The Black Death Advanced Guide

This tutorial is designed to guide you through the basics of the game, occupying you from the moment you spawn into the starting area of Freeman's Port, to learning how to survive, building your first house all the way up to pillage areas and more!

Introduction

Welcome to The Black Death! This official tutorial is designed for new players who have just recently joined the game. It will guide you through the basics of the game and teach you to craft, gather resources, get gold and build houses.

Here are some of the links that you may find useful:
Official Discord - https://discord.gg/G3vsTZ
Twitter - www.twitter.com/PlayBlackDeath
Facebook - www.facebook.com/playtheblackdeath/
Official Website - http://www.small-impact.com/BlackDeath/

Note: This guide is likely to be further developed and updated. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact one of our Community Managers.

1. Game Launcher & Keybindings

The Black Death Game Launcher

Here you can customise your Window Mode, Resolution, Graphical Settings, Keybindings and Set up a LAN Server.

The Game Launcher should have picked the recommended settings for The Black Death based on your PC Hardware the first time that you run the launcher. If you feel these settings are incorrect, use the sliders to change them.

Basic Controls & Default Keybindings

These are the basic controls for The Black Death.

If you are using a keyboard that has an "Azerty" layout there is a Quick Switch option for this in the Game Launcher, in the Keyboard tab.

If you are having issues using the AZERTY switch setting. Check this Steam sticky post here: How To Reset Quick Slot Keybindings (AZERTY Setup)

Movement:
Walk Forwards: W
Walk Left: A
Walk Right:D
Walk Backwards: S
Jump: Space Bar
Sprint: Left Shift (Needs to be held down)

Camera:
The Camera is controlled by using your mouse to look around.
To see behind you whilst you are sprinting you can tap the Right Ctrl key once and the Camera will be "unlocked". To move the Camera around your character when you are stationary simply tap the Right Ctrl key once.

This is also useful if you would like to take screenshots where your character is facing forwards towards you.To "snap" the camera back behind your character to how it was before, just tap the Right Ctrl key again.

Other Controls:
Toggle Crouching: C
To Loot items / Harvest Resources / Open Containers: E
Use Emote Wheel: Q
To Hide the main HUD: N
To Enter Chat Messages: Enter Key
Inventory: I
World Map: M
Guild Menu: O
Push To Talk (Voice Chat): V (Needs to be held down / Is not a Toggle)
Console Command Window: ` (Tilde Key)

Extra Information

To change any of the Default Keybindings in The Black Death, select "Game Launcher" after clicking "Play" on Steam. When the Game Launcher loads go to the "Keyboard" tab. Click on the keybinding you would like to change, then click on the Key on the right hand side and then when prompted press the new key you would like to use on either your Keyboard or Mouse.



If you ever need the original Keybindings you can find them here on this guide! Or alternatively you can find them over here on our Steam sticky post: The Black Death Default Keybindings

If you are experiencing any issues with your Keyboard in terms of assigning your Keybindings, please send us a Bug Report Here! [docs.google.com]

2. An Overview Of The User Interface & Context Menus

This is the main User Interface of The Black Death and the screen you will be seeing the most as you play. Here is a breakdown of each element of the games UI. The numbers on the edited screenshot are referenced by their sections below.

1. Version Number
This simply states the current version of the game. A more detailed version of this can be found by pressing the Esc key when playing in game. This can be found on the line above your current Co-ordinates.

For example:
Version V0.31 (Live) # 180713.162659

18 ¦ 07 ¦ 13. 16 ¦ 26 ¦ 59

Breaking down the numbers at the end creates this. This particular Build Version was created on the 13th July 2018 at 4:26 PM.

2. Navigator/Compass & Location
The Navigator in The Black Death acts as a compass. When turning the camera you will see the North, East, South and West letters change. Bringing up your World Map when using the Navigator can make exploring the world of Mercia easier. The white exclamation mark on the Navigator points you towards your current Quest objective. Follow the direction of this as well as the white outlines of your quest target.

The Location name under the Navigator simply lets you know what region of the world you are currently in.

3. Server Chat Box
This is the Chat Box for the server you are currently playing on. Each server has a separate chat. To send a message to other players on the server simply press the Enter key on your keyboard, then type your message and press Enter to send it.

4. Combat Skills
These icons are the combat skills for your current equipped weapon. When you have no weapon equipped you can use your bare fists for fighting. These attacks are a quick left jab and a right swing.

These are unique to each weapon type ranging from Clubs, Swords, Maces, Axes, Knifes and more. Each weapon type now has it's own set of attacks. Some weapons such as the Knifes can be aimed and thrown using the third attack!

These range from bleeding attacks, stuns, knock-backs and knock-downs. These are represented on the HUD on the left of the Quick Slot Bar. If you mouse over these attack icons, each one has it's own tooltip which can be viewed by hovering over the icons when in your Inventory.

