Combat

Pre-Release Edition

Combat in MM7 is going to be 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, we've been assured that the various Bugs the affected A/S/C Times in MM6 have been fixed. Your characters will get the full benefit of your efforts to speed them up. There will be no items of Recovery, but there may be new ways to lower your Casting Times.

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. I expect it to work properly in MM7 -- that is, against our characters and their foes in both RT and TB modes.

What does this mean for Combat? It means that getting hit will not only cost Hit Points (and/or a bad Condition) -- it will also cost you attack oppertunities. You'll want to put more resources into raising your Armor Class. There are two new ways to avoid being hit which we will cover later.

Chance to Hit and Damage Conferred

I don't expect any changes from MM6's application of Chance to Hit and Potential Damage. 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 thay 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.

I expect the other situation -- the Recovery Penalty from being hit in Real-Time mode -- to be more important in MM7 because it should 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, Monsters might 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, and using items of Defense. I expect this to also be true in MM7, but (as mentioned earlier) there are two new ways to avoid being hit.

The first is movement in Turn-Based mode. Real-Time players know all about side-stepping ranged attacks. Now TB players can have the same advantage. We will all need to check this out.

The other new way to avoid being hit is with the Dodging Skill. I don't know how this will work. It may simply add points to a character's Armor Class, but it might do something. It might only work with a character who isn't wearing any body Armor. Make sure you check this out, too.

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, I expect Resistances to decrease the amount of Damage acquired. You'll want to note that our characters will have six different Resistances in MM7 which appear to correspond to the schools of Magic. The types of Damage may have been totally replaced, or they might just be more closely aligned with the Magics. For example, MM7's Resistance to Water Magic might equate to MM6's Cold and Poison Resistances, but it might only mean Resistance to the Water Magic Spells. This is important, so check it out.

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 us what supportive Spells our 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.

Finally, the different Races will have different qualities -- some being faster or sturdier, etc. These differences may simply show up in the default stat values when we create our characters, but perhaps not. For example, it's possible that an Elf will perform actions faster than a human with identical stats and Skill Ranking. We'll have to find out.

Good luck, and be careful out there.