Tears of Destiny's General Guide For New Players (Backup from December 27, 2011)

[Rico]

This is a backup of Tears' guide for new players. It has not been updated since December 27, 2011, and since Tears is inactive since March, I will update and continue his guide in his stead (inb4 police violence, abooze!). The backup is posted here so both Tears when he comes back and me can access it, and everybody can reconstruct the changes if I delete something important or I'm generally a terrible co-author.

Flood this thread with dickbutts or something, but I'll have to reserve the next 3 posts.

[Rico]

Tears of Destiny's General Guide For New Players

This guide is primarily intended to help new players, and thus is more then likely useless for more experienced players. I will update this as needed. If you see anything that is wrong, tell me so I can fix it or ignore you.

After fighting your first few battles and being gloriously slaughtered at every turn, you may have questions or frustrations, so read on to gain a better grasp on how this game works as well as any tips on the hidden etiquette. I do not expect you to read all of this, merely just the parts that you are interested or lost on.

DISCLAIMER: This was written from NA perspectives first and foremost, so read and evaluate accordingly.

Sections:
1.) Etiquette, tips and expected behavior.
2.) Your Character Page, making new characters, the market etc.
3.) How to obtain top tier gear and not go broke.
4.) Equipment.
5.) Classes.
6.) Game Modes and Gameplay.
7.) Clans.
8.) Strategus.
9.) Weather.
I.). Common abbreviations and jargon.
II.) Experienced Players you can ask for advice
III.) How this forum works.
IV.) Useful pages to browse when bored.

Section 1

(click to show/hide)

Here is a quick summary of why people get pissed off at you or act crazy: Bolded text is important, non-bolded is just the explanation so feel free to skim.

You can go on IRC to ask questions or get Game Admin help. If there are any questions you would like to ask people, or if you want to report someone quickly who is causing problems in game, visit the following link to chat directly with other players and important people! http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=mount%26blade-crpg

You are not a superstar like in Single Player. A very important tip from Aemaelius as follows shows that c-RPG is highly dependant on skill as crutching on level, arms and armour will only help you so much:

(click to show/hide)

It needs to be underlined that cRPG is not primarily about levelling your character but your own skill.
I have been playing for almost a year of warband (some 850 hours) around 9 months of cRPG. I can hardly call myself average but that is because I'm a sucker at action games.

What people need to understand is that when Georges run around with his spamberge and plate, it is not the equipment doing the kills. We see lots of failed clones. The guy (strange as it may be) actually knows how to play. I use him becuase he is a good example. New players think that they can go to level 30 buy the expensive equipment and start chopping the enemy. That is not the case.

Jorm and Bifi from my clan make more kills at lvl 23 that I do at 30 (almost...). They know how to block 95% of the attacks... I get 65% on a good day. I make a decent faint every fourth time, they make it every other. I chamber by luck, they do it on purpose.
When you start to realize this, you will find it far more fun to level your own s(kill) and not your characters.

Don't be an idiot. People have extremely long memories in this game, especially Clan Leaders and Administration. Rumors spread very quickly here. People are also very quick to screen capture, record, or report undesirable actions, and many Admin like to hang around in "invisible" spectator mode. Something to remember is that Essay Unbans are judged by your peers, not just the powers that be.

Reading the rules is a marvelous thing. If you read the rules for a server and use common sense then you will do fine. If you antagonize an Administrator or Moderator, expect consequences. Don't Poke The Bear. Here are the Official Server Rules, though note that non-officials may have differing rules.

Don't constantly kick teammates. Kicking teammates is a good way to say "hello" to familiar friends, to grief, or to warn a teammates that someone is about to sneak up behind him and say "Watch out!" Do however note that your kicks will not only stagger people (and thus interrupt what they are doing such as shooting or high fiving), but it will also damage them if they are lightly armored. Never kick a teammate off a ledge, this never ends well for you. Don't Kick Peasants.

Don't walk over or stand on ladders that are laying on the ground. The ladders that start the game on the ground can only be raised if someone walks next to it and holds down the "f" key for a short amount of time. If anything walks over the ladder while it is being raised, it interrupts this. Expect to be TKed rampantly on "accident" or banned if you do this constantly, as well as being the target of many creative insults.

If someone is doing something bad, report them in the proper section of the "Ban/Unban Requests" forum. Remember to post in the right forum. The Administrators are people too, thus they can make mistakes, and do not take kindly to unreasonable people who scream a lot. Remember to post your character name if making an unban request, and screen shots or videos if making a ban request. Do Not Be A Vigilante, Report Incidents; Do Not Take Them Into Your Own Hands.

Revenge against teammates is bad It can be impossible for Admin to sometimes figure out who started what, so if you revenge TK or Teamwound, expect to be banned, even if it was in "self defense."

People from all over the world play this game, so act accordingly. You are bound to insult someone accidentally at one point or another, or encounter a troll. Having a "thick skin" is a desirable attribute. Don't take things too seriously as this is a game, but do try and avoid escalating things to racial slurs and such for that gets people banned.