5. Quick Slot Bar
This is the new Quick Slot Bar that was introduced in update V0.24 Onslaught. It displays your current Gold, days survived and weight on the top bar. The thin line between the top bar and slots fills up as you gain XP, this is green in colour.

The slots at the bottom can be used to quickly use weapons, tools and food and drink items. Pressing the default Inventory key I and dragging your weapons, tools, food and drink to the slots from 2 through 6 makes them more accessible without the need to open your inventory to switch.

Weapon and Tool durability is also shown on the Quick Slot Bar as well as your Foods decay rate which is show in real-time. For example, if you drag your Woodaxe, a stack of 5 Bread Rolls, some Water and a Stick Club to your Quick Slot Bar, you can gather Wood from Wood Logs whilst you keep an eye on your food decaying whilst having a quick use of these items as well as a weapon to switch to can make gameplay feel much more fluid.

6. Thirst, Hunger & Wellness

Thirst is displayed with a water droplet and your hunger is displayed as an apple. These slowly decrease as times passes. The more you sprint/run in game the quicker these will drop. 100 is the maximum "fullness" your character can have for both of these attributes. As soon as either of these drops to 0% your Health Bar will start to decrease, find some food and/or water quickly to avoid your character dying!

The red bar underneath is your Health Bar. This decreases from right to left, once this hits the far left your Character will be killed. any unspent Skill Points, currently held items and Gold will all be removed. A Loot Bag will drop alongside your Character's corpse. If you are quick you may be able to loot your belongings back if you are quick enough as these will despawn after a set time. Other adventurers might take the opportunity to grab your Loot Bag, so be quick!

Keeping your Character in good health is very important in The Black Death. Infection can be fatal! Enemy NPC's such as Bandits, Beggars, Monks and Templar's are fierce foes in the land of Mercia. Plagued Beggars and Peasants may cough and even throw up on you and infect you, so beware! Village Folk in towns are often sickly, if you walk past them in towns they may throw up on you!

Stage 1 sickness will cap your health at 25%, this means that you will need to keep a close eye on your food, thirst and infection level. If you catch the plague again you will encounter…

Stage 2 sickness. This is hard to recover from, your character will start to cough and vomit more, you can take this as an opportunity to find other healthy adventurers and infect them too, or try to craft or steal a cure!

Crafting Cotton Swabs, a Level 2 skill in the Plague Doctor tree is a must! These will help to keep your health up while you recover. Bandages are a better version of these and can be learnt further down the Plague Doctors skill line.

7. Quest Tracker
This is the Quest Tracker, this displays your current quest and your objectives. There are around 3 hours worth of quests in game currently! (This will be expanded further in the future).

8. Stable Ground Indicator
This is the Stable Ground indicator. This will appear above your Quick Slot Bar when you are stood on Stable Ground. The large cobblestone ground indicates places where you are able to build in game, these are flat areas where you can build a base! These range from Houses, Castles and Kingdoms!

9. Unspent Skill Points
You will see this indicator on the right hand side of your Quick Slot Bar, when you have Skill Points that you have free to spend. Remember, if your character dies, you will lose these if they are not spent!

10. Current World Event Tracker
This displays the current World Event that is happening on the server. Press M to open your World Map, the flashing exclamation mark shows where the current World Event location is. Use your Navigator/Compass and follow the direction of the white exclamation mark to get to the event!

Content Menus

Right clicking on items in your Inventory will bring up a Context Menu. This includes options such as: Use, Drop, Split and Stash. Note: Stash is only available when using a House Storage Chest or Container. Items that are stashed into containers in the wild such as Crates and Barrels will NOT be saved, these are not safe places and are refreshed by the servers to prevent too much data!

2.i An Overview Of The User Interface - Part 2

Character Journal Breakdown



Here is the Journal and Inventory screen. A breakdown of each element of this UI screen can be seen below. The numbers on the edited screenshot are referenced by their sections below.

1. Recipe Category Filter
This is the Recipe type filter. From here you can select to display recipes from different types.

Going from left to right these are:

• Weapons
  
• Clothing & Armour
  
• Tools & Extras
  
• Plague Doctor Tools & Healing Items
  
• Meals & Food Ingredients
  
• Housing
  
• Crafting Materials

2. Recipes List
This is the recipes list. When you select one of the recipe categories above, the recipes list will change according to the chosen category. If you select Weapons, all the craftable weapons will appear in the recipes tab. Recipes you have unlocked will have a name, icon, and item quality colour. Recipes you have not yet unlocked will show the name with a padlock over the items icon.
Clicking on a locked recipe will tell you how many points in that specific Profession you need to unlock that recipe. Skill Points that you gain are used to unlock recipes in your Professions.

