NEWBIE: Basic PK Guide

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Shinobi
Posts: 278
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 3:05 pm

NEWBIE: Basic PK Guide

Post by Shinobi » Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:57 pm

PK GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

The intention of this post is to have three separate guides related to suggestions and comfortability of PK. I will layout tactics from the perspective of a beginner in PK (Someone with little to not experience in PK, who has primarily been killed instead of killing). I will supplement that by exploring some strategies to someone who is an average PKer (They know the core concepts of what they should do but are inconsistent and they have habits which they do without a why because they have seen them done). The final post will be an exploration of advanced tactics in PK (for people who have a very strong foundation of what they do but are curious if ideas I present are worth exploring).

A guide for each class may also be useful, but for now in the subsections I will include a cursory FOR CHANNELERS: and separate information that way when it is applicable.

If you are interested in learning PK the easiest type to play on this game is the dark side (ABs trolloc hunter or warrior), the second easiest is some form of combo on light side (hunter or warrior).

If you're a new or old player, but interested in learning how to PK, consider statting a Seanchan or a human to join the Civil Watch. Seanchan have an autoquest to join the Ever Victorious Army. The southwest is user friendly with a lot of support mobs that consistently perform in a predictable manner and the numbers are usually lower.

After 20 years of experience, I am fairly set in my ways of PK, and I assume this is common, but I want to provide some clear suggestions because out of all the games I have played WoTMUD has the best adrenaline rush and endorphin release when it comes to PVP, and I believe I am good at it. That rush, along with the joys of gaining equipment, turn points, and effervescence, outlasts the sorrows of losing perfect kits, turn points, or dying to someone you loathe entirely. If you want to progress your character in reputation and rank, there is no better way to do so than PK. So, if you haven’t spent much time PKing, but are curious, I hope this guide enables you to grow beyond where you currently sit.

A great way to grow is to get involved in the community that PKs regularly. Post logs on the Art of War forums looking for feedback. Reach out to people after PK and ask them what they were thinking or why they did what they did. Group reflection can often lead to good results for both sides if the initial dialogue has growth as the intent. If you feel that sometimes the Art of War section of the forum can be toxic, then mail me directly to get connected on Discord or reach out to someone you would like to emulate and see if they have interest or time. I’m happy to explore logs with you either over voice or through comments, and this sentiment is likely shared by most active PKers.

I hope to have the next two sections finished soon, but I wanted a basic guide out publicly to provide some context to beginners if they are interested in learning to play.

BEGINNER: (sections)
GOOD COMMUNICATION:
A. Globals
B. Group
REAL TIME DECISIONS:
FOUNDATIONS OF PK
ALIASING:
SPAMMING:
DOUBLE-LINING:
FOLLOW:
SURVIVAL:
GROUP FIGHT:
TRACK:
FOOD & DRINK & GEAR:
FOCUS OF FIGHT:
RUNNING:
HP FOCUS:
THINGS THAT COST MOVES (AND THINGS THAT DON’T):
TOPPLE FROM BASH:
Autowimpy:
Overall:


Your ceiling to develop in PK is more or less dependent on your response to how you die. It’s easiest to die and then blame game balance, character types, or your teammates. It ignores that you made several decisions (maybe unconsciously) and died.

If you’re looking to have fun in PK, then you need to know what you find fun. This question against other players can be answered through a template to reflect on each death. Because I use wintin95 I have a huge buffer. It is easy for me to reflect after I die to answer my own questions and take a moment to reflect.

Personally I ask:
1. When did you decide to kill yourself or commit to staying in PK when you weren't having a good time (e.g. where was the choice)?
2. Did you gain anything out of the experience for yourself or allies that makes your death valuable?
3. If you had not been there on that character would the experience, overall be worse or better for your teammates and opponents?

In your pursuit of improving at PK you should make the choice to risk death every-time you go into PK and then play to not be surprised by it. By which I mean if you have checked score and you have roughly 19-35 hps, you will likely die in 4 hits of melee. Be right.

A lot of leaders will also adjust their playstyle according to their assumption of your experience. Give your leaders permission to play without focusing on you. You will eventually grow, but you won’t get any benefit from coddling. Good PK requires risk taking so say that you are willing to take them.

A good rule of thumb when you are new is it is easier for people to call you back then to tell you to run after they have run. You'll be able to learn more if you live longer and get more practice keeping your cool.

