Last week’s Xbox Windows Phone 8 release Order & Chaos Online is pretty much the largest game on the platform, as far as quantity of content goes. One can’t possibly see all there is to see in an Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG) in only a week’s time, so we’re going to hold off on reviewing it for a bit.
Today Windows Phone Central brings you part one of our exclusive Order & Chaos Online Beginner’s Guide, complete with video. Stick with us to learn how the game works and get ahead quickly! Remember, you can play Order & Chaos Online until you reach experience level 8 for FREE (and purchase the game without losing your progress if you desire) so anybody who can run this game needs to give it a try.
Characters
In last week’s article we briefly covered the game’s various races and classes, so we won’t go into too much more detail this time. Players get three character slots with purchase of the game. Each class works differently from the others, so creating new characters provides a new experience and dozens of hours of additional playtime. You can also purchase a fourth and fifth character slot using Runestones, the game’s premium currency.
Here are the starting attributes (stats) for each class. Unfortunately the Mendel stats aren’t currently available online, but if you guys submit them to us, I’ll be happy to update the chart.
Talents
Every time you level up after level 5, you’ll gain one skill point to spend on talents. Access the Talent menu from a tab at the top of the Spells menu.
Each character has two different talent paths they can take. You can mix and match between both paths, but you’ll need to spend a lot of points on one path or the other if you want to reach high level talents. Here’s a Talent Calculator (more calculators here) to aid with planning.
If you need to change your talents, you can purchase a respec from trainers in Silence or Greenmont. Respecs cost 10 Gold.
Quests
Killing enemies is a decent way to grind for experience, but more so for money and loot. The best way to gain experience is by completing quests. You’ll also earn money, rare items, and equipment as quest rewards. Sometimes you have to choose between multiple rewards; pick the one that best suits your character’s class.
You can have up to 12 quests at a time. If you want to take on a new quest when you already have 12 active, you’ll have to either drop one (in which case you can restart it by talking to the NPC who provided the quest) or turn one in. Completing quests often opens up new quests, while other quests become available at certain levels.
Unfortunately, quests can’t be sorted by proximity to your current location. But you can decide which quest to work on by looking at its colors in your quest log. The color of the quest name indicates the recommended level for completing the quest in relation to your current experience level.
- Grey: Much lower level than you (Very easy)
- Green: A few levels lower than you (Easy)
- Yellow: Same level (Normal)
- Orange: A few levels higher than you (Hard)
- Red: Several levels higher (Very hard)
If the background behind a quest name appears in blue, that quest is ready to turn in.
Map
Nearby characters or objects that can provide you with quests, quest destinations, and places to turn in quests are marked by yellow symbols on your mini-map. These symbols can also be seen from the full map, but only if you zoom in on the map (it doesn’t zoom very far).
If you do see nearby quest markers on the map, it’s generally a good idea to do them while you’re in the area instead of leaving for a different area. You don’t even have to select the corresponding quest as your primary one; just head to the marker and see what progresses the quest.
Speaking of heading to quest markers, don’t just blindly follow the blue arrow created by your primary quest. Roaming the wild often leads straight into impassable mountains (not to mention hordes of enemies) and wastes time. Stick to the road as much as possible and you’ll reach your destination much sooner and safer.
Teleporting
The fastest way to travel is by teleport. Most towns have a Teleport Master (shown above) who can send you to one or more specific locations for a fee that ranges from 75 copper to 57 silver. That seems expensive but it actually becomes negligible at higher levels.
Teleportation Wings are single-use items that teleport you to a specific location instantly, no matter where you are. They can be handy for getting out of an unsafe area or just saving a lot of time, but they’re also fairly expensive (10-50 silver). Each one is level locked, so you can’t just use them to skip far ahead in the world. Buy Teleportation Wings in the city of Greenmont, near the Auction House.
See the Order & Chaos Online Wiki for a full list of Teleport Master locations and Teleportation Wing destinations.
Lucky Crosses
To play the Daily Lottery, either touch your character’s portrait and access it from there or select it from the map screen. One of the frees prize you can win is the Lucky Cross. Its description enigmatically reads “It will bring you good luck, keep it for further use.” But what does it do?
As it turns out, Lucky Crosses do nothing on their own. But you can trade them for prizes in the city of Greenmont. Located at the northern border of the Arkadian Forest region, Greenmont is the first major city that most players will visit. There you can start a guild, buy Teleportation Wings, auction items, and much more.
Right in front of the Auction House, you’ll see a Mysterious Trader (he is designated by a red symbol on the map). Just to the left of him is a wooden object with a cross on top called the Kating. Activate the Kating to trade your crosses. The cheapest prize costs 10 Lucky Crosses, so it will take a while before you can cash your crosses in. Place them in your Storage Box until you can afford a prize.
Camera views and getting unstuck
New players often have trouble with getting stuck in first-person view. To adjust the level of zoom, use two-finger pinching motions. Zooming in all the way switches to first-person and zooming out goes back to third-person.
Another beginner problem is getting stuck and becoming unable to move. If this ever happens to you, tap your character’s portrait and go to Options. Choose Help and then “Break Away.” You’ll re-spawn at the nearest cemetery.
Dying
Whenever you die, you’re given the option to re-spawn in the same location by spending one Runestone. Most players will choose to re-spawn in the nearest cemetery instead.
Sometimes tough enemies will surround the cemetery, making it difficult to escape from where you re-spawned. If that happens, you should ask for another player help from your guild or via Global chat. Also, if you’re teamed up with a Monk who has the Resurrect spell, just let him or her revive you instead of re-spawning in the cemetery.
There is no penalty for dying until you reach level 10. After that, the game charges a fee in silver coins every time you die. Thus it’s very important not to take on enemies and quests you can’t handle at the current level. If you’re not holding any money when you die, you won’t be charged the fee.
To be continued
That’s it for part one of our guide, loyal readers! Don't miss the second installment, in which we go over auctions, guilds, earning and buying gold, and much more.
Order & Chaos Online – Windows Phone 8 with 1 GB RAM – 1012 MB - $6.99 – Store Link
