Player Killing
Do you want to see a totally different side of the mud? Do you want to compare your skills and speed to other players? Do you want to become a player killer? By signing the book located on Coruscant you can do so, and become one of the elite player killers. Signing is not recommended for new players, you should be familiar with the mud before you sign. The only prerequisites is that you must be level 4 or higher.
If you wish to remove your name from the book, you may do so without penalty (aside from the shame you'll feel inside).
Keep in mind, player killing is not for all people. By signing the book, you will become among the most loved, and hated on the mud. Should you decide to sign, there are a few things you should know. Here are some of the basics.
There is a range in which players can attack others. You can attack anybody from up to 4 primary levels below you, and anybody of higher level.
There are many items throughout the mud known as 'pk items'. Check panic pk_equipment for more information on them.
When you die to another player you lose no experience.
There are some long standing customs or etiquette for player killing. If you go link-dead (disconnect) while fighting or quit out (not in a "safe" area) you may be outcast (at the discretion of your team leader), and most pkers will be angry with you for taking the "coward's way out". It is also customary to give back all equipment to those you kill except for credits and pk equipment. You do not have to do so, but if you keep others' equipment, be prepared, those who kill you will keep your equipment!
These rules are not wiz-made rules, but rather rules that players themselves have enacted upon each other, so they are subject to change and are not written down anywhere in most cases, but pass from player to player. Check with your team's Player Council representatives or other PKers to learn what the current general etiquette is.
Once again, player killing is not for everyone. If you sign the book, plan to die a couple times. Don't get discouraged though, with every death, you get better! The best advice I can give you is ask an experienced player killer on your team to give you some advice, answer your questions, and help you attempt to kill others until you can figure it out yourself. Player killing opens up many possibilities in Role Play with clans.
There is nothing that can help you more, when you decide to pk, than general mud knowledge, and the surest way to obtain this is to play for a while and explore, this does not mean arriving at a planet and asking others where the bank or shop is, but actually looking for it yourself. Thorough exploration of commonly visited planets is one of the best ways to survive in pk, as you will know your environment as well as, if not better than, your opponent.
I don't believe that there is any set guild combination that makes you good or means you can't win, though there are certainly some race/guild combos that aren't likely to help. Assassins and bounty hunters have a wide variety of skills that will benefit you in a fight, but it is not necessary to be one or both of these guilds to be successful.
Check the killers list often to see who is around that could cause trouble. Truces are sometimes broken. As a player killer you are almost always either hunting or being hunted. Don't idle where anyone is likely to find you. If you see a member of another team, pk or not, expect that every pk on that team knows your location immediately.
Smugglers are your friends. Taking cabs can put a strain on your bank, but it pays off when you don't get caught in a shuttle fight that you can't win. Always have enough money on you to be able to cab off of the planet you're on. Don't put yourself in a corner because you forgot to carry that extra cash.
AVOID SOLEADA LIKE THE PLAGUE. This is the biggest mistake new pks make. If you're on Soleada and not in your condo, expect to be jumped. Quickly. This planet is naturally the second most frequented spot in the game, next to Coruscant. You will be seen there, you will be jumped there, and you will die there. I'd even advise using your Sluis or Death Star condos for storing equipment. There's no rule against killing someone that's unequipped, just a gentleman's agreement that is sometimes broken.
Hide skills are a big plus, though not required. Defels and Noghri reign supreme, otherwise give smuggler a lot of consideration for their hide. Unless you want to depend on always having a camo cloak, this is a sure way to avoid trouble, and more importantly there's no better way to approach an enemy than invisibly.
Another big help to me has always been my alias system. A lot of times in pk there's simply not time to type out full commands, so if you don't already do so, use aliases and even nicknames to make things quicker. Reflexes are extremely important, and will be trained over time, but one letter commands make everything simpler, assuming of course you remember which does what!
Essentially that's it. Preparation for fights, and knowing when to run, is well over half the battle in most cases. Especially at lower levels, many fights end quickly. Go in, invisibly if you can, drop a droid, and kill the bad guy. Bouncing is not only legal in pk, it's strongly encouraged. Pick a character to play and utilize every skill and item available to you as fully as you can, and HAVE FUN DOING IT.
No matter how good you are, you're gonna lose fights sometimes, even when you really shouldn't. Avoid viewing the enemy as bad people who you can bad mouth. They are trying to do the same thing as you: kill you for their own greater glory, and it's extremely bad form to insult their character just because they were successful this time. There will always be a rematch.
This panic file was written by Coug and Carnal, both long-time players and PKers of this mud.