GOOD COMMUNICATION:


A. Globals

Information in PK is worth its weight in gold. A clear narrate like ‘on 4 4e’ is a valuable information piece with some rough estimates. Get into the habit of quick information with followed context. To break it down:

In the context of northern PK “on 4 4e” means:
LS: there are roughly 4 dark side players around the room two north four east of Fal Dara.
DS: at least 4 light side players are around the room two north four east of Fal Dara.

Both sides will generally assume that the first narrate in an engagement is an estimate. Location means Light Side will have an easier time than Dark Side getting reinforcements. If you are on Dark Side, though, you can type ‘who’ and get an easy estimate of how many people you can rally.

Light Side more commonly depends on hearing the amount of different people saying versions of the same piece of information to know how many are around. You can check where at Malkier and one north of Fal Dara to see how many people are in the area.

Now, if those are the assumptions you can make, you should be more confident making general narrates that provide information. Your narrates will often be answered by questions (Who? What? Where?) if this information isn’t provided upfront. When it comes to follow-up context you can be specific or general depending on your typing efficiency.
1. “on mikhan razhak gok zarg 4e”
2. “on 1dl 1 f 2 trolls 4e”
3. “2 remorts 2 trolls 4e”
4. “dl raz zarg stabber”
All of these narrates give the same information, but some provide more context than others. You’ve already said you are four east. You can, but don’t need to repeat it. If I heard the third narrate, I might assume that we have fled. The most useful narrate for someone who is not there and does not know what Gok or Mikhan is would be the 4th. The second most useful is the 1st. The least useful is the 3rd.

Two rounds of inaction to provide accurate data gives context for those present and absent. It is worth any loss to the rounds. Consider this versus more common examples wasted communication. I hesitate to say bad because it can be good. Take the example of someone who narrates “I am dead”

If I see this narrate and I check where and I am close, then I can run to that room and spam take all corpse. That’s a lot of ifs for value though. You can always send tells after you’ve died to provide context, but before you die try to provide predictive information to empower allies.
Could we narrate “crit goin cul” or “crit goin ragan help”?
If I hear either of these, they carry implicit instructions for me, and depending on the player, I will adjust my game plan to go and spam, heal, or intercept chasers. You will rarely know that those narrates are going to be useful, but it’s worth to get into the habit of offering predictive information.

B. Group

If you’re following a leader then you can keep them up to date on where you are. If you get separated this means explicitly a room name or zone. “hi, I’m df. Where?” Or simply “where?” It is often better to wait to an answer to this question than to assume the answer and waste moves doubling back. Depending on the circumstance, in most cases if you are left behind (and it is not cause of a lost fight), the right action sequence is to ask where to go and then spam for enemies.

On light side I like to keep my leader aware of my personal moves (when they get below tiring), my horse moves (when we’re close to boundaries like The Blight) If I’m hungry or thirsty and whether I need those resources. E.g. “Need food soon / need water soon / etc.” While it may seem small, in some PK zones butcherable mobs are not readily available and doubling back on rooms can be costly.

A great habit in PK is likely to keep your team informed on what you know you should keep better track of. Is your notice on when you’re standing still? Tell leader so they don’t run off with you losing more moves. Are you low hit points? Most leaders will know this, but it’s a bad habit to assume that they know it. If you haven’t given them permission to take risks, then give yourself permission to overcommunicate. Resource tracking will help you know what resources you have at your disposal.

But you should keep your communication focused on what will provide value to you, your team, and the leader.

Once you’re tracking resources then you need to get more confident in making calls for yourself. Are you battered? Maybe it’s time to regroup. Narrate “I’m out” or “fleeing” and wait a round. The round is courteous to let people get unbashed. If you can’t afford that time then narrate before you flee and flee.

When you're running or chasing let your team know, but don't go into detail until you're safe. This sounds like “heading df” or “runnin s”. Predictive information is good, but general information is important to get into the habit of sharing.

When you run if you see a lot of:

* HP:Hurt MV:Strong > Alas, you cannot go that way...

* HP:Hurt MV:Strong > Alas, you cannot go that way...


It means two things. You didn’t know where you were, and you’ve wasted a command. It’s not always important but consider in context then narrates are a wasted command when they don’t provide information. The best narrates provide actionable information and are followed with context. The worst in PK are filler that require asking questions for clarity because they were unclear.

