What Does the Auto Attack Button do?

I have never known what good the auto attack "skill" is for anything? the live help said ..hit it and then attack but i never have used it since. now that I am a paladin there is a skill that only activates WITH auto attack..so can someone explain what Auto attack is for ? thansk

you start auto attacking after using any skill, so that button in pretty useless.

Regardind auto-attack per se, it's a regular attack which happens automatically every set time, with a potency of 100.

perhaps it has more relevance when using a game pad, as you cannot right click an enemy to start auto attack?
But yes, if you are using mouse and keys, don't both assigning it at all.

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Originally Posted by Berkhof

perhaps it has more relevance when using a game pad, as you cannot right click an enemy to start auto attack?
But yes, if you are using mouse and keys, don't both assigning it at all.

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Not relevant for starting your attack at all on gamepad. Hit A/cross while targeting any enemy to start auto-attacking them.

The purpose of the command is to stop auto-attacking without losing your target, if, for some reason, you want/need to do so.

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Originally Posted by Phantasmid

Not relevant for starting your attack at all on gamepad. Hit A/cross while targeting any enemy to start auto-attacking them.

The purpose of the command is to stop auto-attacking without losing your target, if, for some reason, you want/need to do so.

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I don't even use the button, it's a waste of a hotbar slot. If I need to stop attacking something I just take the extra small fraction of a second to hit square then x (Submenu -> Stay Attack).

OK thanks, then that is a strange condition they have on that Paladin skill, it is unique to the Paladin Class and it says Attack is Ehanced 50 Percent if used with Auto Attack, that remains a mystery. but thanks for the posts i will dump it from my hot bar with pleasure.

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Originally Posted by CrisGer

OK thanks, then that is a strange condition they have on that Paladin skill, it is unique to the Paladin Class and it says Attack is Ehanced 50 Percent if used with Auto Attack, that remains a mystery. but thanks for the posts i will dump it from my hot bar with pleasure.

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While that skill is in use, instead of your auto-attack potency being 100, it will be 150

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Originally Posted by Akuha

I don't even use the button, it's a waste of a hotbar slot. If I need to stop attacking something I just take the extra small fraction of a second to hit square then x (Submenu -> Stay Attack).

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I didn't say it was useful. I just pointed out what it was meant to do.

Am I the only one that believes ARC/SUM/CNJ/TMG/BLM/SCH should have a ranged auto attack? Honestly, I just wish ruin was my auto attack haha! Get rid of Ruin 2 and just call it Blind.

I always thought it might be a quick way to STOP auto attacking *Shrug* but no, like in every game I take it right off my hotbars cuz it just takes up space :P

It's only really useful to have on your hotbar for mage classes while soloing as they don't autoattack when you cast spells - even though they'd only be doing a small amount of damage, it's still better than nothing.

the only use i have seen from it is when i play a gatherer. wacking critters for 5 dmg breaks up the boredom from those classes.

What does Auto Attack Potency mean? i still dont understand that sorry. Auto Attack means if you click it you are in attack mode, i think, but what does the added 50 points mean? that your hit points are increased no matter what skill you use? thanks for helping on this as i still dont understand it or that special Paladin Skill thanks for any help.

A normal Attack is 100 potency. With that skill running, it will be +50 (150), so you will be doing about 50% extra base damage.

once you commence auyo-attacking (through hotbar, engage button or through using a weapon skill), you actually begin attacking the monster EVEN if you don't use weaponskills. you will start to swing your sword and hit the monster every fixed interval, depending on the weapon you use (some weapons havr longer delays). this happens even if you are executing weaponskills even if you can't see it, and it is equivalent to a 100 potency attack calculated from your weapon.

sword oath increases the damage of your auto attacks.

ah ha, that explains it, i will have to try that, so that Sword Oath skill will activate with ANY sklll? the help tip says ONLY auto attack, so i was not sure ...if it IS only auto attack that is kind of weird, as then you cant really do anything else BUT let the auto function do its thing to get that extra 50%...wonder if that is how it works? that seems kind of strange if it is true....would be GREAT if it works for any skill but i am suspecting somehow there is a catch to it...

Your not getting what people are saying. as soon as you start fighting with a mob you will auto hit it inbetween skills you select. using shield oath gains you extra damage to that attack only not skills. Next time you play start a fight with a mob and dont use any attack skills, your see the attack every 2secs or so thats auto attack. you only turn it off if you need to use akey item on it after weakening it, for a quest.....

Using your other skills does not stop your auto-attack. While you are in combat (and in range and facing the enemy and not stunned/pacified/asleep/etc.) you are auto-attacking constantly, from start to finish. Which is why it's called auto attack.

The tooltip is still a little bit off, though. What Sword Oath actually does (according to folks in the Tank Roles forum who've done the testing) is add an additional 50-potency attack every time your auto-attack goes off. So instead of auto-attacking for 150% every time, you're auto-attacking for 100 and for 50 every time. It's a small difference, but if you turn on Sword Oath and wonder why your average auto-attack doesn't jump from 50 to 75 (for example), that's why. You're hitting for 50+25 on average instead.

If i am standing facing an enemy and choose TAB and highlight them, but do nothing, i dont attack i just stand there. I have never used the auto attack button by itself, i had it on my hot key bar but then finally took it off as i had no idea what it was for.

so are you saying those who have replied, if you USE the auto attack button it will cause your character to attack with basic attack, in my case sword strokes all by itself with no other action needed on my part as long as the enemy is in range? I always thought we had to USE a skill to actually attack at all, otherwise our character would just stand there and get beaten up, which has happened a couple of times when i had to go answer the phone.

It was not made clear in the original LIve Help when you first learn fighting, it said activate Auto Attack and then attack the enemy but it didnt say that Auto attack would actually activate basic attack all by itself with no further action from me..., i thought it just was some sort of "wake up " call for fighting and then you had to use skills to do the actual attacking.

I may be dense or stupid about this but i would rather be that and learn what is going on rather than make fundemantal mistakes because i was afraid to look stupid ...thanks for any help on this.

If you right-click an enemy, you will begin auto-attacking. You don't need the button or to use a weapon-skill to start it. Whenever you have an enemy targeted, sometimes, you will notice 2 arrows in a circle above the target arrow. This indicates that you are auto-attacking that enemy.

Hitting tab doesn't put you in combat. All that does is target an enemy. Auto-attack is active while you're in combat with an enemy. It's active while you're out of range or stunned or facing the wrong way, too, it's just not actually going to happen (no sword swinging) until those conditions end.

Auto-attack is a toggle. You can turn it on by itself by right-clicking an enemy, targeting an enemy and hitting the Confirm button on a gamepad, or targeting an enemy and using the Auto-Attack button. Or you can turn it on by performing any DoW (i.e., not Aero; DoM skill) skill that takes an enemy as a target (i.e., not Cure or Convalescence; player/self-target, not Flash; no target required). As long as auto-attack is on, you will be swinging your sword (or axe or fists or lance or bow) at regular intervals without any further action.

Once it's on, it's on until one of the following occurs:
-You die
-The enemy dies
-You turn it off (via the Auto Attack button, or sheathing your weapon)
-You or the enemy run far enough away that you exit combat and autosheathe your weapon

OK yes i know that arrow thing well. thanks very much i do appreciate the help, as i said, sometimes it takes me time to figure things out, and I would rather learn what is actually going on and look dumb rather than BE dumb and keep quiet because i am too shy to ask ..thanks so much again. I have been using the TAB target select but i do see the same thing with the arrows. I will try the right click way.