New Player Guide
From NexusWiki
Contents |
The universe - all that we know, all that exists - is dying. It is time for a new universe to be born.
In a place far removed from our own mortality, spirits and souls do battle to determine which ethos will midwife the birth of the new creation. This place is known by many names but those there refer to it as The Nexus.
[edit] Overview
Nexus War is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game wherein players engage in factional warfare. Each character is a soul plucked from time and set down to serve as a soldier in the Nexus War.
At stake is the dominant ethos in the next universe. Will existence be dominated by Law, Chaos, or the idea of free will? The answer is determined by the players.
As characters in the game progress, every action they perform is weighed against the grand scale of Law and Chaos and they will find that they lean towards one side or the other. Eventually, they will be forced to make a choice as to which side they support and fight for it.
[edit] Goals
What is the goal of the Nexus War? Well, to see which ethos will become dominant in the new universe. To this end, the goal of the character is to see that his chosen ethos becomes dominant. Many characters will band together and form Factions to better serve this need, while others will remain solo (though, joining a faction is highly recommended).
However, ethical dominance can be seen as a "long-term" goal. So. What do you do in the short term? Well, the answer to that is, frankly, whatever you want. Most players, however, wish to increase their skills and abilities, and thus perform actions that will further that end (such as combat, or crafting).
Summon the largest army of undead that the Nexus has ever seen. Leave others in awe of your wrath as you purge entire buildings of infidels. Carve out a section of the world as your own and challenge others to defy your rule. Become a key player within your faction by providing infusions, scout reports, and resource gathering. Or simply go around asking others to join you in a friendly cup of tea.
[edit] Playing the Game
The first thing that is important to note is the following, incontrovertible truth of existence within the Nexus: You will die.
You will die a lot. You will die from being stabbed, from being axed, shot, clawed, burnt, and pummeled. You may get crushed by cars or mauled by Stygian Hellhounds. But make no mistake: you will die.
But that's not a problem, because with the click of a button, you're back in the game, good as new (well, almost).
So, now that that expectation has been set...
[edit] Action Points
Characters have a limited amount of Action Points (or AP) available to them per day. Most activities in the game require the expenditure of 1 or more Action Points (some actions will require more than 1 - the actions are more difficult or tiring).
When a character runs out of Action Points, he or she can do nothing else until more Action Points accrue. All characters are granted a single Action Point every fifteen minutes of real time (which roughly translates to about 100 per day).
However, until much later in the game, a character can only store a maximum of 50 Action Points at any one time. If a character's Action Point total is at their maximum (50, for most characters), then they will stop accruing Action Points.
The primary exception to this rule is for new characters owned by new players. The first three characters created by a brand-new player account will each receive an extra 200 Action Points so that they may explore and get a feel for the game. New points will begin to accrue once the character performs enough actions to drop below the 50 Action Point maximum.
[edit] Hit Points, Injury, and Death
A character's Hit Points (or HP) represent their overall health. When characters are injured, their Hit Point totals will go down. When they are healed, the Hit Point total goes up (but does not go above the maximum).
Starting characters have a maximum of 50 Hit Points. Certain Skills exist that can increase this maximum total. The total also increases as the player's level increases.
If a character's Hit Point total drops to 0 or lower, he or she has been killed and must Respawn. This is accomplished by clicking the "Respawn" button.
Respawning costs 1 Action Point per level of the character. When a character respawns, he or she is given a totally new body (a new Aspect), is teleported to a random location on the map, and is given full Hit Points.
Any items that the character possesses will be retained - the magic of the Nexus will automatically transport them to the character's next body. However, items may become damaged due to death. If this happens, the character will be alerted to that fact.
When a character dies, a corpse is created in the location where the character died.
[edit] Skills
As a character gains experience in the game, they will learn different Skills which they can use to better survive. These skills may take the form of combat skills, such as Melee Combat or Ranged Combat, utility skills, such as Lockpicking or Swimming, or spells like Ice Dart and The Crushing.
Skills characters choose determine what their character will be best at, and determine their style of play - a character with only healing skills, for instance, will not be very effective when hitting someone with a sword. What skills you choose are entirely up to you, but certain skills can only be used by certain Character Classes (only Pariahs, for instance, may take the Blood Claws skill).
Skills are purchased with Character Points (see below). Over time, the character will earn a great many of these. When the character has accrued enough Character Points to buy a skill, he can do so by clicking on the "Buy Skills" button (located in the top box of the map interface or in the character's profile page).
The skill purchase screen will have sections for each class that the character possess (starting characters are always Mortals). Clicking on the black bar will open the list (if it's closed) or close it (if it's open). Skills that are available for purchase will have a "Buy Skill" button next to them, with the cost of the skill (in Character Points) next to it. Click the button and BAM! New skill.
[edit] Character Points
When a character levels up, they are given a certain amount of Character Points (or CP). These Character Points are then used to purchase skills and spells. Character Points must be spent to be of any value, and there is a limit to the number of Character Points that a character can "save up" during a class change. (40 at tier 2, 70 at tier 3). Character Points may also be gained from Badges gained for certain Accomplishments and Explorations.
[edit] Experience Points
Characters gain Experience Points (or XP) by performing certain actions within the game. These may range from benevolent actions, such as healing other players, neutral actions, like reading books or Crafting, or evil actions, like attacking and killing other players. Experience Points are needed to level up your character and get more Character Points with which to purchase additional skills.
[edit] Multi-Account Abuse
The creation of multiple Nexus War accounts by one person is not permitted, and when identified, will be punished by the smiting of all characters and locking of the account, followed by deletion of the account at an appropriate maintenance time. Multi-account abuse is also called zerging.
If your account has been locked and you feel this is in error, please contact jorm via PM at the official Nexus War forums.
