Kid
11-12-2006, 05:27 AM
Hello and welcome to the AC Free Trial Forums from your fellow players.
In this game you'll find that this game is filled with a lot of content for your enjoyment - actually 7 years worth of content so take your time while in-game because theres alot to explore. It would be an good idea to check out the AC1 website (get there from the AC1 banner above) and read some juicy lore/articles - also you can find some on Asheron's Call fansites which are listed here (http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=369) - they are all good resources for everything Asheron's Call and Turbine distributes teaser screenshots to each of these fansites (except Stratics) every month.
Getting Asheron's Call to Work
Quite frequently players have a hard time connecting to the Asheron's Call server or Launcher.
Frequent Problems + Solutions
Problem: I get an error while I try to connect to the server.
Solution: Open up ports 9000 through 9013 UDP and/or make sure your firewall allows acclient.exe (Asheron's Call client) and aclauncher.exe (Asheron's Call Launcher) access to the internet.
Problem: Authentication Server is Unreachable (or Can't Authenticate)
Solution: If you are receiving one of these messages, the Authentication Server may be down. Please check the Official Asheron's Call Forums for any updates on the issue. The authentication servers are vital to getting on Asheron's Call so when they're down then you will not be able to log in but if you're still in-game you will get no problems (unless you log out and exit Asheron's Call). If you are STILL getting this error, check your free-trial information at billing.turbine.com and make sure it is still active. If you are still experiencing authentication server problems, then please read the very bottom of this sub-topic.
It's a good idea to check the State of the Network (located on the front page of the AC1 website) for scheduled downtimes. There is always an scheduled downtime for Monday's at 9AM to 11AM EST (6:00AM to 8:00AM PST). The worlds (and authentication servers) go down each month for monthly updates which are usually announced on the forums, State of the Network, and on the left side of the Asheron's Call Launcher.
Also some other players have had alot of trouble getting Asheron's Call to work with certain few video cards (again, it is sort of rare)
If you are still experiencing problems or any different problems, check out the FAQ by clicking here (http://turbine.fuzeqna.com/asheronscall/consumer/search.asp).
Creating Your Character
Now that you can get on Asheron's Call character screen, it is now time for you to create an character to pwn with. Each skill has a different purpose and this is when a Asheron's Call fansite comes very handy.
Crossroads of Dereth has an great composition on skill information (http://ac.warcry.com/index.php3?content=compendium/advance/skills), character templates (http://ac.warcry.com/scripts/faq/faq.phtml?id=168&site=5), and other useful pages. Hopefully you can find a template that you find fun.
Communication
Asheron's Call features different chat channels for different purposes. First of all, to access the chat bar in Asheron's Call you can click the bar or hit 'Enter' on the keyboard, type something and hit 'Enter' (on keyboard) or hit send. To join or leave an chat channel, type /join/leave (whatever chat). For example: /join General would make me join the General chat. You can also enter/leave the chat via Chat Panel (http://diabolismkid.com/images/chatpanel.jpg). Asheron's Call has the following chats:
Allegiance Chat Channel
General Chat
LFG (Looking for Group) Chat
Roleplay Chat
Open Chat
Fellowship Chat (type @f in the chat bar to talk in the fellowship)
To view the tags, channel names, and tips click here (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/chat.htm).
Magic/Fletching/Ect.
Magic/Casting - When you log in you'll probably notice that you have a wand. Equip this wand, go into combat mode (using the ` key), and now you are ready to cast a spell. You cast spells on yourself (or others) to strengthen skills and protections and you will probably learn that it's wise to 'buff' everytime you go out hunting or questing. To check out the spells you have, you click the spell tab (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/images/spells.jpg) and you should see an variety of spells (that you have learned). To learn more spells, you can buy them at vendors in towns OR you can find them on creatures.
Fletching - If you're an archer, you'll probably want to train fletching in order for you to make arrows/quarrels or you can just purchase them at vendors. The negative thing about using vendors as a resource to get arrows/quarrels is that when you want to advance and use better arrows, you'll need different means of getting them - the vendor only has a few type of arrows and quarrels.
