Tips

From NexusWiki

This page contains a series of tips which will help you succeed in Nexus War. Any user to the wiki should feel free to add their own advice to this page - however, be sure not to give away secrets, such as the location of exploration badges.

Part of the fun of playing Nexus is the feeling of adventure that comes from exploring new locations and finding things for yourself, and we don't want to spoil that element.

[edit] Basics

I'm lost. Is there a larger map?

• Yes. See Maps for more.

I logged out and still got killed! What gives?

• Logging out doesn't remove your character from the game. If you want to increase your survival rate, you should look into joining a Faction for the security of a Stronghold or making yourself a harder target through Hiding or wearing Armors.

What do these little circles next to the names mean?

• They are general indicators for Hit Points, Magic Points, and Morality. See Interface for more.

I want to level up! What do I need to do?

• The Experience Points page features a table of actions which earn Experience Points (or XP). Combat is generally regarded as one of the easiest methods of earning XP, but it is not the only method.

I leveled up! Why can't I get the next skill?

• Gaining a new level does not necessarily guarantee acquiring the next skill. Purchasing new skills requires spending Character Points (or CP). Child skills cost double the amount of the prerequisite skill, while "grandchild" skills cost triple. At times, it may require you to save up several levels worth of CP to purchase a certain skill.

Can I buy stuff at the shops? Can I sleep at the inns?

• Contrary to what you may have experienced in other RPGs there is no official monetary system in the Nexus. Items are found through searching or created through Crafting or Alchemy. None of the buildings currently offer any services for selling or housing.

Where can I find items?

• Items are generally in locations that you'd expect. Swords are in Mansions and Museums. Firearms are in the Gun Stores and Police Stations. First Aid Kits are in the Hospitals and Pharmacies. See Category:Items for more.

What's a "rare"?

• There are certain Magical Items in the Nexus. These look like ordinary objects to the untrained eye, but a character with Sense Magic can identify them. However, an astute player may notice that the weapon deals more damage than usual or the accessory has a Decay condition. It is not required to possess Sense Magic to benefit from the magical bonus.

There's objects in this location. What do they do?

• It is likely that you have encountered Heavy Items. Despite the descriptions of "broken" or "smashed" these objects cannot be repaired or engineered. They do not influence the items that can be found in a location.

There's creatures in this location. What do they do?

• It is likely that you have encountered a Pet. If the pet belongs to a factionmate or ally, you may not wish to hit it as that will earn no XP. Depending on the owner of the pet and the stance the pet is in, it may or may not be a threat.

Why am I still losing HP from poison after I respawned?

• It is the intended behavior for Defiler Poison to persist even after death in non-demons. Encountering it at a low level may hinder your progress, but there are multiple methods to treat the poison. The easiest may be to acquire a First Aid Kit and use it on yourself.

I'm trapped by a barricade/ward! How can I get out?

• Barricades can be dismantled or flown over. Wards can be destroyed or dispelled. If you don't have an effective method to perform any of these actions, you'll just have to wait until they decay or find another route.

Why can't I Repair/Craft?

• Make sure you have the appropriate skill and components. It is also important to be inside the appropriate building. While Factories provide many gunsmithing components, it is only in locations with a guntable that you will be able to repair firearms (such as a Gun Store).

Why can't I use Engineering/Surgery any more?

• Bowyery and removing or restoring power require a Portable Toolkit. Surgery requires a Surgeon's Kit. Both of these items suffer from Decay so it might be possible that you no longer have these items in your inventory.

AoE? BotDC? What are these people saying?

• Check the Acronyms. See Glossary for more.

Which class is the best? Which skill is the best? Which item is the best?

• Every aspect of the game has its pros and cons. It's mostly just a matter of personal preference and style. You can increase the rate at which you learn what works and doesn't work for you by playing all of your characters differently. Don't be afraid to delete a character that you don't enjoy playing.
• Consider using the Panopticon board on the official forums to ask for advice on how to best achieve a particular personal goal.

[edit] Nexus War: Day One

Take heed of the advice presented on the character creation page which allows you to select your first Skill. It is possible to level a character with skills like Planar Protection, Sense Magic, or Swim. However, skills such as First Aid, Melee Combat, Ranged Combat, and Engineering provide additional opportunities to gain Experience Points which leads to more Character Points which in turn leads to more Skills.

