PvP (Player vs Player) checklist for MUDs

Verify that diminishing returns or immunity windows are applied to all crowd control effects to prevent infinite stun-locking.

Conduct 1v1 tests across all class archetypes to ensure average TTK is not lower than the player's reaction time and command input latency.

Audit skills to ensure no single combination of abilities can deplete 100% of a target's health in a single combat round.

Verify that healing output does not exceed 50% of peak DPS to prevent stalemates in high-level duels.

Test that mana and stamina consumption rates scale appropriately to prevent 'infinite' combat loops between high-stat characters.

Verify that the 'in-combat' flag persists across login/logout to prevent 'combat-logging' or alt-f4 escapes.

Test that area transitions into safe zones (cities/temples) are blocked while the player has an active combat or aggression flag.

Check that the engine blocks attacks between players outside of the defined level range (e.g., +/- 10 levels) in non-arena zones.

Ensure that magic or item-based teleportation is disabled for players who have dealt or received damage within the last 30 seconds.

Verify that players cannot toggle their PvP status to 'off' while currently engaged in combat or while holding a bounty.

Run 100 simulated matches to verify that ELO points are distributed correctly based on opponent difficulty and do not inflate over time.

Test that the tournament system correctly handles odd-numbered participant counts and generates 'byes' without crashing the queue.

Verify that spectators in the arena can view all combat messages without being targeted by area-of-effect spells or abilities.

Check that the 'duel' command initiates a synchronized countdown visible to both parties before damage can be registered.

Verify that the global leaderboard updates within 60 seconds of a match conclusion.

Test that all non-protected items correctly transfer to the corpse object upon a PvP death in designated full-loot zones.

Verify that items marked as 'soulbound' or 'no-drop' remain in the player's inventory or are destroyed rather than dropped on PvP death.

Check that PvP corpses have a shorter decay timer than PvE corpses to encourage immediate looting and reduce server clutter.

Verify that gear durability loss in PvP is calculated correctly to provide a gold sink without making PvP prohibitively expensive.

Test that bounty rewards are deducted from the killer's victim or a central bank and awarded only upon a confirmed PvP kill.

Verify that server-side logs record the timestamp, attacker, victim, skill used, damage amount, and resulting health for every hit.

Check that the system flags or blocks multiple connections from the same IP address participating in the same PvP encounter.

Audit the command input rate to detect and flag automated scripts for auto-healing or perfect-timing combos.

Verify that admins have an 'invisible' flag that allows them to observe PvP encounters without appearing in the room or being hit by AoE.

Ensure a command exists for players to flag a recent combat log for moderator review directly from the game client.