| General Role-playing Game Guide for New Players |
Research Before Buying |
Search the web for information before you purchase a game. Find out if the game system requirements are suitable for your computer system. Then research the game itself: Does it have the features you want, such as PVP, Crafting, etc.? How much does it cost and is there a monthly fee? What level of maturity does it require? Finally ask yourself if you have the time and money to invest in that game. |
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Where to Buy Software |
Games can be purchased at local retailers, however, great deals can be found on the web, such as eBay and Amazon. Be sure the game has not been used. Sometimes you can just purchase the game key and have it emailed to you, and then you can download the actual game software from the official game site. Also, you may need to have a credit card to pay the monthly fees, but most games allow you to buy a game card and use that to pay your fees. |
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Do You Need Additional Accounts? |
If you have two computers, it is often profitable to purchase two copies of the game, and create a fighter type charater on one account and a healer type character on another acct. This will allow you to play both characters at the same time, and will greatly assist in leveling your character quickly. |
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Character Creation |
Research the type of character you wish to play. You will be playing him for a long time, and you will want to make sure he has the abilities you want. Make sure you spell the character's name correctly, as you cannot usually change the name later. If you make a mistake at the beginning, it is easier to delete that character and start another one at that time with the correct name. Each character type has their own special abilities. Some characters are magic users, some are pure fighters. Some only heal or have spells that help other characters. Some characters have the ability to gather materials (harvesting) or create items (crafters). Also, this is the time to consider your character's "personality". Do you want to be an evil pirate named "Black Jack" who uses a sword? or a healer character named "Angelika" who wears a white gown and cape, and always has a smile on her face? Warning: a lot of the female characters on the game are actually played by males! What Do I Do first? Complete all of the tutorial. Quests are great to obtain advancement, items and money. Usually you need to advance your character's level, obtain money and items, train in skills, and buy armor, weapons, and jewelry. Check the official game website and forums for ideas and help. Quests Quests are tasks completed by the character who then receives a reward. Often the quest starts by initiating a conversation with a game character, who describes the tasks to complete. Often certain quests must be completed for the character to advance or learn skills. Some quests are one-time only and some are repeatable. Loot Loot is the items (drops) or money you receive from killing monsters or other players. The person that collects the items off corpses is the looter. Sometimes in a group one person will be chosen to loot all the corpses and then later when the fighting is finished, the loot will be distributed. Quest loot is often called a reward. Banks and Warehouses The character usually has a backpack or method of carrying inventory. The capacity of this pack is finite, so addtional items need to be placed in the character's bank or warehouse. Additional storage is often available in the form of housing, where the character can place more items. Housing and Boats Some games offer player housing, some offer only guild hall housing, and some have no housing at all. The same for boats or spaceships or other vehicles. Clans, Grouping, Raids, and Community Activities You can play the game solo, but there are often benefits to joining a group. You can join with one or more other characters to complete a task or fight a harder monster than you can handle by yourself. You can join a clan, whose members often join together to complete tasks and help each other. Clans can help you but they also often require fees, contributions and specific times to play. Other community activies might be special events such as weddings or in-game events to obtain special items. Skills, Stats, and Spells Each character has their own set of skills. These skills are often shown as icons in a special area of the screen. For example, a Ranger might have the ability to use a bow. STATS are the character's attributes. Examples are STR (the character's strength level) or INT (the character's intelligence level). Stats determine different things in different games, but an example would be if you have a character that has to carry heavy armor and a heavy weapon, he might need a lot of STR. Spells are magic that a character can use, either to blast an enemy with or use on himself or other characters to temporarily increase their ability levels (buffs). Crafting and Gathering Crafting consists of a character creating items such as armor and weapons from materials. Other types of crafting would be creating potions, clothing, or furniture. These items are usually crafted from materials gathered or obtained by other means, and sold to other players by private stores or auctions. Death, Theft, & PVP Your character will occasionally die, usually by a monster's hand. Usually it is not permanent, and you will only lose some item or percent of your level. Sometimes in a PVP enabled game, another character will kill you even if you don't want to fight. Choose your game wisely for those without PVP, and in other games avoid areas where PVP is allowed. Usually towns and cities are safe zones. Do not allow other characters to try on or borrow your items, even your best friend might not give it back. If you can't afford to lose the item, don't do it! Be careful when purchasing items, confirm it is the one you want, and that the price is correct. Players have been known to switch sale items that have similar icons for lesser items. Keep items in the bank to avoid dropping them upon death. Earning and Spending In-game Money Wisely Earn extra money by crafting and selling items when you are offline. Do as many repeatable quests as possible at the same time. Shop around, you can usually get better deals from other players than from a shop. Weapons are usually more important than armor. Buy only what you need at first. Concentrate on equipping one or two characters well. |
