Some Helpful Hints on Getting Started

[Itrana]

Greetings and welcome to Mirrors of the Wheel Mud!

This will be a tutorial on getting started on Mirrors, and learning the basic commands needed to have fun as soon as possible. Nothing is more frustrating than starting a game with no idea of how to do the most basic things. Hopefully, this tutorial will help you get started, so that you can navigate the mud more easily.

This help file is meant for any new player, no matter what race (wetlander, aiel or trolloc) you choose to play. Above all, type 'save' frequently. Each time you do so, all information, and the location of your character will be saved. Dying will auto-save you, so you cannot cheat death by not saving. Saving will allow you to avoid losing experience and any skills you have progressed on, should there be a crash or you have a power outage.

Now, lets get started!

1.) Commands -

By typing 'commands', you will see a list of all the commands you can do. By typing 'xxxx help', where xxxx is the command name, you can get a small explanation of how that command works. The following are important commands to learn right from the beginning.

a.) Typing 'map' will show you a basic map of the zone you are in. This will help you with basic directions to navigate yourself through that zone.

b.) Your life and moves are listed at the start of every prompt on the mud. They appear as xxH xxV > where xx are the number of your hit points (H) and moves (V).

You can also type 'score' to see the stats for your Level, Vitality (hit points), Endurance (moves), Fear (not important) and Experience % till your next level. Also listed is the weight you carry and wear, the number of coppers you carry, and your combat position and posture, which I will explain in the next point.

c.) Combat commands are actually very simple on Mirrors. Before you venture out of the stronghold or city you start in, you will want to set a few commands. Typing 'change' will give you a list of settings you can adjust to your own personal preferences. I will focus on just the first two.

- Type 'change posture' for a list of settings you can choose. Posture is how passive or aggressive you are in combat. The more passive you are (1 or 2), the more defense you will have in combat to dodge or parry attacks. The more aggressive you are (4 or 5), the more damage you will do in combat. The setting of 3 is neutral, doing both moderate damage and defense, but excelling in neither category. When you choose what your combat posture will be, type 'change posture x' where x is the number of the posture you have chosen.

- Type 'change position' for a list of settings you can choose. Position front is for offense, rear is for defense, and middle is for a mix of the two. Type 'change position xxx' where xxx is the position you have chosen.

- Type 'target' for a list of choices to focus on in combat. Typing 'target head' will net you the most damage while gaining experience.

- Type 'con xxx' where xxx is the name of a mob (any non-player animal, trolloc, human or aiel figure) to do a rough comparison of your own stats to that of something you are considering attacking. The message at the bottom will tell you if you match up well, or poorly.

- Type 'flee' to escape from combat when you are losing, or wish to get out of combat for any reason. This command will send you randomly into a room connected with the one you were engaged in combat at.

- Wimpy command allows you to automatically flee once your hit points dip below a certain number. Type 'help wimpy' for an explanation of how this command works, and how you can set it to your own personal preference.

[Itrana]

2.) Equipment -
What you wear and use as a weapon is important at Mirrors, but gaining a usable set of gear is not as frustrating as many other games. Typing 'eq' (equipment)will show you what you are wearing. Typing 'inven' (inventory) will show you what you are holding, but not wearing.

a.) Shops - You will likely start the game in a city or stronghold that has shops and stores. When you locate a shop, you can see what they have for sale by typing 'list'. To buy an item, type 'buy xxx' where xxx is the number on the left side of the screen that represents each item or the items name. (Using hte number is better becaue the game might confuse items with similar names, IE: blue might mean the blue skirt, or the blue stockings)

b.) Banks - A bank, or storage room should also be located close to the area you start the game at. When you find the bank/storage room, you can type 'deposit xxx' to save money, 'withdraw xxx' to take out money, or 'balance' for a list of money stored, where xxx is the amount of coppers.

c.) Your statistics - Type 'stat' for a list of % damage reduced from combat on each part of your body (from wearing armor), and your dodge/parry bonuses. Damage reduction and dodge/parry bonuses are gained from skills and equipment.

3.) Practices -
the skills you have (type 'pra' (practise) for a list of skills you know) are important. Teachers and trainers of skills are sometimes wandering mobs, and sometimes stationary, but they will almost always be in a city or stronghold. Ask players or immortals for help if you have difficulty locating a practice trainer or teacher.

