Ryzom

Most FAQS/Guides i come across talk about "Packs" What the heck? Is that something to do with the bought version of Ryzom? Or is that something else? for Subscribers?

And if you buy Ryzom, do you still have to subscribe? :S

They were an older version of the char creation system. Replaced by the one you will have used when the new starter land of RoS came in.

As for the bought game, its exactly the same as the normal one. Its a copy of the client that needs patching still. You have to sub like everyone else, the difference is your CD Key gets you a free month on the mainland.

Only packs I know of that are mentioned in the manual are the starter packs that you can choose during character creation. However, the character creation info in the manual is obsolete as the whole starter experience was revamped. It used to be that at character creation, if you wanted to specialise in any of the four classes you could pick additional packs for that class to give you a leg up. This doesn't happen now at character creation.

You can download the unlimited trial; you start on a newbie island and you can stay on it forever for free if you like. If you want to move on to the mainland to experience the rest of the game that is when you pay a monthly subscription. I highly recommend playing the starter island; there's lots of people, lots of missions and is a good introduction to the game.

Just in case it hasn't been made clear - you don't have to buy the game at all, the free download is all you need, just start paying subscription when you want to transfer across to the mainland.

Your starter packs won't hurt or gimp you... it gives you a focus. In a non-class based system, it gives you a better way to focus early on. We have many skill trees and directions to go, fortunately choosing anyting doesn't gimp others.

If you're mistaken for "pacts", then those will be your teleportation "tickets" available on the mainland. Not sure if there is any on the Ruins of Silan.