The basics (pve-combat/open)

[Hadrian]

Half the time the Windsor Great Wood was a fun place to just wonder about. Most of the beginner mobs didn’t agro unless provoked so it made a good place to go to leave the bustle of the city behind. For starters it was a much easier to see the stars and simply gaze out into the night sky. Even the consolations in Elder Tale had been mirrored to the stars one would normally be able to see in the countryside beyond the city lights of London. This trip though was for the purpose of good old fashion combat, the grind for XP until he could take on quests or hit up some of the dungeons.

Unlike other sorcerers Alex had attempted to create something different for the sole purpose of curiosity. A Half-Alv, Fox Tail, or Race of Ritual would have been the common choice to combine with a sorcerer. On that note a grimoire or staff would have been the logical weapon of choice. The basic thought process was that after a few levels if the combination he chose did not pan out then it was a simple matted of deleting the character and staring over from scratch. Clearly the fact he was now trapped in the game as the prototype he had been curious about had to be accepted with humor.

Otherwise his Claymore wielding Wolf-Hair sorcerer would do nothing but be a constant reminder that his curiosity would be the death of him. Though being in a game where adventures never actually died, that line of thought was more an expression than akin to reality. The basic premise for his choice was versatility in both its ability to solo and for a party at the cost of specialization. Reality as it was seemed to be different however as Alex had to learn to hone an entirely different skill in combat than what had been expected. From the first few tries it became clear that trying to use the menu while in a fight to choose skills was damn near impossible.

True combat was something he had never experienced in a life or death manner. Alex had always been happy to support those who were willing to join a combat force so that he didn’t have to. The need to feel triumph through violence or physical endeavor was fulfilled by video games and tai-chi. Unfortunately while his strategic and tactical senses were keen from playing Elder Tale for so many years, it did relatively nothing when unable to look at a screen and see the entire field of combat. The practice of Tai-Chi had helped in the sense that awareness of surroundings was heightened but even then it was not practiced for the act of combat.

Both hands gripped the heavy two handed sword tightly as the blade had cut through the young pittered boar for a death blow. Two had been killed so far with limited reliance on mana. Unlike other melee classes Alex wouldn’t gain abilities that enhanced his sword skills. For that simple practice would have to suffice. It was through combination of sword and spell that he hoped his experiment would shine. Even then it wouldn’t be till higher levels that any progress in the combination of the two would be felt. For now at least the racial bonuses to strength would make up for the class he choose being rather weak in that statistic. As the golden luminosity of his eyes permeated into the dark woods a small break was taken to regain the small amount of HP he had lost. For now it was the only aspect of his likeness that had changed. Wolf ears hadn’t spawned nor a tail despite his recent combat. Alex simply sat in the grass field and stared up at the night sky while he waited.

WC: 640

[Old_Toby]

Old_Toby curiously approached a slime mucking about the Greatwood. The slime was a pale green and it sludged around the woods' ground, seemingly aimless. Old_Toby observed it for a while before the slime moved towards him, causing Old_Toby to tense up and grip the staff in his hands tightly. This better be some joke my son pulled!  And although he kept telling himself that, he knew it wasn't true. His mind wandered temporarily before refocusing on the approaching slime.

He released his tight grip on his staff, seeing the slime muck towards him at a slow pace. This game was surreal. His mind was still adjusting to the mechanics what skills or spells did he know? His grandson told him he could heal and he could deal damage with fire. Old_Toby wasn't sure if his class, a druid, followed what he knew as druids--from the Lord of the Rings, obviously--but if they were somewhat close, he should be delving into more nature-related magic soon, which he was excited for.

The slime. It jerked unnaturally, looking at something probably beyond Old_Toby but he wasn't sure. His grip tightened, closed his eyes and stuttered out a word: "Fireburst!". Wait. "F-Flameburst!". He lowered his staff at the slime, and a cone of fire jutted out from the tip of his staff out towards it. The slime then became enveloped in flames and became aggressive. 

In a comic fashion, Old_Toby sprint forward to the slime and beat it mercilessly with his staff--a bit to make sure it no longer moved, a bit to kill the flames. Panting, the old man sat down and looked up at the sky and watched the sun slowly creep away, giving way to night. He wished he had a torch or lamp or something on his person to use as a light--hell, a flashlight would do even better! He wandered through the Greatwood, but didn't approach any players who were fighting creature. He stumbled upon a... person, that's all he knew. He nudged the person's weapon before asking: "What's going on exactly?".

