The ability to fight monsters and other players is an important aspect of The 4th Coming. Combat is mostly done using the left mouse button. With it, you can move, attack and lock on certain targets until they die or you change targets.
IMPORTANT: In order to fight other players (within PvP limits; see below) or peaceful NPCs, you must toggle your combat mode on. You can do this by pressing the Combat Mode toggle (Ctrl-C). When a small sword appears in the lower right corner of your screen, you are in Combat Mode and can attack anyone (well, almost).
Note: This function only works when your mouse cursor is a sword (not a hand).
With the left mouse button, double-click on your opponent (be it a person or a monster). That opponent's outline becomes blue, indicating that the enemy has been targetted. Next time you left-click in that creature's area, your attack will automatically be on that enemy, even if there are several other hostile people or monsters around. This is especially useful when fighting several foes at the same time and you want to keep on attacking the same person or creature.
You can change targets at any time by double-clicking on another victim using your left mouse button. When your opponent dies, you lose your "default target" and may re-acquire a new one by double-clicking on a new enemy. If you wish to "deselect" someone, just double-click on the floor somewhere (make sure your Combat Mode is on so that your cursor still looks like a sword).
Attacking is done using the left mouse button. Simply click over an enemy when your cursor icon is a sword, and your character will immediately attack that victim. If you are too far, however, your character may have to move in order to catch your opponent.
When you hit an enemy, you will hear a special sound effect indicating you have successfully hit. Your chances to hit are determined by your Attack Skill and the defender's Dodge Skill (more on this later). The higher your Attack Skill, the higher the odds of successfully hitting someone (or something). The amount of damage varies based on your weapon's base damage, your strength attribute and, in the case of magical weapons, a variety of other factors (we're not telling).
You cannot "actively" defend against an attack (i.e. you don't have a "defend" button to click), but you can improve your chances of avoiding damage by raising your Dodge Skill (more on this later). You can also equip heavy armor to absorb damage. All armors have an Armor Class (AC) value which is subtracted from the damage you receive when you're hit. (Note that some spells are not affected by the armor you wear.)
Whenever someone takes damage, you will notice his (or her) outline gradually changing color, going from green (healthy) to red (near death). You should also pay close attention to your own Hit Points (HPs) bar (top right of your screen). As you become increasingly hurt, that bar will become shorter and turn from green to red. When you have no more Hit Points (HPs), you die.
Fortunately, in the world of The 4th Coming, death is not the end of the game. You carry with you a Gem of Destiny that teleports you to a safe haven (a "sanctuary") a fraction of a second before you die. At the beginning of the game, it teleports you back to the starting point (the temple in Lighthaven). Later on, NPCs allow you to change the location of that "sanctuary."
Player Versus Player (PvP) Settings
In a game that allows players to fight one another, there are necessary restrictions and rules to follow. Each T4C Server can be configured so that some users can only fight some others. The two PvP settings are: Minimum PvP Level and PvP Range.
Minimum PvP Level is the level up to which a user is completely safe from the attacks of other players. This feature ensures that newcomers to the game (also called newbies) do not get killed by veteran players as soon as they enter the game. Anyone below or equal to the Minimum PvP Value in levels cannot attack other players. Be sure to ask your service provider for the level at which PvP starts. For instance, if the minimum level has been set to 5, then players from level 1 to 5 cannot be attacked by other players (they can still be hurt by monsters, however).
PvP Range is a plus/minus value that determines the range of levels that a player can attack. For instance, if a player is level 13 and the PvP Range is set to 4, then that player can attack anyone from level (13 - 4 =) 9 to (13 + 4 =) 17. If any of the levels within the range falls within the Minimum PvP Level, these levels are inaccessible. For instance, if the example just above, if the Minimum PvP Level was 12, then the user would only be able to attack users from level 13 to 17.
These two settings vary for each T4C service provider. Be sure to ask your ISP representative about it.