If you TK, say sorry. This is hardly a rule, but most players do expect you to apologize if you team kill. Please do not say "sorry for tk" unless you are in a safe spot. If you are in or near combat, wait for a safer moment or if need be at the start of the next round. If You Are Typing You Are A Free Kill. Also, do remember that if you stray near a melee fighter using an unbalanced weapon, or in front of an archer/crossbowman, you are tempting fate (you are setting yourself up to be TKed this way).

QML Can Be Traced.. Every QML is recorded, and people who abuse this can and will be traced by our dearest developers. Don't spam it like Farmer_Nate because you want to throw a temper tantrum. People have been banned for this.

If you need to talk to an Admin/Mod privately, press the "i" key. Self explanatory, really. Do note that it is normal not to see what you typed after pressing Enter, as only those with Admin password can read it.

Pay Attention To Pink Text. This is an Admin talking, and 70% of the time it is important, so you best read it. The Admin Could Be Talking To You.

Section 2

(click to show/hide)

New Players Pay Close Attention. A lot of your commonly ask questions that pertain to this section.

To create a new character, simply create it from the in-game select character screen then join an official server such as EU_1 or NA_3 etc (any EU_X or NA_X). After playing there for a few minutes, your character page for that character will be created, and you can play anywhere you want after that.

Make sure your password is not something stupid like 12345 or abc123 or chadz-forbid the exact same thing as the character name! You will be hacked if this is so, as this has happened before and it will happen to you, so create a proper password!

(click to show/hide)

• Your character hit points are equal to 35 plus your Strength plus twice your Iron Flesh.
• You can use this page to level your character, as well as convert 2 skill points into an attribute point or vice versa.
  As for levels: Most people retire at level 31, though you can go higher if you want the stats that badly. Keep in mind that the XP required for leveling more then doubles per level after 31, thus most people usually only plan level 33 or 34 builds if they do not plan on retiring. It is not recommended to plan anything higher then 35 for it is impractical.
• Click on character to view the default character page
• Click on Respec to view details on how to respect. Keep in mind that this 50% XP cost will half the total XP you currently have, not the XP requirement for the level you are at.
• Click on Skip the fun for details, but be warned that you are only allowed one STF character at a time, and it has a 7 day cooldown before you are allowed to make another. It is important to realize that once a character is made into an STF it can not be respeced, and is an STF until deleted. Remember that characters created using the "skip the fun" feature will not be able to use the market place even if it is set as your main character.
• Click on Retire for additional details. This will allow you to retire a character if it is level 31 or higher. Retirement grants you an additional Generation level (which means an extra 30 base XP per tick), as well as allowing you to choose a piece of your equipment to retire. There is no Generation limit. If you click on Retire, even if you do not qualify yet, you can view what items you can heirloom as well as how they progress when heirloomed. You may only heirloom an item that you can currently use.
• Clicking the Switch character link bellow the "Role" on the left will flash the top left name of your character, which is a hint that if you click on it then you can switch to any other character tied to your CD key thus saving you time from logging in and out to switch characters. This button does not have anything to do with switching your role, despite popular rumor.
• Every character has a role. Undefined means you have not selected a Main character. If you select a character to be a Main, then it gains access to Strategus as well as the Market place (as long as the Main is not a skip the fun, if so then no marketplace). Every other character that exists while you have a Main active will permanently be designated as an Alt, even if you deleted you Main. The only way to get a new Main is to Delete your old Main and create a new character. Once again, if a Character becomes an Alt then it is permanently an Alt. Period. No, the Devs will not allow you to change this.
• The Kills and Deaths recorded for that character are only for Battle Mode, not any other type of gameplay. The Rank is according to your total XP not your kills nor your K/D Ratio, just how much XP you have, that is all.

(click to show/hide)

This allows you to view what items you have as well as shop for a new one. It also allows you to view the total gold cost of your equipment used, though be warned that heirloomed items will artificially raise the cost.

(click to show/hide)

This will be blank unless the character you are using is designated as a Main. Here you can offer deals and such. If you want to make sure that your item goes to a specific person and you two have already talked and have come to an agreement, but are afraid of someone "stealing" the offer, there is a way past this:

 For example, I want to give Xocoyol my MW Courser in exchange for his MW Arbalest, but don't want anyone to "ninja" my item and leave Xocoyol screwed. To solve this, I offer a Stick in exchange for a MW Arbalest, and then Xocoyol offers Rocks in exchange for a MW Courser. We can then each take each others' offers without worrying about a third party coming in on the deal and leaving a particular person screwed.

(click to show/hide)

This is where you can sign up for Strategus battles. If you are accepted into a battle it is important that you read the new information given to you on acceptance at the bottom of the roster. Always remember to insert your class into the Comment section when applying for a Battle

(click to show/hide)

Change your password, timezone, or kill your character. You can also change your name here, however:

• READ THE FINE PRINT
• Your gold will not be refunded if you are denied.
• You can only add or remove clantags or fix typos, for full name changes you must retire your character (level 31+ only) and then you are provided a 1 hour window to do so.

