Intro to the Arena- for beginners (first and second class)
Written by Riel
Preparation
Equipment: When choosing equipment look for high base AR, added AR, savings, stats (hp, sp, str, agil, sanity, luck etc..), and accuracy.
*First classers: Focus on AR, hp and acc. If you’re a spellcaster, focus on sanity. If you are a fighter or rogue focus on strength and agility.
**Second classers: Also focus on savings because chances are you will be fighting an opponent with a mage class.
*** If you have high accuracy (from your weapon, riding or accuracy boosting equipment), you should combat aim head; otherwise, combat aim torso.
Spelling up and getting ready: Try to layer as many defensive spells on yourself as possible. Orbs and staffs also contain useful defensive spells if you yourself can not cast. If you have riding, grab a mount, preferably a levitating mount.
*First classers: Blue orbs (sanctuary) are easiest to obtain from salesmen in rune. You should not bring your Necromicon into the arena because they might burn due to the fire traps or fire spells.
Other items to bring: If you are a spellcaster, don’t forget to bring enough reagents. If you have herbalism, create mixtures beforehand. Also, everyone needs cure blind potions especially if they don’t have the spell.
*First classers: Most first class arena participants will bring staffs and wands and orbs to the arena so don’t be surprised. Some common magical items include the staff of life, the octarine wand, the feather duster, and the mirror of oversight.
The Arena
The arena is made up of various kinds of rooms with different affects to each type. Their affects are listed below:
Yellow
Low regeneration, no-track
White
High regeneration
Orange
Double Damage
Blue
Water (water trap if not levitated)
Purple
Stalactites (trap)
Black
Dark, No-Magic (no spells work here and light needed)
Green
Tangle-vines (hard to move around/flee out of this room)
Red
Fire (fire trap)
Deeper part of the arena
No affects
Taking advantage of Room Attributes:
Tip #1: Always try to fight minotaurs in red rooms and fight feys in blue rooms if they are not levitated and/or if you have a water evocation.
Tip #2: If you can do more skill-based damage than your opponent, fight in a black room.
Tip #3: If you do high damage, fight in an orange room.
Tip #4: Use of the say command in purple rooms make stalactites fall. (cheap alert)
Tip #5: Green rooms are harder to flee from but also harder to chase out of.
Tip #6: White rooms are good to regenerate in but remember to remove haste before sleeping.
Tip #7: Yellow rooms make you harder to find but also slow regeneration.
Know your Opponent: Take advantage of your opponent’s weaknesses and keep in mind their immunities and resistances. The vital statistics of the races also differ but that won’t be discussed here because those factor in less at lower classes.
Ogre: vulnerable to mental (all psionic spells); resistant to fire and cold
Minotaur: vulnerable to fire (flame wind, fire traps); resistant to bash, poison and disease
Drow: vulnerable to holy; resistant to charm and necromantic
Sidhe: vulnerable to iron (iron weapons) and light (blind, flash bombs); immune to
poison; resistant to charm disease and paralysis
Fey: vulnerable to iron, light, drowning (water traps) and water (water evocation over
blue rooms); immune to poison; resistant to charm disease and paralysis
Dracon: vulnerable to cold (frost, iceball); resistant to bash and fire
Dwarf: vulnerable to lightning (lightning bolt); resistant to magic, poison and disease
Halfling: resistant to magic
Half-elf: resistant to charm, disease
Elf: resistant to charm
Gnome: resistant to magic, poison, disease
Human: no affects
Combat
I will be brief here. To learn the specific combat strategies see specific guides written about each class.
However, one tip that should be shared to all is that you should try to initiate combat. It prevents you from being backstabbed, fed on by feys, and memory drained. It also lets your attacks figure in first for every round. This can mean victory for very close fights when it comes down to the very last round.
Timing is another important matter faced by all. It is crucial to winning or losing a match. Most attacks need exactly one round (3 seconds) to cast. That is, if you start casting right after your attacks and the opponents attacks end it will be just enough time for your spell to hit (or fumble) before the next round of attacks. Some spells like heal and earth invocation and wizard web and psionic web take 4 seconds (over a round). However, if you buy the spell delivery amulet (donation item), you can cast 4-second spells in a round. Bash and kick are instant but you can only use them once per round or else you might lose your attacks for the next round as well as one defense. Magic dart is the only spell that can be spammed. Spamming anything else or mistiming anything else will make you lose your next round of attacks and one defense.
**First classers: Timing is so important that you might do better off not casting/using bash/using kick at all than mistiming.
Arena etiquette:
1. Fleeing is a tactic. However, it is cheap to flee whenever someone starts to cast a spell.
2. Challenge quitting and suicide should be avoided unless both parties agree to challenge quit.
3. Three unspoken rules: NO acid. NO silence. NO kill spell. This is the arena.
4. Fire and ice (as well as telekinetic wave) also frag so you should decide beforehand if they should be allowed. If not spoken of, they are allowed.
5. Don’t complain after the fight. No one wants listen to ranting.