Moosebish-hybrid
Wanderer
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Fighting Skills!
Welcome to my guide about the fighting skills of UO!
What are the fighting skills of UO anyways?
Swordsmanship- Probably the most chosen fighting skill in the game due to the fact that there are so many weapons for it (on OSI there are more weapons for the other skills). It's special hit is the Cuncussion Blow that cuts your prey's intelligence in half, really only useful against mages in PvP. Swordsmanship weapons go from fast and weak to slow and strong and everywhere in between. Swordsman weapons can be poisoned with the skill. Swordsmanship weapons include: swords, knives, polearms, and axes.
Fencing- Fencing is the "Dexxer's" skill of choice due to the many fast weapons in this skill. Fencing has my favorite special hit, the Paralyzing Blow that paralyzes your victim for 5 seconds and is a special paralyze that can in no way be broken. Fencing weapons are all on the fast side of the spectrum and vary from weak to fairly strong. Fencing daggers can be poisoned for a extra kick to your attack. Fencing weapons include daggers and spears.
Mace Fighting- Mace Fighting is the strong and slow class that is fairly common in PvP in warriors and tank mages. Mace Fighting's special hit is the Crushing Blow that doubles the amount of damage done to your enemy which can turn the tide of a fight quick! As I said above most Mace Fighting weapons are slow and strong but they all have the great effect of doing heavy damage to armor and making stamina drain fast which makes up for the fact that no mace weapon can be poisoned. Mace weapons include wands, staffs, maces, hammers, and the war axe. (Apparently Fishing Poles count as maces too, thanks Buccaneer Bob!)
Wrestling- Wrestling is very common among the mage and theif community due to the fact that it doesn't require a weapon and helps them dodge hits reliably. Wrestling is special because it has two special hits but requires other skills to use them... if you have high anatomy, you can perform a paralyzing hit just like the fencing move, or if you have high arms lore you can perform a disarming move that is enjoyed by theives. Wrestling is very weak, somewhat fast, but I would never advise hunting with it. Obviously you can't use poisoning with wrestling and the only weapon there is, is your hands! (Note: Wrestling is used if you are holding objects such as books, candles, or torches but they don't effect the damage at all.)
Archery- Probably the least used fighting skill because it is so slow and expensive to upkeep because you need to constantly buy arrows or bolts. Archery is at a disadvantage because it has no special hits whatsoever, the weapons are crafted by fletchers not smiths which are less common, and you must stand still for a sec to fire. The best part about archery is that you can take zero damage from monsters that don't have ranged attacks and it's easier to hit someone in PvP that is being chased by a zillion people. Arrows cannot be poisoned. Archery weapons are bows and crossbows. (Note: on OSI servers you can aquire quivers that have many different bonuses.)
Now that I know all about the skills how do you gain in them?
To gain in any fighting skill you just need to do one thing, use it! You don't even have to hit your target to gain skill. To gain in your desired skill just equip a weapon from it and swing away at any target. To GM quickly you should use a weak weapon, so you don't kill your target. Some peoiple prefer to train against other people, that is called "sparring", with this method you can gain a number of skills at once but it doesn't make you GM any faster other than the fact you don't have to hunt down targets.
Well, what do all these magic weapons with long words mean?
There are three different classes of magic weapons and weapons can have 1, 2, or all 3 of them. The classes are durability, accuracy, and damage. Now, inside each class there are 5 levels... and they are:
Durability:
Durable
Substantial
Massive
Fortifide
Indestructable (Back in the day, these weapons would never lose durability after repairing, but it may not be like that anymore.)
Accuracy:
Accurate
Surpassingly Acc.
Eminently Acc.
Exceedingly Acc.
Supremely Acc.
(Note: The only skills that actually gets more accurate is archery, all other fighting skills get a bonus to their tactics which in turn increases damage.)
Damage:
Ruin
Might
Force
Power
Vanquishing
(Another note: Exceptional weapons crafted by smiths or fletchers do more damage than weapons of ruin or might, so they are usually not looted or thrown away.)
So when you see your friend wielding a accurate longsword of ruin you can slap him and show off your supremely accurate spear of vanquishing.
Is there any other way to make my weapons even stronger on this server?
Yes, it's called poisoning my friend! But not every weapon can be poisoned and there are sacrifices that are made if you poison a weapon. Only bladed, one-handed weapons can be poisoned, that includes:
Dagger
Kryss
Longsword
Viking Sword
Cutlass
Schimtar
Katana
Knives (skinning and butchers)
But what is the sacrifice that is made? Apparently the only poison that alchemists can make turns to acid when it comes in contact with blood (no wonder it does extra damage!) so when you hit someone with your poisoned weapon the durability takes a hit, so you may not want to poison your brand new vanquishing katana... What happens if you buy a great magic weapon that is poisoned and don;t want to destroy it? Poison can be completely wiped off with oil cloths that tailors can make.
So now that I know everything about my new weapon skill is that all I need to go hack up some baddies?
No way Jose! Almost all skills in UO are more complicated than meets the eye... Along with your weapon skill there are "fighting skills" that increase the amount of damage you deal, how often a special hit strikes and if you block a potential hit... I wont go into any detail about them for that is another guide but the skills are the following:
Tactics
Anatomy
Lumberjacking (Only effects axe weapons from the swordsmanship class)
Parrying (for using sheilds, but on OSI servers you can use it to block with any weapon)
So what exactly do I gain from reading this long guide?
Now that you are an expert on your weapons skills you can better create your character template with your new found knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon skill! Good luck adventurer!
