Snare (tactic)

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A snare is a skill or tactic that slows or restricts enemy movement. Snares are useful as a melee counter, for countering kiting, or for preventing a player from attaining an objective in a particular PvP mode. For example, one might snare the flag runner in a GvG match, a monk rushing to heal a Guild Lord, or the relic runner in a Heroes' Ascent relic run.

A snare can be thought of as the opposite of a speed boost.

1 General overview of snares
2 Snare Counters
3 Application by game type
4 Snares by profession

[edit] General overview of snares

Body blocking. A team can heavily restrict or sometimes entirely stop a enemy movement by using their own characters' bodies as a living wall. Spirits, pets, and minions can help bodyblock an enemy character.

The crippled condition. Conditions are easily and cheaply removed, but they are also relatively easy and cheap to inflict. It is possible to stack conditions on top of the cripple to make it somewhat more difficult to remove; for example many Cripshot Rangers stack poison from Apply Poison on top of the cripple caused by Crippling Shot.

Hexes that slow. The water attribute of the elementalist, the illusion attribute of the mesmer, and the deadly arts attribute of the assassin contain many useful movement speed reducing hexes. Hexes are somewhat more difficult to remove than conditions, easier to cover to prevent removal, and tend to have more dramatic effects than the cripple condition.

Knockdowns. Knockdowns utterly stop an enemy target's movement and most actions for a short period of time. Knockdowns last two seconds (unless otherwise noted), but the effect can be augmented by the Earthbind spirit, the Stonefist Insignia, rapid casting of knockdowns with short recharges (such as Gale), or coordinated chaining of knockdowns from multiple teammates.

Stance counters and enchantment removal can end speed-boosting stances and enchantments respectively.

Incentives. A few unusual spells create incentives for a target to choose to restrict his own movement, for example the assassin spell Enduring Toxin. In addition, there are battlefield conditions created by various spells (such as wells, wards, nukes, traps and spirit spamming) that can convince an enemy to avoid moving into a particular area.

[edit] Snare Counters

Hex removal is most common, Holy Veil being cast beforehand in important situations allowing instant removal of a snare hex.

Condition removal is good against melee heavy teams for quickly removing cripple. Mending Touch is often used.

Stances can be used for several different reasons such as providing speed buffs, blocking attacks in order to avoid cripple, and preventing knockdowns.

Speed buffs themselves are a counter to at least some of the effects of snares. The balance between speed loss and gain will reduce the snare's effect. However, be careful of using enchantment based speed buffs when facing snares such as Icy Shackles.

[edit] Application by game type

[edit] Guild Battles

Snaring an enemy's Flag Runner help your team to receive a Morale boost.

Snaring a kiting target can make attacking it much easier.

Snaring a retreating enemy can quickly lead to the death of that particular opponent.

Mass snares such as the Ward Against Foes or Deep Freeze can be used to limit tactical movements of an entire enemy team.

The act of snaring melee damage dealers and kiting are a great way to reduce the damage your team takes.

Snaring melee damage dealers on a retreat reduces the number of deaths your team will take when it's most vulnerable.

Snaring enemies in the Guild Lord room makes it harder for them to escape, and can increase the damage they take from pulsing AoE from the Bodyguard such as Fire Storm.

[edit] Heroes' Ascent

Snaring the Relic Runner can buy your team time to stop their Relic Runner, and also give you more time to run a Relic.
Snaring an enemy Ghostly Hero on a Kill Count map can give your team time to kill it for its extra points.
Snaring can severely limit mobility on the capture points map and give your team the time or leverage to gain more shrines and therefore earn your team more points.

[edit] Hero Battles

Many HvH teams have a single dedicated runner capturing altars -- an important target to snare.

[edit] Player versus Environment Adventuring

In challenging elite areas, snares can be used as an important form of damage mitigation.
Some missions/quests are much easier to complete with snares.

[edit] Snares by profession

[edit] Warrior

Warriors have a few options for causing the cripple condition, and hammer warriors especially have many knockdowns.

Crippling Slash, Hamstring, Axe Rake are attacks that cripple opponents.

Bull's Charge, Bull's Strike, can knockdown moving opponents.

Backbreaker, Devastating Hammer, Earth Shaker, Magehunter's Smash, Hammer Bash, Heavy Blow are hammer attacks that knockdown enemies.

Shove is a touch ranged knockdown that does not require a successful attack. Sometimes seen as a part of assassin combos.

"Coward!" is a shout that can knockdown fleeing opponents.

"You're All Alone!" is a shout that can cripple enemies.

"None Shall Pass!" is a shout that knockdown multiple fleeing opponents.

