Running guide

What Is It?

Running, sometimes referred to as ferrying, is the practice of quickly taking an entire party of characters from one explorable area to the next, often to reach a specific town, outpost or mission. This practice is extremely popular in Prophecies, where there are little to no restrictions in entering an outpost. Factions runs are much less common, as many towns and outposts can only be accessed via a specific quest or mission; in Nightfall, a fair handful of missions and towns can be accessed ahead of the game storyline, but these missions cannot be started without a properly updated Quest Log. Regardless of a character's level or current quest, he or she can freely purchase new skills and craft new armor sets once the outpost has been reached, making this practice common among some low-level players.

Running can also refer to a player rushing a party through a mission or quest.

Choosing Your Skills

Common running classes are the Warrior, Ranger, Assassin and Dervish. A typical running build will contain one or more speed buffs, such as the Warrior's Sprint or the Ranger's Escape, and a healing skill and condition removal, often taken from a secondary profession such as Monk. While classes such as the Ranger or Warrior will also often include a Hex removal skill, the Assassin and the Dervish have the advantage of avoiding enemy spellcasters altogether, by use of Shadow Form or Vow of Silence.

While many destinations can be reached with a generic skill set-up, runs that involve areas such as the Southern Shiverpeaks, notorious for knockdowns, snares and large amounts of foes, frequently have their own unique build suggestions. When preparing for a run, remember to keep in mind the terrain and enemies you will be encountering. If mobs include heavy conditioning, bring along Mending Touch or Purge Signet, or a skill to counter health degeneration, such as Troll Unguent or Feigned Neutrality. If you expect to encounter many hexes, use Holy Veil before reaching casting range of your enemies, or Pious Restoration if you are employing multiple enchantments. Fleeting Stability and "Brace Yourself!" can prevent knockdown, as do several PvE skills.

PvXwiki contains a number of tested running builds, both for generic use and specific purposes.

Increased Movement Skills

Name		Target	Amount	Duration	Stats	Notes	Skill type	Attr	Cam
	Charging Strike	Self	33%	1...8s	5   5	Ends on hit or when skill is used. Next hit does bonus damage.	Elite Stance	Str	N
	Enraging Charge	Self	25%	5...13s	5   20	Ends and gives adrenaline when you strike a target in melee.	Stance	Str	N
	Rush	Self	25%	8...18s	4		Stance	Str	P
	Sprint	Self	25%	8...13s	5   15		Stance	Str	C
	"Charge!"	Allies within earshot	33%	5...11s	5   20	Initial effect: removes Crippled	Elite Shout	Tact	C
	Dodge	Self	33%	5...10s	5   30	Ends if you attack	Stance	Exp	P
	Escape	Self	33%	1...7s	5   12		Elite Stance	Exp	C
	Zojun's Haste	Self	33%	5...10s	5   30	Ends if you attack	Stance	Exp	F
	Natural Stride	Self	33%	1...7s	5   12	Ends if you become Hexed or Enchanted	Stance	WS	N
	Storm Chaser	Self	25%	8...18s	10   20	Gain energy whenever hit by elemental damage	Stance	WS	C
	Storm's Embrace	Self	25%	10s	5   30	Refreshes, whenever you take Elemental damage	Stance	None	N
	Illusion of Haste	Self	33%	5...10s	5 1 5	On cast, lose crippled condition. On end, become crippled.	Enchantment Spell	Ill	C
	Storm Djinn's Haste	Self	25%	10...22s	5 ¼ 10	Lose 1 energy per second while moving.	Enchantment Spell	Air	N
	Windborne Speed	target ally	33%	5...13s	10 ¾ 5		Enchantment Spell	Air	P
	Burning Speed	Self	30...42%	7s	10 ¼	On cast, you are set on fire. On end, adjacent foes set on fire.	Enchantment Spell	Fire	F
	Flame Djinn's Haste	Self	25%	8...13s	10 ¾ 20	On cast, damages adjacent foes.	Enchantment Spell	Fire	N
	Armor of Mist	Self	33%	8...18s	10 1 30	Increased armor.	Enchantment Spell	Water	P
	Siphon Speed	Self & Target foe	33%	5...13s	5 1 30	Decreases hexed foe's speed by same amount. Half normal range.	Hex Spell	Deadly	F
	Dark Escape	Self	25%	5...13s	5   30	You take half damage. Ends if you hit with an attack.	Stance	Shadow	F
	Dash	Self	50%	3s	5   8		Stance	None	F
	"Fall Back!"	Allies within earshot	33%	4...9s	10   20	Ends on affected ally if they hit with an attack. Affected allies gain health per second while moving.	Shout	Comm	N
	Godspeed	Allies within earshot	25%	5...17s	10   30	Only affects enchanted allies.	Shout	Comm	N
	Hasty Refrain	target ally	25%	3...9s	5 1 10	Reapplies when a shout or chant ends.	Echo	Lead	E
	Avatar of Balthazar	{{{movementspeedtarget}}}	{{{movementspeedamount}}}	{{{movementspeedduration}}}	5 2 20		Elite Form	Myst	N
	Pious Haste	Self	Special	1...7s	5   12	25% ims; 50% if Dervish enchant removed	Stance	Myst	N
	Enchanted Haste	Self	25%	7	10   15	Lose 1 condition if ends prematurely	Flash Enchantment Spell	None	N
	Featherfoot Grace	Self	25%	5...17s	10 ¼ 15	Conditions expire 25% faster.	Enchantment Spell	Wind	N
	Harrier's Haste	Self	25%	2...7s	10   10	Deal +3...10 damage to moving foes.	Flash Enchantment Spell	Wind	N
	Lyssa's Haste	{{{movementspeedtarget}}}	{{{movementspeedamount}}}	{{{movementspeedduration}}}	10   15		Flash Enchantment Spell	Wind	N
	Whirling Charge	Self	33%	1...5s	10   6	Enchantment ends when foe striked, 10..50 cold damage to all nearby foes.	Flash Enchantment Spell	Wind	N
	Signet of Mystic Speed	{{{movementspeedtarget}}}	{{{movementspeedamount}}}	{{{movementspeedduration}}}	1 20		Signet	Wind	E

