Newb Frequent Asked Questions

Please send me your questions at dyrdex @ gmail.com or hit me up on Discord if you have questions.

About The Game

• Q: Is there PK in this game?
  • A: Yes, but it's a very small contingent of long-term players who only do it sometimes anymore. The majority of the game is peaceful players.

• Q: Why can't I pick my own name?
  • A: Do 'who imm' to see if an Immortal is online, if so they will auth your name (if acceptable). If not, use 'name random'. For first chars, use a random name, if you like the game you can pick a name when an Immortal is online.

• Q: Is there a database of equipment?
  • A: Yes! The best resource for finding gear is the Ascendere database available HERE

• Q: Is it possible to re-roll stats?
  • A: In the pre-auth section use the 'train' command to set stats. Once you enter the realms proper, no you cannot reroll. If you are under level 5 you can use the 'chardelete' command if you want to delete your char so you can re-create it anew and adjust stats. (See 'help chardelete')

• Q: Do I need every class, or can I just make one guy and have fun?
  • A: Wellllllllll, you kinda need every class. The game roughly sucks, and kinda forces you to solve for a lot of barriers to entrance. Let's list some of those:

• Q: What's the real barrier to entrance here?
  • A: The game is punishingly difficult to get deeply involved with and supply yourself with enough gold to buy or brew the heals, manas, and various other potions, and equipment, that you'll need to go to the big fun areas with big fun mobs to kill. Getting yourself up and running can be tough. Here's a quick list of shit you'll need to get over the hump:

1. Level a Mage and Cleric. Figure out the 'brew' and 'scribe' commands work so you can make your own potions/scrolls. Learn how to code so you can write triggers/aliases in your client to automate that process.
2. Level extra characters to act as storage mules to carry around all your potions, extra equipment, etc.
3. Figure out how to make some gold. Best way to do this is just make friends, kill shit, sell extra gear you don't need. Leveling characters can also yield decent gold if you level in the right places. Just please don't get obsessed with farming gold from lowbie mobs, its inefficient and a waste of your life.
4. Download the equipment database and figure out how to dress your character with stuff you can actually obtain, and keep improving equipment over time
5. Script everything in your client. Automate repetitive tasks, solve for the parts of the game that suck and are slowing you down.

Commands

• Q: How do I manage multiple things of the same name?
  • A: Use 1.thing and 2.thing to specify individual items

• Q: How do I move multiple items more easily?
  • A: You can use the 'fill' and 'empty' commands to move bulk goods around

empty chest 100 potion
fill container

You can also fill your container with ## items from another container like this:

fill <container1> 100 potion <container2>

Note that some containers (like guild donation chests) won't permit this action (too greedy).

Gameplay

Some of these topics are expanded in the 'Game Information' section on the homepage or the Useful Knowledge and Useful Items pages.

• Q: What's the best/most powerful class?
  • A: None, the game is balanced, different classes are used for different runs. You'll end up needing to make at least one character of each class to run everything.

• Q: Do classes that get spells earlier cast them more effectively later on, or better than classes that get them later?
  • A: No

• Q: Does weapon proficiency modify damage?
  • A: No - it only impacts the 'to hit' chance (see help weapons)

• Q: Does deity devotion drift over time?
  • A: No - it only changes based on what you do.

• Q: Can all classes be all aligments?
  • A: No, Paladin and Nephandi must remain good or evil (respectively) or they lose many abilities. All others can be any align.

• Q: How do I get my spells/skills to work, I always miss!
  • A: First factor is adepting the skill/spell. Check the 'practice' command. When you first learn a new thing you suck at it, keep doing it (and failing) and you'll become more adept, and eventually it will start working more and more. However - some mobs are simply immune or having very high saving throws to defend against certain types of spells/skills. The higher level you are compared to the mob can improve your chances, or using spelldowns which lower the mobs saving throws or resistances to that attack/damage type can help. Overall - finding which spells/skills work on which mobs is part of the gameplay.

• Q: How can I view my saving throw stats?
  • A: You can't within the game. You would have to 'identify' all of your equipment and manually add shit up. The equipment database program however does do this for you, so set up your character in there and you'll see ALL your stats/specs.

