Combat 101

## Getting Started

Before starting any combat encounter, the player must first find themselves a Weapon, whether makeshift or crafted. Almost anything can be used as a weapon when in a dire situation but sticking to swords, daggers, axes, hammers, and bows with arrows will make the player more likely to come out of the encounter successfully. Choosing the best weapon for the situation can be critical for the player's survival, like taking an Axe to go fight Goteras.

## Making Every Hit Count

Combat damage in A Township Tale is derived from many factors, but the two that matter the most are the type/material of the weapon and the force behind each swing.

### Weapon Material

The damage a weapon can output is based on the materials that each head is made from. These are in the basic order as follows:

**Gold (18.2%) < Copper (22.7%) < Iron (31.8%) < Palladium (50%) < Red Iron (50%) < Electrum (50%) < Viridium (59.1%) < Silver (68.2%) < Mythril (86.4%) < Valyan (100%)**.

Many Alloys are stronger than the sum of their parts, so it is best to make them when the materials to are available.

### Using the Force

As with all tool interactions in A Township Tale, the distance traveled and the speed of a swing contribute to how effectively a tool or weapon is used. Swinging a sword with two hands is an easy way to increase swing speed with less movement or wind-up required. Another way of marginally increasing your damage is sprinting into your swing, dealing slightly more but also costing you some accuracy. However, know that if you get hit by an enemy, it will not let you sprint for a few seconds, so take care to not charge straight in to danger lest you risk not being able to fight your way out.

### What About Bows?

Bows are another perfectly viable weapon with which to bring the pain. Archery requires more practice than swordfighting, but can be immensely rewarding. There are two types of Bows, a Wooden Bow (which is craftable) and a Metal Bow (which is not). The Metal Bow and Wooden Bow have no difference in damage: however, Metal Bows won't damage themselves firing, and will only be damaged by hitting things with the bow itself or blocking with the bow. What decides your damage is the type of arrows, of which there are a few: Arrows that are crafted by the player with a shaft, feathers, and a metal tip, and then rusty arrows or crescent arrows that are found in the environment. For bows, be sure to pull the arrow back as far as you can to maximize shot strength and distance, and be sure to pick up skills from the Archery Shrine to augment your abilities.

### Slingshots

Slingshots are a more unique way of dealing ranged damage, as the ammo you use is much more freeing. A simple Rock or piece of Flint will deal subpar damage, but substituting those with the likes of a Turabada Shard or even a Gotera Spore will greatly change up how a Slingshot can be used. Do you slow a Creature from a distance with a Gotera Spore and then go in for the kill, or perhaps perch on a rock and hail a thunder of Turabada Shards?

### Know Thine Enemy

The best way to avoid death during a fight? Know what your enemy is going to do. Here is a short rundown of all current enemy attacks:

