Sword Fights on the Heights (series)

Sword Fights on the Heights, commonly abbreviated as SFOTH, is a Melee combat game built by Roblox staff member and Administrator (formerly known as Telamon). It is one of the oldest continually active games on Roblox, has inspired a hat and series of gear, and originated the swordfighting genre of games. Four SFOTH games were released between late 2007 and early 2008, each replacing the one before it. The series concluded with Sword Fights on the Heights IV, which has remained the current version since June 2008.
For a time in 2008, SFOTH IV was one of the most popular games on the website. Around 2014, the playerbase of the game began to decline, eventually resulting in the game struggling to reach 100 players daily. Shedletsky released a series of updates in May and June of 2020, rewriting broken code and adding quality-of-life improvements. Since 2020, the game has continued to maintain a small but relatively consistent playerbase of around 20-30 active players at a time, occasionally reaching peaks of up to 50.
== Basic Synopsis ==
The goal is to amass the most knockouts while avoiding getting killed. Several obstacles are spread throughout the level, including wobbly platforms, disappearing tiles, and narrow wooden beams that can make traversal difficult.
The map is made up of large floating islands of various heights with a tall, thin mountain in one corner. The different areas of the map are connected by various paths, typically comprised of either a set of obstacles or some kind of platforming challenge. Each sword resides in its own spot on the map accessed via a unique path. There are additional items players can find in the form of powerups—these range from a simple medkit to orbs with powerful abilities. One of the more complex games of its time, SFOTH combines sword combat with precise movement and exploration.
== SFOTH Versions ==
=== SFOTH Original ===
Sword Fight on the Heights Original, introduced in April 2007, is known as the first ROBLOX place focused solely around sword combat, featuring none of the other classic weapons used in brickbattling games of the time. The original SFOTH lacked the variety of swords most players are familiar with, and there was only one item, armor. This first version of the map lacked many features which would be introduced in subsequent entries.
=== SFOTH II ===
Sword Fight on the Heights II, introduced in March 2008, expanded upon the original primarily through the introduction of new swords and powerups. Four new items were added to the game—the instantly killing but short-ranged Ice Dagger, the long-ranged Firebrand, the Shield Sphere, and the medkit. The map was also increased in size, adding several new areas.
=== SFOTH III ===
Sword Fight on the Heights III, introduced in April 2008, once again expanded upon II with new pickups and new areas to explore. This version introduced the Illumina, Darkheart, Venomshank (named "Poisoner" until SFOTH IV), and the Shadow Sphere. However, where II remained unmodified through most of its life, III saw quite a few alterations made during its lifetime beyond simple bug fixes. Most notably, a number of weapon balance changes were made—the Ice Dagger's warmup was introduced in this version, as was Firebrand users being immune to it.
=== SFOTH IV ===
Sword Fights on the Heights IV, introduced in June 2008, is the current and most popular version of the game and the final entry in the series. Two more swords were added, the Ghostwalker and Windforce. The Jet Boots and Touchstone were also introduced. The Jet Boots offer temporary flight with a cooldown between uses, while the Touchstone teleports its user to the Locus, a new safe room beneath the central island. The Locus contains four portals leading to various locations around the map, allowing for back-and-forth travel. Players inside the Locus are protected by a persistent forcefield until they exit.
As IV has been the latest SFOTH game since 2008, it has seen the most changes out of the four games. The Jet Boots were broken by Roblox's deprecation of HopperBins in 2015 and were removed in 2016. Also in 2016, easter eggs referencing WoodReviewer were added to the map. It added an area known as "Abyss." It is a magenta portal that upon colliding with it teleports you to the Abyss. In it there is a torch next to a red portal that teleports you back to the game. If you go forward, you are greeted with a pedestal with a piece of wood asking you to "Review Me." It speaks in a whispering voice saying various things. The 2020 updates added new GUI elements and custom player healthbar displays, in addition to restoring item functionality that had been broken or changed by Roblox updates in the years prior. Notably, the Jet Boots did not return.
== Other Info ==
=== Weapon List ===
This is a list of the weapons and powerups currently available in SFOTH IV.
==== Weapons====
* Sword
**This is the standard sword every player spawns with and the only object in the StarterPack. It cannot be obtained in-game by any other means.
*Ghostwalker
**Ghostwalker is a semi-transparent sword that lowers the user's gravity when held, allowing for higher jumps and slower falls. The holder of the sword becomes slightly transparent while it is equipped. After each KO earned with the Ghostwalker, its user turns increasingly transparent, their gravity lowers further, and the sword's damage increases. After nine KOs, the sword reaches its maximum level and the holder becomes completely invisible.
