The zOMG Elite Player's Handbook

[Uron Teff]

The zOMG Elite Player's Handbook

- INTRODUCTION -

Hello fellow zOMGaians,

This tutorial/resources is amongst the most concise and complete zOMG tutorials available and it is publicly made accessible to everyone for chapter one of zOMG. All future installments of this resource will be done exclusively within the zOMG Elite battle clan.

The zOMG Elite Player's Handbook contains all of the information you will need to quest through zOMG like a professional player, this has information in the following; how rings really work, ring sets, attributes/statistics, ring rage charges, G'hi, class/role system, class roles, class examples, GIM (Gaia Instant Messenger) & more!

In the following posts I will use a number of abbreviations. To understand them all I'll put up a list of all used abbreviations:

• AoE -Area of Effect
  
• HP - Health Points
  
• SP - Stamina Points
  
• CL - Charge Level
  
• RCL - Ring Charge Level
  
• OCL - Overall Charge Level
  
• TCL - Total Charge Level
  
• HoT - Heal over Time
  
• DoT - Damage over Time
  
• AL - Avatar Length(s) (an artificial measure system)
  

Table of Contents

Post 2 - Charge Level Information
Post 3 - Attributes
Post 4 - Rage
Post 5 - G'hi
Post 6 - Rings
Post 7 - Ring Sets
Post 8 - A New Feature: The Class System
Post 9 - Class System Concept
Post 10 - Examples of the Class System
Post 11 - Gaia Internet Messenger (GIM)
Post 12 - Acknowledgments
Post 13 - A word from the author




Please make sure that you have your Image Display set to "Show ALL Images", otherwise you will miss the whole fun.


Disclaimer
Please do not copy this tutorial and place it into other guilds, clans or threads, this will be considered plagiarism and theft of intellectual property. I do not give anyone the consent to copy or paraphrase this tutorial, if you want to share this information in a guild, clan or thread you must provide an external link only to the original public version. This is a non negotiable term and we have a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism.

[Uron Teff]

- CHARGE LEVEL INFORMATION -

To discuss the Charge Level (or CL for short) we have to distinguish between three different Charge Levels. There is for one the Ring Charge Level (henceforth RCL) that basically describes the strength of your rings. In order to increase the strength of your rings, charging their energy with Charge Orbs is required. Upgrading the RCL follows a simple principle. To raise your ring by one Charge Level you have to fill all the charge slots in the ring display. However, this process needs more and more Charge Orbs (which can be gathered by salvaging other rings, killing animated or finishing quests) the higher the RCL of the ring is that you want to power up. The formula for doing so also follows a simple equation: to fill one charge slot of any given ring you need a number of Charge Orbs equal to the ring's current RCL. This means, if you want to fill one charge slot of a ring with an RCL of 6, you need 6 Charge Orbs. For a ring with an RCL of 3 you need three Charge Orbs.
Often you will find the RCL displayed as a decimal number such as 4.7 or 8.6. Nevertheless, charging a ring with a RCL of (for example) 8.6 follows the rules above (i.e. it takes 8 Charge Orbs to bring this ring from 8.6 to 8.7).

The next Charge Level I'd like to discuss here, would be the Overall Ring Charge Level (or OCL for short). The OCL is calculated with the formula below:

OCL = [ (8*R8)+(7*R7)+(6*R6)+(5*R5)+(4*R4)+(3*R3)+(2*R2)+ R1 ] / 36

The rings (abbreviated in the formula with an R) are used for calculating your OCL. To properly use the equation I will explain what the abbreviations mean. R8 (for example) stands for your strongest ring (i.e. the ring with the highest RCL), R7 stands for the second strongest ring, R6 stands for third highest ring and so forth till R1, which stands for your weakest ring equipped. Now to use this equation you just have to insert the RCLs (the decimal number) instead of their abbreviations. If you are wearing less than eight rings, count each empty finger as a ring with an RCL of 1. zOMG! uses this equation to calculate your OCL as you progress throughout the game.

The last Charge Level I'd like to mention here differs entirely from the Charge Levels I discussed above (the OCL and the RCL). The Total Charge Level (henceforth TCL) is more of statistical interest. Basically the TCL displays all the Charge Orbs you have gathered playing the game and displays it as a progressional figure. This "counter" includes the orbs that are collected through killing animated, or finishing quests, but does not count orbs collected from salvaging rings. It also does not count the Charge that is already in a Ring if you find the Ring at an RCL higher than 1.0.

- Noteable -

In this section of this post I would like to reveal some of the mysteries I came across while researching ring sets. Since the OCL, as you will see further down, has great effects on the character stat block, I noticed that your Maximum Health is exactly 100 times your OCL (when no buffs are activated and your G'hi meter is at [zero]). With this, your OCL can be defined much more precisely since a Maximum Health of 894 would be displayed as an OCL of 8.9 while it is actually 8.94. For some of the repeatable quests (like the Anchor Bug repeatable on Gold Beach), this can be important since you can do the quest with a Maximum Health of 794, but not with a Maximum Health of 795 (since this equals an OCL of 7.95, which zOMG rounds up to 8.0 and thus, you are not able to do the repeatable quest anymore).