(Word count: 343)

[Hadrian]

Alex could hear the player approach though didn’t think any verbal interaction would occur. It was very common for players to simply pass each other by when not protected by the rules in Londinium. Any slight or unintended insult could end up in a fight. Then again there were those who especially went out in search of a player to kill. It was obvious from how casually the other player walked up behind him that little animosity would be directed his way. From the lack of heavy footsteps the unknown player wasn’t heavily armored. Which meant some kind of mage or assassin. Either way the element of surprise was lost by the simple stroll his way.

What did catch him completely off guard was that the unknown adventurer decided to tap Alex’s claymore simply to catch his attention. “Did this druid really just tap my weapon……” he thought to himself as he listened to the human ask a rather grandiose question. Alex stood up and stretched before anything was said. He looked over the newcomer to get a general feel for the guy. “Kind of a loaded question don’t you think” he joked with a smirk on his face. The claymore was sheathed onto his back as a sign of good faith before the conversation continued. “Especially since we are all tapped in a video game.” Alex could tell the usual from the player just by looking at his menu, a human druid around his level.

The name did catch his attention, now more than ever he wondered how much the name a person chose reflected their actual persona, however digitized it now was. “If you mean what is going on as in why was I just sitting there” both of his hands were placed gently behind his head and each finger interlocked with their counterpart, “It’s a good night to be outside I guess. Why not gain some experience?” This wasn’t the first time someone had randomly stumbled upon him and struck up a conversation. Alex seemed to have a way about him that attracted newcomers.

“What brings you out here?” he asked not wanting to be the only one to talk. Part of his intent was just to be polite and not have someone be upset or cause a scene. The other half of his intent was plain and simple, a druid could heal, and heal well. Just in case they managed to not annoy each other the annoyance of having to wait for his HP to refill would be mitigated. It never hurt to party up to increase the number of experience gained. Of course at a certain point the law of diminishing returns kicked in, that point not being a party of two people.

Tag: Old_Toby
WC: 458

[Tyonis]

Compared to most of the players trapped in Elder Tale, Steven Barnett, or rather, Tyonis, acclimated far easier and faster. One of the primary reasons lay in his real life experience with European fencing. He was already familiar with how to use a blade and did not fall back upon the default Auto-Attack speed. The only thing he really needed to do was adjust to the capabilities of his 'new' body.

Because Steven modeled it after a much younger version of his martial arts instructor (with the addition of a fox tail), his reach was longer and his height taller. More importantly, his in-game stats did not reflect upon his real life body. Here in Elder Tale, a level 1 newblet could slice through someone's arm with a single, idle swing if he got lucky enough. Not even most master swordsman could penetrate a single bone with a focused slash. His newfound strength and speed would take some getting used to. Steven - Tyonis - could only hope the adjustment would come quickly, since he planned on getting even stronger in a relatively short amount of time.

But the most influential factor in his quick adaptability was far simpler: he was a veteran MMO player.

---

Tyonis strolled quietly into Windsor Great Wood at first to admire the brave new world he found himself completely immersed in. But his gamer instincts kicked in the moment he stumbled upon his quarry:

A Rabbit.

They were a docile Beast -type monster. Tyonis planned on hunting them because they didn't chain link and often did not retaliate unless absolutely necessary. Most importantly, there was no real difference in the amount of AP received after killing one compared to the other monsters nearby. Add in their extremely low HP and they were the perfect mobs for grinding levels 1-8. The only real downside was they tended to run away at the slightest hint of danger.

Fortunately, Tyonis had already devised a counter measure. In order to prevent them from scurrying away, he simply walked up to them as quietly and serenely as possible, a single hand curled around the hilt of his sheathed longsword.

The moment he stepped into attack range, Tyonis unleashed the only Samurai Skill he chose at level 1: Bushido: Iaido, the Art of the Draw. An instantaneous skill that served as either an opener or a closer for the Samurai Class. Luckily, Tyonis realized he could use it with a longsword as well as a katana.

