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Hi all,

I have played the game for a couple hours and have left the tutorial area to read up here on the forums to try an grasp what exactly is going on in this game.

My early conclusions are:

1. There has been a recent merger of three servers into one and that has created some problems and confusion.

2. The game entails a dynamic PVE environment (for example, Second Swarming of the Kittins) as well as mutually agreed upon PVP between players, guilds and/or factions.

3. Some rather loosely defined factions, guilds that have a Machiavellian style unity where(some) players go back and forth in order to gain either personal, tactical or strategic advantage.

I make these points because there seems to be a real disconnect between what I am learning on the tutorial area and what actually occurs "On the Mainland".

I would like to know, besides gaining the basic skills in the various disciplines, how the tutorial area really relates to how to play this game and if I should rather concentrate on the in-game(mainland) and meta-gaming components due to "The Game of Thrones" type of experience?

Thanks and to the Developers; this is the game I have been looking for a LONG TIME due to your introductions of TRUE dynamic events (something I have only heard tell occurring in very FEW games).

Well Done!

In the good old days the starter islands were exactly the same as mainland, albeit on a smaller scale. However, it was changed to the current questoriented experience to provide better integration of people who have previously played other mmo's.

This is widely considered a bad move and made a lot of people angry. I can think of at least one more person than me!

In all seriousness though, focus on mainland. Silan is a very tiny bit of the game, and nothing at all like the rest of it. Focus on reading tutorials to understand how to edit your own actions, and do quests to get equipment for your first 40-50 levels. As soon as you feel confident with the interface and basics of combat, crafting and harvest, feel free to come to mainland though. There will be plenty people on universe to help you if you run into trouble. Never hesitate to ask for help ingame.

Heya, Evilar:

I don't have Gasket's perspective on the "good old days", because I've only been playing for 7 years, but he is right in one way. Silan play is mission oriented and play on the mainland, while there are missions available, is not.

However, Silan is a tutorial. It is designed to introduce you to the gameplay, the construction of actions from stanzas, the primitive techniques of harvest, craft, magery and melee, teamplay and solo work. It is designed to give you a bit of quick experience, a few decent pieces of gear, and a few dappers (money), all of which will make the beginning of your saga on the mainland easier. It introduces you to the very smallest part of the lore about the various forces that divide and unite homins in Atys.

What it doesn't teach you is exactly those things that you noted, and much more. The reason it doesn't is that it is not possible to teach all that in a tutorial area. It takes years of gameplay to teach you that, to give you the reason to delve deep into the intricacies of crafting, the subtleties of harvesting, the depth of the Lore and to give you the base of experience to appreciate it.

One thing I really appreciate is the fact that in addition to the dynamic (if your concept of dynamic includes the word "months") PvE events, every player has an opportunity to create and influence the progress of the lore of Atys, simply by existing and participating. Some of the most interesting and amusing events have been created by players, sometimes with the help of the Event Team, sometimes despite it.

Do the missions in Silan, knowing that they are not representative. Pay attention to what is in the background, not just what is on the surface. Then come to the mainland and dive in.

Welcome to Atys.

Mac'Od Bittty
(not a CSR or official in any way, but I do have a big mouth)

silan is mostly a mission based tutorial do this and you get this much dapper,gear,...
mainland is mostly a sandbox with some missions but you can master all go everywhere and kill every mob without ever takening 1 mission on the mainland.

silan shows you can use magic,melee,craft and dig but more then that you shouldn't take from it, and maybe the dapper rewards since it's alot harder now for new players to get dapper since merge when we went from no economy (oh you new here take 10mil dapper from me to start out) to a verry bad economy (sorry I can't lend you 10k dapper to let you buy this tp since I hardly can buy it myself) 

 1. There has been a recent merger of three servers into one and that has created some problems and confusion.
=> all 3 servers had different events and lore so RP wise it's a clusterfuck
=> all 3 servers had a different way of playing while the french where heavy into pvp the english for instance never pvped (except at op wars)

2. The game entails a dynamic PVE environment (for example, Second Swarming of the Kittins) as well as mutually agreed upon PVP between players, guilds and/or factions.
=> there are also some PVP areas ingame where everyone can kill you (you don't have to go there but at times you most likly will wanna go there)
=> the dynamic PVE enviroment is wonderfull mobs moving locations by season, mats that only can be harvested at night on a warm summer evening, mobs killing each other, ...

