GunZ: The Duel

GunZ: The Duel (International Edition)
File:Gunzforumlogo.jpg
Developer(s)	MAIET Entertainment
Publisher(s)	MAIET Entertainment
Designer(s)	Unknown
Engine	GunZ Engine
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	June 2005
Genre(s)	Shooter
Mode(s)	Online Multiplayer

GunZ is a Multiplayer Online Shooting/Role Playing Game (MOSRPG) created by Korean-based MAIET Entertainment. GunZ is currently free and in beta stages, and it will remain free for everyone to play. GunZ is played from a 3rd-Person view, with no clear way of changing this announced.

The game's most recognizable characteristic is the ability to perform gravity defying Matrix-esque stunts while in play that allow you to fight your opponents in a myriad of ways. However, to gain points you must defeat your fellow players, taking them on in a multitude of different game styles featuring different ranged and melee weapons.

By gaining XP, you also acquire bounty, which is the currency used in the GunZ world. The unit value given is said to be one-tenth of the XP you gain, but this up for debate. With bounty, you are given entertaining RPG style shops at which to buy new clothes, weapons and acessories. These include weapons such as dual-guns, rifles, long swords, kodachis, and grenades. You can also purchase health and ammo packs.

As in other role-playing games, with enough XP, you can also level up. This enables you to wield better weapons and wear better armour.

In the early stages of its International Version life, Gunz had problems coping with the mass influx of users. In the recently updated version of Gunz, this problem has been rectified and people are able to login with ease.

GunZ Updates

The company consists of around 12 people that only expected several hundred users to play their game during beta -- not several thousand.

In the June 9th, 2005 update, the GunZ team set up another server to deal with the high amount of users. Players could then choose between Server 1 and Server 2. However, users from different servers are not able to interact with one another.

In the June 20th, 2005 update, Server 3 and Server 4 were added.

Following the incredible popularity the game has faced, two more servers, Server 5 and Server 6, were added on July 29th, 2005. The update disabled the replay mode temporarily and changed the netcode.

In the August 04th, 2005 update, the launcher was fixed, presumably for future Japanese and Chinese language releases.

In the August 8th, 2005 update, a minor sound bug was fixed.

Weapons

In the game, there are 7 types of ranged weapons, 3 types of melee weapons, 3 types of grenades, and 2 types of accessories:

Ranged Weapons

• Shotgun: This weapon blasts out 12 low-damage pellets at a slow refire rate. The standard shotgun is called the "Breaker". The advanced version, the "Avenger", displays much higher firepower at the expense of reduced ammo. The weapon is very inaccurate. Shotgun blasts are soaked up easily by AP due to the low critical rate on the pellets. Close to mid range, although its potential and damage are highest in close range combat.
• Rocket Launcher: Shoots high damaging rockets that do splash damage with a low critical rate, and thus soaked up easily by AP. There are two versions, a high-ammo, mid-damage lighter model set with a decent fire rate, and a low-ammo, high-damage heavier model set with a slower fire rate. The user cannot run up walls and recieves a movement speed penalty of -10%. Strictly a mid range weapon, as being too close may result in damaging oneself and being too far makes it very predictable.
• Submachine gun: Sprays out bullets at low accuracy at a 80 to 120ms delay. The dual wield versions are very powerful during the first 10 levels or so. Multiple different models offer different fire rates, weapon damage, accuracy, weight and clip size. They are close to mid range weapons, as they are hard to dodge at mid-range due to the "damage cone".
• Pistol: A fair-damage weapon with decent repeat rate; often a starting weapon. They are fairly accurate, more accurate than revolvers but not as threatening on the damage scale. They have a decent critical rate. The weapon's greatest strength is that it is adequate in close, mid and long ranges.
• Revolver: A high-damage weapon with few rounds. They have an incredibly good critical rate, often ignoring AP entirely. Can be dual wielded. An alternative series of Revolvers, the Dynax series, offers higher clip size and refire rate at the cost of some damage. They are somewhat accurate and thus can be used fairly well at close and long range, but their real strength lies in mid range combat.
• Rifle: The most accurate weapon also has the pleasure of having the gun with the best fire rate. The most accurate and quick to fire model, the Maxwell, is also the most popular, although other models offer more damage per bullet and varying clip sizes. It does decent damage and is suitable at close and mid range, although it is most useful at long range.
• Machinegun: The biggest automatic weapon is available only to characters who have achieved levels 25 and higher. The user cannot run up walls and recieves a movement speed penalty of -10%. This gun is the most inaccurate machine gun, shooting at medium delay, but the biggest advantage is its huge clip size -- it rarely, if ever, needs to reload, and thus can be held down and fired for a very long time before needing to reload. There is only one model, and each new machinegun simply increases the damage dealt per bullet. Close to mid range weapon, particularly because they are hard to dodge at mid-range due to the "damage cone".

