New Player Guide
Hi there! So you've decided to play RF Online? Well, welcome. The game itself was first released on the Asian side of the world and has been out and in developement for a bit, but Codemasters (a U.K. company) have brought it in English to the US and U.K. There are still quite a few typos and grammatical uhoh's that are int he works, but the game itself is very fleshed out and beautiful.
Cora
Ahh the beautiful elves. You can pick from male or female and the four basic classes (discussed further in the guide). Cora are the more 'spiritually' inclined race with a more organic feel to their world. They specialize in 'Dark' magic, which isn't necessarilly evil. Dark Magic generally conists of transfer type skills (HP>FP, Enemy buff>Self etc). The special ability for this race is 'Summoning'. To take advantage of this skill you will need to be a Force user and quite a bit higher level. These 4 elemental summons are permanent pets that will cast friendly and aggressive spells. The best choice for Cora (aside from going for the force user/summoner) would be a Warrior as they have the best weapons and abilities for upfront melee damage. If you are brand new to the game playing a Warrior with a Two Handed sword would be the way to go, but feel free to play whatever you like!
Bellato
The short folk (caused by intense gravity on their homeworld) with MAU. A MAU is a large mechanical unit that once you are rich enough to afford (100k+ money) will operate as a vehicle with firepower. Once summoned and you climb in, these are a force to be reckoned with. Bellato are a mix of technology and spirit and can be any of the 4 basic classes, and where as Cora had 'Dark' magic Bellato have 'Holy'. Holy magic is more buff-centric (HP/FP regen etc). The best choice as a Bellato is really your own desire. They are evenly balanced for any, but many prefer the Specialist route since it is more in-line with how the race is viewed.
Accretia
The mechanical race. These beings, in striving for immortality, have completely converted themselves into mech-like robots. There is no gender selection, but you are able to choose what your outer shell will look like before upgrading. Being so mechanical, they have no connection with the 'spiritual' world, and as a result have no ability to be a force caster. To make up for this lack, Accretian armor has higher Defense and gives them speed boosts. They are also able to buy a potion that will strip enemy debuffs from themselves as they have no casters that can do this. All three classes are a good pick, but the Ranger can use the Accretian only 'Launcher' weapon. A Launcher is like a bow/gun but slower, however it does more damage in a single shot. Launchers can also be modded/upgraded and given a sort of kickstand that will cause you to be unable to move but do massive damage.
Ok, so now you've picked a Race (hopefully). If not read this next bit fore more information to help you decide! It's time to discuss Classes.
Warrior
RAR Brute force! Warriors are the close-range hand-to-hand kick their rear and take a beating yourself class. All three races can choose this class and all three excell at it in their own way. Two handed sword is the easiest to learn and use as a newbie as it is high damage with a moderately fast attack speed. Also preffered is Knife/Axe and a Shield for a more defensive warrior. As a warrior you will be expected to take the hardest beating and stay standing. If protecting your teammates and allies by being beat upside the head for them is your idea of fun then Warrior is for you! But don't think that warriors are all HP and no muscle. This class can also dish out as much punishment as it can take while glaring their enemy in the eye.
Ranger
So, you like doing physical damage but prefer to NOT be getting hit? Ranger is for you. You can choose from a Bow and Arrow attack or a Gun and Bullet(and if Accretian, Launcher at higher levels). As a Bow ranger you focus mostly on doing Area elemental damage with your special arrows whereas with a Gun you'll be doing more Single Target damage. Whichever way you choose you'll start out with 500 shots of basic ammo and can always switch weapons later if you find you'd rather use something else. Once you've saved up money look for a crafter (specialist) that can make you more specialized ammo, as each enemy in the game has an Element associated with it and using the type of ammo it is weak against can make a very large difference. Also, Specialists will be able to make your ammo in larger stacks (500 for example) which really helps on bagspace.
