Barbarian Assault/Gameplay

Gameplay interface
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). Players do not lose any items when they die, but they do not keep anything that they acquired through the activity. The object of the game is to defeat all of the Penance. When all Penance are defeated, the current wave is won, and Honour points are given to the team while waiting for the next wave.

Note that the game will end when a teammate quits (by climbing up the ladder), logs out, or dies. The wave will not be complete, and any work done during the wave will have to be redone.

Horn
Everyone in the team will get a horn in their inventory to contact their teammates about what they have to do to complete their role.  Calling should be everyone's top priority while playing the game This is very important because if one doesn't call for his team, other teammates will not be able to complete their roles, and thus, die or quit out of frustration. What is to be called changes every 30 seconds, so the player should always be on their mark to call for their teammate again.

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

Reminder:
 * 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:
 * Collectors calling for Attackers - combat style to use when attacking:
 * Style 1 (Controlled melee style/Bronze arrows/Wind spells)
 * Style 2 (Accurate melee style/Iron arrows/Water spells)
 * Style 3 (Aggressive melee style/Steel arrows/Earth spells)
 * Style 4 (Defensive melee style/Mithril arrows/Fire spells)
 * Healers calling for Defenders - type of food to lure with:
 * Tofu
 * Crackers
 * Worm
 * Attackers calling for Collectors - egg colours to pick up:
 * Blue
 * Red
 * Green
 * Defenders calling for Healers - type of poisoned food to use on Healers:
 * Tofu
 * Meat
 * Worm

In the above example, the Attacker's Horn interface on the screen shows that the Attacker needs to TELL (MOUTH icon) their teammate (Collector) to collect "green eggs", by right-clicking the horn and selecting the "Tell-green" option. The EAR icon shows what the teammate (Collector) is telling the Attacker to DO: use a "Controlled/Bronze/Wind" attack style to kill Penance Rangers and Fighters.

What is to be called changes 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. The actions change for all players simultaneously. Also, when the action changes, in the gap before instructions are received the horn interface will show three dashes: — — —. It is a good idea to use this as a warning sign that the action has changed and players need to call.

The recent update for Barbarian Assault shows what you need to call in white writing, as opposed to yellow, if you have not yet called it out. This makes it much easier than before to see if you haven't called.

'''Note: If you need healing and you're not a healer, right-click the Horn, and choose "Medic" to get the Healer's attention. Do NOT manually type out "Medic!", as the healers WILL NOT be notified on their interface showing each team members' life points.'''

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 -
 * Each wrong attack will subtract 1 honour point from everyone's final score, for a maximum penalty of 10. 11 or more wrong attacks have the same effect over team honour. If Attackers attack with the wrong style, they will suffer recoil damage of 20.


 * Runner that escaped -
 * Each runner escaped will subtract 3 honour points from everyone's final score, for maximum penalty of 10. 4 or more escapes have the same effect over team honour. A single runner may escape several times, until 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 the number of exploded eggs. As the egg explodes it causes the Collector to lose 50 life points. Collector cannot provide negative honour for team directly, but only by calling wrong attack styles to attacker.


 * Wrong Poison used on a Penance Healer -


 * 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.

Healer Spring
The Healer Spring is located at the southwest corner of the battlefield, just west of the machines (see below). It can only be used by the Healers. Healers can fill their vials or directly drink from it.

The filled vials have four doses and can be used on any other teammates to heal them. Note that the amount of lifepoints healed depends on the Healers' level, ranging from 100 to 350. Directly drinking from the spring will heal the Healer. The healing liquid would restore both life points and energy, so it might be quite important to fill the energy of Collectors and Defenders, as they need to run around alot.

Machines
The machines located at the bottom of the battlefield (near where players appear) provides the necessities for all the roles.
 * The yellow Collector machine will convert the coloured eggs into the other styles.
 * The green Healer machine will provide:
 * Healer Vial (1 only for each healer)
 * Poisoned worms
 * Poisoned tofu
 * Poisoned meat
 * The blue Defender machine will provide:
 * Worms
 * Tofu
 * Crackers
 * The red Attacker machine will provide runes and arrows an Attacker may need.

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 southeast 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. However, it will be unusable when the Penance Queen appears in the 10th wave.

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 by any player on the team to damage Penance creatures (provided there are eggs in the Egg Hopper). Any coloured eggs can used, but each colour has a specific function:
 * Blue eggs: to stun for a few seconds and cause 15 life point damage
 * Red eggs: to damage (35 life points, and varying splash damage, depending on closeness to target)
 * Green eggs: to poison (18 life points per hit)

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 to damage 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.

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

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, however, they must bring their own melee weapon if they wish to use melee.

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 20 life points, 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. Despite its popularity Attacker is a somewhat challenging role if they are not paying attention. Attacker will often rack up the -10 penalties that bring your score down.

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

Note: The attack styles are ordered as following: Melee/Ranged/Magic. Tip: When the attack style changes attackers should immediately click away, lest they suffer penalties and splash damage.