3. Some rather loosely defined factions, guilds that have a Machiavellian style unity where(some) players go back and forth in order to gain either personal, tactical or strategic advantage. 
=> 2,5 factions are ingame and 4 civilisations
==> faction: kami <> kara < they are equal in ingame content; marauder this faction was introduced 3years orso ago some ppl choose it in the end but it doesn't even have 10% of the content of the other 2 factions (no missions, no hairdressers, no tatoos, only can trade in 1 land, no access to hawkers, ...) < still a damm good faction I would say but devs need to ramp it up there and give them some fixes
==> civilisations they personal prefference (if you are heavy into RP then read pages on atys.ryzom.com) any civ can join any faction or guild only thing is depending on faction you choose you might have to do some extra fame runs (not that much work) to join them

ps. Yes we have dynamic events but don't expect to run into one daily. Events are dynamicly organized by the event team wich are just volunteers but depending how these events are finished history is written (you can realy change the future here, see above 3 servers with in the end 3 different histories based on what the community there decided). As for big dynamic events we just had Kittin of the Depth (KotD) dig to the surface and such but after it running for over a year now i think we finally finished building the defence towers and that event is coming to an end.

As it is - Silan is the place where, indeed, you learn all the basic skills, but from what I understood (I started on one of the race-related islands ages ago) environment is different from the mainland inasfar as it gives you a little taste of animal life and geographics of the various countries - woods, jungle, lakelands, and desert - on just one island. You also get a rough introduction into history, the function of the rangers, and a wrong impression (or rather a very biased, negative impression) of the Matis. I don't agree, though, that it was a "bad move" to install Silan instead of the old starter island. The old islands left you pretty much in the cold regarding history, and while you learnt basic skills, there was nothing like quest lines or tutorials which now take the freshman gently by the hand and give him an overview about many fundamental things.

Having said that, and having already implied that there are differences between Silan and the mainland, the game really is what you make of it. The PvP players want more PvP, I guess, and the roleplayers always more events, but if you are open for everything you can keep entertained for a pretty long time, with especially the roleplayers showing a lot of dedication (some are here since Beta). But I think that's understandable, as they pretty much feel themselves as being a part of Atys history.

There's one thing Gasket writes I'd like to repeat: Never hesitate to ask for help ingame. Depending on time zones, it's more or less busy on the bark, but usually you will find plenty people willing to help if you run into trouble or need a trek.

Thanks guyz for the information and advice.

I created a Zoraïs thinking that they are the most powerful of the races but after reading more I am considering playing a Matis because they appear to be the most evil (ambitious) of the races. I gather those initial impressions from the website Races page and the little that I have played on Silan.

I am still trying to get some more information about what is going on between the races, factions and guilds.

As it relates to role playing, I am a long time D&D, World of Darkness paper and pen player, so while I knew in MMO's that that is somewhat passe, I due prefer PVE as opposed to PVP due to my obvious Noob status and learning curve that will entail. (Oddly enough, in Star Trek Online, I was able to become quite skilled in a short time in PVP ship battle so perhaps I will catch on quick :)

Anyway, I will take my time, keep my eyes open, my mouth shut and listen & learn.

Thanks again and my name in game is Evilar

That's a wise decision. As is considering playing a Matis. ;)

I'll second Gasket's statement that moving from 4 islands to Silan was a bad move . . . I miss, or rather my player does ;) , old Koï Zun and running with the Ragus there.

Anyway, complete the Silan missions to learn the mechanics of game play and then forget the environment of Silan when you come to the mainland, they really don't relate to each other at all.