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[quote] On 13-10-2009 14:49, Armand wrote: I think the barrier applied more so in previous years of the game's history, where servers were very busy and 10+ players in a reset was the norm. In that environment you are constantly having to compete for resources (tools and points) and having to worry about teaming. There is a limit to the extent that a lone player's skill can overcome those two problems, since in the former you cannot cover all tools/areas simultaneously no matter how fast you are, and in the latter your skill advantage is overwhelmed by numbers. However these days the (unfortunate) reality is that the game is empty most of the time, and otherwise sparesely populated, with most players being non-aggressive or idle in the tearoom. So my views on what it takes to wizrun in today's environment are twofold: 1. The exploration stage. Obviously in order to have a decent chance at wizrunning you need to learn the game as thoroughly as possible. I think at a minimum this means: (a) Having a good map in your head (a written map helps but is optional as you will need to learn most of it by heart anyway), (b) learning the majority of the game's puzzles and gameplay mechanics, and (c) achieving sufficient ability and speed to be able to obtain decent set scores (14k minimum in my opinion, but 15-18k is preferable). I consider typing speed and mastery of abbreviations and shortcuts to be an essential part of this. 2. The PvP stage. You have mastered the game to a sufficient standard and are starting to attempt wizruns, which means playing at high warlock and mage. You are now on the radar of pkers, and you will need to learn how to defend yourself which means being able to beat them at their own game, i.e. learning how to pk. I think any determined player with sufficient time, effort, and motivation can achieve the first including typing speed with the use of third-party tools such as Mavis Beacon if you are not already proficient (consider it an extra "puzzle" to solve). This leaves the second problem. The ideal scenario would be to reach a level of skill equal to or greater than the pker, so that you can on average beat them in 50% or more of fights. This is quite difficult to achieve because the pker has a few advantages over you: (a) experience, (b) easier access to game knowledge, (c) death for you is a 100% loss but their death only a 20% gain for you (death itself doesn't factor into "losing" for them since their objective is preventing your wizrun, not worrying about their own), and (d) Ability to play with a lower score than you thus giving you less points when they lose than the points you lose to them. However, the pker has two big disadvantages which mean that in reality you do not need to be as good as him/her to wizrun, and can afford to win much less than 50% of the time. Firstly, he will find it hard to be present during 100% of your sets, whereas you are of course playing in 100% of your sets. This means that some proportion of the time you will score points without trouble, even if you don't sneak. Secondly, and assuming you have mastered fighting to a reasonable level, you will rarely die, and will be limiting your point loss to around 4.5% of total score per fight and sometimes less if you flee low. This means the pker is mostly restricted to costing you a % of score (maximum of around 9k per flee on a 204k mage) whilst you gain around 2.25% of their score whenever you win, in addition to your hourly rate of around 10k from the game. There are some assumptions here obviously, but in very simplistic terms, you will be making around 15-18k per set where there is no fight, losing anywhere from 1k to 9k per defeat over the course of your post-warlock wizrun, and gaining probably around 1.5k per win. I'd say that if you can reach the point where you are winning perhaps 20-30% of your fights against pkers then you are within reach of wiz. Even at 20% and on a 180k mage, an average fight only wipes out about 45 minutes of a "normal" set for an advanced player. Mastery of the game and of fighting are the keys. The dragon can be viewed as an additional low-skill "pker" who will sometimes make you flee, and occasionally kill you (hopefully reasonably rarely if you use a good strategy), but who also contributes to your hourly rate. A thought on sneaking: I think this strategy is doomed to failure and the idea of it being an easy option is a bit of a myth amongst those that attempt it. You are likely to be a lot less proficient at winning fights, avoiding death, and having high set score averages (if you were proficient at those, you'd have no reason to sneak). Additionally, you become a LOT more noticable to pkers who will be after you constantly when they might otherwise leave you alone. Overall therefore the points you gain from empty sets are likely to be cancelled out by the losses you incur as your score goes up. This is evidenced by the lack of succesful sneaky wizruns over the years, and the lack of very high level sneaky players in the game. The best strategy for wizrunning in my opinion is to face the challenges rather than hide from them.
[ This Message was edited by: Armand on 13-10-2009 14:52 ]
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