Avoiding PK

General Tips and Tricks:

1. The best way to avoid a PK is to be attentive! This sounds easy, or obvious, but after prolonged playtime a player's reaction time can worsen
2. Keep several potions in your inventory to cure common PK spells. Examples include teleport potions, sanity potions, remove curse potions, and cure blindness potions.
3. Players that use full featured MUD clients will frequently create a "panic" macro, that involves fleeing and drinking an escape potion of some sort. Avoid chaining too many commands together in a panic macro. Often times the later commands are predicated on the success of the early commands.

   Example

   A typical panic macro is "fl;quaff red". This causes the character to flee, then immediately quaff a clear red potion (recall) from their inventory. However, if the flee fails for any reason (player is summoned to a no-exit room, cursed, etc), the flee command will fail and the command to drink the potion will cause the player drink the potion in combat. Aliases are typically more effective than macros, since they allow the player to react quickly without predicating the success of commands on one another.

4. Be aware of the PK threats who are online at all times. Double check with a high level friendly character. If no one is available, the Magistrate located on Mt Knowledge can "see" all online players, so use the bounty feature to verify whether PKers are online or not.

Whoz - you can never do this enough, get into a habit of it, or make a trigger to check for you.

(Katrana)

Sacrificing corpses - Make sure you sacrifice corpses in the area you are exp'ing in, most pk'ers "cast 'locate object' corpse" to find where people exp at to attack them.

(Katrana)

Butchering - Do not butcher corpses unless you need to eat them. Pk'ers can "cast 'locate object' steak" and find out where you exp at by the mob of your steak. Only use this if you are passing through a lower level area, like MG park, lizard swamp, so on so forth, if you wish to carry steaks with you.

(Katrana)

Det invis/det hidden/True seeing - Very nice to have, but if you have this cast upon you, do not be under the impression you can see everyone on the mud.

(Katrana)

Summoning - Summoning is very scary, but you can lessen the chance of being summoned. Once again, whoz is a wonderful thing, if you see a threat close by, get out! Also, the more save vs. spell you wear the better off you are, I would recommend to everyone to wear at least -8 saves, it has actually been suggested to wear more. Blocking amulets do work, but once again, be under the suspicion that they will not always work. The level of the amulet + 3, has been said to be what level the amulet works agains. For example: If you have a level 10 blocking, it will work against a summoner of level 13 and below. Also, blocking amulets are also said to help with saves vs. blocking. If you are summoned... If the person summoning is alone, the person has a delay, quaff out, make a trigger to quaff when you get summoned, or I have found it easy to simply just walk away (if you know the area. If with other people, the other people can attack, without the delay, so flee, and quaff.

(Katrana)

Teleports and recalls - Make sure you have both. Even if you are a cleric (*cough* sometimes word of recall isn't enough) or a mage (same goes for teleport here:P) It helps if you get vials of teleport, black or something along those lines, not the random red teleports, if you use quaff red, you never know (unless you keep excellent track of potions) when you might quaff a recall or a teleport. Also, sometimes you get a pk'er who will give you something with a red flag, I usually type "quaff 2.recall or quaff 2.red" (I have an alias set up for this.) This will get past the item you were given so you can quaff a recall. Also, it never hurts to carry 5 or 6 recalls in your inventory and 2 teleports, perhaps 3 teleports. On any character I tend to carry at LEAST 10 recalls, and I am getting in the habit of carrying almost that many teleports. People may call me paranoid, but they take that back when they ask for a recall. Also, if you can, try and avoid quaffing a recall at low moves. When you quaff at low moves, it tends to give you more of a chance for a bad recall. So if you can, cast refresh before you quaff, or if you happen to be stuck with no refresh potion and no means of getting a refresh, if you can (meaning no threats in the area, or you are in a safe) sit your butt down and rest for moves.

(Katrana)

Safe Rooms - Do NOT sleep out of a safe room, even if you believe yourself to be safe. The only way to do this is if a cleric casts sanctify. I highly recommend not resting outside of a safe room also.

(Katrana)

Parry and Dodge - Learn them! You have less of a chance of being bit by physical damage. (Shaman-dodge, level 9, parry, level 25; Cleric-dodge, level 7, parry, level 20; Mage-dodge, level 9, parry, level 25; Thief-dodge, level 4, parry, level 8;Ranger-dodge, level 5, parry, level 1; Warrior-dodge, level 5, parry, level 1.)

(Katrana)

Dexterity - Try and max this stat out first, if at all possible, it happens to be, what I believe, the best stat in the game.

(Katrana)

Wands, staves, fetishes, and relics - Do NOT use them! They have a severe lag delay! They can cause you to not be able to escape!

(Katrana)

Info - The info skill, is very useful! The basic info skill, tells when people log on, or log off (it will not give you every instance however.) If a threat logs on you can be warned and you can warn others. If the threat is well known, and he/she is a threat to other followings, share the wealth, and gossip that known information. Others will be quite appreciative. They will know to look out for the threat. (This skill is available to all classes except Shaman. Mage-level 20; Theif-level 5; Ranger-level 25. Warrior-level 25;Cleric-level 20.)

(Katrana)

Potions - Potions are wonderful, wonderful things. Carry them, learn what each one does!

(Katrana)

Class Specific Tips and Tricks:

Mages

Always wizard mark your items before leaving safe rooms.

