[Mini-Exploit] "Tails Up" Avoid Combat

**FlamingAirGuitarSolo** · 04-02-2009

Preface: This exploit isn't going to make you 1k Gold | 500k Exp an hour. What it will do, however, is allow you to complete a quest with simplicity (think 20-30 seconds instead of 3-4 minutes) and save you a little time. I searched the forums and didn't come up with this, so I apologize if this was posted somewhere else and I couldn't find it. Inform me and I'll remove it. Now, onto the exploit.

The quest "Tails Up" provides you with a blowgun, requires you to use it on 3 leopards and 3 bears (putting them to sleep) and discover their gender. You do this by shooting them with a sleeping dart, walking up, interacting (speech dialogue style) and lifting their tail. If they turn out to be female, you get credit, if they turn out to be male, the creature becomes hostile and you're forced to engage and kill it. I guess it doesn't like being knocked unconscious and its manly bits examined. Can't say I blame it.

When you use the blowgun there is a small window in which the creature becomes the version which it is approachable, yet is not quite asleep and interactable. This is about half a second. If you are able to cause any disparaty with the creature's health during this window, and if the creature turns out to be a male (and would require combat), it will evade in place and you will immediately drop combat. You won't have to fight and kill it, and can simply move on to the next one.

So, to recap:

Approach the creature, but do not engage in combat (as this will lock out the blowgun).
Shoot it with the blowgun.
Immediately strike it with any damaging ability. Ice lance, Arcane Shot, Wand, etc.
The creature will still fall asleep from the dart. Talk to creature and discover its gender.
Get credit, or go to the next without having to fight.

Lag doesn't seem to be a factor. A friend was able to do this with a latency of 74ms, while I'm at about 320ms. This might not work with abilities that do not damage the mob in time. We had no luck with Corruption, but a wand did the trick.

I don't think this is common sense, as the window is fairly small and the quest encourages you to stay out of combat, at least until after you discover the creature is a male. Hopefully it's something you can file away in the back of your head and will prove useful at a later date. Cheers!