[Uron Teff]

- ATTRIBUTES -

Attributes "determine" your character someone said to me, while I was playing zOMG. Nevertheless the value of attributes in zOMG is more then just important. Additionally there are (always) numbers connected to a give attribute.

In this post I will discuss how the numbers of the attributes are calculated, as well as their general effect on the player.

As you can see from the picture above, not all attributes are displayed in the character sheet. Accuracy, Dodge, Willpower, Speed, Weight, Maximum Health and Health Regeneration are so called viewable stats that can be viewed by everyone. Luck, Defense and Stamina Recovery are not listed in the character stat block; nevertheless, they exist and alter our gaming experience to a certain degree.

For all viewable attributes, you can easily determine their base value at any given CL. Due to the fact that the base value for each attribute is determined by your OCL, the formulas for calculating this base value do not vary much.

• Accuracy
  Accuracy describes your ability to hit a target and works logically against an opponent's Dodge value. The Base value is calculated as 50xOCL.
  
• Dodge
  Dodge describes your ability to evade an attack (passive process) and therefore works against an opponent's Accuracy value. The Base value is calculated as 50xOCL.
  
• Willpower
  Willpower describes your ability to affect opponents with Crowd Control and also your ability to resist an opponent's Crowd Control. The Base value is calculated as 50xOCL.
  
• Speed
  Speed describes your ability to move a certain space in a set amount of time. Without buffs it's 192 for all characters (unless they have the Pirate Set equipped).
  
• Weight
  Weight describes how attacks with a knock back work on your character. Basically the higher your Weight value the less likely it is that you are knocked around by your enemies. The Base value for weight is always 100.
  
• Maximum Health
  Maximum Health describes the amount of punishment, i.e. the amount of damage, you can take before your character dazes. The Base value is calculated as 100xOCL.
  
• Health Regeneration
  Health Regeneration describes your ability to recover taken damage while kneeling. The number displayed in the character stat block tells you how much HP you recover per second. However, while kneeling you will notice that your health increases every two to three seconds by two times your Health Regeneration rate. The Base value is calculated as 2xOCL.
  
• Stamina Regeneration
  The hidden stat Stamina Regeneration describes how fast you can recover stamina. The amount of Stamina that is regenerated varies from the stance you take. While kneeling your stamina recovers at a base value of 8, whereas standing (and doing nothing) your stamina recovers at a base value of 2.
  
• Luck
  The Luck attribute describes your chances of enemies dropping loot, charge orbs, or rings for you. Due to the fact that Luck is a hidden attribute and that the drop rate follows an unknown formula, the drop ration (and thus the luck value) cannot be determined correctly.

[Uron Teff]

- RAGE LEVEL INFORMATION -

Every Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game uses the two basic concepts of a health and a mana pool, but unlike other MMORPGs, zOMG introduces two additional mechanics - Rage and G'hi. In this post, I'd like to explain the very basics and advanced tactics of how to use and build up your Rage in zOMG.

The Rage meter

While some sources declare that the concept of Rage is very simple, I'd like to state that on the first glance it might appear that way. But it isn't. Nevertheless, there are very few basic principles behind Rage. Those are:

• Gather Rage from using your rings and/or from taking damage
  
• Use Rage to increase the effectiveness of your Rings

Still, the above is just a very rough summary of the possibilities a player has. While it is true that you can gather Rage easily by using rings and taking damage, there are various tactics out there to gather Rage faster. As explained above, you can gather Rage by using your rings. This means that you can fill your Rage pool by using attack rings on Animated and/or healing and buff rings on your crew or innocent bystanders. The basic idea behind this is, the more animated you damage (or people you heal/buff) the more Rage you accumulate. And with this in mind I'd like to introduce to you three very simple ways of gaining Rage fast and easy:

1. Area of Effect attacks (such as Dervish, Heavy Water Balloon or Fire Rain) grant you Rage for every animated you hit.
   
2. Area of Effect support rings (such as Healing Halo, Fleet Feet, or Divinity) grant you Rage for every target affected by the ring effect.
   
3. Healing (yourself and others) increases your Rage.

Of course there are two other ways to build up Rage. For one there is the option to build up Rage by taking damage voluntary or not. As there are already three other ways to increase your Rage pool, I'd like to recommend not to voluntarily take damage just to build up your Rage.

Nevertheless, there is another, very sneaky way of gathering Rage. This fifth way is actually implemented in the three concepts from the list above, but it utilizes both G'hi abilities and Rage in a very special way. The idea behind this is, to lower your HP without taking damage from animated and using the Rage-increasing effect of healing rings. So basically there are two ways to gather Rage, while not fighting.

1. In the Null Chamber, suppress your CL and uncap it immediately thereafter. Since you lowered your CL, your HP should have decreased. Once you uncap your CL you can heal yourself till you have you have full health again. Repeat the suppressing and uncapping process until your Rage Meter is full. The same trick works with unequipping your rings to lower your CL (and therefore your HP).
   
