A combat sequence proceeds `on its own' once initiated, but Argo does reward strategy and alertness.

Paying attention to how combat is going, and adjusting your attack mode for best results can make the difference between success and failure. If you are having difficulty hitting your opponent, switching from +attack to +feint may pay off. If your armor seems to be doing a decent job against his hits, and you are having trouble hitting, you might want to concentrate just on attacking with +nodef. The +nodef option has the additional advantage of causing you to expend less fatigue each turn, because you are not expending energy on activy defenses.

Watch for and respond to critical successes and failures. If you drop your weapon, get it and re-ready it immediately. If your opponent drops his weapon, falls down, or is stunned, switch to an all out attack with +nodef while he can't hit you. If he drops his weapon, try to grab it before he does, or quickly declare you intention to do so and call for a roll against DEX to see who gets to it first. In this, or any other situation where there is some doubt about what should happen next, or when you simply want to slow down the combat system enough to properly roleplay the scene, you can use the +pause command. This pauses all events in the room until someone executes an +unpause command, at which point combat and other events will resume normally. (The RP staff has the option of setting the system so that only staff members can use the +pause command; by default, all players can use it.)

Multiple players working together may be able to use the +guard command to good effect, providing a defensive screen for magic or missile weapon users or temporary protection to disabled or outmatched fighters. Magic users and psionic players will usually find themselves outmatched if they end up in melee combat with trained fighters, but when acting in a supporting role can dramatically tip the odds in favor of their group.

And, perhaps the most obvious and crucial form of responding to events is paying attention to how often you are being hit and how much damage you are taking with each blow. When you approach or go below zero health, it may be time for all out defense, surrender, or a strategic advance to the rear, especially if the damage is coming in large chunks. The +check command by itself, with no arguments, displays your current effective stats, including the amount of damage you have taken. +check <target> gives a general idea of <target>'s state of health. Typing +check #on makes a setting that causes you to receive an automatic +check report any time you are injured (typing +check #off turns off this feature).