A Beginner's Guide to Race-war Player versus Player by Phillip Alex Haddox Last updated: September 2001 Contents What is Race-war Player versus Player? Why Play Race-war? The World As We Know It Who is on my side? City and Zone Control Politics Guilds Combat PvP Attacks Looting Combat Techniques Grouping Faction Bannable Offenses Etiquette Inspecting Personal Questions Casting in Mixed Groups Glossary What is Race-war Player versus Player? There are three (3) modes of gameplay in Everquest. Normal play mode. Normal play mode is where players cannot hurt each other deliberately, or even accidentally. These servers are known as Blue Servers as the names of the player characters in the game appear in blue text. Player versus Player (PvP) The second mode of play is Player versus Player (PvP). The standard PvP is any player may hurt any other player within 4 levels (up or down). PvP characters can be on normal servers (by turning in the Book of Discord to the Priest of Discord) or by being on one of the designated PvP servers. The PvP characters, and consequently servers, are known as Red as the names of PvP characters in the game appear red when the Book of Discord is turned in. Going PvP by turning in the Book is irrevocable without Game Master intervention. Race-war Player versus Player (PvP) Race-war PvP is also known as Team PvP. In Race-war, you may only harm an opposing race within 8 levels (up or down). Race-war PvP is only available on dedicated servers. This document focuses on Race-war PvP. Herein the basic rules of conduct, etiquette, death, looting, teams, and other essential information is discussed in detail. After reading and understanding the information provided, you will be able to live successfully in a fun, dynamic and sometimes hostile environment. Why Play Race-war? Many people ask, why play on a race-war server at all? Isn't that dangerous? To answer the second question is to also answer the first. Yes, it is dangerous. The point of race-war is to introduce another level of danger and unknown into the game. On the Blue servers, you need only worry about the programmed intelligence of the monsters. On the PvP servers, you must also account for the hundreds of humans behind the characters in addition to the monsters. It raises the bar on the intensity of play and intrigue. So why not play standard PvP? With Race-war, there is a heightened level of camaraderie. There is a feeling of team, of us against them that is not found on the other servers. Some people roleplay their race on the other PvP or blue servers but this is rare. In Race-war, you must live it. If you do not aid your team or your guild, the other races will take over your zones and you will have no place to adventure. In unity there is friendship and friendship borne of blood and battle is the strongest friendship of all. On the Race-war servers you will find the most tightly knit guilds of all the servers. The World As We Know It There is an old saying among game creators, dating back to the early days of pen and pencil RPGs. The world is perfect, and then the players arrive. This undeniable truth carries over to the Massive Multi-Player games (MMP). There are two (2) dedicated Race-war PvP servers and despite being identical in every physical and technical manner, the player-introduced societies and political structure are radically different. In this section, we will discuss the breakdown of teams and a little about the politics of each server. The information provided was accurate at the time of writing, but the world being dynamic, the politics and zone control tends to change. Who is on my side? Race-war PvP also means Team PvP, as opposed to standard PvP where it is every person for them self. This distinction is critical in understanding how combat and grouping works. The Teams Dark Race Team (Inky) Dark Elf, Ogre and Troll Designated by orange colored names. Elf Team Half-elf, High Elf and Wood Elf Designated by yellow colored names. Human Team Barbarian, Erudite and Human Designated by blue colored names. Shorty Team Dwarf, Gnome and Halfling Designated by purple colored names. The critical point to make regarding the team breakdown is that you cannot hurt anyone on your team. Conversely, this means that everyone on the other teams is fair game. You must be careful in mixed groups, as you can accidentally kill a party member of another race. Normal race-class restrictions apply. City and Zone Control As per the blue servers, each race has its own starting city. As this is their home point they generally control the surrounding regions, and thus, the dungeons located there. The more distant regions are constantly under attack by all races wanting to hunt there. The following is a breakdown of zone control that is never contested. For sake of clarity, only zones are detailed and not the dungeons within. Dark Race Zone Control East Freeport, Feerrott, Grobb, Innothule Swamp, Lavastorm, Nektulous Forest, Neriak, Oggok, Rathe Mountains, Southern Desert of Ro Elf Zone Control Felwithe, Greater Faydark Human Zone Control Blackburrow, Erudin, Erud's Crossing, Everfrost, Freeport, Halas, Highhold Keep, Highhold Pass, Qeynos, Qeynos Hills, Surefall Glade, Toxullia Forest, Western Plains of Karana Shorty Zone Control Ak'Anon, Butcherblock Mountains, Kaladim, Lesser Faydark, Misty Thicket, Rivervale, Steamfont Mountains Politics At the time of this writing, there are only two (2) designated Race-war PvP servers: Tallon Zek and Vallon Zek. Interestingly, although both servers have identical structure and game rules, the politics and racial interaction turned out radically different. Tallon Zek On the Tallon Zek server, all races (with a few rogue exceptions) have banded together against the Dark Races. The strongest argument for this paradigm is that the Dark Races account for over 50% of the world's population, are the most powerful race group and are highly aggressive. It is out of a survival need that the Light Races, for the most part, leave each other alone and focus their