*Venomshank
**Venomshank is a large green sword that inflicts poisonous venom on any targets it hits. A poisoned player will slowly lose health for some time, unless they heal themselves with a medkit or healing pad, or negate the health loss with the gain from the Darkheart's ability. The venom lasts for 10 seconds and brings a player down to 50% of their total health. Every time the player is hurt by venom, it deals one-eighth of their total health.
*Firebrand
**Firebrand shares the title of longest sword with Venomshank. Generally, Firebrand is valued for its length and for it providing immunity to the Ice Dagger's ability while it is equipped.
*Ice Dagger
**The Ice Dagger is a small white sword with the ability to freeze players, instantly KOing them. There is a three-second delay after equipping the dagger before it will turn blue, indicating the freezing ability is activated. The Ice Dagger has no effect on targets holding a Firebrand.
*Illumina
**Illumina has the highest base damage of any sword in SFOTH IV, only being outclassed by Ghostwalker when it reaches level 5. Illumina emits purple sparkles which will also appear around any invisible enemies within 30 studs. Jump height is increased by over 3x when lunging.
*Windforce
**Windforce is slightly longer than the standard sword and inflicts powerful knockback on any player it hits. While a great way to deal with people when in a tight spot, it should be noted that deaths caused by falling off the map do not count towards your KOs.
*Darkheart
**Darkheart boasts strong base damage and a powerful life-steal ability that returns 40% of the damage dealt back to the holder as a health increase. This ability still heals the player even when attempting to damage a player in a forcefield, which can be utilized for an easy heal.
=== Powerups ===
===== Available =====
*Shadow Sphere
**The Shadow Sphere, found on top of the Darkheart mountain, is a black, semi-transparent sphere that renders the user completely transparent for 6 seconds upon use. There is a cooldown period between uses.
*Shield Sphere
**The Shield Sphere is found near the bright violet portal. When used, the player is given a temporary forcefield which lasts for 8 seconds. Like the Shadow Sphere, there is a cooldown period before it can be used again.
*Medkit
**The medkit, found next to the red portal, is a consumable item in the form of a small white box with a red cross on it. It restores a player's health when used and cures Venomshank poisoning if the player has it.
*Touchstone
**The Touchstone is a reflective green sphere that will teleport the player to the Locus (the safe room) when used. As with the other spheres, it has a cooldown period.
*Battle Armor
** The Battle Armor is a consumable item with the appearance of a reflective brick shaped like a torso. When consumed, it increases the player's maximum health to 200. Despite there being two on the map, you can only use the armor once per life. This is due to it setting your maximum health to 200, as opposed to adding 100 to it.
===== Removed =====
*Jet Boots
**The Jet Boots, found atop a tall pillar across the bridge from the medkit, were an item that provided a time-limited amount of flight with a cooldown between uses. They were broken in 2015 when Roblox deprecated HopperBins and removed from the game a year later.
=== Badges ===
This list contains every badge available in SFOTH IV along with a brief description.
*5 Kills at Sword Fight on the Heights
**Get 5 kills.
* 20 Kills at Sword Fight on the Heights
**Get 20 kills.
* 97 Kills at Sword Fight on the Heights
**Get 97 kills. Shedletsky's explanation for the number, from the badge description: "I know what you're thinking. "Why 97?! What is Telamon's deal? That makes no sense." To these people, I say: "YOU MAKE NO SENSE". 97 is an elite number of kills. If you get that many, you rock."
* Blademaster
**Get 20 kills without dying once.
* John, Loved of Muses
** Find Telamon's "signature" hidden somewhere in the level.
Badge location
The badge is hidden underneath the Illumina platform. Using a Ghostwalker, jump off the platform behind where Illumina is located and continously lunge to hover into the wall. There is a large area in the centre of the wall with no collision—float through it and you will land inside the island. Touch the image of the trading card to get the badge.
* PWNED Shedletsky
**Kill Shedletsky with any sword. It is unlikely one will earn this badge as he rarely visits the game.
* PWNED Shedletsky *Epic*
** Kill Shedletsky with a normal sword. The likelihood of earning this badge is even lower than the other PWNED Shedletsky badge, as the normal sword deals less damage than other options. (note: as of 2024, more people have this badge than its non-epic counterpart.)
* Touch The Divine
** This badge is impossible to obtain through any normal methods and is designed to catch exploiters.
** It is now discontinued and permanently unobtainable.
=== Exploiters ===
Exploiting can be common due to the game's infrequent updates and residual popularity. Until being discontinued, the Touch The Divine badge was only available by exploiting the game or flying up high.
=== Illumina Fly Glitch ===
It is possible to achieve flight by taking advantage of Illumina's lunge.
To perform this glitch, first obtain both swords. Then, lunge with the first Illumina, then switch to the second one and lunge with it. Rinse and repeat and you can continuously gain height and easily travel large distances (as long as your timing is consistent).
==References==
Category:History