©
20042008IronWillGames,LLC
Allrightsreserved
AshenEmpiresPla ye r’sGuide
Version1.1
Lastupdated:5/13/2008
2
Contributors
OnbehalfofIWG,Iwouldliket othankthefollowingfortakingthetimetoresearchand
writeaboutthedetailsofourgame.Ithasbeenateameffortcompilingall ofthis
informationtogetherandeverycontribut ioncounted.
—GMSiyone,Editor
ValinorWelcomi ngCommit tee
Amitiel
Dirra
Jillian
Mehitabel
SanRaal
Tarja
TeaNBiscuits
Tolo
AshenEmpiresGM’s
GMRauric
GMSiyone
GMTimaeus
3
TableofContents
1. INTRODUCTION ....................... ....................................................................6
2. QUICKSTARTGUIDE....................... ...........................................................7
3. ACCOUNTCREATION .................................................................................9
4. THEPIXELMINELAUNCHER ...................................................................11
5. CHARACTERCREATION ....................... ...................................................13
6. GAMEINTERFACE.................................................................................. ..16
6.1 Movement........................................................... .................... ............... ........18
6.2 KeyboardShortcuts ................. ............... ............... ............... .................... .....19
6.3 TheMiniMap................................................ ............... ............... ............... ..20
6.3.1 Howtocreatemaptags............................................................ ............... .............21
6.4 GameOptions................................................. ............... ............... ............... ..22
6.5 VideoSetup ................. ............... ............... ............... .................... ............... ..22
6.6 SoundSetup ................. ............... ............... ............... .................... ............... .23
6.7 KeyboardMapping.... ............... ............... ............... ............... .................... ....23
6.8 Help............... ............... ............... ............... .................... ............... ............... .24
6.9 GameOptionsMenu .. ............... ............... ............... ............... .................... ...25
6.9.1 ReportaBugandSummonaGM............................. .......... ............... ............... .....26
6.9.2 GameplayandInterfaceOptions ................................. ............... ............... .......... .27
6.9.3 CombatOptions .................................................. ............... .......... ............... .........29
6.10 ResumeGame ................................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ..31
6.11 ExitGame . ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..........31
6.12 Miscellaneous..................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............31
7. CHATTING ................................ ..................................................................32
7.1 ChatWindows .............. ............... ............... ............... .................... ............... .32
7.2 LocalChat. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..........33
7.3 LongDistanceChat ................................................ ............... ............... ........33
7.3.1 Ignore ............ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ..35
8. BASICGAMEPLAY ................................... .................................................36
8.1 Backpack,Banking,andWeight................................. ............... ............... ....36
8.2 UnderstandingItemDetails ........................................................... ...............37
8.2.1 Weapons ........................................... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............38
8.2.2 Armor .................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......39
8.3 Questing .................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...........39
8.3.1 StaticQuests ..... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............39
8.3.2 DynamicQuests .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............40
8.3.3 LotorianandChaosKnightQuests...................................................... ............... ..40
8.3.4 PatronQuestsandFaction ... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .....41
8.3.5 Taskmasters ................................................ ............... ............... .......... ............... ..41
8.4 ExperiencePool ................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .41
8.5 Death,Degradation,andSpawnGates .........................................................42
8.6 Alignment................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..........43
4
8.7 PlayerversusPlayerCombat ... ............... ............... ............... ............... .........44
8.8 Portals ................................................ ............... ............... ............... ..............45
8.9 SecureTrading............................................... ............... ............... ............... ..46
8.10 LeadershipandPetTraining ................................. ............... ............... .........48
8.11 PartyCreationandFun ctions................................................................... ....49
8.12 Guilds................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............50
8.13 Events.............................................................. ............... ............... ............... .51
8.13.1 Playerrun .. ............... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......51
8.13.2 TicketEvents......................................... ............... ............... .......... ............... ........52
8.13.3 Monsterspawns(orHellspawns)........................... ............... ............... ............... ..52
8.13.4 RolePlay................................................................ .......... ............... ............... ......52
8.14 UpdatesandBugReporting ................................ ............... ............... ............53
9. COMBAT........................................... ..........................................................54
9.1 MeleeCombat ................................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ..54
9.1.1 SmallBlades ..... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............54
9.1.2 LargeBlades........................................................ ............... .......... ............... ........54
9.1.3 Axes ............................................. ............... .......... ............... ............... ............... ..55
9.1.4 BluntWeapons .......... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......55
9.1.5 Polearms.......... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ...............55
9.1.6 UnarmedCombat.. .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..........55
9.2 RangedCombat................................................................ .................... .........56
9.2.1 Bows ........................................................... ............... ............... ............... ............56
9.2.2 Crossbows..................................................... ............... .......... ............... ...............57
9.2.3 ThrownWeapons.............................. ............... ............... ............... .......... .............58
9.3 InflictingPoisonandDisease ..... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......58
9.4 Magic .................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............59
9.4.1 SpellCasting....................................................................... .......... ............... ........59
9.5 Runes ................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............60
9.5.1 TypeofRunes................................. ............... ............... .......... ............... ...............61
9.6 RunePlacement ............................... ............... ............... ............... ............... .62
9.7 Intelligence,RuneSkills,andStam ina ................................ ............... ..........62
9.8 MageWeapons..................................... ............... ............... .................... .......63
9.9 Miscellaneous..................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............64
9.9.1 Reagents ........................................... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............64
9.9.2 SpellRequirements....................................................... .......... ............... ...............64
9.9.3 Checked—NPConly ................................. ............... ............... ............... .............64
9.10 AdvancedCombatSkills............................................... ............... ............... ...65
10. TRADESKILLS ....................... ................................................................66
10.1 CraftingKnowledgeTest................................................. ............... ...............66
10.2 Alchemy .. ............... ............... ............... ............... .................... ............... .......67
10.3 Agriculture:............................................ ............... .................... ............... .....67
10.3.1 Foraging .... ............... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......68
10.3.2 Planting .. ..... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............69
10.3.3 Harvesting ....................................................... ............... ............... .......... ............69
10.4 Blacksmithing:................................................. ............... ............... ...............69
10.4.1 Mining .............................................. ............... ............... ............... .......... ............70
10.4.2 Smelting ............................................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ......71
5
10.4.3 IronForging ..... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............71
10.4.4 IronRepair.... ..... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... .............72
10.4.5 IronSalvaging.... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... .............72
10.4.6 GoldRepair .................................................................... ............... .......... ............73
10.5 Cooking:.... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..........73
10.5.1 Mixing...................................... ............... ............... .......... ............... ............... ......74
10.5.2 Baking...................................... ............... ............... .......... ............... ............... ......74
10.5.3 Roasting........... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ...............75
10.5.4 Brewing.................................................................. .......... ............... ............... ......75
10.6 Jewelry:.................................. ............... ............... .................... ............... ......76
10.6.1 JewelryMaking.. ............... ............... .......... ............... ............... ............... .............76
10.6.2 JewelryRepair ........................................................... ............... .......... ............... ..77
10.6.3 JewelrySalvaging ...................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............78
10.7 Leatherworking:.................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............78
10.7.1 Skinning ............................................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ......79
10.7.2 Tanning................................................... ............... .......... ............... ............... ......79
10.7.3 Leatherworking ............................................................. ............... ............... .........80
10.7.4 LeatherRepair .......... .......... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......80
10.7.5 LeatherSalvaging .. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ....81
10.8 Runecrafting ............................ ............... ............... .................... ............... ....82
10.9 Tailoring: ................................. ............... ............... .................... ............... ....82
10.9.1 Spinning........... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ...............83
10.9.2 Weaving .............................. ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......83
10.9.3 Sewing ................................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ......83
10.9.4 ClothRepair....... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... .............84
10.9.5 ClothSalvaging................. ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... .............84
10.10 WoodWorking: ................................. ............... ............... ............... ...............85
10.10.1Lumberjacking .......................................................... ............... .......... ............... ...85
10.10.2Milling ... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ..........86
10.10.3Carpentry....................... ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ............... .87
10.10.4WoodRepair ........................ ............... ............... ............... .......... ............... ..........87
10.10.5WoodSalvaging ....................................................................... .......... ............... ...88
11. SUGGESTIONSFORPLAYINGONVALINOR ......................................89
12. LEAVINGVALINOR ................................................................................91
13. SUBSCRIBINGTOASHENEMPIRES ....................................................91
13.1 PurchasingTokens ................................................. ............... ............... ........92
13.2 Subscriptions...................................... ............... ............... ............... ..............92
13.2.1 SubscriptionLevels ................................... ............... ............... ............... ..............92
6
1. Introduction
Welcome to the world of Ashen Empires, a classic fantasy roleplaying game set in a
massiveworld. Thereare a varietyof activities and a huge amount of things to do in
these lands. Whether you prefer smashingthe skulls of monsters, crafting and trading
with others, or  testing your skills against other players,  there’s something here for
everyonetoenjoy.
