Gameplay FAQ

This is the Gameplay FAQ

Navigation

How do I move and look around?

The arrow keys on the keyboard control movement and the direction you are facing. Hold down the forward and backward keys to move at a walking pace. Simultaneously holding down the Shift key and the arrow key will change you to a running pace. If there is an obstacle that you cannot go around, you may try running up to it and then pressing Spacebar to jump. With practice you can vault over obstacles.

How do I change camera angles?

The "Page Up" and "Page Down" keys control the camera angle. You can also press the M key to change the camera angle until you find one you like.

Location Questions

Where are the sewers?

Go left from the blacksmith in Hydlaa and follow the city walls until you find a large hole in the ground. There is also a second entrance behind the tavern.

Where is the tavern?

Starting from Hydlaa Plaza, look to the left of the large red temple for a ramp/street in the direction of the taller brown tower. Take that street and then go up the first staircase on your left. Follow its curve, and you'll see the tavern on your left eventually. Can't miss the sign of mugs above Kada-El's doors.

Where is the town of Ojaveda?

Exit Hydlaa from the East Gate, in the same sector as Jayose's library, and follow the Ojaveda Road, through the Korogan Passage, the river and past the hill. It's a long walk, but eventually you will find the Dsar of Akkaio, one of many dsars that make up Ojaveda city.

Where is the Magic Shop?

Exit Hydlaa from the north gate - from the centre plaza with the Laanx Statue, look toward a tall brown tower and make your way towards it. After exiting through the gate, continue through the forest path and then take the right fork as soon as you see it.

Where are the Bronze Doors?

Exit Hydlaa the same way, but take the left fork instead of the right. The way is long. Just follow the road.

Where is Gugrontid?

Gugrontid is the home city for the Kran. To find it you need to head out in the same direction as for the Bronze Doors. This time in the first map you get to head over the hills to your left and you will find a path to it in the edge of the map. You can also go down the right hand side of the Laanx (red/iron) temple and find the pterosaur handler and pay to fly there.

Where is Amdeneir?

Amdeneir is the home city for Klyros. The only way currently to get there is to head to the pterosaur trainer to the right of the red Iron Temple of Laanx and fly there.

Death Realm Questions

What happens when I die?

There are two stages concerning what will happen to you when you die. First, if you are new to the game then when you die you will just find yourself moved to the main city.

Once you have been playing a while you will find when you die you are whisked away to the Death Realm, where you must escape it to return to the realm of the living. The Death Realm is currently very small compared how it would be if it was real, but it will be expanded later.

I can't find the exit from the Death Realm!

Your best bet is to ask for aid from your fellow fallen. If they know of the exit, they will help you - and there is no shame at asking for help in a social game. If you can't seem to type fast enough while they're running by, you may wish to consider following them.

You can always type '/die' to be taken back to the beginning if you get thoroughly lost, or stuck (and the /unstick command doesn't help).

Character Questions

What significance do the the character background options chosen during character creation have?

The background choices that you make will affect starting stats and skills of the character. Also, the text of your selections will appear in your characters description, which you can edit after character creation. The different races' abilities have not yet been implemented. One tip would be to set your background so that it reflects the character's race 's background. There is no effect on anything you can or can't do based on any choices you make.

What are each of the religions choices about, and do they have any gameplay significance?

Lookouts on this front are unclear. Estimates have been told. Religion will probably have a much bigger impact on gameplay then today.

What is my character's experience level?

PlaneShift does not have an overall experience level of a character, like some other games. However, you can estimate your character's strength by taking into account things like stats, armour skill, and primary weapon skill.

Training Questions

What do I train?

There are two aspects to skills which are theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. You use progression points to train and obtain theoretical knowledge from a trainer NPC. Once you have obtained the theoretical knowledge to use the skill properly, you can then train your practical knowledge by actually using the skill.

What are progression points, how do I get them and how do I use them?

Progression Points (PPs) are the points you get from using skills (such as fighting, mining, crafting etc.). They are used along with money to pay for training, the theoretical part of skills with NPC trainers or to train statistics like Strength, Agility, etc.

Yeah, but HOW do I train?

You must first find a trainer that can train you in the theoretical knowledge of the skill. Trainers may be located in different locations in different cities. A big hint that an NPC has the ability to train you is the presence of the training icon when you click on the NPC to interact with him.

After finding the trainer that can train the skill(s) you wish to gain or improve, select him or her and type "/train". Then select the skill you want to train and click on the "Buy Skill level" icon.

You have to train until the yellow bar turns green completely. This part of training uses the progression points. To finish acquiring the skill at that level, you go out and complete the practical training by using the skill. When you have gotten enough additional experience using that skill, the skill will be leveled up.

How do you increase HP or Mana?

