by Sevenless » Wed Feb 13, 2019 10:52 am I feel like this quest line should be the source of initial XP for new players, with the option to simply abandon anywhere in the quest line and get the remaining XP up front for old players making alts. I know this has a lot of steps, but even the basics of haven require a fair bit of knowledge to understand. I don't feel this takes away the magic of exploring haven, rather I feel this gives players a foundation to explore it from. This doesn't cover the three other basic concepts of combat, wounds, or credos. Given the nature of how the tutorial is completed through the quest system I don't feel any of those topics fit within the scope of the basics. Other than credos they're also mostly event driven which is harder to tutorialize.
I started writing this at 3am, sorry if the lore text wavers in tone/style or is generally uninspired at times.
The world spreads before you, fresh and new. The chirping of insects, the crunching of branches as creatures move unseen but not unheard. An unfamiliar land waits to be discovered
- Discover at least 10 things by right clicking and interacting with objects
- Open your inventory with Tab
- Either pick up an item with left click and left click on the ground to drop it or Ctrl+Left Click to drop it
I've always found it a bit sad that the earliest moments of a player's game are filled with an empty barren world and no particular indication of how to change that or how much lies hidden. Personally I think we need more low level herbs just to flesh the world out for new players. Either way pushing a beginner's exploration up to 4 should reveal 100% of the three basic herbs according to the wiki.
The land seems barren, but it is there really nothing to be found? To see the bounties of the land first you must open your eyes.
- Open the Character sheet by pressing the button on the bottom right or pressing Ctrl+T
- In the Lore and Skills tab purchase foraging
- In the Abilities tab purchase 3 levels of exploration to find more forageables
- Pick a dandelion, taproot, or blueberry by right clicking on it ingame or on the minimap.
As iconic as the birch bark kuksa and in more recent years the birchbark backpack are, I feel like the nature of birch trees being of variable rarity to lead to an inconsistent start. I'd rather see both be made from generic bark to help ease players through what I struggle to call anything other than the "boring empty world" stage of life. For an established player who knows what's coming it's fine, for a new player unsure about the game it's not going to leave a good impression. Also not sure what the default speed switch keys are, mentally modify to your hearts content for that purpose.
Free as the wind, earth gliding beneath your feet, your throat turns to sand. Perhaps there is something that can quench your thirst.
- Find birch bark by picking bark from trees with bright white bark
- Open the crafting menu in the bottom right corner of your screen and craft a birch bark kuksa
- Pick up the kuksa with left click and right click fresh water to fill it
- Try running with shift E to move faster but be warned it uses stamina quickly on some terrain.
- Start walking again with shift W to conserve your energy. Good food to improve your body can be hard to come by.
- Right click and drink from the kuksa to refill your stamina
Although it isn't the most comfortable, a backpack made of bark and string certainly makes carrying your precious berries and rocks easier
- Find enough birchbark and string and craft a birchbark backpack
- Open your Equipment screen on the bottom right of the screen or press Ctrl+E
- Place the backpack in the highlighted spot after you've picked it up or directly onto the ragdoll to equip it
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but these ones make quite a handy tool.
- Chip a stone and pick a branch off a tree if you haven't already and craft a stone axe
- Equip the stone axe through your equipment screen
Wildly crashing through the forest after your quarry might not be the most elegant of hunting tactics, but it is effective. Sometimes.
- Purchase the Hunting skill
- Catch either a chicken, squirrel, or rabbit
- Kill and butcher the animal until you get a bone
With a crash an ancient tree lay felled by your hand. May its greatness not be wasted.
- Purchase the Lumberjacking and Carpentry skills
- Find a bough bearing tree and craft a bonesaw
- Chop a tree down, doing this near fresh water might be a good idea
- Saw four boards
- Place a crate signpost through the build menu and build at least one board into it to keep it the signpost from vanishing
A kindred spirit calls from afar, whisper their name into the flames to draw them to your side.
- If you want friends to play with you, build a wilderness beacon. You may need to discover clay by going to the adventure menu and digging in shallow water first. Right click and name the beacon after it's built, then have your friend whisper it to the deer skull near the wizard when creating a character. If this is done before burning into the world, their hearth fire will appear at the wilderness beacon
- Complete this step of the tutorial by abandoning this quest in the Character sheet's quest log
Honestly I'd like to add a charred blueberry recipe just to make this more flexible but eh.
The forest has bounty if you know where, and how, to look.
- Purchase 3 levels of survival to increase the quality of herbs and animals collected
- Build a fire through the adventure menu in the bottom right.
- Light a fire by crafting a fire brand from the adventure menu and using it on the fire
- Right click to start using the fire and craft roasted meat
I'm always uncomfortable with this particular point due to how the FEP system works in general. Even if the hunger mechanic doesn't exist, but critically so when it does, stuffing a new character's face with random foods (which noobs will certainly do) to get from 5k to 8k energy can really muck up their ability to advance in the early hours when their play is actually quite impactful. It would be a lot less of an issue if hunger wasn't so powerful but we've all seen those arguments a million times by now.
A roaring fire and a satisfying belch do a hearthling good.
- Eat enough food to improve one of your attributes, mouse over and wait for the tooltip to find out what Food Event Points a piece of food gives
- Eat two different types of food in one Food Event Point bar to get a variety bonus
- Eat up to 8000 energy so any hitpoints you might have lost can start healing.
A strange little thing. An oddity in the world, you feel as if contemplating it expands your understanding.
- Pick a dandelion or Craft a cone cow from a conifer cone and branches
- Right click to study or place it in your study report in the Character sheet
- Wait for your curiosity to finish studying and convert some experience points into usable learning points
- Eat food and gain a point of intelligence to increase your attention limit to study more items at the same time
The air blows cold and sharp across the hearthlands. Although it's not much to cut the wind, it's something and it's yours.
- Build a leanto and Dreamcatcher
- Place a container inside the leanto to claim it. It will be harder for others to take your things when inside your claimed leanto, a useful protection for your items while offline.
A place to call home, somewhat safer from prying eyes and grubby fingers.
- Buy the Farming and Will to Power skills to unlock Yeomanry. This quest may take you some time to complete, don't worry if it's taking a while.
- Buy the Yeomanry skill
- Claim a piece of land, be aware this will take 8 hours to fully activate. Others can destroy it during that time if they so choose. Once activated this will give the same protections your leanto does to anything fully inside the claim.
- Build a log cabin
- Place a new hearth fire from the adventure menu using a dream from your dream catcher.
- Buy the Locks and Bolts skill
- Craft a lock and use it on a gate or house door, don't lose the key! Gates can't be picklocked, but doors and chests can.