For more on fletching, click here (http://acvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guidebooks.Detail&id=27&category_select_id=6) to view ACVault's Tradeskills writeup.
Click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/fletchng.htm) to view Maggie the Jackcat's Fletching writeup.
Loot/Armor/Weapons - You can get better armor and weapons by hunting and looting the corpses of your foes. Asheron's Call has one of the best (if not the best) loot generators in the MMORPG market right now and that makes finding 'uber loot' alot more viable to players.
Questing and Hunting
Asheron's Call has 7 years worth of quests and creatures for your corpse recovering pleasure! A majority of the quests and dungeons are level based meaning if you're level 23 and the dungeon you want to go in is restricted to level 30, you'll need to level until you're level 30. It's always a good idea to grab a group of friends to hunt with or to quest with and this is where the Fellowships come in! Fellowships are not only a good communication tool, it is also a great way to share experience points and make even more with a group BUT there is a catch; if you're less than level 50, you will need to be 5 levels below or above the people you fellowship in order to make the % of XP shared even.
Hunting Tip: Always take your time when it comes to hunting because it sometimes ruins the fun in the game if you don't actually do some newbish things (like doing newb quests - fun, right?!).
Questing Tip: Bring friends! The more the marrier (I guess ;))! It's alot more fun on quests when you bring friends but it is not required on some quests.
For a list of quests, visit ACVault or Maggie the Jackcat's listing of quest guides but be warned - they are quest walkthroughs.
Tinkering
By the time you get finished with your 14-day trial, I don't think you will 'touch' tinkering because tinkering isn't extremely important at the lower levels unless you plan to level a little quicker than the others but most of the time your patron provides your weapon (tinked) and armor (tinkered).
What tinkering actually does is improve a piece of armor or a weapon. Maggie the Jackcat (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Shopping/Crafts/Tinkering.htm) and ACVault (http://acvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guidebooks.Detail&id=34&category_select_id=6) have great write-ups on what exactly tinkering is and how to do it.
Housing
Housing was introduced back when the Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty expansion came out. Right now it is not hard to find an apartment or a cottage on any of the servers but villas are in high demand on most (if not all) worlds partly because of the extra storage you get with one. Mansions are usually not hard to get but in order to get a mansion you need to get rank 6, be level 50, and be a monarch. You can check your rank status by checking the allegiance panel (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/images/allegiance.jpg) of your character.
Allegiance
Another beneficial system in Asheron's Call is it's allegiance system. You can gather vassals and hunt together and level even quicker and with a monarch and patron you can get the necessities you desire. The allegiance system is comprised of:
Monarch
Allegiance Officer(s) (Speaker, Seneschal, Castellan)
Patron
Vassal(s)
Speaker, Seneschal, Castellan have different roles in the allegiance whether it is gag someone in the allegiance chat or to set the allegiance name and each level holds a different power within the allegiance.
To read more about the (recent) allegiance improvements, click here (http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=460).
Player versus Player combat
Last but not least is PvP - one of the greatest things in AC! Asheron's Call has PKL and PK - in PKL (pink dot on radar) when you die you only lose buffs and in PK (red dot on radar) when you die you get vitae points and you lose some items.
To go PKL you type /pklite in the chat bar and hit send. You'll turn PKL (or pink) in a few seconds.
To go PK you have a few choices and it's not as quick (or easy) as going PKL. Click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/PKAltar.htm) to see Maggie the Jackcat's write-up to getting to the PK Altar and be warned - when you kill another PKer, you will be 'stuck' PK (red dot) for 3 hours. Once again you have options on where to go to get NPK - click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/Asheron.htm) to see the Jackcat's write-up to that.
