Combat

Pre-Release Edition, revised 8/23/99

Combat in MM7 is a lot like MM6, only better. This would be true even if the only changes were fixes for various bugs, but there will be other changes. We can anticipate some of them, and you'll want to change your combat style to accommodate them.

This discussion will be based on the principles developed in Bones' Combat Guide to MM6. A modest understanding of that material will be helpful, though not necessary, to follow these notes. We will be going through the components of the Flow of Damage and noting expected and probable changes.

Attack/Shoot/Casting Times

First off, the various Bugs that affected A/S/C Times in MM6 have been fixed. Your characters will get the full benefit of your efforts to speed them up.

But there's more. NWC's original idea of Recovery was never realized in MM6. Recovery Time was meant to include not only the amount of time needed to attack and get ready to attack again, but also an additional period required after being hit with a successful attack. We will refer to this as the Recovery Penalty. In MM6 this only worked in determining Monster's Recovery Times in Real-Time mode. This appears to be working properly in MM7 against Monsters in Turn-Based mode.

Chance to Hit and Damage Conferred

I haven't uncovered any changes from MM6's application of Chance to Hit and Potential Damage, nor do I expect to find any. I think NWC got these right the first time.

I never figured out exactly how Resistances lower the amount of Damage Conferred, so I can't say that it worked the way it was intended to in MM6. I'll assume that they work as intended in MM7, but you need to note that the types of Resistances have been changed. This will be discussed below under Damage Acquired.

Monster Attacking Times

In MM6 the rates of Monster attacks are fixed in all but three situations. The first two, when affected by the Slow or Paralyze Spells, were costly but effective defenses.

The other situation -- a Monster's Recovery Penalty from being hit in Real-Time mode -- is more important in MM7 because it appears to work in Turn-Based mode. The Stun Spell has been underappreciated because this feature was incorrectly implemented in MM6. Take the time to learn about it again.

Our Chance of Being Hit

In MM6, a Monster's Chance to Hit appears to be determined by 1) a value intrinsic to the type of Monster and 2) our characters' Armor Class. In MM7, some Monsters can be affected by a supportive Spell -- Bless in this case. Read the Closing Notes for further discussion.

We can raise our Armor Class by various means in MM6 -- wearing Armor, increasing Armor Skill, increasing the Speed statistic, using the Stone Skin Spell or Potion, using items of Defense, and using certain Weapons at high Rank. This is also true in MM7, but (as mentioned earlier) there is a new way to avoid being hit. The Dodging Skill raises Armor Class, but in most cases requires the character be wearing no body Armor. It works almost exactly like body Armor works and adds no new features to the game.

Movement in Turn-Based mode allows strategic repositioning, but it does not allow the Turn-based player to dodge incoming attacks like Real-Time players can do. On the other hand, the targets aren't moving, either.

Damage Acquired

The amount of Damage a character acquires from a Monster's successful Attack depends on 1) the Monster's potential Damage and 2) the character's Resistance to the Damage. A Monster's potential Damage is generally fixed, though Shrinking Ray will reduce it and a supportive Spell or Potion will increase it.

As in MM6, Resistances will decrease the amount of Damage acquired. You'll want to note that our characters will have ten different Resistances in MM7 which correspond to the schools of Magic plus Resistance to Physical Damage.

Closing Notes

As before, get to know all the Spells -- how they work, what they work against best, and how much they cost both in terms of Spell Points and Casting Time. Earth Magic has been greatly improved with a working Stun Spell and a 2 Spell Point Slow Spell. Don't neglect Earth Magic in MM7!

Grand Master Detect Life (Spirit 1 -- 1 SP) will tell you what supportive Spells your opponents are using. For example, a foe might be pumped up with Haste. You'll be able to remove that and other Spells with Dispel Magic (Light 3 -- 15 SP). We never knew if or when to use Dispel Magic in MM6.

Good luck, and be careful out there.