Combat Basics

This page covers the fundamentals of melee and ranged combat: switching to war mode, holding a weapon, attacking a target, and getting away. For hit-chance, damage formulas, special moves and resistances see Combat (advanced). For staying alive see Healing and Death & resurrection.

War mode vs peace mode

Your character is always in one of two states:

Peace mode — the default. You can walk past monsters and other players without swinging at anyone, even if you double-click them.
War mode — you will automatically attack your current target. Your character closes the gap and swings on its own as fast as your weapon allows.

To toggle war mode: click the war/peace button on your status bar (the toggle that shows a peace or war icon), or press the war-mode hotkey (default Tab in most clients — Tab toggles, hold-Tab behavior is client-configurable). When you are in war mode your character’s frame/health bar typically turns red.

You only deal blows while in war mode. If you are in peace mode, double-clicking a monster just selects/opens it; it does not start a fight.

Equipping a weapon

To equip a weapon:

Open your backpack (double-click the pack icon, or use the paperdoll).
Double-click the weapon, or drag it onto your paperdoll’s hand slot.

A one-handed weapon uses one hand; a two-handed weapon (most axes, spears, bows, and staves) occupies both hands and prevents holding a shield. To unequip, drag the weapon from the paperdoll back into your pack.

Your character must meet the weapon’s Strength requirement to wield it effectively; under-strength penalties apply (unverified). Browse weapons in the weapons catalog.

Weapon choice maps to a combat skill

The weapon you hold determines which skill governs your accuracy. Every swing trains that skill (see using & training skills):

Swords, axes, large blades → Swordsmanship
Maces, hammers, staves → Mace Fighting
Daggers, kryss, spears, fencing weapons → Fencing
Bows and crossbows → Archery
Throwing weapons (gargoyle) → Throwing
No weapon (bare hands) → Wrestling

If you are unarmed, you fight with Wrestling automatically — there is no “equip” step. Wrestling also has defensive value even when you carry a weapon (it can be used to parry/block in some rules; see Combat (advanced)).

Regardless of which weapon skill you use, two support skills increase the damage you deal: Tactics is the universal melee damage multiplier, and Anatomy adds a further damage bonus. Train both alongside your weapon skill for maximum output.

Attacking a target

To attack a monster or player:

Hold a weapon (or go bare-handed for Wrestling).
Switch to war mode.
Double-click the target, or use a target cursor / “attack last target” hotkey to designate it. You can also single-click a creature’s health bar to target it in war mode.

Once a target is set in war mode, your character moves toward it and swings automatically. You do not click for each swing — the engine paces your attacks by the weapon’s speed (see weapon speed below). Movement and targeting are covered in Movement & travel and Targeting.

When you successfully designate a hostile target, attacking it may flag you for criminal/aggressor notoriety depending on the target — see Notoriety & PvP before attacking other players or “innocent” (blue) NPCs.

Range: melee adjacency vs ranged line of sight

Melee weapons (and Wrestling) require you to be adjacent to the target — one tile away, including diagonals. Your character walks into range on its own when you set a target in war mode. (The bandage/beneficial action range in this shard is 2 tiles, per Bandage.cs; melee attack reach is the adjacent tile.)
Ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, throwing) hit at a distance but require a clear line of sight — no wall, tree, or obstacle directly between you and the target. If line of sight is broken, your shots miss or do not fire until you reposition.

Archers and throwers generally must stand still to fire in AOS-era rules (moving delays or cancels the shot — unverified specifics); see Archery and Throwing.

Switching and “last target”

You can change who you are fighting at any time:

Switch target: double-click a new enemy (or target its health bar). Your character immediately redirects its swings to the new target.
Last target: most clients support an “attack last target” and a “set last target” hotkey, letting you re-acquire your previous target without clicking. Razor/assist tools add more target macros. See Targeting.

Weapon speed, stamina, and range

Weapon speed sets how often you swing. Faster weapons (daggers, fencing weapons) swing more often for less damage per hit; slow weapons (war hammers, two-handed axes) hit hard but slowly.
Stamina affects your swing speed and your ability to keep moving. Running and being hit drain stamina; low stamina slows your attacks (unverified exact thresholds). Eat food and rest to recover. Detailed swing-speed mechanics are in Combat (advanced).

Fleeing

To break off a fight and run:

Switch to peace mode so you stop auto-attacking.
Run away — click far ahead repeatedly to keep running (running costs stamina).
Use terrain and line of sight to break a ranged attacker’s shots, or Hide once you have a moment out of sight.
If you have travel magic, Recall to a safe rune (see Movement & travel) — but note casting can be disrupted if you are being hit (see Combat (advanced)).

A fleeing target that out-distances its attacker will eventually be left alone, since melee enemies must stay adjacent to swing and ranged enemies need line of sight.