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- This page lists the Clans' various fighting techniques, as described in Secrets of the Clans and Battles of the Clans.
- Gathered here are several generally accepted practices and procedures for group members. Many people from all different "walks of life" in Valhalla were consulted, and these were the most common points. These are not rules by any means, but merely guidelines on how to streamline you're killing runs. 1. Gather together a group, and know it's capabilities. Most groups will consist of a tank/leader, at least one hitter, at least one healer and at least one mage. Each one of these categories is essential to running XP over several zones. The exact makeup of every group will vary greatly on what is available at the time. Most players can cover two of the categories listed above, for example a tank/healer, a hitter/mage, etc. The group should also be tailored to the areas that are going to be run, for example, a group that will kill zombies at Ravencurse may not be able to kill the corpse eaters or mage's familiars in Sanctuary End, or a group with a mage and a druid might not be ideal running Thrikeens due to endurance limits. This is not to say that non-hitters are useless in xp. 2. Find out what zones are free, and plan out a cycle. There are many ways of locating people in the game, and most are easily accessible to all players. The who list can be consulted to see who is on that might also be running or part of a group and those people can be located. Should they be in an xp zone with others, chances are they are running xp. Ask them what zones they are running and either join with them, find other zones to xp, or simply wait. Some players will even cut down their runs to share zones and are open to negociation on who gets what, while others hold an ardent claim to a zone once they have cleared it and until they are finished. 3. Pay attention to your stats as well as those of the rest of the group. This takes only a few seconds and might seem like a minor thing, but though most do not mind dying, no one likes dying needlessly. Ten seconds spent per zone to make sure your running mates have the endurance to keep going or ensuring the mage has mana to tele is not only polite and good form, but the group will appreciate it and they will remember. Leaving behind a group member should not happen from both a hitter and a tank point of view, as both should be watching. Most people will also prefer a poke and a reminder that they are low on endurance to being left behind. 4. Keep a store of needed xp supplies on hand if possible, and equipment in good repair. It takes only a few extra minutes to go to the appropriate places and stock up on stamina herbs, potions, extra weapons and shields, and to have your armour reconstructed by a sorcerer or a repairman. Having to detour in the middle of a run is not bad, but should be avoided where possible. Think of it like watching a movie and having to pause halfway through. It is perfectly fine, but most would rather not if given the choice. 5. Try to be decent to your group-mates, at least while grouped. Remeber that the population of Valhalla is as diverse as the real world. Everyone reads and types differently, some players are blind and don't read, but listen, some players are "in-character" at all times, etc. Try to respect the differences in others, for several reasons: A) they are helping you B) if they are different to you, then you are different to them C) you never know who could be behind that character, be it a 12 year old, someone with mental illness, another more powerful player running an unknown, the administrators, your best friend, the list is endless. Remember, as the tank, you bear responsibility for most of the groups actions. They only go where YOU lead them and they only fight what YOU tell them. When a group member dies, the responibility is as much on the tank as on the player who died. The best tanks keep an eye on the group's status and rarely lose people, even in high risk areas. Sure, mistakes and bad luck happen, even the very best die and lose entire groups, and often enough that it is not a big deal, but a good player and a good tank accepts responsibilty for what they and their group do, good and bad. That being said, no one person who has ever played or will ever play can take credit for doing it all themselves, no matter how fast they go, no matter how few deaths occur, no matter what. A tank is only as fast and as strong as their hitters, end of discussion. For proof of this, put all your group into dog collars except for the tank, and try xping then. Ask Doggy, Sentrosi, Issa, Baggins, Agarwaen, Kytes, Alvaneu, or any player who has done major amounts of xping and they will all tell you these are all true. 1. When a tank asks for people for a group, ask them how many chars they need, and what variety they need. Hitters are going to be the obvious choice, but the hitter's secondary abilities will be what the tank should be more interested in. Does your character have teleportaion abilities, rapid mana regain for mana boosts and other boosts, healing, remove poison, resurrection, etc? If the tank asks for two characters, then it is usual practice to bring you best hitter, and it is good form to ask the tank what they need for a second. 2. Make sure you are ready to go with a full supply of all needed sundries, and have weapons and armour fixed and ready. The same as a tank, it is good form to be ready to go at the start, and not need a detour. There are times it is unavoidable, and again, it is not a bad thing, but it can mostly be easily avoided with a few extra minutes before you head out. Also, if you are a tank and use triggers for tanking, turn them off along with any triggers for killing mobs that are stunned, incapacitated or mortally wounded. These are dangerous triggers for the whole group unless you are the tank. 3. Pay attention and stay fighting ready. As a group member, one of the only things you need to do is make sure you do not die or get left behind. Both endurance and hit points should be closely monitored, and maintained using your own stores, i.e. stamina herbs and balms, leaving mana for the tank to use as the group needs. Chewing stamina herbs at around 80-100 endurance depending on the area being run is a good benchmark to start with. As a rule of thumb, when there is 15 rooms of endurance remaining, chew the herbs. Likewise, for healing yourself, when you have about 5 hits worth of hit points left (depending on the mob), that is a good time to heal. 4. Be courteous and respectful of others in the group, or at least put on hold any hard feelings or ill-will while in the group. Remember, when in a group, you are a team heading to a common goal, so act accodingly. No one likes to hear how slow they are, how they made a mistake, etc. and it is counter productive to whatever is being done by the whole group. They are helping you as much as you are them, and being overly critical or rude can lead to the group falling apart and even eventually to people no longer asking for your help. Most of these are fairly easy things to do, and even over the short term will show benefits. Again, these are not rules, they are suggestions, guidelines, traditions, whatever you should like to call them, and by no means is this a complete listing. Let's all have fun out there hacking things into little bits!
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