2. Since most of the time you end up needing a full Rage Meter right before a demi-Boss battle, this second hidden way of gaining Rage might come in handy. To use this trick, you just have to utilize the your ability to switch your rings from one slot to another (not un-equipping your rings). Because of this ability (to switch ring A from slot 1 to slot 2 and ring B and vice versa) your HP will always equal exactly the HP you'd have without any G'hi bonuses and this means you can voluntary lower your HP without taking damage from an animated. After switching the rings around, you can heal yourself and gather Rage this way. Henceforth, this trick shall be called Ring Switch Trick.

Now, some might ask, why you would need Rage at all. And to answer this question you can just take a very simple look on the effects of Rage on the power of rings. Depending on the ring, Rage can:

increase the damage output of an attack ring drastically
increase the regained HP from a healing ring
increase the effectiveness of buffs
increase the duration of buffs

Nevertheless, you always have to remember that Rage is not all or nothing. Rage comes in four ranks (Rage Ranks or short RR).

• RR1 is the basic usage of a ring, i.e. tapping your ring hot-key shortly.
  
  
• for RR2 hold the number/hot key until the rage bar reaches the first marker then release to initiate the desired ring effect
  
  
  
• for RR3 hold the number/hot key until the rage bar reaches the second marker then release to initiate the desired ring effect
  
  
  
• for RR4 hold the number/hot key until the rage bar reaches the very end of the Rage Meter then, release to initiate the desired ring effect
  

One last thing: You should keep in mind: Rage is a powerful ally in zOMG, but only if you use it. A full Rage Meter is cool to look at, but it won't keep you from dazing when you don't use all the Rage you have gathered while playing. To use a modified quote from Emperor Palpatine, "Give in to your Rage and strike the animated down!"

[Uron Teff]

- G'HI -

Qixter

Zhi / Chi / C'hi ...however you spell it, it all means "lifeforce". The energy that is powering the Animated is called "G'hi" energy (pronouned "jee" wink). G'hi energy seems to be originating from the Gambino Event crater in the Shallow Sea, and that's why EB set up shop there.

That's about all I can explain right now without giving too much away. We have plans...

And yes, replacing the "C" with a "G" was done for Gaia. It's our motif. smile

As stated above, G'hi is another very unique mechanic zOMG utilizes. While the Rage Meter is only affected by the actions one character does, the G'hi pool is nourished by the presence of other zOMG players, may it be in a crew or not. Therefore there are three similar, but still different ways to gather G'hi.

1. Stay in Barton Town for a short period of time (to gather G'hi very quickly)
   
2. Be in a crew of at least 4 members
   
3. Be around at least 5 (non-crew) players

Keep in mind that you can still lose G'hi while you are in a crew with less then 4 members. Nevertheless being in a crew with two (or one) other member(s) reduces the pace at which you lose your G'hi, drastically. The same rule of thumb applies to being around people. The more people around you the lower the pace of losing G'hi.

Picture of the G'hi tab in the Player's Stat Profile.

Like before you will probably ask, why should you bother about G'hi and you have the right to ask this. Nevertheless, I think that G'hi is the most underutilized feature in zOMG and the reason are for this the passive bonuses G'hi grants you. Here is a list of all abilites (hidden or viewable) that are affected by G'hi:

• 
  Accuracy
  
  
• 
  Dodge
  
  
• 
  Willpower
  
  
• 
  Maximum Health
  
  
• 
  Luck

To get a full understanding of how G'hi works, we have to take a look at the three different bonuses that are granted (i.e. G'hi Ranks, or short GR).

• Minor G'hi bonus (Bonus to Accuracy, Didge, Willpower or Maximum Health 5 x OCL, while the Regeneration bonus is 0.5 x OCL. The bonus to Luck is not measurable at the moment, nevertheless noticeable)
  
• Moderate G'hi bonus (Bonus to Accuracy, Didge, Willpower or Maximum Health 10 x OCL, while the Regeneration bonus is 0.5 x OCL. The bonus to Luck is not measurable at the moment, nevertheless noticeable)
  
• Major G'hi bonus (Bonus to Accuracy, Didge, Willpower or Maximum Health 15 x OCL, while the Regeneration bonus is 0.5 x OCL. The bonus to Luck is not measurable at the moment, nevertheless noticeable)

To reiterate this, a major G'hi bonus gives your character abilities a permanent boost equal to buff rings like Ghost, Iron Will or Adrenaline. Therefore, do not underestimate the power of G'hi; nevertheless, G'hi is no free for all ability and it has to be earned. To get G'hi powers or to upgrade them to a new Rank a player has the following options in zOMG to gather G'hi points:

• Use GIM to chat with others
  
• Use your rings while your G'hi Meter has not hit [zero].
  
• Generally be active within the game (e.g. sitting around doing nothing will not grant you G'hi points)

Still, G'hi abilities are not switched on and off and differ therefore from Ring effects that end after a certain period of time. The G'hi mechanic utilizes the so called G'hi Meter, which is similar to the Stamina Meter or the Health Meter. But unlike the Health and Stamina Meters the value of the G'hi Meter affects the effectiveness of the G'hi Bonuses. To explain this I'd like to use the following example:

When the G'hi Meter gives your a bonus of 100 points to your health, you only get 51% (i.e. 0.51 times the full bonus) when the G'hi Meter is at 51 out of 100 (i.e. 51%)

[Uron Teff]

- RINGS -

In this post I'll take a closer look on all the rings. From healing ring to attack ring over defensive buff rings. All rings are presented here and ready to be evaluated to answer the question "is Ring X better then Ring Y".

