The Secret World

[Deadmon]

Also, lol, check out what looks to be an Aquilla right above the chicks ass in first pic. Ordo Tramp.

[Xoza]

First set of Beta key's went out today! I'm in!

I may play with it a little, but It's probably going to be monthly sub for the first year so...

[Deadmon]

Im planning on checking it out sometime when I can. Keep us updated on if its any good?

[Marcus Tinamou]

I pre-ordered and what not but also got my closed beta key today. Beta account will be unlocked tomorrow at 5.

[Xoza]

So apparently now subscription is optional! You'll still have to purchase the game itself for $30.

Question now... What faction would The Ordo Imperialis be? Templar, Illuminati or Dragon? I ask because if I play a bit, I want to be sure to spend the time on the right character, even though you have enough character slots (at least in beta you did) to create one for each faction...

TEMPLAR.

nevermind, found it

and Arcadia server...

[Xoza]

A Cabal (guild) has been created for The Ordo Imperialis on Arcadia under the Templar's.

You may play other factions and group, but you won't be able to join the cabal.

With that said, I also found several 'unofficial' rules of The Secret World, as it is a game that's quite different than others.

Hey guys, figured I'd post these with the new forums. I'll have a link to the old thread when the search function is working in the archives.

Welcome to The Secret World. This is not your father's MMO. There is no hand-holding. There is no I-Win button. There is no easy answer. There is no forgiveness. Once you understand these things, the game goes from an unintelligible mess to a game even a three year old can understand and enjoy. You need to lose the mentality you have brought from other games, and relearn everything for this. So, here's some simple rules to live by during your time in The Secret World.

The First Rule of The Secret World: READ THE BOOK.

Sometimes this is more literal than others. The point is, quest text is important. This isn't WoW, or TERA, or almost any other MMO, where you can safely ignore all but the "kill x, gather y, take it to z" line. The quest text, cutscenes, and miscellaneous stuff you find lying around is important, especially for investigation missions. So before you ask for help, take a breath, look through all the stuff you've gathered so far, and take a few minutes to read things. You'll be happier, you'll get through quests faster, and most importantly of all, you'll figure it out on your own (well, at least more often than otherwise).

The Second Rule of The Secret World: CLICK ON EVERYTHING, EVEN IF IT MIGHT KILL YOU.

More often than not there are clickables around, and they'll be the answer (at least in part) to whatever is causing your issues. Anything in the environment that can be interacted with is highlighted in yellow or red. Use this to your advantage. And if it doesn't do something now, chances are there's a quest you haven't picked up yet that'll bring you to that area, and you'll understand why it's there.

The Third Rule of The Secret World: YOU CAN'T RESET YOUR AP OR SP.

When you gain AP and SP, you start by putting it into weapons and skills you think are useful. This is great! You're experimenting with weapons and skills, and you'll quickly find out what playstyles you like, and which you don't. If you don't like a particular skill or weapon you've invested in, then choose something else! You're free to get whatever skills or abilities you want in whatever order, and with enough of a time investment you can get every ability and skill in the game. Find what weapons you like, then use that knowledge to invest in your outer ring. If you really don't like that weapon combo you were toying with, don't reroll. Every point you have invested is one less you'll need later on, when you're looking to diversify your abilities. You can always hang around a zone longer if you need some more AP or SP, or even go all the way back to Kingsmouth to redo quests if you're desperate.

Some pro tips: its easy to get the abilities in the inner circle, so use that for your experimentation.

Also, if you don't need to spend SP to equip a new weapon or talisman, hold on to a few points. You can save up to 40 SP at any one time. You'll kick yourself if you put another level into a weapon you can't upgrade yet when you get a shiny new talisman that's one QL too high to equip.

The Fourth Rule of The Secret World: NO SPOILERS IN CHAT CHANNELS.

There comes a time when you need help on a quest. That's normal. There comes a time when you finish a quest and wish to impart your knowledge to help people through their troubles. That's great. Send them a tell. Giving that information in channels like general, looking for group, and faction chat can ruin the sense of discovery. Even player help is kept on by a lot of players. Many people (including myself) don't appreciate seeing major spoilers for quests we haven't done yet.

The Fifth Rule of The Secret World: THERE IS LATERAL ADVANCEMENT, AND VERTICAL ADVANCEMENT. DO NOT IGNORE ONE FOR THE OTHER.