Spiritualist
Ahh .. you enjoy casting spells that make your enemies explode or drag their feet, or maybe strengthen your allies? This is a 'mage' class where you are highly reliant on your Force powers to keep you and your friends alive. Be aware, though, that Force users are not your typical squishy mages. If you have to (And if you work on it) you can take a beating as well as give it, but you are heavily reliant on your Force and must be careful not to run out. As a Cora caster you'll be able to use their special summoned pets at level 30. You'll have to buy your spells from Force Mentors in your main city which at lower levels can be very daunting, but once you've learned a spell you can level it and never have to buy it again.
Specialist
Tinkering with things and praying they won't explode is your cup of tea then? Specialists are crafters by nature, but can defend themselves if the need arises. As a Specialist you'll be expected to make Weapons, Armor, and Ammo for yourself and others (and ofcourse charge for it!). Materials can be gleaned from Mining and killing critters for their .. components. In order to craft you'll need to amass a bit of money and purchase the kits for creation from the Sundries NPC (22,500 for armor/weapon kits and 11,500 for ammo kits). You can't do any fighting wonderfully, but pick what you feel comfortable with, either Melee or Range or even Force (though you have low FP to start).
Well, now we've picked our Race and Class. For purposes of explaination I'll be using examples and screenshots of a Cora Ranger as this is what I chose. Unless noted otherwise many of these powers and skills are the same for all three Races. You'll enter the world at your Race's HQ, here you will find every NPC you could want at this level and a large Teleporter in the center than can carry you to other colonies. If you want to see your Map just press 'M' and hit the + sign over your location to see where each NPC is located in the city.
Character Guage
From the Left:
Defense Gauge, lower the bar more damage you take.
Level
Hitpoints, Forcepoints, Staminapoints
Radar
From Top-down and Left-right:
Current Location
Time of day (circle is black at night and yellow in the day)
X button to close the radar
You are in the center, yellow dots represent monsters
Map icon used to open Map (same as 'M')
'I' - Inventory
1. Weapon Slot (red area Shield Slot with 1hand weapon)
2. Chest Armor Slot
3. Hand Armor Slot
4. Leg Armor Slot
5. Feet Armor Slot
6. Head Armor Slot
7. Ammo Slots (when using ranged weapons)
8. Bag Slots (left click once to open the bag, the gray icon above lets you open only one bag at a time or see them all at once)
9. Racial Money/Gold (each race has its own money type, gold is global as a newbie you'll only be seeing racial)
10. Map (carry these to be able to see Maps of the area you are in)
11. Return Map Disk (right click this to return to the location identified in the description instantly from anywhere)
12. Potion (red = hp, blue = force, yellow = stamina, purple = temp damage buff)
'C' - Character Info
1. Info Tab (shows General, Status, Ability and Elemental Resist)
2. Emote Tab (sit/stand/bow etc. shortcuts)
3. Initial Class/Class (Starting Class and class you choose at 30 and 40)
4. Rank (determined by your Contribution Points, there are 8 ranks)
5. Contribution Points (earned by doing quests)
1. Hitpoints, Forcepoints, Staminapoints
2. Defense Gauge (When defense debuffed this drops)
3. Experience Points (% towards next level)
4. General Attack (how hard you hit with melee/range)
5. Force Attack (how hard your force damage spells hit)
6. Average Defense Power (all your armor defense averaged + buffs)
7. Average Defense Range (how far from you a creature can be for your defense to take effect)
8. Average Defense Rate (how often (%) you will cut your damage using your Avg. Def. Pwr.)
9. Attack speed (Rate of fire + Buffs/Debuffs)
10. Crital (% chance of getting a Crit (double damage +stun))
11. Dodge (% chance to avoid damage all together, higher when moving)
Name of the Skill - Percent till next Point - Total PT out of cap for your level
1. Melee (Close-Range skill)
2. Range (Ranged Skill)
3. Special (Cora - Summon, Bellato - Unit, Accretia - Launcher)
4. Force (Force skill, higher gives you more FP)
5. Shield (Shield skill from equipping a 1hand/shield)
6. Defense (Defense skill raised by getting hit)
7. Crafting Levels (Specialists only)
The last part of the C window is Elemental Resists which is easy to understand.