This also lists your forum name and provides yet another link. Keep in mind that once you choose your Forum Name, you will never be able to change it ever again.

(click to show/hide)

This logs you out. If it does not work, clear your cookies or use a different browser then Internet Explorer.

(click to show/hide)

This links to the forums. Keep in mind that once you choose your Forum Name, you will never be able to change it ever again.

Section 3

(click to show/hide)

You can either make money and wear low tier gear, or make a very small amount of money and wear top tier gear, or lose money and wear the most expensive stuff.

Note that WPF dictates how often repairs are made for your weapons.
Paul has previously stated that '... melee weapons are one category for the extra breakchance thingy. The highest melee skill is picked in the script when checking for breakage.'
1wpf is about 11% where as 140 is 2.5% so it does make a difference.

If you are trying to earn money for something, try and keep your gear at about 18K to 30K in total cost. I find that keeping my gear between 10K to 20K allows me to remain competitive yet make a lot of money.

With average luck, over the long run you should be able to sport 30K of gear and still made some money in the long run. Anything past 46K and you will take losses regularly.

A common trick is to wear good gear at high multipliers, and normal gear at the lower multipliers. Remember that every multiplier level is worth about 23K of gear that it can sustain on average.

Make sure to keep a small reserve of gold, my rule of thumb is 2-3 times the amount that your total gear costs. This will allow you to survive the bad days" where your multiplier is stuck at one and your items keep breaking more frequently then they should (tilting for those savvy at poker). Saving up for this reserve while wearing terrible gear will be less of a hassle then struggling to make ends meet by playing a "live by paycheck to paycheck" lifestyle.

[Rico]

Section 4

(click to show/hide)

Remember that you only have to buy something once, thus a Quiver of arrows can be bought once yet assigned to two slots for twice the ammunition. Do not waste gold buying multiple items.

(click to show/hide)

accuracy: The higher the number the more accurate the weapon can become. You need more wpf to reach the potential of a 100 accuracy weapon then you need to reach the potential with an 80 accuracy weapon.

body armor: For person armor, this reduces the damage dealt to you. For shields, this is the damage reduced to the shield HP when struck. For horses, this is also the damage reduced that is dealt to the horse.

charge: The base damage from a horse colliding with a target, speed bonuses/penalties apply heavily here for damage modification.

difficulty: This is the minimum Strength that you must have in order to use this weapon, with the following exceptions: Bows use Power Draw, Throwing uses Power Throw, Shields use Shield Skill, Horses use Riding.

head armor: This is the damage reduction for when someone strikes you in the head. Keep in mind that attacks directed at your head are at 120% (or 240% if from a range weapon) so this can become rather important for staying alive.

hit points: How much damage the horse can sustain (it has a health bar), or how much the shield can take before being destroyed (the shield symbol deteriorates giving a rough approximation).

leg armor: How much damage reduction is applied to blows dealt to your legs (the entire leg for hit box considerations). Keep in mind that blows striking a limb deal 80% damage.

maneuver: The higher the number the better the horse can turn.

max ammo: How much ammunition each stack gives you.

missile speed: How fast the projectile travels. If it is a bow, the higher the power draw the slower your range drop-off and slow-down.

shield height: How large the base protection in height. This may be larger or smaller then the actual model, beware. Higher shield skill increases the "force field" effect.

shield width: How large the base protection in width. This may be larger or smaller then the actual model, beware. Higher shield skill increases the "force field" effect. Round shields only have a width stat, assume that the height is also the same.

slots: How many slots are used when this item is equipped. You have 4 boxes and 4 slots you can use. Each item not counting mounts or Armour uses a box. Each item equipped uses 0 to 3 slots. You may not exceed 4 boxes nor may you exceed 4 slots. There is no way around this.

speed: For mounts this is the base speed. The faster your mount is traveling the more your maneuverability will be lowered.

speed rating: How fast you can go from an attack to a block with a shield, or how responsive your melee weapon is, or how fast you can reload and shoot.

swing damage: Base damage dealt when using a side swing or an overhead. Right-to-Left swings have the best sideswing reach but Left-to-Right have the quickest sideswing attack animation. Not all weapons have a sideswing. Remember that if you hold your swing then attack exactly 0.6 seconds after the weapon is in the "ready position" you will do 150% damage, and if you exceed this time then you will quickly drop down to 120% damage (now you know why some people hold attacks). Overhead attacks are best used for hitting people in the head, though for every weapon this will provide the worst reach (with the one handed animation tying the worst reach with the overhead and left to right slash). Note the polearm ability to stunlock.

thrust damage: Base damage used when using a thrust attack or using a range weapon. Note that this is the best reach for one handed weapons and two handed weapons, though also for polearms if using them one handed. Thrust attacks with a polearm (or a two hander using polearm alternative mode) will force a horse to stop.

weapon length: The base length of a weapon, and thus effecting reach. Due to how the weapon is held, note that your reach may be effected (such as a two hander being held on the hilt while a pike is held more towards the middle. The following is a rough example (figures slightly different with new animations) of how reach differs from weapon type to weapon type:
Amount of reach added to weapon length due to animation.

