2008.Jun.12, 12:12 AM
Please vote for the tutorial that best meets the needs of our newer players. Put yourself in their shoes. You just signed up and have no idea where to start. Which of these tutorials points you in the right direction the best.
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Edited by Err on June 15th for format changes
Welcome to Awakened Lands! Hopefully you are ready to begin playing, as this game is fast paced and fun. But before you do, there are a few key gaming elements that you need to understand!
There are a lot of links to choose from on your home page, but don't be overwhelmed! Once you know the ins and outs of the game, all of the links will make perfect sense.
Here is a brief table of contents before we get started.
1. Refreshes and Basic Stats
2. The Gym and Housing
3. Attributes and Levels
4. Crimes
5. Jail
6. The Bank
7. Careers
8. The Local School
9. Weapons and Armor
10. Skills
11. Player Vs. Player Combat and Districts
12. The Hospital
13. Gangs and War
14. Donations and Credits
15. The Credit Market and Referrals
16. Odds and Ends Storage, Mail, The Pantheon, Fed Jail, Humanity, and more!
1. Refreshes and Basic Stats
If you look to the bottom left of the web page, you should see a few basic stats, Energy, Action Points, Hit Points, and Happiness. These are the main stats that you will be paying attention to throughout your game play on Awakened Lands. They are very important, so make sure you use these stat points intelligently!
Energy is probably the most important basic stat. Energy is what you use to train in the gym, fight Player Vs. Player battles, take classes at school, and improve your skill proficiency. Efficient use of your Energy allows you to develop your character in the way that you want to.
The next basic stat is Action Points. Your Action Points may be used to commit crimes for cash, bust other players out of jail, work a steady job, and fight in a gang war. Action points are going to provide you with a steady flow of cash, and a lot of low level experience points.
With Energy and Action Points, you can become a strong player, but what good is training and getting money if you aren't happy? Happiness points are an efficiency rating for your character. That means that the happier you are, the better the results you receive for almost everything in the game! I will discuss how you can get a higher happiness level in section 2, the Gym and Housing.
Don't worry if you spend all of your energy and action points, and are not very happy!
Every 5 minutes, these stats will increase slowly. Basically, if you are a non-donator (this game is free!), it will take about an hour for your energy and action points to fully recover. However, if you have donator status, you will recover about twice as quickly for energy and about +1 action point. But being a donator doesn't make you any happier than being a non-donator, so keep that in mind!
2. The Gym and Housing
As you may have noticed, there is a beautiful new gym in Decatur (the city where Awakened Lands takes place), and this is going to be where you spend most of your energy points.
(You may enter the gym using the "Gym" link on the left of the page)
Training in the gym makes your character stronger over time. There are a few other ways to increase your statistics, but without training in the gym, you will not become a stronger player. Make sure that when you train in the gym, your happiness level is at its max!
As I mentioned before, happiness pretty much affects everything you will do in the game. Well, when you train in the gym, your happiness level will be significantly reduced. As a lower level player, this really won't be a big deal - you will regenerate happiness in time to train at the gym with your energy again. But don't train every 5 minutes! If you train with 50% happiness, you will not receive as many points from the gym as you would with 100% happiness.
So what happens when you train at the gym? You have to select a statistic from the drop down arrow and choose to train it. When you do, a number will show, explaining how many development points you received from your gym training. This number is basically "attribute experience," and you will not see any benefit from your gym training until you train enough to receive a higher rating in that attribute. So if you use 7 energy on Dexterity, the gym may say that you received 1 development point in dexterity - and you're on your way to a rating of 2 Dexterity!
Housing: At Some point, you will have saved up enough money that you will want to buy a new house. Considering a cardboard box (your first house) is not the nicest place in Decatur, it would be nice to live anywhere else! And with a new house comes a higher happiness rating. With a higher happiness, you will receive more development points from training in the gym. So if you have 100 happiness and train 7 Energy, you may receive 1 development point, but if you have 110 happiness and train 7 Energy, you might receive 1.3 development points. The results are slightly randomized, but in the long run, you will be significantly increasing your attribute development!
If you wish to purchase a house, click on the Explore link in your sidebar, and look for the Estate Agency link. In order to purchase a house, you must possess a bank account (which will be discussed later in section 6. The Bank), and the required money must be in your bank account for you to purchase a house. When you purchase a house, your maximum happiness is permanent until you sell that house. And if you wish to purchase a future house, your current house adds to your purchasing power! The price does not fall when you purchase your house, although prices fluctuate every few months by about 10%.
3. Attributes and Levels
In Awakened Lands, there are a grand total of 8 player attributes:
Accuracy, Dexterity, Resistance, Strength, *Endurance, *Intelligence, *Reputation, and *Work Experience
The First four attributes are your battle attributes. These four are the attributes that you are permitted to train in the gym. They are also your primary attributes, as most of your fighting and crime success are based on how high these statistics are.
The attributes highlighted with a star are your work attributes, and they can not be trained in the gym. Endurance and Intelligence may be increased with credits, which may be donated for, or bought with in game money. Reputation and Work experience may only be increased by taking classes at the local school and working a job.
So lets start with the battle attributes! Remember, you can train these attributes in the gym.
Battle Attributes
Accuracy - This ability affects your hand eye coordination, and is most helpful when using ranged weapons. Accuracy will not necessarily allow you to hit more often in battle, but allow you to deal more damage with a ranged weapon in combat. This attribute is also vital for certain crimes requiring hand eye coordination.
Dexterity - This attribute affects your agility, which allows you to dodge attacks and hit enemies successfully. This statistic is your primary attribute for crimes, and also heavily influences your ability to bust other players (and yourself) out of jail.
Resistance - This attribute allows you to absorb damage. It is a measure of your character's toughness, and is trained MUCH more slowly than all of the other attributes. Having a high resistance rating will benefit you all across the board, since it is a rather rounded attribute. Some crimes also require a strong resistance.
Strength - This attribute determines how much damage you deal in melee combat, and how many items your character can hold without becoming encumbered. A high strength ability is a must if you wish to use a melee weapon such as an axe, and it will also help when using heavy ranged weapons, such as shotguns. Just as the other attributes, strength will help with a few crimes.
Work Attributes
Endurance - Remember how I mentioned that a higher happiness rating will help increase your gym training? Well, a higher endurance rating will give you increased results as well. As a lower level, the results will not be significant, but they will later on. Endurance is also a measure of how long you can fight in combat without coming to a stalemate, and it, too, affects crime success.
Intelligence - If you aren't very smart, how will you wield the more advanced weaponry? It just isn't feasible. That's where intelligence comes into play. Intelligence allows you to wield certain advanced weapons, and it significantly affects your ability to commit crimes. Certain advanced crimes are near impossible without a sufficient Intelligence rating.
Reputation - the most difficult attribute to train, as it may only be increased by taking classes at the local school or by using career points (which will be discussed later). Reputation is an attribute that allows you access to a better gym trainer. Gym trainers are expensive administrators that can be used in the gym, and when you can not afford a new house, are good to use for a boost to your gym training. If you have the option of using a $5 gym trainer and have 7 energy to train, it will cost you $35 to use the trainer fully. The benefits are not very significant with the low trainer and a small house, but increase your reputation to see how beneficial they can be!
Work Experience - The amount of time and effort spent working in the field. Just as reputation, work experience may only be increased by taking a class or by using career points. Your level of Work Experience determines how well you succeed in your job.
Levels:
Attributes are not the only ratings you will be striving to achieve for your character. When you perform any task on Awakened Lands, you receive some amount of Experience Points based on the task that you performed. Defeating a worthy opponent in combat gives you a lot of experience, performing a difficult crime gives you a decent amount of experience, working a job gives you a decent amount of experience (a lot at a low level), and a very small amount from training in the gym. Once you receive enough experience - the amount of listed on your home page - you level up!