To answer the "question of all time",, a team of the finest scientists went into zOMG and tested all of the 40 rings, that are currently implemented in the game. In order to do this properly they decided to test the rings at CL 10 against one of Gaia's cutest animated, the Barnacle Fluff, deep down in Shallow Sea.



Adrenaline




Bandage




Bump




Coyote Spirit




Defibrillate




Dervish




Diagnose




Divinity




Duct Tape




Fire Rain




Fitness - Passive effect, grants a bonus of 10 x CL to Accuracy, Dodge, Willpower, and a bonus of 20 x CL to Weight



Fleet Feet




Ghost




Gum Shoe




Guns, Guns, Guns




Hack




Healing Halo




Heavy Water Balloon




Hornet's Nest




Hot Foot




Hunters Bow




Improbability Sphere - Grants + to dodge. Also chance to reflect damage back
Stamina Cost -
Rage Rank 1 -
Rage Rank 2 -
Rage Rank 3 -
Rage Rank 4 -



Iron Will




Keen Aye




Knife Sharpen




Mantis




Meat




My Density




Pot Lid




Quick Sand - AoE enemies speed reduced to 0 (similar to duct tape)
Stamina Cost -
Rage Rank 1 -
Rage Rank 2 -
Rage Rank 3 -
Rage Rank 4 -



Rock Armor - Damage Reduction bonus
Stamina Cost - 12
Rage Rank 1 -
Rage Rank 2 -
Rage Rank 3 -
Rage Rank 4 -



Scaredy Cat




Shark Attack




Shuriken




Slash




Solar Rays




Taunt - Causes enemies to target only you
Stamina Cost -
Rage Rank 1 -
Rage Rank 2 -
Rage Rank 3 -
Rage Rank 4 -



Teflon




Turtle
DATA INCOMPLETE; MORE RESEARCH REQUIRED


Wish


Additionally to the data above, the Developers provided us with a list of all the attack rings and the damage they do in a given time frame. Basically they distinguished two types of criteria - Attack Rings Listed in Terms of Highest Damge Per Attack and Attack Rings Listed in Terms Most Damage Dealt in 10 Seconds. Due to the fact, that the list is more or less outdated I am trying to come with my own (two) lists as soon as possible.

- Notable: The RED Effect -

The RED Effect (or Ring Effectiveness Distortion) is something that happened to most of us during our way to CL 10. RED always happens when you have major CL differences between your rings (for example a CL 6.7 Fleet Feet equipped, while your OCL is 9.8 with all your other rings a CL10). The RED effect lowers the effectiveness of the rings so that Fleet Feet (CL 6.7) ring no longer gives you a 67 bonus to dodge, but only a bonus of 65. Once Ring CL and OCL are roughly equal, the Ring effect follows the formula.
But not only lower rings are affected by RED. Rings that have a much higher CL than your OCL are effected by the RED effect, too. The RED effect causes these rings lose their high potential and their effectiveness is lowered (following the formula (OCL + Ring CL)/2 = average CL). This average CL is then used for calculationing the effectiveness of rings. Example: xX_Uron_Xx has an OCL of 5, but has a CL 10 Ghost ring equip. Upon activation Ghost on grants xX_Uron_Xx a (OCL + Ring CL)/2 * 15 bonus to dodge (i.e. 112.5).

Henceforth, try to avoid the RED effect if possible.

[Uron Teff]

- RING SETS -

Ring sets apply when you have the 4 rings form a set equipped on either your right hand or your left hand i.e. the lest or the right four ring slots. The basic principle behind Ring Sets is that once the 4 rings are equipped together on one hand, you gain a passive and permanent buffing effect as long as the set stays on one of your hands.
So people might remember that I targeted Ring Sets in a special thread a while back - zOMG Ring Set Research Lab. At the end of this post you will find the raw numbers for each set effect, as well as an evaluation of all current ring sets with and my opinion on whether a set bonus is worthwhile or totally redundant.

Angelic: Luck Bonus

• Wish
  
• Divinity
  
• Hunter's Bow
  
• Healing Halo

• Evaluation:
  The Angelic Set is a great support set or complementary set to other Sets. The basic principle behind the Angelic Set is that it increases your chances of getting drops from animated, but the effectiveness of this set goes even beyond a simple increase in the drop ratio. The combination of Divinity and Healing Halo gives this set its great value as party buffer. Additionally, the healing ring Wish, with its very short Cooldown Time and its superb healing effect adds to the value of the Angelic Set in each and every crew. Hunter's Bow completes this set with its great combination as a stat debuff and damage inflicting ring. Altogether, the Angelic Set brings a lot to the table and should be in every crew.

Athlete: Maximum Health bonus = 20xOCL

• Bump
  
• Taunt
  
• Fleet Feet
  
• Fitness

• Evaluation:
  The Athlete Set is one of the two sets that are majorly self-buff-sets that can be used for tanking. Because of the combination of Taunt and HP increase from the Set bonus, Athletes ensure other crew members survive even longer. The overall good Fitness ring brings other bonuses to this set, while Bump is the sole attack ring. However, the Athlete Set also gives an alternative to fighting (in case you find yourself at the worse end of any confrontation) with Fleet Feet; nevertheless, this ring can also be used for tanking since it increases the Athlete's Dodge value as well. Overall the Athlete Set is a set made for one purpose only - tanking, so if you like to stand in the middle of a fight, this set should be right there with you.