Melee Weapons

• Dagger: Stabs opponents. The primary attack is a stab and can has uses from stopping enemies from attacking, persuading enemies to draw their melee weapon or infinitely stabbing enemies in a corner. The alternate attack is a lunge that knocks your opponent back severely and leaves him open for enemy fire, although this attack has terrible recovery and can easily be safe-falled. You can use it to climb walls by jumping at a wall and right-clicking. Close range.
• Sword: Slashes at opponents. The primary attack is a normal slash which can be done four times for an attack string. The alternate attack is an uppercut that sends your opponent flying into the air (they cannot move even if they safe-fall in mid-air, and thus uppercutting people off into pits is a popular tactic), which leaves your enemies prone mid air or on the floor if they did not safe fall, where they can be shot or followed up with a mid-air attack. You can use it to climb walls by jumping at a wall and right-clicking. Close range.
• Kodachi: Two swords instead of one. The primary attack consists of a very quick slash with very low delay that can be repeated often if timed correctly, or can be done five times as an attack string. The alternate attack is a quick cross-slash that knocks your enemies into the air much like a sword uppercut. It has shorter range than normal swords. You can use it to climb walls by jumping at a wall and right-clicking. Close range.

All melee weapons excluding knives can deflect bullets by holding down block, however they will not block bullets striking your lower area or anywhere besides your front area. They can also be charged up for a more powerful attack by holding down attack or blocking an enemy's melee attack.

Grenades

• Grenade: Thrown and after a set amount of time blows up, dealing damage to anyone in the vicinity of the explosion.
• Flash Grenade: Bursts into a flash of light, blinding and deafening anyone in the vicinity.
• Smoke Grenade: Bursts into a cloud of smoke, blurring the vision of that area.

Accessories

• Health Kit: Restores 10 HP per drop. Comes in packs of 2, 3, and 4. Useful in Team and Assassination games as a means to stay alive longer.
• Repair Kit: Restores 10 AP per drop. Comes in packs of 2, 3, and 4. Sometimes useful in conjuction with Health Kits.

Techniques

One of the key features of Gunz is the ability to execute many different wire-fu acrobatic stunts featured within the game.

Vertical Wallrun

While running straight against a wall hold forward and press jump.

Horizontal Wallrun

While running at about a 45 degree angle to a wall hold forward and jump.

Wall Jump

While in the air next to a wall press jump.

Wall Climb

While in the air next to a wall and equipped with a melee weapon press and hold right click to stick to the wall. Hold forward and jump again and right click again to repeat the process.

Tumble

With a ranged weapon equipped double tap forward, sideways, or back to perform a tumble in that direction.

Dash

With a melee weapon equipped double tap forward, sideways, or back to dash in that direction.

Cancelling Techniques

Expanding on the original techniques, the Korean Style is a style that's mostly based off a programming oversight within GunZ: cancelling moves. Much like in Fighting Games such as Street Fighter, this allows you to cancel a move into another, or even allows you to repeat certain moves or activate moves where you shouldn't be able to, thus creating complex combo moves.

Basics Behind Cancelling

Guash with a sword or kodachis, you may dash as long as your previous 'dash' has ended.rd Cancelling

At any point during a slash with a sword or kodachis, you may immediately cancel the animation by pressing BLOCK.

Switch Cancelling

At any point during a slash with a sword or kodachis, you may immediately cancel the animation by SWITCHING WEAPONS.

Slash Cancelling

At any point during a jump off a wall from either a wall jump or a wallrun, you can cancel the fixed state of either and regain movement control in the air by slashing.

Dash Cancelling

At any point during a s

Movement Techniques

Infinite Walljump / Flying

( JUMP -> SLASH -> DASH ) This consists of cancelling a Wall Jump with a slash. Slashing cancels the neutral state of the Wall Jump that doesn't allow you to do anything, which allows you to dash back towards the wall to jump again. You are able to repeat this indefinitely. An advanced version of this technique has people executing the "quick slash" immediately after the slash. It is possible to dash into the wall and jump off it sideways, and you are also able to Full Step (Slashshoot) mid-air while executing this.