Darktide is a PK-only world where you will be PK right when you enter the world so that is another option. Oh and check out the PvP Discussion Forum too! ;)
In this game you'll find that this game is filled with a lot of content for your enjoyment - actually 7 years worth of content so take your time while in-game because theres alot to explore. It would be an good idea to check out the AC1 website (get there from the AC1 banner above) and read some juicy lore/articles - also you can find some on Asheron's Call fansites which are listed here (http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=369) - they are all good resources for everything Asheron's Call and Turbine distributes teaser screenshots to each of these fansites (except Stratics) every month.
Getting Asheron's Call to Work
Quite frequently players have a hard time connecting to the Asheron's Call server or Launcher.
Frequent Problems + Solutions
Problem: I get an error while I try to connect to the server.
Solution: Open up ports 9000 through 9013 UDP and/or make sure your firewall allows acclient.exe (Asheron's Call client) and aclauncher.exe (Asheron's Call Launcher) access to the internet.
Problem: Authentication Server is Unreachable (or Can't Authenticate)
Solution: If you are receiving one of these messages, the Authentication Server may be down. Please check the Official Asheron's Call Forums for any updates on the issue. The authentication servers are vital to getting on Asheron's Call so when they're down then you will not be able to log in but if you're still in-game you will get no problems (unless you log out and exit Asheron's Call). If you are STILL getting this error, check your free-trial information at billing.turbine.com and make sure it is still active. If you are still experiencing authentication server problems, then please read the very bottom of this sub-topic.
It's a good idea to check the State of the Network (located on the front page of the AC1 website) for scheduled downtimes. There is always an scheduled downtime for Monday's at 9AM to 11AM EST (6:00AM to 8:00AM PST). The worlds (and authentication servers) go down each month for monthly updates which are usually announced on the forums, State of the Network, and on the left side of the Asheron's Call Launcher.
Also some other players have had alot of trouble getting Asheron's Call to work with certain few video cards (again, it is sort of rare)
If you are still experiencing problems or any different problems, check out the FAQ by clicking here (http://turbine.fuzeqna.com/asheronscall/consumer/search.asp).
Creating Your Character
Now that you can get on Asheron's Call character screen, it is now time for you to create an character to pwn with. Each skill has a different purpose and this is when a Asheron's Call fansite comes very handy.
Crossroads of Dereth has an great composition on skill information (http://ac.warcry.com/index.php3?content=compendium/advance/skills), character templates (http://ac.warcry.com/scripts/faq/faq.phtml?id=168&site=5), and other useful pages. Hopefully you can find a template that you find fun.
Communication
Asheron's Call features different chat channels for different purposes. First of all, to access the chat bar in Asheron's Call you can click the bar or hit 'Enter' on the keyboard, type something and hit 'Enter' (on keyboard) or hit send. To join or leave an chat channel, type /join/leave (whatever chat). For example: /join General would make me join the General chat. You can also enter/leave the chat via Chat Panel (http://diabolismkid.com/images/chatpanel.jpg). Asheron's Call has the following chats:
Allegiance Chat Channel
General Chat
LFG (Looking for Group) Chat
Roleplay Chat
Open Chat
Fellowship Chat (type @f in the chat bar to talk in the fellowship)
To view the tags, channel names, and tips click here (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/chat.htm).
Magic/Fletching/Ect.
Magic/Casting - When you log in you'll probably notice that you have a wand. Equip this wand, go into combat mode (using the ` key), and now you are ready to cast a spell. You cast spells on yourself (or others) to strengthen skills and protections and you will probably learn that it's wise to 'buff' everytime you go out hunting or questing. To check out the spells you have, you click the spell tab (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/images/spells.jpg) and you should see an variety of spells (that you have learned). To learn more spells, you can buy them at vendors in towns OR you can find them on creatures.
Fletching - If you're an archer, you'll probably want to train fletching in order for you to make arrows/quarrels or you can just purchase them at vendors. The negative thing about using vendors as a resource to get arrows/quarrels is that when you want to advance and use better arrows, you'll need different means of getting them - the vendor only has a few type of arrows and quarrels.
