PvP Basics
PvP on Ancients runs on an alignment system: you choose how much risk you're carrying before you step into a danger zone, and that choice decides who can hurt you and what you stand to lose.
The two overworlds — Forgotten Polis and Ancient Roads — are the heart of open PvP. Reach either through /warp; both run the alignment system. Fights can also break out inside the prison, but there they're policed by guards, and you can always settle a score consensually with a /duel.
This section covers where PvP happens, the alignment choices and their Season 2 bonus drops, the death penalty, combat tag, and combat logging.
Starting a fight
You can only start a fight with a sword or axe — opening hits with anything else are blocked. Once someone attacks you, a short retaliation window opens and you can fight back with whatever you like. Gang-mates can never hurt each other anywhere, with two carve-outs: an active /duel, and a same-gang cell raid where you're on opposite sides.
Alignment
You pick an alignment on entry, and it's locked until you leave and re-enter the zone. Each one trades safety against reward:
| Alignment | PvP | Mob damage | Bonus loot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilgrim | Off both ways | 25% less | None |
| Wanderer | On | Normal | 20% chance of a second loot roll |
| Defiler | On | Normal | 50% chance of a second loot roll, harshest death penalty |
For Season 2 the bonus-drop rates were reduced: the Defiler's second loot roll is now a 50% chance (was guaranteed) and the Wanderer's is 20% (was 30%).
Warping out
Leaving a zone has a warmup that depends on your path: roughly 15 seconds as a Wanderer and 20 seconds as a Defiler. These are alignment floors layered over your rank delay, and an outpost teleport-time buff can pull the real wait lower. The warmup cancels if you move or take damage — there are no instant escapes mid-chase.
Dying in a zone
Death inside Polis or Roads is expensive:
- Loot you gathered inside drops where you fell, for someone else to claim.
- What you brought in returns to you on respawn — except items you gave away during the visit.
- Defilers risk their gear. If the Defiler penalty applies, each weapon and armour piece has an independent 25% chance to drop.
- Every zone death is a 5-minute deathban from both zones and routes you back to prison spawn.
The penalty is capped by your killer's risk level. A Wanderer who kills a Defiler only triggers the lighter Wanderer penalty — your gear can't be taken by someone who wasn't risking their own. But dying to mobs as a Defiler costs the full Defiler penalty.
Combat tag
The moment you land or take a hit, you'll see "You are now in combat!". While tagged, escape commands are blocked — /home, /sethome, /warp, /mines, /spawn, /tpa, /tpahere, /tpaccept, /trade, /pv, /jet, and /cellvisit. The tag wears off shortly after the fighting stops.
Combat logging
Logging out doesn't save you. Disconnecting outside a safe zone — whether you're tagged or not — leaves a stand-in for about 20 seconds carrying your gear and health. If it's killed, you drop loot exactly as if you'd died, and your attacker gets the credit. If it survives, you resume where it left off when you log back in, including any damage it took.
Season 2 weapon notes
Combat balance shifted for Season 2:
- Bows are a real weapon now — arrows pierce most of a target's armour, so a well-drawn shot genuinely hurts geared players.
- Glass-cannon tradeoff: holding an Ancient bow makes you take +15% damage and a wand +10%. See Wands, Bows & the Glass-Cannon Tradeoff.
- Diamond and iron sword/axe base damage increased 10% — tune them further with weapon enchants.
- Wands and bows stay PvE-only — they do nothing to other players, so save them for bosses, shades, and caravans. Wand enchants only matter against mobs.
Open PvP also fuels events like KOTH and the Erebus Cap, where your alignment and your gang decide who you can hit. Stack the right gear before you step out.
Version history
v2.0.0
- Defiler and Wanderer bonus drops were reduced — the Defiler's second loot roll is now a 50% chance (was 100%) and the Wanderer's a 20% chance (was 30%).
- Bows are a real weapon now — arrows pierce most of a target's armour, so a well-drawn shot actually hurts geared players.
- Holding an Ancient bow makes you take +15% damage and a wand +10% (a spelled-out glass-cannon tradeoff); wands and bows remain PvE-only against players.
- Diamond and iron sword and axe base damage increased 10%.
- Damage-over-time ticks and magic damage were re-classified for combat buffs — DoTs no longer feed or break on-hit effects, and magic now counts as a real hit — and every duel now ends with PvP cooldowns fully reset.