Barbarian Assault/Gameplay

Gameplay
The key to this game is teamwork and co-operation. If one teammate does not do their job, then the whole team will gain very little points (and possibly fail). The game ends when a teammate quits (by climbing up the ladder), logs out, or dies. Players do not lose any items when they die, but they do not keep anything that they acquired through the minigame. The object of the game is to defeat all of the Penance.

Horn
Everyone in the team will get a horn in their inventory to contact their teammates about what they should do. (Note: This is very important, as teammates will have to know what they have to do. As this changes constantly, players have to alert their teammates using the horn.)

The horn is separated into different functions. At the top right of the screen it comes in this layout for example.


 * DO what is next to the EAR icon.
 * CALL out what is next to the MOUTH icon.

Depending upon the player's role, when right-clicked the horn will give options for what to tell to their teammate:
 * for Collectors - egg colours: Blue, Red, Green
 * for Healers - type of poisoned food
 * for Attackers - combat style: Accurately, Defensively, Aggressively, or Controlled
 * for Defenders - type of food to lure with

In the above example, the Defender's Horn interface on the screen shows that the Defender needs to TELL (MOUTH icon) their teammate (Healer) to use "Poison meat" to kill the Penance Healers, by right-clicking the horn and selecting the "Tell-meat" option. The EAR icon shows what the teammate (Healer) is telling the Defender to DO: use "Tofu" as bait in order to lure Penance Runners to the trap.

Action items change about every 20-30 seconds; players will need to check the Horn interface for changes, and tell (using the Horn) their teammate of any changes as well.

Penalties
It is important to tell teammates what to do, as the player and the team will lose Honour points for every:
 * Wrong Attack style - count of wrong attacks minus 1, for maximum penalty of 10. 11 or more wrong attacks have the same effect over team honour. When attackers attack wrong style, they suffer splash back damage of 2.
 * Runners that escaped - count of runners passes through the lure cave * 3, for maximum penalty of 10. 4 or more escapes have the same effect over team honour. A single runner may escape several times, untill it is killed.
 * Wrong coloured-egg picked up - count of exploded eggs is subtracted from number of eggs collected and decreases maximum of collected eggs to 60 minus number of exploded eggs. As the egg explodes it causes 5 damage to the Collector. Collector cannot provide negative honour for team directly, but only by calling wrong attack styles to attacker.
 * Wrong Poison used on a Penance Healer - the count of wrong poison packs used on penance healers divided by 4, rounded down, for maximum penalty of 10. 40 and more wrong poison packs used, have the same effect over team honour.

Note: Contrary to popular belief, the player (or the team) will not lose Honour points for using the Egg Launcher.

If the player needs healing, they need to right-click the Horn, and choose "Medic" to get the Healer's attention.

Horn of Glory
In addition to the individual horns each teammate has, there is also the Horn of Glory. This large horn is situated in the corner of the battlefield, and can be used to contact everyone at once. If a player often forgets to "call", this horn can be used by ANYONE to tell ANY teammate what they have to do.

Egg Launcher
In regular waves, the Collector usually collects eggs and loads them into the Egg Hopper. Once this is done, the Egg Launcher can be used to damage Penance creatures. Any coloured eggs can used, but each colour has a specific function:
 * Blue eggs: to stun for a few seconds
 * Red eggs: to damage (3 damage, and 1 splash damage)
 * Green eggs: to poison (1 damage per hit)

Any team member is able to use the Egg Launcher, providing there are eggs in the Egg Hopper. And, contrary to popular opinion, firing the Egg Launcher does not reduce any individual (or team) Honour points for that wave. Therefore, the egg launcher can be used to help a teammate who is having trouble with his role.

In Wave 10, after the Penance Queen makes an appearance, the Egg Launcher must be used to killed the Queen. For this, the team makes Omega Eggs (using Yellow eggs), and the Collector loads these in the Egg Hopper. Similarly, any team member can use the Egg Launcher to fire the Omega Eggs that damages the Queen. As this is the only way to damage to Queen, the Egg Launcher plays an important role in the final wave, compared to other regular waves where it is often neglected.

Attacker
Colour: Red Difficulty on regular waves: Difficulty on Queen waves: Calls to: Collector

The Attacker's job is to kill the Penance Fighters and Penance Rangers. Runes and arrows are available from the Attacker machine near the entrance.

The creatures can only be hurt by one type of attack at any given time. Using the wrong attack will cause the player to lose 2 hitpoints, and hit no damage. The Collector will tell the Attacker which attack the creatures are vulnerable to, with their horn. Fast weapons like scimitars and shortbows dispose of the creatures quickly, but slower weapons like battleaxes and longbows give more time to change attack styles and avoid penalties. Having a high Combat level as an Attacker is a significant advantage in the game.

The four attack styles are:
 * Style 1: Controlled/Wind/Bronze
 * Style 2: Accurate/Water/Iron
 * Style 3: Aggressive/Earth/Steel
 * Style 4: Defensive/Fire/Mithril

Note: The attack styles are ordered as following: Melee/Magic/Ranged.

Collector
Colour: Yellow Difficulty on regular waves: Difficulty on Queen waves: Calls to: Attacker

The Collector's job is to gather eggs dropped by killed Penance creatures. The Collector loads these eggs into the Egg Hopper, which then allows any teammate to fire the Egg Launcher.

There are three different coloured eggs: Red, Blue, and Green. At any given time, only one colour of egg can be picked up. The egg will explode if the player picks up the wrong-coloured egg, reducing the total numbers of eggs collected by 1. The Attacker will tell the Collector which colour to pick up using their horn. The Collector is also given an Egg Collector Bag to store the eggs in, but the eggs can also be stored in the inventory.