1h
Overhead = +0
Left-to-right = +0
Right-to-left = +19
Thrust = +61

2h
Overhead = +15
Left-to-right = +17
Right-to-left = +13
Thrust = +80

2h Polearms
Overhead = -15
Left-to-right = -7
Right-to-left = -2
Thrust = +19

1h Polearms
Thrust = +50

weight: The weight of the item. The heavier the item the more it slows down your character when running. Also note that every unit of weight for your total equipped armor (double for gauntlets and triple for helms) past 7 will reduce your wpf by about 1%. Note that Shields slow you down significantly, and putting your shield on your back will not make you go faster, though sheathing your weapon will increase your speed.

(click to show/hide)

Bonus against Shield: This weapon does significantly more damage to shields, often allowing it to "ignore" the armor of the shield (via brute force) and quickly break it.

100% vs shields, 10% vs constructions.

Can't use on horseback: This weapon is not usable on horseback. If a horse is mounted then this weapon will either be sheathed or dropped automatically. Due to a glitch it is possible to spawn on a horse with a weapon that has this (like a Long Spear), but this is considered Cheating so consider this your final warning to avoid being banned.

Couchable: If mounted and reaching or surpassing a minimum speed and moving in a relatively straight line, you can press "x" and the lance then "couches" doing significantly more damage merely by running into something (do not press the attack button as this interrupts the couch). If the dot above your weapon changes from red to white, it means that couching is possible (there is also a cooldown timer between couches). Some weapons like the Great Lance can only be couched and standard attacks are impossible. Note that the Couch can not be blocked, and despite popular rumor of people chamber-blocking couches, this is impossible (and no video proof has been provided otherwise) as the attack is not any of the 4 attack directions. Trying to Chamber block a Couch is akin to trying to chamber block falling damage or Horse Collision Damage.

Crushthrough: The greater your weapon weight and the higher your power strike the better the effect. Even if the enemy blocks, damage will still be applied to the Character. Only possible with Overhead Attacks.

Knockdown: The greater the weapon weight and the higher your power strike the greater the chance to knock your opponent down with an attack. Overheads are best, though a high strength user using a heavy weapon can sometimes do this with side swings.

Secondary Mode: Pressing "x" will change the weapon mode. If using a two hander it will change to using the polearm attack animations and use the polearm weapon skill and even be capable of doing stuns against horses on thrusts. Some one handers can use this mode to use a 2 handed attack animation (and thus the 2 handed wpf). Thrown weapons have a secondary mode that allows them to be used as a melee weapon (with drastically reduced stats, yes even rocks can do this).

Unbalanced: You are committed to your swings. Feinting becomes rather difficult and once you swing you are pretty much stuck with your attack, even if you press the block button.

Section 5

(click to show/hide)

You may of course make whatever you want, but these are what players are talking about when they say "class."

A class is a build type for a character, which may either be a specific focus in one or two skills or a "hybrid" that combined various focuses such as someone who has archery and also has shield skill which normally don't go together.

There are three main Archetypes for Classes:

(click to show/hide)

The most common Archetype, it can be broken down into the following sub-classes:

(click to show/hide)

An uncommon class, the One Hander uses a one handed weapon without a shield, which allows the user to attack faster then any other class at the expense of reach, protection and damage. This class is not for beginners.

(click to show/hide)

With substantially worse attack animations for reach when compared to Two handers, this class has some of the most damaging Bonus Against Shield weapons in the game when combined with the "polestun" effect, as well as a wide selection of weapons that have great base reach though often just two attack directions. A thrust from a Polearm will stop any horse even if you don't kill it, making this class very popular for those with a grudge against horses. Range is the bane of this class, and swarms of infantry will take down novice Polearm users quickly.

(click to show/hide)

The only class that has the potential to be immune to arrows, Shielders are often the slowest class on the battlefield due to the shield movement penalties, though a savy shielder will also be one of the last left alive and can be an immense distraction in a group fight. Shielders have the hardest time retaliating against cavalry due to the inherently short reach, though you also have the ability to lead a charge, circle around a foe or hold the line in a defensive position like no other class.

(click to show/hide)

Referring to an extremely specialized build, Spartans use a shield and spear combination, giving them immense reach from the combination of the generous attack animation of using a Polearm in one hand as well as the already appreciable reach of Polearms. A support build that can be devastating when supporting other troops, the singular attack direction of thrust only often forces the Spartan to put away the shield when in one-on-one confrontations.

(click to show/hide)

Boasting the best attack animations in the game for reach, the already impressive reach and damage on Two Handers makes this class very popular. Range is the bane of this class, and swarms of infantry will take down novice Two Handers quickly.