3. Chosen Character Profession
This section shows the Profession that you chose when you created your Character, which is what your base attribute stats are from, some Professions also have bonuses too! The large icon on the left represents your Profession with it’s name, your Steam name is under this too. On the far right is your unspent Skill Points as well as an XP bar under this.

4. Attributes System
The attributes system was introduced in the V0.25 update named Attributes! These allow you to spend your Skill Points in specific stats that you would like to level up. Skill Points are also used to learn recipes when upgrading Professions. Make sure you know where you want to spend your Skill Points. Once a skill is learned or an attribute point is spent, you cannot reset what you have already spent.

5. Professions
This tab is the Professions tab, where you can spend your Skill Points on levelling Professions. When you spend a Skill Point in these a pop-up notification will appear letting you know which recipe’s you have just learned.

6. Crafting Window
This is the crafting window for recipes to be made. If we had 1x Dirty Water and were close to a Camp Fire or crafted our own Camp Fire (This can be unlocked in the Hunter Profession tab) we could craft some Clean Water. Some recipes require the use of a Crafting Station such as a Workbench, Loom, Tannery, Anvil, Furnace, Pestle & Mortar & Camp Fire. These can be built as Nodes on your House (more on this later!).

Some recipes such as Cotton Swab, Stick Club and the Torch do not require the use of a Crafting Station and can be crafted on the move. You can also queue a craft. For example, if you have 5 Cotton Swabs you can use the Plus icon next to the items name and choose how many of an item you would like to craft at once and then click "Craft". You can then leave the stack to craft on it's own whilst you carry on playing. There will be a small icon on the far left of your screen that will show you the countdown timer for the current craft with an icon of the item.

7. Chat Box
This is the Chat Box from the main HUD of the game. This can also be used whilst you are in the Journal/Inventory screen.

8. Navigator / Compass
The Navigator in The Black Death acts as a compass. When turning the camera you will see the North, East, South and West letters change. Bringing up your World Map when using the Navigator can make exploring the world of Mercia easier. The white exclamation mark on the Navigator points you towards your current Quest objective. Follow the direction of this as well as the white outlines of your quest target.

The Location name under the Navigator simply lets you know what region of the world you are currently in. If you are not in a named town "The Wilderness" will be shown, if you are in a Region outside of the boundaries of Region areas shown on the World Map.

9. Inventory
This is your Inventory window. At the very top you can see your Gold, which is also displayed on the top of your Quick Slot Bar. Your current weight and max weight capacity (this can be expanded, more on that later!).

Your Equipment Slots are also shown here under your Gold and Carry Weight. Click and drag Armour, Shields and Ammo onto these to equip them. If you have any armour or clothing items you can click and drag these into their respective slots. To un-equip a piece of armour or clothing simply drag it from its slot back into your Inventory!

When you start to gather items such as food, drink, weapons, and resources they will all be displayed in here. Items such as armour and more durable weapons such as Swords and Maces are heavier than smaller items such as food and drinks.

10. Combat Skills & Tooltips
These are the Combat skills for the currently equipped weapon. If you are not currently using a weapon these skill icons will look like the ones in the screenshot. These are the default Skills for unarmed combat.

If you go into your Inventory by pressing the default key of I, and then mouse over these skill icons you will be able to read what the skills do. These differ from each weapon type, unarmed, Swords, Clubs, Maces, Axes and Warhammer's each have their own set of skills. The Left Click attack is usually a quick attack, the Right Click is usually your Blocking ability and the Thumb Mouse Button (this can be changed in the Game Launcher) is your special attack. This can be a bleed, knock-back or stun attack and will have a longer cooldown than your left click attack.

11. Quick Slot Bar
This was discussed in detail in the first part of this section "An Overview Of The User Interface" for what each icon and part of the Quick Slot Bar does. Whilst in this screen it is possible to click and drag items such as food, drink, weapons, and healing items to the slots from 2 through 6.

12. Thirst, Hunger & Wellness
This was discussed in detail in the first part of this section "An Overview Of The User Interface" for what each icon and part of this UI element does. This is displayed in the Journal/Inventory screen to help you keep an eye on your vitals whilst you are in this screen.

13. Unspent Skill Points
If you have any Skill Points that you have not yet spent, they will be displayed here when you are in your Inventory window.

14. Profession Icon
This icon represents your characters current Profession. In this screenshot the Beggar icon is displayed.

15. Extra Details
The top line displays your current Profession, here this is the Beggar. The line under this displays your Steam name, and the last line displays your characters current Armour value, based on what armour you currently have equipped in your Equipment Slots.

Shopkeeper Windows

Here are two examples of Merchant shops! One vendor sells food and drink items and sometimes seeds (more on those later!) and the other sells Armour, Weapons, Tools and some crafting materials.

