A Strategy Guide for Beginners

Joined: Posts: -19

For all of you who have been here since the beginning, you more than likely know a much better way.....but hey, this has worked for every class I've played.
First off, being an atheist is understandably going to make your stay in a fantasy based realm dependant on gods VERY difficult; so choose someone to worship and renounce them later if you must.
Now that thats out of the way, onward to the Adventurer's guild shop to get the gimme gear! Just type gimme or say it..... don't really remember.
Onto the arena and grind it out until at least rank 15! Its not about the money at low levels its about the XP!
Feeling lucky? Spell up and head to Centaur Wood to battle wolves and foxes and Centaurs! The centaurs all drop eq that sells for two or three hundred gold a piece, some centaurs drop multiple items so....
Obviously gold is not hard to acquire for the cheap spells and potions you need at low levels.
Got to rank 25 yet? Didn't think so.....keep GRINDING!
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Alright you made it now, right? Spell up and head into the mountains and look for tree spirits! Don't forget your purple potions! This is a little tougher and may require frequent trips back to Centaur Wood to boost your gold supplies.
Alright, now you're getting the hang of the game right? Your skills/spells should be coming along pretty decent!
If you tire of killing tree spirits, kill the owls there too! Or if you're feeling really ballsy, go and try Halfling children to the north of the tree spirits!
Now if you were expecting a complete and detailed strategy guide, I'm not IGN so....
The best way to progress is to be SOCIAL, to GROUP, and PERSISTANCE?
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Oh jeez, did I spell that last one right?
Well what do you think players!? Any suggestions for the beginners? What worked for you?
After all this is playtest, and no one has posted a Strategy guide since this game's inception?
For shame....

Joined: Posts: -19

A couple of things I forgot!
Powernaps or just plain resting if you want to see what's going on around you are a great way to heal yourself and recharge your energy(moves) at low levels, just make sure you are out of harm's way!
Ask players questions! Meet and greet everyone you come across!
Quests are a good way to get gold and qts needed for promotion!
Read the forums and your guild boards(that is to say if you're of the appropriate circle) and be an ACTIVE poster.
If all else fails try the help command! Bug your GM for guild specific strategy, they should be more than willing to help you!
Oh and one more thing about forums...
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Be sure to post it in the appropriate forum! Embarassed

Joined: Posts: -19

Your view on Atheism = Your own. I am currently playing an Atheist and it hasn't hurt me yet. If you recall you recall to the Adventurers Guild which works just fine. Your definition of "VERY difficult" seems to off to me. The only thing Deities do for you (unless you pray for a spell) is charge you for spells in their temples. Selerne in Tyr will do it for anyone regardless of who you worship though so if you really want to buy spells you can.

Get the gimme gear (you just type it) otherwise you are naked. The Adventurers Guild is also where you will choose your Ethos, Good Evil or Neutral. From what I have read on these boards DS appears to be an Evil-heavy place. Thus if you want an easy time go evil, a harder time neutral and the hardest seems to be good tho I wouldn't know.

Then decide (you probably already know as I did) what guild you want to belong to. There is a little quest (very nice touch btw) that you must complete to join, but then the process is automated. It was fairly easy yet my quest got me to learn a bit about Keltrath (the starting City). I found the carts/wagons/carriages this way. Those will be important if you want to travel to other Cities.

Then once you have been enrolled in your guild you should practice your weapon skill. I chose attack:piercing, but whatever you plan to use. Once you have a weapon then head to the fountain in Keltrath and head down into what people call "the arena" This confused me at first since I had earlier found the player vs. player arena which is a totally different one. So I call it "under the fountain" but whatever. Start on the first level as things there are easiest. When you get enough XP it will say you can go promote. You then run back to your guild hall and type 'promote' and then get some more practices, practice up your weapon skill till full. Save whatever practices you have after that rather than waste them on another weapon skill (like I did a few times oops!). You will use them later at your Guild Headquarters (which I guess are all outside Keltrath but in different places).

I would only hang out in the arena until you can clear the place, all four levels. Then it is pretty much worthless (about level 10 or so). Head out and start asking around about where your Guild Headquarters is. Head there, mine was in Tyr so I headed there and practiced up second attack, any attack skill usually helps at low levels. Read whatever you can online at your Guilds private board (at the bottom of the web board screen) to get info since at first you won't be able to read the boards in the Guild Headquarters till you get a 'circle promotion' which seems to have to be handed out by the person who plays your Guildmaster. That seems to be important to note, your Guildmaster is an actual player. Contact them via PM on this webboard or using Mudmail from a Post Office in a major city (I found one in Keltrath and Tyr at least not sure where else they are).

