help levelguide
Help: The Level Guide (1 to Remort)
This is a walkthrough of your character's first life - level 1 through
your first remort at level 45. It's organized into five parts, each
covering a stretch of levels where your goals change:
* Part One (levels 1-20) -> help levelguide1 - Creation & the Newbie Zone
* Part Two (levels 21-30) -> help levelguide2 - Leaving the Nest
* Part Three (levels 31-40) -> help levelguide3 - Exploration Begins
* Part Four (levels 41-45) -> help levelguide4 - The Grind to Remort
* Part Five (level 45) -> help levelguide5 - Remort
SEE ALSO: LEVELGUIDE1
help levelguide1
Help: Level Guide, Part One: Creation & the Newbie Zone (1-20)
Before you begin
Your alignment (good or evil) is chosen at creation and is
permanent - it decides your whole path below, so read help
alignment first. Your race decides your max skills/spells and
must also be right for your alignment (see help races).
Get a real map first - before you do anything else
Most new players struggle here simply because they're navigating blind
- there is no built-in map command. The game streams live room
data over GMCP, and any GMCP-aware client turns that into a real
map that builds itself as you walk - terrain, doors, dark rooms, and
zone boundaries, all automatic. Supported clients: Mudlet,
MudForge, VMud, Smudgy, and TinTin++ (via a
player-written script).
If you use Mudlet, type mudlet at the prompt to get a download
link for our custom package: auto-map, live HP/mana/move gauges,
buffs/debuffs, and a group panel.
Prefer not to install anything? https://ropmud.com/map/ is a
birds-eye view of the entire MUD, all 18,000+ rooms in one interactive
map.
Commands worth learning immediately
skill <skill name> and spell <spell name> show full details
on any ability, including its level, stat requirements, and where to
learn it. skill or spell with no argument lists everything
you currently know.
In a fight
consider <mob> before you engage, and set wimpy <number> to
auto-flee. Toggle groundfighting OFF (see help config / help
fight) until you have more hit points. flurry throws extra
attacks for 25 move points a use - don't use it if you'll need those
moves to flee right after. See help flurry.
Four positions affect how fast you regen and how vulnerable you are:
stand - normal regen, fully alert.
rest - faster HP/move regen than standing, plus a small
gem-mana boost. Still see/hear the room, but more
vulnerable.
sleep - fastest HP/move regen, slightly better gem recharge
than resting - but you miss most of what's happening and
you're the most vulnerable of all. stand or
wake to get up (wake also rouses others).
meditate - by far the best mana regen, natural and gem alike,
but no extra HP/move regen - same as standing. Can't
fight, move, mount, or climb while meditating.
Typical routine: rest until HP/moves are comfortable, then
meditate to top off mana. Don't sleep unless you're safe.
Step by step
1. You start in a resurrection chamber holding a set of unequipped
starting gear. Type wear all to put on your cloth outfit, wield
your starter weapon, and light your orb.
2. Type down to leave the chamber and enter your newbie zone:
Good: The Training Grounds (Castle Maybruck grounds)
Evil: The Underground Marketplace (Caverns of Calador)
Both zones are safe - you cannot be killed by other players here.
3. You will die if you don't eat and drink. Both newbie
zones have a free fountain:
Good: The Geyser of Life, in the Shaded Grove.
Evil: the idol fountain, by the Winespring Inn.
drink fountain, or fill canteen to carry water with you.
eat your starting food, then buy more from a provisions shop
(step 8) once it runs out. See help drink.
4. Start on the weakest creatures in the zone (see consider
above). A few of the lowest-level ones to look for:
Good: a short-tailed shrew, a colorful woodpecker, a wily
raccoon, a porcupine.
Evil: a large annoying fly, a stray cat, a young skaven girl,
a young skaven boy.
5. Find the ancient sage - he teaches every general and
level 1-20 skill/spell, and (more importantly) is where you
profjoin <profession> to pick your profession (see help
profjoin and help professions). Do this early. Directions
from your newbie zone's entrance:
Good: south, east, east, east, east, east, north
(out the south gate, through Castle Maybruck to the
Hallway of the Worthies).
Evil: east, east (into the Obsidian Hall of
Resurrection, Caverns of Calador).
6. At the sage: profjoin <profession>, then practice
to see what he teaches, and practice <skill/spell> for each
one you can afford. To cast one you've learned: cast <spell>
<target> (quote multi-word names, e.g. cast 'cure light'
self).
7. Head back into the newbie zone to keep hunting - reverse your
steps:
Good: south, west, west, west, west, west, north
Evil: west, west
8. Explore the newbie zone's shops: provisions, basic armor,
weapons.
Good: Vainamoinen the gnome, Krodar Thunderhammer.
Evil: Hjai Mourneblade, Barok Stonefoot.
9. A couple of those shopkeepers will also repair your gear
once it starts taking damage - see help repair.
Good: Krodar Thunderhammer, Adrin Granitecrusher.
Evil: Barok Stonefoot.
10. Check the War Room near your zone's gate for free gear
- a communal vault, free, up to 30 items:
Good: a gleaming silver vault.
Evil: a vault of blackened steel.
store <object> then store <object> yes to donate;
unstore to browse, unstore <number> to take one.
11. At level 18, learn Word of Recall from the sage -
it's a general spell everyone can learn, not profession-locked. Cast
it to teleport to one of your side's homeland cities. This is your
main way back to civilization once you've wandered off - there is
no separate recall command.
When to leave
Focus on reaching level 20 inside the newbie zone - it's your only
guaranteed-safe ground. At level 21 you are automatically pulled
out so there's no need to force yourself out early, and no way to overstay.
That said, you don't have to wait until 21. If you find a group headed
out into the wider world, going with them is a perfectly good way to
advance faster and learn the mud from other players - just know you're
trading the newbie zone's safety for it.