The food and drink items vary in their pricing. Food items such as carrots, parsnips and apples are some of the lower value food items. Bread Rolls, Cooked Fish, Cooked Meat and Cheese cost a bit more. Finally items such as Raspberry Pie, Porridge and Mince Pies cost the most. As the price goes up the higher quality the meal is. If you are very hungry you may need to eat several Apples, or you could purchase a Mince Pie and be full up in one meal, tasty!

2.ii - An Overview Of The User Interface - Part 3

Emote Wheel & VOIP

There are 2 different Emote Wheels in The Black Death. The first one can be accessed by pressing the default keybinding of Q when in game. The emotes you can use are: Hello, Hands Up, Follow Me, Stop, Insult, Clap and Laugh.



The second Emote Wheel can be found when you are Crouching. These Emotes are: Wave, You, Me, Look, Sshhh, Stop and Kill. These are good if you are sneaking around a players base ready for an attack and are ideal for RP too. The You and Me Emotes are pointing gestures.

These can be used if you do not have a microphone or just simply do not want to use voice chat.

VOIP/Voice Chat (Voice Over IP) is set as a default to the keybinding of V in game. Holding down the V key in game allows you to transmit your voice to other players on the server as long as they are close by in game.

These settings are usually configured using your Steam Settings. You can get to these by pressing "View" and then "Settings" and then "Voice". Making sure that you have these setup as well as your Windows Audio settings is a good idea when using your microphone on The Black Death.

3. Getting Started & Navigation

Upon spawning you will find yourself at Freeman’s Port. It is a small town but has all you need when starting out!

Freeman's Port features a few Crafting Stations (Anvil, Furnace, Workbench & Campfire) a variety of Merchants to purchase goods from, a Well for fresh water, streams running through town as a source of water and a Town Earl to buy contracts and Land Claims for housing!

World Map



This is the World Map of Mercia!

There are a lot of elements to the World Map, icons are shown as a Legend/Key on the far right hand side, these tell you which vendors and NPCs can be found in different towns. There are some settings on the map that can be toggled, to make it clearer to see. The top Guilds on the server can been seen in the top right hand corner too (More on Guilds later!)

Your eyes are probably drawn to the large plague volume at the bottom of the map. This shows the spread of the Plague on a server, along side World Events, this infected area spreads making areas dangerous! (More on Infected Areas later!)

The main capital of Mercia is called Raven's Reach. To the left of this there is Freeman's Port, this is the starting area of the game.

Reaper's Rest, Duffus Castle Ruins and The Black Gate are Raid Areas in The Black Death (more on these later!)

Pathways are marked in the solid orange lines and Regional zones are outlined in grey. The black icons represent Towns, Cities, Camps and Points Of Interest on the Map.

Using the Navigator/Compass at the top of the main HUD and also Regional Zones (these appear under the Navigator to let you know which Region you are currently in) and Signposts combined should make things easier to explore. North, East, South and West are setup to be correct on the World Map. For example, If you keep going North you will eventually get to the Sea at the top of the Map. If you go to the far East, you will end up in the snowy regions of Baften and Frostfall, far West is Reaper's Rest and to the South down the centre of the Map, if you follow the river you will get to Laketown.

Navigator/Compass & Location



The Navigator in The Black Death acts as a compass. When turning the camera you will see the North, East, South and West letters change. Bringing up your World Map when using the Navigator can make exploring the world of Mercia easier. The white exclamation mark on the Navigator points you towards your current Quest objective. Follow the direction of this as well as the white outlines of your quest target.

The Location name under the Navigator simply lets you know what region of the world you are currently in.

Signposts



This is an example of a Signpost in the world. These have town and city names on them and if you follow the footpaths you will end up at these locations. Some towns such as Raven's Reach havetheir own Signposts, as this is the capital city it is quite a large place and these can be very helpful!

Using the World Map, Navigator/Compass and Signposts can give you a better understanding of where locations are in the world.

4. Tips For Surviving Day & Night

Here are a few tips for surviving during the day and at night.

Crafting plays a big part in The Black Death and spending your early Skill Points in the right areas can make a lot of difference in helping you to survive.

Crafting a few Stick Clubs, Torches and Cotton Swabs is a must, and making sure you have enough food and drink with you is also important! Crafting the first Inventory upgrade, the Small Bag is also a good idea if you would like to carry more around with you, this is especially good for gathering materials for your House (more on Houses later!).

Crafting Essentials For Surviving

The recipes below that are unlocked from the very start are:

• Stick Club
  
• Stick Torch
  
• Berry Jam
  
• Mushroom Soup

The recipes below that require Skill Points to unlock are:

• Cotton Swabs
  
• Small Bag

The recipes below that require the use of a Crafting Station are:

• Berry Jam
  
• Mushroom Soup
  
• Small Bag

Stick Clubs

The Stick Club recipe can be found in the first recipe category "Weapons", the icon with 2 axes crossed.

