FAQ

Basic Interface:
How do I stop moving?

By pressing the center button or by clicking the stop button beneath the map. I recommend moving by clicking on your intended destination rather than using the number pad or arrow keys.

What's wrong with your icons?

If they bother you, you should probably play a different game.

How do I fight?

Beneath the map you should see a row of buttons. The leftmost button is the attack button, which looks like a sword. If this isn't already your selected action (indicated by a green border), click on it to select it. Once Attack is your selected action, click on your target to begin combat.

How do I use skills?

Beneath the map you should see a row of buttons. The leftmost two are Attack and Stop; the other eight can be assigned to skills as you wish. To assign a skill to one of the buttons, drag it from the "Ability" panel and drop it on the button. Clicking on an assigned button will either activate the skill immediately if it does not require a target choice, or will make the skill your selected action. Once the skill is your selected action, just click on your desired target.

Switching between skills can be made much easier with the "macro" command, which may be assigned to hotkeys in your BYOND client. Read the in-game help topic "Macro Command" for details.  Can I cancel a spell effect early?

You can cancel positive effects early if you wish. Hold down the shift button and click on the effect you wish to end. To end negative effects early you must have the Neutralize spell cast on you.

How do I sell/repair items?

Drag the item from your inventory on to the pawnbroker or blacksmith to sell or repair the item.

Game Mechanics
What do the attributes on my status panel mean?


 * HP: Hit Points. You will lose these when damaged; if you run out you will die.
 * SP: Skill Power. SP is required to use Warrior and Thief abilities.
 * MP: Magic Power. MP is required to use Priest and Mage spells.
 * Str: Strength. This determines your weight capacity, what armor you are able to wear, and influences the damage you deal in combat.
 * Vit: Vitality. This determines your maximum HP and damage resistance.
 * Agi: Agility. This determines how quickly you attack and how often you dodge in combat.
 * Int: Intelligence. This determines your maximum SP and MP, and ability with most Mage spells.
 * Wil: Willpower. This determines your maximum MP, ability with most Priest spells, and resistance to harmful magic.
 * Weight: How much you are carrying and your maximum capacity. You will not be able to pick up items if the weight of the item would put you over your maximum. The limit may be increased by raising your Strength attribute.
 * Food: How un-hungry you are. If this drops below 40, negative effects will slowly appear until you eat. If it is above 85, you will also suffer negative effects. Eating adds 30 points, so it is best to eat when the food rating is between 40 and 55.
 * Health: How healthy you are. It determines your regeneration rate and is based on your eating and drinking habits.
 * XP: The number of experience points you have earned and the total required to increase your level.
 * Weapon: The weapon you are using. If applicable, the durability rating is displayed in parentheses after the name.
 * Armor: The armor you are wearing. If applicable, the durability rating is displayed in parentheses after the name.

How can I get my HP/SP/MP back faster?

Your regeneration rate is directly proportional to your health rating and the maximum value of the attribute. Therefore:


 * To increase HP recovery, increase vitality or health.
 * To increase SP recovery, increase your intelligence or health.
 * To increase MP recovery, increase intelligence, willpower, or health.

How do I increase my health?

Eat quality food and minimize the use of potions.

Why do potions reduce health?

The restorative agents in potions will benefit you in the short-term, but if you use them too much your body will become dependent on them. This effect is known as "potion addiction," and it is important to avoid it by using potions sparingly. Potion addiction is not permanent--if you stop using potions your health will gradually return to its natural value.

What is the penalty for dying?

If you aren't resurrected by a player, you have the option of losing a little experience and respawning at full health, or respawning in an injured state but losing no XP.

Does the level requirement of equipment affect its power?

Yes. The level requirement is directly related to the power of equipment. The adjectives such as "basic" or "fine" are derived from the level requirement of the item.

Does the durability of equipment affect its power?

Yes. As durability decreases, the effectiveness of weapons and armor is reduced. Keep your equipment in good condition for maximum efficiency.

What determines how often I parry?

Parrying is based on the weapon type and your level of proficiency, if any. It is not affected by agility or other attributes.

What determines how often my spells are interrupted?

If you take damage while casting a spell, the spell may be interrupted and the MP lost. Dodging, parrying, or other such actions do not interrupt casting. The chance to continue casting a spell when you take damage is (spell level * 2.5%) for nonspecialists, and (spell level * 2.75%) for specialists.

What's the maximum level?

It's 65. I used to say that "you'll never get there, unless you're Hiddeknight or Accomplice," but it's really not that hard anymore since the reworking of the experience system. How high can my attributes go?

There is no artificially imposed limit on how high an attribute may go. If one were to put every stat point into a single attribute, when one reached the maximum level of 65 the attribute would be at 99. However, you may exceed 99 through buffs or passive bonuses.

How high can my skills go?

Level 30 is the maximum for skills. At the maximum level of 65, there are enough skill points to learn four different skills at level 30, if one wishes to do so. However, in most cases one would be better off distributing the points more evenly.

What if I don't like my attribute or skill choices?

You may use the refund command to reclaim the points you spent. If you are below experience level 15, you will get all of your points back. At experience level 15 and above, you will only be able to reclaim 80% of the points you spent. Experiment while you're low level!