Levels affect everything you do in the game. Every time you level up, you receive +2 to your max Energy and Action Points, and with every 4-5 levels, your regeneration rate for energy and action points increases! I am currently a level 38 player, and i regenerate 13 Energy and 9 Action Points every 5 minutes (with donator status). On top of that, every 2 levels increases your happiness regeneration by + 1.
Higher levels also affect your combat and criming abilities. A level up increases your max hit points by +50, and acts as a combat and crime modifier. So if you are having trouble committing a certain crime, maybe you will be more successful when you achieve the next level!
4. Crimes
Well, if you wish to afford new housing, credits, gym trainers, and classes, you must commit crimes! Crimes are going to be your basic source of money and experience for many levels, probably until level 10 or 11. The amount of Action Points (AP) you spend on a crime is listed next to the crimes list (which you can select from the sidebar to your left), and the higher the amount of APs you spend, the higher the risk and higher reward for the crime you chose.
Until you reach level 5, your list of crimes will be limited to lower crimes, but even when the new crimes come up, don't spend all your time trying to commit them just because they sound exciting! When you commit a crime, you should be relatively successful. There is a chance to fail a crime every time you commit one, and crimes are more difficult to succeed if they cost more AP. Once you level up both your attributes and your character level, crimes will become much easier to commit! And when you commit tougher crimes, you get better money. Test out more difficult crimes to see what kind of results you get.
But keep in mind, time you commit a crime, there is a chance you could get busted and thrown in jail!
5. Jail
There are four ways to get sent to jail - The most common way to be sent to jail is when you get caught committing a crime. The other three ways involve busting out other players, combat, and gangs, and we'll get to those in a minute! When you're just starting, you will most likely get caught during a crime, so try to stick to easier crimes if this becomes a problem.
When you are caught and sent to jail, you are sent for a certain amount of time. This time is real, and if it is for 35 minutes, you must wait 35 minutes until you are finally released. This time may be reduced if another player uses his career points (from his or her job), or if another player busts you out of jail. If you have enough action points left, you could also try busting yourself out! The option should appear next to your name in the jail.
When you are in jail, you can not do much at all. First, you can only train in a prison gym, which doesn't offer you the same benefits as the normal gym. Second, the only thing you can use your action points for is to bust out of jail, which doesnt always succeed! And that costs about 1/3 of your total Action Points! If you succeed, you can get Experience Points, but if not, youll be given a greater sentence.
Unfortunately, your Action Points do not regenerate while in Jail, and your Happiness actually decreases while in Jail, so it is in your best interest to get out as soon as possible!
If youre fortunate, someone will bust you out of jail, or maybe even bail you out! Bailing someone out of jail costs a lot of money, depending on how long that person is in jail.
To bail out of Jail, you must have the money on hand. Or, if you have a few credits on hand, you could spend 25 credits to get yourself out immediately! I would suggest against that unless youre in for a very long time, since many players will try to bust you out for free, since successful busts provide plenty of Experience Points.
6. The Bank
When you read about housing, you heard my mention about the Bank. Well, the bank costs $50 to start, and you can deposit all of your money at any point in time. It works very similarly to a real bank unlimited depositing and withdrawal, and 10% gain yearly. Also, you must have your money deposited into a bank to purchase housing!
Another significant aspect of using a bank is to avoid having your money stolen.
It is possible for a player to mug you and steal your money, but if your cash is in the bank, it is not possible to lose anything! It sounds a little scary, but once you get into the groove of keeping all your cash in the bank, youll never have to worry about losing your cash to other players.
7. Careers
If you hit the explore button and look at the City Hall section, you should see an Unemployment link. This link will allow you to choose your career! There are eight different careers to choose from, and they will allow you to earn Career Points by using your Action Points to work up to 8 hours every day, and 4 overtime. Each hour is about one sixth of your total Action Points, and overtime hours cost just over one fourth of your total Action Points.
When you earn Career Points from working, you can either use those points to gain Development Points toward your Attributes, use them on a Career Ability, or save them to gain a promotion.
If you achieve a promotion in your Career, then you will earn more points per hour. So if you have a level 1 Career and receive an average of 5 Career Points per hour worked, a level 2 in that same Career would earn 6! And if you spend those Points on Attributes, a promotion could give you significant benefits. If you save your Points long enough, you will find the option to be promoted. Until you have the Points saved up, you may not even try.
Each Career allows you to gain Development Points when you spend Career Points, but each career offers different bonuses. For example, if a career offered a conversion rate of 2 Strength, every Career Point spent on Strength will give you 2 Strength Development Points. The Careers, and their most significant Attribute bonus, are as follows:
Engineering: Accuracy - 4 times conversion rate
Martial Arts: Dexterity - 4 times conversion rate
Military: Resistance - 2.25 times conversion rate
Construction: Strength - 4 times conversion rate
Athletics: Endurance - .09 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Medical: Intelligence - .15 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Science: Intelligence - .16 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Politics: Reputation - .04 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Manufacturing: Work Experience: 2 times conversion rate
I know it seems obvious, but I wanted to point out that the conversion rates for Athletics, Medical, Science, and Politics are extremely slow, so it may be wiser to choose another Career if you wish to gain some early Attribute bonuses! There are other significant rewards for working in a career, and that information can be found in the Library. If you click on the Explore link, you can find the Library underneath City Hall.
If you want to change Careers, you may only do so before working any hours that day. If you work even one single hour, you have to wait until midnight before you can change jobs! If you do decide to quit your job, you will not lose ANY Career points, but those points will not carry over to another job. So if you have 300 Career Points in Martial Arts and switch to a Military Career, your Military Career will not have 300 Career Points. At the same time, your Martial Arts points will be saved until you go back.
If you fail to work any hours for 5 days in a row, your boss will fire you, and you will lose a Rank in your Career (if you are past level 1) and you will lose all of your Career Points in that job! So if you wont be around for awhile, make sure to quit beforehand!
8. The Local School
The only other way to achieve Attribute bonuses aside from the Gym and Careers, the Local School offers some classes! If you use the Explore link, you can find the Local School and its many classes. In order to take a class, you must save up money and have enough Energy to take them. This means that there is a Level requirement to take certain classes.
Each of these classes will take real days, so a 7 day course will actually take 7 days, and finish on the same hour! After the course is completed, you are automatically rewarded with Development Points based on which course you took. It will take a long time, but it is possible to complete all of the courses available!
If you think you may have wasted your money on a course, dont worry too much, they all grant you extra points that you wouldnt have earned otherwise, and youll get to all of them eventually!
9. Weapons and Armor
If you click on the Items link in your sidebar, you will see the Equipment that you are currently using. Without sufficient money, you will not be able to afford anything early on, but when you can afford it, you will probably want to buy some weapons and armor. Early on, Player Vs. Player fighting is not very important, but you may want to build your character to prepare for it later on. And one of the most important parts of PvP combat is having a quality weapon and armor.
There are many types of weapons and armor to choose from in Awakened Lands, and they all offer different results. If you want to fight with a ranged weapon, you will be using a gun, which can be a pistol, shotgun, semi-automatic, or rifle. If you wish to fight with a melee weapon, there are several types of blunt and slashing weapons that pack a serious punch. Keep in mind that ranged weapons benefit from a high Accuracy Rating, and melee weapons benefit from a high Strength Rating.
There is no proven difference between ranged and melee combat, it is all up to personal preference. Many players swear that ranged weapons are more powerful, but melee fighters do just fine as long as their Strength is high enough.
As far as armor goes, there is no variety. You really want to aim for the most powerful armor that you can afford to use, both monetarily and Attribute-wise. The stronger the armor, the more damage you will resist, and the more likely you are to win (or less likely you are to lose) a battle. Simple! On top of that, you have the chance to get a helmet and a belt to go with your armor. Helmets offer additional resistance, while belts can deflect enemy attacks. Belts actually require you to spend money recharging them, but they can help win a fight.