There are no levels in this game, there are "levels". There are two big ways to get more powerful in this game: one, by using skill points to unlock better equipment (vertical advancement), and one by using skill points and ability points to unlock new abilities and different weapons (lateral advancement). Every character should do both.

Even if you are dead-set DPSing as an elemental/blood combo, you'll find your life a lot easier if you have a wide variety of skills at your disposal: AoEs, Control, Single-target, range, etc. Any given spec can be hugely effective in one situation, and neutered in another. Having a few options available will make your life, and your party's lives, easier in the long run.

Similarly, having too wide a skill set, especially when it comes to SP, will mean you don't have the gear you'd need to tackle better content. Remember: Jack of all trades, master of none, oftimes better than a master of one.

The Sixth Rule of The Secret World: THERE IS NO RULE SIX.

The Seventh Rule of The Secret World: DON'T DO QUESTS ONE HUB AT A TIME.

In most games, you'll get shuffled around from city to outpost to campfire, pick up five or six quests, do them all, then turn them back in to the quest giver, where you'll get a few more quests to do. That's not how this game works. Your quest log is very limited: you get one storyline quest, one "major" quest, one instance quest (which switches automatically when you enter a new instance) and three minor quests (the black and green ones you find lying around). This quest system is designed so you do one, maybe two quests at a time. Your quest will send you all around the zone, killing things, finding clues, scrounging supplies, grave robbing, what have you. When you're done with that quest, you'll get a lovely button that lets you call in for your rewards, plus a little message from your faction's guide/leader.

Afterwards, you might not have a quest. Never fear! The quest you just finished should have led you to a quest giver, or at least very close. Sometimes you'll get quests from miscellaneous items lying on the ground nearby. But there is almost always a quest. Also, if you *really* like a quest, most of them are repeatable every day. The major exception is investigation (green) missions, which can only be done once. And of course the storyline missions.

The Eighth Rule of The Secret World: IF THE AREA IS TOO HARD, GO BACK TO THE LAST ONE AND GET SOME XP, FRIENDS, OR BOTH.

During the beta, a lot of people have been complaining about jumps in difficulty, especially from Kingsmouth to The Savage Coast. This is beta of course, and this specific example may change. But there's still something to be said here: if it's too hard, something has to change. The monsters won't, so guess who that leaves?

There are two easy ways to do this: get a friend or two and do quests as a group, or get more AP and SP and get better gear and abilities. All quests (except instances) can be done solo, but most can be done in a group. Just get on the same quest, and don't forget to spread the loot love around. Also, SP levels don't just unlock better weapons and talismans, they also give you unique bonuses, and decrease the chance your attacks glance or are blocked. So going back to the last area and gaining SP and AP is quite useful. Pro Tip: The miscellaneous ability Turn The Tables is a great skill for soloing. Free heal, not based on heal power!

The Ninth Rule of The Secret World: USING TWO WEAPONS IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN USING ONE.

In The Secret World, if you open your character screen, you'll notice your character has not one, but

two

weapon slots. Your character can in fact equip two completely different weapons, and use either weapon's active abilities. Why is this important? It has to do with how resources work.

As you know, there are "builders" and "finishers." Builders give you resources for your equipped weapons, and you can have as many as 5 at once. Finishers use your resources to do more damage, often increasing the damage done when you have more resources (though magic finishers sometimes require and use a set amount). The pertinent point here is that, with few exceptions, your builders build resources for BOTH weapons, not just one. So if you have two weapons equipped, you can build your resources to 5 with a builder (for either weapon), and use a finisher for each weapon you have equipped. Finishers do a lot more damage for the time they take to use (called DPS, or Damage Per Second) than Builders do, so the more finishers you can do, the better! This means you'll want to have two weapons, and a finisher for each of them, very early on.

You don't even need to have a good mix of abilities from each weapon. There are completely viable (and awesome) builds, including pre-made decks, that use only one active ability from the second weapon. But guess what that second active ability is? You guessed it: a finisher.

The Tenth Rule of The Secret World: BE NICE TO PEOPLE YOU'RE PLAYING WITH!

Special thanks to Ragnar the Great for pointing out this obvious rule that most players overlook. Basically, it comes down to this: no one likes assholes. If you're courteous, helpful, and kind to people playing with you (even if they are the 5 gazillionth person asking you for the answer to Kingsmouth Code), they'll remember that. You'll get invited to people's instance runs, cabals, and be that guy: the one who gets a nod from the bouncer and gets into the club past all the hot ladies and dweebs waiting in line. If you're that other guy, the one who yells at people, trolls the noobs, and sits in instances waiting for free loot, then no one will invite you to the cool parties or give you cake.