This guide has been written to answer most of your basic questions and to help
familiarizeyouwiththegame.Ma nyvolunteershavecontributedtowritingthisguide.
Ifyoudon't findyouranswershere,rememberthattherearealotofplacestofindhelp.
Thisguideisbrokendownintofoursections.
· Section onedealswithAccountandCharactercreation.
· Sectiontwodescribesthegameandchatinterfaces.
· Sectionthreedealswith basicgameplayandthethingsthat you will most oft en
facewhileplaying.
· Sectionfourgoesthroughthedetailsoftheskillsusedincombat .
· Sectionfivedescribestheskillsusedforcraftingandtrades.
· Sectionsix dealswithhowyoucanleaveValinorandobtainasubscription.
Rememberthat thereareot hersourcesofhelp. Don’tbeafraidtoaskquestio ns. You
willfindthattherearemanypeop leherewillingtohelpyo uout. Eventhemostveteran
playersbeganbyknowing nothing.If you can’tfindhelpinthegame,youcantrythe
forums located athttp://forums.pixelminegames.com. There you canaskquestionsand
discussall thethingsyouencounterinthegame.
WehopeyoufindthisguideusefulandthatyouenjoyplayingAshenE mpires.
7
2. QuickStartGuide
Ifyou justwanttojumprightintot hega me,her e’saquickwaytogetplayingqu ickly
withoutthehassleoftryingtofigureoutwhattodonext.
1. TalktoDukeRandolfonthebeach
2. TalktoLordTrembley
3. TalktoSageHeritod
4. Talktoaweaponormagetrainer,receiveyourstarterweapon
andaseriesofquestswhichw illgiveyouexperienceand
eventuallyabetterweapon.
5. Talk to a trade skill tra iner, if you’d like to practice a trade,
receive tools and a series of quests which will give you
experience.
8
6. HeadsouthuntilyoucometotheCaptainoftheGuard;talkto
himfrequently,ashewillgiveyouaseriesofimportantquests
andranks.
7. Talk to any NPCs with names you see wandering a bout. T hey will
giveyouquestsandrewardyouwitharmorandclothing.
8. Ventureintothecellartokilldredgespidersanddevelopyournew
weaponskill.
9. Venture outside of town, to kill monsters; collect all
loottheydrop( hitspacebartoopenlootwindow),asit
willbeusefulintradeskillsortoselltot hestoresfor
gold.
10. Join the “help” channel to meet other
playersandaskquestio ns. 
11. Youwilleventuallywanttojoinapartytotakeonthepowerful
bossesFrumptheCookandBonesnarl,sofeelfreetochatwith
otherplayer s andmakefriends.
9
3. AccountCreation
Youcancreateanaccount byloggingontotheAshenEmpireswebsite.Tobegin,goto
http://www.ashenempires.com and click on the “Create Account” link underneath the
“My Account” heading. This will direct youto the Pixel Mine website, the group that
distributesAshen Empires.
Youshouldnowbeatascreenliketheonebelow.Clickonthe“Createanaccount”link.
10
Youshouldnowbelookingatascreenliketheonebelo w.
Takeyour  time tofill out each field. While
creatingyour account,keepinmindto:
Make your Username and Password
UNIQUE.Donotmakethemthingsthatare
easilyguessablebyfriendsorothers.Amix
ofnumbersandlettersisrecommended.
(Example:MY290ACCOUNT)
Makesureyouremailaddressis correct.
Pixel Mine will send you a verification
email before activating your account.
Withoutit,youwillnotbeabletoplay.
The numbers and letters you need to enter
on this page are not cAsE sEnSiTiVe. You
don’t have to worry about using capit al
letters.
Affiliatecodeshelpotherplayersbygiving
themfreetokens.I fafriendreferredyouto
Ashen Empires, ask for their affiliate code.
Everypurchaseyoumakefromtheonlinestorewillhelpthem. Whenyousignup,you
willreceiveanaffiliatecodethatothers mayuseaswell.
ClicktheSubmitbuttonwhenyouarefinished.Ifthereisaproblem,suchasaduplicate
emailaddressoraccountnameoramissingf ield,youwill betakenbacktocorrectthe
problem. Once everything is okay, you will receive a message telling you that your 
accounthasbeencreatedandiswaitingtobeactivated.Youshouldreceiveyouremail
immediately.Beawarethatsomeemailprogramsmayautomaticallydeterminethatyour 
activatio nemailmightbejunk.Ifitdoesn’tarriveinatimelyfashion,besuretolookin
yourJunkMailfolder.
Thebo dyoftheemailshouldcontainalinktoactivateyouraccount.Onceyouclickon
thelink,youwillbeabletologontoyournewaccount.
11
ThePixelMineLauncher
Nowthatyouhaveyournewacco unt,you’rer eadytostartplaying.Downlo adthePixel
MineInstaller,whichwilladdthePixelM ineLauncherapplicationandPixelMinefolder
to your computer. Run the launc her and let it  patch. Then, type your user name and
passwo rdint othetwoboxesandclickLog in.
12
Afteryoulogin,youwillseeallofthegamesonthePixelMinePortal,includingAs hen
Empire s. Currently,theonlygamesIWGrunsareAshenEmpiresandDransik.Dransikis
thepredecessortoAshenEmpires(thisguidewillnotcoverDransik).T oplay,clickon
AshenEmpiresandclickonthe“Play”button.
You’ll also notice that there is an update tab. Like most massive mult iplayer online
games, Ashen Empires routinely has updates to introduce new game content and fix
existingglitches.When anupdateisavailable,youwillgotothattabfirst.
13
Files that are not up to date will be do wnloaded while yo u play. When this
happens,you’llseeasmalllightningboltinthetopleftcornerofthescreen.This
may cause small pauses in play while the file downloads. Once a file is
downloaded,itwon’t bedownloadedagainunless itchanges. Ifyoupressthe “Patch”
button,youcanavoidthisbydownloadingalltheupdatedandmiss ingfiles before you
play. If you’re doing this for the first time, it may take a while to download all the
game’scontent.
Rememberthat thetime ittakesforthesepatcheswillbedependentuponyourinternet
connection. Users on dialup connections may want to allow the game to patchwhile
theyareplaying.
Itisrecommendedthatyoupressthe “Patch” buttonbeforeyou beginplayingtoavoid
pauses in gameplay. However, users with slow connections should a llow theclientto
patchitselfwhileplaying.
4. CharacterCreation
Befo re you can begin playing, you'll need to create a character. When you create a
character,youshouldthinkabout whatyouwanttodowhenyouplayAshenEmp ires.
Willyo ubecomeawarriorwhoseekstokilllotsofmonstersoracrafts manwhowantsto
makealotofmoneyinthelocalmarkets? Areyougoingtospendmostofyourtimein
townsorinthefield? Howdoyouwanttointeractwithotherplayers? Whatraceand
gender will make the game most enjoyable for you? These are questions you should
consider when creating your character. And don't worry about messing up. You can
alwayscreateanewcharacteroradapttheo neyou have.
14
1. The first  thing you should do is choose your race. Each race has their own
advantagesanddisadvantages. Thethreeracesare:
· NightElf–NightElves havelesshealththantheotherraces,butcansee in
the dark and have a naturally higher Ar mor Class (which factors into how
oftenyouarehit).