Stick Clubs are made from crafting a single Stick into a Club.

Sticks can be found from Stick Piles all around the world, in The Wilderness, from Bandit corpses and in lootable containers such as Crates and Barrels.

Stick Torches

The Stick Torch recipe can be found in the third recipe category "Tools", the icon with a pickaxe and mallet crossed.

Torches are made from crafting 1x Kindling and 1x Stick into a Torch.

Kindling can be found in Crates and Barrels around the world in cities, towns, bandit camps, pillage areas and raid areas.

Sticks can be found from Stick Piles all around the world which can be found in The Wilderness, forests and alongside footpaths. Sticks can also be looted from Bandit corpses and found in containers such as Crates and Barrels. Sometimes when looting a Bandits corpse you may find a crafted Stick Club or a better weapon!

Cotton Swabs

Cotton Swabs are unlocked in the Doctor tree and require 1 Skill Point to unlock.

A Cotton Swab is crafted from 1x Cotton and 1x Chamomile into a Cotton Swab.

Cotton is gathered from Cotton Bushes which can be found in The Wilderness, Cotton can also be found inside containers such as Crates and Barrels and even from enemy corpses such as Bandits. Chamomile can be found growing in The Wilderness. When gathering Chamomile, you can sometimes get Chamomile Seeds, you can plant these on Farmland on your own housing plot to grow more Chamomile/

Cooking Basic Foods - Berry Jam & Mushroom Soup

In the Cook Profession tab, there are many food recipes that you can learn to create better meals using the resources that you gather in the wild, such as [/b]Wild Berries[/b] and Mushrooms. Both if these foods are dangerous in their raw form and eating them can cause damage to your character as they are poisonous. Cooking these with Water can make for a safe meal that will also fill your character up for longer.

Berry Jam



The Berry Jam recipe can be found in the fifth recipe category "Food & Drink", the icon with a bottle and apple.

This recipe requires the use of the Crafting Station Camp Fire in order to make this recipe. As detailed above in the Sources Of Water section, a Camp Fire can be found in Freeman's Port.

Berry Jam is crafted from 3x Wild Berries and 1x Clean Water.

Wild Berries are gathered from Berry Bushes which can be found all around the world, Berries can also be looted from Bandit corpses, found in containers such as Crates and Barrels and also purchased from some food vendors.

Water can be obtained from Sources Of Water as explained in the next section of this guide.

Mushroom Soup



The Mushroom Soup recipe can be found in the fifth recipe category "Food & Drink", the icon with a bottle and apple.

This recipe requires the use of the Crafting Station Camp Fire in order to make this recipe. As detailed above in the Sources Of Water section, a Camp Fire can be found in Freeman's Port.

Mushroom Soup is crafted from 2x Wild Mushrooms and 1x Clean Water.

Wild Mushrooms can be found growing in the ground all around the world, Wild Mushrooms can also be looted from Bandit corpses, found in containers such as Crates and Barrels.

Water can be obtained from Sources Of Water as explained in the next section of this guide.

Crafting a Small Bag - Carry Weight Upgrade

The Small Bag is unlocked in the Artistry skill tree and takes 5 Skill Points to unlock, this recipe requires the use of the Loom Crafting Station in order to make this recipe. You will automatically unlock the recipe for Cloth needed for this recipe, as Cloth is unlocked with 1 Skill Point in Artistry.

The Small Bag is crafted from 1x Cloth and 1x Thread.

You will need to find a Loom to craft Cloth. 1x Cloth is made from 2x Thread.
A Loom can be found in Raven's Reach the capital of Mercia. A Loom can also be built on a house node (more on houses later).

Thread is crafted from 2x Cotton.

As mention from the Cotton Swab recipe:
Cotton is gathered from Cotton Bushes which are found in The Wilderness in forests and alongside footpaths, inside Crates and Barrels and even from enemy corpses such as Bandits.

4.i Tips For Surviving Day & Night - Boiling Dirty Water

Collecting & Boiling Dirty Water

Sources Of Water

Puddles, Ponds, Streams, Rivers, Waterways and the Ocean are all sources where you can search for Water. You may receive Leeches sometimes when searching for Water at these sources. Do not eat these, you may become sick! Leeches can be sold to a vendor or dropped on the ground!



Puddles are found along footpaths, around towns, cities and near small bridges.



Ponds are not as common as puddles but can be found scattered around the world, sometimes closer to houses and areas away from footpaths.





Streams are commonly found. Small streams can be found trickling through forests and close to towns. Larger streams can be found flowing through towns such as Freeman's Port as it leads into the ocean.



Freeman's Port has small waterways running through the town along some of it's streets. If it is too dangerous to venture outside of the town at night time these are great for gathering water.

The Ocean, located at the very North of the world and the large river that runs through the Queen's Crossing Bridge all the way South to Laketown are also sources of water.