'S' - Skills
You'll notice where it says Basic 6/9 Pt. The closer you are to capping (9/9 in this case) the slower you will gain skillups. As skill levels it adds to your overall XP and your Associated skill (melee/ranged/force). Higher level skills do more damage and buffs/debuffs last longer. Also, at a certain unknown amount of skill levels you will unlock the next tier of abilities (expert etc).
1. Shows Melee Skills
2. Shining Cut - Knife/Sword/Axe/Spear, basic fast attack combo, recommended to use every fight.
3. Slasher - Knife/Axe/Mace, Decent damage skill, useful if you go Mace.
4. Thrust - Sword/Spear, best used with Spear.
5. Wild Rage - Buff melee attack damage, starts at 80seconds use constantly.
6. Accuracy - Buff melee Acc, also 80seconds use constantly.
7. Extend Rage - (range) Allows you to hit further than 5m away, not too useful, 80s buff.
1. Shows Ranged Skills
2. Fast Shot - Bow/Firearm/Throwing, 2 or 3 fast shots use constantly.
3. Speed Load - 80s buff that makes you attack faster with range, use constantly.
4. Precision - 80s buff for range accurance, use constantly.
'F' - Force
This is the Cora Layout, following will be the Bellato layout. Accretians have no Force Powers. Force users are able to pick 2 free skills when they make their char, all other classes must purchase the skills from Force Mentors. It is pricey but Warriors/Rangers/Specialists should pick up their racial skills so they can raise their Force Points total. Force Users will need to buy any new attacks there before they can use them.
1. Dark/Holy - Cora/Bellato
2. Fire
3. Water/Ice
4. Earth (Terra)
5. Wind
6. Exertion - 80s buff that raises your melee attack rate, recommended Warriors pick this up to increase their FP.
7. Sacrifice - Trade HP for FP, all three classes should pick this up to raise FP and for tight spots.
8. Rush - 80s buff that raises your force power recharge, all three should pick this up to raise FP though only Force users really need the buff.
1. Bless - 80s buff that increases the length of other holy buffs you cast, good for raising FP.
2. Restoration - 80s buff that causes Stamina to regen faster on yourself or target, another good FP raising buff.
3. Soul Ballad - 80s buff that increases HP/FP regen rate, very good for all classes.
Now for some more basic commands:
'W' - Walk/Run toggle, 'H' - Keyboard steer mode/Mouse steer mode toggle, 'Alt+0' (zero) - Screenshot, 'Alt+H' - Hide UI, 'V' - Jump in Keyboard Mode, 'Z' - Auto Attack, 'D' - Put away/Draw Weapon, 'Spacebar'- Attack, 'O' - Options window, 'F1-F10' - Hotbar keys, 'K' - Overhead zoom out Camera, 'Enter' - Opens chat bar, 'B' - Buddy window, 'P' - Party window, 'J' - Journal for Quests
Basic Chat commands (case sensetive):
/Name - sends a tell to person, /Map - map broadcast chat, /Party - party chat, /Guild - guildchat
Newbie Walkthrough
Now that the menus are out of the way, how about a crash course on what to do? You find yourself in the middle of your new city, welcome home! First thing you will get a message from your Race Mentor telling you a bit about your class, she will also give you a selection for what weapon you want to use. After this if you are any class other than Specialist she will also give you a quest to kill a few critters outside the city and earn level 3. So, equip your weapon (press 'I' and drag your weapon to your weapon slot and click again) and head out the front gate.
As you are killing you will loot various items from the monsters. Save one of each piece of armor till you get 4, it'll help a lot, and sell anything else. If you are a Specialist hang onto the random items that stack (such as 'Mika') those are your crafting materials. One thing you'll want to note, if a weapon/armor item name is in YELLOW that means it is a slightly better than normal item and will sell for more. If that name is PURPLE it's an amazing item and will sell for even more. I Recommend saving any armor/weapon you find that you can use at a higher level if it is purple. Some of the best are 'Spirit' type weapons that will give you 500% force regen, invaluable for a Ranger or Force user.
Any Loot that you sell will go into your Racial Money pool. As any class the first thing you'll want to do is buy 2 or 3 bags. More space = more loot! If you are a crafter or Ranger class this is especially true do to materials and ammo taking up a lot of room.