· Human – Humans have more stamina than the other races and can gain
alignmentabitmorerapidly.Humansstartwithagoodreputation.
· Orcs  Orcs have a much slower reputation gain and begin with neutral
alignment.However,theyhavehigherhealth t hantheotherraces.
15
2. After you select your race, se lect  maleor female gender. Anorcmale hasbeen
selectedinthepictureabove.Genderdoesnotaffecthowyourcharacterwillreact
ordevelop,sothereisnodisadvantageinchoosing eithergender.
Therandomnamegenerato rwillcreatea name fo ryourcharacter. Ifyoudon't
likethis name, you canrandomly generate more names by clicking onthedice
symbol,or type inoneof yourown. Ifyo uchoosetouseanameof yourown,
keep in mind that your name can only use letters. Numbers, punctuation, and
specialcharactersarenotallowed. Youcannothavecapitallettersafterthefirst
letterofeachword.Yournamecanonlybe26letterslong. Makesuretochoose
anamethatdoesnotviolatetheRulesofConduct. Vulgar,sexuallyexplicit,or
hatefulnamesarenotallowed.
3. Next ,youca nchangetheskincolor,hairstyle,andhaircolorofyourcharacter.
Youcannotchangeyourappearance,sop leasebecarefulwhenchoosinghowyou
want tolook.
4. Choosewhichattributes to place your extraorbs. Orbsrefertoyour character’s
attributes. You beginthegame with7 freeorbsandgain 2 orbseverytime you
levelup thatyoucandistributeanytimeyouwantto. Chooseyourorbscare fully.
· Strength (aka: “STR”) is the primary stat for a warrior. It contributes to
damage,andhowmuchweightyoucancarry. Ifyouareplanningtobecome
ameleeweaponwarrioryoumaywanttoputallsevenorbsintost rength.
· Dext erity (aka: “DEX”) is one of the secondary stats. This contributes to
Armor Class (AC)   it adds one AC for every two dex points. Dex is the
primarydamage modifier forranged weapons.It makes it moredifficult for
players to passthrough you while making it easier for you to pass through
other players. Dex is also a factor in many of the trade skills. If you are a
craftero ranarcher,thisisthestatforyou.
· Intelligence(aka: “INT”) istheprimarystatformages. Itcontributestothe
damageandhealingeffectsonspells,thelongevityofbuffsanddamageover
time spells, affects how much stamina (aka: “STAM”) you have, and is
ano ther main skill for tradeskills. I f you are goingto bea crafter, combine
thiswithdex. Ifyouaregoingtobeamage,putallsevenorbsintoint.
· Constitution(aka:“CON”) isavery importantstat. Itaddshit/healthpoints,
andaffectshowmu chstaminayouhaveandhowfastyouregenerateit.Italso
affects how effectively you mitigate damage when attacked. The more
constitutionyouhave,thebetteryouareatenduringallformsofattack. All
playersshouldputatleastsomeorbsintoconstit ution.
5. Clickthe“Create”buttontocreateyourcharacterandtobeginplayingthegame.
16
5. GameInterface
Whenyou firstlogintothegame, yourscreenwilllookver ysimilartotheonebelow.
Takeamomentto familiarizeyourselfwithsomeoft hewindows.
· Hotbars — These are a list of buttons you can press or click to perform some
actio n. You place spells here to cast them. You ca n also place weapons and
armorheretoequipo runequip them.Ifyouplaceot heritems(suchaspotionsor
tools),thenpressingthebuttonwillusetheitem.
· Backpack—Thisisalistofitems youarecurrentlycarryingwithyou.
· Map—Thisisaminiaturemapoftheworldaroundyou.Whenyoustart,most
ofthemapwillbecoveredinblack.Asyouexplore,yourmapwillbeuncovered
andyou willbeabletoseemoreofwhat’saroundyou.
· RuneWindow—Thesearethecurrentrunesyouhaveequippedforspellcasting.
Clickingonthebookwillopenyourspell bookfromwhichyoucanchoo sewhich
spells you want to cast. Clicking on the checkmark for npconly mode will
preventyoufromcastingo ffens ivespellsonplayers.
17
· Paperdoll Window — This shows all the information about you, your current
attributes,yourcurrentweight,andyourcurrentequipment.Fromhere,youcan
distributeneworbswhenyoulevelup.
· Alignment—T hisis ascaleshowingyourcurrentalignment.Goodalignmentis
ontheleftwhileEvilalignmentisontheright.Youcandoubleclickthisbarto
getamessageaboutyour currentalignment.
· Health —T hisshowsyourcurrenthealth.Thenumbersonthetopr epresentyour
currenthealth(ontheleft)andyourmaximumhealth(ontheright).
· Stamina—Thisshowsyourcurrentst aminaoutof100%. Whenyouareoutof
stamina,youmayfindithardertoperformsomeactions.
· Level—Thisshowsyourcurrentlevel.Doubleclickingthisbarwillshowyour
current experience as well as how muchexperience you need to reach the next
level.
· Chat Window—This isthe mainchat window. From here, yo u canchat with
otherplayer s andcreatenewchatwindows.
As you play, you’ll find that there are other windows that give you a variety of
information.
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6.1 Movement
TherearetwowaystomovearoundinAshenEmpir es.Youcanuse themousetomove
byleftclickingonthescreenwhereyouwantyourcharactertogo.Thegameusespath
findingtofigureoutthe“best”waytogettowhereyouc licked.Sometimes,though,this
mayleadyoutor uninfro ntofmonstersorintotrees.Beverycarefulwhereyouclick.
Youcanalso useyourkeyboardtomove.Ifyoudecidetouseyourkeyboard,keep in
mindthatthere’sanopt iontousetheWASDkeystomoveortheArrowkeys.Usingone
methodortheotherwillaffectsomeoftheotherkeyboardshortcuts.Thefollowingtable
showsyouwhichkeysareaffect edwhenyouuseeitherscheme.
WASD
Controls
Action
Old AE
controls
Moveyourcharacteruponetile
Moveyourcharacterleftonetile
Moveyourcharacterdownonetile
Moveyourcharacterrighto netile
Toggleattackmode
Openskillswindow
19
6.2 KeyboardShortcuts
Thefollowingisalistofallthekeyboard shortcuts.
E–Opensor closespaperdollwindow.
RReactivatesthefollowcommandonsomeone
(Only when you are already following someone, and have moved
since).
URedoesthelastactio n
(i.e.,smelting,weaving,min ing.Basicallyany tradeskill).
P Opensor closesthepartywindow.
GOpensorclosestheguildwindow(Onlywheninaguild).
COpensorclosestherunewindow.
VOpensandclosestherunewindow,andthespellbook.
(Closesthere mainingopenonewhenonlyoneofwhichisopen).
BOpensandclosesthebackpackwindow.
MTogglesthemapwindow.

Thenumberke ys atthetopofyourkeyboardopenupahotkeybar,in
whichspells,items,andtextmacroscanbeused. T hehotkeybaruses
theF1F12keys.
Num Lock  Toggles autowalking. When pressed, your character
willbegintowalkinthedirectio nyouarecurrentlyfacing.
Enter/Return Enables text input window in current chat box. Also
sendsinsertedtext.
20
TabTogglesbetweentextboxes.Alsotogglesthevariouschannels
inachatbox.
+
ALT+Enter/Return Togglesfullscreenmode.
+
ALT+XQuitstotheCharacterSelectScreen.
6.3 TheM iniMap
Togglingthemapwindow Asexplained,presstheMkey.
Resizing the map  Click an edge of the map window, and dr ag until desired size is
achieved.
Whattheiconsm eanTheflashingXisyo urcurrentlocation.Ifyoudie,thebigorange
X is your body. If you are in a party, the numbers 29, and the letter L  (for Leader)
represent members of your party. The purple X is where a party member's body is
locat ed.