* ***Spriggulls***: They will duck down low and stare at you once you are in close range, and getting any closer will cause them to leap at you. The best time to hit them is either mid-flight, if you can predict their jump, or striking from behind (if you're fast enough).
* ***Goteras***:
	+ Normal Gotera: When the Gotera spots a player, it will initiate their turret mode, and plant their feet. At range, they will shoot tree nuts at you continuously that do a bit of damage, but can easily be deadly in their high volume. When you close into sword distance, in between shooting nuts, they will shoot several Gotera Spores. Touching them deals damage, but as long as you are very close to the Gotera, they likely won't hit you. They may also stomp the ground to shoot a brambly vine through the ground, and up to hit the player.
	+ Birch Gotera: Birch Gotera effectively attack in the same way as the normal variant.
	+ Walnut Gotera: Walnut Gotera feature a shotgun-like nozzle, which fires 3-5 Gotera Darts at a player each time. As well as this, they may also release Gotera Bombs which explode in a small radius.
	+ Ash Gotera: Gotera use the power of their legs to stomp the ground, sending reverberations through the ground to damage players.
	+ Redwood Gotera: The Redwood Gotera variant specializes in short range attacks, such as their massive and destructive tripe-vinespike attack, meaning the Redwood Gotera is notoriously difficult to get close to without suffering damage.
* ***Wyrms***: At a range, they will shoot acid spit, which can be deadly if you get hit by several at once. They will rear back before shooting it, so use that to plan your moves to avoid the spit and close the distance. At sword range, they will either shoot acid at you or swing their claws to hit you. Their claws can be blocked, but their acid cannot except with a Mushroom Shield (supposedly). Occasionally, a wyrm can also use a multi-hit melee attack, which can easily be fatal.
* *Turabadas*: Formidable foes in 1v1 fights, but when a player is equipped with a Weapon and Shield, and has learnt their enemies' attack patterns, the fight may conclude in their favor. They possess five main abilities: *Melee Strike*, *Uppercut*, *Ground Pound*, *Bunker Down* and *Self Destruct*.
	+ *Melee Strike* should speak for itself, but it mainly consists of a powerful punch from either arm.
	+ *Uppercut* is much like the base *Melee Strike* ability, but it strikes three times in rapid succession. The first is a right hook, the second a left; the third ending in a powerful uppercut. *Ground Pound* is much like the *Uppercut* ability, with 5 total attacks instead. A powerful left hook, followed by a right hook, then a left hook, then a right hook, then into a two-arm Ground Pound.
	+ *Bunker Down* is an ability which allows the **Turabadas** to sit down, with its arms in front of it, shielding itself. While it is sitting, it is immobile, and an easy target, however, while sitting it will also attempt to heal. The progress of which can be easily timed by a green hemisphere expanding from it. If not killed or knocked down fast enough, it will heal a portion of its health.
	+ *Self Destruct* looks just like *Bunker Down* except the green circle that normally shows that its healing does not appear. This attack will severely damage the **Turabada** and potently kill itself, but will also severely damage anyone in its rather large explosive radius. The only way to disarm the **Turabada** at this point is to kill it or knock it down.
* *Phantom:* Phantoms will quickly spot a player if they are in their vicinity, where they will then release a circular cloud of Nightmare, a poisonous gas. A Phantom can also release a number of smaller 'minions' that will spread the Nightmare. Phantoms are ethereal enemies that are almost completely invulnerable to traditional damage and weapons... *Almost.* By exploding a Gotera Spore near them, the Phantom will be solidified, allowing them to be attacked by a player.
* *Babu*: Babus are a reasonably chill creature, and tend not to attack players unless provoked (such as hitting them, or getting a bit too close). If stimulated, the Babu will not refrain from destroying you, so it is best to be prepared. The Babu will telegraph its charge attack prior to beginning, but once it starts charging, not much will stop it. When struck by a Babu, the player will either die or be immensely crippled, and the Babu will then mercilessly slaughter them with its two big tusks. This means keeping out of the way of the Babu is rather vital, but apart from doing that, there are very few other strategies that are only applicable to the Babu.

### Combat Systems Info

Whenever you attack a Player or a Creature in A Township Tale a yellow circle will go from your head to your lower half of your body, which means you are in combat with a player or a creature.

In Combat your movement speed / Teleportation is unaffected as long as you do not get hit by an attack that cripples you. Crippling can occur with certain weapon types (like sickles) or certain enemy attacks (such as Wyrm spit). If you become crippled, your movement / teleportation speed is greatly reduced. After the combat is done, The combat shell will show up as blue as it goes around your body, which means you're out of combat. With this, you're free to go on with your business or keep up your level grind!

## What To Do Next?

Once you have the basics of combat down, you could move on to regularly farming in order to gain Experience Points. With this XP you can unlock Warrior Skills at the Warrior Shrine, located within the Mountain Pass, or the Archery Shrine, up past the Town Hall. From testing, Wyrms provide the most XP per-kill. (this is old, xp is now determined by the amount of hits) However, be careful when fighting them as they tend to appear in packs, and one appearing behind you without you noticing can be a death sentence. The next highest enemy for combat XP is a Gotera, and the last are Spriggulls. Once you kill enough enemies, a golden swirl will surround you, which means you just gained a skill point! Make your way to the Combat Shrine or Archery Shrine to spend the skill point for the desired skill (Skills are listed on the Warrior Shrine page and Archery Shrine pages.)