Playerkilling Tactics

This page is an index of some common playerkilling tactics, that apply quite universally.

Aggressives - Its not useful at 50, but all the way up the ranks, your level advantage will protect you from the attacks of certain aggressive creatures. Not so for your victims. So you can use aggressives to set up traps.

Ambush - Catching someone with their pants down (e.g. sleeping up, trying to gain level) is perhaps our most effective tactic and that's why its done so much. Rogues are well-suited for this kind of play with their stealthy skills helping them create opportunities, and of course the dual backstab (which is the most powerful attack in the game, period.). Fights can be ended easily if the opponent is caught off-guard.

Attrition - Most characters rely on supplies (e.g. fly scrolls, purple potions for sanctuary, dusts for detect invis). Attrition is essentially the art of drawing out the fight to make them burn their supplies. They can often be caught off-guard trying to re-stock, especially with the detect invis items. Clerics do this tactic best, combined with "Rope a Dope".

Disabling - This would be laying spells on your opponent, to reduce his capacity. For example, blindness spell makes it hard for the victim to run off, curse prevents from them using recall. Spells like plague and poison lower stats, making defences and attacks poor, others attack regen. In solo play, this allows the character to wear down more athletic opponents. Disablers are generally crappy at killing (even ambushes), but especially deadly when coupled with a "nuker".

Divide and Conquer - Applies to facing groups. If you split the enemy forces, you will stand a better chance against them. For example, one Knight and two healers. Raiding the Knight cabal singles the Knight out for a one-on-one. In the case of group vs group, skills like summon and strangle/blackjack can quickly turn a 3-on-3 (pretty even) into 3 matchups of 3-on-1 (one-sided). Other skills are available to some classes that force 1-on-1's. Keep it in mind when you fight in groups.

Doors - Lock people behind them, use pass door spells to travel through them. Groups are particularly vulnerable to being scattered by doors getting in their way. Mages are good at this. Summon and pass door would be the ideal case.

Double whammy - In a close fight you've lost, quite a lot of classes can still pack a punch naked (e.g. hellstream, fireball, rage). The double whammy is the tactic of returning to finish your opponent while they're still looting you. If you die again trying to unghost for the job, you should probably just give up on the idea.

No-exits - A no-exit room is one that has no exits other than by recall. Trapping someone in a no-exit is an easy way to win fights, typically. If you can win in a duel that prevents any fleeing, or have an easy escape from the no-exit (mages that dispel the opponent successfully comes to mind), then you can probably put this strategy to good use.

Nuking - A "nuker" is a class with a means to deliver a lot of damage very quickly. Some classes can gradually build up to doing a lot of damage. Those aren't nukers. Nukers are fast killing classes that get overwhelmed quickly if they end up tanking. In group combat, nukers get the kills.

Retreat - If you flee too early from a fight then you aren't making the most of all your hit points, wasting potions, etc. However there comes a time when the smartest move to make is retreat. If you can't possibly win and you know it, its time to leave. (By leave I dont mean, you have to quit out, I mean going into hide mode.)

Rope a Dope - Works especially well against warriors. If your class has some enhanced regen ability (includes cures, even from items), keep running and using it til you wear your opponent out. Can be subtly applied to movement points with some classes. See also "Soften 'em up".

Run-and-gun - See "nuking".

Skirmishing - This is the tactic of fleeing and attacking. A murder is an unanswered round, so skirmishing plays a significant part of battles with players. Mobs auto-attack so don't try it on those. Fighters are best at this because they do it with the most attacks and dual wield, and in some cases javelins, bows, and so on.

Summoning - Some places will allow you to summon the opponent into a place he can't easily leave. Can be decisive if the opponent has forgotten a recall.

Tick-catching - Classes with cure spells can catch the ticks sleeping (every 30 seconds) to keep mana reserves high. Its a defensive style of play, and it couples well with attrition warfare.

Traps - This is the art of suckering someone into an unsuspecting trap, e.g. place of no-recall, locked in (better yet, with aggressive monster). If you're playing a class which depends on able to make quick escape, especially "nukers", then you shouldn't try trapping opponent. Its liable to backfire. See also "no-exits".

Turtling - Turtling is the art of adopting an extremely defensive stance and hoping for the opponent to make a mistake. It typically doesn't work very good (fights like that are boring for everyone involved), however there are a few noteable exceptions. One is standing at an aggressive mob, that doesn't aggress on you obviously. Another is guildsitting, so that they have to fight your guild guardian to get to you. It'll buy you time, and its a helping hand for your counter-attack. (Don't just sit there doing nothing until the guardian's died).