Combat on Sanctum is the fruition of fifteen years of Ultima Online, evolving into various states and on various shards, doing some things right and a bunch of things wrong.
- Please consult the melee combat or magical combat subsections of our site for further and more detailed information.
Combat Mechanics:
General combat mechanics are in large part similar to those that would be known as “T2A” mechanics. Players accustomed to the tank mage will feel right at home.
Those that prefer some of the mechanics featured in the UO:R patches will also be appeased; the “pure” mage, warrior and hybrid are all viable.
Our goal is to provide, at the core, the remarkable PvP environment that only Ultima Online is able to provide. When looking at the various types of combat paths a player can go, the tank mage will still be one of the premier templates and favored by most duelists. The burst damage of a tank mage is virtually unrivaled and unchanged on Sanctum.
What has changed is that other play-styles are both viable and fun. Previously, players were essentially punished if they attempted to PvP with a template other than the tank mage.
Magery Changes:
“Pure” mages (as in, a mage lacking a weapon combat skill) will be viable. The notions of the inscription (scribe), poison (nox), disarm (thief) and heal (stun) mages of UO:R have been worked into the system.
– Poison Mage
– Chance to apply greater and deadly poison (and with enough skill, occasionally lethal poison) if they have the poisoning skill via casting the poison spell. The higher their skill in poisoning and the closest they are to their target the better the chance at dealing higher level poison.
Must have poisoning and taste identification to utilize.
– Heal Mage
– Chance to temporarily stun an opponent upon activating and successfully landing a stunning punch. Drains 10 mana upon activation, regardless of success, and has a short cooldown period before reactivation.
Must have wrestling, healing and anatomy to utilize.
– Scribe Mage
– The inscription mage empowers the defensive spells of magic reflect, reactive armor and protection. Reactive armor will absorb additional damage, magic reflect will reflect additional circles of spells and protection will make it more difficult for the mage to be interrupted while casting.
Must have inscription and spirit speak to utilize.
– Disarm Mage
– Chance to disarm the equipped weapon of an opponent with a disarming punch. Typically used by active and bold thieves in combat.
Must have arms lore and wrestling to utilize.
These templates, in a one on one duel, would find it very difficult to best a skilled tank mage due to a lack of burst damage. They would however be potent and viable on the battlefield. Most of all, they add diversity and provide enjoyment to those who would prefer to use them.
Melee Improvements:
The warrior has been given an activated swing that will yield additional damage to their opponents. This ability comes at a cost to the warrior; activating it will drain 20 stamina. Upon the attempted swing a cooldown timer for reuse will begin. This ability aims to add in a risk/reward skill to the warrior while providing them some much-needed burst damage to have a stronger presence on the battlefield.
Violent Swing Mechanics:
- Upon activation, violent swing ability triggers the next swing to strike a devastating blow to an opponent which will provide a boost to damage inflicted – IF the hit DOES land (so, 50% chance at GM vs GM fighting skills in practice).
- Activation costs the user 20 stamina; if user does not have 20 stamina ability is unable to activate.
- Base delay on re-use of 30 seconds on intelligence with anyone with 25 (or lower) intelligence.
- Delay increases at a rate of 2 seconds per additional intelligence over 25 (eg. 40 intelligence, 15 over 25 meaning an additional 30 second penalty yielding a total of a 60 second re-activation delay).
- Players must have a minimum of 50 anatomy and 50 tactics to utilize ability.
Other notes, concerns:
– Violent Swing cannot be used with Archery.
– The intelligence based cooldown eliminates an overwhelming advantage in favor of ‘med warriors’ but still offers good utility.
– Mind Blast deals a flat 15 damage to opponents, regardless of evaluating intelligence. This will be of greatest use and effectiveness to ‘med warriors’.
Archery adjustments:
– Speed of shot upon stopping of movement will be based on dexterity; 100 dexterity would yield an “instant shot” upon stopping; 25 dexterity would have a slight delay in firing. This is in place to prevent archery become a requirement for effective field combat while allowing melee players to have access to it in its full efficacy.
Toxic Strike:
Players with at least 20 skill in the poisoning skill unlock the ability to execute a toxic strike. Upon triggering toxic strike their next successful hit on an opponent will discharge poison from their blade if it has any charges left to do so. The higher a player’s poisoning skill, the more frequently they are able to utilize the ability.