Typing the command 'watchskills' will toggle on/off a notice when you raise a skill, when this happens it is a good idea to save.

a.) When you locate a trainer or teacher, type 'prac' and they will offer you a list of skills they will teach. Type 'prac xxx' where xxx is the name of the skill that you wish to learn from them.

b.) Skills can also be learned from other players, if that player has a skill at a high %. Talk to an experienced player if you wish to learn skills from them. A little RP and a polite request often goes a long way. type 'help learn' to get a little information about hte syntax you need for this procedure. Skills learned from a player start at a lower % than those learned from a non-player trainer.

c.) Once learned from a practice mob or player, a skills % will only increase as you use it. If you have parry and dodge skills, they will automatically increase as you engage in combat though gaining experience (hunting). Type 'help xxx' where xxx is the skill you have learned, if you do not understand how to use that skill.

4.) Starting your adventure! -
Now that you know the basic commands needed to navigate the mud, here are a few tips to fill your basic needs, and get started. As time passes, you will become hungry and thirsty, and this will cause you to regain moves and hit points very very slowly. Avoiding hunger and thirst is important.

a.) Food can be bought from shops and vendors. It can also be butchered from animals you kill by typing 'butcher corpse' after you have killed a mob. You must be wielding a shortblade (dagger or knife) to butcher a corpse (unless you are a trolloc), but you do not need to know the short blade skill. The butcher command requires that you have the Survival skill. This skill is taught by a trainer in every city/stronghold that new players begin in.

b.) Water can be gathered from any water source (well/fountain/stream/pond...exe) by typing 'fill xxx yyy' where xxx is a container (skin/bottle...exe) you have in your inventory, and yyy is the water source. Water can also be consumed directly from a water source by typing 'drink yyy' where yyy is the water source.

c.) Sleep is not required. Regaining Moves and Hit points can be done slowly by just avoiding moving and fighting. You regain hit points and moves faster by resting, and still faster by sleeping. Sleeping makes it impossible to sense anything that is going on around you however, so doing this in safe areas (where more aggressive mobs do not go) is a good idea.

d.) Money!
Money is needed to buy equipment and supplies. You can gain money by selling meat you butcher from animals, selling any spare equipment you find or gather, and by other activities such as mining. Rent does not exist on Mirrors, and you can exit the game at any time by typing 'quit'. Don't forget to type 'save' before quitting! Another thread on techniques to gather money has been started in this same Help forum.

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That is all I have for now! I hope this offers everyone the basic knowledge they need to get started on this diverse and wonderful mud! Contact any immortal or higher level player for help if you get stuck. Nearly everyone is happy to see new faces, and willing to lend a hand.

[Ganelon]

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HUTHOR:

"Usually the first thing on everyone's mind. There are several means of doing this as a beginner that dont rely on anything dangerous.

The first of these is selling meat to peddlers. This tends to draw very paltry sums, even in great quantities, so be aware it wont see you much past a few cheap must have item replacements such as lanterns. The only thing required is the survival skill, and a shortblade to butcher corpses with.

Once your survival skill reaches a high enough percentage, you can than move on to a slightly more lucrative avenue: skinning corpses, and selling the pelts to fur shops. Return from this enterprise varies greatly depending on the type of pelt you happen to be selling. It's important to note that the fur dealers have a limited supply of coin in stock to pay with, and once that runs out, you're out of luck until the reboot takes place when it will replenish again.
Fur shops can be found in Caemlyn, Tar Valon, Cairhien, and the first village north of Caemlyn along the Tar Valon road.

Skinning corpses requires a certain % in the survival skill and a shortblade."

[Ganelon]

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CADFAEL:

"In addition to skinning, try checking at couriers for jobs. Simply say job or any creative variation. Some couriers have them, some done. Those that do offer three different ranges of it, don't know if they all pay different. Check back every so often, they might have another one.
UPDATE: local jobs pay very little, traveling jobs pay 100 or so, and Far jobs... i haven't done yet. Just say "Deliver X" and you'll get your target and your bundle.

Also, certain shops respond to "work" or "job" if you say it."