KNOW THY SELF, KNOW THY ENEMY, KNOW THY BATTLE GROUND

THE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

Always know the field that you do battle on, inside and out. If you understand all the nooks and crannies, then there will be NO place for your opponent to hide. You will also understand the tactical advantages of certain areas within your fighting "cage." For instance, is it better to be in a tight area where combat is close and escape is futile, or should you be out in plain view amidst the breeze of arrows or breath weapons? Dilemas of this sort will confront you at every corner, and you must be ready to make your decisions within a heartbeat. 

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS

Usually the player who controls the best weapons or best vantage point controls the game. for instance, if you are the first player to gain the lava rune and/or the rune of invulnerability, you have an advantage over all the other players. Strive to gain the BEST weapons and BEST items first. Everyone knows that the best defense is a good offense, and your opponents will be vying for the same advantages as you ... beware!

Fire Rune   - Damage: Low - Speed: Fast - Alternate: Small Meteor Swarm3	Magma Rune   - Damage: High - Speed: Slow - Alternate: Large Meteor Swarm
Ice Rune   - Damage: Medium - Speed: Medium - Alternate Attack: Triple Ice Shot	Poison Gas Rune   - Damage: Medium - Speed: Medium - Alternate Attack: Poison Gas Grenade

WORDS TO LIVE BY

COMBOS:

Whenever possible use combination attacks. Granted, players can flail their weapons in your general direction and take the very life from you, but a player who is graceful, elegant, and skillful in battle is not only a beauty to behold, but usually they can decimate their opponents in seconds as well. Below is a brief table of the increased damage percentages for each special move. For more information on how to execute these manuevers, please refer to The Cadence of Combat.

DRAGON CRYSTAL:

The dragon crystal appears only in MASTER OF THE DRAGON ( MOD ) matches, and it allows the player access to the mighty wyrm. This crystal will only appear at the beginning of the match, or when the dragonrider dies of his or her own accord (but not when another player defeats him or her). A player who obtains the dragon crystal first has an obvious increase in power ... so much that even the dragonstrife may not prove a strong enough weapon to gain the wyrm.

JUMP:

Many players jump around, like leaping frogs, but few understand the true usefulness of the jump. Not only is the jump a wonderful evasive manuever, but it can serve as a tool of pursuit as well. Use side-flips (strafe + jump) to evade opponents and gain ground, use back-flips (back + jump) when being chased to acquire the advantage, use the secretive super flip (sneak + jump) to flip over opponent and attack his or her backside. In addition to these uses, the jump can be used to cover more ground when fleeing or chasing. However, when chasing, be wary of rings of fire or ice that may "pop" up from an experienced opponent.

Due to speculation concerning the "cheap" SPEED JUMP, here is a description of HOW to do it. It's quite easy actually ... all you have to do is jump and the moment you land jump again. If you are being pursued, it makes a great "get-away" tool. However, if your opponent is doing the SPEED JUMP, he or she will have an opportunity to catch up to you if he or she anticipates your destination correctly, so be careful.
MAGMA RUNE:

The lava rune is the most powerful of the dragon's breath weapons, and the player that has lava capabilities may inflict the most amount of damage in the least amount of time. Lava's alternate attack, the large meteor swarm, can take out an opponent in one well placed hit. Aside from lava's great damage capabilities, all of lava's meteors (including the regular attack) does splash damage. What this means, is that you can hit behind your opponent and still do damage to them.

PITCH:

Pitching is a dragon's way of doing loops in the air. By pitching a dragon can avoid fire, but for the player it can be a disorenting experience. Pitch only if you dare, the move itself is overexagerated and slow. However, it may move you out of the way of enemy fire in a more effective manner than strafing alone.

POTION OF SPEED:

The highly under-rated potion of speed can prove to be one of your most valuable assets. Not only does it increase your movement rate for short durations (an extra burst of speed for about 4 seconds -- great for pursuing or fleeing), but it also increases your attack rate. The player that uses a potion of speed before entering a melee will be able to attack at twice his or her normal rate for about 4 seconds, but those few seconds may be all you need to vanquish your foe!

ROLL:

Rolling is the hero's answer to the dragon pitch. In my opinion, this is a more effective evasive manuever ... it is quick and it reduces the amount of area that you can receive damage at. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN USING THIS MANEUVER, your opponents may be able to anticipate this, and you will be left unable to defend yourself for a brief period of time. The roll is most effective if used while being pursued (rolling to the left or right, or even rolling backwards works best).

RUNE OF INVULNERABILITY:

This is one of the KEY items in the game. The rune of invulnerability makes you immune to damage incurred from ALL FORMS OF ATTACK for a short duration. If there is any item that you acquire first, make this one it (unless of course you are playing MASTER THE DRAGON ... then go for the DRAGON CRYSTAL ... of course). Whoever posesses this rune has an INCREDIBLE advantage over the other players ... he or she CANNOT DIE!

STOW WEAPON:

Always remember to "stow" your weapon when using a RING OF INVISIBILITY. Even though your clothes, skin, and hair fade away, your weapon is still visibile. You will have a greater chance of sneaking up on your adversaries if you put away your tools of destruction ... at least for a little while.

STRAFE:

Those of you who have played QUAKE, QUAKE 2, UNREAL, HALF-LIFE, etc. understand the importance of strafing. Simply put, it helps you avoid being hit. More importantly, it helps you attack your opponents' flank. Make ample use of your strafe keys.

THE CADENCE OF COMBAT

You may find these same SPECIAL MOVES listed on PAGE 14 of DRAKAN'S USER MANUAL. These techniques will be extremely important for dragoneers to master. Since each of these moves do 1/3 or more damage than a TYPICAL MOVE, a warrior who effectively uses these combos in combat will be formidable. Make it your goal to use these combo attacks whenever possible.

EVEN OLD DRAGONS CAN LEARN NEW TRICKS

Everybody needs to train, and our masterful trainers are standing by .. ready to push you to the limits and then some. Please E-mail our Trainers as they can give you some basic pointers to steer you in the right direction. Please check out our Weblinks page for The BLOODBOUND TRAINING SITE.  We will be using the Blood Bound password to protect any training.