Quote Originally Posted by BillyKaplan View Post
[Re. learning AoE avoidance] There's a proper exercise in the Hall of the Novice for heals and iirc dps that teach you exactly that.
Yes, but also no. What the exercise taught me was that the pattern to AoE warning markers was:

1. Warning marker appears
2. Warning marker disappears
3. Nothing happens for a second or so
4. Enemy attacks previously-marked spot

During the exercise, you want to make sure you pass, so move out of the marker as soon as it appears, but in a real battle situation you want to keep attacking for as long as you can, in which case it seems intuitive that the *disappearance* of the marker is your sign to get out of the way in that short space of time between the marker disappearing and the actual attack beginning.

However, what actually happens is:

1. Warning marker appears
2. Warning marker disappears, and anyone still standing in it will be counted as hit by the attack
3. It's now safe to re-enter the previously marked zone
4. You can stand in the middle of the visible explosion and not get hit, while the newbie standing apparently well clear of it will take damage.

This is what's not explained, and goes against what you might naturally expect to happen.