Knowing when to communicate is as important as what to communicate. Did you make it to a patrol? Now you’ve got a few seconds to scroll up and grab context to add to your narrates. “runnin df” can add “at patrol fblands N W S room”

You might think that doesn’t sound like a lot of information, but those exits and the room names in that zone would limit it substantially. Probably to four rooms at the max. You don’t need to know what you’re saying, you need to provide enough context that someone who does know more can figure out what you mean.

If you’re new to PK focus more on what you’re communicating and try to follow one other person in the session. Don’t get too lost in communications that you lose track of what’s in front of you.


REAL TIME DECISIONS:


My link is not crazy good and sometimes I freeze and watch the game go while it eats my inputs or lag out and come back. Apart from instances in lag I can generally keep my head screwed on and make decisions reliably in the pulses between combat rounds or during flees. Being able to take in information and make decisions makes PK more fun for me.

If you can figure out how to give yourself permission to do this more actively in PK, then I think you will have more fun. But you may die more because if you aren’t taking the information in as quickly then you aren’t making choices as clearly and quickly.

To have a better experience I think you should start with a game plan on what goal you're pursuing to engage in PK. It’s important to make deliberate choices, but every goal to grow should be enjoyable and rewarding. What is the reward you want?

Are you looking to gain quest points? Are you looking to gain kills and turn points? Are you looking to improve your own play? The first two are measurable and the last is subjective. If you are looking for measurable growth, then communicate this to a leader. It will make it easier for them.

I’d also suggest that you keep a backup of armor and a weapon (also shield) in whatever city you PK from. Often I simply keep 10 good weapons (or 7 and 3 shields) in the citys where I PK so I can PK naked. It’s easy to find basic abs equal to 50+% and run out.

And in most cities, you can purchase a set of full abs or dodge for 500 crowns. If you aren’t wealthy, then set a goal to get 50 turn points. That can sell for 1000 crowns and would be two free re-equips. I really enjoy the process of starting with a decent dagger (or insert weapon here) and shield and building a set through PK from there. My last run of deaths on Shinobi was four deaths near naked until I had a full kit.

One important consideration depending on your goal is the amount of learning you can do in every session is contingent upon the number of mistakes your setup and character allows for. An abs warrior with 415 hit points can make a lot more mistakes before they die than a 280 hit point channeler. You can learn to PK on a channeler only and I won’t dissuade you, but if it takes 200 deaths to be great at a warrior in PK then it will likely take 800 on a channeler. Maybe 2000 without patience and reflection.

The foundation of PK, though, will translate to any class. If you want to improve then I’d suggest make improvement easy on yourself and start with a character that allows for a lot of mistakes.

FOUNDATIONS OF PK


ALIASING:


Anything you do repeatedly should be aliased through your access program or web client. If you use the website for instance, then you should have habits to set aliases. Some that will be dynamic and others that are static.

1. Alias rh ride horse
2. Alias 1 kill dark

Here I would consider 1 a static alias. Whenever I see a horse I want to be able to type rh and ride it. The second I would want to be dynamic. If I want to spam for a specific person then I might type in game alias 1 kill name.

This is important because the more you have to type in PK the more you will make a mistake. Best to keep it simple. 1 is my kill target alias. Z is my kill h.target alias.

You don’t need to be super dynamic or innovative with a client, but you need to recognize that you are playing at a disadvantage when you do not make things easy. For instance, I do not use repeat enter. This means every time I put a command in, I will need to retype that command to do it a second time.

This means when I put in a command that I want to repeat my next command is likely going to be !. ! tells the MUD to do the same thing you just did. You can type history to see what it’s trying to do. For me this looks like:
->>Kill dark
No-one by that name.
->> !
There are programs out there that will autorepeat commands. Meaning if you push enter the next command queue’d will be the last command so your prompt will look like some variance of this:
->>Kill dark
No-one by that name.
->>Kill dark
You are doing work either way. If you only push enter then you are doing three less keystrokes than I am when I press Shift+1 then enter. If you’re new to PK and you are playing in a way that is at a disadvantage, then put the effort into outreach or make it a priority to learn the client you use. If you haven’t got a system, then think about what makes the most sense to you.

Whatever you do regularly on this game should be shortened into an alias. Typing out channel 'ice spikes' h.target under duress is less consistent than typing out ic or icc.