While helmets and belts do not require any Attributes to use them, most quality weapons and armor do. The first few weapons and armor you will encounter which will appear in stores by using the Explore link in your side bar do not require any Attributes, but as you achieve higher Levels, you will notice that some do. This means that if a weapon requires you to have 5 Accuracy, such as the Armalite Peacekeeper, you may not wield the weapon until you achieve a Rating of 5 Accuracy! In addition, the higher the rating that you have, the more powerful you will be. If you are using the Armalite Peacekeeper and have 9 Accuracy, you will deal even more damage! The same applies to armor. All Attributes are potentially required for certain items, even Intelligence and Endurance. These requirements will not change.
If you are having trouble deciding what weapon to use, feel free to check the Library. Use the Explore link, and under City Hall you will find the Library. Every weapon in the game is listed there. Go wild!
10. Skills
Skills are proficiencies that you may train on a daily basis to get better in a certain aspect of your character. These proficiencies are passive, meaning that if you improve on them, they will affect your character at all times, and do not need to be chosen or activated! The skills that can be chosen range from all types of combat weaponry to gang warfare.
In order to improve a Skill, you must study 8 hours per day, which is done using the Skills link on your sidebar to the left. A study hour costs about one third of your total Energy, and will give you points. These points affect your percentage complete for the skill, and when you receive a C grade, you are allowed to take a test to see if your Skill has really improved! The higher the grade you have earned, the more likely you are to succeed in passing the test, and you may only improve your Skill rating when you pass the test. Tests do cost money though, and may only be taken on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If you fail your test, you will lose points, so make sure that you have a good grade! It is partially based on luck, but if you have studied hard, you should pass that test just fine.
If you do successfully improve your Skill, then you can continue improving it as much as you want, or even improve other Skills. If you use a shotgun and train your shotgun Skill, then you will deal more damage and hit more often. The benefits of Skills are really that straight forward. So go study!
11. Player Vs. Player Combat and Districts
If you are ready with a weapon and some armor, then you might be excited to participate in Player Vs. Player Combat. In order to do so, you must have at least one half of your total Hit Points, and a large portion of your Energy Points to attack a player.
In order to attack another player, use the Explore link in your side bar, and click on User List. This lists every single active player in the game! Once you use this link, click on the Levels tab at the top right of the list (it is in between Age and Gender), and all of the players will instantly be listed from lowest to highest. Then, click on the player that you wish to attack (hopefully around your level) and you should be able to have the option to attack him or her, as long as he or she is in the same area that you are.
When you achieve level 3, you will be able to use the Travel Agency via the Explore link in your sidebar. When you do this, you can actually change districts by paying a small travel fee! This allows you to attack players who are in that district, and to avoid other players where you were before. As you Level up more, subsequent districts become available to you. When you are level 1, you are restricted to Downtown Decatur only. At level 3, you can travel to the Industrial District. You will also find newer districts at levels 8, 22, 30, 40, and 50! These Districts each offer different stores and houses, both of which can become very pricey.
If you do find a player that is in your district and you decide to attack them, you will have 3 options Leave, Hospitalize, and Mug. If you decide to Leave a player in shame, you will receive a lot of experience if you win, and they will receive a moderate time in the hospital. If you choose to hospitalize a player and win, you will receive no experience, and they will be hurt and in the hospital for a very long time! If you decide to mug a player and win, you will steal a portion of the money that person is carrying, will receive about half of the possible Experience Points, and the target will receive a small hospitalization time.
Brutalize this is a possible fourth attack option that is only available to you if you have 100% of your Energy Points. Brutalizing somebody will make your character fight above and beyond normal combat potential, and can put a stronger player into the hospital. Brutalizing somebody gives you no experience, but it can teach a rude player a lesson if you really need to.
Gang Attacks are also possible in PvP Combat, but well discuss that in the Gangs section.
When you attack someone, that player might be online, just as you are. So be wary when attacking individuals who are online. They might not be happy when you attack them, and they could employ a friend to attack you back! And if someone defeats you in battle, or if you lose to someone that you attack, you will lose experience and will be thrown into the hospital!
Note, if you attack someone and lose, you will lose a lot of experience. But if someone attacks you and beats you, you will not lose much experience at all. And you can not lose a level, nor can you lose any development points in an Attribute.
12. The Hospital
If you are defeated in a Player Vs. Player battle, no matter who attacked who, you will be sent to the hospital. The time you are hospitalized for is defended on how you were beaten, but can range from 5 minutes to 200 minutes or more. Just as with Jail, these are real minutes, and must be waited out.
The only way to get out of the hospital is with special items known as Stim Packs. These items can be bought at the store in Downtown Decatur using the Explore link, and cost $500 per pack. This sounds very expensive, but many players will help you to afford them if you need it. If you do not have any stim packs, another player could send one to you, which would help reduce your hospital time. Otherwise, you will have to wait.
13. Gangs and War
Once you reach a certain level, you will probably want to join up with a group of players who help each other out with money, items, and information. These groups are gangs, and they are essential to playing Awakened Lands. To join a Gang, you may click on the Explore link and click on Gangs. Once you see the list of Gangs, you may click on any of them and Apply if they have an available spot opened. Individual spots in gangs cost a lot of money to create, so larger gangs may be more difficult to get into. Also, if you are a low level player, a gang might not find you ready to join them, so dont be upset if your application is rejected!
If you do successfully join a Gang, be active! If you are active, then your Gang will be able to complete bonus Crimes that give your Gang extra money. These Crimes are called Organized Crimes, and they can not be performed very often.
The results and times vary, depending on the size of the gang and the difficulty of the Organized Crime attempted. If these Crimes succeed, your gang gains more money, and they might be able to help you get a new item. On top of that, your gang will likely help you if you are being attacked by a pesky player, or if you get into any other trouble.
Your gang may keep track of several things as long as you are a member. First, your activity is listed, and it shows when you were last online. Second, it shows how often you participate in PvP attacks, and how successful you were in them. Third, you may donate to your gang, and these donations are tracked in a list of events. All of these may be found in the Your Gang link on your side bar.
Also, when you are in a Gang, you might find yourself participating in Gang Wars. The list of current Gang Wars occurring at any time can be found using the Explore link and clicking on Gang Wars. What happens is your Gang President declares war on another gang, and you spend your Action Points attacking the enemy gangs hideout. This can be done by clicking the Your Gang link in the sidebar, and clicking on the bold red text that tells you when a war is going on. Then, all you have to do is click the Attack button! When you do, it should tell you how much damage you dealt to the hideout. And make sure to do this many times, because you may deal between 1 and 50+ damage, but an enemy hideout may have a thousand Hit Points or more, and their gang members will be fighting back!
While participating in a gang war, it is also possible to repair and defend your own hideout. If you are not in a war, this is a peace time repair, but during a war, you may defend. Defending your hideout not only repairs damage done by your enemies, but it reduces further damage they will do. If you are in the hospital, you may aid your gang by repairing your hideout, but nothing else. Your attacks, defenses, and repairs are tracked on a weekly basis, so make sure you help your gang defeat its enemies.
If your Gang successfully wins a War, you destroy the enemys hideout, and you earn Gang Points for your Gang. These points can be spent to improve your Gangs hideout and make winning a war more likely, or they can be spent on character bonuses. A Combat Bonus will increase your characters attacking ability, and a Resistance Bonus may be spent on an individual player, but the Resistance Bonus is temporary. The upgrades to the gang are permanent (besides Resistance bonus), and you will lose all bonuses once you leave your Gang.
While in a Gang War, you may attack a player with the option of Gang Battle. This option will only appear in a War, and is different from any of the previous attacking options. If you succeed in a Gang Battle, which is PvP combat, you will receive Gang Points for your gang, some Experience Points, and you will hospitalize your enemy for a short period of time. Gang Fighting is probably the only time another player should not complain when you attack them when they are online, because the hospitalization time is very low, and it helps your Gang to participate.