Then find stuff near your Guildheadquarters to kill. In Tyr the Wizards Tower off Arcane Avenue, the Graveyard which is past the Narrow Alley off Baron's Blvd. and the Wererats in the Barn off High Road near the Tyr cart marker were all beneficial to me. I am told there is Haunted House in the Graveyard but haven't been able to find it yet. After you are 15th or so you can hit the Centaur Woods south of Keltrath Fountain as suggested, but only tangle with the Brown Centaurs as they are worth great XP and the others just poison you too, the foxes are mean. Your most eficient path to advancement is the Browns and the one Dark one. Look out for the Dark one tho, it will attack you on sight!

Finally, SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR FOOD! If you ever get caught without food or water for long you start to starve/dehydrate to death. To travel to the other cities you head WEST from the Keltrath Fountain out the gates to till you see a stone marker. Carts, Carriages and Wagons pull up. I believe the Carts go to Tyr, the Carriages to Sehalas, and the Wagons to Diabolus. DO NOT WALK ON THE HIGHWAY ALONE! It takes a ton of energy (i.e. Moves) and you wear out fast, I almost died of hunger that way. So always travel with food and ride the rides.

Talk to people you run into, everyone seems to be rather helpful and use the NEWBIE Channel (Yes, it really is a word AND a channel, IMAGINE!) Just type 'newbie <message>' and it won't cost you any moves like gossip does.

There. An actually helpful, non-judgemental Newbie Guide by Newbies for Newbies.

Joined: Posts: -19

I can't believe I forgot about healing *smack me*

If you think you are going to lose a fight type 'FLEE' it might not work the first time but keep trying.

If you are wounded and want to heal, make sure you are full of food and water then sit down and take nap 'sleep' in a safe place. You heal much faster in any temple area so if you can get there to sleep thats a good idea.

Finally, BEFRIEND A PRIEST! I have and its worked out RATHER well *smirk* They can make food, heal you and cast sanctuary (which halves damage you take).

A few quests I have found helpful:
- There is a mysterious old man who likes to tell riddles in the Garden outside Keltrath. Just head west out the gates of Keltrath and follow the Brick pathway south. If you poke around in the Garden you'll find him near a Gazebo.

- There is a farmer named Gidrin outside Tyr. Just head west out the Farmer's Gate till you find a gate heading south. He is in there and fancies and omelette! If you help him with that he gives you a nice gift! Might need some help with getting the frying pan from what I'm told.

Joined: Posts: -19

I think this is a great idea. It's good to see different points of view as well.

as far as atheism goes, I only see that working for someone who has a guild in Tyr. For example, if an assassin were to decidenot to worship Ahandora (worship is encouraged, but not required) they would have to go all the way to Tyr, spell up, and then go back to Wyrm/Halfling Village/wherever they were going. It would take ages, so I agree with the original post.. for most cases, consider a deity. it's doable, definitely, but would make things harder than need be for new players, especially.

Also, if you're able, join a guild sooner than later. It's been a while, but I believe you can still hunt under the fountain up to level 20, even if you're part of a regular guild. Casters would be hurt if they wait too long, since most spells are based on guild rank instead of player rank, and so are many other skills, for that matter.

If you're broke and hungry, head to the Gardens just outside of Keltrath. There are many fruit trees that you can just "pick" fruit from. Remember, the bananas have to be held and peeled first. There's also free food in the form of berry bushes in Centaur wood, and a couple of sources of water. You'll also find that if you rest in a circle of stones in Centaur Woods, you'll heal quickly.

Also, check your guild forums for previous posts that could be uselful. I myself have written out a guide similar to this, but specifically geared towards assassins. I've marked it as sticky on the assassin forums, but other guilds may have it a little farther back and you may have to do a bit of digging.

Oh, and one last thing... some of the equipment that the centaurs drop are actually quite excellent for anyone who's starting out, and will be good for them for quite some time. they crumble easily, though, so consider keeping a spare in your pack just in case.

Again, Verschus, great idea with starting this thread! Maybe a section with this kind of information could be added to the website?

Sapphar Aliaric

Joined: Posts: -19

I believe that about sums it up Laughing

I would add just a few things, and that is that it is not just your GM(guild master) who can up your circle, but in some guilds, I believe LT's(lieutenant) can as well. To find out what guilds are available, use guild list to find out the available guilds, then ask the Historian in the Adventurers Guild to tell you more about the guilds you are interested in. All you have to do is say the name of the guild and he goes off into a story.