SPAMMING:

When someone says ‘spam’ or narrates ‘SPAM’ what they mean is type kill dark or kill light repeatedly. Spamming is an undervalued skill. If you see this say or narrate ‘I SPAM'. And then commit to only doing that for a minute or so. I try to spam intermittently throughout a session. Mostly, though, I spam because it has crazy return on value.

When you attack someone first you get a chance to hit them, and they have to input a command after whatever they’ve lined up in queue. So, let’s say I am a Light Side thief and you’re spamming on a trolloc and I run into you two north of Fal Dara.

If my commands were stacked before the room then I would have s;cal;s in queue. This means I’ve got to wait three commands before I can put my flee command in. This gives your basher additional pulses toward his bash having a chance to complete. If I flee;w;s and I flee east and you are spamming then the bash will likely complete. If no one else is spamming then I will just walk south and into Fal Dara.

If you are spamming while you’re moving then you don’t need notice on, but when your team stops you should turn on notice and intermittently input a kill h.target. If you have less moves than Winded you should be cautious with this because kill h.target costs 1 move. Don’t spam it.

If you’d like to be better at managing your hit points then you can try to make a habit of diag h.target and put that between spams. Diagnose h.target will tell you if they are in the room, but it won’t break their hide. If it succeeds then it might be time to throw in a kill h.target command.

The biggest benefit to spamming is that you will be less likely to die to a backstab which never feels good. Though, keep track if you are FEARED. If you are uncomfortable walking out of a room when you can see an enemy target in it then I’d suggest you simply leave or enter PK with cure fear vials. It’s obnoxious to do the right thing and be punished for a command failing. If you are fighting a fade charger and they have fear you will not have won and if you aren't confident then you should leave.

DOUBLE-LINING:


What is a doubleline (dline)? When you are engaged in combat and type flee the next command you enter will happen immediately. So, as an example, if a person is spamming inside an east only exit door they will see me enter and exit in the same pulse.

FOUR EXIT ROOM ADJACENT TO A DOOR:

Code: Select all

      x
      |
A-|---B-x--x
      |
      x
In this instance if we assume A has a door and we are at the room B then whenever we start to flee, we want to have an east command input. If you’re newer to PK then the only dline you should really take is one that gets you out of a door.

If you stop dlining from rooms without a plan then you will die much less. You don’t need to spam inputs from a room to effectively run and it’s often going to work against you. Remember the consequences of stacked commands to someone else when you’re spamming? That is now true about you.

If you aren’t dlining on purpose then you should turn auto-wimpy off (unless you are learning on a dodge character) until you are confident in your use of dline.

As you start there are only three areas that you should dline from 100% of the time. A 1-exit room, a 2-exit room next to adjacent rooms with the same exit, and a room next to a door. The example of a room next to a door is above and I showed a four-exit room because it is an instance that goes against what I said about dlining from four-exit rooms, but is the only correct dline.

TWO-EXIT ROOM NEXT TO ADJACENT EXITS:

Code: Select all


x--e-x-b--x--d
|  |   |  |
x  x   x--x
|  |   |
x--1-a-2--x
       |
       X
            
For this example all rooms named X are connected by either a dash(-) which denotes east/west or a column(|) which denotes north/south. We’re looking at room name: A as the room that you are in and fleeing from while rooms 1 and 2 are the adjacent rooms.

If you flee;north from A you are guaranteed to end up one north of 1 or 2. If you flee;north;east;north;east;east and your first flee takes you to room 1 you will move four rooms and waste one command. If your flee takes you to room 2 you will move five rooms without wasting a command.

For specifics: in this instance both are ideal outcomes because if the enemy leader sees you flee to 1 from a then they have to go to room e and check tracks before they can go to room b. They need to check tracks at two rooms to know what area you are now in. Because of your commands you have already left both rooms. Fleeing east from a is better because they have to check 2, b, and d in sequence to know where you’ve gone.

This layout demonstrates the importance of zone knowledge. An average PKer should look at that layout and easily recognize Orchard Ragan area. Most of these rooms have names to add context and there are a lot more areas that you can run beyond just those parsed commands. The point is that the more familiar you are with an area the easier it is to know which rooms you can go to that will help you buy time from your opponents with running far distances.