Bushido: Iaido would normally be enough to immediately slay a level 1 or 2 Rabbit. For levels 3 or 4, Tyonis would add in a quick follow-up strike or thrust. For level 5 Rabbits, he had to utilize the skill's second bonus: the ability to instantly activate another skill without animation lock. And the skill he chose was Sword Rain Flurry.

At level 1, it provided a set of 5 thrusts in 3 seconds, giving him some melee-burst damage right from character creation. Combined with an occasional use of Parry, this three-skill combo proved enough to farm mobs several levels higher than him without dropping below 90% HP.

That was the true power of the Samurai Class: the ability to tackle higher level content as long as one prepared their skillset properly.
As befitting an MMO veteran, Tyonis was no stranger to hardcore grinding. He would continue slaughtering Rabbits until the sun began to fade away.

---

By now, most Players had retreated back to the main city. Unfortunately, for all of his plans and schemes, Tyonis had not factored in one, very important aspect: Map Awareness. The Samurai had no idea where he was. Even in real life, he had problems navigating around with street signs and GaggleMaps; there was no way he was going to find his way out of the forest. In the dark, no less.

He wandered aimlessly for a few more minutes before hearing someone call out spells. 'Flameburst' - sounded like a Mage-type. He wasn't too sure, honestly. Tyonis focused more on his own early-endgame build, so he didn't research the finer points of the other classes, hoping to learn that in between filing papers at his accounting firm. He pushed past the brush to find two other individuals. But rather than intrude, he chose to stand off to the side and watch them. If they left, he would trail after them in blind hope they would lead him back to the city.

(WC: 740)

[Hadrian]

It seemed that the new player was shy, or odd, or some combination of the two. Alex waited for the guy to answer but it seemed as though someone else had entered the fray. “No need to hide” he called out to the adventurer that seemed to be off in the distance. It wasn’t so much that Alex could sense other player’s but the heavy armor did give it away that someone had arrived in the vicinity. Whether it was someone who thought that a Guardian or Samurai would be good for a sneak attack against him or if the person was simply shy he was not particularly in the mood to be stalked. “If you need some help just ask. We are all stuck in the same situation after all.”

What had once been a rather solitary night now seemed rather crowded. With the exception of certain class – subclass combos most adventurers tended to explore during the day. Since they didn’t need sleep in a traditional sense his own sleep schedule had been rather erratic. Alex found it to be far more enjoyable to sleep and read during the day then come out to the forest at night. It was less crowded with the boom of low level characters so mobs would be far more abundant. Not that he could chain enemies all that effectively without a support class as backup. But it was easy enough not to get killed by newb enemies as long as you were smart about it.

WC: 252
Tag: Old_Toby, Tyonis

[Tyonis]

Tyonis sighed and emerged from the underbrush as he was called out. His HUD revealed the Classes of the two other Adventurers: a Druid and a Sorcerer. He burned their images into his mind - he would use them as a reference to identify other Mage-types. Although, he had to admit, watching a Sorcerer swing around a greatsword was an affront to his sensibilities as a min-maxer.

As the Samurai was prompted, he nodded sullenly. Although he was an introvert in real life, for all intents and purposes, that life had ended. In this new one, he had a chance to become something different. Something more. He just had to take one step at a time. Gathering what little confidence he could muster, Tyonis replied:

"Yeah. I'm pretty lost right now. Got too caught up in killing critters that I got completely turned around."

In truth, the obvious answer was to just use Call of Home to return back to London, Tyonis wanted to save it in case of a real emergency. "I don't suppose you two were heading on back to the city?" He hedged with a slight grin.

(WC: 189)

[Hadrian]

Alex looked upon the Fox Tail Samurai with a smirk. Their races and classes had been completely mixed. Alex was a magic class using a melee race while most strayed away from being a samurai with a race that’s bonuses lay in magic. “Someone like me” he wondered rather curious about the new comer. Most adventurers hadn’t been worth much time at all. His natural charisma seemed to attract enough players to gain the experience of knowing who was and wasn’t worth more than simple pleasantries. Usually it took a few more words but it was the first time on the British server that Alex had seen a Fox Tail Samurai.