Exampleofdeat hsandofpartysystem
(“X’s” denote whereyou oraparty member hasdied. Number 5 denotes
locationonmapofpartymembernumber5)
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5.3.1 Howtocreatemaptags
1. Thefirststepwouldtorightclick
themapatthelocationyouwould
liketocreateatagat.Whileholding
therightmousebutton,moveto the
"CreateT ag"option,andreleasethe
mousebutton.
2. Thew indowbelow willpopup.
Afteryoutypeinthenameofthe
tag,confirmit byclickingthecheck
mark.
3. Thefinalproductisshownin
yellowletters,withablack
background whichallowsyouto
seeitagainstthesnowportionsof
themap.
Bothyourmapandmaptagsaresavedonthecomputeryouareusingatthetime. They
arealsocharacterandserverspecific. Thatmeansthatyourcharactersononeserverwill
nothavethesamemapasyourcharacterso nanotherserver. Youshouldbeawareofthis
ifyouliketoplaygamesfr ommultiplecomputers.
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6.4 GameOptions
Pressing the escape key in game will
bring up a menu where you can
customize somepartsof thegame. Here
are some explanations of the sections in
thegameoptio ns window.
6.5 VideoSetup
· EnableToolTips–Thisoptiontogglesthelittleinformationwindowsthat show
upwhenyourmousehoversoveranitem,table,door(etc).
· ShowPlayerNames–Toggleswhetherornotyoucanseeplayersnamesabove
their heads. If you have ToolTips turned off, you will have to hold down the
control key to see their name or right click them to bring up t heir equipment
window.
· CycleThruBorders – Clickingthiswillchangethe borders aroundsomeof the
windowsingame.
· ToggleFullscreen–Toggleswhetherornotthegamewillruninfullscreenorin
23
awindow.Formaximumperformance,choosetorunthegameinfullscreen.
· Resolutions (800x600, 1024x768, etc.) – Clicking on one of these will change
what resolutionthegameisrunat.Thedefaultresolutionis800x600.
Note: Changing to a higher resolution does not change the size of the game
windoworincreasethedetailofthegame.I twill,however,giveyoumorespace
tousefo ryourwindows,hotbars,andmap.
6.6 SoundSetup
· MusicTurnstheingamemusicon/off. Bydefault,thisisturnedoff. Usethe
slidertoadjustthevolume.
· SoundFXTurnstheingamesoundeffectson/off.Usetheslidertoadjustthe
volume.
6.7 KeyboardMapping
· WASDMo vementKeysEnabled(Default)–Whenenabled,thisoptionusesthe
WASDkeysto movearound insteadof thearrows.If you disablethis, you can
onlyusethearrowkeystomove. Somekeyboards hortcutschangeifyoutoggle
thisoption. PleaseseethesectionontheGameInterfacefordetails.
· NewAEControlScheme(Default)Whenenabled,youcanmoveyo urcharacter
usingtheleftmousebuttonbyeitherclickingthelocationyouwanttomovetoo
or by holding the button down to move. If you disable this, you use the right
mousebuttontomovebyholdingitdown.
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· This also effects how you can get detailed in formation about an item or
monster. If enabled, you can get a detailed popup by holding down the right
mousebuttonovertheitemormonster you’reinterestedin.Ifdisabled,youcan
get the same information by holding down the control key and holding your
mouseovertheitem.
· Thisoption alsoeffectsleadership training.Ifenabled,youcantellapettoattack
amonsterbyholdingtherightmousebuttondownoverthetarget.Ifdisabled,you
havetoholdthecontrolkeydownandthenrightclicktheoption.
· Path Find Movement  This option can only be selected if you have "New Ae
Control Scheme (Default)" turned o ff. When e nabled, it allows you to use the
rightmousebuttontoclickwhereyouwanttomoveto. Ifit'sd isabled,youwill
havetoholdtherightmousebuttondowntomove. "PathFindMovement" has
thesameeffectasthe"NewAEControlScheme",exceptyouusetherightmouse
buttoninsteadoftheleftmousebutton.
6.8 Help
Clicking the help button will bring up the ingame manual. It shows a list of topics
ranging from basic game commands to how to move ite ms. Click the topic you are
interest edintobringuptheinformationonit. ClickingtheIndexbuttonreturnsyouto
thelist. HittingtheEscapekeywillbringyoubacktotheoptionsmenu.
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6.9 GameOptionsMenu
The Game Options screen is divided into three areas: Bug report and Summon GM
buttons,InterfaceandGameplayOptions,andCombatOptions.
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6.9.1 ReportaBugandSummonaGM
· ReportaBug—Thisopensthe bugreportingtemplatein yourw ebbrowser.If
youfindaglitchinthegame,usethistoreportit. Besuretoprovidescreenshots
if possible. If you’re not sure how to report a bug, visit the forums at
http://forum. ashenemp ires.com forhelp,orpageaGM.
· SummonGM—GMisanabbreviation for“GameModerator”.GM’saretrained
toassistplayerswithtechnica lissuesregardinggamemechanicsthroughaticket
paging system and ensure that licence agreements and rules of conduct are
upheld.However,theyalsoofferadviceonanyot hergamerelatedinquiriesand
seek to moderate community disputes. In addition, GM’s are also involved in
qualityassuranceandtheplanningand handlingofcommunityevents.
The“SummonaGM”buttonallowsyoutoenterashortmessagewhichwillthen
be received by the GMs. They can then respond to you in game or by email.
Keepinmindthatyoumustbeonlineforthemtoansweryouinthegame. Please
try to provide as much information as possible when sending a page.  For
example:
"HithisisNewbmanifoundamacroerinparian"—Badexample.
"Fo undamacroerinParian,nameisBadMacroer"—Goo dexample.
TheGMscanalwaysfindyo ueasily,buttheycan'tfigureoutwhatyouneedor
wantunlessyo utellthemaboutit. Besidesreportingtrouble,youcanalsousethe
SummonGMfeaturetorequesthelpwithplanningspecialevents.
GMsarenot allowedtogiveplayersitems,sopleasedonotpageonetoaskforan
item.Theyalsodonotgetinvo lvedinplayerdisputesortrades.Youcannotbuy
or trade with a GM. Remember that GMs are here to help everyone. When
paginga GM, keep in mindthat  they cangetpretty busy.For this reason, you
shouldnotsendapageaskingto“hangout”orforincreasingthemonsterspawns.
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6.9.2 GameplayandInterfaceOptions
· Transparent Interface  This toggles the window transparency, allowing you to
"seethrough"them.
TransparentI nterfaceEnabled TransparentI nterfaceDisabled
· MovementPrediction —Whenenabled,yourcharacterwillautomaticallyattempt
tonavigatearoundobjectsliketrees,players,andwalls.Yourcharacterwillalso
trytoopendoorsforyouautomatically.
· Lock Reputation Raising — When enabled, it will stop your  reputation from
risingwhenyoukillmonsters.Usethisifyouwouldliketostopyourreputation
from going any further. Keep in mind that you can still lose reputation though,
andshouldturnitoffifyouwantittoraiseagain.
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· EnableChatLogging—Whenenabled,itwillautomaticallysave(log)anychat
messages you receive in game to a text file. Logs are saved in your Ashen
Empire s “UserData”director y,whichistypicallyfoundat"C:\ProgramFiles\Iron
WillGa mes\AshenEmpires\Data\User_Data"onyourcomputer.Chatloggingis
enabledbydefault.
· EnableSingleItemUsage—Whenenabled,youwilluseonlyo neitematatime
whendoingrefinementtradeskillssuchassmelting,milling,a ndspinning.When
itisturnedoff,youwillautomaticallydofive. DisablingSingleItemUsagewill
yield 5 items at the same pace it would normally r equire for 1 craft at the
expense of the experience for just 1 craft. If you want to gain the most
experience,keepthisturnedon.
SingleItemUsageEnabled SingleItemUsageDisabled
· Target Protection — When enabled, it prevents you from doing any hostile
actio ns against another player or  friendly NPC. You shoulddisable this if yo u
intendtotakepart inPlayerversusPlayercombat.