• Q: Do we know how specific spells/skills work, how hitroll or damage roll or AC or different attacks actually work together?
  • A: No, we don't. I have some info, myth, and historic SMAUG code examples on this site in various places to show how it generally works, but we are not provided the actual equations and math of how anything works under the hood.

• Q: Why do some characters get way more attacks than others? Are these just generally better fighters?
  • A: No, some classes get a lot of melee attacks ('5th attack' and 'dual wield') but a weaker alpha attack, and other classes get less melee and one bigass fuckin alpha attack. In the end-game, its the alpha-attacks that matter the most, and each class has their own unique alpha. You'll be running mobs based on a few factors, and using whichever class (i.e. alpha attack) is appropriate/efficient.

• Q: Why is my equipment constantly getting beat to shit and eventually falling to scraps on the ground?
  • A: Your eq gets damaged either due to a program on the mob, or when it hits you especially hard. First, ALWAYS have the 'sanctuary' spell on when you fight (50% damage reduction). Second, fight things you can actually hit and kill, if your eq is getting beat up the mob is hitting you very hard, it might be much higher level, or your equipment might be very low AC. Try to get eq with high AC values, and fight things that don't smack the shit out of you.

• Q: How can I increase my saving throws?
  • A: Buy 'the Ice Girth'. It's the defacto waist-equipment and gives shit fuck tons of saves.

Spells & Potions

• Q: Where can I get sanctuary spell items?
  • A: In the area 'Shattered Refuge' the scientists drop 'a gnome concoction' potion that gives sanc. Farm them. There are more sanctuary items out there to find too. Otherwise, level a cleric and drag it around with you to sanc your other characters as necessary.

• Q: Heal potions cost a lot - what can I do about that?
  • A: Go play a game where the admins actually want people to play and have fun. This game's primary mechanic is "hit mob, chug heals, clear stomach, repeat" - really the only challenge is ensuring that you are chugging heals and drinking from a mystical spring to clear your stomach so you can keep chugging heals - that's really it, that's the whole fucking game. So - heals cost money, and it sucks. Your best bet to obtaining the gold needed to fund yourself is to kill things with useful equipment and sell it. Some people go and farm tiny gold mobs for hours and this is dumb as fuck and super inefficient, go kill something and sell it for a few million, make friends, kill bigger shit, sell bigger shit, get gear you need and sell the extra for money to fund more killing. This is the way.

• Q: What spells/potions do I really need?
  • A: For leveling, you can fly with just sanc, and 'leveling spells'

• Q: What are leveling spells?
  • A: A set of spells cast by a mage that increase your stats and give you a few affects that are useful. It's kinda the base set of buffs we consider wise while leveling or fighting normal tier mobs. Will help get your stats maxed, as those impact what you gain per level (hp/mn especially)

• Q: What is a 'tank set'?
  • A: A set of potions brewed by mages/clerics that gives you a bunch of extra resistances and buffs that we typically chug before fighting an AV mob. If leveling spells are "Tier 1" this is "Tier 2". You don't always need it, for normal fights, but for a big run mob we usually have everyone get up to "Tier 2" cuz why not.

• Q: Where can I buy or get 'tank set' potions?
  • A: They are brewed by mages/clerics. Not many people sell them anymore, though if you ask someone will I'm sure. Eventually, you'll want to have a magic/cleric in your arsenal and figure out how to write some handy triggers to automate brewing these (and probably make an extra character just to store them and drag them around (typically a fighter class with 25 str so you can carry max weight 1000 - Usually Ranger/Warrior)

The Final Question

• Q: Does anyone care that the game kinda sucks for new players?
  • A: No, they do not.

You can pitch your ideas and try to tell the admins how things could be more attractive all day long, they will not change stuff to accommodate you or anyone else. My impression is that the game is basically dead as far as gameplay mechanic development, and there really isn't anyone behind the wheel considering quality of experience and any possible changes or anything like that. So, you're basically screwed, and should despair. Cuz that's the name of the game.