Chef: Damage Reduction Bonus = around 13.4% to 14.2%

• Pot Lid
  
• Meat
  
• Knife Sharpen
  
• Teflon

• Evaluation:
  Although the Chef set has no attack rings, the set in general has various other qualities to acknowledge. The four buff rings the set brings to the table can grant each and every party more versatility and defensive strength. The combination of Pot Lid and Teflon make any user of the Chef set a defensive weapon. Even more potent is this ring combination with the Meat ring, simply because you can take less damage (with Pot Lid and/or Teflon) and have more HP (with the huge bonus from Meat). With Knife Sharpen being the final ring in this set, every Chef set user can grant his allies a minor fighting bonus in the form of an Accuracy buff.
  Altogether, the Chef set is a defensive oriented set made for the sole purpose of taking huge amounts of damage and continue fighting. The damage reduction bonus the set grants combined with the two defensive buff rings and the Meat ring, make the user of this set almost indestructible.

Demonic: Stamina Regeneration Bonus

• Hot Foot
  
• Fire Rain
  
• Iron Will
  
• Scaredy Cat

• Evaluation:
  The usefulness of the Demonic set not only originates from the minor Stamina regeneration bonus it grants, but also from the combinations of this set's rings. With the new Willpower system crowd control rings have a chance to miss the target. Nevertheless, this does not bother a Demonic set wearer much as s/he has the combination of Iron Will and Scaredy Cat. Not only does Iron Will grant a greater chance not to be affected by crowd effects from animated, but it also boosts the effectiveness of your own crowd control rings (such as Scaredy Cat). On top of this, the nice ring combination the Demonic set grants a one-two punch of DoT rings. Hot Foot may have a very small damage output; nevertheless, this ring is a fire and forget ranged attack ring. In addition to this the AoE ranged attack ring, Fire Rain gives you even more versatility and range. Remember, the more animated you hit, the more kills you get credit for. Overall this is a nice set with some upside.

Medic: HP Regeneration Bonus = OCL/2

• Bandage
  
• Defibrillate
  
• Diagnosis
  
• Adrenaline

• Evaluation:
  The medic set focuses on one of the most important parts of the game: Healing. And it's not just healing, it's healing when you really need it, in the middle of combat. This set has two of the most potent healing rings in the game with Bandage and Diagnose. While Bandage has a fast cooldown time and regenerates a huge amount of HP, diagnose can heal the entire party with one swift application. But the medic set also adds another component to its use. If your allies are not hit, you don't have to heal them very often. To ensure this, the medic set's Adrenaline ring grants a dodge bonus to individual members of your team. Last but not least, the Medic set includes the one and only ring in the game that lets you revive dazed players: Defibrillate. But be warned, the enormous cooldown time of this rings should make you think first before you "defib" anyone.
  Overall this set grants unique abilities and adds a new dimension to each and every crew. Nevertheless, the set bonus is minor and negligible.

Ninja: Dodge Bonus = 20xOCL

• Dervish
  
• Ghost
  
• Mantis
  
• Shuriken

• Evaluation
  The ninja set combines great defensive and offensive power into the most balanced set there is. On the offensive side there is the attack ring that deals the most damage within a ten second time frame: Mantis. Its fast cooldown time combined with its damage output make this ring a lethal weapon on the fingers of a skilled player. The AoE attack ring Dervish has not only the ability to hit multiple animated (360° around you), but it also combines a decent cooldown time with a huge knockback for some breathing room. But be warned, sometimes you can pull more aggro than you can handle. The third attack ring in this set plays right into the set bonus. While Shuriken has only a decent damage and an average range, this ring is said to reduce the Accuracy of attacking animated and therefore, decreasing the Ninja Set user's chance of taking damage. This ring combined with the fourth and final ring, Ghost, makes this set of rings very potent. The self-buff ring Ghost grants its user a bonus to dodge. With the now increased duration of this bonus, Ghost can give you a 22 minute bonus to dodge, when used on RR4.
  This all combined with the automatic dodge bonus a ninja set wearer receives and you have the best and most balanced set in the game right now.
  

Pirate: Speed bonus = +29 (regardless of the OCL)

• Hack
  
• Slash
  
• Keen Aye
  
• Shark Attack

• Evaluation
  The Pirate set is the ring set that packs the most force behind each and every ring. Hack and Shark Attack are two of the hardest hitting attack rings. While their cooldown time slows down the attack rate, both rings pack enough "umph" behind each and every blow to master every situation. The addition of Slash as an 180° AoE ring gives the user of this ring set the ability to pull aggro from a lot of animated at the same time, while dealing significant amounts of damage. Keen Aye is the final ring in this Set and enables the user to overcome possible accuracy issues with ease.
  While the rings in this set are great and work well overall, the ring set bonus is insignificant. Ring set nay, rings yay.