Upon creating a new character you will find yourself thrust into the battlefield of Valhalla. With only a 3x3 view of the world you may be tempted to run around blindly and engage the first target you come across. However, it might be in your best interest to seek out one of the many "resource buildings" - such as Police Stations, Hospitals, and Factories - on the islands. The easiest way to do this is to utilize the "Large Map" feature on the Enhanced Interface. There are also several unofficial maps of the game; the most handy perhaps being the Uber Map. Resource buildings can be searched to stock up on tools and weapons and generally provide a reliable source of targets. Of course, by staying in one of these building you may quickly find yourself the target of someone else.

Take advantage of your first skill. If it is Search, you might want to try looking for Books in Libraries or First Aid Kits in Pharmacies and Hospitals. If it is Hand to Hand Combat you should equip your Set of Brass Knuckles and start slugging it out. If it is Melee Combat or Ranged Combat you might search for a more powerful weapon and ammunition before hunting in earnest. If you have Repair Item you might be holed up in a Factory or Gun Shop mending anything you can get your hands on. If it is Engineering or Lockpicking your days might consist of roving around the neighborhood for opportunities to apply your trade.

As a factionless mortal that professes "free will" you can do whatever you want. Attack that fellow that just tried to kill you or even attack the medic that healed you. Your priority is survival and obtaining the skills and abilities that will allow you to keep surviving. While Morality is something you should keep in mind, it is not particularly vital at this stage in the game.

Be prepared to die a lot.

There are several game mechanics which dissuade higher leveled characters from preying upon lower leveled characters, but this does not guarantee any immunity. A Pariah strolling through the Slums looking for a snack or a Seraph just a few experience points shy of their next level may have no qualms with killing you.

Just respawn. Consult the map to find a location where you can utilize your skills or restock your supplies and earn a little XP.

[edit] Always have a back-up weapon

Carrying only one good weapon gives you more inventory capacity, but if your weapon suffers from Decay (and most do), you'll want to have at least two in case the first one wears down during combat. Also, hanging onto weapons which do a range of different types of damage can help if you encounter a target with some kind of Armor that protects against your primary weapon.

[edit] Collect badges

Finding an Exploration Badge will grant an additional, "free" Character Point for every badge found. Though the minimum purchase cost for a single skill is 10 points, CP earned from exploration badges can be used to "round out" times when you only need a few more.

[edit] Join a faction

Consider joining a Faction. It presents an opportunity to interact with more experienced players and become familiar with the game basics. Higher level Factions may also provide beneficial faction bonuses to assist with leveling. And a Faction Stronghold serves as a relatively safe haven to spend the night.

A few of the higher level open Factions are loose about organization, so even if you want to go it solo you could probably just join them for the stat boosts and almost never be bothered.

You can search for a Faction to join by clicking the "Factions" link at the top of the map page. Open factions will provide an option to join them on their page. Closed factions require an invitation.

If you are interested in what factions are looking for members, you should check the Recruitment board on the official forums .

Also, consider reading The Guide to Selecting a Faction.

[edit] Keep your dudes away from each other

If you suddenly find an action that would otherwise have a 100% chance of success failing, it is likely that you have encountered "shemp time" or tripped a "zerg flag". One of the other characters on your account is currently in the same location or has recently interacted with your intended target.

We are not privy to all the factors that are considered for Multi Abuse, but by simply following the code of "keeping ones dudes away from one another" there should be no problems.

[edit] Increase your life expectancy

When you are logged out there are several things that play a role in helping you last the night:

• The simplest practice is to maintain full health whenever possible. Nothing is a bigger beacon of "juicy target here" than a half-filled or empty health dot. Just as natural predators have a tendency to select the young and weak in a pack, the same behavior is found in the Nexus.
• High dodge, soak, and immunity will cause would-be attackers to expend a greater amount of Action Points in an attempt to kill you. Most attackers will give up in frustration and seek easier prey.
• Damage Auras serve as another method to deter any would-be attackers. However, they are limited to protection against certain types of attacks and can fairly easily be neutralized with soaks and immunities.
• A larger than normal amount of Hit Points and regeneration abilities, particularly those which require no upkeep, may provide you with just enough health to outlast an attack during the night.
• Pets in a Defensive or Aggressive stance also serve to provide a degree of protection.
• Physical restrictions, such as Barricades, Wards, and even locked Doors may also play a role.