14. Donations and Credits
Awakened Lands is a completely free game for anyone to play, but it remains free based on the donations of dedicated players. The players who donate money are rewarded with credits that can be spent on bonuses at the Donator House, via the Explore link in your side bar (you should be pretty familiar with Explore by now!).
The Donator House allows you to purchase Donator Status (buy 1 day, 30 days, or 65 days at a time), buy Endurance Development Points, or buy Intelligence Development Points. Credits on hand can also be spent to regenerate your Energy and/or Happiness to its full capacity, or to get out of jail immediately for 25 credits.
If you have Donator Status on, you will notice multiple benefits. First, you will regenerate Energy and Action Points more swiftly, as stated earlier. On top of that, you will receive bonus Development Points from training in the gym. Finally, you will be offered several bonuses that help you to succeed in Awakened Lands:
A Fightlogger that tracks your 50 most recent attacks and defenses
A Fightrecorder that tracks the 10 people you attacked the most and who have attacked you the most
A Jailrecorder that tracks the top 50 people you have busted out of jail
A Bioplex Assistant that tracks how many Development Points you have earned
And a Friends/Enemies list, that you can use to keep track of people that you love and hate. Also useful to remind you what players give you the most experience or who sold you items at a fair price.
Many high level players maintain Donator Status, since it allows you to train faster and to perform crimes more often, and because it allows for all of the aforementioned perks. If you lose donator status, the perks disappear, but the information is still in the game, so if you recover your status, you recover the information as well. If you have donated and have extra credits to spare, you may benefit from increasing your Endurance and Intelligence, as they will help you in the long run.
15. The Credit Market and Referrals
Donating is not the only way to receive credits! There is a Credit Market located on the Explore link, and you can buy and sell credits as you please. Credits must be purchased with money on hand, and can not be stolen by other players, no matter how many you have. Be careful when selling credits, because if you do not select the option entitled wire money to bank account, you could get mugged and lose money when someone buys your credits.
Aside from the Credit Market and donating, there is an extensive Referral system for Awakened Lands. You may refer someone through the Referral Link on your sidebar, and getting someone to use your personal link when they sign up to the game. If you refer a friend, you will receive points if they are active and when they donate to the game, not when someone clicks your link. These points may be redeemed for credits! Note, if you have donated at all, you will receive 10% of your points in credits, but if you have never donated to the game at all, you will receive 5% of your points in credits. For instance, if you donated $5 to the game, and a year later a player you referred earns you 200 points, you can cash those points in for 20 credits! If you have never donated, those points would earn you 10 credits. If you refer enough people, you can earn a ton of credits without donating or buying them.
15. The Odds and Ends
If youve made it this far, then you know just about all there is to know about Awakened Lands! Here are a few more things that you should learn to help you out.
Your Profile: The link to your Profile is listed in the Sidebar, and includes some important information. If you have Donator Status, it shows you how many Days you have left. On top of that, it shows you what District you are currently in, how old your character is, the Gang you are in, and how many Friends, Enemies, and Referrals you have. Friends and Enemies are the number of players that have added you to their list, not the other way around.
Stores: Every District has its own set of stores, and the more expensive it is to get to a district, the more expensive its items are. You may have to do a bit of traveling to get the items you want, or maybe even have someone do that for you.
Storage: For a fee, you can have items sent to a personal storage that costs a one time fee for the basic storage, and a daily fee for upgrades. A storage facility may be purchased in the Your Storage link in the left side bar. Items in storage may not be used until taken from your storage. If you have Stim packs in your storage unit, and you are in the hospital, you can not use them, so keep some handy!
The Item Market: A place where any and all players may sell whatever item they possess for whatever price they want. You are allowed to view the item and its price, so try not to over pay for any items. There is a fee for putting an Item on the market, and when an Item is purchased, the money goes into your pocket, not into your bank account. The market can be useful when buying items that replenish health.
[i/]Forums[/i]: A place to go to chat with other players about, well, anything. To reply, you must sign in again, as the Forums exist separate from Awakened Lands. It requires the same Login and ID, though.
[i/]Newspaper[/i]: All game updates and important information are logged in the Newspaper. Read it daily!
The Mail System: You have the option to mail anyone in the game, and all of your mail will be saved until you, or the recipient, chooses to delete it. If you have a problem with a player mailing you, you have the option to Block that player from mailing you any further. You may not mail block a person who has not sent you any mail.
Sending Items and Cash: In order to send an Item to a player, you need to know their ID, and you need to have this item in your inventory, not in your storage unit. A Players ID can be found on their profile (and yours can be found on your own!). Sending items does not cost any money, and the sent item will be sent to their storage unit. However, if that player is in the hospital and you are sending stims to get them out, the stim packs will be sent directly into their inventory!
If you want to send cash, the money must be on your person, and you may simply click on the player you want to send it to and click Send Cash. Then type in the amount of money you wish to send.
Preferences: in this sidebar link, you may change your sex, password, name, or stat display. Changing stat display means that your Attributes will be shown in number form instead of the leveling bar. So when you earn 5 development points in Dexterity, that number will be listed, rather than a bar indicating how far you have progressed.
The Pantheon of Infamy: Found using Explore, the Pantheon displays all players who achieve some form of notoriety and excellence in Awakened Lands. Whether you have a high Attribute Rating, were very active today, or you earned a lot of cash from Crimes, you are competing with the rest of Awakened Lands to have your name put on the Pantheon of Infamy.
Gambling: Using explore, go to the Dark Side and feel free to gamble your money away. There is a limit to how much you can gamble at a time based on your level, but you may gamble as many times as you want. Have at it!
The Federal Jail if you break any of the Game Rules, you will probably be talked to by other players. If you continue to break them, you may be confronted by administrators. If you are persistently breaking the rules, you will be put in the Federal Jail. This Jail may not be escaped from, and lasts many, many days. It is essentially a ban from the site, and may only be lifted by one of the administrators. Dont play with more than one account!
Humanity and Cyberware: Humanity is a measurement of how human you are, and adds to your Hit Point and Happiness regeneration. Every player begins with 5 Humanity, and Humanity points are slowly increased by daily activity and by gaining Levels. Every day you are active, you receive .01 Humanity, and every level you gain, you receive .1 humanity. Humanity is actually rounded down, even if you have 5.99 Humanity points. If you decide to spend a lot of money, you can hit the Explore button and go to the Cyberware Chop Doc to receive Cybernetic Implants.
These Implants will, after extensive hospitalization, give you an immediate and permanent bonus to an Attribute, such as Accuracy, at the expense of your humanity. This means that your Happiness and Hit Point regeneration will slow down in order to get an immediate bonus. This may be a risky decision for an early player, but Attribute bonuses become more difficult to train as you get a higher rating, so stronger players find Cyberware to be useful. Still, they are very expensive, and can not be removed. Also, Items that require a minimum Attribute require that Attribute to be natural, not cybernetic.
So, if you have level 4 Accuracy and a +1 Accuracy Cyberware, you can not use a weapon that requires 5 Accuracy, because your natural Accuracy is 4.
And Finally, Player Development
Since you choose the skills, abilities, and careers that you want to, you may build your character however you want. If you want to commit some serious crimes, it may be wise to train Dexterity more than others. If you want to be a successful PvP combatant, you might want to train Resistance and Accuracy or Strength, based on whether or not you are a Ranged or Melee fighter. In the end, all attributes will help, but focus on certain attributes to make your character unique.
If you have any other questions, use the Explore link, click on Awakened Lands Staff, and ask one of those players for some help. They are the Administrators, and they can help you with any serious questions. If it is a less serious question, dont hesitate to ask someone. We may be committing crimes, but were also committed to helping each other. Its the pirate code.