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

Section 6

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

Attackers want to get to the flag, Defenders want to stop them from doing so. Attackers win if the flag reaches the bottom (flag drops towards the bottom if there are attackers and NO defender near it, the more attackers the faster it drops), Defenders win if the timer runs out and there are NO attackers near the flag. Flag rises slowly (can be increased if there are multiple defenders nearbye) if there is no attackers near flag. If the time is at 0:00 the round will only end if the flag is not contested (IE if there is at least one attacker near flag), thus it is possible to go into "overtime" and this happens rather frequently.

Attackers respawn every 5 seconds after death, Defenders respawn every 35 seconds after death. If you die and are a defender, it is wise to quickly look at the defense and see if anyone is sneaking around.

The more players there are at the start of a match, the stronger the destructible doors will be. EXCEPTION: First round of a map, doors are calculated as if there is only 1 person on each team and thus doors are extremely weak. Act accordingly as first round the gate is almost always ignored and the destructible doors are rushed.

Never open the gate if you are a defender, this can and will get you kicked or banned.

Never attack ladders if you are an attacker, this can and will get you banned.

After the first round, Bannerbalance may activate and try and sort people by banner, then skill. Autobalance commonly switches people from team to team at the start of every round.

(click to show/hide)

There are no respawns, and if you die then you will have to wait for the round to end. If you die, this would be a good time to spectate top players and learn from what they do.

If no one has died after 60 consecutive seconds, then Master of the Field (MotF) spawns. If the map creator was good, it will be in the same spot every time, but if the map creator was bad then it will appear in some random spot that may or may not be accessible. MotF is a pair of flags with the team symbols on them, each flag starts at the bottom of the pole.
If a teammate is next to the pole with the appropriate flag, that flag will rise (the more teammates the faster it rises), and if there are no teammates next to it then it will lower. If the timer reaches 0:00 then the team with the highest flag wins. If one team's flag reaches the very top of the pole, that team will win regardless of how much time is left.

The vast majority of players think they have an easier time making money in Battlemode out of all other modes. This may have to due with autobalance not swapping people every round and making X3+ multipliers easier to obtain.

After the first round, Bannerbalance may activate and try and sort people by banner, then skill. Autobalance rarely switches people from team to team in the 3nd round and after, 2nd round is usually a good indicator of how the teams will be until the map changes.

(click to show/hide)

All human players are on one team, and you must fight off waves of bots. Experience and Gold rewards are at 1/3 due to how easy it is to obtain a higher multiplier then usual. Keep in mind that Upkeep is NOT at 1/3!
Here is a very good link on what DTV is and how to actually win:
DTV Guide - How Not to be Killed by Peasants by Elmetiacos

(click to show/hide)

A game mode where every player is on the same team, defending a fair maiden. She can only take so many hits before her clothes poof and you lose. Defend her at all costs. Bots will spawn in ever increasingly difficult waves. Upkeep is full but the Gold and XP rewards are less then normal game modes.

(click to show/hide)

These are never hooked up fully to the data base, thus while you will be able to use what your character owns as well as having your proper stats, you will not gain any gold, you will not gain any experience, and you will not suffer any upkeep.

The point of a Duel server is to practice one on one with someone. Some builds may work better in battle then in duels, and vice versa, but regardless it is a good way to practice.  Walk up to someone and press the "f" key to challenge them or to accept a challenge.

Remember not to "facehug" (see jargon section) your opponent (have a safe distance) when then duel starts. Most of the time, people come to the duel server for melee duels, and usually without shields. Stating when you want to use a ranged weapon is better. If you come with a horse, it is best to kill it when you don't use it anymore, as stray horses can bump everyone. For cav duels, try not to fight too close of infantry duels. You will block yourself and other duellers. Finally, many people consider that hitting someone knocked down in duel is a bad and despicable habit. In a more general way, try to stay as polite as possible. Rage is always badly seen, but it is even more true in duel, as you should behave like a gentleman. Consider duel servers as 5 star hotel casinos, and you'll be fine."

(click to show/hide)