ONE EXIT ROOM:

Code: Select all


   b 
   |
d--x--c
   |
   a
In the instance of a one-exit room let’s assume that you are fleeing from d and b, c, and a are all rooms that lead to different paths to the same area, but c is substantially longer and has more 2 exit rooms than the other two. If your mount or you have moves, then I would just force the choke. This means dline east from d and spamming it (likely 3 times is about my comfort level while running and being chased, I don’t want to overlap too many commands in case I get caught).

If your link is bad, then it might be more important for you to choose the routes from a or b. If you know that people usually run a then there is a higher likelihood that if you run b you will not be caught. The point is you can always dline from d. But, without knowledge of the other routes we can’t know what best or which direction is we should prefer because there is nuance.

It does demonstrate that you only need to know one area in a zone well to survive in that zone. If you’re learning north PK then route out the areas of the zones that you want to get most comfortable with. Play to force those sides of the zone rather than let yourself be corralled by someone who is catching you through predictability.

The whole point here as you gain confidence in PK is to know what you’re doing when you flee. Stop dlining without a plan and start fleeing with intention. I said earlier to play without autoflee on (unless dodge). This means to log on and change wimpy 0. We’ll talk about what autoflee is later, but you’re likely not using it on purpose and it is killing you.

For the sake of proper use, I will say apart from the instances detailed above, there is no true rules to dlining. I dline for my hoped flee as long as two input commands don’t lead me back to the same room. I know that’s not clear but think about what it means. I would like to flee and have two commands in sequence go off to put distance between me and my chasers or flee and fail two commands then flee and reenter their room. I can always try to dline again. I’m not trying to put massive distance between us. I’m trying to put more than one room on my terms.

I have often found that I can wait 3 rooms away from my opponents for a large amount of time while they check off chokes. I don’t need to force chokes, I need to take advantage of the fact that they play on autopilot and probably overchased because I was unpredictable.

FOLLOW:


If you are joining PK or leaving PK you should inform the people who are PKing.
Either the leader directly through tells or share on narrate.

Do you have a fresh horse dusty and you're waiting a tic to hear where you should hit? Are you coming down from blight to join PK dusty? If you’re on dark side then did you bring limbs and grovel at the pot in camp then join with full moves?

If you put 2 limbs into a cookpot with a fade at it and then grovel at the fade it will give you movement points in exchange for hit points. The LS equivalent of showing up with full mvs from a grovel before you got NO-QUIT is bringing a good horse. Warhorse, bloodstock, or razor are great. I prefer the bloodstock because it is longer to type when people are horse-targetting.

Be willing to follow a leader to an extent. You aren’t required to follow anyone who treats you poorly, who isn’t considerate, or who sacrifices you for their own gains. Give yourself permission to follow-self if your only option doesn’t make you feel confident. Just articulate that.

SURVIVAL:


If you're on LS and struggling in the north the biggest impact to your survival after PK will be getting survival rank 7.

More important than DB or OB or PB are movement points and their conservation. If you are on LS and want to improve you should sacrifice your practices to get level 7 survival.

The movement reduction cost and the fact that you can ride a horse at 1 mv and ride it without cost will change your experience PKing.

If you haven't learned how to manage LS moves or horses, then this is an important piece of that puzzle and it's a beginning tool that will allow you to expand comfortability in PK by making more mistakes.

I play with rank 7 on every non-trolloc character I own—there is a reason for it. It will help you be aggressive and live longer.


GROUP FIGHT:


Sometimes it feels impossible to track all the information you can access and use in group fights. The biggest help you can make to a leader is call out how many you are buffing and whether you’ve bashed your opponent or not. If you’re a channeler then you should narrate who you’re going to weave on. Even if this just means narrating “targeting dark”.

I would suggest you just focus on targeting dark. The way to avoid stabs is to remain engaged. If you pay attention to who you’re buffing, then you can watch when they flee. When they flee you’re not engaged. If you’re not watching who you’re buffing, then you should track who you’re hitting. Track who you’re hitting. It’s more important to remain engaged than it is to finish a timer.

You can type look and highlight or look for FIGHTING YOU. If you see it more than once then you can narrate “buffing two” “buffing 2” Adjust accordingly, but if you’re battered and still buffing two your team is likely going to lose the fight. It would be okay to flee there as long as you tell the team “fleeing” or “am out”

Keep it simple. If you want to work on improving survival low then start with fleeing at battered from group fights to give yourself more time to avoid death and mistakes. You can have small goals within your goal to advance your PK habits.