Good luck, and welcome to Awakened Lands![/i]
-------- Submission #1 --------
Edited by Err on June 15th for format changes
Welcome to Awakened Lands! Hopefully you are ready to begin playing, as this game is fast paced and fun. But before you do, there are a few key gaming elements that you need to understand!
There are a lot of links to choose from on your home page, but don't be overwhelmed! Once you know the ins and outs of the game, all of the links will make perfect sense.
Here is a brief table of contents before we get started.
1. Refreshes and Basic Stats
2. The Gym and Housing
3. Attributes and Levels
4. Crimes
5. Jail
6. The Bank
7. Careers
8. The Local School
9. Weapons and Armor
10. Skills
11. Player Vs. Player Combat and Districts
12. The Hospital
13. Gangs and War
14. Donations and Credits
15. The Credit Market and Referrals
16. Odds and Ends Storage, Mail, The Pantheon, Fed Jail, Humanity, and more!
1. Refreshes and Basic Stats
If you look to the bottom left of the web page, you should see a few basic stats, Energy, Action Points, Hit Points, and Happiness. These are the main stats that you will be paying attention to throughout your game play on Awakened Lands. They are very important, so make sure you use these stat points intelligently!
Energy is probably the most important basic stat. Energy is what you use to train in the gym, fight Player Vs. Player battles, take classes at school, and improve your skill proficiency. Efficient use of your Energy allows you to develop your character in the way that you want to.
The next basic stat is Action Points. Your Action Points may be used to commit crimes for cash, bust other players out of jail, work a steady job, and fight in a gang war. Action points are going to provide you with a steady flow of cash, and a lot of low level experience points.
With Energy and Action Points, you can become a strong player, but what good is training and getting money if you aren't happy? Happiness points are an efficiency rating for your character. That means that the happier you are, the better the results you receive for almost everything in the game! I will discuss how you can get a higher happiness level in section 2, the Gym and Housing.
Don't worry if you spend all of your energy and action points, and are not very happy!
Every 5 minutes, these stats will increase slowly. Basically, if you are a non-donator (this game is free!), it will take about an hour for your energy and action points to fully recover. However, if you have donator status, you will recover about twice as quickly for energy and about +1 action point. But being a donator doesn't make you any happier than being a non-donator, so keep that in mind!
2. The Gym and Housing
As you may have noticed, there is a beautiful new gym in Decatur (the city where Awakened Lands takes place), and this is going to be where you spend most of your energy points.
(You may enter the gym using the "Gym" link on the left of the page)
Training in the gym makes your character stronger over time. There are a few other ways to increase your statistics, but without training in the gym, you will not become a stronger player. Make sure that when you train in the gym, your happiness level is at its max!
As I mentioned before, happiness pretty much affects everything you will do in the game. Well, when you train in the gym, your happiness level will be significantly reduced. As a lower level player, this really won't be a big deal - you will regenerate happiness in time to train at the gym with your energy again. But don't train every 5 minutes! If you train with 50% happiness, you will not receive as many points from the gym as you would with 100% happiness.
So what happens when you train at the gym? You have to select a statistic from the drop down arrow and choose to train it. When you do, a number will show, explaining how many development points you received from your gym training. This number is basically "attribute experience," and you will not see any benefit from your gym training until you train enough to receive a higher rating in that attribute. So if you use 7 energy on Dexterity, the gym may say that you received 1 development point in dexterity - and you're on your way to a rating of 2 Dexterity!
Housing: At Some point, you will have saved up enough money that you will want to buy a new house. Considering a cardboard box (your first house) is not the nicest place in Decatur, it would be nice to live anywhere else! And with a new house comes a higher happiness rating. With a higher happiness, you will receive more development points from training in the gym. So if you have 100 happiness and train 7 Energy, you may receive 1 development point, but if you have 110 happiness and train 7 Energy, you might receive 1.3 development points. The results are slightly randomized, but in the long run, you will be significantly increasing your attribute development!
If you wish to purchase a house, click on the Explore link in your sidebar, and look for the Estate Agency link. In order to purchase a house, you must possess a bank account (which will be discussed later in section 6. The Bank), and the required money must be in your bank account for you to purchase a house. When you purchase a house, your maximum happiness is permanent until you sell that house. And if you wish to purchase a future house, your current house adds to your purchasing power! The price does not fall when you purchase your house, although prices fluctuate every few months by about 10%.
3. Attributes and Levels
In Awakened Lands, there are a grand total of 8 player attributes:
Accuracy, Dexterity, Resistance, Strength, *Endurance, *Intelligence, *Reputation, and *Work Experience
The First four attributes are your battle attributes. These four are the attributes that you are permitted to train in the gym. They are also your primary attributes, as most of your fighting and crime success are based on how high these statistics are.
The attributes highlighted with a star are your work attributes, and they can not be trained in the gym. Endurance and Intelligence may be increased with credits, which may be donated for, or bought with in game money. Reputation and Work experience may only be increased by taking classes at the local school and working a job.
So lets start with the battle attributes! Remember, you can train these attributes in the gym.
Battle Attributes
Accuracy - This ability affects your hand eye coordination, and is most helpful when using ranged weapons. Accuracy will not necessarily allow you to hit more often in battle, but allow you to deal more damage with a ranged weapon in combat. This attribute is also vital for certain crimes requiring hand eye coordination.
Dexterity - This attribute affects your agility, which allows you to dodge attacks and hit enemies successfully. This statistic is your primary attribute for crimes, and also heavily influences your ability to bust other players (and yourself) out of jail.
Resistance - This attribute allows you to absorb damage. It is a measure of your character's toughness, and is trained MUCH more slowly than all of the other attributes. Having a high resistance rating will benefit you all across the board, since it is a rather rounded attribute. Some crimes also require a strong resistance.
Strength - This attribute determines how much damage you deal in melee combat, and how many items your character can hold without becoming encumbered. A high strength ability is a must if you wish to use a melee weapon such as an axe, and it will also help when using heavy ranged weapons, such as shotguns. Just as the other attributes, strength will help with a few crimes.
Work Attributes
Endurance - Remember how I mentioned that a higher happiness rating will help increase your gym training? Well, a higher endurance rating will give you increased results as well. As a lower level, the results will not be significant, but they will later on. Endurance is also a measure of how long you can fight in combat without coming to a stalemate, and it, too, affects crime success.
Intelligence - If you aren't very smart, how will you wield the more advanced weaponry? It just isn't feasible. That's where intelligence comes into play. Intelligence allows you to wield certain advanced weapons, and it significantly affects your ability to commit crimes. Certain advanced crimes are near impossible without a sufficient Intelligence rating.
Reputation - the most difficult attribute to train, as it may only be increased by taking classes at the local school or by using career points (which will be discussed later). Reputation is an attribute that allows you access to a better gym trainer. Gym trainers are expensive administrators that can be used in the gym, and when you can not afford a new house, are good to use for a boost to your gym training. If you have the option of using a $5 gym trainer and have 7 energy to train, it will cost you $35 to use the trainer fully. The benefits are not very significant with the low trainer and a small house, but increase your reputation to see how beneficial they can be!
Work Experience - The amount of time and effort spent working in the field. Just as reputation, work experience may only be increased by taking a class or by using career points. Your level of Work Experience determines how well you succeed in your job.
Levels:
Attributes are not the only ratings you will be striving to achieve for your character. When you perform any task on Awakened Lands, you receive some amount of Experience Points based on the task that you performed. Defeating a worthy opponent in combat gives you a lot of experience, performing a difficult crime gives you a decent amount of experience, working a job gives you a decent amount of experience (a lot at a low level), and a very small amount from training in the gym. Once you receive enough experience - the amount of listed on your home page - you level up!