Training the physical stats (strength, endurance, and agility) and the skill 'body development' will increase max HP. Training the mental stats (intelligence, will, and charisma) will increase mana.

Inventory Questions

What can I do with animal parts (that aren't used in a quest)?

There are many things to do with animalparts these days. Initily, animal parts can be sold for tria to specific NPCs ingame. You should ask people (best in RP-manner) where to find them. They can also be used in armour making (hides), cooking (things like meat), alchemy (things like teeth and claws). You can also sell the items to players directly who can yes then for crafting.

Where can I find weapons?

Daggers, swords, axes, hammers, maces, knives, and bows can be collected as loot off of an occasional ruffian if you kill and loot the right ones crafted. Many but not all weapons can be crafted and asking crafters about what they make is a good place to find some good weapons. Maces and hammers can be bought from some merchants but are not always easy to find. The remaining weapon types do not yet exist in the game.

How strong do I need to be to use heavier equipment?

The strength requirement depends on the specific piece of equipment. Certain armour and weapon types have a specific requirement before you can use the item. Many magical blades have stat requirements before you can hold them as well.

How do I use an item?

Either type the command, "/use nameofitem", or drag the item onto the doll in the inventory window.

How do I drop or destroy an item?

An item can be dropped by clicking its icon to pick it up and then moving it to outside of the inventory window and clicking in the game world to drop it. There is no built in functionality to destroy an item, right now, although it can be accomplished by placing the item in a furnace, and waiting.

Trading/Working/Crafting Questions

How can I make some money?

Trias are the currency of PlaneShift. The usual source of income is hunting and crafting however, so find yourself some rats (Hydlaa's sewers and the warehouse of Akkaio have plenty) and hunt there for a while, selling their parts to merchants (NPC or player). Another choice is mining or harvesting, but you will need a pick or sickle or other suitible tool and some training provided by Harnquist at the blacksmith's to begin. You can also learn how to Craft, you might be lucky to sell your crafted items to other players for more then you can to NPCs.

How do I mine or harvest?

Buy a pick sickle or other suitable tool, equip it in your right hand, find the right spot to mine and type "/dig" which will let you mine gold, silver, platinum, iron, coal, tin, zinc, copper, luminim, cinnabar, diamond, emerald, ruby, or sapphire. You can do the same with "/harvest", you can use this at any point in the game where to you see plants growing. Ask in-game for help in finding the right spots. If you explore and notice others successfully mining using a pick, make a note of that location for future use.

What do I need in order to train a skill?

First you need some Progression Points and Trias. Second you need to find the trainer that can help you in the skill you want - ask around in-game for further help in finding them.

How many progression points do I need to train 1 point in a certain skill or stat?

Open your "Skills and stats" window and look at the desired skill you want to train. You'll notice there are 3 coloured bars on the right of the skill name. If the blue bar above is longer than the yellow bar, you have enough progression points to train a level. The amount of progression points and Trias required for this action will increase though as you progress, so for a higher level in a certain skill, you will require more progression points and money.

Quest Questions

Why will nobody tell me quest solutions?

The quests are far more rewarding to complete yourself, rather than have people telling you the answers. This applies even more so during the early stages of CB, where there is little content to keep you occupied. The developers wish people to not post quest answers in the forums or on web sites - telling friends or guild-members privately, however, is generally okay. But think again before asking the solution to a quest. The greatest reward you can get from completing the quest is the satisfaction of solving it all by yourself.

There is also one other important benefit for most people - when you learn how to solve quests on your own, you will get better at it. Of course, this is true for many things in real life as well. Do not feel discouraged at having challenges.

Talking to NPCs is confusing. How do I get a quest?

Previous version of PlaneShift had free text triggers to starts quests where you were required to ask them something along the lines of 'give me a quest'. Nowadays all you need to do is approach an NPC, right click them and select the 'talk' button. When you do this if the NPC has any active quest options then things you can say to an NPC with appear on screen. There might be cases when a quest can be triggered but there are no menus available, in those cases you should read the 'NPC tab' in the chat window. When you see an NPC say something new it might well be because he/she/kra is trying to get your help for a quest.

How do I find out if an NPC is a questgiver?

Most NPCs in PlaneShift have quests. As we add new NPCs those will have fewer if any options but given enough time quests will be added. The best way to find out if an NPC has a quest for you is to trigger the 'talk' button and see if any options appear on screen. If they do, there is a quest you can start with that NPC.

How do I complete a quest once I've brought an item to the questgiver?

Giving items to NPCs is usually very easy. If you are asked to get "3 apples", or "two steel stocks and two sabres" then all you need to do is find the items some how, make them, buy them, get given them from other players. Then once you have the items you are asked to get you return to the NPC and click on the talk button again and quest options will appear on screen. There should be an option that says something like 'Here are your items' or '[You give X the items]', in either case you click that option and the items will be given to that NPC and the quest will continue.