Welcome to my guide about the fighting skills of UO!
What are the fighting skills of UO anyways?
Swordsmanship- Probably the most chosen fighting skill in the game due to the fact that there are so many weapons for it (on OSI there are more weapons for the other skills). It's special hit is the Cuncussion Blow that cuts your prey's intelligence in half, really only useful against mages in PvP. Swordsmanship weapons go from fast and weak to slow and strong and everywhere in between. Swordsman weapons can be poisoned with the skill. Swordsmanship weapons include: swords, knives, polearms, and axes.
Fencing- Fencing is the "Dexxer's" skill of choice due to the many fast weapons in this skill. Fencing has my favorite special hit, the Paralyzing Blow that paralyzes your victim for 5 seconds and is a special paralyze that can in no way be broken. Fencing weapons are all on the fast side of the spectrum and vary from weak to fairly strong. Fencing daggers can be poisoned for a extra kick to your attack. Fencing weapons include daggers and spears.
Mace Fighting- Mace Fighting is the strong and slow class that is fairly common in PvP in warriors and tank mages. Mace Fighting's special hit is the Crushing Blow that doubles the amount of damage done to your enemy which can turn the tide of a fight quick! As I said above most Mace Fighting weapons are slow and strong but they all have the great effect of doing heavy damage to armor and making stamina drain fast which makes up for the fact that no mace weapon can be poisoned. Mace weapons include wands, staffs, maces, hammers, and the war axe. (Apparently Fishing Poles count as maces too, thanks Buccaneer Bob!)
Wrestling- Wrestling is very common among the mage and theif community due to the fact that it doesn't require a weapon and helps them dodge hits reliably. Wrestling is special because it has two special hits but requires other skills to use them... if you have high anatomy, you can perform a paralyzing hit just like the fencing move, or if you have high arms lore you can perform a disarming move that is enjoyed by theives. Wrestling is very weak, somewhat fast, but I would never advise hunting with it. Obviously you can't use poisoning with wrestling and the only weapon there is, is your hands! (Note: Wrestling is used if you are holding objects such as books, candles, or torches but they don't effect the damage at all.)
Archery- Probably the least used fighting skill because it is so slow and expensive to upkeep because you need to constantly buy arrows or bolts. Archery is at a disadvantage because it has no special hits whatsoever, the weapons are crafted by fletchers not smiths which are less common, and you must stand still for a sec to fire. The best part about archery is that you can take zero damage from monsters that don't have ranged attacks and it's easier to hit someone in PvP that is being chased by a zillion people. Arrows cannot be poisoned. Archery weapons are bows and crossbows. (Note: on OSI servers you can aquire quivers that have many different bonuses.)
Now that I know all about the skills how do you gain in them?
To gain in any fighting skill you just need to do one thing, use it! You don't even have to hit your target to gain skill. To gain in your desired skill just equip a weapon from it and swing away at any target. To GM quickly you should use a weak weapon, so you don't kill your target. Some peoiple prefer to train against other people, that is called "sparring", with this method you can gain a number of skills at once but it doesn't make you GM any faster other than the fact you don't have to hunt down targets.
Well, what do all these magic weapons with long words mean?
There are three different classes of magic weapons and weapons can have 1, 2, or all 3 of them. The classes are durability, accuracy, and damage. Now, inside each class there are 5 levels... and they are:
Durability:
Durable
Substantial
Massive
Fortifide
Indestructable (Back in the day, these weapons would never lose durability after repairing, but it may not be like that anymore.)
Accuracy:
Accurate
Surpassingly Acc.
Eminently Acc.
Exceedingly Acc.
Supremely Acc.
(Note: The only skills that actually gets more accurate is archery, all other fighting skills get a bonus to their tactics which in turn increases damage.)
Damage:
Ruin
Might
Force
Power
Vanquishing
(Another note: Exceptional weapons crafted by smiths or fletchers do more damage than weapons of ruin or might, so they are usually not looted or thrown away.)
So when you see your friend wielding a accurate longsword of ruin you can slap him and show off your supremely accurate spear of vanquishing.
Is there any other way to make my weapons even stronger on this server?
Yes, it's called poisoning my friend! But not every weapon can be poisoned and there are sacrifices that are made if you poison a weapon. Only bladed, one-handed weapons can be poisoned, that includes:
Dagger
Kryss
Longsword
Viking Sword
Cutlass
Schimtar
Katana
Knives (skinning and butchers)
But what is the sacrifice that is made? Apparently the only poison that alchemists can make turns to acid when it comes in contact with blood (no wonder it does extra damage!) so when you hit someone with your poisoned weapon the durability takes a hit, so you may not want to poison your brand new vanquishing katana... What happens if you buy a great magic weapon that is poisoned and don;t want to destroy it? Poison can be completely wiped off with oil cloths that tailors can make.
So now that I know everything about my new weapon skill is that all I need to go hack up some baddies?
No way Jose! Almost all skills in UO are more complicated than meets the eye... Along with your weapon skill there are "fighting skills" that increase the amount of damage you deal, how often a special hit strikes and if you block a potential hit... I wont go into any detail about them for that is another guide but the skills are the following:
Tactics
Anatomy
Lumberjacking (Only effects axe weapons from the swordsmanship class)
Parrying (for using sheilds, but on OSI servers you can use it to block with any weapon)
So what exactly do I gain from reading this long guide?
Now that you are an expert on your weapons skills you can better create your character template with your new found knowledge on the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon skill! Good luck adventurer!
