Hello all. My name is Paul and I have been playing Ultima Online off and on since 1999. Throughout these years I've maintained two UO obsessions: The Bardic Arts, and ridable llamasEven though I've only been on this shard for a short while, I've already answered numerous questions on the forum and IRC about how to master one of the most useful skills for newcomers and veterans alike: Provocation. So I decided to write this guide as the existing ones are old.
UO:R is quite kind to us Bards, and as such, GMing Provocation is not difficult here, nor really time consuming when you consider the fact that unattended macroing is allowed / encouraged here. One just simply needs to know where to macro this skill. That's where this guide comes in handy.
If you are new to Ultima Online in general, I recommend visiting a few other guides first, such as this one.
STEP 1: Starting Out
Visit Antje the Bard residing just North of Ocllo Bank (NOTE: The name of the NPC might change):
Purchase from her 20 tambourines. You can buy any type of instrument really, but the tambourine is the lightest. If you did not start with 50 Provocation when creating your character, not to worry. Say near her: "Antje train Provocation". Then drop the amount of gold she asks for onto her.
UPDATE: The bard shop below (South) the bank has a Bard Guildmaster/mistress who can train you several points higher.
Now it is time to talk about the macro you will be using. Here is mine as it looks in Razor:
And here is the macro in the file:
!Loop
Assistant.Macros.DoubleClickTypeAction|3763|True
Assistant.Macros.HotKeyAction|1044082|
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:00.5000000
Assistant.Macros.AbsoluteTargetAction|0|0|1156074|3420|2599|55|400
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:00.5000000
Assistant.Macros.AbsoluteTargetAction|0|0|1155840|3416|2599|55|401
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:00.5000000
Assistant.Macros.IfAction|4|0|succeeds
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:10.5000000
Assistant.Macros.ElseAction
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:05.5000000
Assistant.Macros.EndIfActionFirst you will see the "double click the lute"; this is whatever instrument you bought. Target one of them, then change this to "by type". This is a critical line in the macro. It ensures you can keep macroing once an instrument breaks due to Provoking. Note: On UO:R, instruments do not break due to playing them (double clicking it and gaining musicianship). This is also why my guide doesn't really address your Musicianship skill as this macro will GM it quickly while working on provoke. Some people say to GM music first, I don't think it is truly necessary as I run this macro typically overnight or while I am work. More than enough time to GM both all in one go.
The first absolute target is the first monster. The second absolute target is, you probably guessed it by now, the second monster. That's it. This macro also accounts for how if you fail in provoking two monsters, the wait time is 5 seconds and not the usual 10.
STEP 2: Getting to the Pens
If you're in the Young Program, then proceed with all of your newly purchased instruments above Antje and into the Ocllo newbie dungeon. If you are not, be sure to bank most of then and only take 4-6 of them with you as sometimes, you can die in this dungeon.
Once inside, Run NW (straight up) past the earth elementals and harpies till you hit the wall. Turn W (up and to the left) until you get to the "pens":
You will notice that a Troll and Lizardman spawns in the left pen and a Troll, Harpy, and Ratman spawn in the right. Depending on your Provocation "shown" skill (Not Real), provoke as follows:
30ish: Lizardman onto Ratman/Harpy
50ish: Troll onto HarpyEventually (I usually do this in the 60-70's), switch to Troll onto Troll. Keep macroing this until you hit 81.8. This is where I've noticed the gains slow tremendously. It is possible to go higher, but not necessary. At this point you are done and can exit the dungeon.
STEP 3: Provoking Pirates
A while ago @Wodan created his Provo House W of Ocllo near the Pirates. Trapping two of them in it allows players to macro Provocation easily and safely beyond the 80's you can get at the Pens. He has since transferred the management of this house to P'S (Project Sanctuary). You will also notice an identical house S of it, this is the TnT Provo House, and is under @Sir Billy 's management. To get into Wodan's, ask in the #Renaissance or #PS channel in IRC. Many people can get you in it and also help you set it up if the sailors have de-spawned (after 24hrs of being trapped). You will notice a pouch with instruments on the floor. Feel free to use some if you need, but please don't be greedy. And when you are GM, it is always nice to "pay it forward" by dropping off your unused instruments.
UPDATE: 02-01-19: So if access to the above house is unavailable, you can always try @BlackEye's public provocation house. See here.
And that's it!. After enough macroing, the pirates will take you to 100.0 / GM. I hope some of you found this helpful
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If you are new here and have any questions, IRC is your best friend. I always suggest being in the main channel, #Renaissance. Lots of good people there are more than happy to answer questions. You can also hop in Project Sanctuary's channel, #PS. Any of their members would be more than happy to help out, or point you in the direction of someone who can.
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