Overview
	Most times what makes one character better than another is equipment. Sometimes
        it makes a big difference. You definitely see a difference between two characters
        that have a few different pieces and two that have entirely different set to do
        the same thing. What makes an equipment set good is how optimized it is to the
        goal that the character wants to achieve. For example, a character who wants to
        cast a lot of spells would be better off wearing equipment with cast_level,
        cast_ability, mana, and wisdom & intelligence. It would not be wise to wear a lot
        of equipment with lots of armor and negative cast_level/cast_ability, etc. The
        keyword here is optimization. The basic idea is that you want to be prepared
        against a certain problem rather than being prepared for everything. The sets
        that I will be explaining are your general cast, solo, tank, and exploring sets.

	Cast
	The cast set is one of the two most important sets you can have. (Solo set being
        the other) The general goals of the cast set would be to achieve the highest
        combination of cast_level, cast_ability, mana, mana regeneration, and +int/+wis.
        Cast_level and cast_ability should be most easily understood. Higher cast_level
        means that your spells will be stronger and sometimes last longer. High cast
        levels will even help your mana regeneration. Cast_ability is just that, your
        ability to cast spells. With high cast_ability you will fail spells less often.
        Mana should be another no brainer, the more mana you have, the more spells you
        can cast. Mana regen may be a harder concept, but not a lot. First, most people
        do not want to sit around all day waiting to regenerate thier mana. Why else is
        the meditation room so popular?  The less time you spend regenerating mana, the
        more time you have to do other things, like kill big mobs or explore. The cast
        set is used to spell up before killing a mob, for summoning players, and for
        blasting. You usually don't kill for xp with this set, but sometimes use it to
        blast a mob that is weak versus spells. The general rule when spelling up is to
        try to be full of mana when you switch to you other set to kill stuff, whether it
        is solo or tank. The mana left over would be used to recast spells and heal
        yourself or the tank. You can almost say the cast set is complimentary to the
        other sets.

	Solo
	The solo set is the one of the two most important sets. The goal of the solo set
        is to get the lowest armor class while having high hitroll and damroll. The solo
        set is the most versatile set considering the many ways it is used. The most
        common use would be to run solo xp.  It may also be used to assist the tank.
        (Usually a few modifications are made to increase hitroll and damage roll at the
        expense of armor class). The solo set is also sometimes used to tank big mobs since
        the standard solo set for a level 100+ character is close to -200. The latest high
        level standard almost makes regular tank equipment obsolete.

	Tank
	The tank set takes many forms. You have the armor class, save, and hit point tank.
        For an armor class tank, the goal is to get the lowest ac possible. The high level
        standard for a good ac tank is about -300 ac. The ac tank is used against mobs that
        hit hard and fast. Since the basic idea for the tank is to soak up all the damage
        and not worry about hitroll and damroll, most tanks are backed up by spellers/hitters.

	The save tank is used against mobs that cast a lot of damaging spells. The set tries
        to get a decent amount of negative save spell (high level standard is about -20 save)
        and around -200 ac.

	The hit point tank is not that well known. This set is used against mobs that hit so
        hard that ac does not matter. The goal of this set is to get as much hit points as
        possible. (high level standard is about 1000 hit points) This set is not used much
        and only becomes handy against a few mobs, since other sets are more efficient against
        most mobs.

	Explore
	Explore sets are very simple. It is a set of equipment that is expendable. The explore
        set should be easily replaceable and should supply you with decent protection. The
        reason is that when you explore you should be ready to die and loose equipment.
        Explorers usually only wear their explore equipment. For this reason I like to have an
        explore set that has +sneak, +hide, +mana, +movement regen, and +mana regen. Sneak and
        hide so that it would be less likely to be seen. +Mana so that there is mana to cast
        spells. Mana regen so that there is always mana to cast spells. +Movement because you
        can't explore without movement.

NOTE: This article is just my opinion. Nothing written is set in stone. There are many
      exceptions to what I have said.


(Posted 7/13/00)