Players manual

Here you'll find a list of helpful tips and commands for the game.

UI Tips

 * City areas and taverns are zoned. If you look in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, you'll see a dropdown that reads something like '5-The Harbor' which means you're in zone 5. If you're trying to meet up with someone, make sure you're both in the same zone. Change zones just by opening the dropdown and picking the one you want to transfer to.


 * The game has voice chat built in that allows you to hear and talk to your groupmates, but it's disabled by default. Go into your audio options and click the 'Enable voice chat' option so you can at least hear what people in your group are saying, even if you don't have a mic or don't plan on talking over it yourself. You can tell who's talking because their name is highlighted in green in the party area of your screen.


 * Hit 'm' to open your map, and hover over the different symbols to see what they are. If you want to travel to that place/NPC/whatever, left-click it on the map, then close the map. You'll now see a small, white arrow pointing in the direction of that map symbol in the mini-map.


 * To see detailed information about a person or item, click on them to target them. Then, in the circular window in the bottom-right, click on the magnifying glass button.


 * Icons dragged onto your Quickbar can be rapidly activated with a number key, but you will quickly use up those 10 spaces. Press Control-1, Control-2, etc to bring up different Quickbars, which can have separate sets of icons.  A mid-level cleric, for example, might have 4 Quickbars: one of weapons, ones of spells for friends, one of spells for enemies, and one for magic items (like wands and potions).  But the most important functions, like Cure Moderate Wounds, should probably occupy the same space in ALL of the Quickbars, so you can always cast it with a single reflexive keystroke.

Combat Tips

 * You must keep monsters in front of you in order to attack them.


 * You can block in combat by holding down the Shift key, even without a shield (although it works better with a shield due to the damage reduction). Use this to your advantage by swinging your weapon in between the enemy's swings.


 * Blocking in a doorway will keep enemies from being able to pass through the door.


 * Do not move while in combat - tumble. While blocking, you can hit your movement keys to roll or hop. Doing so prevents you from receiving a -4 modifier to your attack rolls. (only insofar as you cannot even MAKE an attack roll while tumbling). To avoid the -4 movement modifier, you only need to stop moving for a brief instant to stop and swing.  Watch the plusses on the D20 to see how it works.  Note that the moving attack penalty only applies to melee attacks- ranged attacks have a moving reload penalty instead.


 * Rogues will receive a sneak attack bonus when you attack something that has a target other than you. So help out a buddy - you'll do more and you'll help him out (although, possibly steal credit for the kill).


 * You'll receive a rear-angle attack bonus when you attack something that is facing away from you. So if two fighters are battling one monster, the one who isn't being attacked can circle around behind for more hits, while the one in front shield-blocks to protect himself.  When the monster changes targets, switch off roles.


 * When using ranged weapons, be sure to switch to a melee weapon when an enemy engages you in melee combat. You're easier to hit while holding a ranged weapon, and will be attacking much slower.


 * Ranged attacks against an enemy who is partially behind cover won't work if you use Tab to target them, because the game aims at midsection level. Aim manually to shoot at their upper torso or head. (Yes, that's true).  Also, if an enemy is running around, it might step out of the path of your arrows before they hit.  You can compensate by untargetting the enemy and "leading" the target with manual mouse-aiming, as in a FPS game.  Untargetted shooting also works when you believe there are monsters in a certain direction, but can't see them yet; in many situations, your shooting range is greater than your visual range.


 * Conversely, ranged attacks by an enemy when you are partially behind cover won't work (except for a homing projectile like Magic Missile). That can be applied to exploit terrain geometry for your protection.