“Not going back to the city for a while.” It was still early enough in the night. The grind had just begun and now someone to take the focus off of him had shown up. “I’ll show you the way once I’m done in the area though.” If the samurai really needed to get back to the city then call home would do it. Whether the adventurer knew that or not was not his concern at the moment. “Or I could tell you a general direction, but I’d suggest we group up for a bit and enjoy the less crowded hunting grounds. By the way I’m Marcellus Hadrianus, but you can call me Marc or Hadrian.”

WC: 227
Tag: Tyonis

[Tyonis]

"Marc....ellus Hadria -" Tyonis shook his head. "I'm going to call you Had." He half-informed, half-declared. Before, he could just read names on a chat window without actually having to say them. With that comfort gone, he'd have to deal with calling players by their convoluted names. Honestly, a name with more than six syllables ceased to be a name.

Despite his desire to return, Tyonis found himself agreeing with the Sorcerer's suggestion. Tyonis was capable of holding a decent amount of threat with his Bushido: Iaido and Sword Rain Flurry combination. Add in his Parry for the occasional defense, and he could last a minute or two against higher level foes. With a Sorcerer's DPS, they could even kill said monsters. The Samurai couldn't help but lick his lips in anticipation of a greater challenge than slaughtering droves of near-defenseless rabbits. He was pretty sure if there was a special place in hell for animal abusers, he'd be there.

The Samurai checked his gear via the Interface. His durability ratings were still in the high seventies. Not completely optimal, but not entirely useless. His sword was visibility blunted, however and rested at a mere 40% durability. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and dismissed his concern. If his sword broke, he could just find a new Starter Weapon. He doubted he'd be using the blade for much longer, anyway. His status confirmed, Tyonis turned back to Hadrian.

"Name's Tyonis. You can call me Ty, if you want," he supplied with an offered hand. "So, I take it you know your way around the forest, eh? Where's this secret trove of walking EXP you speak of?"


((WC: 276))

[Hadrian]

Alex couldn’t help but think that being called Had was a bit off. Though there was little point in fighting over what name to be called in a game. Their new reality it may be, it was still a game. When one considered the mass of people that logged into Elder Tale the day the British server was opened it was entirely possible never to see the same person more than once. So if the Samurai wanted to call him Had then why the hell not.

The extended hand of Ty was greeted with a friendly handshake as Alex made sure to make note of the guy’s name. Even though the status bar in a group would show Ty’s name it was still good to make the effort. Especially with the way combat worked now, if he had to constantly look away it could mean the difference between a win and a loss. “Actually” he said with a smile as he rubbed the back of his shaggy head “Not all that much more familiar than you. But the constellations are the same here so I can tell where we are roughly from Londinium.” His eyes scanned the area which surrounded them for a few mobs that they could take easily off the bat. It was best to just fight one enemy at a time to see what each of their combat abilities were like. “Secret trove of xp? You’re standing in it. The longer we are here a night the fewer adventurers there are. Heck you are one of the first Ive seen in at least an hour.”

He pointed at a level two Young Pittered Boar that was a few meters off in the distance. “Think of me as a cross between a bard and enchanter for now. Ill buff you while we fight for the most part. But how about we take on something weak. Just to get a feel for each others fighting style. Anytime you want to get started.” Alex grabbed his claymore by one hand and rested the flat part of the blade atop his left shoulder and waited for Ty to attack first.


WC: 359
Tag: Tyonis

[Tyonis]

Tyonis smirked as the self-proclaimed Bard/Enchanter beckoned for him to attack first. Well, unlike Had, Tyonis had a typical Skill build, save for his Fox Tail race. But the reason he chose the it was because Fox Tails were rumored to have reduced cooldowns, allowing him to spam Skills more often, thus increasing his DPS. But as far as Tyonis could tell, that only applied to Spells, not Skills. Oh well, an increased Wisdom stat still proved some benefit to a tank - higher MP pool and magic resistance. The Samurai shook himself from his musings as he strode toward the boar, curling his fingers gently around the hilt of his sword. As soon as he stepped into range, he unleashed Bushido: Iaido, dealing a decent chunk of damage and generating threat. He followed through with a twisting, horizontal slash with his off-hand dagger and immediately activated his Sword Rain Flurry, delivering five thrusts into the boar's skull with his Starter Longsword.

The combo was simple, but effective. Even as the Boar attempted to gore the Samurai, he Parried the attack with his dagger, readying his Longsword for another strike.