Prankster: Dodge and Accuracy Bonus = 10xOCL (for both attributes)

• Improbability Sphere
  
• Gumshoe
  
• Heavy Water Balloon
  
• Duct Tape

• Evaluation
  The Prankster Set is one of the least used sets throughout the game. While Gumshoe and Duct Tape give the user of this set great crowd control options, the recent changes in the Willpower system lessened the effectiveness of this set a lot. The defensive buff ring Improbability Sphere is a nice defensive option for your allies. But the fact that Improbability Sphere has no Damage Reducing factor but has just a chance to reflect attack back to animated, lessen its usefulness overall. Heavy Water Balloon is this ring set's only attack option. Due to the long cooldown time of Heavy Water Balloon, the advantages this ring gets from its great range and the ranged AoE attack is diminished.
  Overall it is to say, that the set bonus is better then the ring combination within the set. Nevertheless, a very skilled player with the prankster set can be even deadlier then a Ninja set "tank".

Shaman: Willpower Bonus = 30xOCL

• Hornet's Nest
  
• Coyote Spirit
  
• Rock Armor
  
• Quick Sand

• Evaluation
  The Shaman Set is this and just this: a set for buffers and crowd controllers. The basic principle behind this set is to slow down animated with Quicksand and/or scare them away with Hornet's Nest. While Hornet's Nest could be counted as a ranged attack, it is so much more. The ranged AoE fear effect it can cast on animated might end up saving the lives of numerous allies in combat. This idea gets more emphasized by the Rock Armor ring. Although the Shaman set user will almost never end up with Rock Armor protecting him, the effectiveness of this ring is undeniable for the Shaman Set wearer: He can create very durable allies that save him from harm because animated can concentrate their attacks on these "tanks". Last but not least Coyote's Spirit allows the Shaman set user to cast a long lasting Speed and Dodge buff on himself and his allies.
  With the recent change of the Willpower system the Shaman set Willpower bonus enhances this set's effectiveness even more since Hornet's Nest and Quicksand draw upon Willpower to determine whether an animated is caught in the effect of these rings. Overall this is a very useful and effective ring set, no party should be missing.

Space Trooper: Weight Bonus = 300x OCL/4

• Guns, Guns, Guns
  
• My Density
  
• Solar Rays
  
• Turtle

• Evaluation
  The Space Trooper set combines two strong ranged attacks with the durability and motionlessness of a Mountain. The long range of Solar Rays and the fast attack rate of Guns, Guns, Guns allows the Space Trooper set user to annoy each and every animated from long distance. In most single one on one fights, these two rings are capable of reducing any animated's health significantly, if not killing them. Additionally the knockback effect of Guns, Guns, Guns helps to keep the animated at bay. But even for Space Troopers the going can get tough. But for these situations the user of this ring set has a special weapon, the Turtle ring. Turtle enables the Space Trooper user to flee (or distance himself) from the animated to take full advantage of the ranged attacks again. Furthermore the Damage Reduction of Turtle is powerful enough that attacks heal the caster instead of decreasing his health.
  Although this set has some advantages, the Ring Set bonus more or less cancels the usefulness of the My Density ring (although this ring can still be used on allies). Altogether, the Space Trooper is a nice combination of rings, although the serviceability of this set raises question marks.

[Uron Teff]

A New Feature: The Class System

We all know the situation. Standing right in front of the entrance of a Boss lair we ask ourselves. "Do have what it takes to win this fight?" The answer to this question has less to do with bravery and boldness, but even more with tactics and thinking ahead. Therefore, the question should be "Do we have the rings to win this fight?".

This thread will address these questions in a logical way, trying to condense the experience most of the veteran fighters have gathered throughout playing zOMG. Additionally I'd like to enlighten all of you with a concept that might help all of you building a crew that survives most (if not all) battles with ease. Sure having a team with three Angeli/Medic set combination users is a great thing to have, but once you are engaging animated of very high CL the lack of fire power might backfire.




The information provided here belongs to the zOMG Elite and was created by Uron Teff and GamesTesterJan. Any duplication and republishing without the zOMG Elite's, GamesTesterJan's and/or Uron Teff's consent is prohibited.

[Uron Teff]

- THE CLASS CONCEPT -

The basic concept that I will unfold for you here is used in every other MMORPG out there. It's the concept of classes. While most of you might think that zOMG has no such class system and that anyone can do anything if he wants it, the idea of the generalist fails inside the first Boss lair. While a large percentile of players are soloing the game most of the time, the fighting in a demi-Boss lair needs different archetypes of players. The so-called team players.

The basic thought behind the class system below is to encourage specialism in one or (preferably) two features to maximize the effect of each player on the party's success. The guide below should be used to determine each and every crew members qualities before a crucial battle starts. And like every other class system the guide will use the player's abilities, his rings, as an indicator of what job might suit him best.

To make it easier for us to determine what role a player can take, we have come up with five basic class terms that will be described (in detail) below: Tank, Sweeper, Annoyer, Buffer and Medic. Each of these terms describes a special and unique way of working in a group in zOMG.