As you continue to play PlaneShift you will collect items and may end up where you get a message 'you do not have the right amount of X' but you have the items in your inventory. When this happens it is because you either have to few in which case you need to get some more, or you have too many. When you have more of a specific type of item than the NPC wanted you have to right click them and select the 'give' option. Once you have opened that you can move the items from your inventory to the window and give them manually to the NPC.

There is one other case when you might get stuck. If an NPC wants two apples, and you have two apples but they are not 'stacked' which means you have one apple in one inventory slot and one apple in another slot. When this is the case the server is currently unable to take one apple and one apple, it can only take a stack of two apples. In this case you can either stack the apples and use the quest menu or you can give the apples to the NPC manually.

What are quest notes?

A recent addition to the PlaneShift quest system is the addition of 'automatic quest notes'. When you are in game select the quest window from the main tool bar and then select a quest you have open or closed. When you do this a list of notes will appear in the right hand window with information for most of the steps you have completed and should give you information on what you are suppose to do next. If you have been away from PlaneShift and don't remember what you have to do this is a great place to look for tips or reminders on where to go next.

I know there is a quest, but I can't get it!

This question often comes up. A player knows there is a quest given by a specific NPC but they can't get it. There are a few things to think about when answering this question. Many PlaneShift quests are in 'chains' so you have to do a series of quests in order. So this means that if there is a quest you can't get then then it is likely that there are quests before it in the chain you need to do. There are two other conditions, one, that you don't have a skill requirement needed. Many crafting quests be it for cooking or armor making require you to have a minimum skill level before starting the quest. This is generally because the crafting book you get in that quest has a minimum requirement to use, so the quest matches it. The second possibility is that you need to have a specific item in your inventory, there are very very few quests that use this, but its something to be aware of.

How do I get steel stock?

This question comes up because it is possible to get a quest requiring steel stock as a new player, but a new player is nowhere near ready to make steel stock. The short answer is that you either get steel stock from another player, or you craft it yourself. In order to craft steel stock, you must be able to dig ore (mining skill), and make steel stock from it (metallurgy skill).

Colors and GUI Questions

What do the label colors mean?

Blue	normal players in the same group
Cyan	computer controlled characters (NPCs)
Light Green	normal players
Green	new GMs and certain testing characters
Yellow	Game Masters
Light Red	Developers
Red	items and dead characters

The colours separate different type of characters like NPCs, GMs, Players, ..

What do the yellow, green, red, and blue bars near the skills mean?

Skill Bar

• Yellow

Amount of theoretical knowledge (training) needed before you start the practical part (working with that skill).

• Green

Amount of theoretical knowledge achieved (when training) or amount of practical experience (when practising)

• Red

Amount of practical experience required up to next level

• Blue

Your current progression points. (If the blue bar is longer than the yellow bar, you can complete the theoretical training for the skill in question.)

What do the coloured bars in my status window represent?

Status Window

HP		150/150
Phys. Stamina		500/500
Mana		10/10
Ment. Stamina		200/200

• HP (red)

Health Points are associated with blood

This is an indicator of your Health and is a combination of Strength + Agility + Endurance

• Phys. Stamina (green)

Physical Stamina is associated with walking on earth

This is an indicator of your Endurance walking long distances

• Mana (violet)

Mana (from Hawaiian word for might) is associated with mysticism

This is the spellpower or amount of magical energy used to cast spells

• Ment. Stamina (grey)

Mental Stamina is associated with brain

This is an indicator of your Fitness of digging ore or fighting

Targeting/Fighting Questions

There are too few monsters, and other people always kill them too fast!

You'll have to be patient on this one. The developers will add more spawns soon, but for now, please try to not cause tension by stealing other people's kills if they got to it first, unless necessary by RP. If a monster is "camped" by somebody and you can't find any other free monster to kill, you can always approach the person and ask him/her politely to group with you so you can share the loot and progression points. Please use /tell to clear up any misunderstandings.

In which hand should I put my weapon?

It doesn't matter in which hand you are holding the weapons. You will hit with both hands as long as you have fighting items equipped (that includes fists). If you equip a non fighting/defensive item (mug/shield) you will only hit with one hand. The only thing you MUST equip in the proper (Right) hand is the rock pick. Equip it on the Left and you can't mine.

Does having two weapons help?

Yes, you hit with both hands so it helps. However, the offense does come at the cost of not being able to use a shield. Shield use is a defensive combat skill that some may prefer at the cost of the offensive use of two weapons.

Why am I getting the message "<<NPC name>> is impervious to attack" when I try to attack a monster?

