Ginesh -> Death Points Explained[/b] - by Shadowlight (12/22/2003 2:22:56 PM)
The first thing you should know is that death points do not apply until you are rating 10 or higher.

There are two portions to the death system in Horizons: [*]death penalty [*]death point(s)[/list]I repeat TWO portions to death system the death penalty and death points. Do not get them mixed up.

Death points effect the death penalty in 2 ways first the % of penalty it starts at 5% and can go as high as 20%. The other way it affects the death penalty is the timer you get 5 min per death point.

The penalty is 5% for up to 10 death points, 10% for 11-20, etc., up to a maximum of 20%.

So the death penalty expires once the timer goes down to 0. However death points only go away at 1 per 8hrs. Death penalty and death points are both on a real world timer and count down whether or not you are online. Death penalty timer will reset to max if you die before time is up, the death point timer does NOT reset when you die. When you die, you receive a death penalty to all your skills and attributes for 5 minutes per death point you had. You also receive another death point, but it doesn't count in that calculation (in effect, the first one's "free").

So here is example to help you better understand.

You just died and now have 5 death points. So your death penalty is 10% for 20 min. Now 15 min have passed and your death penalty is almost gone. But all of a sudden a high level mob jumps out of nowhere and kills you. So now you have 6 death points and 25 min death penalty so you log off. Now 7hrs 50 min has passed since your first death when you log back on so your penalty is long gone and soon you will have 1 less death point. Bam, you die again getting another death point making your total death points 7 and your death penalty 35min. But in 10 more min 1 death point will disappear so you'll be down to 6 death points.

This system works well since it doesn't hurt you too much for too long but keeps you cautious by holding the death point over your head like a threat not to die again otherwise the penalty will be longer.

Food can reduce the death point timer. Each piece of food reduces the death point timer by 10 minutes but if you eat the same type of food within 5 minutes the second piece only reduces it by 5min. So getting a variety of foods is needed if you want to reduce the timer a lot or a large amount of one type of food. Also there is a powerful food item called ambrosia it reduces the timer by 2hrs so in effect each piece of ambrosia takes away one death point. You really shouldn?t worry about getting food unless u have more then 5 death point since even if u had 3 death point your penalty is only 10min which is nothing because by the time u get back to your hunting area it will have most likely expired.