Dear brothers and sisters:

As I wander the land of Norrath, battle creatures, and gain experience, I
often hear voices whisper things to me like "You hit a Skeleton for 15
damage" or "A Gnoll tries to pierce you, but misses". As I gain more and
more skill, my mind wonders what all of these whispers mean, and how they
are derived.

I am not an experienced RPGer. I have played UO, and I have played EQ. I
have never played any other MUD, any 1 player RPG computer game, or
anything like D&D. There seems to be the expectation in EQ that you know
what things like Dexterity, Agility, Strength, Armor Class, etc. are for
and what they affect.

Meanwhile, items that boost these numbers by very very small amounts are
expensive, and make me wonder why I should spend 5 plat on armor that
increases my AC by 2%, or 1 plat on a ring that gives me 2 extra Dex.

Anyone who can answer any of the following questions please do so. I would
be very grateful, for I am getting very frusrated with the fact that
everyone else in the game seems to know what is going on, and I do not.

What does strength affect in combat? What does dexterity affect in combat?
What does agility affect in combat? Are jewelry or other enhancements that
add only 1 or 2 to these stats really worth it? Do they really make a
difference, and how do you know?

What is armour for? Does it absorb damage? Or is it figured into whether
you actually get hit? Or both?
What does the AC value of armor actually mean? Does adding 3 or 4 to your
AC actually make a difference?

What is the ATK stat that goes up with each level?

Every weapon has a delay. How long is the delay is seconds?

There are several combat skills. One is for your weapon type (i.e. 1H
slahsing) and there are others for offense and defense. What are each
of these for? When do they get figured in?

When I use my weapon, I hit for 17 damage per turn. No more. This hasn't
changed since I first got the weapon (4 levels ago) and doesn't change when
my 1H slashing, offense, strength, or dexterity goes up. Why don't these
stats affect what damage I can inflict?

I miss a lot. Up to 8 times in a row sometimes. Because of this, creatures
thay /con blue often win the battle. What can I do to miss less?
Is there any documentation anywhere that shows the numbers game? In UO the
player guide simply had things like WeaponDmage * Skill + 10 = Damage. That
would be very useful to me. Does it exist anywhere?

Again, if you know the answer to even one of these, please post! Thanks!

-Musil