Difference between revisions of "Newbie tutorial"

Revision as of 17:13, 17 July 2009

Welcome to the wonderful world of Fallensword and Krul Island, I am going to detail some of the need to knows and helpful hits to get your feet off the ground. Im going to start off with what you see on your screen and then go right down the menu to try to explain what everything does.

The Bar

The first thing you see is a bunch of numbers across the top of your screen, I’ll spend some time to explain what these numbers are. Below is a screenshot of the bar with numbers below each thing which is referred to in this text.

1. On the left side is your character's name which you chose when you registered with the game. If you hover your mouse over the face icon then you will see a popup containing your current stats. This is extremely helpful when you are exploring new areas and creatures so you can compare numbers before striking.
2. To the right of the name is your current stamina and if you hover the mouse cursor over it, it will display the maximum stamina as well. When you perform some action, such as moving or attacking, your stamina will decrease. The only way to make it increase is to wait - every hour you gain a certain amount of stamina (50 when you start playing).
3. The red progress bar in the middle is your experience and shows your current progress towards your next level.
4. Next to the right of that is how many Fallen Sword Points (FSPs) you currently have. There are a lot of ways to obtain these, for instance donating money to the game, recruiting new players and selling items in the Auction House. Again we’ll get into more details later so I will move on.
5. The final item in the bar is how much gold you currently have on you. Gold is easier to obtain than FSPs because it is recovered from creatures while adventuring and possibly stolen from other players when you attack them. Gold is the main currency of the game

Now that these vita statistics are explained I will move on to the Menu bar that is on the left side of the screen:

The Homepage

The homepage of the game is where the developers and game staff post updates and messages about the game. Also on this page is the Shout Box, which is a box where players can "shout" messages that everybody else can see. Typical shouted messages include people selling buffs, or buying the locations super elite creatures you may stumble upon but not able to defeat. Of course, you also get your usual riff-raff from time to time. To post in the shout box you have to pay 1 FSP, which will make your message visible for about one hour. Make sure you make your message count.

Also on the homepage is a featured guild which is a guild that has paid for advertisement. If you are seeking a guild this is stop number one because those that advertise are actively looking for new guild members.

Character Profile

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Profile Page

This is the control center for you character. The first obvious thing is your avatar, a visual representation of yourself in the game and to some people one of the most important parts of the game. To import a picture click the Change Image link above the picture and seek out a 200 x 200 jpg image on your computer then upload. To the right of that is your Biography where you can type a small biography about yourself but is more popularly used on detailing the services you offer, to change this click on the “Change Bio” link. By default, you can only put 50 characters worth of text in your bio, but that can be upgraded using FSP.

Below your biography is the inventory section. This is the equipment you are currently wearing and consists of (from left to right, top to bottom) Gloves, Helmet, Amulet, Weapon, Armor, Shield, Ring, Boots and Rune. At the start of the game you have nothing but that changes rather quickly as you find items by killing creatures or buying them at the auction house.

Besides the item you are currently wearing, you have the possibility to store items in your backpack. Whenever you find an item on a creature it goes to your backpack and from there you can equip on your character. Beware there are level restrictions on items so if you are shopping for equipment make sure you can readily wear it. You start off at 3 Backpack spaces and can be increased by upgrading your backpack size using FSP. If your pack is full you will not be able to take items from a creature so if you are looking for a specific item it is best to keep one or more slots empty. There is a Manage link above your backpack that allows you to throw away items you don't want to keep. Just beware that any item you throw away is permanently destroyed and cannot be restored. If it is a good item, you may want to try to sell it at the auction house before throwing it away.

Above your inventory is a Combat Sets link. When you click this, a small menu pops up allowing you to “save” the current gear you are wearing as a combat set. Note that this does not add more storage for you - it simply uses the items in your backpack and switches them around. This is more of an advanced tactic for players who have enough backpack space and equipment for 2 separate sets of gear (most popular is having an “Offline” set featuring a lot of defensive equipment and a “Leveling” gear which is used when hunting). You start off with one set and can get more by upgrading using FSP.

At the bottom left is your list of enemies and allies. To become allied with a player, that other player needs to accept your request. Note also that an alliance does not necessairly have to be mutual - you can have someone as an ally but the other doesn't have to have you as an ally. For enemies, there are no restrictions - you can add whoever you want and they cannot prevent it. Many players use the enemy list as an extended list of allies, or as a list of players that offer some service that is frequently needed (such as selling buffs or potions). From the beginning, you can only have 5 allies and 5 enemies but this can be increased by upgrading your character.

Above your allies is a listing of your current enhancements. You can learn what each enhancement does by hovering your mouse cursor over the question mark right next to it. The bar next to each enhancement shows how much of that enhancement is applied. It's value ranges between 0 and 100%. You can never have more than 100% on any given enhancement.

Level

Your current Level XP – Short for Experience Points, the sole contributing factor to you gaining a level accumulated by defeating creatures and completing quests, and can go down if you are defeated by a creature or another player.

Stats

The stats for your character are displayed right under your profile image. The first table below are your combat stats and they define how well you perform in a combat.

In the same area as the combat stats, there's some information about your character's current status:

Skills

Main article: Skills Guide

This is where you manage all your skills or “Buffs” these are enhancements you can cast on yourself or others giving them bonuses. There are 3 different types of skills Offensive, Defensive, and Special. All of them have unique abilities. Some skills require a certain level to obtain, and it is also a “tree” which means you need 10 points in the skills above it in the tree to be able to obtain it. To see a full description of a skill click on the skill and a description will appear. The maximum of a skill is 100 at the beginning and every 50 levels your character has accumulated the maximums increase by 5. These skill levels are also increased via the Fury Caster enhancement upon casting (which means you will cast above your maximum you are at the maximum for the skill). If you make mistakes you can reset all your skill points via the Upgrade page using FSP. Expert Tip: Be patient with your skill points. It is very wise to save all your skill points to level 25 when you can obtain the maximum “Adept Learner” skill then save up enough skill points to obtain a maximum “Librarian” skill at level 75 these two are the most important skills in the game.