If you are getting this message that means that the program controlling the NPC's behaviour (npcclient) has either crashed or it has been shut down by a developer in order to improve/fix something. Nobody knows when the program will be restarted, so don't ask.

Why isn't my NPC opponent attacking back?

The program controlling NPC behaviour (npcclient) on the server isn't always functioning (see the question above about "impervious to attack"). Without it, NPCs will not fight back. Consider this a freebie, until it comes back on, again.

How do I loot a defeated foe? I can't find the place to click anywhere on the body.

For some of the NPC models, the place to click is a very small spot, usually located around the crotch. In such cases, it is more effective to loot by using the "/loot" command.

Miscellaneous

How do I recognize a GM?

GMs and developers are in the Game Masters Guild. You can use the command "/who game" to list the ones online for you. See also What do the label colours mean?

How can I avoid fall damage?

As a young character, it is all too easy to die through fall damage. The general advice is this: don't jump from objects, don't run down staircases, and take care when travelling across dangerous paths where it may be easy to slip. Sometimes bugs do occur and your character will plummet to his or her doom from a height that looks no more than four feet - unfortunate, but try to be as safe as you can. Also, because of certain graphics bugs, your character can fall through the floor to the end of the world. Try to avoid the spots that can trigger this event and find some alternative routes.

If your camera angle doesn't let you see something clearly such as the edge of a pit or where steps going down or up are, press "Page Up" or "Page Down" keys to adjust the camera angle to your liking.

Y DOES EVRY1 H8TE ME!??

Stop shouting at them! Using capslock and chatspeak all the time makes you sound loud, rude, and immature. It's also an eyesore, and not roleplay-compliant, so please type normally.

How do I open doors?

Most doors that appear shut cannot be opened.

There are a very few exceptions and these can only be opened when your character has completed a quest or group of quests. You can attempt to open a door by right clicking on it. If you are able to open it, you will see a door handle in the context menu. Click on that and you will be taken to the far side of the door.

My map is too dark! I can't see where I'm going.

If adjusting the brightness/gamma settings of your monitor doesn't work, try running the game with the -fullbright command. It will eliminate lighting completely (and thus be warned: the game won't appear as pretty and you won't be able to tell night from day). Right-click on your PlaneShift shortcut, hit Properties, find the Target line and add a space and -fullbright at the very end.

How do I create a macro?

Right-click on one of the free slots in the macro list (which is found down the left side of your screen by default - it already has buttons like Attack, Sell, Tell, Say, etc.) and click the button. You can then set the name for the macro, and then the chat command you wish it to type when the button is pressed. You can also queue 2 or more commands (i.e for creating an attack shortcut you can use the following combo: /target clear, /target next npc, /attack <<1-5>> placing each command on a new row and without the <<>> signs).

I'm stuck in a place I can't get out from and I can't move!

Type "/unstick" - that will move you to a safe spot.

How do I get magic?

You will need to buy a glyph from the magic shop or get one from a quest, purify it, and learn the spell. You will also need to find a trainer that teaches the magic Way (or school) your spell is in.

How can I buy a house?

Player-owned buildings are very rare at the moment.

So far only a few houses have been sold as "Guild houses". These sales were by auction and were advertised, in advance, on the main PS web site.

There is no feature that allows a player to simply buy a house from an NPC or a shop yet.

What does "roleplay" mean?

PlaneShift is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (M.M.O.R.P.G). That means that your character lives in a virtual world, has a background story and interacts with other characters. Role playing means that you adjust your chat in concordance with the setting of the game, with your character's background and with the other characters you meet ingame. Talking out of character (ooc) is prohibited in the normal chat but you can act ooc when whispering to another player using the command "/tell". The background story of your character is decided by you and, as long as it fits in the setting of the game, there is no limit to it but your imagination.

I can't see certain players or NPCs

That is caused by the fact that you lagged when entering a sector of the map. Changing sector and returning or reloading the client will help you.

Is there a way to make the client load the new regions faster?

Yes, checking the "Keep maps loaded" option in pssetup will help because if you already loaded a certain map you won't have to load it again when you return there. However, this will take a good amount of memory.

I read the Player Guide and the Gameplay FAQ, but I still need help in-game

Use the help channel (the tab on the right in your communications window). An advisor will answer your question.

I don't like my character creation choices, will you change my gender/race/etc?

The choices you have made for your character during the creation process are final; you can change them only by remaking your entire character. No developer or Game Master will make such changes for you.

How do you play Groffeltoe?

TODO

What are those things that people can summon as pets?

There are two kinds of pets, right now. The one with the tiny wings is called a groffel. The other one, that looks somewhat like a brownish lizard, is called a yulbar.