Is Mainland so different ????

[mugendo]

Welcome to Ryzom.
Some new players are asking about the differences between the mainland (subscribed area) and Silan (trial zone). Silan you can learn about in…..well….silan.
Here you will learn the basic skills and how to personalize them using the ‘Stanza’ system.
To allow you to quickly gain xp to ‘buy’ these skills silan has implemented a quest system….ie, kill ‘X’ for reward ‘Y’…..this allows new characters to progress quickly without having to worry about searching for XP or Items.
Now this is the point in silan that is causing some confusion, as these ‘quest givers’ are not available in the mainland….well not in the sense “follow the yellow brick road” where all arrive at the same destination. This brings me to the Mainland……………..

Welcome to the mainland…here you will find many similarities to the Silan start area. The eco system is identical, the creatures behave the same, the resources are still here, but…….there are no signposts. What is needed here is a thirst for adventure, think of it as a treasure hunt. What do you want to find ?.....resources ?, creatures ?, combat ?, unknown (to you) safe travel trails ?..........
Many will find themselves lost and will be happy to receive help from one of the many players already living there, this is where friendships and guild members are often started. A note of advice here, DO NOT join a guild until you are settled and know what you want….joining a PvP heavy guild is not much use to a crafter..etc…

And be prepared for another shock…..that lovely friendly Zorai you spent your time with on Silan is now many leagues away if you chose a different race….each race starts in their own city….which is in their own zone….which is completely different to your zone….zorai have the lovely jungle to reside in, Fyros are exiled to the desert, Tryker have the beautiful lakes and seas, and Matis remain in the forest.
The races all share the same skills, the only difference is cosmetic (at this point in time)…..though as a crafter you must travel to the trainers of each culture before you can learn their patterns.

Another bonus of arriving on the mainland is…..you now have access to RANGED WEAPONS !!!! *Big Cheer*…….followed by frustration….yes ranged is very powerful, but also very expensive if you buy the ammunition, here you need to make your own ammunition….which in turn means you need to gather the resources…..which is partly gathered from the creatures around….a self supporting cycle that increases your skills nicely. As you are aware by now that combat, magic, digging, craft each gain their own XP.
As you travel around the start area you will begin to come across tribes that will offer you small tasks for a small reward…..maybe a little bonus payment for collecting the resources you were after anyway.
Hope this helps some of you new players who are confused or concerned by claims that that mainland is a completely different game to Silan.

Happy travels new Homins……….

[philu]

Fyros are exiled to the desert

Exiled?? Some of us like it here!

Very nice post though.