Also, if you don't like the arena, there is always the Garden in keltrath. It is a bit tougher, but it brings me to my second point, which is grouping. IF you can find a group, by all means join it. Hunting is much easier in a group than solo; it will go faster and there is less chance of you dying.

Also (like everyone has said, but can not be stressed enough), food and water are ESSENTIAL when trekking from city to city, as the highways are brutal to "younger" players. So, if you can, take the cart (goes to Tyr), carriage (goes to Sehaelas) or the wagon (goes to Diabolous), but if you can not wait for transportation, make sure you are stocked up with provisions as you are in for a long journey. And yes, the NEWBIE channel is a great way to get advice. I would consider it an OOC channel, so do not be afraid to ask any questions you may have, as most people who play here are pretty cool and easy to get along with outside of their "RolePlaying mode." Just because they are powerful and may seem to be mean, gruff, or callous doesn't mean that thats how they really are, but it just may be how they are playing that specific character.

I think that covers my two cents.

Joined: Posts: -19

When I was starting out I would hunt at the castle of Lorvaelis alot. The golden castle knight and the spectre of the jeweler would give good XP I thought. However with the new XP based on ethos I don't think it would be that great or a battle ground for goodies anymore. Garden isn't too bad, the peacocks and garden sprites are good at those younger ranks. Try to get a sheeny backpack from the wizard as soon as possible. that free armor isn't necessary but useful. Again GROUPING must be stressed, especially once you start to head towards Halfling Village (HV). start with girls, then the boys, and villagers. But getting ahead of myself. with a group HV is a rank 25 area, alone more 30-35, for those fighter classes. Also at younger ranks you can always take out the crazy hermit, and finally the travellers at the travellers bar on Belthar. Those are good, as well as the barkeepers assistant there. Just don't walk there when you're young, stick with the cart and purple potions.
Just my two cents.

Joined: Posts: -19

Just thought of a few little helpful tricks 'o the trade since I can't play right now.
Elven Waybread! Its cheap, its easy and its filling. Seek out a baker in Tyr or Lasentrop (Not sure if anyone else sells them) and load yourself up with them if you can manage to save money. You can buy 100 of them for around 500 gold, now that IS a bargain.
Purple Potions are much cheaper at low levels, so stock up! You're not going to be able to take many long journies, so recalling to a temple is an easy way to conserve moves and promote.
Befriending a Priest is a great idea as said earlier, but it is easier to just befriend a Priest in a temple around where you're hunting. Be it non-denominational or a God's Priest that you choose to worship.
Listen to gossip channels and be aware of where everyone is at that wants to talk about it. If money is short, do their clean up work for them.
Hotspots for cleanup :
Lasentrop castle guards drop signet rings and Protectors that can sometimes practically litter the area when players come to reap their experience and not their equipment.
Peacekeepers drop helms and breastplates and such in Kelrath when Crusaders or Berserkers storm through and slay them but are not worried about picking them up.
Diabolous for the evil guys and Sehaelas for the goodies are good places because groups hunt there to keep their alignments straight and normally care more about XP than $$.
It is in rather poor taste to "clean up" after players, but what does a poor man/woman care if they can't feed themselves?
If someone kills a mob and doesn't grab the loot their bags may be full; so in the interest of courtesy shout or send a gossip tell to announce your actions, but then again there is a reason possession is 9/10ths of the law Twisted Evil

Also, who says you have to kill everything in an area at once? If you time it right a purple potion can be a life saver. Spells last a while for a reason, take a nap instead of paying to heal yourself at a temple as active Priests to group with at lower levels are slowly going the way of the buffalo. Paladins and Druids also have limited healing ability also; so as long as you don't abuse it and someone is near your location, they might just be willing to come and heal you in a dire situation if you choose to ask.
Probably the best piece of strategy/advice I can give any new player is this :
Take your time, be patient, try and find a group(but if not don't be afraid to solo!) and the rewards will slowly add up.
These are the classes I have used the strategies in this post and the previous ones on :
Mage.....Priest.....Fighter....Assassin....Ranger
Rank 1 to 25 in roughly 1 full day of solo gameplay.
(That is to say 24 hours of gameplay, taking breaks is strongly recommend.)
Again, some classes are easier to play than others so you may promote quicker. Grouping obviously will promote you quicker and just not being as cautious as I am will either promote you quicker or slow you down.
*These are the things that have worked, and continue to work for me. Individual results may vary, consult your Physician before attempting marathon gaming. Side effects include irratability, arrogance and a general appearance of being a know-it-all.* Razz

I think I've seen too many prescription pill commercials tonight Very Happy

Joined: Posts: -19

I am above 20 now and have found out that the best XP runs (for an evil rogue and priest):

- Garden of Unity
- Centaurs
- Birds n Stuff and Cloudwalker

Kill everything along the way and it seems to work well for both priest and rogue experience tables.