Boiling Dirty Water



When you have collected a stack of Dirty Water you will need to find a Crafting Station known as a Camp Fire. There is a Camp Fire in Freeman's Port to the right of the Food Shopkeeper.

5. Item Rarities & Types Of Loot

Item Rarities

There is a chance of crafting various types of the same item that provide various values, such as the extremely rare Greater Silver Chest Plate which physically looks different and adds more armour. This is only applied to a few items currently, such as the stick club, bone club, water and silver chest plate.

When you have levelled up your ability to craft armour more, you will notice that the higher quality armour is crafted with more experience as you progress you should have a higher chance of crafting the higher tier gear.

Crafted and purchased items, weapons and armour will now have set rarities, this also includes harvested resources in the wild.

• Common (Grey)
  
• Uncommon (Green)
  
• Rare (Blue)
  
• Epic (Purple)
  
• Mythic (Yellow)
  
• Legendary (Orange)

Loot Types

There are many different types of Loot in The Black Death. These range from, weapons, food, drinks, resources, materials, tools, trinkets and even high value items.

High value items include things such as Paintings, Goblets and Jewellery. These items can be sold for a high price at a Merchant/Shopkeeper for some instant Gold.

Player Written Books can also be found and read. These books have been written by members of the Community and are added into our updates for everyone to loot and read! Some even have more than one chapter, try and find all of the volumes!



Trinkets such as Wooden Owls, Wooden Ducks, old cutlery sets and more can be found and sold for a few Gold coins.

Loot item drops spawn procedurally throughout the world within bandit camps, caves and beggar houses, in the next chapter of this Guide all will become clear!

These can be found in Bandit hideouts, which include camps, caves, abandoned barns and more around the world of Mercia. Bandits call these places home and they do not like uninvited guests! Make sure to bring some weapons with you and some space to carry all of this Loot back with! Our previous chapter "Tips For Surviving Day & Night" has information on how to craft a Small Bag to expand your carry limit.

6. Weapons, Armour, Durability & Repairing Items

Weapon Types, Craftables & Shields

There are a range of different Weapons in The Black Death. The most basic weapon you can craft is a Stick Club, as you unlock more recipes you will be able to craft higher tier weapons such as a Stone Spear, Iron Maul, Claymore and more!

The Black Death has both melee and ranged weapons, some of these such as the knifes and daggers can be thrown. Shields can also be crafted and used with 1 handed weapons in combat.

Weapon Types:
Clubs, 1 Handed Swords, Maces, Spears, Warhammers, Mauls, 2 Handed Swords, Knifes/Daggers, Bows, Crossbows & the Legendary Relic sword (more on The Relic in the next chapter).

Craftable Weapons

These weapons
Stick Club, Stone Warhammer, Stone Spear, Iron Maul, Iron Sword, Iron Spear, Claymore, Taper War Sword, German Warhammer, Flamberge, Bone Club, Bone Knife,Stick Crossbow, Bone Spear, Heavy Crossbow & Iron Dagger.

Shields:
Wooden Shield, Kite Shield & Round Shield

Weapons can also be purchased from vendors such as the Blacksmith in Freeman's Port and Raven's Reach, check their stock and see what they have to offer! Their prices are steep, so make sure to save up some Gold!

Armour types, Sets & Clothing

There is a large range of Armour types in The Black Death. Some of these are more in the category of clothing items such as the Cooks Apron.

Armour types

Armour types range from the basic Stick Set all the way up to the current Royal tier.

Materials range from Sticks, Cloth, Leather, Iron Plates, Iron Ingots, Chainmail, Silver Plates, Silver Ingots & Gold Ingots.

Armour Sets:

Stick Set:
Stick Helm
Stick Gloves
Stick Greaves
Stick Chest

Iron Set:
Iron Helm
Iron Chest
Iron Greaves
Iron Gauntlets

Chainmail Set:
Chainmail Chest
Chainmail Trousers
Chainmail Gloves

Silver Set:
Visored Barbute
Silver Greaves
Silver Gauntlets
Silver Chest Armour

Royal Set:
Royal Helmet
Royal Gauntlets
Royal Chest Armour

Item Durability

Repairing Tools & Weapons

If you have Weapons and/or Tools that have been damaged you can repair them! All you need is an Anvil. You can find an Anvil in Freeman's Port and also in Raven's Reach behind the Blacksmiths in their work areas.

Simply hold the E key and the Context Wheel will appear. Select the right option for "Repair" and you should see a menu that looks like the one above in this screenshot. The orange bar at the side of the Icons of your Weapons and Tools is the current durability of that weapon/tool. The Gold amount on the far right is how much it will cost to repair that specific weapon/tool, the more damage, the higher the price.