[edit] Hiding

One of the simplest ways to improve your character's survival rate is to hide before logging out. It’s best to set aside 5-10 Action Points each time to maximize your chance of survival.

As a general rule of thumb, it is much easier to hide inside a building than outside of one. Certain locations are much easier for your character to hide in than others. Hide and Search Chances lists the chance of hiding in each location type. It's always easier to hide at night and with the power out.

Avoid staying in:

• Resource Buildings - a location that players go to find items (such as: Police Departments, Gun Stores, Pharmacies, Hospitals, Libraries, Mansions, and Museums). As such, many players will spend large amounts of Action Points searching the location every single day and they are very likely to find you. An increased rate of detection, results in an increased likelihood of being attacked; especially if the location provides weapons and ammunition.
• High Traffic Areas - a location that players must pass through regularly (such as: Portal locations, Sewer exits, and Ferry locations).
• Faction Territory - a location that is within close proximity to a Stronghold that does not belong to a Friend or Ally. It is most likely that the occupants of the stronghold will patrol the region looking for a quick kill.
• Badge Locations - a location that contains an Exploration Badge. Players will specifically be coming to search in such locations to obtain the badge.

Currently there are five Tier 3 classes that possess Enhanced Senses: Eternal Soldiers, Nexus Champions, Revenants, Seraphs, and Void Walkers. This means that a fair number of the population can detect your presence by simply moving to the square that you're hidden on. This makes hiding outside of popular locations just as bad as hiding inside them.

Hiding isn't particularly vital at the early stage of the game as the cost of respawning is generally less AP-intensive than attempting to successfully hide. However, as characters level up, the cost of respawning increases. Hiding begins to play a much more significant role, especially to those that lack the security of a stronghold. For a few hide attempts a day, high-leveled characters can potentially be more AP efficient than their non-hiding counterparts.

[edit] Staying Good

When starting a new character that is going to end up in an Angelic or a Neutral class, it can be beneficial to keep your Morality score in the good and neutral range: Angelic characters will be less likely to target you, and you will need to have a good morality to ascend to an Angelic class when you reach level 10. Repairing doors and power grids with Engineering can raise your morality, along with healing other characters with First Aid Kits and targeting evil characters over good or neutral ones. Sense Morality is the simplest way to figure out who you can attack without damaging your morality score, but not all people want to spend the 10 Character Points on it, especially early in the game.

Even so, by looking at a character's profile info in the targeting pane, you can sometimes draw conclusions on the character's morality without hitting them.

Signs of possibly Good/Neutral characters:

• An Angelic character class
• Membership to a Good faction that is not known for moral ambivalence
• Lack of combat skills (relying instead on repairing, crafting, or medical skills)
• Having Sense Morality
• Profile statistics reveal a high book read count
• Profile statistics reveal a lack of any kills

Signs of possibly Evil characters:

• A Demonic character class
• Membership to an Evil faction
• Profile statistics reveal a high Angel kill count

You get the idea. If all else fails, you can always simply attack them. If you hit and gain morality, they are Evil. If you hit and lose morality, they are Neutral or Good, and you should find another target.

[edit] Get the best bang for your buck

Unlike many web browser games, characters in Nexus War recover most of their maximum Action Points twice a day. You should try to take advantage of this whenever possible. As you level up however, your maximum Action Point cap increases. While it may be tempting to use all of that extra AP at once, you'll end up waiting longer to get back up to full AP. Consider only playing 50 AP a session, and keeping the leftover AP from cap increases as a reserve backup if you end up poorly budgeting your AP some day.

• Take advantage of actions which allow you to enter into negative AP provided that you will likely still be standing when you log in again.

• It is advised to not respawn without a surplus of AP to seek proper shelter. Otherwise you may find yourself quickly back in the Void.

[edit] Further reading

• Changelog - Keep yourself up to date with the latest developments in the game.