Combat (Advanced)

This page builds on Combat basics with the systems that decide whether you hit, how much damage you deal, and how to use special moves and mounts. Exact formulas vary by ServUO build; numbers below are marked (unverified) unless trivially known, and should be confirmed against the relevant Scripts/ files or in-game logs.

Hit chance and defense

Whether a swing lands is a contest between the attacker’s accuracy and the defender’s ability to avoid the blow:

Attacker side: your weapon skill (Swordsmanship, Mace Fighting, Fencing, Archery, Throwing, or Wrestling) plus the weapon’s hit-chance properties.
Defender side: their own weapon skill (or Wrestling if unarmed), and especially Parrying when holding a shield or two-handed weapon — a successful parry blocks the hit outright.

In AOS-and-later rules the two values are compared and turned into a percentage chance to hit (the precise curve is unverified here — confirm in Scripts/Items/Weapons/ / combat code). Higher relative skill, and weapon “Hit Chance Increase” / defender “Defense Chance Increase” item properties, shift the odds.

Damage components

When a hit lands, its damage is built from several stacked components:

Base weapon damage — the weapon’s min–max damage range (see weapons catalog).
Tactics bonus — the universal melee damage multiplier; scales with your Tactics skill.
Anatomy bonus — an additional damage percentage from Anatomy.
Strength bonus — higher Strength adds a damage bonus (see character & stats and Mechanics).
Item modifiers — “Damage Increase”, slayer bonuses vs the right creature type, and elemental damage conversions.

The exact percentages and how they combine are (unverified) in this page — see Mechanics and the weapon scripts for the build-specific numbers. The qualitative rule to remember: weapon + Tactics + Anatomy + Strength is the core melee damage stack, and training all of them together is what makes a melee character hit hard.

Damage types and resistances

Every hit deals one or more of five damage types:

Physical
Fire
Cold
Poison
Energy

The defender reduces incoming damage by their resistance to that type:

Players get resistances from worn armor and jewelry; each piece lists its Physical/Fire/Cold/Poison/Energy resist values, and they sum up to a capped total per type.
Creatures have their own innate resistances — listed per monster in the Bestiary. A dragon shrugs off fire; an elemental resists its own element.

To fight efficiently: check the target’s weaknesses in the Bestiary and bring a weapon (or spells) that deal the damage type it resists least. Conversely, wear armor that covers the damage types the enemy deals.

Weapon speed and stamina

Swing speed is set by the weapon’s base speed, your Stamina, and swing-speed item bonuses. More stamina and “Swing Speed Increase” mean more swings per second.
Low stamina slows your attacks and your movement. Stamina drains from running and from being hit; eat food and rest to recover. (Exact swing-speed formula is unverified — see weapon scripts.)
Fast weapons favor special-move spam and on-hit effects; slow weapons favor big single hits. See Combat basics.

Special moves (primary and secondary)

Most weapons grant two special moves — a primary and a secondary ability — unlocked at certain Tactics and/or weapon-skill thresholds. Examples of common effects (the exact set depends on the weapon): armor-ignoring strikes, bleeding wounds, mortal/wound effects that block healing, paralyzing blows, area hits, and disarms.

To use a special move:

Open the weapon-ability bar/gump in your client.
Toggle the primary or secondary ability on; it stays armed.
Land your next qualifying hit — the ability fires and consumes mana.

Special moves cost mana (amount varies by ability and is reduced by mastery — exact costs unverified). If you lack the mana when the hit lands, the special does not trigger. Bushido and Ninjitsu add their own weapon specials. See the individual weapon-skill pages for which moves each weapon type offers.

Spell and weapon disruption (“fizzle”)

Casting while being hit can be disrupted. If you take a hit (or otherwise lose concentration) mid-cast, the spell fizzles — it fails, you may lose reagents/mana, and you must recast. This is why mages kite and heal between casts; see Spellcasting and Magery.
A bandage application can likewise slip (“Your fingers slip!”) or fail to finish if you are interrupted or move out of range — see Healing.
Holding still, keeping distance, and protective spells/abilities reduce disruption (resisting-spells and protection effects are unverified in specifics — see Resisting Spells).

Mounts in combat

Riding a mount lets you move at the faster mounted speed and chase or flee more effectively. You can fight from horseback with melee and ranged weapons.
Some abilities and special moves (notably certain dismount specials, and lances) can knock you off your mount; on foot you move slower. (Specifics unverified.)
Mounts are creatures: they can be targeted and, if a war-horse/pet, healed or killed. See Taming & pets and Movement & travel.

Fleeing and line of sight (recap)

To disengage: drop to peace mode, run, and use terrain to break a ranged attacker’s line of sight. Melee enemies must stay adjacent to swing; ranged enemies need an unobstructed line. Once out of sight you can Hide or Recall away. Full procedure in Combat basics → Fleeing.