Opinions re:clhelp for DPK

Iniar · March 2015

I wrote a new stub for limb damage in the DPK clan, would like opinions. Have I missed anything (or wrong about anything), are there any points that need clarification or clearer language?

Last Update: Halitus, 72 AM

Limb Damage

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With the loss of Deathknight's Vivisect, Antioch have gained monopoly over limb focused strategies. With this, many of our neophytes will have even less exposure to limb damage and the appropriate methods to counter it.

Limbs (right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, head, torso and back) take damage from targeted strikes against that specific portion (AB WEAPONRY TARGETING).

As a rule of thumb, blunt weapons do more damage to limbs.

At a certain threshold, a given limb will break and cause:

- crippled limb

- damaged limb

Damaged limbs must be cured before crippled limbs. Using salves, damaged limbs are cured with the restoration salve which takes 4 seconds. This duration can be extended to 6 seconds with the butisol affliction. Once the damaged limb is cured, only then will the crippled limb be cured. Using salves, crippled limbs are cured with the mending salve which takes 1 second. Therefore, a single broken limb can consume between 5 to 7 seconds of salve balance.

If the limb is re-broken before 'damaged' status is cured, it will incur the 'mangled limb' affliction. This is another restoration cure and must be cured before damaged limb.

The danger with broken limbs is the ability to hinder you for a lengthy period of time. With two broken arms, you will no longer be able to strike your opponent or touch your shield tattoo. With two broken legs and proned, you will not be able to leave the room as well as strike your opponent.

The added danger with limb strategies are that the accrued damage prior to the breaks exists for 60 seconds per limb. Simply put, a damaged limb stays damaged for 60 seconds. If it is hit within those 60 seconds, the timer will reset to 60 seconds. Individual timers exist for each individual limb. The cure for limb damage is the skill Restoration in Survival (AB SURVIVAL RESTORATION). You can RESTORE to cure all 'crippled' limb statuses at a very long balance. Alternatively, you can elect to cure any -one- limb using RESTORE <limb>. Unfortunately, as a targeted action, this is a channeled skill (~5 seconds) which means you cannot do much while you are healing that given limb.

RESTORE

^Energy wreathes itself about your body to heal your limbs\.$

RESTORE <limb>

^You close your eyes and focus your body's reserves to cure the damage done to (.*)\.

RESTORE <limb> (complete)

^Energy wreathes itself about your (.*), curing all of the damage done to it\.

RESTORE <limb> (interrupted)

^You cease attempting to restore a limb\.$

There are warning messages when your limb is under attack:

ONE THIRD

^Your (.*) trembles slightly under the blow\.

TWO THIRDS

^Painful bruises are forming on your (.*)\.

BREAK

^Your (.*) is greatly damaged from the beating\.

The way to capitalize on these messages is to use Parry (AB WEAPONRY PARRY). With the appropriate weapon or shield, you may parry targeted attacks, negating them in full unless they were delivered with a scimitar.

The two most common attack patterns are:

- a repeat attack on the same limb, best countered by parrying the same limb

- a attack on the opposite limb, best countered by parrying the opposite limb

The rarer patterns of attack include:

- a vertical swap, i.e. from arm to leg

- a diagonal swap, i.e. from right arm to left leg

- a full cross swap, i.e. right arm to left leg to left arm to right leg

Knowledge of break points allows you to slow down limb offenses against most enemies. Zealous parrying of a single limb that is about to break is a reasonable defence. Unfortunately, a few classes have access to a Feint ability (AB WEAPONMASTERY FEINT, AB TAEKATE FEINT, AB KNIFEPLAY FEINT). With this attack, the opponent may drop your guard. You will want to re-parry as soon as you can.

FEINTSLASH

^(\w+) swings mightily at your .* causing you to drop your guard\.

At this point, my only advice would be to fight against these limb users as often as you can to figure out their favourite pattern of attacks. Your likelihood of survival decreases the longer in the fight you go even if you have the immediate upper hand, so I would suggest leaving the room to restore one or two limbs if:

- both your arms are near breaking

- both your legs are near breaking

If it is simply a combination of one arm and one leg near breaking, you could potentially survive without having to break your own momentum. As a precautionary note, remember that leaving to just the adjacent room is insufficient when fighting a monk as they can break limbs from the adjacent room. My suggestion is to walk at least 5 to 6 rooms away.

There are other strategies employed by craftier individuals which I will very briefly outline here:

- intermittent removal of limb armour to disrupt the opponent's count

- intentionally striking an opponent's rebounding aura to prematurely break your own limbs

Unfortunately, these strategies work mostly for Deathknights and possibly Defilers.

I will also make note here of two specific classes that use limbs in an unusual manner:

MONK

The monk is the only class who can damage the 'back', and only in very limited circumstances. With three back-breaks (AB BACKBREAKER), Monks will kill you instantaneously. A single back-breaker (BBT) can also do significant amounts of damage. However, note that it is not the back-breaking that is the danger; the danger lies in being prone long enough for the Monk to execute three consecutive BBTs, and they generally achieve this by breaking (restoration + mending) both legs. This gives them approximately 10 seconds of BBT-time. Two points to be made here:

Firstly, avoid being prone with two broken legs at all costs. See above.

Secondly, should you see a Monk BBT-ing your ally, use anything in your arsenal to disrupt or stall them. For example, as a Summoner, consider unleashing Danaeus at them. As a Deathknight, consider jousting, battlecrying or even opium dsl-ing them.

OUTRIDER

The outrider capitalizes on limb breaks by using the knowledge that most people have curing lists that prioritise curing limbs over the set of afflictions known as hypothermia.

You will want to read AB WYRMRIDING SHATTER, ICECOAT and FROSTHEART.

The short message is that when an Outrider begins to break your limbs, start to play defensively. Remember to prioritise the hypothermia afflictions. More information can be found in VS AM: Outrider.

As an offensive strategy, I would suggest that Deathknights can still employ limb damage to their advantage (outside the scope of scimitars), particularly when trying to stop a slippery opponent (breaking a leg) or to slow down an opponent's offense (by breaking both arms). Defilers could probably use limbs given the nature of flail damage; however it contributes little to the overall Defiler strategy.

I have attached a list of targeted strikes for your convenience:

RANGER/AMAZON

^(\w+) aims a short, quick jab at your (.*) with .*glaive.*\.$

^(\w+) jabs forward with .*glaive.* at your (.*), taking a step in closer\.$

^(\w+) gives .*trident.* a quick flourish before driving it forcefully into your (.*)\.$

^(\w+) gives .*spear.* a quick flourish before driving it forcefully into your (.*)\.$

MONK

^(\w+) forms a spear hand and stabs out at you\.$

^(?:He|She) connects to the (.*)!

MONK

^(\w+) balls up one fist and hammerfists you\.$

^(?:He|She) connects to the (.*)!

KNIGHTS

^Lightning-quick, (\w+) jabs your (.*) with .*\.$

^(\w+) swings .* at your (.*) with all (?:his|her) might\.$

^(\w+) slashes into your (.*) with .*\.$

PRIEST

^(\w+) utters a prayer and smites your (.*)\.$

CURE MESSAGE

^Your (.*) feels stronger and healthier\.$

ONE THIRD

^(\w+)'s (.*) trembles slightly under the blow\.$

TWO THIRDS

^You notice several bruises forming on (\w+)'s (.*)\.$

BREAK

^(\w+)'s (.*) has been mutilated\.$

Good hunting,

I.N.