For more on fletching, click here (http://acvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guidebooks.Detail&id=27&category_select_id=6) to view ACVault's Tradeskills writeup.
Click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/fletchng.htm) to view Maggie the Jackcat's Fletching writeup.
Loot/Armor/Weapons - You can get better armor and weapons by hunting and looting the corpses of your foes. Asheron's Call has one of the best (if not the best) loot generators in the MMORPG market right now and that makes finding 'uber loot' alot more viable to players.
Questing and Hunting
Asheron's Call has 7 years worth of quests and creatures for your corpse recovering pleasure! A majority of the quests and dungeons are level based meaning if you're level 23 and the dungeon you want to go in is restricted to level 30, you'll need to level until you're level 30. It's always a good idea to grab a group of friends to hunt with or to quest with and this is where the Fellowships come in! Fellowships are not only a good communication tool, it is also a great way to share experience points and make even more with a group BUT there is a catch; if you're less than level 50, you will need to be 5 levels below or above the people you fellowship in order to make the % of XP shared even.
Hunting Tip: Always take your time when it comes to hunting because it sometimes ruins the fun in the game if you don't actually do some newbish things (like doing newb quests - fun, right?!).
Questing Tip: Bring friends! The more the marrier (I guess ;))! It's alot more fun on quests when you bring friends but it is not required on some quests.
For a list of quests, visit ACVault or Maggie the Jackcat's listing of quest guides but be warned - they are quest walkthroughs.
Tinkering
By the time you get finished with your 14-day trial, I don't think you will 'touch' tinkering because tinkering isn't extremely important at the lower levels unless you plan to level a little quicker than the others but most of the time your patron provides your weapon (tinked) and armor (tinkered).
What tinkering actually does is improve a piece of armor or a weapon. Maggie the Jackcat (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Shopping/Crafts/Tinkering.htm) and ACVault (http://acvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guidebooks.Detail&id=34&category_select_id=6) have great write-ups on what exactly tinkering is and how to do it.
Housing
Housing was introduced back when the Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty expansion came out. Right now it is not hard to find an apartment or a cottage on any of the servers but villas are in high demand on most (if not all) worlds partly because of the extra storage you get with one. Mansions are usually not hard to get but in order to get a mansion you need to get rank 6, be level 50, and be a monarch. You can check your rank status by checking the allegiance panel (http://diabolismkid.com/ac/images/allegiance.jpg) of your character.
Allegiance
Another beneficial system in Asheron's Call is it's allegiance system. You can gather vassals and hunt together and level even quicker and with a monarch and patron you can get the necessities you desire. The allegiance system is comprised of:
Monarch
Allegiance Officer(s) (Speaker, Seneschal, Castellan)
Patron
Vassal(s)
Speaker, Seneschal, Castellan have different roles in the allegiance whether it is gag someone in the allegiance chat or to set the allegiance name and each level holds a different power within the allegiance.
To read more about the (recent) allegiance improvements, click here (http://ac.turbine.com/?page_id=460).
Player versus Player combat
Last but not least is PvP - one of the greatest things in AC! Asheron's Call has PKL and PK - in PKL (pink dot on radar) when you die you only lose buffs and in PK (red dot on radar) when you die you get vitae points and you lose some items.
To go PKL you type /pklite in the chat bar and hit send. You'll turn PKL (or pink) in a few seconds.
To go PK you have a few choices and it's not as quick (or easy) as going PKL. Click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/PKAltar.htm) to see Maggie the Jackcat's write-up to getting to the PK Altar and be warned - when you kill another PKer, you will be 'stuck' PK (red dot) for 3 hours. Once again you have options on where to go to get NPK - click here (http://www.thejackcat.com/AC/Hobbies/Quests/Asheron.htm) to see the Jackcat's write-up to that.
Darktide is a PK-only world where you will be PK right when you enter the world so that is another option. Oh and check out the PvP Discussion Forum too! ;)