EFU Newbie Survival Guide v6

[EvilResearchGroup]

EFU Newbie Survival Guide v6

This is a redone EFU survival guide. Some of this is my own opinion, so take it for what it's worth. Big props to the prior survival guide which is still an excellent reference.

Before we get into it, there are three rules to playing EFU you should understand.

Rule 1: Challenge is Fun! EFU is hard. Your character will die. Your pixels live and die by numbers that will generally slowly tick upwards over time which aren't really a reflection on you or your own abilities. It is OK to die. Everyone else has. Many times.

Rule 2: Challenge is not always Consensual! Sometimes you will end up in an unwinnable situation. Sometimes your team is not as helpful as it could be. Sometimes other player characters will beat you up and possibly take your gold or some potions. Unexpected things make things interesting because if you could perfectly predict the course of events, you would probably get bored quickly.

Rule 3: You deserve to have Fun! If you started a character and you're not necessarily enjoying your time, it is OK to quit your character without a dramatic death scene or a fond farewell. Your time is valuable. If you respect your own time and focus on things you find rewarding, you will have a more enjoyable experience. It is OK to take a break from EFU sometimes, be that for a weekend, a couple weeks, or even a few years.

With that out of the way...

What Should I Play?
Generally, whatever you find fun. Some paths are harder than others. You should be aware of roleplaying guidelines for your chosen race/class on the wiki main page. A good way to get started is to play an awakened or amnesiac (background wiki) human fighter that uses a one-handed weapon and a shield. This way, you can become accustomed to some of the systems in EFU with a hardier but potentially easier to play character. If you enjoy your experience, stick with it. If you're not in love with your character but you think you have a better idea for one now that you have played for a little while, see Rule 3.

How Do I Play?
Most experience is gained by performing quests. Many quests have hints for their location in the module (the nuisance department in Hashemma's Hope, the job board in the Krak de Roses, etc.). If you are still having difficulty, most player characters know where some (if not most) of the quests are and can help you, as most quests after a certain point require at least two player characters. Once located, characters typically have to traverse a dangerous, monster filled quest area and defeat some sort of boss monster at the end. Most quests allow for anywhere from 2 to 6 player characters to attempt them.

Included in EFU are also a large world full of secrets to discover, roving monsters, random explorable areas, bounties on powerful NPC monsters and enemies, difficult monster fortress attack battles that can host the entire player base at once, and unique DM events and quests. Player characters also have their own motivations and can sometimes become antagonists against the larger player base. This robust environment provides a great deal of variety and potential challenges and will hopefully provide you with a great deal of enjoyment.

How Do I Play Better?
EFU has a robust consumable item economy. You will find many items and most of them have a use to someone somewhere, but you should pay particular attention to items that heal or make your character better at fighting. Of particular importance for fighting characters are potions of bark skin and blur, as these will dramatically reduce the number of times you are struck in combat. Invisibility and expeditious retreat potions are useful for surviving situations that might not be winnable (you will eventually get in over your head). Your success will ultimately boil down to how you manage supplies so you are generally prepared for quests and other dangers you might encounter while also dealing with the limitations of encumbrance and your pack size. If you find you are lacking for supplies you think you might need, some player characters are capable of crafting potions and can exchange your gold for whatever you might need.

You will typically want to heal when you yourself become 'badly injured' (50% health or lower), or heal someone else when they are 'injured' if you are not fighting that moment. Teamwork can make action economy much better with one character good at dodging/taking blows fighting while the other heals.

Finally, positioning in combat is important. Fighting characters need to be careful about charging into groups of enemies and attempt to use choke points like hallways and doors to limit the amount of enemies they fight at once. Fighting characters should generally try to attack a creature that is attacking them, as this will prevent that creature from gaining a flanking bonus (+2 AB to hit, or 10% roughly) as well as deny the attacker any sort of sneak attack. Weaker characters need to try to keep fighting characters between themselves and the enemies, but should make themselves useful by using their other abilities to keep those characters alive, such as healing.

On Death:
Your character will die. It's not an if. If you are frustrated, take a break and come back. If you aren't having fun after you're done being frustrated, see rule #3 and do something else, be that playing a different game for a while or starting an entirely new character. Respawning allows you to roleplay a near death experience and return at a lower level than you were before. Usually, this will give you the opportunity to do some early quests that will dramatically increase your supplies and potentially let you find better gear. If your character isn't above level 6 this isn't really much of a setback, as you will gain experience over time until you are level 6 anyways even by just walking around town and interacting.

Some parting tips:
Encumbrance is important. A way to shed pounds without sacrificing much is picking lighter weapon types, such as the spear, short sword, or longsword. Strongly consider armors that weigh less if they provide equivalent AC, even if some of the other bonuses are slightly better. If you get overweight and have to drop something, decide which item(s) you're more likely to actually use in the short term and hang on to those while dropping the rest.

Sometimes drinking an expensive blur potion is actually cheaper than downing 20 healing potions or healing item charges. Some situations aren't survivable without lots of extra spells and protection. A good rule of thumb is 'reading the room' and mimicking what other player characters are doing when you have no idea what you should be doing. If your buddy Bob the Berserker starts drinking every potion he has, for example, it's probably time to go all out too.

Make friends. You will live or die by them. A low charisma character might be accurately portrayed and abrasive and unlikeable, but this means you're potentially going to struggle to do much of anything at all if you can't join quests or safely explore. Again, see rule #3.

[putrid_plum]

I like how positive this post is and it's got very good information in it.

Thanks!!  This will help many new players I feel.

[Jules]

This post would benefit from a tips and tricks section alongside some screenshots of things to look out for, such as identifiers for quest NPCs or Inns.