v0.31.0 19 October 2026

The musket, and the Shooting skill

• Weapons & combat
• Characters & skills

• A new weapon class: the musket. Credited model by Tanako (CC BY 4.0).
  • Fire: tap attack to fire. From the hip it snaps up to the shoulder in 9 ticks, then the lock falls and it goes off 3 ticks later.
  • Aim: hold heavy to shoulder it. The camera tightens and the shot strays far less: 0.6° shouldered against 3.6° from the hip, plus more on the move. The reticle's ticks sit where the shot may land.
  • The shot: one heavy ball (62 damage before bonuses, big poise damage, knockback, and double damage on a headshot). It flies at 150 m/s with a short tracer. You get a flash, a cloud of smoke that hangs in the air, a kick to the camera and the shoulder, and a bang that rolls off the trees.
• It can't be sprayed. After every shot comes a real reload, 2.1 s at Shooting 1:
  • The musket stands up in front of you with the butt by your feet. The right hand goes to the pouch, bites the cartridge, pours the powder, draws the ramrod, rams twice, puts the ramrod back and cocks the lock. The ramrod really moves.
  • You can walk while loading, slowly.
  • A dodge, a sprint or a block breaks the reload off, and it picks up where it stopped once you're back on your feet.
  • Attack while the musket is empty and you swing the butt: a short lunge that staggers what it hits.
• Animation: the musket is held in both hands by a new two-bone arm IK. The fists close on the wrist of the stock and the forestock whatever the legs and spine are doing.
  • The holds are carried at low port, shouldered (torso turned, cheek on the stock), the reload, held across the face to block, the butt-stroke, one-handed while drinking or reviving, and slung on the back while swimming or downed.
  • The arms reach for the real parts of the gun, so the hand on the ramrod rides it up and down the barrel.
• The Shooting skill: trained by landing musket shots. Each level gives +1.2% shot damage, a 0.8% faster reload and 1% steadier aim. At level 50 that's +59% damage, reloads 39% faster (1.3 s) and aim 49% steadier. It has its own badge in the skills panel.
• Elsewhere:
  • Muskets have their own icon, a ground model, menu and inventory figures that carry them, and a drill by the menu's fire (shoulder, fire, reload).
  • Other players see your musket, aim, shots (cosmetic, never double-counted), reloads and butt-strokes.
  • Sounds: shot, lock, cock, powder, ramrod, ram, cartridge and ricochet.

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