Dungeons with NPC companions: world residents in your party

A familiar story: the dungeon is unlocked, but there’s no group. Friends are busy, chat is quiet, the queue has been spinning for half an hour. In many MMORPGs that’s the end of the evening. In Zarhold, a card MMORPG in your browser, empty party slots are filled by world residents — NPC companions with real gear, talents and a deck. Here’s who they are, how they join your party, how they play and why they don’t walk off with your loot.

Who the world residents are

Residents are heroes who live in Zarhold alongside the players. Each has their own name, class, race, level, gear, talents and professions; inspecting a resident opens their profile, just like a live hero’s. They are controlled by the game, not by people, and we don’t hide it: in the live party bar and in the battle results a resident is labelled “resident”.

The key difference from the usual “dummy bots”: a resident is a full-fledged fighter. They are built like an average player of the same class and level, and in combat they think about their own move — they attack, heal and protect their allies.

How residents join your party

1. Pick a dungeon and a role — tank, healer or damage dealer — and join the queue. Alone, as two, or as a whole party.
2. Free slots are filled by residents of the right roles. Dungeons are for three — a tank, a healer and a damage dealer; raids and world bosses are for five — a tank, a healer and three damage dealers. At level 60 you can queue for a raid alone, and residents take the other four slots.
3. They are matched by strength. A resident’s level is within ±5 of the run’s level, and their power is that of an average player of their class and level. Residents who are too strong or too weak are not picked.
4. In level 10–27 dungeons the tank slot is always covered by a resident. A newcomer doesn’t have to learn to tank on day one; if there’s no suitable tank in the level range, a resident tank 1–5 levels below the start of the range comes instead, at the same strength.

You can also enter a dungeon completely alone with the “Enter alone” button. The game will honestly warn you that it’s nearly impossible without a party. Next to the buttons at the bottom of the screen it says exactly that: “No group: residents will fill the slots — or go alone”.

How NPC companions play

A resident doesn’t walk in with six random items — they come fully equipped:

• gear in every slot — from head to rings and weapon. Below level 60 it’s an average player’s set: green, blue and sometimes purple items. At level 60 it’s a PvE set of item level 210–226, about 220 on average;
• talents — the whole specialization tree for their role, up to the top; the remaining points go into a second tree;
• a deck — their class cards plus the cards of the talents they’ve learned;
• a class power suited to the role: Taunt for a tank, healing for a healer.

Residents play on their own: they pick targets, keep enemies on the tank, heal wounded allies and put up shields. Fights with residents are the same card duel on a shared board — the game simply runs some of the heroes at the table.

Resident tanks got sturdier

The hardest role in a run is the tank: they take almost every blow from the boss. Resident tanks used to die noticeably more often than live ones. In the 22 October update (v0.9.715) we fixed that:

• no more cut-down armour. A resident tank wears “guardian” armour with extra Health and Hardiness, and the Power of their items is now the same as on an ordinary item of that level. It used to be cut;
• a racial ability and a bandage. In fights against creatures a resident tank has what a live hero has: their racial ability and a bandage of their level — Wool Bandage at level 60 (heals 30% of Health), a plain Bandage below (15%). One bandage per fight. The resident decides when to use them;
• a live tank with residents is a real tank. If you are the tank and residents fill the other slots, the game now recognises you as the tank: your damage generates three times the threat, and the boss stays on you. How threat works is explained in How to tank in an MMORPG.

Loot: what residents take

The most common question is “won’t a resident take my item?”. The roll rules are built so that they don’t:

1. First comes Need from live players. An item a live player needs never goes to a resident.
2. Then Need from residents. A resident picks Need only if the item suits their class and is better than what they’re wearing. Otherwise they pass.
3. Then Greed from live players. Residents never pick Greed: everything else goes to live players.

A resident never takes a legendary item — it goes to a live player or to no one. A resident puts on any item they win for the rest of the run, and later rolls compare against it. Every live participant gets the full experience and gold for the run. More about rolls in MMORPG loot and in the knowledge base: Loot rolls.

Residents and a live party

Residents don’t push people out — they only fill the gaps:

• in a live party a resident takes only a slot that was empty when the run started;
• a resident never plays for a live player, even one who has stepped away;
• the leader’s “⚑ Enter as the party” button takes the party in with no residents at all — the enemies are the same, no discounts;
• in dungeons from level 50 and against level 60 bosses, enemies are tougher the more live players there are in the party. Residents don’t count towards that.

How to gather a live party and what happens when a teammate drops — see Co-op MMORPG and the knowledge base: Party, World residents.

NPC companions FAQ

Can I clear a dungeon alone?

Yes: join the queue alone, and residents of the right roles fill the two free slots. At level 60 you can also queue alone for a raid or a world boss — residents take four slots. You can even enter with no party at all using “Enter alone”, but that is nearly impossible to clear.

Are residents other players?

No. Residents are controlled by the game. They have their own names, gear, talents and decks, and you can inspect their profile, but there are no people behind them.

Will a resident take my item?

Not if you need it: a live player’s Need beats a resident’s. A resident only takes an item that fits their class, is better than what they wear, and that no live player picked Need on. Residents never take legendaries.

Can we go on a run without residents?

Yes. The party leader can enter with “⚑ Enter as the party” — then only live players are in the party.

Why do resident tanks die less now?

Since the 22 October update a resident tank’s armour is no longer cut down, and in combat they have their racial ability and a bandage of their level, just like a live hero.

The bottom line

NPC companions in Zarhold aren’t a crutch but honest members of the run: matched by level and strength, fully geared, with talents and a mind of their own, and with loot rules that put live players first. No friends online? Join the queue and the party assembles itself. Open the game and try your first dungeon at level 10. And if you’d like to keep playing solo, read An MMORPG for solo play.