TRACK:


If your goal involves PKing in more 1v1 scenarios to build up your PK aptitude, then I think track is a good skill. Be mindful, it doesn’t work the way it should, sneak can cause it to fail, and snow is the worst.

If you have track disregard the ability while you’re following someone else. It is a distraction! Don’t worry about it, just focus on spamming and paying attention to what information you’re hearing and work on your memory pyramid for PK.


Like all forms of learning, at the beginning of improving in anything we start from a playlist of unconscious incompetence. We don’t know what we don’t know! It is why it is a blind spot. Once we have an idea then we move to conscious incompetence. We know, but we’re not very good yet.

Over time we practice memory storage to information and recognition and recall (generally experience specific) to make gradual steps toward improvement. We become consciously competent. Where we experience true mastery is through unconscious competence. The Tao Te Ching refers to this in some variance as ‘wei wu wei’ roughly butchered ‘doing not doing’.

Think of your favorite athlete or role model. How did they get to where they are? Likely it took them thousands of hours of practicing doing something exactly on purpose before they could do it naturally that way without focus on the behaviors. If you can get better at spamming, managing moves, and running with intention then you will have a more enjoyable time PKing and you can aim toward mastery.

FOOD & DRINK & GEAR:


If you're going to PK you should have a plan related to food and water and your setup.

A dodger should plan one meal and one drink ahead. I carry a cup and I primarily drink out of water sources. If I see a water resource, (fountain, well, pond, creek, etc.) then I refill. I carry a set of rations and prefer to butcher before I use that.

An abser doesn’t need to care. You can carry none or a lot. I carry four extra meals and a full water skin. When I login if I don’t have rations I go to an oven (e.g. 2s 1e of Fal Dara Rent, 1d 1s of Caemlyn rent) and make dinner twice “type make dinner”.

Before I rent I mend my gear and take them out of mend. If you don’t forget then you can simply rent and exchange the receipts when you login.

As nice as any group is, it is not their responsibility to manage your resources. If you don’t like carrying it then equip your horse with a saddlebag with food and a water satchel and use those. You can leave a cup in the saddlebag and pour it from the water satchel into the cup. I don’t know if you can drink from the water sathel.

There are a lot of ways that preparation can mitigate distraction and increase your regen, but above all, it requires planning. Planning to PK is as important as how you act in PK, but if you manage your resources well then you can PK without vials or potions and simply focus on incremental improvements. All of it starts with making the habit.

FOCUS OF FIGHT:


If you're being focused and you’re not sure what do then say that you’re off. Say “fleeing” or “I’m off” or ‘brb’. Sit a room or two away and spam. If you can scan the room then do so, if not, just wait around 30 seconds and reenter. Make sure your head is screwed on straight and then head back in with control of your character.

RUNNING:


You shouldn’t be running three zones when a group fight ends. Exception being that you are leaving bloody traces behind you. You should be trying to get clarity on where to regroup. If your leader calls a place that is three zones away then it’s okay to go there, just remember that you don’t need to run far or fast to get there. If you’ve got a mount then the longer you spend not forcing toward your destination, the more freedom you have to get there.

This is true for trollocs as well. The more you conserve your moves through patience, the more moves you will have to get where you want to go.

HP FOCUS:


Build habits around watching your hit points and opponents hit points. If you want to expand this then you can also diagnose your team to see how they’re doing. If you’re tracking where everyone is then it’s easier to watch a melee round an get a decent idea on whether you’ll win or not.

An example: if you’ve got a dodger that’s battered then there’s a very low chance they can stay in a fight and buff, so if you’re an abser in the buffer spot (the last one to follow the leader) then you’ll be the first person to have two people engage on you.

If your dodger is battered in an even fight (2v2), then you will end up buffing two first. It might not always be true, but it is likely. This habit only gives you the power to get more clarity around the answer to the question, “I wonder what happens next?”

You don’t need to predict too far into the future. Say you are 1v3 and standing at mobs, but you know if they hit you repeatedly then you will die so you leave at hurt because you know 3 players beat 1 player. But, when you’re battered you’ve validated that conclusion and if none of them are super low then you’ve got reason to leave.