Collector
Colour: Yellow

Difficulty on regular waves:

Difficulty on Queen waves:

Calls to: Attacker

Note: This role is not recommended for players with Red-Green colour blindness.

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 relatively easy. During this wave, the collector must run around the field collecting the yellow eggs left by the Queen. They must then hand these (Use on) to the Healer. They will receive them back as Omega eggs where collectors must then load them into the hopper to be fired at the Penance queen. 8 completed Omega eggs will be needed to kill the Queen.

''Note: Be wary, since collectors must run near the Penance queen to obtain the eggs, they may take damage from both her melee AND magic attacks, causing heavy damage. It's recommended to have a Healer nearby.''

Defender
Colour: Blue

Difficulty on regular waves:

Difficulty on Queen waves:

Calls to: Healer

The Defender's job is to prevent Penance Runners from reaching the south end of the playing field. This is done by laying bait on the ground leading towards traps, so that the Runners will follow the food trail and get caught and killed in those traps. Bait can be obtained from the Defender machine near the entrance.

There are three types of bait: Worms, Tofu, and Crackers. Penance Runners will be attracted to all food types, no matter which one is called. However, the Penance Runner must eat the correct food type at the trap in order to be killed. The whole team will lose three honour points for each Runner that manages to escape. Thus, it is the Defender's duties to make sure that this does not happen too often (or at all). 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.

Strategy Tip 1: It is recommended to scatter as much bait as possible in a trail from in front of the Runner exit to the East trap. The direction of dropping is important as the Runners will always go for the most recently dropped food in range. This will draw the Runners towards the trap. Scatter the remaining bait next to the trap; so the Runners will stay near the trap until they eat the correct bait. As long as no Runners reach the other side, the Defender (and the team) will get full points, it does not matter if the Runners are killed by team members through the egg cannons.

Strategy Tip 2: Dropping the wrong bait for luring can be more useful than the right bait, particularly for low level defenders. Runners that eat the wrong bait will walk a considerable distance North at no penalty, allowing for the right bait to be used solely around the trapping areas. When the wrong bait is placed in a diagonal line leading from the defender machine to the trap, the runners position themselves vertically in line with the trap. This also buys time for the defender to refill on bait, gather resources, block the northern caves on higher waves, and keep runners in range of the egg cannons.

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 over ten seconds. However, building barricades can delay the team (including the Defender), preventing effective role performance. The Defender is better off concentrating on laying bait.

Note: Whether a bait is considered "right" or "wrong" is determined when the bait is dropped. This means that even after the food type changes, bait that was correctly dropped will still be considered correct when the Penance Runner eats it regardless of the new correct food type. The same holds true for food that was incorrectly dropped. In other words, the defender does not need to pick up old drops and replace them in order to produce their desired effect.

Healer
Colour: Green

Difficulty on regular waves:

Difficulty on Queen waves:

Calls to: Defender

The Healer's job is to heal their teammates with a vial from the healer spring, 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 Life points 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. Another option is to right click on the healer spring and select "take-from". This is by far the hardest job in Barbarian Assault, though, ironically, it is usually a task taken on by the lower to mid combat levelled players on the team.

Healing also 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 LP, and this won't stop flashing until that teammate is healed.

Poisoned food can be used on Penance Healers to poison them with damage starting at 40 life points. In general 2 to 4 poison packs are required to kill a Penance healer. However, due to the nature of poison, as it wears off the damage will become diminished so it is advised to use more. The Penance Healers can poison teammates (including the Healer) with damage starting at 20 points per hit. The poison is also cured when a player is healed. Poisoned food can be obtained from the Healer machine near the entrance. Note when penance healers are poisoned the poison appears to hit more often than normal.

There are three types of poisoned food: Poisoned worms, Poisoned tofu, and Poisoned meat. The Healer should use the correct type of poisoned food told by the Defender. This will change as time goes on. If the wrong type of food is used no damage will be dealt. With the healer calling to the defender and the Defender using similar types of bait (see above) it is possible to be a bit confused.

Strategy Tip: Once a poison pack is applied, the poison effect is substantial and very little else needs to be done. Since Penance Healers also move around quite a lot, it is often more effective to poison as many Penance Healers as possible in the short term and then alternate to healing fellow players before returning to poison the Penance Healers again. This way, even if Penance Healers remain at the end of the round, they are more easily dismissed through the use of the egg cannon. Honour points are rewarded for healing teammates, and the damage done by Penance Healers is minimal, so this strategy ensures high scoring games at low risk to players, with ease of destroying Penance Healers at the end of each round.

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. (see below)

The wave begins as any other wave, but players will notice that the battlefield is not the same as the battlefields in Waves 1 through 9. There is only one Egg Launcher instead of two and a large trapdoor in the middle from where the Queen appears. 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 Penance Fighters, Rangers, Healers, and Runners must be defeated by the team 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 200 life points. 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. 8 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 300+ 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; however, it is still possible with one level 1 Healer.

← Barbarian Assault/Basics | Barbarian Assault/Gameplay | Barbarian Assault/Strategies →