Things are going well on FL..
I have 3 characters in the 25 range now, one good, a neutral and an evil. I have been beat down twice, and I owned once.
My problem is I can't chase. If they flee I can never ever find them.
I have read the PK logs, but any help would be great.
You'll just have to learn what areas connect together through exploration. Learn where they could hide. Learn to know where they're going to go before they know where they're going. And learn to realize when they've recalled and left you in the middle of nowhere on a cold trail.
Chasing's an experience and timing thing. Good luck.
Like Valek said, it's all about area knowledge. As a chaser, you are at an extreme disadvantage, because the runner shouldn't ever hit where, until they have been through 3 or so areas. The chaser, though, has to figure out which direction they went, and try to keep on their trail enough to find them.
Just keep at it. I've been here quite a few years, and I still can't chase worth a damn.
Three Easy Steps to Becoming a Good Chaser:
If you know the exact number of steps between areas, you can hit them exactly, thereby not wasting precious time on "Alas, you cannot go that way."
Explore all of your local hiding spots thoroughly, noticing which ones are easy to get to and from, and which ones have secondary exits. That way when your quarry hops into one of them, you can find them again. Good example? If you see an opponent run north of Rheydin into the Elven Valley, and you're a few (ten or twenty) rooms behind, run to the Orc Mountains. Chances are, they'll try to escape out the back, and you can cut them off there. If you decide to proceed through Shasarazade, don't assume they've recalled. Check the hospital (Analglee or whatever), and the Orc Mountains. Then check the Elemental Canyon, the Ford, Kaer Banor, and Ralardia.
Always have a mount/flying. There's nothing more frustrating than losing your prey due to a lack of movement. And make sure, that if you're about to catch up to your foe, you quaff a vial/protection potion. You never know how much healing your opponent has had the oppurtunity to do, and the last thing you want is to catch them with small wounds, while you're still at big nasty from a close fight.
Also don't feel like you have to be right on top of them the entire time. As soon as you enter a new area stop and hit where pk a few times to get their direction, then move in after them(continuing to where pk). Almost always they will eventually put themselves in a corner and need to run past you, that's when to tag em. If not, then it's an endurance race, bring flight scrolls/potions.
WC
You can also use tactics that make it so you don't have to chase. I'm not just talking lagging or shaman spells here. For example, I had a blademaster a while back at around rank thirty with a ninja who I knew I could kick the crap out of without breaking a sweat. The problem was, as soon as he would get decently hurt, he would just flee and hide, and I had no method of preventing that. What did I do? I purposely dumbed myself down, removed a weapon, etc. so that he could beat on me a bit. Then when I was down a decent amount, I ran into the shadow grove with him hot on my tail, wielded my weapon, and proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of him. It was great fun.
You can also use tactics that make it so you don't have to chase. I'm not just talking lagging or shaman spells here. For example' date=' I had a blademaster a while back at around rank thirty with a ninja who I knew I could kick the crap out of without breaking a sweat. The problem was, as soon as he would get decently hurt, he would just flee and hide, and I had no method of preventing that. What did I do? I purposely dumbed myself down, removed a weapon, etc. so that he could beat on me a bit. Then when I was down a decent amount, I ran into the shadow grove with him hot on my tail, wielded my weapon, and proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of him. It was great fun.[/quote']
Bugger.
That was me.
Hahahahahahahah!
Anyone that is worth there salt at running isn't going to let it be that easy for someone to chase them. Most of the time you have to pay attention to:
Race, elves get autosneak etc...
Class, healers can gate, thieves can sneak, ninjas can hide, etc...
Location, Where are you battling at, which way did they flee, what is there hometown?
It's based on skill and luck. I suggest you run away a couple of times from agressive pkers, this way you can think the way of a running victim.
Bugger.
That was me.
Serious? I thought it was me. 
Serious? I thought it was me.
Well, you were playing your human at the same time as I was playing Pheredin.
So I suppose it could've been either one of us.
all the elites use zMUD bots and expensive VR equipment to chase effectively
chasing is the skill that should be concentrated strongly..it is more important than about anything else (tactics wise)
There are two main ways to chase: make them use up their moves (herding through forest/mountain zones, forcing recalls, skills/spells, etc) or cut them off (expecting their turnaround, outspeeding, taking shorter path to same destination).