7. Combat Abilities & Enemy Types

Combat Abilities

Combat abilities are unique to each weapon type ranging from Clubs, Swords, Maces, Axes, Knifes and more. Each weapon type has it’s own set of attacks. Some weapons such as the Knifes can be aimed and thrown using the third attack!

These range from bleeding attacks, stuns, knock-backs and knock-downs. These are represented on the HUD on the left of the Quick Slot Bar. If you mouse over these attack icons, each one has it’s own tooltip which can be viewed by hovering over the icons when in your Inventory. The GIF below shows the Mace abilities as an example.

These icons are the combat skills for your current equipped weapon. When you have no weapon equipped you can use your bare fists for fighting. These attacks are a quick left jab and a right swing. The GIFs below show the Mace, Sword and unarmed abilities.



Here are the Mace weapon abilities



Here are the Unarmed abilities



Here are the Sword abilities

Combat Controls

Equipping Weapons
To equip a weapon before entering combat, simply open your Inventory with the default keybinding of I and then click and drag the weapon to your Quick Slot Bar. You can drag weapons, swabs, bandages, food, drink and tools onto slots 2 through 6.

Once you have your weapons on your Quick Slot Bar exit your Inventory. When you find yourself faced with an enemy you will be able to press the corresponding slot numbers to equip the weapon of your choosing. If your Iron Sword is on slot 4, simply press 4 to equip and start using your Sword. To switch to another weapon, just press another key! To sheathe your currently used weapon simply press the same key again to store it.

It is good to have more than one weapon on your Quick Slot Bar, even if this is lots of Stick Clubs to start with! When your weapon breaks in combat you want to be able to switch to another weapon quickly without going into your Inventory.

Combat Controls

Movement is still the same, using the W,A,S and D keys. The Camera is also moved by using your mouse to change the angel of your character whilst in combat. Sprinting is also the same using the Left Shift key. Whilst you have a weapon out, your movement speed will be slower than your usual walking speed.

Left Mouse Button: Standard Attack
Right Mouse Button: Block
Middle Mouse Button: Special Attack
(this can be a Bleed, Stun or Knock-back depending on the weapon)

Enemy Types

There are enemies strewn all across the land of Mercia! Here is a rundown of some of the different enemy types found in The Black Death.

• Groups of Infected Beggars that spread infection and hound you for much needed gold but will retreat with fear if attacked.
  
  
  
  
  
• Deadly Beggars that will kill in sheer desperation, only with fists they will punch their way out of any fight.
  
  
  
  
• Bandit Spearman that deal large amounts of damage and flank violently. There are also Bandits who wield Hammers and Shields too.There are also Elite Bandits who wear heavier armour and wield 2 handed swords.
  
  
  
  
• Outlaw Crossbowman that tactically seek distance and cover between them and their targets.
  
  
  
  
  
• Shielded Templars that push forward with shield in hand putting pressure on even the most advanced player. There are also Templar Knights that wield giant two handed weapons dealing large amounts of damage but are slower and more calculative.
  
  
  
  
  
• Crazed Monk Fanatics that will pelt you with small rocks they pick up from the ground, some of these Monks have wooden crossbows and some have spiked Maces.

8. Pillage Zones, Raid Areas & The Relic

What Are Pillage Zones?

Pillage zones are areas in The Black Death that you can explore around the world. These areas have enemies, containers to search, loot to find and also obstacles such as spiked barricades which will cause damage to you and breakable doors and boarded up buildings.





Being equipped before you tackle these areas is a must for survival, if you want to make it back out in one piece and with all the loot!

In Chapter 6 "Tips For Surviving Day & Night" we mentioned some crafting basics for survival out in the wilderness. It's time to gather resources and craft yourself the following items if you want to stay alive!

We recommend having:
Lots of Stick Clubs - Other higher quality weapons will last longer and do more damage!, Clean Water, Food - preferably bigger meals such as Cooked Fish and Bread Rolls, Cotton Swabs, a Torch or two and also a Small Bag crafted from the Artisan tree for some extra space!

If you have crafted the Stick Armour Set this would also be good to have equipped if you are heading into the Pillage Areas.

Pillage Areas

Here are some of the Pillage Areas in The Black Death.

First up is Svalberg, this area is located in the far East in the Region of Frostfall. This area will take quite a while to venture too, so make sure that you have packed enough food, drink and torches to make the journey easier! Any icy trip into the heart of Frostfall...





Some areas such as these enemy Beggar houses have a new type of barricade, much like the Bandit barn hideouts, they even have their own farmland plots. If you venture on their land they will not hesitate to start a brawl with you.



This first screenshot shows an old farmyard barn that has been claimed by the Outlaws and Bandits of Mercia, the second one shows an old Estate that is also home to more Bandits! The doorway to these places will be barricaded up, these are comprised of three separate wooden planks that need to be smashed individually to break into these places, sometimes this is just a door. As there are gaps between the planks you will be able to have a peek at what enemies are camped inside as well as their loot.