[edit] Ranger

Rangers have many methods of inflicting the cripple condition. Ranger traps can be incentives for enemies to avoid an area. Ranger pets can aid in body blocking (although just as often, pets body block their own masters in PvP.)

Crippling Shot, Pin Down are bow attacks that cripple an enemy. Crippling Shot is the mainstay of the Cripshot Ranger.

Maiming Strike is a pet attack that can cripple moving opponents.

Barbed Trap, Spike Trap, Snare are traps that inflict the cripple condition. Spike Trap additionally knocks down anyone caught in it's area of effect.

Tripwire is a trap that knocks down crippled opponents.

Muddy Terrain is a nature spirit that slows both friend and foe, and prevents speed boosts. It is sometimes used by spike groups to inhibit enemy movement.

[edit] Monk

Monks do not have many snare skills available. That being said, some of the AoE smite spells can provide incentives for an enemy to leave a particular area.

Signet of Judgment and Bane Signet can be used to knock down targets.

[edit] Necromancer

Necromancers have a few skills that directly snare an enemy. Additionally, minions in large quantities can be used to body block an opponent (though the player has no direct control over this use). Some wells can provide a strong incentive for an enemy to avoid a particular area, e.g. Well of the Profane. Necromancers may also use a plethora of enchantment removal skills to end speed boosting enchantments.

Weaken Knees is an incentive for a target to stand still, with the punishment being a knockdown.

[edit] Mesmer

Mesmers possess hex based snares in the illusion line. Because of fast casting, mesmers are often used a primary class for casting spells belonging to other classes. In particular fast casting air spike and eurospike often include a knockdown in the form of Gale. Mesmers have many enchant strips that can used to end speed boosting enchantments.

Crippling Anguish is a commonly used hex-based snare that also causes health degeneration.

Imagined Burden and Ethereal Burden/ Kitah's Burden are common snares used by IW mesmers.

Shared Burden applies an AoE snare.

[edit] Elementalist

Elementalists have many potent slowing hexes in the Water Magic and Earth Magic attributes. Knock down skills, found in the Air Magic and Earth Magic attributes, can be used to disrupt an opponent's movement. Lastly, the Fire Magic attribute has many potent area of effect spells that can be used as incentives for an enemy to avoid a particular area.

Gale has a short recharge, fast cast time, and long 2 second knockdown. The drawback of exhaustion can be managed by skilled players. Extremely popular.

Shock is a touch ranged knockdown with a fast recharge, fast cast time. The drawback of exhaustion can be managed by skilled players. It has been a popular choice for warriors and assassins in the past.

Mind Shock, Earthquake, Dragon's Stomp, and Water Trident can knockdown targets.

Grasping Earth for long-duration snare from the Earth Magic line.

Ward Against Foes slows enemies in a wide area.

Deep Freeze, Freezing Gust, Frozen Burst, Ice Prison, Ice Spikes, Icy Shackles, Mind Freeze, Shard Storm, Teinai's Prison are hex based snares in the Water attribute.

Chilling Winds can lengthen the duration of Water hex based snares.

[edit] Assassin

Assassins have a wide variety of methods for crippling or slowing targets. Assassins also have enchant strips that can be used to kill speed boosting enchantments.

Black Mantis Thrust cripples a hexed target.

Horns of the Ox knocks down a target. Very common in assassin dagger combos.

Crippling Dagger and Caltrops cripple targets without requiring a successful attack.

Dark Prison, Shadow Prison slow targets and Shadow steps the assassin to the target. Shadow Prison is particularly popular because of it's short recharge time and effectiveness with just a few points in Deadly Arts.

Entangling Asp, Iron Palm, Scorpion Wire, Wastrel's Collapse can knockdown targets, but each only work under set conditions. Wastrel's Collapse is particularly unpopular because it is quite easy for a target to avoid the knockdown.

Siphon Speed slows targets while providing a speed boost to the assassin.

Shadowy Burden slows targets and makes them more vulnerable to the assassin's attacks.

[edit] Ritualist

Ritualists have few options for direct snares. Spirit spamming can create incentives for enemies to avoid areas.

Wanderlust is a spirit that knocks down stationary enemies.

Earthbind is a spirit that increases the duration of knock downs.

Binding Chains is a powerful hex-based snare which also prevents the target from attacking, but it ends when the target takes damage.

[edit] Paragon

Paragons have few options for snares.

Crippling Anthem is a shout that enables allies to cripple enemies.

Maiming Spear is a spear attack that cripples bleeding enemies.

[edit] Dervish

Dervishes have a few skills capable of causing the cripple condition. The dervish also has a few enchant removal skills that can be used to end speed boosting enchantments.