• Tank
  
  
  Tanks are (what the name implies) able to take huge amounts of damage before even thinking about dazing. This may be due to the usage of their defensive buffs or due to the raw amount of Health Points. The role in battle is easy for a Tank. Stay close to the enemy and pull as much aggro as you can. The more the Tank is targeted, the less damage others take.
  Example rings: Teflon, Pot Lid, Meat, Fitness, Ghost, Taunt, Turtle, Iron Will
  Example sets: Chef Set and Athlete Set
  
  
• Sweeper
  
  
  Sweepers are what baseball teams like to call "big hitters". Essentially able to deal a lot of damage (in a short period of time) to any enemy. Sweepers prefer to engage them in melee. Nevertheless, the role of the Sweeper differs mightily from that of the tank. Although both are most likely found in close combat with the enemy, Sweepers are more fragile and can take less damage than tanks. Therefore the "heavy hitter" needs to know when his time has come to run and heal rather than fight on next to the tank.
  Example rings: Hack, Slash, Mantis, Dervish, Shark Attack, Bump, Keen Aye
  Example sets: Ninja and Pirate
  
  
• Annoyer
  
  
  Annoyers are considered to be cowards by some melee focused combatants. While it might be true that they are not in the "heat of the battle", Annoyers take an essential role in every team build. Keeping the enemy at distance with their powerful crowd effect rings can give a team the edge in battle. Nevertheless, their combat ability (though not really comparable to the Sweeper) can make a difference when the victory is at stake. The description for Annoyer is anywhere from a purely ranged combatant to a master of crowd control, while most Annoyers will have a mix of both abilities.
  Example Rings: Hunter's bow, Shuriken, Heavy Water Balloon, Fire Rain, Guns Guns Guns, Hot Foot, Solar Rays, Hornets Nest, Duct Tape, Quick Sand, Scaredy Cat, Gum Shoe
  Example sets: Demonic, Space Trooper, Prankster and Shaman
  
  
• Buffer
  
  
  Buffers are THE guys every party looks at even before the battle has started. A well timed defensive buff can prevent a Total Party Kill at the end of an important battle; an intelligently used Stamina Recovery boost could give any party the ounce of luck the party needed. Knowing the right buff at the right time can turn every battle around, and eventually the Buffer will be the guy to provide it.
  Example Rings: Divinity, Healing Halo, Adrenaline, Teflon, Rock Armor, Coyote's Spirit, Fleet Feet, Knife Sharpen, Improbability Sphere, My Density
  Example sets: Shaman and Angelic
  
  
• Medic
  
  
  Medics are what every team needs. People who can heal wounded and/or dazed crew members in the heat of the battle. And that's why the job of a Medic is considered to be the easiest-defined job, but the hardest to be done properly. The words of an old Zen Master might sum up the Medic's duties the best, "Heal, heal, heal, revive the dazed, and then heal some more."
  Example Rings: Wish, Diagnosis, Healing Halo, Defibrillate, Bandage
  Example sets: Medic and Angelic
  

Summary
As described above I wanted to create a way to clarify the roles that members of a crew can take in battle. Nevertheless, due to the fact that it is possible to mix and match different rings and ring sets, it is possible (nay, advisable) that crew members take at two combat classes at once. This can be achieved by combining different ring sets, like Pirate/Chef, to fill two roles. In the Pirate/Chef case a player would gain the class combination of Sweeper and Tank, making him a Sweeper Tank. Nevertheless, multi-classing can not only be done by combining two ring sets from different classes, but also by just combining eight rings that are associated with different classes. For example the ring combination Hack, Hunter's Bow, Hornets Nest, Diagnosis, Fitness, Defibrillate, Scaredy Cat and Coyote's Spirit would classify (even though it has rings from all classes) as an Annoyer Medic. The requirement to be able to use the class tag (such as Tank) is at least two rings from the class you want to take.

With the system above almost all class combinations are thinkable. For anyone out there who uses more than 6 rings from a class (or two sets) the word uber is added to the Class name. Therefore anyone who uses the Angelic and Medic ring sets at the same time qualifies for the title uber-Medic.

Additionally I'd like to note that that it is possible to qualify for 4 different classes (using the requirement above). In such a case I'd like to encourage everyone who is in that situation to analyze his playing style by answering the following questions:

1. Do you like being surrounded by animated? Then you might want to focus on the sweeper rings.
   
2. Do you feel like a sniper when giving the animated his final blow from across the screen? Then you might want to look deeper into the Annoyer rings to enhance your skills.
   
3. Are you always watching the crew tab to check on whoever needs help? Then I'd suggest you take a deeper look into the Medic and Buffer classes and their rings.

The information provided here belongs to the zOMG Elite and was created by Uron Teff and GamesTesterJan. Any duplication and republishing without the zOMG Elite's, GamesTesterJan's and/or Uron Teff's consent is prohibited.

[Uron Teff]

- CLASS EXAMPLES -

Role: Sweeper Tank
Nickname: Sumo
Ring Sets: Ninja and Chef
Bonus: Dodge and Defense
Ninja Set: Ghost / Mantis / Shuriken / Dervish
Chef Set: Pot Lid / Teflon / Meat / Knife Sharpen
Description: The role of the Sumo is easily defined. By using both the bonus to defense and the bonus to dodge, the combination of the Ninja set and the Chef Set increases the survivability of an essential member in every team. The buffing qualities of the Chef set search their equal and are only surpassed by the selfless Shaman Set. Due to the attacking abilities of the Ninja Set the Sumo can be seen as an offensive force that is only surpassed by the master attack set - the Pirate Set. Altogether the Sumo adds decent offensive options and decent party buffs to every team.

