When I first
logged in to TSOS I know I was a little confused, and wasn't really
sure what to do. As with now, the people around were friendly and very
willing to help me out. So now it's time to pass on some experience.
This is a broad overview of some key things to keep in mind. For more
specifics you'll have to ask other players.
First off, figure out what type of character you are interested in
playing. Get a general idea of if they are a fighter, or a channeler,
or whatever. The next thing to do is to go through creation and set up
your character. Choose a name that is suitable, so not from the books,
or pop media, etc. Go through and choose nationality, appearance, and
talents according to what you want your character to be like. For
attributes, I've always found that Phys, Agil, Inte, and Perc are the
most helpful. Once you are done with creation, you enter the intro
area. There is some information here about the setting, make sure to
read all of it if you need a brush up on your Wheel of Time.
Once you have been authorized, head south to enter the main world of
the game. It is now time to start the game for real. Remember that the
fastest way to both power and having fun on tsos is to RP with other
players. Chat is an ooc channel, and a great way to get questions
answered by whoever is on. To find out who else is online, type who.
There's not really any way to find out where people are without either
asking or going looking for them. There are some good places to check
for RP though. The Feast of Lights, or any other Inn is a good place to
start. The Central Square is another place to check. Also, when people
are not out RPing or working on skills/forms, they are often in the
Ready Room (recall).
My first real suggestion is to RP with everyone you can convince to RP
with you. The more people that you know ICly, the more doors that will
be open to you. The more people you are acquainted with, the greater
the chance that someone will be on that you can RP with. Also, you'll
have more of a chance of getting invited to join a guild, or
participate in some special RP. In addition, if more people know and
like you, there is a greater chance that you will be able to find a
teacher.
That is one of the biggest complaints that I have heard from people.
"Nobody will teach me forms." I often think to myself, did
they look for someone to teach them? These often tend to be
the people that don't try to reach out and work for it. There are
always a number of people around who are willing to teach forms,
skills, etc. even to those who aren't guilded. How do you find them?
Just get to know people ICly, as well as OOCly.
Events. It's far from a dirty word, as anyone can tell you. If you hear
an Immortal advertise an event, try to get in on it. They usually are
special things that you want to be a part of. It's that simple.
Now let's talk about guilds. Wether you come into the game thinking
that it's for you, or you would rather not get sucked in...they are
good. By good, I don't necessarily mean that it is always good to join
them, and you need to toss out thoughts to the contrary. Guilds provide
a great way to get interesting RP that you won't find anywhere else, a
place to get easy access to skills and forms that it can be difficult
to find elsewhere, as well as just good people to talk and RP with.
Another thing to consider is that just because you aren't a member of a
specific guild, that doesn't mean that you don't have to stay away from
them. Most of the guilds are happy to interact with non-guild people,
and some are even quite willing to teach them things. Should you decide
to join one though, you have a bunch of options, it just depends on
what you are looking for. The Children of the Light is the most
straight forward combat guild. The Army of the Hawk, and the
Borderguard are other good choices for that. There are also noble
houses where you can get a good variety of positions. Last but not
least of course is the White Tower, where would-be Aes Sedai, and
Warders can find their home. Keep in mind that if you are a channeler,
you won't be able to join a guild in a combat capacity (for non-random
channelers).
A lot of people walk in and think that they need to find the best
equipment, which is something of a mistake. There's a lot less need to
stress over your equipment right off at tsos than there is at a lot of
other places. I suggest finding things that suit the look you're going
for rather than just having the best AC. A lot of times, with really
good AC will come a high encumberence too. That's a surprisingly
important factor in choosing your equipment. The higher that goes, the
slower you move, and it can really play a big factor. It's fairly
similar with weapons. It's nice to have a good sword, but it won't be
that much of a difference early on.
But..what about when you really do need them.. Well there are a few
places to look. For weapons, either Zeth, or Krivian Falk is where you
want to go. Falk is on the east side of Cairhien, and Zeth is just
southeast of recall. For armor..Zeth is a good place to go that's
close, but you can find a wider variety off in Amador and some of the
other cities.
To get items, you need money, right? It's usually not a huge deal
through most of the game, so don't worry too much about it. Getting
your hands on some cash can be difficult at first though. Having
another player help you out with that can do the trick nicely.
Otherwise, you can sell things you find/take off defeated mobs, though
that can be tough at first. Frankly, it is going to be hard until you
get into level one or so forms, and can start taking on some of the
human mobs.
Now, once you have forms and such, what do you do with them? When you
are just starting off, stick with animals. And also, stay in Cairhien
hunting the little things. Once you are level 1 or so, I suggest the
forest area of the Bandit Camp. There are lots of little animals there,
Just be sure to stay east of the prickly bushes and you will be safe
from the bandits. Find someone to teach you level 2s, and then your
options open up a bit. Far Madding has some guards that are worthwhile,
and off in Maerone you can find some rogues that are good at this time.
This will take you up to level 3.
Some
mistakes to avoid:
First off, don't go to the blight until you can handle it. It's a
dangerous area, obviously and most people will just die. Similarly, be
careful if you are antagonizing someone. That hermit in the robe with
the rope belt could be hiding something real dangerous. When you die as
a result of RP, it's not a pretty situation. Your character is dead.
You'll have to rename, and start over. You do get to keep the same
pfile, which means that you'll have most all of your knowledge of
forms, skills, weaves, etc...but the Imms will take some off the top.
Still.. it's not the end of the world. You don't lose any items when
you die, and even if a mob kills you, you just reappear at recall and
don't have to go find a corpse.
Other than that, read help files. There's probably too
much information there. Also, talk to other players, and don't be
afraid of the Staff.