attacks against the Dark Races. Vallon Zek On the Vallon Zek server, it is every race for them self. All teams are about equal in number and they war on each other with relative frequency. Guilds Membership in a guild is essential. As there is always someone waiting to ambush you, you must travel in numbers. Generally, moving about your hometown or race controlled zone is safe, but to attempt a dungeon or camp solo is near suicide. Grouping is a necessity of life in race-war, and being a member of a guild makes for an easy pool of compatriots to adventure and have fun with. Combat PvP Attacks In Race-war, you are able to attack a greater range of levels than standard PvP. You may attack and kill any member of any other team within eight (8) levels of your own, up or down. For example, a 10th level character can attack, or be attacked by, anything from a 2nd level through an 18th level. Any number of players can attack a single person and the attackers need not be grouped. This makes things very interesting in large group battles. There is no experience gained or lost for PvP combat. If you die you just reappear, naked, at your spawn point. Looting Looting of player corpses is always of great concern to starting players. If you die in PvP combat, the victorious party (group or individual) can loot your corpse. Here is the skinny on how it works: The person who gets the killing blow, or one member of the killing group, can loot the corpse one (1) time. The corpse may only be looted a single time. Containers may not be looted. Containers are sacks, boxes, backpacks and kits (tailoring, sewing, baking, etc.). Placing items within a container is called sacking the item. Items within containers may not be looted. Items equipped in the weapon slots may not be looted (melee weapon, secondary weapon, shield or totem, ranged weapon and ammunition). Items and money stored in your bank are 100% safe from looting. "No-drop" items may not be looted. On the PvP servers, no-drop equipment, armor and weapons are highly prized for their non-lootability. Once you have a no-drop item, it is yours until you decide to destroy it. When looting, all cash and one (1) non-sacked or worn item may be removed. Therefore, to avoid loosing valuable items in PvP combat, put them in containers before you enter combat, or before you die. If you die in PvP combat, consider your cash lost. There is no way to protect the money you are carrying. NOTE: On February 16th, 2000, Verant will implement a trial looting change on the Tallon Zek race-war server. This trial is not effective on the Vallon Zek server. The change will be that only coin (cash) may be looted upon a PvP death. When the trial is over, both the coin only loot will stay on Tallon Zek and also be implemented on Vallon Zek, or be abandoned and the rules listed above will once again be in full effect. Combat Techniques Defensive Techniques In PvP combat, opponents will try to sneak up on you, incapacitate you, and then kill you. The vast majority of PvP combat is by magic, therefore having a high armor class is of little use. Your choice of defensive spells should revolve around increasing your hit points, increasing your magic resistance and methods of escape. Spells you should have cast on yourself: Hit point buffs Magic resistance buffs See invisible Movement buffs (SOW, agility, strength) Spells you should have memorized: Gate This is your best way to escape a PvP situation. ALWAYS keep this in your memory. On a PvP server, you really only have seven (7) spell slots. Offensive Techniques In order to quickly and effectively take and opponent down, you must incapacitate them and then kill them. There are a few different approaches to this goal. Snare/root, stun, mesmerize and then burn. Blind, snare/root and then burn. Disenchant (remove all strength, agility, buffs, etc.) and then burn. All are equally effective and achieve the same goal. Each of the various classes have their own form of incapacitation and then burn. Grouping There are no restrictions with whom you may group with. All races may group with other races, and experience gained is divided in the same manner as normal servers. However, care should be taken when in combat with mixed groups. Area effect spells will not only damage the target monsters, but will also harm your other-race companions. Faction When you get the killing blow on a particular race in PvP combat, your general faction with the Non-Player Characters (NPCs or computer generated entities) of that race go down. This negative faction will affect your prices with vendors, guards and the general population of that race. Other players do not see negative race faction. Bannable Offenses In an effort to maintain fair play, several PvP specific rules have been implemented. If you break these rules, you might get only a warning from a Game Master (GM) or you might get suspended or even banned entirely. The rules outlined below are in addition to the normal rules on the blue servers. Corpse Camping Also known as Body Camping. After a PvP combat, the loosing party (the person slain) must have a fair opportunity to re-enter the zone and recover their corpse. Preventing from them recovering their corpse will get you banned. Once the person has recovered their items and has had a reasonable opportunity to gate away or have moved a fair distance away, they once again become a viable target. Some people are foolish about corpse camping on both sides. Some folks do not give people enough time to fully loot their bodies or move safely away. They will eventually get caught and punished. Other folks try to use corpse recovery as a shield. Corpse recovery allows you the opportunity to get in, get your stuff, and to get out. It does not protect you from being foolish. You cannot move into the zone, sit by your body, memorize your spells, and then loot your corpse. Memorize your spells before you enter the area or after recovery, not during. Here is an example of foolish corpse recovery. There was a case when a Game