Combat

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What is combat in Second Life?

Second Life combat generally refers to "games" where Residents fight other Residents based on rules imposed by a "combat system". A combat system is in turn used in a combat game. This is roughly equivalent to "player versus player (PvP)" action in various online games.

The main difference with Second Life combat is that the combat systems and games inworld are created by Residents, real people like you. (There's only one exception, which we'll get to shortly.) This is similar to a gamemaster creating an experience inside of Second Life for you and others to enjoy. This also means that changes to a combat game aren't made by Linden Lab, but by the game creators.

Originally, there was only one combat system, the built-in one created by Linden Lab. It's rudimentary and doesn't offer the flexibility expected from those who've played various multiplayer games, so in response, teams of Residents began creating their own using the creation tools available to all Residents. Communities grew, and now, combat is a popular activity across Second Life.

What are the penalties for dying in Second Life?

Don't worry, you won't lose experience points.

There are also devices marketed as combat systems

Where can I find combat games in Second Life?

The Destination Guide has a Sports & Games category, as well as a Role-playing Communities category. Both of these include places to visit with combat games. (Linden Lab is considering adding a specific combat category.)

What are the available combat systems? How do they differ?

See the Combat Systems page for more information.

What are the exceptions to combat in Second Life?

Scripted weapons with effects like pushing avatars can be used outside of a combat system. When rules haven't been agreed upon, if you use a weapon to unconsensually annoy and harass others — that's griefing, a kind of abuse which can get you banned per Linden Lab's Terms of Service.

In other words, stick to using weapons in combat games and designated zones where all participants have decided it's cool to shoot each other, and you'll be fine.

Also, there are scripted devices marketed as combat systems which aren't part of a game, although they have similar functionality. These combat systems are sometimes used as protection devices against griefers, although Linden Lab recommends not shooting back (since things to escalate and innocent bystanders get hit), but instead, filing an abuse report. It may not be as Wild West, but at least you can honestly say "I wasn't a jerk".

What kinds of weapons, armor, and other gear are found in Second Life combat game?

You may already be familiar with much of the equipment found in SL combat games if you've done deathmatches or played MMOs. Here's a quick overview of what you can expect to find:

Weaponry

There are hundreds of weapons in Second Life to choose from, compatible with various different combat systems. There are two basic types of weapons: "melee" and "ranged" weapons. Melee weapons are held by a avatar (like swords). Ranged weapons shoot a projectile (like guns and bows). They fall within numerous commonly known classes. Note that there are variations on these common themes:

Basic Guns - Guns that fire basic physical bullets. These can be stopped by a quality shield system.
Advanced "Guns" - Guns that fire tracking, non-physical bullets. These can't be stopped by all but the most advanced (and expensive) defense systems.
Explosives and "Nukes" - Self-explanatory. These range from basic explosives to nukes that can kill everyone within 96m of the detonation point.
Advanced Weapons - The most effective and powerful weapons often combine a number of different effects with sophisticated, often HUD-based controls. There are several quality HUD-based combat systems available, as described below.
Robots and Turrets - These can be remote controlled, or set to fire on certain targets automatically.
Annoyance weapons - Stuff like caging guns, anything that flings people into the air, and in general things that annoy rather than, or as well as, dealing combat-system damage. Considered "noobish" and frowned upon by experienced combat people.

For more information, see Weapon.

Combat Vehicles

Sadly, the use of combat vehicles has reduced in second life. While they are very fun to fly, most vehicles will be "disrupted" by shields in actual combat situations, causing them to fly away. The only way to avoid this is to use non-physical vehicles.

The use of combat vehicles in LLCS has seen a surge recently (2009 - 2010) where the use of LlVolumeDetect to make an avatar invincible is used and then a custom damage system implemented. (Usually 100 "hitpoints", where each recognised bullet collision reduces one point, until zero where the owner/user agent is killed intentionally to simulate death)

Defense

Defense plays an important part in combat life. An undefended avatar can be obliterated by modern weaponry, ruining the fun for many new combat players. There are several ways to defend yourself in Second Life.

Shields
Offsim Bots
The Phantom Glitch

Shields, for the most part, have become obsolete with todays weapons. Any shield that offers true 100% protection will be using the Phantom glitch, by means of an object that you sit on.

Offsim bots place your agent out of the current sim, while moving your camera so you see through the eyes of the bot. This technology works well against less sophisticated weapons, but it can and has been defeated.

The Phantom Glitch was discussed in detail earlier in this article. When your agent is phantom, bullets and "killprims" can't collide with you, making you invincible.

Note that many role-play areas disallow some defensive items.

Non-Lethal Warfare

There are some weapons that can be used to disrupt or annoy another player without actually killing them.

Orbiting is the term used when one player causes another player to be flung up insanely high in the air.
People use "traps" to render a physical avatar unable to move.
"Lag-Bombs" are devices of various kinds that eat up Sim resources and cause lag, thus slowing down the target Resident's activities.

While this kind on non-lethal device can (sometimes) be appropriate to delay or detour a legitimate opponent in a combat game, they are also commonly used by griefers against unwilling victims in both combat and non-combat areas. They therefore tend to have a poor reputation, and to be looked down upon in many combat communities.

In the area of defense against pushes and pulls, most combatants use a device known as a "non-phys". A non-phys makes your avatar non-physical, in other words immune to being pushed or pulled. Period. A non-phys is basically a prim that you sit on, usually it becomes invisible once you sit, and you steer it around just like you are moving normally. When using a non-phys, you can pass through objects and walls.

If a non-phys is not handy and you are in danger of being orbited, just create a prim box and sit on it.

Advanced Weapons

The most powerful weapons in Second Life are advanced weapons systems. Because many of the currently popular weapons in this class use Heads-Up Displays (HUDs), they are sometimes referred to as "Combat HUDs". They usually offer a substantial arsenal of attacks that you can deploy, other than the standard "kill person" command. These include orbiting, "burning" people, trapping, auto-killing, etc.

Some advanced weapons are designed primarily to deal damage and provide defense in a single combat system (either LLCS or a user-created system); others support two or more different combat systems in a single device. Still others concentrate on the non-lethal actions and annoyances described above, and merge into the category of griefer and anti-griefer devices and away from legitimate combat.

Some system within this class should be considered problematic. They should be used with care.

Optimizations for Combat

Perhaps nothing is more demanding on the SL server system, connectivity, and your PC/Mac then combat. To win you must be fast. To be fast requires a good connection, a good to great computer and a sim that is well managed by its' owner. All are essential to your success. But... there are some things you can do to "tweak" your system to win and make over all combat gaming better for all those involved.

Reduce your graphics settings as low as possible.
Disable all unneeded features in your preferences for your client.
Remove all unnecessary HUDs and AOs from your AV. (Most weapons come with an integrated AO for efficiency already)
Wear clothing and hair with the least amount of prims possible. This will lower your Avatar rendering costs (ARC). Fighting naked on most SIMs is prohibited. Wear some form of clothing.
Do routine maintenance on your machine before engaging in combat. (Defrag, check disk and remove junk files and unused programs)
Use ranged weapons with a reasonable rate of fire and tight conical spread. Be considerate of others.

In short you want to run as "lean" and well running a computer as possible.