Mobile Bashes

Have you ever arrived onto MUD2 mid-evening on a Thursday night and wondered what one earth was going on? The chances are that you had arrived during the middle of a "mobile bash", one of the most commonly run MUD2 events held most Thursday at 9pm.

So, what is a mobile bash? Bash everything in the game that is mobile? Well not quite … Bashing players, although is not forbidden (usually) in a mobile bash is nevertheless not encouraged, there are events specifically for this purpose called Sorcerer Wars (see Sorcerer Wars) The term mobile actually refers to the animals and "monsters" of The Land, and a mobile bash is where the whole MUD2 community joins forces in order to kill every last mobile in The Land during one reset for a prize of 3000 points each (as well as the points gained whilst actually killing the mobiles).

There are two types of mobile bash, the official organised ones that occur on a Thursday evening often with a wiz presence and an elected bash-general, and the spontaneous ones that can happen at any time where a group of players get together and decide to attempt a bash. Any number of people of three and above can successfully complete a mobile bash (you need at least three players to be able to kill the golem). I have taken part in a spontaneous mobile bash where there were only two of us and we killed every mobile except the golem with about 2 minutes to spare! And it has been rumoured that on MUD2.com one player on his own killed every mobile minus the golem! A wiz presence is not needed for a mobile bash to run as every player present in The Land who has killed a mobile during that reset will automatically receive their 3000 point bonus at the bash completion, but a wiz usually "runs" the mobile bash on a Thursday in order to elect a bash-general (a mortal who leads everyone else) and often to give out extra incentives.

How does a mobile bash happen? Every Thursday that a mobile bash is scheduled the game resets at approximately 9pm. This usually means that the previous reset is cut short or extended so a new reset can begin at 9pm. At the start of the reset there is a flurry of activity as everyone tries to find themselves a weapon and other useful items. As a newcomer to mobile bashes just acquiring a weapon is a good start and other items can be worried about when more experienced at the game. The more easily found weapons such as the axe in or near The Woodsman's Hut and the dagger just east of the swamp tend to be claimed very quickly but there are a number of axes and other weapons in and around the formal gardens beyond the Italian villa Il Castellare, various garden tools and other assorted weapons beyond the great gate in the Pagoda grounds and many knives to be found in the goblin realm, but these are usually held by goblins so you'll need to kill them first! Don't worry if you can't find a weapon to start off with, even just a brand will make do until you find something better later on.

Whilst this bout of activity is going on there will be calls and nominations for a bash-general. This will be the mortal who organises everyone in the killing spree. They will generally organise groups of players to kill groups of mobiles, will keep everyone up to date with how many mobiles are left and how much time there is left to kill them in.

Many experienced players will go off on their own and kill their various favourites or will lead groups of players to tackle the harder mobiles. As a newbie it is probably better to find a group of players and stick with them. This way you can contribute to the mobile bash and hopefully learn about some new areas in The Land along with what mobiles reside there. If you bump into a group of players during your travels ask them if you can tag along. You will normally be asked to ACC their leader, ACC is the abbreviation for accompany. Typing ACC <player's name> will ensure that you keep up with the group. If you can't find a group to join ask the bash-general if there are any groups and you can join. Explain that you are new, or alternatively hanging around places such as The Woodsman's Hut or The Rapids will usually ensure that you bump into a friendly group. These are popular meeting places of mobile bashing groups.

As a mobile bash progresses, more and more mobiles will be slaughtered often leaving predictable groups alive towards the end of the reset usually along with one or two of the more obscure or forgotten mobiles. To monitor the number of mobiles left alive type SV (for survivors) and typing RESET tells you how much time is left in the reset. Invariably mobiles such as the sea life, spider and basilisk are left to last, and there are always commonly forgotten mobiles that can leave the SV count at 1 until the very last minute. Often this last elusive mobile turns out to be something as simple as a zombie or bee. During these last few minutes you will see people who have magical powers frantically making magical gestures. They will probably be working through their mental list of mobiles and WHERE-ing them, that is using the WHERE spell to locate them. For example is they suspected the snugglepuss to still be alive and she was, this is how the game would respond to the where spell:

wh snugglepuss 1 in the place known as "nanny's room".

but if she were dead it would say:

wh snugglepuss Your spell doesn't find any.

There are ways for players without magic to use the where spell, one of these involves a magical artefact of which there is a reference to in the Libram which is found in The Study in The Cottage. The other way involves drinking a source of magical power ...

As the reset nears to an end and tension mounts, people gather at The Rapids to compare notes on what they have killed in an effort to rule out what is left alive and calls are made for the wizzes to extend the reset. The reset is actually automatically extended when the SV count is below a certain level.

When finally the last elusive mobile has been sought and slaughtered the game erupts into cheers and everyone who partook in the bloodbath earns themselves a bonus of 3000 points provided they are in The Land.

The mobile bashes are a great community event, a chance to meet other players, to learn more about the game and to earn yourself a nice little bounty if you put in the effort in. But remember that if you are new it is highly recommended to team up with other players otherwise you could spend most of the reset wandering around lost listening in frustration to the shouts informing the players what is left alive. Also, don't forget to type FLEE if you find yourself in trouble and losing a fight!