· Text Filter — When enabled, the text filter will attempt to keep offensive
language out of chat messages. The filter is not perfect and may not block all
offensivelanguage. T hetextfilterreplacesthesewordswithasterisks. However,
theyarenot filtered inthechat lo gs.  Keepin mindthatthefilt er isnotthereto
preventplayersfromusingfoullanguage,norisitanexcusetousefo ullanguage.
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6.9.3 CombatOptions
Eachofthesetogglesanindividualmessage/displaywhichs howsupinyourCombat
text.
CombatExperience — Enabling this
willallowtheexperiencepointsyouget
from battling mo nsters, doing trade
skills and quests to show up on the
window you have combat  message
enabledin. 
CombatDamageToTarget—
Enablingthiswillallowthehitsyoudo
to monsters, nonplayer controlled
(npc) and other players to show up in
the window that you have combat
messagesenabledin.
CombatTargetMissingMe—
Enablingthiswillallowthemissedhits
you evaded to show up in thewindow
where you have combat messages
enabledin.
30
CombatMy Misses — Enabling this
will allow the missed hits you do in
combat  to show up in the window
wherethecombatmessagesareenabled
in.
CombatOutOfRange—Enablingthis
willallowt hewarningthatthetargetis
outof yourrangetoshowupinthechat
window you have combat messages
enabledin. 
CombatDamage To Me — Enabling
thiswillallowthedamagedonetoyou
by monsters, nonplayer controlled
(npc) and other players to show up in
thewindowyouhavecombatmessages
enabledin. 
CombatLongCombatMessages— Enablingthiswill show you moredetailedcombat
messages in the chat window where you have co mbat massages enabled in. The
followingareexamplesofLongCombatMessages andaShortCombatMessages.
Shortcombatmessages Longcombatmessages
31
CombatDisplay Damage By Type — Enabling this will tell you what type of damage
youdealtomonsters,nonplayercontrolled(npc)andotherplayer s. Someweaponsdo
multipletypesofdamage.For thoseweapons,thet ypeanddamagepointsfromeachtyp e
ofdamagewillshowupinthewindowwhereyouhavecombatmessagesenabledin.
Singletypeofdamagefromaweapon
Twodifferenttypesofda magefroma
singleweapon
6.10 ResumeGame
Pressing the "Resume Game" button will close the options menu and allow you to
continueplaying. Thishasthesameeffectaspressingt heescapekey.
6.11 ExitGame
Pressing the "Exit Game" button will log you out of the game and r eturn you to  the
characterselectionscreen. Ifyouarenotinasafezone,youwillha vetowaitforafew
secondsbeforeyourcharacterwillexittheworld.
6.12 Miscellaneous
At the bottom left of the menu, you can
seewhatserver youareonaswellaswhat
thelatestversionofAshenE mpiresis. In
thisexample,theplayerisontheLegendsserver. ThelastupdatewasonJuly16,2007.
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6. Chatting
Inanymultiplayergame,it’simportanttobeabletocommunicatewiththepeoplearound
you.AshenEmpiresisnoexception.Itmaytakealittleefforttolearntheintricaciesof
the chat system. But once you do, you will
find that it is an invalu able tool for finding
people to hunt,  craft, trade,  and make friends
with.
7.1 ChatWindows
The chat interface in
Ashen Empires is very
versatile. You can create
multiplechat windowstohandledifferentchannels.Youcanresize
your windows if they get in your way. You can move them all
around t he screen. You can even change the transparency of the
windowssothatyoucanseethroughthem.
Youcanaccessthechatwindowoptionsbyholdingdowntheright
mouse button over a chat window. Doing so brings up the chat
windowoptions.Toselectanoption,releasetheright mousebutton
over the menu item. Each item has a different function. Here’s a
briefexplanatio nofwhateachoptiondoes.
· Chat(ANY) —Allowsyoutoentertextintoanywindow.
· Chat(MAIN)— Allowsyoutoonlyentert extinthemainwindow.
· NewWindow— Allowsyoutocreateanewchatwindow.
· Transparency—Allowsyoutochangethetransparencysett ingsforthewindow.
Therearethreeoptions.
o Opaque— Makesthewindowappearsolid.Youcannotseethroughit.
o Global Settings — Uses the Transparency settings in Game Options to
determinethewindow’stransparency.
o Invisible—Makesthewindowco mpletelytransparent.Chatthat shows
upinthewindowwilldisappearafterafewseconds.
· StandardChannels—Allowsyoutotogglewhetherornotyouarelisteningto
thest andardchannels.Therearesixoptions(Guildisnotshown).
· User Channels — Allows you to toggle w hether  or not you are listening to a
particular user channel. In the picture above, “help” and “legends” are user
channels.
· Join…—Allowsyoutojoinauserchannel.
· Tell> — Allow s you to toggle whether or not you are listening to private
messages.Therearethreeo ptions:
o New…— Allo ws you to set up a dedicated tell channel directly toone
player.
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o All(*)—Togglesw hetherornotyoureceiveprivatemessagesfromany
player.
o Players—Allowsyoutoturnoffadedicatedtellchannel.
7.2 LocalC hat
Therearethreewaystotalktopeopleinthesurround ingarea.
1.Say—Usesaychattotalktopeoplewhoare
aroundyou.Itisthemostcommonwayoftalking
tootherpeople.Saychatappearsinyourwindowaswhitetext.Everyoneyoucanseeon
thescreenca nhearwhatyousayinthischannel.
2. Whisper — Use whisper chat to talk to
people who are standing next to you.  This is
usefulifyouneedtotalkinprivatewithsomeone.Whisperchatappearsinyourwindow
asgreytext. Onlypeople who are standingonetileaway from your charactercanhear
youwhisper.
3. Shout — Use shout chat to talk to people in the
surrounding area but who are not on your screen. This is
great  if you aretryingtogettheattentionofsomeonewho just left your screen.Many
peopleuseittogetspecialattentionortosellthingstootherpeople.Shoutchatappears
in your window as light blue text. Be careful while using shout, though. Many people
findt hosewhouseonlyshouttotalktobeveryannoying.
7.3 LongDistanceCha t
Therearefourwaystotalktopeopleoverlongdistances.
1. Tell — Use tell chat to send a
private message to a perso n. Many
people prefer to use tell chat when
theyhavesomethingtosaythattheydon’twantotherst ohear.Tellchatappearsinyour
windowasgreentext.Whenyousendapersonaprivatemes sage,theirnameappear sin
parenthesistoletyouknowwhoyouaretalkingto.
Tosendatellmessage,type‘/tell’follo wedbythenameofthepersonyouwanttotalkt o
and a colon (:). You must include the colon in order for the message to work. For
example,tosendaprivatemessagetoMisterBill,type‘/t ellMisterBill:Hey!How’sit
going?’Youcanuse‘/t’insteadof‘/te ll’for short.
You can also set up a dedicat ed channel for private messages by rightclicking on a
window andchoosing Tell>New… Type the na me of theplayer you want to set up a
channel forintheboxthatshowsup.Inthechatwindow,pressenterandpushthetab
keyuntiltheplayer’snameshowsupinyourchatbox.
34
Tor eplytoatellmessage,simplytype‘/reply’followedbyyourmessage.Youcanalso
use ‘/r’ for short. This will send a message to the last person who sent you a tell
message.Ifyouneedtocarryonmultipleconversationswithtell,youmight wanttoset
updedicatedtellc hannelswiththepeopleyouaretalkingwith.
2. User Channels — Use a
channelto talktomorethanone
person,nomatterwheretheyare
in the world. Many players
createandusechannelsto talktotheirfriends,conducttrades,andfind help.Thehelp
channelthatyouautomaticallyjoinwhencreatinganewcharacter isanexampleofauser
channel.Userchannelsappearinyourwindowaslig htbrowntext.
Tojoinacha nnel,rightclickonthechatwindowyouwantthechanneltoappear. While
holding the right mouse button down, select “Join”. In thebox that pops up,type the
nameofthechannelandhitthecheckmark.Thenpresstheenterkeytobring upthechat
boxandpressthetabkeyuntilthechannelnameappears.Youcanalsotype‘/talkch:’
followed by the channel name to switch to the new channel. Once again, you must
includethecolon.
