Combat Basics

Combat in MyShard is different from the classic "attack and wait". Alongside normal attacks, you use active abilities that come from the weapon you wield and the armor set you wear. This page covers the basic rules of combat: attacks, abilities, damage, crowd control, PvP and death.

Combat basics

• Your weapon decides your Q, W, E abilities and your normal attack.
• Your armor set decides your R, D, F abilities, your toughness and your damage bonuses. See Armor Sets and Roles.
• Select an enemy and press Space to start attacking; use your abilities in between.
• Your weapon's tier (Normal, Ruin, Might, Force, Power, Epic) sets your ability values. A Normal weapon needs no mastery; higher tiers need that weapon's mastery (Ruin 2 … Epic 6). Details are on the weapon pages.

Normal attacks

Normal attacks always hit; there are no misses. Each hit deals a random amount within the weapon's damage range. Weapons differ in damage and speed:

• The Heavy Crossbow can't fire while moving; you need to stand still for 1 second before firing.
• Attack speed buffs shorten the swing interval; slowing debuffs lengthen it.

Abilities

Every ability has four basic properties, all shown in the icon's tooltip on the skill bar:

Abilities with a cast time

• Moving cancels the cast. Your character stops when the cast starts; release and press the movement key again to walk.
• Taking damage does not interrupt a cast.
• If you're stunned or silenced, the ability fails.
• Instant abilities can be used while running.
• You can't start another ability while one is being cast; as soon as the cast ends you can use the next one.

Targeting, range and line of sight

Harmful abilities go to your selected enemy automatically; healing abilities can only be used on allies. If the target is out of range or something blocks the view, the ability can't be used. More in Skill Bar.

How damage works

• Normal attacks are reduced by the target's Armor: the higher the armor, the less damage gets through.
• Ability damage ignores armor; only buffs and debuffs affect it.
• The Damage Bonus Pvp/Pvm on sets changes the normal attack damage you deal, Defense Bonus Pvp/Pvm the damage you take.
• Damage buffs stack up to 100%, defense bonuses up to 75%.
• There are no critical hits.
• Some abilities reduce the healing the target receives (Heal Debuff); the target heals less meanwhile.

Crowd control

Some abilities stun (Stun), silence (Silence) or slow (Slow) your opponent. All of these effects, and how to prevent and remove them: Buffs and Debuffs.

Combat Time

When you attack or are attacked, Combat Time starts: 15 seconds against creatures, 30 against players, refreshed with every hit. Until it runs out you can't:

• Change weapon or armor abilities
• Change your armor set
• Use a Moongate (which also requires full health)
• Summon your mount or leave a dungeon

Out of combat, your health regenerates 150 and your mana 8 per second.

Experience and mastery

• Creatures give experience by level: 20 / 40 / 75 / 130 / 220 / 360 for levels 1–6. Normal creatures (rabbit, chicken, rat, pig, sheep, mongbat, slime…) are level 1.
• Your level is the mastery level of the weapon you wield. A creature 1 level below you gives 50% of its experience, 2 levels below 20%, 3 or more below 5%; a creature above your level gives 125%.
• Experience goes to the mastery of the weapon you wield and of the armor group you wear; Exp Bonus raises it by a percentage.
• Experience needed for the next mastery level: 5,000 / 22,000 / 68,000 / 185,000 / 500,000 (the top level is 6, Epic).

Potions

Heal and Mana potions restore your health and mana instantly; other potions give effects such as a damage boost or crowd control immunity. You can put potions in the 1, 2, 3 quick slots of the skill bar. All potions: Special Items.

PvP

• Outside safe zones anyone can attack anyone; attacking is not a crime and guards don't interfere.
• You can't target members of your own guild, allied guilds, your party or your Arena team, and your area abilities never hit them.
• Players can't target each other in safe zones, and abilities never hit players there. Britain is a safe city, except during the Saturday city war, when PvP is on in Britain.
• New players are under newbie protection for 48 hours after graduating from the Start Area. See First Steps.
• You can also fight in a safe zone by offering a duel; you don't die in a duel, the duel just ends.

Death

• When you die, the items in your backpack and on you drop into your corpse; anyone can loot it.
• The corpse turns into bones after 1 minute, and the bones disappear a minute later.
• If you're resurrected while your corpse is still there, your items return to you.
• You come back with 10% of your health.
• A Wild Staff user can raise dead allies with the Resurrect ability (30 second cast); the Resurrect Bandage also resurrects.

For new players

• Try your abilities on the dummies in the Start Area tutorial, then fight Normal creatures to learn when each one is useful.
• Use abilities with a cast time from a safe distance; moving cancels them.
• Watch your cooldowns; save your strongest ability for the right moment.