Flash Step

( JUMP -> DASH -> SLASH -> SWITCH TO GUN -> SWITCH TO SWORD ) Based on the Quickslash in the Combat Class of techniques, this allows you to move forward quickly as though dashing by suspending you in the air slightly longer during the weapon switches in the momentum and movement caused by your previous dash, and also has the added effect of putting sword damage in your movement trajectory.

Light Step

( JUMP -> DASH -> SLASH -> DASH ) Allows you to dash twice during one jump by cancelling the slash with another dash. Most obvious use is for irregular dodging / movement.

Advanced Light Step

( JUMP -> DASH -> SLASH -> JUMP -> DASH ) A variation of the Light Step that allows easier transition between Light Steps.

Aerial Horizontal Wallrun

( DASH TOWARDS WALL IN MIDAIR AT ANGLE -> WALL JUMP -> JUMP ) Allows you to execute a wallrun. This is curiously done by cancelling the very first frames of a Wall Jump with an attempt to Wallrun.

Superdash

( FALL -> DASH REPEATEDLY ) After falling for a fairly long period of time (2-3 seconds), your model's animation will freeze and you will be able to dash indefinitely, regardless of what weapon you're wielding. Effective to reload on a long fall, such as on the wall at the stairs in Dungeon.

Combat Techniques

Full Step (Slash Shot)

( MIDAIR SLASH (HOLD) -> SWITCH TO GUN -> GUN WILL SHOOT -> SWITCH TO SWORD ) The basis of almost all quick-movement combat within the game, this is one of the first types of cancelling most people learn. It consists of cancelling a mid-air slash (with the mouse button held down) immediately into a weapon switch, then waiting for the shot to go off before switching back to your sword to move again.

Butterfly Step

( JUMP -> DASH -> SLASH -> BLOCK ) The best use of guard cancelling available, this allows you to continuously cancel slashes into guards, giving you very short slash attacks very repetitively while allowing you to move forward or dodge side to side.

Half Step

( MIDAIR SLASH (HOLD) -> SWITCH TO GUN -> DASH -> GUN WILL SHOOT -> SWITCH TO SWORD ) One of the first variations on the Full Step, this allows you to dash as you draw your gun to shoot, giving you a quick dodging opportunity mid-switch.

Half Half Step

( MIDAIR SLASH (HOLD) -> SWITCH TO GUN -> JUMP -> DASH -> GUN WILL SHOOT -> SWITCH TO SWORD ) This variation of the Half Step allows you to string multiple Half Steps together.

Million Step

( MIDAIR SLASH (HOLD) -> SWITCH TO AUTOMATIC GUN -> JUMP -> DASH -> HOLD FIRE ) The execution may not be completely accurate. The move is described by Kraise simply as "unstop Half Half Step with rifles or 120 gun" which is rather unintelligible. The gist, however, is being able to aim and land a perfect stream of quick bullets, much like how slash-shooting intends to land the perfect shotgun blast.

Quickslash

( MIDAIR SLASH -> SWITCH TO GUN -> SWITCH TO SWORD ) This makes any sword attack incredibly shorter by cancelling your full slash recovery into the delay of your weapon draw.

Swapshot

( SHOOT -> SWITCH TO OTHER GUN -> SHOOT -> SWITCH TO OTHER GUN -> SHOOT -> ... ) This technique allows you to consecutively fire two high-delay weapons in an alternating fashion, allowing you to output a high amount of damage in a short amount of time. Effective with things like Shotguns, Revolvers, Rockets or a combination of the three.

Launch Combo

( SWORD / KODACHI LAUNCH -> SWITCH TO GUN -> SHOOT ) This nasty technique requires a decent amount of control on the mouse and good aim, and simply allows you to shoot an enemy down mid-air after a launch. Rifles will keep an enemy aloft in the air for some time if hit directly from below and followed properly. Popularized by Kraise but not often used by anyone else, probably due to the difficulty of aiming properly with the little bit of lag present.

Instant Kill

( MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK -> SWORD LAUNCH -> SWITCH TO GUN -> SHOOT -> SWITCH TO OTHER GUN -> SHOOT ) This is the proper execution given for the deadly "Instant Kill", essentially an expansion of the Launch Combo and almost completely guaranteed to land. It is one of Kraise's most masterful attacks. After a counterattack done with a massive attack off a block, you can dash in and launch your opponent into the air and shoot them twice in mid-air. Because this is often done with shotguns, the amount of damage done in total is so high that very often you can completely kill an opponent through this method, particularly when using higher level guns such as the Avenger series.

External links

• GunZ Online Homepage
• GunZ: International Edition
• GunZFactor - Fansite/Fan Forum