Levels affect everything you do in the game. Every time you level up, you receive +2 to your max Energy and Action Points, and with every 4-5 levels, your regeneration rate for energy and action points increases! I am currently a level 38 player, and i regenerate 13 Energy and 9 Action Points every 5 minutes (with donator status). On top of that, every 2 levels increases your happiness regeneration by + 1.
Higher levels also affect your combat and criming abilities. A level up increases your max hit points by +50, and acts as a combat and crime modifier. So if you are having trouble committing a certain crime, maybe you will be more successful when you achieve the next level!
4. Crimes
Well, if you wish to afford new housing, credits, gym trainers, and classes, you must commit crimes! Crimes are going to be your basic source of money and experience for many levels, probably until level 10 or 11. The amount of Action Points (AP) you spend on a crime is listed next to the crimes list (which you can select from the sidebar to your left), and the higher the amount of APs you spend, the higher the risk and higher reward for the crime you chose.
Until you reach level 5, your list of crimes will be limited to lower crimes, but even when the new crimes come up, don't spend all your time trying to commit them just because they sound exciting! When you commit a crime, you should be relatively successful. There is a chance to fail a crime every time you commit one, and crimes are more difficult to succeed if they cost more AP. Once you level up both your attributes and your character level, crimes will become much easier to commit! And when you commit tougher crimes, you get better money. Test out more difficult crimes to see what kind of results you get.
But keep in mind, time you commit a crime, there is a chance you could get busted and thrown in jail!
5. Jail
There are four ways to get sent to jail - The most common way to be sent to jail is when you get caught committing a crime. The other three ways involve busting out other players, combat, and gangs, and we'll get to those in a minute! When you're just starting, you will most likely get caught during a crime, so try to stick to easier crimes if this becomes a problem.
When you are caught and sent to jail, you are sent for a certain amount of time. This time is real, and if it is for 35 minutes, you must wait 35 minutes until you are finally released. This time may be reduced if another player uses his career points (from his or her job), or if another player busts you out of jail. If you have enough action points left, you could also try busting yourself out! The option should appear next to your name in the jail.
When you are in jail, you can not do much at all. First, you can only train in a prison gym, which doesn't offer you the same benefits as the normal gym. Second, the only thing you can use your action points for is to bust out of jail, which doesnt always succeed! And that costs about 1/3 of your total Action Points! If you succeed, you can get Experience Points, but if not, youll be given a greater sentence.
Unfortunately, your Action Points do not regenerate while in Jail, and your Happiness actually decreases while in Jail, so it is in your best interest to get out as soon as possible!
If youre fortunate, someone will bust you out of jail, or maybe even bail you out! Bailing someone out of jail costs a lot of money, depending on how long that person is in jail.
To bail out of Jail, you must have the money on hand. Or, if you have a few credits on hand, you could spend 25 credits to get yourself out immediately! I would suggest against that unless youre in for a very long time, since many players will try to bust you out for free, since successful busts provide plenty of Experience Points.
6. The Bank
When you read about housing, you heard my mention about the Bank. Well, the bank costs $50 to start, and you can deposit all of your money at any point in time. It works very similarly to a real bank unlimited depositing and withdrawal, and 10% gain yearly. Also, you must have your money deposited into a bank to purchase housing!
Another significant aspect of using a bank is to avoid having your money stolen.
It is possible for a player to mug you and steal your money, but if your cash is in the bank, it is not possible to lose anything! It sounds a little scary, but once you get into the groove of keeping all your cash in the bank, youll never have to worry about losing your cash to other players.
7. Careers
If you hit the explore button and look at the City Hall section, you should see an Unemployment link. This link will allow you to choose your career! There are eight different careers to choose from, and they will allow you to earn Career Points by using your Action Points to work up to 8 hours every day, and 4 overtime. Each hour is about one sixth of your total Action Points, and overtime hours cost just over one fourth of your total Action Points.
When you earn Career Points from working, you can either use those points to gain Development Points toward your Attributes, use them on a Career Ability, or save them to gain a promotion.
If you achieve a promotion in your Career, then you will earn more points per hour. So if you have a level 1 Career and receive an average of 5 Career Points per hour worked, a level 2 in that same Career would earn 6! And if you spend those Points on Attributes, a promotion could give you significant benefits. If you save your Points long enough, you will find the option to be promoted. Until you have the Points saved up, you may not even try.
Each Career allows you to gain Development Points when you spend Career Points, but each career offers different bonuses. For example, if a career offered a conversion rate of 2 Strength, every Career Point spent on Strength will give you 2 Strength Development Points. The Careers, and their most significant Attribute bonus, are as follows:
Engineering: Accuracy - 4 times conversion rate
Martial Arts: Dexterity - 4 times conversion rate
Military: Resistance - 2.25 times conversion rate
Construction: Strength - 4 times conversion rate
Athletics: Endurance - .09 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Medical: Intelligence - .15 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Science: Intelligence - .16 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Politics: Reputation - .04 times conversion rate (very slow!)
Manufacturing: Work Experience: 2 times conversion rate
I know it seems obvious, but I wanted to point out that the conversion rates for Athletics, Medical, Science, and Politics are extremely slow, so it may be wiser to choose another Career if you wish to gain some early Attribute bonuses! There are other significant rewards for working in a career, and that information can be found in the Library. If you click on the Explore link, you can find the Library underneath City Hall.
If you want to change Careers, you may only do so before working any hours that day. If you work even one single hour, you have to wait until midnight before you can change jobs! If you do decide to quit your job, you will not lose ANY Career points, but those points will not carry over to another job. So if you have 300 Career Points in Martial Arts and switch to a Military Career, your Military Career will not have 300 Career Points. At the same time, your Martial Arts points will be saved until you go back.
If you fail to work any hours for 5 days in a row, your boss will fire you, and you will lose a Rank in your Career (if you are past level 1) and you will lose all of your Career Points in that job! So if you wont be around for awhile, make sure to quit beforehand!
8. The Local School
The only other way to achieve Attribute bonuses aside from the Gym and Careers, the Local School offers some classes! If you use the Explore link, you can find the Local School and its many classes. In order to take a class, you must save up money and have enough Energy to take them. This means that there is a Level requirement to take certain classes.
Each of these classes will take real days, so a 7 day course will actually take 7 days, and finish on the same hour! After the course is completed, you are automatically rewarded with Development Points based on which course you took. It will take a long time, but it is possible to complete all of the courses available!
If you think you may have wasted your money on a course, dont worry too much, they all grant you extra points that you wouldnt have earned otherwise, and youll get to all of them eventually!
9. Weapons and Armor
If you click on the Items link in your sidebar, you will see the Equipment that you are currently using. Without sufficient money, you will not be able to afford anything early on, but when you can afford it, you will probably want to buy some weapons and armor. Early on, Player Vs. Player fighting is not very important, but you may want to build your character to prepare for it later on. And one of the most important parts of PvP combat is having a quality weapon and armor.
There are many types of weapons and armor to choose from in Awakened Lands, and they all offer different results. If you want to fight with a ranged weapon, you will be using a gun, which can be a pistol, shotgun, semi-automatic, or rifle. If you wish to fight with a melee weapon, there are several types of blunt and slashing weapons that pack a serious punch. Keep in mind that ranged weapons benefit from a high Accuracy Rating, and melee weapons benefit from a high Strength Rating.
There is no proven difference between ranged and melee combat, it is all up to personal preference. Many players swear that ranged weapons are more powerful, but melee fighters do just fine as long as their Strength is high enough.
As far as armor goes, there is no variety. You really want to aim for the most powerful armor that you can afford to use, both monetarily and Attribute-wise. The stronger the armor, the more damage you will resist, and the more likely you are to win (or less likely you are to lose) a battle. Simple! On top of that, you have the chance to get a helmet and a belt to go with your armor. Helmets offer additional resistance, while belts can deflect enemy attacks. Belts actually require you to spend money recharging them, but they can help win a fight.
