Secrets of success 
 (or how to level on Avatar when the going gets tough)
                   by Proteus

Levelling is easy in theory, but as most players know, but actually
doing so is easier said than done. 

So, lets cover the theory, and then we'll get to the practice.

The primary way to get experience is to kill mobs. On Avatar,
player-killing is strictly forbidden, except in the Arena where it
doesn't affect experience points. 

You will get more points for mobs that are not killed as often, and for
mobs that are stronger. If you kill a mob that is too far below your
current level, you will not get any xp. 

You will lose points every time you flee, or recall out of combat, or
are killed. 

THE SIMPLE RULES
----------------

The fastest way to level, then, is to:

1. Never die.
2. Never flee.
3. Kill the biggest mob you can find

Lets examine these statements.

When you die, you are penalized by the loss of one half of your current
xp.  This is nice when you've only gotten 100xp so far this level,
because you only lose 50xp, but it really stinks when you have about 100
to go, because you will lose about 450xp. If you have about 990-1000xp
left to level, then you will lose approximately as many xp as you have
levels (so roughly, a 25 level player will lose 25 points each death
around 1000xp left to level. So that statement makes sense. 

When you flee, you can lose anywhere from 5-40xp each time you try. Yes,
each time you try. If you fail, you will lose xp for each attempt. Make
every effort not to flee. That statement, then, makes sense. 

Killing the biggest mob gives you the most hit points. The beggar you
kill, the more points you get, so that statement makes sense. 

Except what we've run into is a paradox. The largest things we can kill
will give us the greatest xp, but it will also put us in danger of
fleeing, or worse yet, dying! 

RESOLVING THE PARADOX
---------------------

What we need to do is try to mitigate the effects of these statements on
each other. We should be able to find a "organic" medium ground that
will produce enough experience in each battle, yet not put you in any
great danger of losing any experience. 

Dying is unacceptable. Don't do it. If you're dying too many times, one
or more of the following things may be happening:

1. The mob brings down your HP's quickly enough that you die before you 
   can flee.
2. You are unable to flee
3. You are unable to recall

Diagnose which problem you're running into. 

Solutions for problem 1:
"HP inequity". Often, especially in higher levels, mobs that are the
"same size as you" which will give you xp have a lot more Hit Points. 

        * BRING A PET ALONG!

        ADVANTAGE: A pet can often take the brunt of the damage, don't
         affect your xp when they flee, and can provide most useful in
         levelling. 

        DISADVANTAGE: Like when you group, the experience you gain from
        killing a mob is "drained" with the more pets you have. 

        TECHNIQUE: Alias, alias alias! Write several aliases: one of
        them to have the pet rescue you, another to group and ungroup
        the pet.  Use the group command to do this. Attack with the pet
        grouped. When you see the mob in "awful" condition, issue the
        group <petname> command to UNGROUP (group <petname> toggles
        grouping and ungrouping the pet) the pet. *IF* you strike the
        killing blow, you get *all* of the xp!  If your pet, however,
        strikes the killing blow, you get nothing.  This works great
        when you're fighting something that will give you 120xp! (my
        record is 123!) And well worth it. 

        * GROUP! Usually (;-) a player is smarter than a mob. It can
        either kick or cast spells during combat. If you can, use a
        player instead of a pet. Same advantages and disadvantages as a
        Pet, except intelligence and cameraderie! 

        * BLESSED BE! There are several items around Avatar that will
        give you sanctuary, bless, armor. And don't forget to have a few
        vials.  When you're stepping into a big fight, never let them
        have the upper hand. No disadvantages! (unless you depend on
        them to win the fight for you and they wear off mid-combat!)

        * HIT AND RUN -- This technique uses a pet. Ungroup the pet
        before you start. Order your pet to kill the mob, and *MOVE*
        (don't flee!) away.  (like "order pet kill
        mob<RETURN>south<RETURN>") Since the pet is ungrouped, you won't
        step in to fight, and you can move away until you get the
        feeling that either your pet, or the mob has taken enough
        damage. Then pop back into the room and beat on the mob. Note! 
        Sometimes a mob will see through this ploy and attack you
        anyway! Be prepared to get hit through one round; at this time,
        have your pet rescue you (since it is ungrouped, you are no
        longer fighting!) and now move away again. Don't forget to type
        "scan" to see whether your pet is still there fighting pets flee
        readily when their masters are not around.  Disadvantage-- pet
        can sometimes pull you into combat when you're not ready,
        rescues may fail! 

        * AVOID RECALLING OUT OF COMBAT -- recall is for cowards. Yes,
        fleeing is pretty cowardly in itself, but recall is despicable,
        which is why you're penalized even more for recalling. Instead,
        write an alias (see below) to flee and then recall immediately
        after. 

For problems 2 and 3, where you can't flee or can't recall, the
solutions are easy. 

        * BE MOBILE! Never fight with 0 moves left! You'll be unable to
        move and flee or recall. Bad move! You could easily die! 

        *  NEVER FIGHT WHEN CURSED! It's a pain to run away from a mob
        while they track you to hunt you down. Plus, this goes against
        the "NEVER FIGHT FAIR" guideline. 