To refund a skill or stat, just right-click it in the Ability panel and choose "refund."

How does PVP work?

There are two different ways to engage in player-versus-player combat.

The PVP arena can be reached by using the red portals found near most towns. All red portals lead to the same arena. In the arena, there is no penalty for attacking or killing other players.

Outside the arena, you may attack other players (or aid monsters) but will be temporarily flagged as an aggressor for doing so. If you kill a player who was not an aggressor, that player may choose to penalize you with karma. (The greater the level difference is in favor of the attacker, the greater the amount of karma will be.) There is no penalty for killing a player who is marked as an aggressor.

What does karma do?

The only function of karma is to prevent a player from initiating attacks against other players. If you have karma, you may not fight another player unless they have been flagged as an aggressor.

How do I get rid of karma?

Karma will gradually wear off at a rate of one point per minute. It will not wear off if the player is idle.

Why do I get so little experience in a party?

Party experience is calculated as though everyone were the same level as the highest level character. To gain appropriate experience, you must fight monsters appropriate to the highest level member. Sometimes it will be more effective to turn sharing off and simply receive what you earn individually, if there is a great difference in levels.

'''What's a Maverick? I didn't see that class during character creation.'''

Mavericks are a rare type of person about which not much is known. There are reports of them using many different skills, and while there does not seem to be a discernible pattern or limitation to their abilities, it is known that a single Maverick can not do everything.

There are rumors that the Mavericks hold some dark secret--this may be true, or it may just be the result of peoples' fear of the unknown. They tend to avoid civilized areas, visiting towns only briefly, which only adds to the suspicion many feel towards them.

Questions Claviarm feels are important even though nobody asks:
What is affected by a character's class?

Character class determines appearance, available skills, initial attributes, and starting equipment. That's all. It does not grant any other bonuses or penalties--thieves are not inherently more suited to focus on agility, warriors are not required to have huge strength and vitality, and mages have as much ability as anyone else in melee combat if they have suitable skills and attributes.

'''Hey, there's a two-handed sword in the store. It will be strong, right?'''

Not necessarily. Whether or not a weapon is effective depends on how well suited it is to your attributes. A relatively large weapon like a two-handed sword will only work well for characters will high strength and, ideally, a bit of agility.

Read the in-game help topic "Weapon Types" for more information.

'''I've got 12 strength and 3 agility. I should use a high strength weapon, right?'''

No. In terms of equipment, strength and agility are not relative to your level. This means that low-level characters will not be able to use heavy weapons like warhammers effectively. Characters with low scores in both strength and agility do best when using sharp or pointly weapons that are dangerous on their own.

What's the deal with unarmed proficiency?

Unarmed combat is not inherently strong, but if a character has a high level of Unarmed Proficiency, it can become worthwhile. The raw power of unarmed combat will never reach the potential that a weapon has, but there are other benefits that can make up for this loss.


 * Your fists have unlimited durability. This means that unlike an armed fighter, an unarmed character will always be at peak performance.
 * Your fists are always the same level that you are. This means that you don't have to risk being underpowered if you're not able to find equipment of the proper level.
 * You will never have to spend money buying, repairing, or upgrading weapons, and acid traps will not weaken your offense.
 * The defensive ability of unarmed combat eventually becomes very high. However, this requires a great investment in the proficiency.
 * If you choose not to wear armor, Unarmed Proficiency will grant an increased critical rate to your attacks.
 * If you choose not to wear armor and have Unarmed Proficiency at level 30, your movement speed will be increased.

There are also downsides, of course:


 * Your fists cannot be enchanted by the enchanting NPC. This results in a slight loss of power.
 * Your fists cannot have any special bonuses as weapons sometimes do.
 * Your fists cannot carry an element. This is possibly the greatest drawback of fighting unarmed.
 * The power potential overall is lower than that of weapons.

What's the deal with bows?

If you have ever used a bow in real life, you will understand how they work in HYDRA. They are slow and less accurate than melee weapons, but powerful and can strike at range. Most importantly, you would be a fool to try and use them when your target is standing right next to you brandishing a sword. This is not a Korean game, so archers are not overpowered here--do not expect that a bow can be your only weapon. The purpose of a bow is to deal damage before the enemy reaches you, at which point you ought to switch to a melee weapon.

Who are the GMs, and what can I expect from them?

HYDRA was designed and is run by two people.


 * Claviarm: System Designer and Programmer, Document Writer, and friendly GM.
 * Lavarion: World and Monster Designer, Special Event Guy, and "bad cop" GM.

As for what to expect, you can expect us to play just as you do. We don't have edited stats or items, and any help we give to your character will come at our own expense. We do know more about the game than you, which does give us an advantage, but I try to give out enough information to make it fair without giving out any actual formulas.

Since this is the closest thing we have to a credit roll, honorable mention goes to the player by the key of Shadow_781, for his many successful suggestions.

The game's music is created by Alturos.

Where can I get more information?

The in-game 'help' command or the tables linked to in this file under Other HYDRA Information may be of use. Otherwise, if there are other players in the game you may ask them using 'wsay' or you may ask on the forum.