SEE ALSO: LEVELGUIDE2, START, PROFJOIN, GUILD, PRACTICE, MAP
help levelguide2
Help: Level Guide, Part Two: Leaving the Nest (21-30)
You've been ejected - now what?
You land back at your hometown resurrection chamber. From here the
wider world (and the risk of PK from the opposite alignment) opens up.
Start saving for a guild
A guild (up to two, separate from your profession) gives passive
combat bonuses. Every guild costs the same flat 10,000 coins to
join, though minimum level to join varies by guild. Start setting gold
aside now instead of spending it all on gear - see help guilds
and help guild for the full list and how to join.
Where to explore and XP
Stick to zones behind mobs that block the opposite alignment - you are
safer (but not completely safe) there.
Good: the four homeland towns - Cinnabar and Surroundings,
Dwarven Tunnels, Kharandaen, and The Noble Heartland - plus
the Duergar Slave Camp.
Evil: Caverns of Calador (home to all four evil homeland
towns), plus the Swamps of the Fallen and the New Drow
Caverns.
Learn skills and spells in your homelands
Every level 21-30 skill and spell is taught somewhere in these same
homeland zones, behind the same blocking mobs. Use skill <skill
name> or spell <spell name> - the output lists exactly which
mob teaches it and which area that mob is in, so you always know where
to go practice.
Gear up
Casters: until now you've been casting off natural mana alone - gems
weren't sold anywhere in the newbie zone. That changes at level 18,
when the first single-color gem shops open (Kyrielle's in A'daar,
Bronwyn's in Kharandaen, Ta'naat's in the Noble Heartland, Thalack's in
Caverns of Calador, Twilight's Exotics in the City of Twilight - see
help gems).
Everyone: visit a bank and store a backup set of equipment
- unlike the shared War Room vault, this is your own private storage,
withdrawable from any bank in the lands. See help bank and
help store.
SEE ALSO: LEVELGUIDE3, GUILDS, GUILD, GEMS, BANK, STORE
help levelguide3
Help: Level Guide, Part Three: Exploration Begins (31-40)
A'daar - the crossroads of the map
This stretch is about opening up the map. A'daar and its surrounding
lands sit at the center of the world, within reach of the Old Road,
Selerian Lake, the Northern Mountain Route, Twilight, and more - use
it as a home base while you explore outward.
Learn these spells now
Two general spells make exploration far easier, worth learning as
soon as you can:
Refresh (level 22) - restores movement points on the spot,
so you can keep exploring instead of resting constantly.
Levitation (level 32) - grants flight (see help fly),
letting you cross terrain you couldn't otherwise.
Quests worth doing
* help quest1 - Disciples Reborn (solo, 20+): hunt enemy spies
in Kiltar Forest, Aenerian Plains, Old Road, the Sand Dunes, and
Twilight's Northern Plain.
* help quest2 - Clash in the Plains (group, 20-30): join the
battle on the Aenerian Plains for a shot at faction gear.
* help quest3 - Voices of A'daar (solo, all levels): the
tradespeople of A'daar's merchant quarter each need an item
fetched from somewhere in the world. Running these errands is a
great way to learn the zones around A'daar - some of what you
find will double as good places to XP.
Finding your profession master (Rank 1)
Buy your profession's token from the sage (see help rank), then
go back to him and say profession, followed by say
<profession> - he'll give you an in-character clue to where your
master is hiding.
Bring your token (bought from the sage) to your master and type
rank advance yes in that same room. Rank 1 also grants a
permanent, no-lose aura - a small profession-flavored stat bonus you
keep even through death, and one you can never accidentally drop.
Gear up
Second-tier gem shops (level 32) open up, including Kyrielle's Gem
Shop right in A'daar (see help gems). This is also a good
stretch to revisit your profession choice - switching is free and
keeps every overlapping skill/spell (see help profjoin), so
there's no penalty to changing your mind before you remort.
SEE ALSO: LEVELGUIDE4, QUEST1, QUEST2, QUEST3, RANK, GEMS, PROFJOIN
help levelguide4
Help: Level Guide, Part Four: The Grind to Remort (41-45)
What changes
Death starts to cost more (see help death) - retrieve your corpse
promptly. Fights get less forgiving; lean harder on consider,
wimpy, and grouping up.
Wrap up loose ends
* Join your two guilds now if you haven't already - 10,000 coins
each (see Part Two, help guilds).
* help quest4 - Blood on the Old Road (group, 30+), if you
haven't done it yet or want another shot at the reward: hunt down
a bandit captain and quartermaster for a shot at electrum weapons
and gemstones. Not a fight for the unprepared - bring a group.
Almost there
By 45 you should have your profession's Rank 1 (see Part Three),
backup gear stashed at the bank, and both guilds joined. Everything
from here is about surviving to the finish line - see help
levelguide5 for what happens next.
SEE ALSO: LEVELGUIDE5, QUEST4, DEATH
help levelguide5
Help: Level Guide, Part Five: Remort (Level 45)
This is what it was all for
At level 45 you can remort for the first time - the whole
arc from level 1 has been building toward this. Remorting resets you
to level 1, but permanently improves you: stats, damage, hit points,
mana, skill/spell slots, and more, chosen from a 40-point menu.
How
Remorting happens from the character-selection screen, before you
log in - not in-game. Choose View/Edit Character, then
Remort. Full menu and point costs: help remort.
Then what?
You're a level 1 character again, but permanently stronger than a
fresh character - and the grind from level 1 goes noticeably faster
the second time. Subsequent remorts require higher levels (50, then
55, 60...) - see the table in help remort. Many veteran players
remort many times over; this guide only covers getting you to your
first one.
SEE ALSO: REMORT, RESPEC, LEVELGUIDE