• A "Tick" happens after 30 seconds have passed in a round, then once every additional 60 seconds past that. Ticks are only on servers fully hooked up to the data base. Ticks are a part of Experience, Gold and Upkeep.
• Experience is a base 1000 plus an additional 30 per generation of character past 1. This is to a maximum of 1450XP (Gen 16+ character). Everytime your team wins a round, this will be multiplied at X2, then X3, X4, to a max of X5. If your team loses a round or suffers a draw, this is set back to a multiplier of X1. You will gain this amount every time there is a tick.
• Gold is a base 50, and follows the same multiplier rules that Experience does. This triggers every tick.
• Upkeep is a 4% chance per item of breaking it. To repair a broken item costs 5% of the base value (not counting any increased value if heirloomed). This triggers every tick. You will theoretically "break even" in the long run if your total equipment cost is 25 thousand per your current multiplier. Thus, an average person will still make money if sporting 30K-40K of gear as your average multiplier is just shy of X2.
• Pressing the "-" and "+" keys control the zoom on your character in third person mode. Try it out, I prefer to be as zoomed out as I can for best melee.
• First Person View "r" is good for shooting between the holes in destructible gates found in siege. It is also easier to tell where your projectile will travel (headshots?), though be warned that it will drastically increase "tunnel vision" in this mode.
• The Dead can not talk to the Living. While alive you can only see public text and team text from other players who are still alive, as well as pink admin text. The dead can still type, but only the other dead (as well as spectators) can see what you type.
• Servers automatically lock if they hit a maximum amount of players, and will unlock once the drop low enough (typically around 20 lower then the max).
• Remember that if you have selected a server, then click "add to favorites" you can then click on the very top thing that says "Internet" and it creates a dropdown, select "Favorites" and it chows you everything you have ever added to the favorites. This is much faster then waiting for the entire server list to load for future interactions.

Section 7

(click to show/hide)

Clans are primarily built for strategus, and also to have fun with a bunch of people (and potentially making it easier to gain a high multiplier via teamwork).

I recommend clans primarily to have friends (which increases the enjoyment of the game when joking or chatting on the voice chat of said clan). Joining a clan is arguably critical to be able to properly participate in Strategus, but is not needed for standard games. Don't stress about it, and you don't have to join a clan. First just get used to the game.

The Faction Halls forum provides the general listing of the clan threads, though many clans use their own forums.
The Clan-Searching-Thread is good if you want to join a clan but don't know who to join. Post here for people to send you "offers."

(click to show/hide)

• Make sure you already have a ready core of members. Never start a clan with just yourself unless you have a very good reputation already.
• Make sure you have at least 4 members, minimum, otherwise you don't even qualify to obtain your own banner from the banner pack stickied at the top of this forum.
• Make your CLan Page on this forum. "reserve" the next two posts after the original post for convenience sake in case you need them later. Make sure your clan page is started by your most active player or your leader so that it can be edited often.
• Make your clan page look nice, not messy or cluttered.
• Play together often.
• Give your clan tag an easily distinguishable UNIQUE tag that is different from every other clan.
• Make sure when you reserve a banner that no one else is using it.
• Realize that if you want to be a clan that can participate in Strategus, you must have a character designated as a "main" and for the love of god don't designate lightly, as this makes all other characters "alts' and this is not reversable.

If you can do all of the above, then the answer is yes, you can start your own clan.

(click to show/hide)

• Don't recruit spam "Hey wanna join our clan?" When recruiting do so in a conservative fashion (not every hour on the hour at anyone with a pulse).
• Target specific individuals if in game, not the entire server.
• Don't try and recruit someone already in a clan, this reflects poorly on you.
• Don't be a jerk on the battlefield.
• You can ignore the previous bullet if you are extremely skilled. Skilled elite clans are cool.
• Demonstrate first that you can play together properly as a clan. Lead by example, build a reputation (you choose what kind).
• Don't expect people to flock towards your clan.
• Adding a nice banner and a link to your clan page in your forum signature goes a long way towards grabbing recruits.
• For small clans, make it very clear if you are based in the EU or the NA in your topic. Later on you can change this as your scope may grow larger, but when small try and stick to just one side of the pond (NA/EU/China/AUS etc pick just one)
• Patience is a virtue. Having a Teamspeak or some other voice chat program is considered a "requirement" by a lot of people for joining a clan. Having a clan "theme" is also highly recommended to avoid the "just a bunch of friends" sydrome.
• Don't listen too closely to what I say. 

Section 8

(click to show/hide)

Strategus is half of what cRPG is about. As of this moment it is a Closed Beta for upgrades. In the future it may or may not be reset when it switches to open beta. This is currently the second iteration of Strategus.

Strategus can be accessed by clicking here though you may need a Key to enter for the above reasons.

(click to show/hide)

http://strategus.c-rpg.net/index.php?key=80Z2VuZXJpYw%3D%3D80

registration with this key might get disabled again if it's too many players

A quote from Fallen_Ramses summarizes what Strategus is rather well:

(click to show/hide)

I've already made a longer post about the main mechanics of strategus, so i'll take the freedom and paste it here. Its from the Fallen forums.

Note i'm not a native English speaker, and not very good when it comes to writing, so go ahead and ask any questions. And this is ofc about the OLD strategus, the new one might be quite different.

Here it is:

"I'll try to compile something.

In its most basic sense, strategus is like singleplayer, just in multiplayer.

If you have ever played singleplayer and traveled across calradia, you should already have a clue on what it is now...

