Yo, you can't mine here!

by Spleen

This story is a great example of what I have been trying to tell everyone about the current Hokuto players. They just aren't prepared for our level of bastardizing. Packhorses regularly go into the caves, miners think its A-OK to mine at topcave, people at Vesper bank really think we are only thieves, players kill lich's for 6 hours just stacking their gold pile on the floor. This new generation just isn't ready for us. We are hitting them hard.

So I am making my rounds, and someone has a couple packs up at topcave! Are they fucking nuts? A pack "baka" no less, which I am guessing means "llama".

So I jump all over them and start whacking. I have nothing on me except this waraxe and 4 bandages. She starts into me with a fireball wand or something funny, without noticing that her giant beetle (shown as a purple llama, since I don't have the gay expansion) is kicking my ass. I used all of my bandages just staying alive long enough to kill her horses. She gets me like three times with her wand and then ...

Makes a break for it! She darts out of the cave with blinding speed. With no horse, I am pretty much screwed. But this old bastard isn't out of the fight just yet. I have chased fools out of topcave and down this winding mountain path more times than she has logged into UO.

I make a straight-arrow dash to just the right spot where I know I can block her. It works like a charm and I get in position. She knows not to try and push past me, so she runs back up near the entrance of the cave. Many a silly newbiekill has been lost by trying to follow them up there and opening the path. I am wise, I wait.

She isn't. She doesn't. She makes a dash for freedom (without even healing) and dies in one big hit. She has so many regs on her I was able to heal up and kill the beetle with magery.

X

What follows me around for 10 minutes? You guessed it, YO! I can't believe how many regs she had on her when she died. Over 100 of each, and 300 bloodmoss.

Consider :

1) She attacked me with a fireball wand
2) Never healed, recalled, or used magery in any way
3) Should be conserving some of that weight for ore!

What the hell is she doing mining with 100 stones of reagents on her? She didn't even use any of  her wide assortment of potions! This is exactly what I am talking about : The populace has been completely unmolested for more than a year (almost two), and they devolve into complete fools. Every move she made was nuts from start to finish!

Then it gets even funnier. I am at the bank going through her stuff, and next thing I know there is a really tough guy standing right by me saying things in Japanese. I gather after a moment that this is YO's other, much meaner character. His name is WANDOO, and he is dressed in head to toe Valorite platemail (sells on vendors for about 20k) and is brandishing an exceptional magic halberd of force. For anyone who doesn't know what those are, they are quite mean. Players can craft magical weapons now, and they have both the properties of an exceptional weapon, plus the magic bonuses. They are extraordinarily deadly.

I say "english" and he replies with "you die". I am all for the upcoming battle now that I had some reags to burn and armor to wear, so I say "OK" and start walking out of town.

So it is pretty clear he means business. Going by his equipment, you would think he is a well-to-do veteran player probably experienced with fighting, and has a couple of skills over 100. You are right on all but one count.

He has no idea how to fight.

I make it about 10 steps from the bank and he attacks me right there, in town, in front of 20 NPCs. Guards kill him instantly and I loot him dry, then put on his tough outfit.

XX

He comes back and I start doing impressions. "Who am I?" I say as I run around in combat mode making fake attacks on NPCs.

He knows who I am. I think that's about all he knows. He certainly hasn't read a single word about combat.