Why MUDs Own MMORPGs in the PvP Arena.
Player-submitted articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Iron Realms, the company or its employees.
The concept of “health” is integral to most games you will find out there. You have X amount of health and when it hits zero, you die. Secondary resource bars are also common in RPGs. If you are a caster, you might use mana. If you are a damage dealing machine, you might have rage or energy or some other stat which indicates your attack power, but the idea boils down to the same thing; in the end, you have meters and resources.
The core of combat in IRE games is focused around how to hinder these healing methods. You can give afflictions which have a variety of devastating effects – anorexia, for example, makes someone unable to eat or drink, while paralysis makes them unable to move. Classes like the Syssin from Aetolia are masters of stacking these afflictions to completely “lock” opponents up and prevent them from curing.
Damage isn't the only way to kill, and some classes such as the Cabalists even have ways to link their health bar to their mana reserves making them nigh impregnable against straight damage. Iron Realms MMOs feature “insta-kills” which are basically kill scenarios you can work to set up and then instantly kill an enemy with. For example, the newly revamped Carnifex guild features an incredible ability called pulverize which looks absolutely brutal when executed. To set up that kill, they need to strategically break enemy limbs and get certain afflictions to “stick”.and if their foe fails to cure them, the Carnifex knight can smash their hammer into their opponent's chest, crushing it into a bloody, fatal paste.
This is just touching on the tip of the PK iceberg. Combat in MUDs is engaging, engrossing and enthralling and you can spend years exploring tactics and finding new tricks. It is a truly challenging and exciting experience, unrivaled in gaming, where quick thinking and clever tactics will let you rise to the top.
Author: Moirean of Aetolia