Combat
The ability to fight monsters and other players is an important aspect of The 4th Coming. Combat is mostly done using the left mouse button. With it, you can move and attack certain targets.
IMPORTANT: In order to fight other players (within PvP limits; see below) or peaceful NPCs, you must toggle your combat mode on. You can do this by pressing the Combat Mode toggle (Ctrl-C). A small sword appears in the lower right corner of your screen, you are in Combat Mode and can attack anyone (just note that most NPC's will hit back, and hurt). 
Attacking
Attacking is done using the left mouse button. Simply left click over an enemy to begin attacking it (some NPC's will require you to be in attack mode (Ctrl+C). If you are too far, however, your character may have to move in order to catch your opponent. If you do not want your character to move in the direction of your target, hold Shift while attacking to stay where you are while you swing.
When you hit an enemy, you will hear a special sound effect indicating you have successfully hit. Your chances to hit are determined by your Attack Skill and the defender's Dodge Skill (more on this later). The higher your Attack Skill, the higher the odds of successfully hitting someone (or something). The amount of damage varies based on your weapon's base damage, your strength attribute and, in the case of magical weapons, a variety of other factors (we're not telling).
Ranged Weapons
Ranged weapons work almost exactly like melee weapons, with a few differences. They require the Archery skill, which is learned from various teachers throughout the game, just like the Attack skill. The higher the Archery skill, the more accurate the attacks. Archery is heavily based on the user's AGI, so it is important to spend points into AGI if you wish to be a good archer.
To use a bow (or any ranged weapon), you must equip the weapon in your right hand and the quiver in your left hand. Arrows come in Unlimited quivers. Although depending on your server you may or may not have 'magical' type arrows. These may or may not be unlimited, so check with your server if you have any other types of arrows.
Auto-Combat
This feature can help prevent death due to lag. As soon as you start fighting someone, the server is notified of your attempt and you automatically enter auto-combat mode. Auto-combat is possible with melee combat and offensive spells (we call this melee auto-combat and magic auto-combat). Once in auto-combat, if you do nothing, your character will automatically attack at its earliest convenience and keep on attacking every time it's his turn. This way, even if you get disconnected for one reason or another, you will at least finish your current fight.
These are some of the events that can affect your auto-combat status:
- The monster wanders too far from your character.
- Moving in any direction cancels your auto-combat.
- Left-clicking on a new opponent cancels your auto-combat with your first opponent and sets you in auto-combat with the new target.
- If you are in melee auto-combat and cast a non-healing spell, melee auto-combat is interrupted and magic auto-combat kicks in.
- If you are in magic auto-combat and cast an offensive spell other than the one in auto-combat, your magic auto-combat will use the new spell you have cast.
- If you are in magic auto-combat and cast a healing spell, you drop out of auto-combat and the healing spell is cancelled. You must wait for your mental exhaustion to be over before casting your healing spell again. You will also need to re-enter auto-combat after your healing spell is done.
- In ranged weapons, auto-combat is uninterrupted if you use an unlimited quiver. If your quiver is limited, however, and there is blocking between you and your target, auto-combat is interrupted after the first arrow hits the blocking.
Defending
You cannot "actively" defend against an attack (i.e. you don't have a "defend" button to click), but you can improve your chances of avoiding damage by raising your Dodge Skill (more on this later). You can also equip heavy armor to absorb damage. All armors have an Armor Class (AC) value which is subtracted from the damage you receive when you're hit. (Note that some spells are not affected by the armor you wear.)
Taking Damage
Whenever someone takes damage, you will notice his (or her) hit point bar gradually decreasing, going from green (healthy) to red (near death). You should also pay close attention to your own Hit Points (HPs) bar (top right of your screen). As you become increasingly hurt, that bar will become shorter. When you have no more Hit Points (when your HP bar vanishes), you die (good thing you didn't junk that Gem of Destiny).
Dying
Fortunately, in the world of The 4th Coming, death is not the end of the game. You carry with you a Gem of Destiny that teleports you to a safe haven (a "sanctuary") a fraction of a second before you die. At the beginning of the game, it teleports you back to the starting point (the temple in Lighthaven). Later on, NPCs allow you to change the location of that "sanctuary."
Player Versus Player (PVP)
In a game that allows players to fight one another, there are necessary restrictions and rules to follow. Each T4C Server can be configured so that some users can only fight some others. The two PvP settings are: Minimum PvP Level and PvP Range.
Minimum PvP Level is the level at which PvP starts. Below that level, you can neither kill other players, nor be killed by them. This feature ensures that newcomers to the game (also called newbies) do not get killed by veteran players as soon as they enter the game. Anyone below the Minimum PvP Value in levels cannot attack other players. Be sure to ask your service provider for the level at which PvP starts. For instance, if the minimum level has been set to 5, then players from level 1 to 4 inclusively cannot attack other players (they can still kill monsters, however).
PvP Range is a plus/minus value that determines the range of levels that a player can attack. For instance, if a player is level 13 and the PvP Range is set to 4, then that player can attack anyone from level (13 - 4 =) 9 to (13 + 4 =) 17. This ensures that only players who are of roughly similar power levels can attack each other.
These two settings vary for each T4C service provider. Be sure to ask your Server Administrator or a GM for further information.
NOTE 1: PvP settings also affect some skills (such as Rob) and all combat spells.
NOTE 2: All of Lighthaven, all temples and teleportation rings are haven areas; in those areas, no PvP may occur.
NOTE 3: Also be aware of your server's specific pvp settings (if any exist). Sometimes it may not be ok to attack anyone in ANY town (even though game settings allow it). You can usually find a 'PVP Settings' button on your servers main page, or ask a GM, they will be happy to help and answer any questions you may have.