Just like SP, strategus was divided in 2 components: I'll call them Browser component and Battle component
Browser component: (Map overview in SP)

When you are playing SP, you walk around a map of calradia. This map is in SP full of NPC parties, cities and villages. In strategus, things are a little different.
The cities and the villages are still there, but there are no longer NPC parties. Instead, all players that chose to join strategus also makes their own party. This party is then affiliated with this character; the troops and the gold belonging to this party belongs to the character. (will explain troops and gold soon)

The "map" is actually a browser showing calradia. As a party in strategus, you have a couple of acitve and a couple of passive actions. Your active actions (Actions you chose yourself):
Move your party
Attack other players
Enter villages, castles and cities
Join factions

As passive actions, you also:
Scout other players equipment, gold and troops
Scout villages nearby's equipment, gold and troops

If we, for example, take the first action (moving you party), you click the option on the website, and click on a destination. Now, your party will start to move towards the destination, ignoring all obstacles and players (This early strategus was quite buggy). travelling across the whole map took something like 30 hours, so movement was rather slow. You would not be able to see you've moved after some time.

Lets move on to troops, gold and fiefs.
Fiefs are the various villages, cities and castles on the map. Every fief would passively grow both gold and population.

Troops in the game was gathered by recruiting in villages, castles or cities, or by converting population into troops. To recruit in a fief, you would first have to enter it. When entering it, you also agreed to pay the taxes laid upon you by the fiefs lord. After entering, you then chose to recruit troops for no further costs. (However the taxes might sometimes be quite high)
The best way to accumulate troops was by owning a village and convert the population.

Gold was accumulated by:
Playing cRPG (The little gold you gained there was also transferred to strategus)
Working in a fief (This is another option you have to do in a fief, apart from recruiting)
Transact gold from fiefs (Fiefs passively accumulated gold and lords could then use this gold)

So, as you can see, strategus progressed in many ways like a simplified singleplayer, just way slower.

Lets start talking about BATTLES:
So, when you've worked and recruited in a village and grinded in cRPG, you would then soon be ready for battle. You just need one more thing:

Equipment!
Apart from paying upkeep to your troops, this is what you use gold for. For the same price of 1 item in cRPG, you could buy 100 of those items in strategus. To buy equipment, you opened a new page to shop for weapons to your soldiers. Choosing equipment was a big part of strategus. I've uploaded our old equipment guide in the post, go take a look. (EDIT: Didn't work D:)

Now you were finally ready for battle!

When you chose to attack another player, you would book the strategus server (EU_3) in 24 hours. This time is then used to the final preparations for the battle. You should now see your strategus battle in the front of the character page.

You would then have 24h to prepare a roster for the battle, as well as buying any equipment you've missed. You see, not everyone is allowed to join a battle in strategus. To join the battle, you would have to apply for it on the c-RPG website. When you applied, the party's character would then chose who could join and who could not, for a certain pay. (High ranked players of the same faction could do it as well)

Example: My usual application for non-fallen and non-HRE battles:
Pay: 200 gold
Comment: 140/110 1h and polearm hybrid. Can also do cavalry.

As you can see, its nothing but a small comment and that request for pay. Furthermore, the people who could hire the player (Called mercenaries usually) could also see my lvl.

The characters of both parties then carefully chose their mercenaries to fight in their battles.

24 hours later, the battle would then commence. EU_3 would switch from Strategus_duel to Strategus_battle gamemode. All players were then assigned to teams according to the roster on the website. IE: You would get automatically moved into the party that hired you. If you aren't hired, you stay in spectator.

Then, the battle would commence! The gamemode was then TDM, and your party would fight using:
The players you've hired.
The equipment you've bought.
And the amount of troops you have.

Troops are then "tickets" for the TDM. IE: If you had 200 troops, your team could spawn a total of 200 times.

Battle would then begin, and when one team lost all its tropps/tickets and all of its remaining players, they would be defeated.

Thats the basic mechanics of strategus.  Can't write anymore now.

Section 9

(click to show/hide)

It rains a lot (calculated that it rains slightly less then the Amazonian Rain Basin). Rain gives a penalty to Athletics, a small penalty to bows, and a large penalty to crossbows. People who have particle effects on will see the rain, those who have it off will not but will still have it effect them. Keep in mind that putting your back towards the sun really does make it harder for people (with particle effects on) to see you if the sun is directly behind you. Fog does weird things, and when it goes away, it is possible for you to still see it while people who join the server to not see it.

[Rico]

Section I

(click to show/hide)

Admin: Administrator.

AGI: Agility.

beer: Forum Censor for Panos, someone who never existed.

Catapult:
1.) o=                 |
2.) _\  ---------o |
3.) _/                  o_

Class: See Section 5.

Dev: Developer of cRPG.

equus africanus asinus: A synonym for chadz, the main Developer of cRPG. Also the forum censor for Donkey.

Elephant: A Plated Charger or sometimes a Mameluke. Rarely Cataphracts.

Fаgcher: Derogatory term for Archer. Commonly used on those who run instead of fight.

Force Field: The effect of when a shielder has a shield skill high enough to "catch" arrows shot past the shield.

friendly archer: Forum Censor for Fаgcher

H5: See High Five.

HA: Horse Archer, someone who uses a bow while on a  horse.

