Medievia Mudslinger
June 23, 1999

A Beginner's Guide for leading Equipment Runs -- By Xess

One of the greatest aspects of the game is equipment. You may have bought a Devastator from the auction channel and your friend may have given you a Bloodstone. But where do you get all these great equipment? How do you get them? The hardest zones in the game give the best equipment. And they are commonly known as EQ zones. These zones cannot be successfully completed alone, no matter how good you are. This guide was designed to help you learn the basics of running an EQ zone.

The Zones

The following are the zones that give the best equipment in the game. It is arranged in accordance to the difficulty, from the hardest to the easiest.

  1. Temple of Bloodstone
  2. Elysium
  3. Demonforge
  4. Swamp of Thanos and the Den of the Necromancer
  5. Eldrick's Tomb
  6. City of Lyryanoth
  7. Asnor Mountains
  8. Lord Chepstow's Castle
  9. Tomb of Oblivion

Requirements

To run an equipment zone you must be at least a multi class Cleric/Thief. The ability to sneak and the spells heal and sanctuary are essentially. Being hit by every single mob you walk past is not going to get you very far. A high level is also required, level 25 and above is suffice in most cases. If you don't meet the requirements, then don't try running it.

You will need a gather a competent and diverse form capable of performing the functions of each class. Do not try running if you cannot get a form of sufficient strength. It will be very frustrating with many deaths. And it would probably take too long. It's essential to have a form who can follow orders and not do stupid things that may jeopardize your equipment run. You should already know to lead a form properly and be able to maintain control at all times. Do read Chaositiy's article on how lead a form, found on the mudslinger as it provides a lot of additional information about leading high level forms.

Learning the zone

Knowing the zone well is the key to being able to run the zone. Explore the zone by yourself and get to know where everything is. While following others on equipment runs, know what is going on and learn what you need to do and kill. Experience is the best guide to knowing the zone. Having a good map and an accurate walk through will definitely be a great help if you miss out certain things or can't find where a key is. Learning the zone by yourself may be more exciting, but you may not be able to get a form willing to help you learn and it is not without risks. Most of these zones are NPK and some may have CPK areas. Others may bank you preventing you from learning the zone.

What is Banking?

Banking is a term used exclusively by the players of Medievia. And no, it does not have anything to do with money. Banking is the act of stealing someone else's equipment run and taking control of the run. There are those vicious Medievians out there who will deny you the luxury of getting equipment from the zone. If no one was going to stop you from running the zone, then the game would be far too easy. Rewards do not come without danger.

What are the tricks they used to bank? These evil bankers will know the zone well. They will carefully watch which mobs you have killed and plan a perfect time to strike. And they will come in numbers. Most of the mobs you need to fight require more than one pass to kill. This means that your form will need to flee, heal up and recast sanctuary several times to kill the mob. When you flee, they will cut you down fast and quickly engage and kill the mob.

So how do you prevent yourself from being banked? Well, you have to know the zone well. Always lock doors behind you if possible to deny entry to unwanted guests. If that is not possible then use your player killing skills to chase bankers out of the zone. Always watch where do not get hit by a surprise attack. Always be prepared.

There is more at stake than equipment when getting banked, and that is your pride and reputation. Never let anyone push you around and always put up a fight. Do not give up easily else others will lose their respect for you.

CPK

Many of these zones will require you to go into a CPK area. Enter with caution! Use far sight and don't walk into a room with 10 hiddens!! Being tripped by 10 people is guaranteed death and there is no escape! Check where all the time while running the zone. If you see people appearing out of no where and suddenly disappearing, they could be hiding. If you suspect there are people 20 hiding in CPK, then it is best to abandon the run. The idea of an equipment run is to get equipment, not lose all of it.

What Zones Should I run?

You should always start with the easier zones first. Bloodstone, Elysium and Demonforge are extremely hard. Do not even think about running these zones unless you know the zone inside out. If you are learning zones to get better equipment for yourself, then know what zones to learn. Thanos has equipment exclusively for evil warriors and thieves. Eldrick's Tomb is for good aligned while Lyryanoth, Asnor and Chepstow have a bit of something for everyone. Running Bloodstone and Elysium takes a lot more than knowledge and skill. You will need many powerful clan members or allies available to help on the run. Only the most powerful clans dare run such zones.

After the Run

Splitting the loot is one of the most important aspects of leading a run. A formal list of equipment and picks would only be necessary for Elysium and Bloodstone runs. If the run was successful, the leader has the honor of getting the first pick. A simple way of distributing loots is by giving out equipment to who ever needs it most. Another way of giving out picks is a first come first serve method, who ever comes first gets the earlier pick. Higher picks should be given to those who contributed more to the run. (those who help lead, lure or those who used staves). Throw in your older piece of equipment which you had replaced with your pick. Give higher picks to those who did not get anything on your previous runs. There is no rule in giving out picks, but make sure everyone is happy and that everyone gets something for their effort. Most importantly, have fun!


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