(Rath)

Use alarm around the area you will be in.

(Rath)

Keep improved invisibility on as much as possible. This prevents some aggressive mobs from attacking, and in certain instances can save your life.

(Rath)

Don't be afraid to teleport yourself. Even in the case of a bad teleport, items should be marked to portal in for a CR.

(Rath)

Clerics

Keep pass without trace up at all times.

(Rath)

Keep your hit points at a reasonable percentage of your maximum health (spend mana on cures rather than offensive spells).

(Rath)

Learn all curative spells: cure light (level 1), cure serious (level 5), cure critical (level 9), Heal (level 14) - All of these spells are wonderful! They can be cast in battle and give you the hps you need to get away, but do not focus on getting all your hps back, focus on getting away! (The spells, as listed increase in their heal power, and also mana spent.)

(Katrana)

(level 1) Armor - Increases ac, which of course decreases the chance that you'll be physically hit.

(Katrana)

(level 2) Faerie Fire - Drops opponent's ac, making them easier to hit. Needless to say, a good spell, especially for its cheap casting cost.

(Katrana)

(level 3) Blindness/Cure blindness - Blindness has many nifty effects, including dropping the attackers hit roll, and dropping their ac. They can not pick up their disarmed weapons, get potions or pills from bags, etc. Vice versa, BEING blinded is not fun. Thus, cure blindness is an integral part of any Cleric's spell repertoire. While blinded, any potions currently IN your inventory, NOT in bags, can still be seen.

(Katrana)

(level 6) Protection evil/protection good - Adds a bonus to your AC vs. evil/good. It, coupled with armor can block up to 15% of your dmg.

(Katrana)

(level 8) Pass w/o trace - Use it! Thieves, nor rangers can track you.

(Katrana)

(level 11) True Seeing - See hidden, invis pc/mobs, and their alignment, and if they are allied with you. Pump this spell with extra mana so you can see higher levels of invis.

(Katrana)

(level 12) Mute - Mute the attacker, so they cannot cast harmful spells on you, then get away. (I recommend this as a last resort, if getting away will take a round or two.)

(Katrana)

(level 13) Sanctuary - This cannot be cast in battle, you would have to flee, and cast this spell. So if you can get away without casting this, wonderful. But, if you do see a threat in your area cast this spell, then try and get out. It decreases damage by half.

(Katrana)

(level 15) Word of Recall - Recall, without a potion. Beware, if you are muted, or in a silenced/quieted room, this WILL NOT work. You also can have 'bad recalls' with this just like a potion.

(Katrana)

(level 20) Fear - This is for if you do get attacked, and cannot do anything at all, trapped, in no teleport, no recall area. And you have run out of ideas... Try and cast fear on your attacker, make them flee, while you try to escape.

(Katrana)

(level 20) Quiet - If you are attacked my a major spell caster, cast this first, then do what you must to get away. (Only if you feel the spell caster will be able to cast harmful spells before you are able to get away. You CANNOT cast spells after this is cast though.)

(Katrana)

(level 23) Confusion - Cast this, then run, it acts almost as a diversion, while confused your opponent can attack other members of their own group, may not cast the right spells. It's wonderful to give you a bit of extra time.

(Katrana)

Shamans

Use phosphate on the rooms that are on the way to the zone you will be in.

(Rath)

Keep soul sense up.

(Rath)

Keep pass without trace up at all times.

(Rath)

Necroport should be used as an absolute last resort, as a bad port will be much easier for the PKer to get to than a naked shaman.

(Rath)

(level 1) Cloak of Protection - Use it! This can take a certain amount of physical and magical damage until it is broken. It can give you more time to escape from a pk.

(Katrana)

(level 3) Pass w/o Trace - Use it! Thieves, nor rangers can track you.

(Katrana)

(level 5) Absorb - Use it! This is one of the most powerful shaman spells to exist. Use it constantly. If you are dying of plague and the cleric can't get through your absorb, tell them to pump it by at least 50 mana, then 'c 'give mana' pc' in case they fail it, then have them try it again. 50 tends to be the average breaking point of absorb, I am not one to speak for breaking it, I don't cast on shamans that often. If someone knows better than I please give me a yell. Also, I have heard absorb lessens the chance of summon, and it is always handy in case people would like to wiz mark you, or cast some other icky spell.

(Katrana)

(level 9) Soul sense - use it! I know this spell can be highly annoying, but it can warn you if there is someone hidden or invis, that you cannot see. It will also tell you their alignment.

(Katrana)

(level 12) Phosphate - use it! I know there is the PINK playing aspect with it, plus, everyone tends to hate it. But it is to your advantage, this spell can only be used in natural areas, so try and use this often, it will make invis/hidden people visible, and can save you from being attacked.

(Katrana)

(level 16) Fear - This is for if you do get attacked, and cannot do anything at all, trapped, in no teleport, no recall area. And you have run out of ideas... Try and cast fear on your attacker, make them flee, while you try to escape.

(Katrana)

(level 20) Naturalize - Another spell for if you get attacked, and cannot do anything at all, and if the room is quieted or silenced. A shaman is useless in a fight unless you can cast, that is why there is naturalize. Cast it, and remove the room of all magical influences, then try and get away.

(Katrana)