Toleaveachannel,right clickonthechatwindowcontainingthec hannel.Whileholding
therightmousebuttondown,selectthechannel’snametoleavethechannel.
3. Party — A party is a temporary group of 
players. Most people use parties to hunt together
and sharelootandgold.However,itisalsoanicewayofkeepingintouchwithplayers
whiletheyareonline.Partychatshowsupinyourwindowasorangetext.Youwillleave
apartywhenyoulogoutorwhentherearefewerthantwopeopleinthegroup.Amore
thoroughexplanationofpartiesfollowsintheBasicGameplaysection.
4. Guild — A guildis a group of playerswho have jo inedtoget herunder acommon
name. People form guilds with other people who share common interests. Guild chat
showsup in yourwindowasdarkbrowntext.Unlikeparties, youdonotleaveaguild
whenyoulogofforwhentherearefewerthantwopeopleintheguild.Guildstakealot
oftimeandpatiencetoformandmanage.Amorethoroughexplanationofguildsfollows
in theBasicGameplaysection.
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7.3.1 Ignore
Sometimes you might find it useful to ignore what
cert ainplayersare saying.Forthis purpose,thega me
providesanignorelist,towhichyoucanaddcharacter
names.Alltheignorecommandsstartwith‘/ignore’or
‘/i’forshort.
Toviewyourcurrentignor elist,type‘/ignorew’inthe
chat box. This will list all the characters you are
currentlyignoring.Ifyoucan’thearacharacter,oryou
canstillhearacharacter youthought you ignored,use
thiscommandtomakesurethattheyare(oraren’t)on
yourlist.
Toaddap layertotheignorelist,type(withoutthe[]’s)
‘/ignore + [character]’, replacing  [character] wit h the
character’s name. Note that this only works for one
character at a time. If you ignore o ne character that
doesnot meanyouwilla lsoignoreanyothercharacter
thatplayer mayhaveonthesameaccount.
Tor emovea player from the ignore list, type (withoutthe[]’s) ‘/ignore – [character]’,
replacing[character] withthecharacter’sname.Likeaddingpeopletothelist,thiswill
only wor kononenameatat imeandnotforallcharactersonthesameaccount.
Afteraddingorremovingaplayertotheignorelist,it’sagoodideatouse‘/ignore w’to
makesurethattheignorelistwasupdatedproperly.
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7. BasicGameplay
There's a lot todo in AshenEmpires. You can hunt monsters
fortreasure. Youcancraftpowerfulweaponsa ndarmor. You
can spend your days planting fields of crops. You can go on
questsfo rvaluableexperienceandnotoriety. Butregardlessof
what  you do, there are a few things that  you'll a lways
encounter. This section will explain some of the common
thingsthatyouwilldowhileplayingAshenEmpires.
8.1 Backpack, Ba nking,andWeight
Your backpack represents what you are carrying around with
youintheworld. Youcanbringyourbackpackupatanytime
byclickingo nyourselforpressingthe'B'key. Yo urbackpack
has room for  16 items. Each item takes up a slot in your
backpack.
Someitemscanbestacked,likearrowsandpotions. Thesewill
usually have a number in parenthesis beside them, letting you
know that the item can be stacked and how many items are
currently in the stack. If you want to combine two stacks,
simply drag one stack on top of the other. If you want to
separateastackintotwostacks,holddowntheshiftkeywhile
dragging the item to an empty slot. A window will pop up
askingyouhowmanyitemsyouwantinthenewstack.
Ifyouwanttocarrymorethan16items,you'llneedtofindacontainertoputyouritems
in,likeabagorabox. However,whenyouareusingbagsorboxestoholdyouritems,
keepinmindthesizeoftheitem. Youcanfindouthowbiganitemisbyrightclicking
on it (or by holding the control key and putting your mo use over the item, if yo u are
usingtheoldmovementscheme). Somecontainerswillnotholdanitemthatistoobig.
Therearealsocont ainersthatarespec iallymadeforcertainitems. Thesecontainerswill
onlyholdthoseitems. Forexample,aseedbagwillholdonlyseeds.
Eachcharacteralsohasabankaccount. Banks aresecurestoragethatareaccessibleonly
bythatcharacter. Eachbankhasspacefor32items. Asyou play,you'llprobablystartto
runouto froo mfor yourthingsinyour bank. Youshould lookforcontainersfor your
bankaswell. BoxeslikeChestsandStorageCratescaneasilyincreaseyourbankspace
10 timesormor e!
Every item, except gold,  has a weight associated with it. How much weight you can
carry is determined by your strength. You can see this on the paperdoll window by
pressing the 'E' key. The number on the left represents how much weight you are
currentlyshoulderingwhilethenumberontherightrepresentsthemaximumamounto f
weig ht you can carry. The more strength you have, the more you can carry. Magic
37
spells,  items, and food that boost your strength w ill help yo u carry more weight. If,
however, you begin to carry more than what your strength can handle, you will be
encumbered. Whileencumbered, youwill move at halfthe normal speed. To become
unencumbered,youneedtodropsomeoftheit emsyouarecarryinginyourbackpack.
Youcanalsosavesomeweightbyusingcontainerswithweightreduction,likeaBagof
Dimensionorafeatherbox.
8.2 UnderstandingI temDetails
You cangetadetailed descriptionof most itemsbyrightclickingonthem. If you are
using the old keyboard scheme, you have to  hold down the co ntrol key and put your
mouseovertheitem.
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8.2.1 Weapons
Thereareafewdetailsaboutweaponsthatshouldbeexplained. Whenyou lookatthe
weapondetails,youwillseethings likewhatskillisrequiredtouseit,howfastit isin
combat ,and what typeofdamageitdo es.Da mageisshownasarange(forexample,45
80). T henumberonthe left shows what the minimumamount ofdamagetheweapon
willhitforwhilethenumberontherightshowsthemaximum amountofdamage.
The damage a weapon will inflict is also dependant upo ntheattributes of thewielder. 
Meleeweaponsdependonstrengthwhilebows,crossbows,andthrownweaponsdepend
on dexterity. The higher these numbers, the higher both the minimum and maximum
damageoftheweaponwillbe(upto amultiplierof5forbothminimumandmaximum
damage).
· Name—Nameoftheweapon.
· Expansion requirement — One of three
symbols. AshenEmpires,Talazar'sRevenge,
orSandsofCreation
· WeaponDetails — Variousdetailsaboutthe
weaponsthatgiveyou anideaofhow itwill
performincombat.
o Skill — Skill required to use the
weapon.
o Speed — De lay between successive
attacks,measured inseconds.
o Damage type — Type of damage the
weapondoesincombat .
o Damage — Base damage of the
weapon.
· Requirements — What it takes to equip the
weapon.Orb requirements r equire you to
have at least that number of orbs without
magicalbonusesor buffs.Keepinmindthatthelevelr equirementdescribeswhat
levelyou needinthatweapon'sskillinordertowieldit.
· Weight—Howmuchtheweaponweighs.Heavierweaponsrequiremorestamina
everytimeyouattack.
· Value—Theamountofgoldshopkeeperswouldselltheit emfor.
· Bonuses—Listofbonusestheweapongivesyouwhileyouarewielding it.
· Currentcondition—Thecurrentconditionoftheweapon.T heleft numbertells
you what the healthof the weapon is currently.The right number tells you the
maximumdurability.SeethesectiononDeathandDegredationformoredetails.
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8.2.2 Armor
Armordetailsareverys imilar toweapondetails. Thereareonlyafewdifferences. Since
you can't attack with armor, you see details like protection and resistances. The level
requirement refers to your  overall level and not a level in a particular skill. Finally,
armorscomewithvaryinglevelsofresistancesagainstcertainsourcesofdamage. These
resistancesstackwithalltheotherpiecesofarmoryouwear.
· Protection — Bonus to  your overall AC you
receivefromtheitem.
· Requirements — What you need in order to
wieldtheitem.
· Resistances — The additional resistances you
gain against certain types of damage while
wearingtheitem.