AVOID DYING AT ALL COSTS!
-------------------------

Dying is not worth it. *Never* EXPIRE. Instead nchat "Help -X" (where X
is how many negative hp you are at...) and if you're invis, don't forget
to say your name in the nchat. Example: "nchat HELP! Proteus -7" If
there are any willing angels around, they will come and rescue you.
Certain mobs stop attacking once you go below 0hp. Usually, evil mobs
continue until you're dead. Make sure you always flee around a evil mob.

The following tips will help you avoid dying:

        * HIGH ANXIETY! Watch out in high level areas. Type "where" all
        the time!  This will show you if you're in the right area for
        your level. If not, and you're exploring, set wimpy ridiculously
        high! If you step into a "meanie room" they might not be able to
        get rid of 50% of your HP. If you're just "passing through" set
        wimpy high. 

        * WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CALL IT WIMPY? Set wimpy to 30% (or
        more!) of your max! It's better to flee four times and lose even
        30xp each time than to die once and risk losing up to 500xp!
        Chances are you'll only lose 6, 7xp for fleeing! 

        * DON'T ALLOW THEM TO HUNT! If you ever flee intentionally,
        never do it via "flee". Write an alias! Here's a suggestion:
        "alias wimp flee:recall" This will not only flee you out of
        battle, but then immediately after take you to recall! 

        * YOU'RE NOT SANTA! Learn how to use "consider" ("con mob" will
        work).  Consider will tell you the relative difference in HP and
        level between the mob you're fighting and you. Chances are
        you're better off finding a mob that will tell you "Perfect
        match" or "he's a little bit bigger" or even "he's a lot bigger
        than you". Don't try to cheat Death out of a gift. (You can do
        it, that's how I got my 123xp fight, but I fled about 3,4 times
        making it a net gain of only about 50!) If you *insist* on
        cheating death, make sure you've got a lot of vials along for
        the ride, sanc, bless, armor, and a few other things :-)

        * HEAL UP! Aliases are powerful. If you've ever sat near Aelmon
        for an extended period of time, you'll see people "SPAMMING" by
        removing and wearing equipment. The reason people do this is
        that they wear low AC, but HP increasing equipment, which
        temporarily increases their HP by (depending on level!) over
        300HP! Suddenly those mobs that are much healthier than you are
        only "a little bit healthier". 

IT WILL HAPPEN
--------------

No one I know (and perhaps no one at Avatar) has heroed without dying.

Here are some tips to make sure you get a head start on getting your
corpse back.

        * LIGHT YOUR WAY WITH A CANDLE-- it's free, and you will
        probably need it.  The AVATAR is always happy to give you a
        candle. 

        * TRY IT ON YOUR OWN! If the mob isn't aggie (that is, won't try
        to kill you if you return) try to return to your corpse and get
        your stuff back. Write an alias, like "gac" which is "get all
        corpse". It helps especially if something is about to repop and
        make your life tough again. 

        * ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT-- If you're certain you will die
        if you try to "Corpse Retrieve" (CR) ask for help from a angel
        or, if not available, a hero.  Avoid asking an Imm if you can
        help it. And always be polite. Say please, and thanks. 

        * DON'T FORGET REMNANT ITEMS-- type "wear all" as soon as you
        get everything.  Sometimes you will have equipment that will
        increase strength, for example, that will allow you to pick up
        more items. So, after you "gac", "wear all" and "gac" again. 

        * YOU NEED YOUR CASH! Don't forget to "get coins". You'll need
        it for vials and heals if you want to be on your way a little
        faster, and if you want to buy another pet. 

        * FINALLY.... donate the candle! You probably already had a
        light, don't go around carrying that almost-worthless candle!
        And fix your equipment. You'll probably be wearing equipment you
        ordinarily use as a container. Remember: only sissies wear a
        satchel, and fools carry corpses! (although a corpse is
        sometimes a cool container) :-)

"Proteus" (a.k.a. the stupid Warrior)

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                        Avatar Birthdays*
                       Compiled by Ambrosia

October
-------

Rumdawg..............................Oct 15th  
Spiro................................Oct 26th
Striker..............................Oct 29th
Gin..................................Oct 31st    


November
--------

Hotshot..............................Nov 11th    
NightenGayle.........................Nov 11th
Hendrix..............................Nov 12th
Dia..................................Nov 19th    
Frisky...............................Nov 28th
Redric...............................Nov 29th


* There are a *Lot* of names to be added to the list.  Send birthdays
  as well as your character name to Ambrosia via a note in Avatar or
  (preferably) internet e-mail at Ambrosia@escape.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              *
                           * News *
                              *

Slitha, Peregrin, Orry, Bepphebe, and Corinth all heroed.  Congrats
guys!  They had lot's of people to thank but they thanked them on the
note boards, so we shan't repeat that here.  

Tmeat and Meko became angels and then, shortly thereafter, become
immortals.  Congrats!!  Revenani, Leorick, Evii, and a few others joined
them, adding to the growing ranks of Immortals.

Ferret, Scatter, and Almighty became angels, helping mortals with CR's,
spells, and the like.  

Yes, the news section is a little scant this month.  I *need* someone
out there to help me with this, preferrably a mortal.  You'll need to
keep track of those who heroed, who immed, who angeled, interesting
quests, etc.  Applicants for this job should send mail to
asamaro@walrus.com.  Whomever I choose will be well rewarded if they do
the job well, and have an inside track on reaching Immortal if they so
desire it.

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