Profession Tips

Warrior runners can maintain a reliable speed boost by alternating "Charge!" with Sprint. Because "Charge!" is a Shout, as opposed to a Stance, it can be combined with stances such as Balanced Stance, to prevent knockdown, or Conviction, a Dervish stance that grants increased armor or health regeneration.

Ranger runners can maintain a constant 33% speed increase by chaining Escape, Dodge and Zojun's Haste. While this would preclude any defensive stances being used, remember that Escape offers a high chance of blocking incoming attacks (melee and projectile), and Dodge and Zojun's Haste can block incoming projectiles. The Ranger can also use Shouts or Enchantments for increased survivability.

Assassin runners have at their disposal the Elite enchantment Shadow Form, rendering the Assassin unable to be targeted by spells or attacks. While this skill is tied to Shadow Arts, and is therefore usable by any character with Assassin as their primary or secondary profession, the brief duration and drastic health loss means this skill must be used with care. Assassins frequently employ Shadow Arts Runes to increase the enchantment's duration.

Dervish runners often use either the Avatar of Balthazar or Vow of Silence as their Elite skill. The Avatar offers a permanent speed boost and armor gain, and coupled with Eternal Aura can be maintained indefinitely. Vow of Silence renders the user unable to cast spells, or to be targeted by them. As neither of these skills are Stances, they can be coupled with a number of beneficial running stances, both from the Dervish skill family and from other professions.

When selecting your skills, keep in mind that many times you will be activating those skills while within range of enemy mobs. For that reason, Shouts and Stances are often superior to their Enchantment counterparts, as they cannot be interrupted, and have no activation time. While Armor of Mist lasts longer than Sprint and includes a generous armor increase, it requires runners to stop and cast it for one full second plus aftercast delay, which could allow monsters to close in on them.

Learning from others

Often the best way to learn is to have an experienced runner teach you, or to watch him successfully complete a run. This can be achieved by running alongside the experienced runner, or simply dying and observing the runner as he continues. If you choose the former method, be sure to check with the runner first! An additional player can draw extra aggro that could kill even the most practiced runner.

If the runner does not wish to have you run with him, dying offers a convenient way to watch the runner and see what he does. Simply click on the surviving runner's name in the Party List and observe. You will be able see what skills he is using, and when he uses them, giving you an idea of what will be expected of you when it's your turn to run.