· Bonuses — The bonuses you receive while
wearingtheitem.
· Weight—Howmuchtheitemweighs.
· Value — How much shopkeepers will sell the
itemfor.
· Current Co ndition — The current condition of
theweapon. Theleftnumbertellsyouwhatthe
health of t he weapon is currently. The right
numbertells you the maximumdurability. See
thesectiononDeathandDegredation for more
details.
8.3 Questing
Ashen Empires gives players the opportunity to earn experience and treasures through
various quests. QuestsinAshenEmpiresareissuedbynpc's. Youcanrecognizeannpc
by the green name they have above them. Quest NPC's are usually found in towns,
thoughyou mayencounterthemthroughoutthelandwhileadventuring. Questsalways
havesometypeofrewardandaredefinitelysomethingthat everyplayershou ldtrytodo.
QuestsinAshenEmpiresgenerallyfallintooneof fourforms:
8.3.1 StaticQuests
Staticquestsarethosethatarealwaysthesame andneverchange. Theyareavailableto
allplayersandcangenerally becompletedonlyonetime. Manystaticquests inAshen
Empire s willtell you more aboutthegame's storyandtake quite a whiletocomplete.
There are often se veral min irewards along the way while completing a static quest.
Theseareoftenthemo streliableandrewardingquestsyouwillencounter.
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8.3.2 DynamicQuests
Ashen Empires has a unique system in place that generates random quests. These
dynamic quests can be taken by any player and they ususally start in a lawful town.
Sometimes,anNPCwillaskforhelpinyourchatwindow. Ifyouclicko ntheNPC,you
willreceiveasmalltaskwhichwillrewardyouwithexperienceshouldyoucompleteit.
Dynamicquestsgenerallyhaveatimelimitassociatedwiththem,soyoushouldtryyour
best to solve t hese quickly. If you log out while on one of these quests, you
automaticallyfailthequest. Youcannottake itagainuntiltheNPCcallsforhelp.
8.3.3 LotorianandChaosKnightQuests
Most towns will have an NPC called a Lotorian Knight. Lotorian
KnightsareemissariessentbyKingLotortohelpthepeopleofDransik
by exterminating the local monster po pulations. You have the
opportunitytohelpthemout. ALotorianKnightwillaskyoutohelphim
out by giving you a particular monster to kill. After killing enough of
those monsters, you can return to the Knight for an experience reward. Unlike static
quests, Lotorian Knight quests are repeatable. You can take as many as you want as
oftenasyouwant.
IfyouhavetheTalazar'sRevengeexpansionpack,youcantakequests
fortheKnightsofChaosaswell. TheseareknightssentbytheGodsof
Chaoswhoaretryingtowinoverthepeoplebydestro yingsomeofthe
morerebellious monsters. TheyworkthesameastheLotorianKnights,
except that you have the o ption to apply your rewards into special
advancedskills thatyoucanlearnintheTRlands.
ForbothKnights,youhavetheoptiontocancelyourquest. Ifthemonstertheyaskyou
tohuntdownistoohard,oryoujustdon'tknowwheretofindthem,youcanclickonthe
Knighttocancelthequest. Doingsomeansthatthenextquestyoutakefromthemwill
give you less experience. After cancelling three or more consecutive quests from a
Knight,youwillreceivenoadditionalexperienceforcompletingthequest. Keepthisin
mindwhendoingquestsforeitherKnight.
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8.3.4 PatronQuestsandFaction
InKrog,Silvest,andWhisperdale,therearespecialNPCscalledPatrons.
Thesearethelocalleadersoftheregionandthefigureheadsfor eachracein
AshenEmpires.Yourpatronwilldependonwhichtownyouchoosetogo
towhenyo uleaveValinor.
Patronquests work muchlikethequestsyo ugetfromLotorianKnightsand
ChaosKnights.However,youcannotcancelaquestthatyourpatrongives
you.Youmustcompletethequestbeforeobtaininganewone.
ThemaindifferencebetweenPatronquestsandtheLotor ianandChaos
Knightquest s isthatyoudonotearn experiencepool forcompletingapatron
quest.Instead,youearnanamount offaction.Factioncanbeusedtoobtain
specialar morthatisrelatedtothetownyou arrivedin.Thisarmorisno
dropandcanbeusedatanylevel.Keepinmindthatitmaytakeseveral
deedsforyourpatroninordertoearnthesecoveteditems.Youcanretrieveyourrewards
bytalkingtothepatron’swife(LadyTargon,LadyAelfwyn,andLadyVerz yl)whois
usuallyinanearbytown.
8.3.5 Taskmasters
Ifyou'remoreintotradeskillingthanhunting,t henyoumightwantto
consider doing a few quests for a taskmaster.  Taskmasters live at
Lotor's Summer Palace and are scattered about looking for skilled
tradesmen and women to help them build their latest projects.
Taskmastersaremastersoftheirtradeandoffertradeskillersawayto
makesomeextraexperienceintheir skills.
Whenyouc lickonataskmaster,youwillbepresentedwithalistofskillsrelatedtothat
trade. For example, clicking the blacksmithing taskmaster will bring up the o ption of
doinga mining, smelting, orblacksmithing task. These quests are rando mlygenerated
and  will challenge yourabilitiesasa crafter. You receivea taskmaster lockbo x which
willcollecttheitemsthatthetaskmasterasksyoutoreturnwith. Asyougatheror craft
items,theywillautomaticallybestoredinthelockbox. Keepinmind,yo ucannotopen
thelockboxtoretrievetheitemsthatgoinsideit. Theseitemsalsow illnotberetur nedto
youonceyougivethemtothetaskmaster.
8.4 ExperiencePool
When you complete a quest, experience is rewarded to your experience pool. Most
playersrefertothisas"Epool"forshort.  Your experiencepoolisaplacewhereyoucan
apply experience directly toa skill. Normally, you gain e xperience by practicing the
skill. Forexample,you'dhavetokillamonsterwithalongbladetoearnexperiencein
42
thelongbladesskill. Usingyourexperiencepoolislikeusingashortcut. Youcanapply
ittoskillstolevelthemfaster. Note,however,thatnoteveryskillcanbetrainedwith
epool. Tradeskillscannotbeincreasedwit hepool.
Youcanchecktheamountofexperienceyouhaveinyourpoolbybringinguptheskills
pane. Atthebottomofthepane,youwillseehowmuchepoolyoucurrentlyhave. You
canspendthis experience byclickingthe small[+] sign* next totheskill you want to
applythe experiencepool to.  Doingso  will bring up awindowthat will ask you how
muchofyourepoolyouwanttoputintotheskill. Keepinmind,youcanonlyspe ndas
muchexperienceasyouhaveinyourepool.Spendingepoolispermanent,andcannotbe
undone.Epool is not transferrable. You cannot give someone experience, nor can you
giveyourunspentepooltoanotheroneo fyourcharacters.
8.5 Deat h,Degradation,andSpawnGates
Ifyouaren'tdying,you'renotplaying(oryou'retradeskilling). Deat hisanaturalpartof
anygameandAshenEmpiresisnoexception. Yourcharacterwilldieifheorshetakes
toomuchdamage. Keepaneyeonyourhealth( theredgaugewiththeheart)andmake
suretohealyo urselfbeforeitreacheszero.
Whenyourcharacterdies,yourequippeditemswillsuffera
degradationpena lty. Degradeditemsarelesseffectivethan
those which are fully repaired. Weapons will be slower
and do less damage while armor will pro vide less
protectionthanitnormallywou ld. Youcancheckthestate
of your items by rightclicking them.* You can repair
your items using tradeskill tools, magic spells, or repair
potions. Fo r mor e details on repairing your items, please
seethesectiononItemrepair.
Afteryoudie,youwillendupataspawngate. InAshenEmpires,therearetwodifferent
typesofspawn gates—Order and C haos. Orderspawngat es are white a ndare usually
near lawful towns. Chaos spawn gates are black and are near criminal towns. Which
spawngateyougotodependsonyouralignment. Eviland criminalplayersspawnatthe
chaos gates when they die. Neutral, Good, and Divine players spawn at the ordered
gates. You can set your spawn by clicking on the square in the middle of the spawn
gate. When you leave Valinor, your spawn gates are automatically set for you. Your
Orderspawnwillbewithyourfaction'spatron. YourChaosspawnwillbeattheKing's
jail. 
