On Jumping

Most quests require little more than a bunch of high level characters who know how to press the attack button and one guy who knows his way through the dungeon.  Dungeon crawl-style quests can be very difficult, but the quests that are generally regarded as the most difficult require jumping ability.  Jumping is thought to be so difficult because it's not something the game can do for you and your level has little to do with how well you jump.  Although you can learn to jump by yourself, the easiest and best way is to have someone teach you in the game.  Failing that, you can read this guide!

Raw Jumping Ability

Although your jumping ability is predominately governed by your own ability to use the keyboard to direct your character, you do have some limits imposed by your character's skills.  Two skills in particular affect your character's raw jumping potential - Jump and Run.  Jump (strength + coordination / 2) determines how high your character will be able to leap vertically and  Run (Quickness) plays a role in how far you will be able to leap.  Note that because Jump affects your 'hang time', it also has some effect on your leap distance. 

Your jump skill also affects the damage you take from falling.  Any time you jump off of a ledge, you run the risk of taking bludgeoning damage in the fall.  If the fall is shorter than your maximum vertical leap, you won't take damage.  If the fall is greater than your vertical leap, you will take some amount of damage, increasing dramatically the higher the fall.  Since the damage done from falling is bludgeoning, you can reduce it with Bludgeoning Protection spells.  Because Bludge Protects are so effective, there are very few falls that can kill you.  However, if you skid down a cliff, you can take recurring impact damage as you land on impassible slopes.  If you feel the need to jump off of high cliffs, make sure your leap will take you well past any obstacles below.

Walk Before You Jump

Before you even begin to jump, you have to be able to walk and run.  By default, your character runs at top speed when you press the forward direction key.  That's fine for the most basic jumps, but most quests that require precision jumps also require you to know how to walk properly.  The easiest way to switch speeds is to hold down the shift key (I prefer the left one).  Try it - your character will walk around at a much slower rate.  Releasing the shift key sends your character back to full speed.  You may also change the default movement speed of your character by playing with the options on the in-game menu.  Changing your default movement speed is generally more trouble than it's worth, but there is at least one quest I can think of where you might strongly consider taking the time to tinker with your options.

The Method

There are three components to every jump - distance, height, and direction.  Distance is probably the easiest to manage but is the least understood and most frequently mistaken.  Your jump's distance is achieved by either walking or running.  Height is typically less of a problem for jumpers, but it can pose just as large a problem for groups with vastly disparate Raw Jumping Ability.  Direction is generally not a problem for anyone, assuming you know where you are supposed to be going.  If jumping has a trick to it, it's the order in which you add these three components to your leap.  Before worrying about 'The Method', let's consider the three components in a bit more depth.

• Distance.  Changing your movement speed dramatically affects the shape of your leap.  If you simply press the Spacebar and the Forward key (regardless of how much power you put into your jump), your jump will be a long, widely arcing parabola.  Because of the speed at which you are jumping, anticipating the exact landing position of such a jump is difficult at best.  If you happen to hit anything along the way, you will bounce off the obstacle with some force, sending you flying unpredictably.  Alternatively, if you perform a walking jump (by holding the shift key the whole time), the arc of your jump will be a much tighter parabola.  You will still reach the same maximum height, but the horizontal distance you cover will be a fraction of what it would be otherwise.  Because the arc you travel is much tighter, you can anticipate your landing point much more easily and there will be less variance between characters.
• Height.  Instead of having only two options like Distance does, Height varies widely, as you can stop the power bar on your jump at any point as it fills.  Most of the time, however, you will either fully charge your power bar or you won't charge it at all.  The former is typically referred to as a 'Full Power Jump' and the latter is the 'Tap Jump'.  As the name implies, the 'Full Power Jump' reaches the maximum height your character can reach.  Jumping that high covers a lot of ground but runs the risk of your character hitting his head on the ceiling of the dungeon, which will dramatically alter the nature of the jump.  The 'Tap Jump', on the other hand, purposefully covers little ground but prevents your character from hitting his head.  That kind of low jump allows you to leap through narrow openings or safely drop down to a lower level in a controlled fashion.
• Direction.  Direction really isn't complicated, but it still is a necessary component to every jump.  If you do nothing but press the Space Bar, you will jump straight up in the air.  The vast majority of the time, you will be jumping forward, but there are times when jumping backwards is necessary. 

When you reach every jump, you will decide whether or note to use the Shift key, how long to hold the Space Bar, and then press the correct directional key.  The best and safest way to make each jump is to add each component in that order to cut down on mistakes.  Although you can select direction at any time, the safest way to jump is to select direction AFTER you press the Space Bar.  Pressing the direction key after you begin charging your jump (or simultaneously in the case of the Tap Jump) keep your character stationary until he leaps.  Typically that isn't a problem, but in the case of lag spikes, people have been known to find themselves at the bottom of pits because they were running at the time.  By adding Direction last, you can also 'bail out' safely if you over- or undercharge your power bar.

Applications

By combining the three components to jumping, you get four basic jumps (yes, I know, you should get more, but directional jumps other than forward are so rare they aren't really worth mentioning).  Each has a particular use.  Once you master where to use each jump, you will have mastered jumping itself.

• Full Power Jump.  When you need to clear a lot of ground, you have a large landing zone, and there's no ceiling to worry about, this is your jump.  If you hit a wall or obstacle with this kind of jump, you will bounce back a bit.  Clearing the Acid Pits in the Empyrean Cloister is an ideal example of the Full Power Jump's use.
• Full Power Shift Jump.  When you have to land on a small landing zone that isn't too far away, choose the Full Power Shift Jump.  This jump and the Tap Jump are the most common jumps on quests.  Many of the jumps in the Jahannan Vault are Full Power Shifts.
• Tap Jump.  Tap Jumps are used to leap into small openings in walls.  Anything stronger would result in you hitting your head on the top wall and falling to the level below.  The jumps in Jahannan Vault that aren't Full Power Shifts are Tap Jumps.
• Tap-Shift Jump (AKA Minimum Power Shift).  The least common jump on quests, Tap-Shift Jumps have one purpose - to safely drop you into a pit or to a platform directly beneath you.  You cover practically no horizontal ground and have little forward momentum, so you won't drift far.  Some of the jumps in Blackmire 3 are Tap-Shifts.

Mastery

Think you've mastered Jumping?  Then prove it!  The most difficult jumping quests I know are the Major Smoldering Stone (Jahannan Vault) and Blackmire 3's jumping dungeon.  Jahannan Vault isn't difficult (monster-wise), but getting to the Jumping Dungeon in Blackmire 3 is not something you can do alone.  If you can make it through both dungeons on the first try, you are a true jumping master!