The monster's HP sat at a mere 15%. Tyonis threw a glance at Hadrian.

"Want to finish it off?"

((WC: 209))

[Hadrian]

Hadrian watched as the samurai conducted business pretty much to the result he expected. Tanks had the luxury of being able to fight with a creature one or so levels above them. Similarly healers could do the same so long as they were smart about mana. Melee and magic dps on the other hand basically had to burn and deal with longer down times to accomplish the same. It was usually easier just to kill several easier enemies than one hard one to the same result. So it was nice to have someone else who would take the pressure off of him. Or at least try to.

For now it was best to save his spells for a time where they would be in trouble. More importantly Tyonis seemed to be holding a weapon in each hand, a skill in Elder Tale he had only ever seen Dualists use. In fact in the release notes for the latest patch he didn’t see that the game developers had expanded that to any other class. Of course the patch notes also didn’t mention any of them getting stuck in the game. Then it hit that Tyonis may even have found a way around it… “If he had the quick swap skill maybe” he thought not really sure how to explain the matter within the parameters of the game. What was clear, was that Tyonis hadn’t used the menu to use the two skills just then.

“Be honest Tyonis” he said casually as his claymore now rested tightly within the tight grasp of his hands “You’ve either played Elder Tale before or have MMO experience right?” The question was not just a simple hunch. Alex could tell that the samurai before him had adjusted rather quickly. Something that most of the adventurers he had run into so far without that experience failed to do. His first attack wasn’t meant to be flashy or impressive. It was a simple horizontal slash across the boar’s back legs followed by a vertical cut that ran from top to bottom across its… bottom.

As the boar died his wolf ears and amber eyes had made an appearance. It was thanks to the strength boost of his race that his claymore was even manageable. At such a low level the dmg of a two handed sword plus racial strength bonus was enough to hit and hit hard. “Think if we pull two of those you can keep agro?” The question posed had already been answered in Alex’s own mind. Tyonis, based on the assumptions and evidence gathered so far, should have no issue. But if the samurai didn’t feel the same way it was pointless to try.

WC: 449
Tag: Tyonis

[Tyonis]

Tyonis paused at the idea of tanking more than one monster. He had not attempted it yet, honestly. His plan involved highly controlled pulls, killing one monster at a time until he reached max-level. This would prevent any unnecessary EXP loss on death. For now, it didn't really matter because their EXP TNL was so low. But when one started getting into the fourties and above, a single death could mean catastrophic EXP loss. For that reason, he opted to go at an accelerated pace, but have it tempered by pragmatism.

Still, the challenge of fighting two enemies at once appealed to the gamer in him. It would be a challenge he'd have to overcome eventually, since he planned on tanking endgame, which often involved simultaneously tanking minions as well as a boss. Hadrian's question brought him out of his introspection.

"Yeah, I've played a few MMOs before," he replied, not really explaining how far or how skilled he was. Still, it wouldn't take a genius to realize the Samurai had ample experience in a party and raiding environment.

"All right, let's try pulling two at once."

The pair strolled around the forest for awhile until Tyonis finally came across two boars. The Samurai licked his lips in anticipation. After confirming the state of his partner, he charged forward, unleashing Bushido: Iaido as soon as he came into range, dealing a decent chunk of damage and generating enmity.

He leapt back as the monster tried to gore him in retaliation, landing right next to the second boar. He spun on his heel and struck with a 360 degree slash, pulling both at once. With deft footwork, he maneuvered around the two boars, positioning them both so they were right in front of him and easy to keep track of.

"Urg.. damnit!" Tyonis grunted as one of the monsters managed to scratch his arm, its tusk rending across his flesh. The wound was relatively minor and his HP didn't decrease all that much, but the pain was quite real. With a curse, he lashed out, cleaving a chunk of the boar's HP.

((WC: 351))

[Hadrian]

The answers Tyonis gave were rather short. Alex appreciated the fact that the guy answered at all. It was better for the group to know where the other stood. More to his own desire that he knew each member of any group rather than they know him in any sort of personal manner. “Thought so, you seemed to have picked up a few things faster than the inexperienced.” There was little way to hide someone’s adaptability to situations such as these. Since a situation like this hadn’t really occurred. Tyonis was like him, if either of them did seem to freak out it wasn’t going to be in public.

