Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Controls

Keyboard controls

See also Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Controls

The following commands are based on the Amiga version.

Button	Command	Description	Notes
↑	North or Advance	Attempt to move north (surface) or to advance (dungeon).	Used after certain actions to indicate target direction north.
↓	South or Retreat	Attempt to move south (surface) or to retreat (dungeon).	Used after certain actions to indicate target direction south.
←	West or Turn Left	Attempt to move west (surface) or turn to the left (dungeon).	Used after certain actions to indicate target direction west.
→	East or Turn Right	Attempt to move east (surface) or turn to the right (dungeon).	Used after certain actions to indicate target direction east.
Space	Pass	Wait a turn without attempting any movement or action.	Food will be consumed and Hit Points and Magic Points will be restored as usual. Command is automatically chosen after a while if no input is received.

Sorted in the order of the Sega Master System port menu, that is close to the usefulness of the command.

Letter	Command	SMS	Description	Notes
T	Talk	1. Talk	Begin talking to characters.	Requires a direction. You can always "look" at them or start a conversation about a character's "name", "job", or "health". You may ask them about words they or other characters mention, and they may ask you a question. You may ask some characters to "join" your party. You may "give" gold to some characters. Say "bye" to end a conversation.
A	Attack	2. Attack	Perform melee or ranged attack.	Requires a direction.
F	Fire	2. Attack	Fire a ship's cannons.	Must board ship to use. Requires a direction, which must be one of the ship's broadsides.
C	Cast spell	3. Magic: cast	Cast a spell using magic.	Always requires the first letter of the desired spell to cast (see spell list). Will consume spell reagents, which must be mixed before use. Requires a character's number (1-8) if done during battle.
M	Mix reagents	3. Magic: mix	Prepare the reagents required for a spell to be cast later.	Prompts for first letter of spell to prepare, then prompts for letters corresponding to reagents to mix (see spell list). Press  Enter  or  Space  to finalize mixture; in the SMS port, select the "MIX" word at the top to finalize mixture.
G	Get chest	4. Get chest	Open a chest, attempting to disarm any traps.	Higher Dexterity increases the chance of disarming a trap. Requires a character's number (1-8) if done during battle.
I	Ignite torch	5. Use equipment	Lights a torch to see in dungeons.	Must have a torch, which will be consumed.
J	Jimmy lock	5. Use equipment	Use a "magic key" (a lockpick) to unlock a door.	Requires a direction. Must have a key, which will be consumed.
P	Peer at a gem	5. Use equipment	Look into a gem.	Must have a gem, which will be consumed. Shows your position on a map.
L	Locate position	5. Use equipment	Determine your present position.	Requires a certain item discovered by talking to inhabitants: the sextant, which gives coordinates .
U	Use	5. Use item	Use an item found through searching.
R	Get a weapon ready	6. Ready: weapon	Have a character switch to a specified weapon.	Requires a character's number (1-8) unless used in combat or in a dungeon room. Prompts for letter corresponding to weapon. Present weapon will be unequipped. Weapon must be owned, cannot be shared, and character must be able to use it (see weapon list).
W	Wear armour	6. Ready: armour	Have a character switch to the specified clothing.	Requires a character's number (1-8) unless used in combat or in a dungeon room. Prompts for letter corresponding to armor. Present armor will be unequipped. Armor must be owned, cannot be shared, and character must be able to wear it (see armor list).
S	Search	7. Search	Inspect your present location carefully for hidden items.	Different from "get chest": if you search a chest, the chest will remain closed.
H	Hole up & camp	8. Camp: rest	Make camp and rest, recovering health.	Healing benefit requires resting 100 moves since last camp was made (move counter divided by 100, then checked). Party can be attacked while camping. Can be used in dungeons and on the over world.
N	New order	9. Camp: new order	Rearranges order of characters in party.	Requires two characters' numbers (2-8). Party leader must remain 1.
Z	[Z]tatus	10. Camp: status	Display character status or inventory.	Requires a character's number (1-8) or 0 for inventory. Use arrow keys to view pages of inventory. Turns do not pass while reading this menu, but moon phases and wind directions do.
Q	Quit & Save	11. Camp: save	Save the game to disk.	Must be on the world surface. Game will continue.
B	Board	Button A	Board a ship or mount a horse.
X	e[X]it	Button B	Get off a horse or ship and travel on foot.	Can be used to camp at sea.
E	Enter	(Automatic)	Enter a settlement, dungeon, or shrine.	Used on the world surface.
O	Open	(Automatic)	Attempt to open a door.	Requires a direction.
K	Klimb	(Automatic)	Climb up a ladder in a dungeon or building.	Used in dungeons and buildings. Will return to the surface if at the topmost level of a dungeon.
D	Descend	(Automatic)	Climb down a ladder.	Used in dungeons and buildings.
Y	Yell	(Automatic)	Command a horse to "giddyup" or "whoa".	Actually used to advance though a specific point in the plot.
V	Volume	N/A	Adjusts volume	Amiga, Atari ST: full, 1/2, 1/4, off. MS-DOS: on, off.