Something pleasantly unexpected about this game was the ability to form a party for a quest and have all the members be valuable, regardless of their stats. You can still get a few hacks in and back away, letting someone else take over for a minute while your recuperate. This, I think, gets very much to the heart of the game. Ultima Online is, more than anything else, a game about social interaction. While you can play as a loner, the moments that are the most satisfying involve other live people.
Friends are valuable and revenge is personal.
The problem with combat skills, regardless of how complex and involved they may be, is that the activity of fighting still comes down to your character's statistics. From then on out you are no longer involved in the activity unless you decide to disengage and run away. You'll be a voyeur to your own victory or defeat. This is something of a double-edged sword, I suppose, in that I appreciate this system when I'm sure to be victorious, but not when I lose. Connection Never perfect.