THINGS THAT COST MOVES (AND THINGS THAT DON’T):


1. Bash costs 2 moves only, even if you use bash h.target. Once you are engaged bash no longer costs moves.
2. Backstab costs 1 move for LS and 2 mvs for DS.
3. Charge costs 1 move.
4. Manual track costs 1 move. If you’re doing it generically (e.g. track) then you’ll probably need to track twice per room (.e.g. track trolloc) after you get no useful information.
5. Notice costs personal moves for every room you walk with it on, but if you are mounted it is not effect the pool of moves that your mount would have.
6. Channeling does not cost moves.
7. Look h.target doesn’t cost moves, but it does show the other person you look at them when it succeeds. It doesn’t break their hide if you are hidden.
8. Diagnose h.target doesn’t cost and if it succeeds they don’t know that you noticed them. It doesn’t break their hide if they are hidden.
Kill h.target costs 1 move per attempt, but gets closer to guarantee interruption of an attack like backstab. It will cost 1 move even when you are engaged. It is worth using.
9. Search costs 1 mv to complete, but if you are below 0 moves it will reset your moves to 0. It is an easy way to get out of negative moves before you quaff a vial if you have jumped out of a city. Or enter the Ways mounted.
10. You can search the opposite race as well. You can search human, dark, or seanchan. You cannot search light. It costs 1 mv to search dark, the same as kill h. and the timer scales with the % of search you have practiced. If you have a lot of search then you will likely beat a backstab timer.
11. Riding a horse below level 7 survival will cost you one move per room.
12. If you are sneaking, then you pay an additional 1 move per room.
13. Each attempt to hide, even if it fails, costs one move.
14. How much you are carrying can lead to variance in both your regen and your movement cost per room, but I don’t know those specifics. They are only worth considering when you are looting a lot of corpses. You’re better off quaffing a vial before you begin that process and waiting to regen. If you can’t then consider what you want to loot rather than looting everything.

Generally speaking when you are going to use a vial in PK you should quaff it around winded or higher.
Quaffing a vial when you are haggard is not optimal use. Because of how vials work you need the regen to happen gradually to get the best bang for it. If you’re using it when you’re at 0 moves, you’re still going to have to wait for the regen to populate. If you currently die with more than one vial regularly in your backpack then you should consider being more liberal with their use.

TOPPLE FROM BASH:


Every time you try to bash you have a 33% of toppling over if you have 99 bash and weapon practiced. When you topple over you are disengaged and sitting. If someone is regularly trying to flee into the room and charge you then you shouldn’t let a bash roll on them. In that case you should spam.

If you’re fighting a thief that is fleeing and reentering regularly then it’s worth waiting a round until you know their timer isn’t running before you start a bash. It’s better to raise their fleelag gradually than die to a stab from a toppled bash.

AUTOWIMPY:


Autowimpy is a strong mechanism for dodge to flee out of bashes. If your autowimpy is going off then you need to either adjust your autowimpy to be lower or you need to stop manual fleeing. You know your autowimpy is going off when you flee before you type flee. Every time you manual flee you risk cancelling your autowimpy out of a bash.

Without going in too much detail, when you start a flee you cannot flee again. If you start a flee before someone bash attempt finishes, then you cannot start a flee after they have bashed you. It means if you flee before autowimpy when you knew you were going to get bashed then you made your character take two rounds of combat damage instead of just one.

OVERALL:


Each class has a subset from this of what you should do in an ideal scenario, but I hope this provides a baseline for how to PK and how to survive without requiring you to run a large amount of zones to survive. PK is great and fun and the rewards are huge from QPs to EQ. If you haven't invested much time into PK because it feels like there is a gap between where you are as a player and where other PKers are then I respect that, but I encourage you to consider whether it would be worth branching out to some new aspect of this game that you’re already playing.

For me I love that I can immerse myself in a form of roleplay that is truly character versus character. Sometimes I can even do this through narrates during PK with conflicting nations. I love doing RP things through PK because it enriches my experience. I feel that often the RP I can achieve by being present and in PK outshines most of the roleplay I've experienced through sit-down scenarios. It is simply another world and a layer of immersion that supplements your narrates.

I encourage you to reach out to me directly via discord or through forum mail if you've never had a character dedicated to PK. We can talk about you joining the Civil Watch. We give a 1000 crown starting bonus and we have access to every waygate in the game, we're two zones from a column, and our coach takes you close to Andor. If you let me know your intentions and your setup, I will make it a goal to keep our chest at 200 items and fill it with the necessary pieces that will allow you to grow in PK without feeling like every death will cost you 40 minutes to re-equip.