HC: Someone using a crossbow while on a horse. Sometimes referred to as HA.

High Five:  Standard Procedure is for person A to make an up-block and person B overhead, then reverse roles.

HX: Someone using a crossbow while on a horse. Sometimes referred to as HA.

Hybrid: A combination of Classes, diluting the strength and focus but gaining versatility. Often there is a "dominant" class.

IF: Iron Flesh.

Kiting: The act of engaging the target at range, then running away whenever the target attempts to close the distance, repeating as needed until the target is dead.

Ladderpult: Using ladders to launch people.

MotF: Master of the Field. See Section 6, Battle for more details.

Ninja: A fast lightly armored character with high agility. traditionally uses Hollywood ninja gear (Shinobi).

Spammer: Referenced in-game, this refers to players who attack as often as possible and make little to no attempt to block. This is also commonly used against experienced players by new players who have not learned the timing yet and keep missing their "return strike windows."

STF: Referes to the Skip The Fun option, and characters that have used it.

STR: Strength.

Strat: Short hand for Strategus. See Section 8 for more details.

Stunlock: A character is "stunlocked" if unable to recuperate fast enough before being swung at again, as every time you are hit your character is "stunned." Ways to avoid this is to not panic, block once or twice before resuming attacks, and avoid pole arm users.

Tin Can: A character using armor heavier then transitional, commonly referring to Black Armor users most often.

TK: Team Kill, the act of killing a team mate. Common variations include TKer for referencing someone who is killing team mates, and TKing to reference the act of attempted murder.

TW: Team wound, the act of attacking a team mate. Common variations include TWer for a team wounder (someone who attacks team mates), or TWing as in team wounding.

WPF: Weapon Proficiency Points.

WPP: See WPF.

Section II

(click to show/hide)

Experienced players that new players can PM for advice regarding gear, builds, tactics, or other topics that may require further elaboration.
I am only adding people who have specifically requested me to add them, as well as people that I can confirm first hand that they know what they are doing.

Earthdforce: Meleeing, build planning, and equipment.

Rhaelys: Any subject related to infantry and melee.

Section III

(click to show/hide)

Let us begin by pointing out the surprisingly overlooked Forum Rules. Yes, these are rather important and I do recommend reading them as ignorance is not an excuse and chadz does not believe in "It is easier to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission." You have been warned. A few other notes worth mentioning are, in no particular order:

• You are stuck with your forum name forever. Choose wisely, and avoid things like Clan Tags as those are subject to change whether form you leaving or them disbanding or simply even a name change like RS did to Chaos for example. Keep your name simple, nice, unique, and best of all don't include stupid random letters at the end for this is not 1998... No Bruce99 for you!
• The Moderators and Administrators freely hand out warnings. If you reach a 25% level you will become Watched and yes this means you are literally watched. At a 55% warning level you become Muted, and it is possible to reach a 100% warning or even be permanently muted. Every day this warning level will drop slightly. As this is an independent forum an Admin could give you a warning simply because "You are acting like an idiot" so don't act like an idiot... This can be surprisingly difficult for some...
• When entering a forum for the first time read the stickied topics. It is surprising how many people don't read the stickied topic that says "Posting in this forum will get you muted" in the Admin Abuse forum for example... guess how many people get muted? See the above point...
• Do not troll in the Beginner's Help and Guide section. Trolling is bound to happen along with jokes and such in these forums, but be warned that the Beginner's Help and Guides section has near zero tolerance on this as this place is to help new players not confuse them.
• Look up and to the right and you shall behold a Search Bar. You will forget this in about five minutes or less, and we shall all yell at you for not using it. Do you see what I'm getting at? Search before you post a new topic.

Section IV

(click to show/hide)

Analysis of a Catapult by Lt Anders This is everything you ever wanted to know on the specifics of a catapult. Extremely useful for aspiring Siege Engineers, more complicated then you might think.

Running in cRPG by WaltF4

Vargas Character Builder. Use this to help plan your character, extremely useful for the mathaphobic.

Thank you to the community for helping construct this guide.

[AntiBlitz]

Flood this thread with dickbutts or something

will do
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[njames89]

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Nicely done!

[LordBerenger]

Tears got raped by a big black dude he met on Craigslist named Tyrone IRL and have stayed away from internet ever since.

[Daunt_Flockula]

Does QML still work though?

[Leshma]

Wish all the best to new players.

[Kafein]

There's literally 0 new players reading this section of the forums.

[pogosan]

[BlackxBird]

Does QML still work though?

nope. But I think admins can still do it.

[njames89]

nope. But I think admins can still do it.

Weird you can still QML someone and they can disable the timer, thus killing the multi of the QML'er

But I guess it no longer kicks leechers?

[BlackxBird]

Weird you can still QML someone and they can disable the timer, thus killing the multi of the QML'er

But I guess it no longer kicks leechers?

exactly ;)

[Rico]

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

This is a backup don't treat it like novelty content comment in the real thread