Of course, the ideal situation is where you don't really have to chase (as in the simple trick someone described above)
A good way to practice brute speed is to have duels in places like the ford and elium, where wide open areas require pre-thought and pattern matching for effective, consistant chasing.
Once you play the game enough, you can really start to see the stupid patterns people get into...so just keep your eyes open and remember what that char did last time in a similar situation
That all said, running skills are a dime a dozen..perhaps one of the easiest things to do. Which means chasing is one of the hardest skills. The most tell-tale sign of a great (instead of merely decent/good) player is in the speed that they chase you...those are the people you really need to fear because you can't easily avoid them, depending on circumstances. Winning in combat is only one step...
Well' date=' you were playing your human at the same time as I was playing Pheredin.[/quote']
I hated Pheredin. You smoked one of my lowbies @ 30ish. I deleted afterwards, I was so ashamed.
I revoke your 'stooge' status.
Thats why evil clerics are great for noobs. A sermoned/cursed opponent is easier to chase, while you dont have to worry bout running out of vials.
I've never used or liked triggers for anything, but aliases are your best friend.
I always have a one key alias that murders whoever I am fighting. Gotta save on keystrokes. Also, I recomend you get something to pinn, thats when you will really learn to run and chase. Choose something with little or no exp pen and just power to 50, you simply cant learn as much at lower ranks.
funniest thing is with a class that can summon, dont bother chasing...just keep summoning them back to you...yeah they will keep running off, but you can just summon them (if you consistently beat their saves). I did this a lot with my shaman a long time ago, hit with enfeeb then summon them back over and over till they are out of move.
Celerity speaks true though, chasing is the true difficult part of pkill. The first step to getting good at it is to learn the areas. And fight in areas you know. Control the fight if you can, flee and let them chase you...its amazing how quickly you can turn a battle and kill someone beofre they realize you were just leading them on.
Another tact is speed, i always rebind a key to attack whomever i am fighting...makes it easy to get them when you do catch up. Though i dont reccomend using triggers, as these can VERY quickly make things ugly for you.
Know alternate routes, its amazing how many people dont know the different ways to get from east to west or vice versa.
Though i disagree with what chas said about chasing being the most important skill, though in a way i do...chasing isnt the most important skill in pkill, preventing running is 
Of course there will always be those that seem to always get away, running may be easy..but with area knowledge and crafty thinking its very easy to lose a chaser.
BUAHAHAHA! Let's see, how many people has Fiere smoked...actually, it was both of you that I killed. It was Tassinvegeta I killed in the shadow grove, pheredin I killed just normally, with a critical strike to the diaphragm towards the end. Which, ironically enough, is probably what got tassin killed, on account of that's where I got all that sweet eq you had, which is probably what tempted him to come after me in the first place.
I remember when I first started playing and had just learned to walk from val ro mir, when in pk I always felt the world was so damn small when I was trying to get away (so I started playing rogues) and the world seemed infinitely huge when I was trying to chase. At the end of the day it all comes down quick decision making, and that comes from experience. Dont be afraid to fight and die, and soon you will find yourself improving vastly.
Blademasters are overpowered.
Nerf them!
But the sheer amount of time it took to get him mastered enough so I could do that kind of thing was hideous. I definitely couldn't have taken Pheredin without that. One or two other fights I had where, without a doubt, it was only my master of vigil, counter, and twin counter that saved my can.
zMUD bots and VR equipment? chuckles
I'm not even sure if thats a joke or not, but if it was intended to be serious, in order not to confuse anyone trying to learn here, I seriously doubt that is true. I've certainly never used anything of the sort, and I know most of the other vets around here, none of which have ever mentioned it. (Admittedly, our mud clients aren't usually the topic of the day, but....my statement stands 
).
I wouldn't bother trying to set up a system to do it for you, it won't work consistently against anyone, and it certainly won't win you any fights against people who know their stuff. I'd venture to say that it may even end up hurting you more than helping.
However, I do agree with the other point in Celerity's post regarding chasing. If you can't chase, there is a very definite ceiling to your success. Any top tier player will do the right thing in combat and preparing almost always, it just comes down to who is faster. The few players that worry me are the ones who I know are just as fast as me.