While helmets and belts do not require any Attributes to use them, most quality weapons and armor do. The first few weapons and armor you will encounter which will appear in stores by using the Explore link in your side bar do not require any Attributes, but as you achieve higher Levels, you will notice that some do. This means that if a weapon requires you to have 5 Accuracy, such as the Armalite Peacekeeper, you may not wield the weapon until you achieve a Rating of 5 Accuracy! In addition, the higher the rating that you have, the more powerful you will be. If you are using the Armalite Peacekeeper and have 9 Accuracy, you will deal even more damage! The same applies to armor. All Attributes are potentially required for certain items, even Intelligence and Endurance. These requirements will not change.
If you are having trouble deciding what weapon to use, feel free to check the Library. Use the Explore link, and under City Hall you will find the Library. Every weapon in the game is listed there. Go wild!
10. Skills
Skills are proficiencies that you may train on a daily basis to get better in a certain aspect of your character. These proficiencies are passive, meaning that if you improve on them, they will affect your character at all times, and do not need to be chosen or activated! The skills that can be chosen range from all types of combat weaponry to gang warfare.
In order to improve a Skill, you must study 8 hours per day, which is done using the Skills link on your sidebar to the left. A study hour costs about one third of your total Energy, and will give you points. These points affect your percentage complete for the skill, and when you receive a C grade, you are allowed to take a test to see if your Skill has really improved! The higher the grade you have earned, the more likely you are to succeed in passing the test, and you may only improve your Skill rating when you pass the test. Tests do cost money though, and may only be taken on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If you fail your test, you will lose points, so make sure that you have a good grade! It is partially based on luck, but if you have studied hard, you should pass that test just fine.
If you do successfully improve your Skill, then you can continue improving it as much as you want, or even improve other Skills. If you use a shotgun and train your shotgun Skill, then you will deal more damage and hit more often. The benefits of Skills are really that straight forward. So go study!
11. Player Vs. Player Combat and Districts
If you are ready with a weapon and some armor, then you might be excited to participate in Player Vs. Player Combat. In order to do so, you must have at least one half of your total Hit Points, and a large portion of your Energy Points to attack a player.
In order to attack another player, use the Explore link in your side bar, and click on User List. This lists every single active player in the game! Once you use this link, click on the Levels tab at the top right of the list (it is in between Age and Gender), and all of the players will instantly be listed from lowest to highest. Then, click on the player that you wish to attack (hopefully around your level) and you should be able to have the option to attack him or her, as long as he or she is in the same area that you are.
When you achieve level 3, you will be able to use the Travel Agency via the Explore link in your sidebar. When you do this, you can actually change districts by paying a small travel fee! This allows you to attack players who are in that district, and to avoid other players where you were before. As you Level up more, subsequent districts become available to you. When you are level 1, you are restricted to Downtown Decatur only. At level 3, you can travel to the Industrial District. You will also find newer districts at levels 8, 22, 30, 40, and 50! These Districts each offer different stores and houses, both of which can become very pricey.
If you do find a player that is in your district and you decide to attack them, you will have 3 options Leave, Hospitalize, and Mug. If you decide to Leave a player in shame, you will receive a lot of experience if you win, and they will receive a moderate time in the hospital. If you choose to hospitalize a player and win, you will receive no experience, and they will be hurt and in the hospital for a very long time! If you decide to mug a player and win, you will steal a portion of the money that person is carrying, will receive about half of the possible Experience Points, and the target will receive a small hospitalization time.
Brutalize this is a possible fourth attack option that is only available to you if you have 100% of your Energy Points. Brutalizing somebody will make your character fight above and beyond normal combat potential, and can put a stronger player into the hospital. Brutalizing somebody gives you no experience, but it can teach a rude player a lesson if you really need to.
Gang Attacks are also possible in PvP Combat, but well discuss that in the Gangs section.
When you attack someone, that player might be online, just as you are. So be wary when attacking individuals who are online. They might not be happy when you attack them, and they could employ a friend to attack you back! And if someone defeats you in battle, or if you lose to someone that you attack, you will lose experience and will be thrown into the hospital!
Note, if you attack someone and lose, you will lose a lot of experience. But if someone attacks you and beats you, you will not lose much experience at all. And you can not lose a level, nor can you lose any development points in an Attribute.
12. The Hospital
If you are defeated in a Player Vs. Player battle, no matter who attacked who, you will be sent to the hospital. The time you are hospitalized for is defended on how you were beaten, but can range from 5 minutes to 200 minutes or more. Just as with Jail, these are real minutes, and must be waited out.
The only way to get out of the hospital is with special items known as Stim Packs. These items can be bought at the store in Downtown Decatur using the Explore link, and cost $500 per pack. This sounds very expensive, but many players will help you to afford them if you need it. If you do not have any stim packs, another player could send one to you, which would help reduce your hospital time. Otherwise, you will have to wait.
13. Gangs and War
Once you reach a certain level, you will probably want to join up with a group of players who help each other out with money, items, and information. These groups are gangs, and they are essential to playing Awakened Lands. To join a Gang, you may click on the Explore link and click on Gangs. Once you see the list of Gangs, you may click on any of them and Apply if they have an available spot opened. Individual spots in gangs cost a lot of money to create, so larger gangs may be more difficult to get into. Also, if you are a low level player, a gang might not find you ready to join them, so dont be upset if your application is rejected!
If you do successfully join a Gang, be active! If you are active, then your Gang will be able to complete bonus Crimes that give your Gang extra money. These Crimes are called Organized Crimes, and they can not be performed very often.
The results and times vary, depending on the size of the gang and the difficulty of the Organized Crime attempted. If these Crimes succeed, your gang gains more money, and they might be able to help you get a new item. On top of that, your gang will likely help you if you are being attacked by a pesky player, or if you get into any other trouble.
Your gang may keep track of several things as long as you are a member. First, your activity is listed, and it shows when you were last online. Second, it shows how often you participate in PvP attacks, and how successful you were in them. Third, you may donate to your gang, and these donations are tracked in a list of events. All of these may be found in the Your Gang link on your side bar.
Also, when you are in a Gang, you might find yourself participating in Gang Wars. The list of current Gang Wars occurring at any time can be found using the Explore link and clicking on Gang Wars. What happens is your Gang President declares war on another gang, and you spend your Action Points attacking the enemy gangs hideout. This can be done by clicking the Your Gang link in the sidebar, and clicking on the bold red text that tells you when a war is going on. Then, all you have to do is click the Attack button! When you do, it should tell you how much damage you dealt to the hideout. And make sure to do this many times, because you may deal between 1 and 50+ damage, but an enemy hideout may have a thousand Hit Points or more, and their gang members will be fighting back!
While participating in a gang war, it is also possible to repair and defend your own hideout. If you are not in a war, this is a peace time repair, but during a war, you may defend. Defending your hideout not only repairs damage done by your enemies, but it reduces further damage they will do. If you are in the hospital, you may aid your gang by repairing your hideout, but nothing else. Your attacks, defenses, and repairs are tracked on a weekly basis, so make sure you help your gang defeat its enemies.
If your Gang successfully wins a War, you destroy the enemys hideout, and you earn Gang Points for your Gang. These points can be spent to improve your Gangs hideout and make winning a war more likely, or they can be spent on character bonuses. A Combat Bonus will increase your characters attacking ability, and a Resistance Bonus may be spent on an individual player, but the Resistance Bonus is temporary. The upgrades to the gang are permanent (besides Resistance bonus), and you will lose all bonuses once you leave your Gang.
While in a Gang War, you may attack a player with the option of Gang Battle. This option will only appear in a War, and is different from any of the previous attacking options. If you succeed in a Gang Battle, which is PvP combat, you will receive Gang Points for your gang, some Experience Points, and you will hospitalize your enemy for a short period of time. Gang Fighting is probably the only time another player should not complain when you attack them when they are online, because the hospitalization time is very low, and it helps your Gang to participate.