Master was called in to arbitrate a corpse recovery. The person on recovery entered the zone, walked up to his body, surrounded by opponents and the Game Master. He looted his corpse and then sat down right there. The Game Master then announced, "OK. He's fair game now." The foolish person was slain a second time in less than 15 seconds. You cannot gather your items and then sit down under the protection of corpse recovery. Get in, get your stuff, and get out. Zone Camping This is when a group of players sit on one side of a zone and wait for people to spawn through. During the time that they are disoriented, the group attacks and slays the helpless victim. This tactic will result in the entire group getting banned. Zone camping also applies to the Druid and Wizard teleport locations. Zone camping will get you banned. Bind Rushing Bind rushing was a harassment tactic that was used to get people to leave the zone. It entailed binding yourself inside a zone and then attacking the target group or individual repeatedly in quick succession no matter how many times you were slain. Using this tactic will get you a warning. If you accumulate enough warnings you will get suspended. After enough suspensions, you will be banned. With the February 3, 2000 update, Verant implemented a re-spawn rule that only applies to PvP deaths. Casters will re-spawn with zero mana after being killed by another player in a duel or open combat. Thus, casters must meditate for a long period of time after a PvP death, severely hampering the ability to rush from combat to combat. Assisting Monsters Avoidance of direct PvP and deliberately causing the loss of experience in other players is not tolerated. Therefore, you cannot assist monsters or guards in combat against players. For example, if a player is running from a group of monsters, you cannot root the player being chased. This will get you a warning. However, if you can find a justifiable role-playing reason for assisting the monsters, you might be given some leniency. For example, if a player was camping your guards or other resident of your hometown, you might be justified in going to the aid of your fellow citizen. Training Monsters Avoidance of direct PvP and deliberately causing the loss of experience in other players is not tolerated. Therefore, deliberately training high-level monsters into people is forbidden. This action will get you a warning. Etiquette In Race-war everyone is a potential target and one of the primary reasons to attack someone is to take their items. With that in consideration, most players are justifiably a bit paranoid. Actions on a normal server that are innocuous might be interpreted as aggressive in a PvP situation. Inspecting It is considered a rude and aggressive move to walk up to a stranger and inspect their items without first asking. Many attackers will first inspect someone to see what items they have equipped to judge whether or not it is worth the effort to combat. Inspecting is still considered rude even if you are a friendly or even same-team race. Many underhanded people will create spy characters in various zones to scope out potential targets. Enchanters can also shape change to look like your team race while in reality they are your dreaded enemy. Personal Questions You will find that everyone on the Race-war PvP server walks about either in /anonymous or /roleplay mode. This is to better protect themselves from attack. The more opponents know about you (especially level), the better equipped they are to kill you. Therefore, if you restrict who knows your race, level and class, your chances of survival is far greater. For this reason, people take offense when a total stranger asks their class and level. They are even more offended by unsolicited tells asking the same information. It is okay to ask questions, but you should be sensitive to the nature of your environment when doing so. Casting in Mixed Groups When casting in mixed groups, especially in situations where tensions are running high, it is best to declare the spell you are going to cast before you cast it. A simple pre-declaration of "buffing" will prevent the misinterpretation of your shield spell for an attack spell. Being polite might save you a few unnecessary scuffles. Glossary banned When your account is disabled and Verant deletes your characters. This is the most severe punishment that can be administered by Verant. Blue Server Non-PvP servers. Name taken from the color of the character name in game. Characters with blue names are normal, or non-player versus player characters. Characters with red names are designated as player versus player. GM Game Master. An employee of Verant who has ultimate power over the server. There is one (1) Game Master per server. also Guild Master. The leader of a guild. Also known as Guild Leader. KOS Killed On Sight. When a particular group (player or NPC) attacks a player at first sight. For example, for killing Squire Wimbley, I am now KOS by the Qeynos Guards. MMP Massive Multi-Player game. These are online gaming environments where thousands of people gather in a single, shared environment to play together. The first truly successful MMP was Ultima Online, followed by Everquest. There are many other high budget MMPs under development (example, Asheron's Call by Microsoft) and even more rumored. NPC Non-Player Character. These are the computer or game generated game entities. For example, guards, merchants, general citizens and monsters are considered NPCs. (also known as MOBs) PC Player Character. These are the human controlled characters in the game. PvP Player versus Player. These characters can hurt and even kill each other if they are within the level restrictions. Red Server PvP servers. Name taken from the color of the character name in game. Characters with red names are designated as player versus player. Characters with blue names are normal, or non-player versus player characters. sacking The act of placing valuable items in containers to avoid their loss during PvP combat.