Stamina is one of the four values available in your health bar (top left of screen, yellow bar). Your total stamina is based on your Dexterity stat value. Stamina is expended in one of several ways:
The higher one's Armor Penalty, the more stamina damage you will take when receiving damage. Players utilizing Mace Fighting will also deliver more stamina damage to their opponent.
A dexxer who goes out attacking enemies unprepared may quickly find themselves out of stamina- unable to swing their weapon anymore. For this reason, there are a few strategies to manage stamina loss and regen.
The heavier the armor one is wearing, the more stamina damage that will be incurred. For this reason, not every dexxer should be wearing plate mail. If you find your stamina is draining too quickly, even with stamina regen food (see below), consider using lighter armor like chainmail, ringmail, or leather. Plate Mail in particular is intended largely for tank type characters, not your average dexxer.
There are two ways to regain stamina effectively in combat:
Both of these can be bought from player crafters (Cooking and Alchemy, respectively). Stamina food lasts 15 minutes and increases your stamina regeneration rate. Refresh potions instantly fill your stamina meter, but also fill your Potion Toxicity meter and thus cannot be chugged endlessly.