I know re-equipping is easy right now, but if you don't then let me do it for you to give you the opportunity to really grow in a subset of this game that is incredibly dynamic and FUN!
Last edited by Shinobi on Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Gretchen
Posts: 522
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:00 pm

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Gretchen » Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:52 am

nice post
Last edited by Gretchen on Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

Gretchen
Posts: 522
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:00 pm

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Gretchen » Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:54 am

zmud group diagnose script





#CLASS {GroupDiag}
#ALIAS updategroup {
group
#TEMP {Your group consists of:} {
#VAR Group %null
#T+ {GroupDiag|Update}
}
}
#ALIAS diagroup {#FORALL @Group {dia %i}}
#ALIAS addgroup {#ADDITEM Group "%1"}
#ALIAS remgroup {#DELITEM Group "%1"}
#VAR Group {Rhys|Gretchen|Zygoat|Amellia|Nyle|Juanito|Gharyn|a}
#CLASS 0
#CLASS {GroupDiag|Update} {disable}
#ALIAS addgroup {#ADDITEM Group "%1"}
#ALIAS remgroup {#DELITEM Group "%1"}
#TRIGGER {^(%w)} {#ADDITEM Group "%1"}
#TRIGGER {^$} {#T- {GroupDiag|Update}}
#CLASS 0

Atkins
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:55 pm

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Atkins » Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:11 pm

May want to include at what point you are leaving bloodies since you referenced them. Good foundational doc.

Beau
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2022 4:28 pm

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Beau » Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:18 am

I directed several people to this yesterday. Good post!

Shinobi
Posts: 278
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 3:05 pm

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Shinobi » Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:35 pm

Atkins wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:11 pm
May want to include at what point you are leaving bloodies since you referenced them. Good foundational doc.
Nod. I don't think using track makes a new PKer better at PK. Will include more information about it in the average guide. Thanks for the feedback.

Orlin
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:49 am

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Orlin » Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:26 pm

Thanks for posting. I learned, almost too much!

The dline explanation was the best I have read/heard yet because you tied it specifically to the fact both commands go through in the same pulse.

Is this true only when flee is the first command? If I am spamming my aliases are those commands also possibly going through on the same pulse?

I would assume so because I went to read the wiki about pulses and If someone is spamming then the dline flee would put more distance between you and your pursuers as their spams will have to complete before they can move.

Which would mean that it's possible to spam too fast?

Iblis
Posts: 100
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:56 am

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Iblis » Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:10 pm

Not entirely sure what you mean, but it is possible to overspam your command, for example "kill target" and if your target dlines past you, then you will have to wait for your kill commands to leave the queue before you can chase after him if that is what you mean?
Doublelining only works with fleeing, not your other commands.

Orlin
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:49 am

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Orlin » Fri Jan 28, 2022 6:13 am

Iblis wrote:
Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:10 pm
Not entirely sure what you mean, but it is possible to overspam your command, for example "kill target" and if your target dlines past you, then you will have to wait for your kill commands to leave the queue before you can chase after him if that is what you mean?
Doublelining only works with fleeing, not your other commands.
You answered my question.

DL only applies when flee is the first command. I thought you could only enter one command per pulse.

Then I was thinking well if there is nothing special about flee, then someone could type: "k.dark;k dark" and have 2 commands per pulse.

However, there apparently is something special about flee.

Adael
Posts: 1081
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:34 am

Re: Basic PK Guide

Post by Adael » Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:26 am

Slight nitpick, but there’s a difference between _entering_ commands and those commands being _processed_. The mud only processes output every ~0.25 seconds. You can of course enter more than 1 command in that time period, and they will get sent to the mud, but the mud will process them in order 1 by 1 every pulse.

If you have fleelag and flee, your command goes through and is processed (“You panic and attempt to flee”). Flee is indeed funny in that when it completes (“You flee head over heels”) the next command you’ve entered also gets processed that same pulse. If I remember right I’ve heard it said that dlining is actually an unintentional bug :P

Also, generally speaking, that first bit about mud processing commands every ~0.25s also means if you’re spamming more than 4 commands a second or so, you’re going to end up having to wait for your commands to finish going through. Overspam lag is real! :lol:

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