Runes
of Magic is celebrating its 6 month anniversary of
open play and its first major content addition, but many players are
just
beginning to take notice of this free-to-play import from Europe. Among
the
most complete of all the RMT based games, Runes of Magic has gained a
very
loyal following and is deserving of the recognition it has garnered.
Most folks
don’t like jumping into a new world without a little bit of
knowledge, so for
those of you interested in trying RoM or new to the game, here is a
quick
overview and guide.

It’s
a Classy System

The
first order of business is to pick a race, class and
gender for your character. There are two races to choose from in RoM,
Elves and
Humans. There are eight classes to choose from with each race getting
six choices.
Elves can be warriors, scouts, rogues, mages, wardens or druids. Humans
can be
warriors, scouts, rogues, mages, priests and knights. The gender you
chose will
make no difference in class selection and is purely a matter of player
preference. At level ten you will be able to select a second class to
level as
a compliment to your primary class. You can read more about the details
of each
class here.

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Class

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Role

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style="">Druid

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Healing
and Buffing

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style="">Knight

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Tank

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style="">Mage

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Ranged
Damage

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style="">Priest

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Healer

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style="">Rogue

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Melee
DPS

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style="">Scout

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Ranged
DPS

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style="">Warden

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Pet
Class DPS

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style="">Warrior

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Melee
DPS

 

 

Having
It All Under Control

Runes
of Magic features the standard controls for movement
with W, A, S, D keys as well as a point to click feature for those who
like to
use their mouse. 
Interaction with quest
NPC’s is done via mouse click as is attacking hostile
creatures, most in game
controls can be activated with the mouse or you can use hotkeys if you
prefer. 
The use of these systems are
quickly and easily explained in the games tutorial, don’t
skip it, even if you
are a seasoned vet.

Let’s
Get You a Tutor

If you
have never played a MMOG before the quick and easy
tutorial will give you the basics in about five minutes, if you are a
seasoned
vet you should still do the tutorial for the bonus XP and extra loot. style="">  The
tutorial will run you through a very
basic set of drills that culminates in a fight that features a few
waves of
enemies that is capped off by a boss fight, have no fear though, you
get plenty
of help from several NPC’s in a fight that would be easy even
without their
help.

Out
On Your Own

Once
you have finished the tutorial you will be loaded into
the games starting areas, The Valley of Preparation for Elven
characters or
Pioneers Colony for Human players. These two areas are only moderately
more
difficult than the tutorial with most enemies being neutral to the
player,
allowing you ample time to set up and prepare for combat. There are
tons of
quests here, do them all for easy experience and rewards as well as an
intro to
the lore and legends of the game. Exploring the Elven starting city can
induce
flashbacks of other lands with treetop dwellings for those older MMOG
players,
but the land has its own unique and distinct feel to it. The game has a
fairly
robust crafting system and now is a great time to get a jump on it with
little
competition for resources and nearly every trainer available. style="">  RoM
also features a locator system for NPCs
but it tends to not work more often than not in the Valley of
Preparation.

[protip]Take
your time and explore every inch of the
starting areas, many quest NPCs are off the beaten path or blend in
well with
the scenery. [/protip]

Putting
it All Together

There
is nothing groundbreaking in RoM, but veterans and
newbies alike will find numerous rewards and lots of good information
by
completing the games starting zones. From the intro quest instance to
the first
quest hub, RoM offers a compelling story line and many features only
found in
subscription based games. Stay tuned to Ten Ton Hammer for more guides
and
information in the days and weeks to come.