Newbie Tips

[Tala]

I am not by any stretch of the imagination an expert on the game, but I have made some blunders here and there, and I thought I would share some of what I have learned from my mistakes in hope they might help other players.

 

This is not an official guide, I am just a player.

 

First off, heed the signs on which portal to use when starting a new character. This will take you to Sidona castle which is where you want to be! Explore if you want, the mods did an excellent job here (as with the rest of the world). There is lots to explore, and some nice little details.

 

Eventually you will want to head to the basement. I recommend going to the melee training room. In here, you can bash practice dummies and earn XP, all the way up to level six. Annakolia can be a rough place, and you are more likely to survive by starting at a higher level then two. This is a fairly long process, so this is a perfect time to read the PC guide in your box you are given, as well as all the notes in your journal!

 

Once you have gotten to level six (or can't fo it anymore, you can now exit the castle. You will find yourself on the north road (hint, use the auto map often). If you want your character to be a bit more custom in appearance, head into town. Once there, head to the top of the map to the slums.

 

*NOTE* What you are looking for here is a little to the left of the entrance of the area. There is a little shop with dummies that you can use to change your appearance. The slums can be dangerous, and I would not advise exploring them until you have some better then newbie equipment, and a couple of levels under your belt.

 

Once you are happy with your appearance (either by going there or skipping the above step) you will probably find yourself exploring the north road, or the town proper checking out the merchants and shops. I am sure you will notice there is lots of neat items, but since you have little money, you need to make some, right?

 

There are two options here. I love fishing! Other players love mining. If you are new, I recommend trying both and deciding which one you like the best. Both are great ways to make money, and not risk loosing XP or gold by getting killed.

 

For fishing, if you are on the North Road, the entrance is to the upper right part of the map. If you are in the city, the entrance is to the bottom right. Once you are there, you will find three black barrels. You can get a fishing pole and bait here (for free!) To fish, look at your auto map for points of interest (I am not sure if it matters where you are standing by the pond - I have just always had the best luck at those points). To fish, equip the pole you like, then pull up your inventory and right lick on the bait and use them from the radial menu. You might want to keep at least one of the elven sailor's tokens. They sell for good money, but they also allow you to use bless unlimited times a day! The fish you find can be sold for money, or you can keep them. Each one has a one time use ability or some sort!

 

To go mining, you have to go to the north road. The mine is toward the bottom center of the map. There are no enemies in the mine, just "bashable" rocks. To mine, right click them and choose bash from the radial menu. They will "drop" remain bags, where you will find some nice gems. Selling them can be tricky - the place that buys them for the most money (at least that I have found) is the jewelery store in the city. It can be found near the upper right center of the map. The gems will auto-stack as you pick them up. I recommend right clicking them and splitting them up and selling them one at a time - you will make more money with the more expensive ones!

 

The merchant who usually has the best gear is the priestess Jania who is toward the center of the north road. I use her to sell my loot when I go monster killing (and it seems many others do as well). If you have not already noticed, most items have level requirements to equip them. With how easy it is to make money with no risk to your character, I think they are justified in adding these.

 

You my have noticed toward the upper center of the north road, there is a man who sells mounts. They are very useful (and neat). If you talk to them, you will notice that they have saddle bags you can open. The saddle bags are a great place to store items, if you are running low on space, or have a low strength. To use them, have them open them, and step backwards. There will be a clickable bad at your feet. You can drag and drop items into it once you have opened it. WHATEVER YOU DO, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU RIGHT CLICK THE BEAT AND ADD ITEMS TO IT'S INVENTORY THAT WAY. I emphasized that last bit because I was lucky enough to play int he Festival this year (and my character had a book collection) and in ignorance I tried to store all my collectibles from the festival and my books that way. I lost everything due to operator error. Mark Twain said "no one is totally worthless, they can always serve as a bad example" (quoting from memory, so that is probably not the exact wording). It is my hope that quote will apply to my mistake as well.

 

Hopefully you have not gone into the forest It is a rough place, especially after dark. You ae probably wanting to go fight now, to test your build/gear. If you head back to Sidona's castle, there is a dungeon that is the best place to start. When going to the drawbridge, go slowly up the right side. Sometimes the door cannot be seen from all angles. Once you click on it and it and it has lowered, you might need to step back to see the clickable area so you can go back in. Once inside, there is a raised hill with a door (it shows on the map). That is the entrance to the dungeon. Your first couple of runs, you will probably not make it all the way though, but if you return, each time you will get a little further!

 

Of course the most awesome of awesome things about Annakolia is the DMs/GMs and the players. There is a lot of great roleplay to be found here, so keep your eyes out for other players!

 

This guide will never be finished, and I encourage other players (or even staff) to post additional information, or even make comments on what I have written!