And we all like cake.

And because more than 10 rules is kinda pushing it, here's some useful pointers that don't quite get elevated to the rules category:

Your map is your friend. Use it and love it.

Your map is a lot more useful than just showing you where major landmarks are. There are a couple very important features. Icons that look like people are where major quest givers are located. Icons that look like a stack of coins are where vendors (of all types) are located. Bulls-eye icons are the locations of anima wells, where you'll be resurrected when you die. Also, generally any building marked in grey (instead of the normal beige color) is a place you can go inside, like the Sheriff's office or the Church.

You can also make your own markers! Right-clicking on the map will let you place a custom marker and name it whatever you like. This is great for marking important locations during Investigation missions, or where to pick up minor quests, a world boss location, or even easy shortcuts.

I'm gonna keep this thread updated with helpful information for new players as I come across it in game. If anyone else has useful rules, feel free to add some!

[Xoza]

If you would like to help recruit while you're in game, here's an easy and short way that lacks lengthy general chat annoyances.

1. Create a folder in your TSW directory called "Scripts"
   
2. Create a .txt document in that folder, called Ordo.. or whatever you want to type into your chat as the trigger command
   
3. Open it up and enter the below code into the txt, save and close.

   <a href="text://<font face=LARGE><div align=center><font face=LARGE_BOLD><u>The Ordo Imperialis</u></font>
   <i>gaming community</i></div>
   
   <font face=LARGE_BOLD>Server:</font> Arcadia (RP)
   <font face=LARGE_BOLD>Interests:</font> Heavy PvE, Medium RP
   <font face=LARGE_BOLD>Leader:</font> Imperator Aryte Vesperia
   <font face=LARGE_BOLD>Recruiters:</font> <a href='chatcmd:///tell Xoza I am interested in your Cabal'>Xoza</a>, <a href='chatcmd:///tell Shizzerk I am interested in your Cabal'>Shizzerk</a>, <a href='chatcmd:///tell TheSquib I am interested in your Cabal'>TheSquib</a>, <a href='chatcmd:///tell Yollo I am interested in your Cabal'>Yollo</a>
   <font face=LARGE_BOLD>website:</font> <a href='chatcmd:///option WebBrowserStartURL "http://www.ordoimperialis.com" \n /option web_browser 1'>www.OrdoImperialis.com</a>
   
   The Ordo Imperialis is recruiting for the <font color=#953a41 face=LARGE_BOLD>Templar</font> and the <font color=#2a6bab face=LARGE_BOLD>Illuminati</font>! We're an experienced and active gaming community with our own full <a href='chatcmd:///option WebBrowserStartURL "http://www.teamspeak.com/invite/firefoxinc.com" \n /option web_browser 1'>Teamspeak 3 voice server</a>, <a href='chatcmd:///option WebBrowserStartURL "http://forums.ordoimperialis.com" \n /option web_browser 1'>website forums</a>, structuring and more! We welcome all types, we're helpful and allow plenty of room for advancement and exploration. We also provide and include plenty of benefits for contributions in and out of game. Please feel free to contact a member or recruiter for more information or sign up on our website with the code 'Aryte Vesperia'</font>">The Ordo Imperialis is recruiting!</a>

   
   

4. Ingame type /<name>.txt or /<partial> [tab] in the channel you want to speak in. Then [Enter]

[Michan Moonlight]

So I know we are on arcadia but who plays this game? I just gott it and all i know is that we play templar and on arcadia :P

[Firefox Breed]

I think it was one of thoe sgames that fell of the side of the earth.

[Xoza]

We have a cabal for anyone who would like to, but I don't know anyone who actively plays it at the moment.

 

(merged with original)

[Michan Moonlight]

I am living the secret world. Its been ages since a mmorpg has captured me so compleatly and i just dont understand why more people dont play this?!

Forget WoW this is on pra with guildwars 2 and even better then Swtor and thats a pretty good game!

And just like GW2 you only have to buy the game. No monthly subscription and the micro transactions are mostly for ingame pets and clothes so its not pay to win.

 

Hope to see more of you batteling zombies with shotguns soon!

[Angelin01]

I would play this, but it's freakin region locked on steam so I am not buying it for the time being. God damn it.