EverQuest/Strategies/AE Kiting

AE kiting is a soloing technique in which non-targeted point-blank area of effect (PBAE/PBAoE) damage spells are used to kill a large number of mobs while they are kited by the player. Due to the limited range of most non-targeted AE damage spells, timing is critical, and mistakes are usually fatal. To be effective, the mobs must be the range of the AE when it finishes casting, yet the mobs must never be allowed within melee range of the player. Also, as with almost all kiting techniques, the mobs must not be able to summon the player. Overall, this is a technique with very high risk, but also very high rewards if executed successfully.

AE kiting was once commonly employed by the bard class due to their ability to move while casting a song, which is the bard's version of a spell. By continuously running in circles, the mobs will aggregate into one large clump. If the player runs at the right speed and in a circle of appropriate radius, the player can maintain the proper distance for AE kiting to be effective. Once this kiting path is established, the player can continue to twist a number of PBAE DoT songs to gradually kill the entire mob kite. It was common for AE kites of 20+ mobs, although there have been accounts of AE kites exceeding 100 mobs. Due to the unbalanced power of this technique, and its tendency to disrupt zone behavior when players pulled very large numbers of mobs, this technique has been nerfed so as to be unusable by bards. As part of a patch, shortly after the release of the Omens of War expansion, bard AE songs now no longer affect moving mobs.