to avoid dying. If you are in a place where you can't fly (e.g. Nightscream Island, run to the water to lose mobs)