Let me explain a bit about the CON system. When you target a critter you see it's name and health aswell as some wierd full/empty circles. Basically, each of those dots represents a monster level. Here is a picture to better explain.
0 dots: MOB is more than 3 levels lower than you.
1 dots: MOB is 1 to 3 levels lower than you.
2 dots: MOB is the same level as you.
3 dots: MOB is 1 level higher than you.
4 dots: MOB is 2 levels higher than you.
5 dots: MOB is 3 levels higher than you.
6 dots: MOB is 4 levels higher than you
7 dots: MOB is 5 or more levels higher than you.
Depending on how many health/force potions you have and how good your gear is you can take mobs with 7 dots higher than you. Best for leveling, however, would be 2-3 dots. Mobs will drop armor/weapons normally two levels higher than they themselves are. So, if you are in need of new gear you might find yourself fighting rather easy mobs, or 'farming'. To avoid this, try and save a set of armor from each mob you kill when you have the bag space, so say you are level 5 and have a set of level 7 armor and a set of level 9 armor. You have a lot less to worry about and can fight higher monsters and level quicker!
Speaking of leveling, RFO isn't just about experience you also have to keep your PTs (skills) trained aswell! What level armor/weapon you can equip and how much damage you can deal are determined by your skills. So, while you can get in a group and massacre higher level mobs, or even solo them, it is often best to fight things around your level to keep your PT growing with you rather than out leveling them and having to spend hours beat on low level critters to raise your skills.
Mobs also come in different EXP/Difficulty Flavors. You have Normal types, ACE types which are a bit harder and usually require a group, and Pit Boss which will hand you your head on a platter without a well organized group. When soloing, stick to normal critters.
So, assuming you have reached level 4 or so your quests are now for monsters you've never even heard of! This site: http://rf.mmosite.com/guide/monster/mon ... ndex.shtml has maps of all the areas and the monsters located therein. Be careful not to get in over your head. Typically when a quest is assigned the monsters it details are 7 dot cons so it is best to wait a few levels before you attempt it unless you are truely daring.
Also remember, each mob has its own special Element. A table for these elements can be located here: http://rfbase.com/modules/RFBase-DB/index.php?cmd=1,2. If you are a Ranger or Force user, you can take advantage of its weakness to do even more damage and have a higher chance to land criticals.
Wind > Water/Ice > Fire > Earth/Poison) > Wind
(these are from my observation using arrows again critters listed on rfbase.com)
Mining
Finally, if you have a good computer/connection you might consider AFK mining instead of actually logging out. Visit your local Sundries and pick up a few batteries (if you'll be gone a long time better make that atleast 10k charges). Head to the big Teleporter in your town and choose to go to your race's mining area. If you don't know what it is just try them all, you'll know you're there when you see a bunch of folks standing around digging in the dirt!
CW (chip wars) isn't for newbies, you won't be able to hit anyone or anything till you are atleast 25 and it's recommended you wait till 30. Instead, you can take advantage of the patch of neutral mining area right at your teleporter in. The turrets/towers keep enemies away and you can safely mine while AFK.
First, you'll need to equip your mining drill in your main hand and step into the crowd of people. You'll notice a new window opened up in the top left of your screen next to your character gauge. There are 5 colored blocks that represent the color of ore you'll be mining. If you aren't a crafter just pick whichever you want and click the 'Move Mode' button. This will put you in 'Mine Mode'. Now you will pull up a piece of Ore every 45 seconds.
What to do with the Ore? Well, you can refine it by speaking with the Ore Refiner in your HQ, but it can be very expensive. This is a way to get Upgrades for your armor/weapons though (level 14+ gear has slots for these). You can then sell the refined items to the NPC to get some of your money back. Alternatively you can sell these items to other PC's using /Map just be careful not to spam. Also you can use the Auction House (located in one of your cities colonies), but the posting fee is a little steep for a newbie.
http://www.taultunleashed.com/risingforceonline-submissions/newbie-guide-t33406.html
