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Combat Triangle and Tactics

September 11th, 2006 by Eva

Introduction
There comes a time in a young adventurer’s life when they must leave the nest, stretch their limbs and fend for themselves. It’s a time to abandon all quests, to wave sadly to the hellcat and make the lonesome trek north to the Wilderness. It is there that other RuneScapers will be waiting expectantly with a hefty mace and a bloodthirsty smile, ready to introduce fledgling adventurers to the complex world of player killing, or in more friendly terms, pk-ing.

It is wise, therefore, to glance over a few tips and strategies before scampering to the distant north with a tinderbox, a packed lunch and the hope of making a few more friends.

The Combat Triangle

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Idly wandering around the Wilderness will identify fellow players as three, often overlapping, stereotypes: melee attackers, rangers and mages, all of which form the corners of the combat triangle. Each corner has a distinct advantage over another, but is heavily disadvantaged against the other.

Melee Attackers

Advantages - For those attackers who want to get up close and homicidal, melee is the preferred option. This involves, generally, bulkier weapons and armour than the light and flimsy range and mage options. Not only does this make you look more impressive, it gives the adventurer a strong advantage over range attacks. Arrows and bolts will have a hard time piercing armour, allowing the melee attacker to get close enough to do serious damage.

Disadvantages- The ‘but’ comes when encountering mages. Well-constructed melee armour does a good job of deflecting blades and bolts, but also manages to strongly conduct magic attacks, increasing the effects and damage caused by an opportunist magician. An experienced spellcaster can also paralyse a melee combatant with a ‘holding’ spell and then attack from afar. Mages are melee attackers’ arch enemies, therefore, so should be avoided.

Mages

Advantages - The mage may look like an easy target, wearing what could be described as a glorified flannel, but beneath their soft and stabbable exterior lies a dangerous opponent. A combination of ‘holding’ spells and magic’s conductivity through armour makes the mage strongly anti-melee, often keeping a hand-to-hand combatant incapacitated and highly vulnerable.

Disadvantages - Soft-to-the-touch cloaks and robes make the mage a tempting target for passing rangers. With little ranging defence this often makes the mage a walking pin-cushion - and ‘holding’ spells will only encourage rangers to shoot from afar.

Rangers

Advantages - With light, articulated armour for optimum ranging, the ranger is able to substitute what his or her armour lacks in physical defence with magical resistance. This makes the ranger a strong adversary for the mage, who will find a foe that is defended against magical attacks while also being able to attack at long distances.

Disadvantages - To keep nimble, the ranger has sacrificed a large element of his or her armour’s melee defence. A hand-to-hand combatant will be able to aim attacks at the joints and other unprotected areas with relative ease, as long as they can get close enough to do so.

Variables

The combat triangle is at the center of player killing, and indeed combat throughout RuneScape, but this is not to say that its simple balance is always present and correct. As you would expect, many variables effect these fundamentals and tip the balance in favour of you or your opponent.

	Armour When wandering into the Wilderness you will find that your opponents, particularly those with high combat levels or extensive RuneScape experience, will have a costume change midway through a fight. This is not to impress you - this is an alternative set of armour or weapons to disorientate your attack or to take advantage of your weaknesses - and is usually a complete shift to another corner of the combat triangle. There is no reason to worry too much about these pk-killers, they are usually of such a high level that they will be unable to attack you in Wilderness areas.

	Weapons Player killers will often take two weapons to maximise the damage to an opponent’s (i.e. your) hitpoints. Melee fighters in particular will take a strong weapon and a poisoned weapon, so as to drain hitpoints while inflicting melee damage.
	Jewellery Amulets, rings and other forms of jewellery often give small bonuses to Attack and Defence stats. These are generally minor, though some can have special properties: the Ring of Recoil’s ability to deal damage back to the opponent, for example.
	Statistics It is possible that an opponent will be ‘pure’ in a set skill. This means that he, or she, has worked on particular skills. By focusing on one element the adventurer will appear low-level, but will be able to inflict a large amount of hit point damage. Inversely, they will have low defence and will take a battering if you manage to inflict any damage
	Potions Once taken, a potion will not effect a player’s combat level, but can boost offensive and defensive capabilities, amongst other status changes. If you are a non-member, you can still obtain normal strength potions, which will help you gain the upper hand in a fight.
	Prayers Gifts from the Gods of Runescape, prayers and Prayer points are invaluable to a prolonged life in the Wilderness. All Prayer points should be fully recharged at the various altars - and the Wilderness seems to attract them - before even considering an evening of pk-ing.
	Foods It is best to cross into the Wilderness with something more than a packet of peanuts. Provisions will restore valuable in-battle hitpoints and help bring you back up to strength afterwards. It is advised to stock up with those food items that retrieve a large amounts of hit-points in one sitting - the larger fishes, for example.