While on the final wave (Wave 10; before the Penance Queen makes an appearance), the Collector's role is by far the easiest. During this wave, it is not necessary for the Collector to pick up any eggs, as the Collector will receive 80 points regardless. Therefore, many Collectors on the final wave will camp at the Horn of Glory, calling out commands for everyone else. (Note: The Horn of Glory will become inaccessible after the Queen emerges.)

Defender
Colour: Blue Difficulty on regular waves: Difficulty on Queen waves: Calls to: Healer

The Defender's job is to lure the Penance Runners into traps located within the battlefield. This is done by laying food in a line towards the traps, so that the Runners can follow the food trail and fall into a trap. Bait can be obtained from the Defender machine near the entrance.

There are three types of bait: Worms, Tofu, and Crackers. The Runners will be attracted to one type of bait at any given time. The Defender should only use the bait that the Healer tells them with their horn. With the correct bait, the Defender makes a small food trail leading towards the traps. With luck, the Runners will follow the trail and get killed by falling into the trap. The team get penalties for each Runner that manages to escape. Thus, it is the Defender's duties to make sure that this does not happen too often. The Defender typically has an easy job on the final wave. As there are no penalties on Wave 10, there is less pressure to stop Runners from escaping.

Tip: It is also recommended to drop a line of wrong baits two or three squares north of the exit cave. When the Runners eat the incorrect bait, they run a few squares to the north.

A hammer and two logs respawn at the north end of the battlefield. These are used to repair the traps (as each trap can only kill two Runners before it breaks), and build barricades at the entrances. Barricades stop the Penance creatures from appearing for a few seconds. Building barricades is usually not worth the trouble, since they delay the team (including the Defender) from performing their roles effectively. The Defender is better off concentrating on the Runners.

Healer
Colour: Green Difficulty on regular waves: Difficulty on Queen waves: Calls to: Defender

The Healer's job is to make potions to heal their teammates, and use poisoned food on the Penance Healers. Poisoned food, and a healing vial can be found in the Healer machine near the entrance. The Healer can heal themselves by drinking from the spring to recover Hitpoints and cure poison. To heal teammates, the Healer must use the healing vial on the spring to fill it, then use the vial on the teammate.

Healing replenishes run energy, so that it is good idea to heal teammates often. This allows them to run longer. This is especially important for the Defender and the Collector. To make the Healer's job a little easier, the Healer has an extra element in their interface at the bottom of the screen that displays the health of each teammate. If a teammate uses the "Medic" option on their horn, it will cause a red cross to flash next to their HP, and this won't stop flashing until that teammate is healed.

Poisoned food can be used on Penance Healers to poison them, as the Penance Healers can poison teammates (including the Healer) for 2 damage per hit. Poisoned food can be obtained from the Healer machine near the entrance.

There is three types of poisoned food: Poisoned worms, Poisoned tofu, and Poisoned meat. The poisoned food will hit the Penance Healers four damage per hit. The Healer should use the correct type of poisoned food told by the Defender, using their horn. This will change as time goes on.

Wave 10: The Penance Queen
After the team gets through 9 waves, the team is able to fight the Penance Queen in Wave 10. The Queen is impervious to normal attack, and can only be killed with Omega eggs. This is done by shooting her with Omega eggs using the Egg Launcher. Each teammate must do their part to make the Omega eggs.

The wave begins as any other wave, but players will notice that the battlefield is not similar to the battlefields in Waves 1 through 9. There is only one Egg Launcher instead of two. There are also poison springs, lava craters, and spiked mushrooms dotted around the edges of the battlefield. Players will also notice that the levels of the Penance creatures have reduced levels compared to the creatures in Wave 9.

The team must defeat all of the Penance Fighters, Rangers, Healers, and Runners before they can start damaging the Penance Queen. So, it is best to defeat the Penance creatures as quickly as possible, before the Penance Queen actually appears. (Note: There are no penalties for runners that escape, for wrong poison types, and for wrong attack styles.)

When the Penance Queen does appear, she will be a Level 209. The Queen has a long-distance Magic attack that simultaneously hits all five team members, and can potentially inflict over 20 damage. She will be accompanied by Level 63 Queen Spawns, which can be defeated by any team member with any attack style.

Upon arrival of the Queen, the team should start making Omega eggs. Around 8-12 Omega eggs are needed to kill the Penance Queen.


 * The Collector gathers Yellow eggs that the Queen drops. The eggs are passed ("Use" option) to the Healer.
 * The Healer dunks the eggs in the poison springs. Once done, the eggs are given to the Attacker.
 * The Attacker adds spikes to the eggs from the spiked mushrooms. The eggs are passed along to the Defender.
 * The Defender dunks the eggs in the lava craters, and hands them back to the Collector.
 * The Collector places them in the Egg Hopper, and the Egg Launcher is ready to be fired.


 * Remember the order: CHAD - Collector, Healer, Attacker, Defender, and back to the Collector.
 * Or, remember with colours: Yellow-Green-Red-Blue-Yellow.

Once the Omega eggs are loaded, any team member can start shooting the Penance Queen. Each hit damages the Queen by about 30+ damage. Keep hitting with Omega eggs until the Queen is killed.

When fighting the Penance Queen, the Healer probably has the most work to do - teammates will need far more healing than in earlier waves as they have to make the Omega eggs, and perform their usual roles as well. For this reason, it is recommended that the fifth member of the team be an extra Healer. Even if the Healer is experienced and is a level 5 Healer; having an extra Healer is still recommended.

Read also

 * The starting off page.
 * The rewards page.