Purple potions are indeed useful.

I know an LP that does HV by himself at low 20's but combined me and my priest friend didn't get much bang for the buck there. We could take the girls but we'd get so wounded it wasn't worth it really. So you warrior types (or holy warriors at least) might fare well there earlier.

Joined: Posts: -19

So let's talk about groups and formation.

Unless you have a really strong-armed priest with good HP, you're better off leaving the priest in the back row and just casting healing and the occasional damage spell at low levels. That way your priest won't waste mana healing him/herself, and will instead let you keep going longer. Same with mages, really.. their offensive spells are great, but they're not great at melee so they're better off left in the back where it's safe.

If you haven't tried that yet, give it a go and see if it makes HV better for you.

Joined: Posts: -19

I have figured out the ins and outs of the formation system. I really like it other than the bug with inviso person after I get disconnected but thats no biggie. We fully utilize both of our HPs though. After I get down to about 30 percent or so, then I will start a fight with a backstab or something and then reform myself to the second row and her up front. If she gets too hurt then we switch back and/or take a rest etc.

We generally fought with me tanking and the priest in the second row, because she does still hit pretty hard hehehe. So we do much better, plus at this level her heals aren't really worth that much. Sanctuary and bless are awesome, but her little heals plus her limited mana don't make her much use in just the back row.

Plus, I don't want to hog all the damage experience. From reading on this board today I learned that XP is based upon ethos? Is that correct? If so I will pay more attention, not that I can tell what ethos mobs are but I can definitely guess. Either way we've been killing lots of probably good stuff (i.e. the Elven Tree Tops west of Keltrath) already.

I am sure we will get to HV more in the future, and the Tree Spirits on the way in were definitely fun (they are invisible and will attack you on site so beware!). The path to HV is definitely dangerous however and not someplace you should go without someone who has been there before. Also, we found a nice quest that the Halfling Chieftain has going, haven't completed it yet but it seems to involve things that are just lying about on the ground up there...

Joined: Posts: -19

Ethos indeed affects xp (both battle xp and kill xp) you get from mobs. When you fight something of your own ethos (evil vs evil, neutral vs neutral, good vs good) you don't receive battle xp at all and the kill will be worth less as well.

You can check what ethos a mob is by comparing your alignment before and after the fight on your score sheet. If it dropped you killed something of good alignment, if it raised you killed something evil and if it stays the same the mob was neutral.

Keep an eye on your alignment by the way! If you kill too much of your own ethos, or too much evil or good in the case of a neutral character, you will stray! This means that you will hardly regenerate hp, mp and mv and that you don't receive xp at all anymore unless you stop straying.

Good characters should keep their alignment between 350 and 1000, evil characters between -1000 and -350 and neutral characters between -350 and 350. If you stray, kill mobs that will bring your alignment back in the acceptable range for your ethos. Careful though, since you won't be regenerating health, mana or moves anymore until you do!

Joined: Posts: -19

There's an area similar to the arena beneath a mummy in the caverns beneath the arena. Experience rewards are greater, equipment is dropped, and potions are dropped. Selling the potions are a great way to make money that not many other people do. People actually buy stuff from him too, so...he's rarely outta money.
There's also miners beneath the arena that have gems that you can sell to a certain dwarf in a Forge somewhere in those same caverns. If you can manage to find some chunks of mithril, also down there, he'll even make you something.

Oh....*looks around to make sure no one else is listening*...
Keep it quiet, those potions sell for a decent amount and if you can figure out how to play chess with that mummy....
I'd like to know how.
Aside from trading crowns off, which you also get rewarded for, I just don't know. Maybe you can't play chess, only trade off items...

Joined: Posts: -19

I think the Newbie tour needs to be brought back (with Raine I believe her name was).

It was very informative and it sure taught me how to play well when I was a newbie. Even if you weren't a newbie, you still could go through it quickly and such.

Athanar may be working on a new newbie tour, but I haven't heard of this for quite some time so I cannot say for sure.

**Alamadrian**