Mages:

[Hawke]

If anyone needs a trapped box I've got a tinker in the low 30's and I use a box myself all the time, averages 8-12 points of damage or around there.

Do the Vespians use similar formations for every fight? Could we send our stealthers in ahead to find the one or two main targets ahead of time, maybe jab 'em with a poisoned blade when we come running in?....just tossing out ideas here.

[Raven]

I am not entirely clued up - what's this trapped box malarky?

[Hawke]

A mage casts paralyze on you, you open a trapped (dart)  box that you carry in your pack (damage depends on the tinker's skill who makes the trapped box), and you take a, hopefully, small amount of damage which frees you from the spell.

Just let me know if you want one to try out.

[Mr Bloodaxe]

I was pissed off because frankly, it just was not fun. If games stop being fun they stop getting played. I have better things to do than stand around for 20 minutes, go into battle for 1 minute and then repeat all night.

[Kas Valentine]

It can be frustrating to die to overwhelming odds but s'not the end of the world. I know that sounds like a cop out but sometimes these things happen, s'better if you can just grin and bear it. At the moment I think a couple of things are working against us, perhaps not Cove specifically, but the roleplaying circle in general.

S'my theory.....

• Cove's numbers are swelling.
• Vesper's numbers are swelling.
• Yew have always had a large number of players.
• As player numbers grow various strategies are becoming possible, winning battles and then being countered.
• During the Vesper campaign we achieved a lot of victories through use of Arcanists.
• Vesper made a lot of good moves with their Arcanists but to a larger extent.
• The lessons learned there (and the tactics) have now been perfected and put to good use.

The mass of mages is a damn fine weapon, but it's undefeated run can't last forever. I can easily see Yew demolishing it with a mass of Beseigers or Cove if we had all of our familiar faces present (and our new faces ). I mean obviously it can be viewed as unfair when someone arrives on your doorstep and you can pick the winner of the fight before you've even begun, s'a bummer. However it's not Magery or the ruleset that's at fault, it's simple numbers. If we got trounced by 25 swordsmen would people feel as hard done by? If we were on patrol and 25 stealth archers popped out and capped us would it be as annoying?

Naturally Magery has a few things to be said about it in terms of having 100% hit chance, ranged paralyse, high damage spells taking advantage of low resists and so on. But they're by no means invincible, nor are they the only class with frustrating abilities (sharpshooter 'Keres, I'm looking at you ). The way I see it the problem is simply down to the growing population of the current roleplay circle, s'a good thing not a bad thing !

In other words.....

You win some !
You lose some !
At least we're still handsome right....?

[Raiden Morana]

Kas speaks the truth!

At least with regards to Raiden's handsomeness in particular and Covian handsomeness in general and... Avatar willing, through toil and tears, pulling hair and gouging we shall defeat the red menace of Vesper!

Harrrr!

[Linaeus]

Archer/Parry/Macer...powerfull..!? Nonsense.

...

*Slashes you with a bleed attack and shoots you in the back as you flee.*
 

But yeah, amen to your whole statement.

[Marcus Kobra]

Hear Hear. I've fought in few campaigns for cove, and just as few battles. I know what it feels like to get trounced by your enemy though. Especially when you were out numbered, and especially when "We are going to charge again" comes up and you simply want to ask why bother? Personally I have no love for PvP. Its why you wont find me developing a new tactic or seeking a fight. Wars on your doorstep none the less. If you don't like loosing, don't attend the fights, or quite. But don't join a diffrent side just because you want to win. That was a problem that lost us the border wars! I won't name their names but I know of numerous persons who would switch to their Yewish alts just before the battle. Needless to say I do NOT speak to these people any longer. But my point is, if its not fun then don't do it, but don't get so caught up on winning that it becomes the only thing that matters to you.

Cheers,

MK.

[Kelly Sanderson]

My basic view on the matter:

If you don't like the way they fight, don't fight them.

[Celuvian]

Concering mages, if you have fire/energy resist at aprox 60, and you have dex at say 100/120, the mage cant kill you unless he manages to stop your bandage with a poison or something. Orange petals and cure pots will save your life.

And concerning last nights battle, there was aprox 19-20 vesperians. How many was cove? I know it was less that that...so no biggie loosing a battle with such uneven numbers.

[Mr Bloodaxe]

I think the worst bit is when you get frozen, they sit back, have a sip of coke and then 5 mages flamestrike you. There is no comeback from that.

[Radek Wilkes]

Mages are very difficult to deal with, from any point of view, be it Grd, BoC, DOT whatever.
Being in Grd command, I know just what a Vesper mage gank squad feels like, however I also know that there are methods to counter these ganks.
I'll talk through them briefly.


Spell resist - Simple, effective. Maybe you can't fit it into your template as you favour parry, if you're only fighting mages, ask yourself, do you really need parry?

Stealth - If a mage can't see you, he can't gank you. Now - I'm aware that not everyone has stealth, but everyone with abit of a try can hide. Try hiding and getting the jump before they can pre-cast, because I can promise you now, a mage won't stand still if 5 warriors charge it.

Conflags - A group of mages can easily be disrupted initially by a well placed conflag/explo pot or 20. I know from reading your forums regularly that you've got the chance to attend an explosives lesson, I suggest you go.

Finally, the biggest bane and rival to the mages, something which we (Grd) have had to rely on to beat Vesper time after time. Archers. Without a good set of 4/5 archers you're going to really struggle against mages.


To finish, I'll simply say you need to listen to what targets are called, and thrive to be the first to react, too many times in any guild I will see a target called and everyone waits until someone else makes the first move. Getting the first kill in can sometimes be key, and you can get into a pattern of calling targets and having the target dead before your text has faded off the screen.

Listen to your commanding officer, and remember never be afraid to 'flee' for a few seconds just to avoid a potential ganking.

[Celuvian]

Theres 2 ways to use the trapped dart box against mages spell combos.

1. A mage paralyzes you. You use the trapped box to break paralysation and you can run off to avoid being blown up.

2. A mage(or two++) starts to cast for example Explotion, you see the Vas Ort Flam. Then you use the dart box even if you aint paralyzed, you'll take 8-12 damage and you Immediately starts to apply the bandage. When the Explotion and the Flamestrike/Energy Bolt hits you for damage your bandage is already 2-3 seconds into applying. You'll be healed up again before he can even start his next spell.

[Celuvian]

Pots? So you have to lower y'self to pots?

Pots is a great thing, you raise yourself to using them. RP-PvP have evolved in UO...its your responsibility to follow the stream

[Celuvian]

Our mages should make a habit of eating grapes of wrath just before they cast their heavy damage spells. They give a slighty damage increase and lasts for 20 seconds.

Ive tested this and they give roughly +5 damage each spell you hit for 20 seconds. Basicly its like have GM Inscription for 20 second (if you already have gm inscription your spells will hit hard!)