SELF-DEFENCE

Written by Tribalomen

Self-defence - Introduction

Lets assume that you are a good player, maybe not up there with the best, but that you know the whole geography of the land and can do pretty much all the tasks, even if you don't most of the time. You get a few k every reset, but your playing life is plagued by other players. Some take all the kit that you need to play properly, some just attack you out of the blue.

Naturally you get a little paranoid. You have no real way of telling peaceful "friendly" players, from those vicious swine who are just out to kill you. What then are the possible solutions?

First, you can just play and find out who the bad guys are through being assaulted by them. When you get to know their names and styles of play you can skip to the tearoom whenever they slide into view. This isn't very practical if you don't play every day, as you will lose track of who to trust.

Second, you can get together with a group of trusted friends and play all together in safety. This is a pretty good solution but it has some drawbacks; Wizzes think you are being cowardly cheating swine who lack the ability to play properly and need bodyguards to enter the land; you have to share any treasure gained; your friends cannot always be there when you need them, and may have a row with you and attack you anyway.

Third, you can sit in the tearoom all day and sit around chatting. This is ok if you enjoy that sort of thing, but it totally destroys your confidence in your own playing ability, and saps away at any residual playing ability you ever possessed.

None of these possible solutions is perfect. Most players employ them for lack of a better.

There is a better solution. Imagine a reset free of any other high players. Imagine a reset in which you can stroll about at will and do whatever you wish. Imagine a reset where total control is yours. How can this be acheived?

The answer is simple. You must systematically hunt down and kill, or chase off, every other player high enough to be any threat to you. Why must you attack every other high player I hear you ask? Because you cannot tell the difference between nice and nasty players, and trying to make distinctions in a combat environment is a quick way to end up dead.

This could have been entitled "How to Kill", but that would have been very misleading. Even the most effective Pks hardly ever kill their victims. Occasionally they manage it through a combination of great skill and luck, but a flee is the usual result. This doesn't really matter. A kill is to be prefered as it brings valuable points, but most players will quit to the tearoom after fleeing a few times - unless they are mad or very good - thus bringing about the nice clear reset that is your objective.

Self-defence - How to go about it

Recognise that Mud is a game where the actual moment of combat rests on the RNG (random number generator). Victory or defeat are usually decided well before any player types Kill Mitciv (k mit). Preparation is Key.

Stamina

Given equal stats, the player with the most stamina to call on will win. Stamina is contained in objects called wafers, and sometimes vials etc. Wafers and vials begin in set locations. The objects may move marginally, but you can find out and learn where these places are. When you have done this you can begin a reset by moving as quickly as possible to gather as many as possible.

Stats

Given equal stamina, the player with the higher strength and dexterity will win. The damage you do depends on your basic strength, plus any weapon you carry. You Must get hold of a good weapon. Again, weapons always start in the same places. You can and will rush to get them before other people.

Both strength and dexterity can be affected marginally by magic. Any adequate magic user will make themselves aware of these spells, and their drawbacks.

Magic

It stands to reason that you will usually lose when fighting an invisible enemy. Be that invisible enemy yourself, and learn how to counter them. Again a blind enemy is one on the way to the grave.

Magical objects

There are four or five powerful magical spells and objects which can make the difference between winning and losing. You must know how to use these, and how to protect yourself against them. The technical details may be boring, but you can work them out.

Geography

You must know the Land well. You must learn it by heart, or at the very least have easy to read maps. Know the dense forests well. Know where you can sleep safely, or semi-safely. Know the complex mazes.

Typing speed

Typing quickly and accurately is important in gathering items and in chasing people. It is less important when combat begins, but if your typing is pitiful you will never be any good.

Commands

You should be able to play without using autoexits, or map, or any other hand holding game features such as F1 on Wireplay. You must know and use abbreviations at all times as well as using SYN and AUTO and SBR.

Staying calm (1)

Some people completely lose it when they are in a fight. The knowledge that they might lose weeks and weeks of effort in the next 60 seconds cripples their brain. This is a good thing, if it isn't you. You must keep hold of a simple number. Your STAMINA. Decide on a key value at which you will flee and quit, or flee and run away. Panic if you must when your stamina drops below this number, but not before!

Staying calm (2)

When you have won a fight do not relax with pleasure and drop off to sleep. Pick up anything of value in the area, then move quickly to somewhere safe in case someone tries to take advantage of your temporary state of unhealth.

Victim Support

There are a couple of schools of thought on dealing with people who are distressed by your behaviour. The first is to pretend it was all an accident. Having a female persona and a plausible manner can make this work, but frankly why bother. Talking wastes valuable slaying time, and seeming human may damage your reputation.

Naysayers

Some people say that killing your way doesn't work. This is true if you play like an idiot and fight when it is hopeless. Accept that there are always times when you are outclassed/outnumbered, and bugger off and play quake, and you will live to play another day.

Stealing (1)

Assuming that there are people about who don't understand the full depths of your depravity, make the most of their ignorance by being nice to them (so long as they are terribly bad players), and get them to help you do the dwarfs, keep, icons before swamping the lot.

Stealing (2)

Stealing is difficult. Stealing in fights is very difficult. Getting yourself in the position where you have to try to steal in a fight is a bad thing (TM). If you must do it, do it when your enemy is blind and only try when you are going for enough wafers to make the free hits you are giving away worthwhile.

Stealing (3)

Stealing can be a good thing! Sneaking up on people and stealing all their kit before attacking them is by far the best way to do it, giving you an excellent chance of killing them when they try to eat non-existent wafers, or alternatively causing Panic.

Reputation

When you are unknown you will inevitably obtain a few easy flees. When you are well known people will bail to the tearoom on sight, which is nice - if dull/frustrating. Being very well known may cause people to try to gang up on you, but in the current state of the game this is a negligable concern.

TribalOmen