14. Donations and Credits
Awakened Lands is a completely free game for anyone to play, but it remains free based on the donations of dedicated players. The players who donate money are rewarded with credits that can be spent on bonuses at the Donator House, via the Explore link in your side bar (you should be pretty familiar with Explore by now!).
The Donator House allows you to purchase Donator Status (buy 1 day, 30 days, or 65 days at a time), buy Endurance Development Points, or buy Intelligence Development Points. Credits on hand can also be spent to regenerate your Energy and/or Happiness to its full capacity, or to get out of jail immediately for 25 credits.
If you have Donator Status on, you will notice multiple benefits. First, you will regenerate Energy and Action Points more swiftly, as stated earlier. On top of that, you will receive bonus Development Points from training in the gym. Finally, you will be offered several bonuses that help you to succeed in Awakened Lands:
A Fightlogger that tracks your 50 most recent attacks and defenses
A Fightrecorder that tracks the 10 people you attacked the most and who have attacked you the most
A Jailrecorder that tracks the top 50 people you have busted out of jail
A Bioplex Assistant that tracks how many Development Points you have earned
And a Friends/Enemies list, that you can use to keep track of people that you love and hate. Also useful to remind you what players give you the most experience or who sold you items at a fair price.
Many high level players maintain Donator Status, since it allows you to train faster and to perform crimes more often, and because it allows for all of the aforementioned perks. If you lose donator status, the perks disappear, but the information is still in the game, so if you recover your status, you recover the information as well. If you have donated and have extra credits to spare, you may benefit from increasing your Endurance and Intelligence, as they will help you in the long run.
15. The Credit Market and Referrals
Donating is not the only way to receive credits! There is a Credit Market located on the Explore link, and you can buy and sell credits as you please. Credits must be purchased with money on hand, and can not be stolen by other players, no matter how many you have. Be careful when selling credits, because if you do not select the option entitled wire money to bank account, you could get mugged and lose money when someone buys your credits.
Aside from the Credit Market and donating, there is an extensive Referral system for Awakened Lands. You may refer someone through the Referral Link on your sidebar, and getting someone to use your personal link when they sign up to the game. If you refer a friend, you will receive points if they are active and when they donate to the game, not when someone clicks your link. These points may be redeemed for credits! Note, if you have donated at all, you will receive 10% of your points in credits, but if you have never donated to the game at all, you will receive 5% of your points in credits. For instance, if you donated $5 to the game, and a year later a player you referred earns you 200 points, you can cash those points in for 20 credits! If you have never donated, those points would earn you 10 credits. If you refer enough people, you can earn a ton of credits without donating or buying them.
15. The Odds and Ends
If youve made it this far, then you know just about all there is to know about Awakened Lands! Here are a few more things that you should learn to help you out.
Your Profile: The link to your Profile is listed in the Sidebar, and includes some important information. If you have Donator Status, it shows you how many Days you have left. On top of that, it shows you what District you are currently in, how old your character is, the Gang you are in, and how many Friends, Enemies, and Referrals you have. Friends and Enemies are the number of players that have added you to their list, not the other way around.
Stores: Every District has its own set of stores, and the more expensive it is to get to a district, the more expensive its items are. You may have to do a bit of traveling to get the items you want, or maybe even have someone do that for you.
Storage: For a fee, you can have items sent to a personal storage that costs a one time fee for the basic storage, and a daily fee for upgrades. A storage facility may be purchased in the Your Storage link in the left side bar. Items in storage may not be used until taken from your storage. If you have Stim packs in your storage unit, and you are in the hospital, you can not use them, so keep some handy!
The Item Market: A place where any and all players may sell whatever item they possess for whatever price they want. You are allowed to view the item and its price, so try not to over pay for any items. There is a fee for putting an Item on the market, and when an Item is purchased, the money goes into your pocket, not into your bank account. The market can be useful when buying items that replenish health.
[i/]Forums[/i]: A place to go to chat with other players about, well, anything. To reply, you must sign in again, as the Forums exist separate from Awakened Lands. It requires the same Login and ID, though.
[i/]Newspaper[/i]: All game updates and important information are logged in the Newspaper. Read it daily!
The Mail System: You have the option to mail anyone in the game, and all of your mail will be saved until you, or the recipient, chooses to delete it. If you have a problem with a player mailing you, you have the option to Block that player from mailing you any further. You may not mail block a person who has not sent you any mail.
Sending Items and Cash: In order to send an Item to a player, you need to know their ID, and you need to have this item in your inventory, not in your storage unit. A Players ID can be found on their profile (and yours can be found on your own!). Sending items does not cost any money, and the sent item will be sent to their storage unit. However, if that player is in the hospital and you are sending stims to get them out, the stim packs will be sent directly into their inventory!
If you want to send cash, the money must be on your person, and you may simply click on the player you want to send it to and click Send Cash. Then type in the amount of money you wish to send.
Preferences: in this sidebar link, you may change your sex, password, name, or stat display. Changing stat display means that your Attributes will be shown in number form instead of the leveling bar. So when you earn 5 development points in Dexterity, that number will be listed, rather than a bar indicating how far you have progressed.
The Pantheon of Infamy: Found using Explore, the Pantheon displays all players who achieve some form of notoriety and excellence in Awakened Lands. Whether you have a high Attribute Rating, were very active today, or you earned a lot of cash from Crimes, you are competing with the rest of Awakened Lands to have your name put on the Pantheon of Infamy.
Gambling: Using explore, go to the Dark Side and feel free to gamble your money away. There is a limit to how much you can gamble at a time based on your level, but you may gamble as many times as you want. Have at it!
The Federal Jail if you break any of the Game Rules, you will probably be talked to by other players. If you continue to break them, you may be confronted by administrators. If you are persistently breaking the rules, you will be put in the Federal Jail. This Jail may not be escaped from, and lasts many, many days. It is essentially a ban from the site, and may only be lifted by one of the administrators. Dont play with more than one account!
Humanity and Cyberware: Humanity is a measurement of how human you are, and adds to your Hit Point and Happiness regeneration. Every player begins with 5 Humanity, and Humanity points are slowly increased by daily activity and by gaining Levels. Every day you are active, you receive .01 Humanity, and every level you gain, you receive .1 humanity. Humanity is actually rounded down, even if you have 5.99 Humanity points. If you decide to spend a lot of money, you can hit the Explore button and go to the Cyberware Chop Doc to receive Cybernetic Implants.
These Implants will, after extensive hospitalization, give you an immediate and permanent bonus to an Attribute, such as Accuracy, at the expense of your humanity. This means that your Happiness and Hit Point regeneration will slow down in order to get an immediate bonus. This may be a risky decision for an early player, but Attribute bonuses become more difficult to train as you get a higher rating, so stronger players find Cyberware to be useful. Still, they are very expensive, and can not be removed. Also, Items that require a minimum Attribute require that Attribute to be natural, not cybernetic.
So, if you have level 4 Accuracy and a +1 Accuracy Cyberware, you can not use a weapon that requires 5 Accuracy, because your natural Accuracy is 4.
And Finally, Player Development
Since you choose the skills, abilities, and careers that you want to, you may build your character however you want. If you want to commit some serious crimes, it may be wise to train Dexterity more than others. If you want to be a successful PvP combatant, you might want to train Resistance and Accuracy or Strength, based on whether or not you are a Ranged or Melee fighter. In the end, all attributes will help, but focus on certain attributes to make your character unique.
If you have any other questions, use the Explore link, click on Awakened Lands Staff, and ask one of those players for some help. They are the Administrators, and they can help you with any serious questions. If it is a less serious question, dont hesitate to ask someone. We may be committing crimes, but were also committed to helping each other. Its the pirate code.
Good luck, and welcome to Awakened Lands![/i]