Tyonis seemed up for the challenge, if they could pull this off and then chain pull the xp would come rather quickly. All seemed well even though one of the boars had nicked the samurai. For Alex it would be about timing if he wanted to get through this without using all that much mana. His hands steadily grasped the claymore as he waited for a chance to attack. Luckily the group tank had repositioned the boars in such a way that he could run in from the side and enter the fray.

Alex pulled hi claymore down vertically on the right boar’s ribs then slashed again for good measure. It was clear he hadn’t managed to do enough damage to take agro away from Tyonis. For if the fight began to go south then Alex would use his magic. Until then he needed to know that at no point would hate generation be directed at him. Another two slashes was enough to kill the board on the right, only to be kicked from the left boar’s hind legs and be sent rolling away on the floor. His health bar dropped 5% from the hit, though the boar did maintain its focus on Tyonis. Alex crawled to his hands and knees, somewhat dazed from the hit. It hurt like all hell, a rather unpleasant side effect of being trapped in the game.

WC: 341
Tag: Tyonis

[Tyonis]

As soon as the first boar dropped, Tyonis turned his full attention to the second, unleashing Sword Rain Flurry the moment it came off cooldown. He Parried the monster's retaliatory strike with his off-hand, grinning fiendishly as the adrenaline of combat began to fill his body. He briefly wondered if he would ever get used to this; the sudden surge of power and superiority that arrived just before slaying something weaker than you.

He also wondered if enjoying that emotion made him a very, VERY bad person.

With his final thrust, Tyonis slammed his sword hilt-deep into the boar's eye, jamming it so hard that it completely skewered the medium-sized animal from head to tail. "You know, we can try barbequ-" the thought ended as soon as the monster shattered into pink pyreflies and falling gold, leaving his sword unnaturally clean of residue. Despite this, he twirled his weapon with a cleansing flourish that would have normally painted the ground before him red with fresh blood then sheathed the longsword over his back with an audible click.

He checked his HUD for their HP.

He was down to 75%. Some of his wounds were bleeding out, but had no effect on his HP despite the realism of the injuries. With the adrenaline still flowing, he figured the pain would kick in a few hours. The Sorcerer had lost only 5%, but he was crawling on the ground, dazed. The Samurai held out a hand to help his partner up.

"I take it you're not used to getting your ass kicked." He quipped with a smirk.

((WC: 266))

[Hadrian]

Alex could hear the sound of the last enemy as if was bested and turned into their rewards. He would have gotten up earlier if it weren’t for the stunned status effect that kept him on his knees. Once it wore off though the fight was over and the two of them were now all the more experienced. This little test build of his turned out to be a bit of a pain. With only some time that had passed single combat had become easy enough to figure out. The issue was how he would incorporate the decisions made at the Elder Tale character screen into a group. Classically if he had a ranged spell or two then he would have just sat back and fired while Tyonis took all the punishment.

A grate hand extended out to meet the samurai’s gesture. Now on both feet Alex rubbed the side of his head that got kicked before the small walk over to retrieve his weapon. “Believe it or not, I’ve managed not to get kicked in the head this whole time” he joked back. There wasn’t a reason to be upset, loose his cool, or take what happened in a negative way. Everything had to be learned from and quickly if he was to figure out how to make the best of the situation. Once he managed to take a look at his HUD though it was clear they hadn’t killed the boars fast enough.

“Too bad about that barbeque though… have you had the food yet? It…. rather bad.” One of the few pleasures in the real world was taken away in the game. Programmers worked tirelessly to input a beautiful world full of magic and wonder. Yet no one took the time to program the taste of food. Obviously not something that would be needed, but somehow they were transported into the game. Whoever did that could have made the food better.

Now that the two Tyonis’s he saw had merged back into one adventurer Alex scanned the area for more targets. “I’ll have to cast a spell or two this time to help that health of yours.” It was better to burn through his mana than either of their HPs. Even then it was also important to fight as much as he could without doing so. Though the two thoughts on the matter may seem at odds, Alex knew that as a sorcerer once the mana had run out that usually spelled the end of their battle. “Another two boars should do it.”

WC: 426
Tag: Tyonis