Level Up

This is where you manage your base statistics. You gain 2 level up points per level you have accumulated. If you make mistakes you can reset your Level Up points via the Upgrades page using FSP. Expert Tip: Plan for the long haul. When you are level 1 you are not logically planning ahead all the way to level 140 but unfortunately this is the time to start. Go damage all the way from beginning to the end if you simply want to power through all the levels from 1-185 (You have approximately 10 points to play with which I would apply to attack to get you off the ground at the beginning)

Log

This is the communications center for your character. Any Received messages from other players, mass messages from the guild, sales alerts, secure trade alerts, incoming attacks, and any alert from receiving items, gold, and FSP from another player all go here, sometimes you get information from the game administrators here. This is also where you manage your “ignore” list where you can block any transaction from a player.

Quest Book

This is where all your started and completed quest information goes, very straightforward and quite useful when looking up a quest you are working on to see if you meet the requirement to move on or not.

Preferences

Hardly ever used but there are 4 very important tools in here, here is where you can fine tune the animation screen for combat, change your password, the minimum group level is quite useful if you are in a guild and are active in making group attacks, this is where you can limit the level of people requesting to join your group attacks, that way if you need certain statistics to defeat an opponent you can make sure and have the right people available to help. Also in preferences is the almighty and powerful Instant Portal to Krul Island. It costs 25 stamina however to activate but it will send you back to the very beginning of the game. Expert tip: The easiest way to get to a certain realm from any place on the map is to use the instant portal feature then go to Krul Beach go down and around till you see the Varas Dungeon entrance then go up the passageway and take the first left till you see the portal from there you can choose which Realm you want to go to. This complete process takes 93 stamina.

World View Map

This is where you hunt, you can navigate through the screen using the arrows around the adventure screen and it’s from here where you see the terrains all around you. To the right of the adventure screen is information about what is currently on the square you are at. There can be creatures, other players, stores, and relics, entrances to other realms, portals, and quest locations. There is always an “eyeball” icon next to these things so you can examine them, if it is another player there is an attack icon if you wish to initiate a PvP attack against that player, when there’s creatures there are three possibly four attack icons determining how much stamina you are willing to commit to the attack (20, 40, 60), very rarely do you choose anything other than 20. If you have an attack group ready there is another icon to commence the group attack (furthest icon to the right). Underneath the World window there are 3 quick buttons to do special things. There is a button to quickly access your backpack so you can drop and destroy items on the run. There is a quick repair button that automatically repairs your equipment (explained later). There is a quick group attack button that will create a group attack for your guild members to join. Below those quick buttons there is an area where you can view all your active buffs and how much time is left on them.

Actions Attack Player

If you wish to attack a player this is where you can go. There is also a listing of recently online players that are your level (this can be used to scout your competition too not only attacking). When you decide to commence a PvP attack the amount of stamina you put into the attack is how much damage you do to them in terms of XP and gold loss and damage to their equipment. (This is often referred as “10 stam” hits or “100 stam hits”). You can only freely attack players above or below you by five levels.

Blacksmith

This is where you repair your equipment. I cannot emphasize this too much: Repair all the time. If your equipment takes damage it reduces the statics the equipment gives you even though it doesn’t change the numbers it displays it does. Expert Tip: When you are viewing the world pressing ‘R’ on your keyboard repairs your equipment.

Bank

This is where you can view the details of your personal bank you get one deposit to your bank a day and can be upgraded using FSP. You are only able to deposit 25% of your gold on hand. (If you are on a guild you do not deposit to the guild here you deposit to the guild in the Guild Management Screen and there a Manage link above the Bank Amount.)

Bounty Board

Main article: Bounty Board

This is where you enter the wonderful world of bounty hunting. Let me go over the rules. Everything revolves around bounty tickets which costs 1 FSP for 100. If someone attacks you and you didn’t like it you can bounty them putting a price on their defeat. To place a bounty it takes 10 bounty tickets then you need to set an award and a required amount of kills. The usual way out is to put a 10 kill requirement and have the reward their level times one hundred gold, then you get to sit back and let a bounty hunter do your dirty work. If you are a bounty hunter and you wish to complete a bounty it also requires a certain amount of bounty tickets depending on how much higher in level you are to them. There is no level requirement restriction when completing bounty kills. Once you accept it if you are the first to complete the required amount of kills you receive the bounty reward and your name is entered into the bounty pool for a possible bonus prize in FSP. If you accepted the bounty and someone else finished it before you: you don’t get your tickets back so you must choose wisely. Expert Tip: There are unwritten bounty board ethics you can adhere to that will protect yourself. Rule #1: Ask the player if someone is working on their bounty. I know people may think people will lie but lying is a silly thing to do if no one is working on their bounty they would want you to finish it as soon as possible. Rule #2: If someone is offline check their equipment durability to see if their equipment is damaged. This will save you a lot of tickets. Rule #3: Even though you can: don’t bounty a bounty hunter who cleared your bounty using 10 stamina hits, these types of bounty hunters are your friends.

Notes

• This is the Newbie Tutorial, not the Detailed Tutorial. If you are going to add something to it, keep it short and simple. The detailed tutorial is massively overwhelming, we don't want this to turn into that.

• Not Complete But a good start :)