Down in the caves be sure to take a torch and a good weapon. Here lies rotting corpses, wooden crates, tables of loot and of course Bandits or deadly Beggars waiting to ambush you in the depths below.


These areas are more fortified featuring high fences and many enemies camping inside. These places have many buildings to explore, but as the Beggars and Bandits call it their home do not expect a warm welcome when stepping foot in these areas! These are usually the hardest areas to loot as there is usually only one way in and out, so be on your guard.

What Are Raid Areas?

Raid Areas are much like Pillage Zones but are much harder in difficulty. Stronger enemies with more damage and health will be waiting for you in these zones, but the loot will be much sweeter if you can survive!

Obstacles in Raid Areas are more deadly than the ones found in the Pillage Areas, they feature giant pits that if fallen down will kill your character, metal barriades to smash through

and metal gates to smash through. There are also giant holes that you can fall down to your death!

These areas usually have an entrance and take much longer than Pillage zones to complete.

The Black Gate
The first Raid Area introduced to The Black Death was The Black Gate! It made it's appearance in Version V0.15 - The Black Gate. A bit of trivia about The Black Gate, it's codename was Fort Doom.

The Black Gate can be found to the far East of Mercia at the end of the coast line. It is also marked on the Map.




The Black Gate from the outside entrance...

Players will have to make their way through a cave, a beach-side village, up a cliff path, through a small settlement and into the castle itself. Watch your step as there are traps, barricades and Bandits a' plenty! On your way, you’ll encounter new NPCs; such as Infected Merchants, narrow bridges and traps that require careful navigation with plenty of loot along the way.

The Relic

There are three Catacomb areas in The Black Death. These are special areas where a weapon known as The Relic is rumoured to rest. Legend says that The Relic was crafted by the best Blacksmith Mercia had ever seen. A sword so powerful the Blacksmith hid this famed Relic in an underground catacomb guarded by elite bandits. Should one person possess this much power?

V0.17 - Relics

If you are brave enough to venture into these catacombs you many come across The Relic although no one knows which catacomb this special weapon is said to appear in, as there is much mystery that surrounds its creation and not much is known by the people of Mercia.

Should you be lucky enough to find The Relic deep in one of these catacombs it will be on a special alter ready for the taking. Note: The value of 9 Gold on the Relic is actually 9,000 when it is looted!



There can ONLY be one Relic on a server. If you venture to all three of these catacombs and you don't find The Relic chances are another player has it in their possession!

Also, if you try and log out with The Relic in your Inventory you will receive this warning on the Esc Screen. You will need to stash The Relic in your House Storage Chest, if you stash this in a container such as a Crate or Barrel the Relic will be spawned back at one of the Catacomb locations.



Catacomb Area 1 - Raven's Reach Crypt

This is the first of the catacomb areas. You can get to Raven's Reach Crypt by walking down the path that leads out of Raven's Reach towards Queen's Crossing Bridge. When you get to the split in the road, instead of going left across the bridge, turn right and continue up this path and you will get to the Crypt.



Catacomb Area 2 - Reaper's Rest

Reaper's Rest is the second of the catacomb areas and is located South West of Freeman's Port and is also marked on the World Map. This area does take a while to get too, so make sure to pack enough food and water to help you get there as well as exploring the catacomb itself.



Catacomb Area 3 - Duffus Castle Ruins

Duffus Castle Ruins is the last of the catacomb areas and is located South East of Bywick Fort. This catacomb area is the furthest away of the three. So make sure to take some torches, extra food and water and lots of weapons.

9. Contact The Team & Social Links

We hope that you enjoyed this guide for The Black Death!
If you did, be sure to leave a comment, add this guide to your favourites and give it a vote! All of these things help us to track how useful our content is to the Community.

If there is any information you feel is incorrect or if there are any sections that you would like to see please contact us by email below and let us know.

This guide will be updated as new Updates to The Black Death are released and we will do our best to make sure that the information provided is of the best quality and accuracy.

Social Links:

To keep in the loop, follow The Black Death on our social and news sites!

The Black Death Official Website [www.small-impact.com]

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The Black Death Official Discord [discordapp.com]

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Email Contact:

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[Sancho Panza]

Y thrd person key.
Abandoned game, scum

[APPLE_TH]

what is third person camera key ?

[Hadnagy]

Is this relic is same like the world event one ?

[gmartinez49]

i am going to be rich muaa

[[SIG] Emily]

Hey there @Mac68 - Thanks for your comment! We will be updating this guide soon, as our update V0.30 has changed some of what is in this guide, and the screenshots need updating too. Thanks for reading!

[Crom68]

Fantastic up to date guide. Clear, concise and comprehensive. Well done.