Role: Uber-Sweeper
Nickname: Stunner
Ring Sets: Ninja and Pirate
Bonus: Speed and Dodge
Ninja Set: Mantis / Dervish / Shuriken / Ghost
Pirate Set: Keen Aye / Shark Attack / Slash / Hack
Description: Every team needs a good healer, buffer and so on, but there also needs to be someone whose main job is to deal heavy damage. That's what I do. Six of the rings are melee rings, 4/6 doing heavy damage. With the Speed and Dodge bonuses combined, that makes the Stunner even harder to hit. The main purpose of the Stunner is to be in the middle of it all, dealing heavy damage and remaining accurate and evasive due to Ghost and Keen Aye. This configuration is great for taking out enemies swiftly and quickly, however it relies heavily on other teammates for healing and buffing.

Role: Sweeper Medic
Nickname: Iryo-nin
Ring Sets: Medic and Ninja
Bonus: Increased Health Regeneration and Dodge
Medic Set: Adrenaline / Bandages / Defibrillate / Diagnosis
Ninja Set: Mantis / Shuriken / Dervish / Ghost
Description: The role of a combat medic is of course to keep the team alive and to assist in attacks. The healer must survive at all costs! The high dodge rate thanks to the Ghost ring + Ninja Bonus will increase your survivability. The AOE ring, Dervish, keeps those pesky group mobs away. The Mantis ring deals the most damage over a period of 10 secs. With these offensive rings, you are able to not only assist your team in terms of healing, but also offense. Because the faster you kill your enemy, the lesser your team has to suffer.

Role: Annoyer Medic
Nickname: Ranger
Ring Sets: N/A
Bonus: N/A
Generic Set: Duct Tape / Bandages / Defibrillate / Diagnosis
Generic Set: Hunter's Bow / Shuriken / Divinity / Shark Attack
Description: The Ranger is a custom build Annoyer Medic who utilizes the combination of healing rings and ranged attack rings with status altering effects to get the better end of any fight. The combination of Duct Tape and Hunter's bow allows the Ranger to immobilize and slow down his target. To induce major damage the Ranger uses Shark Attack and utilizes the secondary knock back effect to gain distance between himself and the attacking animated. But the ranger is not only a fighter. He is also a well known medic and it is said that he can bring people back from the dazed.


The information provided here belongs to the zOMG Elite and was created by Uron Teff and GamesTesterJan. Any duplication and republishing without the zOMG Elite's, GamesTesterJan's and/or Uron Teff's consent is prohibited.

[Uron Teff]

- Gaia Internet Messenger (GIM) -

GIM Command Tutorial

I just thought to write a mini tutorial on GIM chat commands inside zOMG for various purposes. There are not many commands but as more are created I will add them to this list.

Invite
Command: /invite username
Type in the following, you can use spaces if the name has spaces in it, no need to add a + or _ in between the words.

Whisper
Command: /w username
Type in the following, do not use spaces on the username replace them with either a + or _ then press space and type in your message. Press enter to send when ready.

Whisper Reply
Command: Backspace or /r
There are two methods to reply quickly to a whisper. Click Backspace on the screen (not inside the chat box) or type in /r space and your message.

Bold Text
Command: /me
Type in the following command, press space and then compose your message. All the text will now be bold.
Note: Please use this responsibly only for recruiting or sending out an important message like "Landshark on X server!" otherwise people won't like you for using it casually.

How to disable GIM chat pop up

Just follow these directions:


Finally


There, you're done, no more GIM pop ups on the main site. You will still receive clan messages in zOMG.

[Uron Teff]

- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -

boredom-ish
Raikiri-taisho
Raxa
GamesTesterJan
Platonix
The Lunar Shadow
Darc Eon
EvilLemon45
x-Goldfinch-x
arieda
InuNicka
Time Zodiac
Syn Reos
Cuatela
And everyone that I forgot but whose name should be on here (please PM with a little bit of proof that you helped contributing to the Player's Handbook)

[Uron Teff]

- A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR -

All data for all rings was obtained by using CL 10 rings to fight with Barnacle Fluffs in Shallow Sea to ensure comparability. All numbers that are not multiplied with either RCL or OCL are averages.

The zOMG Elite Player's Handbook belongs to Uron Teff and the zOMG Elite. Any duplication and/or republishing without Uron Teff's consent is prohibited.

WORK IN PROGRESS
I am still trying to get a hold on the rest of the data of the four missing rings.
I still need to analyze the following rings:

• Taunt (I have to think about a method to analyze this one)
  
• Quicksand (another ring I have to study more in depth)
  
• Improbability Sphere (I have to think of a good way to cover this one)
  
• Rock Armor (I have to study Rock Armor more in depth. The data I wanted to put up is misleading.)

There is still work I need to do on the graphic layout of this thread.

[Uron Teff]

[RESERVED]

[Uron Teff]

[RESERVED]