When you die, you leave a corpse behind. Your corpse will
contain the contents of your backpack at the time of your
death. You also have a chance of dropping a piece of your
equipment, dependingon your alignment. Thelesspure your
heart,thehig herthechancethattheGodswillnotprotectyour
equipmentwhileyouarebeingreincarnated. Whileyouareon
Valinor, you will not drop your equipment or your backpack
43
whenyoudie. Thisonlyhappensforplayersonthemainland. Playershavefiveminutes
toretrievetheir items fromtheir corpsebefore thecorpsedisappears. Atthattime,the
itemsw illbeleftonthegroundandcanber etrievedbyanyone. Youshouldtrytohurry
backtoyourcorpsebeforethishappens. If youareplayingontheHeroesserverandyou
arekilled byaplayer,therulechangesalittlebit. PleaseseethesectiononPlayervs.
Playercombatforthesechanges.
Youcanrecoverallyouritemsfromyourcorpsebypressingthespacebar. Alltheitems
fromyourcorpsewillbeautomaticallyplacedin yo urbackpack. You mayleavesome
thingsinyourcorpseifthereisn'tenoughroominyourbackpack. Youarenotallowed
toloot your ownhead when you arekilled by anotherplayer. Thisprevents you from
runningout ofroominyo urbackpackduetomultipleheads. Carvingheadsisasportin
AshenEmp ires.Bountyhunterswillliketocollectyourhead,sometimestoturnthemin
forareward.
8.6 Alignment
Yourcharacter'sreputationise verything. ThealignmentsysteminAshenEmpireshasa
stronga ffectonhowacharacterinteractswiththeworldaroundthem. Youractionswill
effect your alignment as well as how npc's will react to you. There are three main
categoriesforalignment.
Evil aligned characters are those that choose to live by their own rules. These are
charactersthat killnpcsandothercharacters. Lawfulguardswillchaseandtryto place
evilc haractersinjail. There fore,thosewhochoosethispathmustseekoutthosehavens
thatcatertothoseofamoresinisternature. Evilalignedcharacterscanberecognizedby
theirrednames. Criminalshaveagreyname. Sco urgeshaveaflashinggreyandpurple
name. Scourges represent theworstof theevil alignment. You become a scourge for
beingacriminalfor100Dransikdays.
Neutralalignedcharactersarethosethatchoosetoseeneithergoodnorevil. Theymay
kill another for t heir own purposes, but generally try to  stay within the bounds of the
law. Neutralcharactersarewe lcomeinboththelawfulcitiesandcriminalstrongholds.
Youcanrecognizeaneutralplayerbytheirgreenname.
Goodalignedcharactersarethosewholivebythelawoftheland. Theywillonlykillto
defend justiceortomakea point totheevilones. Whenapproachingacriminaltown,
44
the evil guards will t ry to kill and jail a go od character. Good characters havea light
green name. Divine characters are considered the "good of the good" and can be
recognized by havinga white name. Crusadersarethepinnacleof thegood alignment
andrepresent thehallmarksofJustice. Theyhaveaflashinggreenandwhitename. You
becomeacrusaderfo rbeingdivinefor100Dransikdays.
There is a fourth state of alignment called "wanted". All p layers have a chance to
becomewanted,regard lessoftheiralignment. Playersbecomewantedforcommittinga
criminal act or aiding a criminal. Attacking a town citizen or nonwant ed player or
attackingaguardthatwouldnormallyprotectyouareconsideredcr iminalacts. Wanted
playershaveanincreasedchancefordroppingapieceofequipment.
Asyoucansee,alignmenteffects alotofactivities. Youcanimproveyouralignmentby
killing monsters. Each monster you kill will lower your alignment, making your
character more lawful. Killing playersandprotected NPCsor help ingevilplayerswill
raise your alignment, making your character more evil. You can see these changes in
yourchat window. Youcan tellwhatyourreputationisbyusingthisscale:
AlignmentTitle Range NameColor
Divine/Crusader 0100 White/Flashingwhite
Good 1012999 BrightGreen
Neutral 300010000 Green
Evil 1000114999 Red
Criminal/Scourge 15000orgreater Gre y/Flashinggrey
8.7 PlayerversusPlayerCombat
You havethechancet o engage inPlayer versus player(or pvp)whileplaying. Ashen
Empire soffersaserverthatgivesplayerstheopportunitytoengageinPvpallthetime.
However,thisdoesnotmeanthatyoucannotfightanotherplayeronthe nonpvpserver.
For duelingpurposes,youcanfig htanotherplayerusing anare na.
OntheHeroesserver, nonarenapvpcombatcanonlybeinitiatedoutsideofasa fezone.
Attacking aplayerwhoisn'twantedisconsideredacriminalactionandyouwillbecome
want ed by lawful guards. Killing another player will have a severe effect on your
alignment. Killing players with lower alig nment or lo wer levels will have more o f an
effectonyouralignmentthankillingplayersyourownlevel. Killingaplayerwhoisn't
want edisconsideredadishonorablekill. Killingawantedplayeroracriminalplayeris
consideredanhonorablekill. Youcanviewho wmanyhonorableanddishonorablekills
youhaveinthepaperdollpane.
45
Ifyoudokillap layer,yo uhaveachancetotakewhateverendsupintheircorpse. When
a player kills a nother player, the killer can steal the other player's items after three
minutes. Ifthekillerisinapar ty,ever yoneinthepartyhasachancetolootthecorpse
afterthreeminut es. Afterfiveminutes,everyonehasachancetolootthecorpse. Also,
players who are killed by other players leave a head behind. Heads can be used as
trophiestodistinguishyourself.
ThearenaoffersplayersachancetoparticipateinPvpw ithouttheaddedconsequencesof
alignmentlossorlooting. Therearetwotypesofarenas. Oneversusonearenascanbe
foundatLotor'sCastleandLotor'sSummerPalace. Theseofferplayersthechancetotest
their might against another opponent. You do not lose alignment for killing anot her
playerandyoudonotdro panythingwhenyoudie. Yourrecordofarenawinsandlosses
iskeptinyourpaperdollpane.
IfyouownTalazar'sRevenge,youcanaccesstheguildarena. Portalstothegu ildarena
arescatteredacrosst heland. Youmustbeamemberofaguildinordertoparticipatein
thesebattles. However,peoplefrommultipleguildscanbeonthesameteam. Thisisa
specialarenacoveringalargeareaanditisagreatplacetolearngrouptacticsforpvp.
Liketheoneversusonearenas,youdonot losealignmentordropitemswhenengaging
inbattlehere.
8.8 Portals
Scattered throughout the world are portals that allow
you to tr avel long distances instantly. In Ashen
Empire s,  thereare a lotofportalstoget youtoplaces
youwanttogo. Generally,youcantellhowfarapo rtal
willt akeyoubylookingatit.
Small, o netile portals are usually used for local
transportwithinadungeonoraroundaparticulararea.
Someoftheseportalsmaynothave anexitontheother
side,sobecarefulwhenusingtheseport als.
46
Larger,whitemarbleportalsareusedfortravelbetweenmajorareas. Mostofthesetypes
ofportalsleadtoandfromLotor’sSummerPalace. Lotor’sSummerPalaceisaneutral
areawhereplayerscanmeetup,chat,andtr ade. Italsocontainsmanyportalstodifferent
areasintheworld,makingitaworthwhiletoolforgettingtoplacesquicklyandsafely. It
also hasthe only portal leading totheSand of Creation expansion area. You can find
portalstoLotor’sSummerPalaceateachofthestartertownsaswellasParian,Josody,
Valmond*,Khafra**,andRahura**.
*RequirestheTalazar’sRevengeexpansionpack.
**RequirestheSandsofCreationexpansionpack.
Lastly,thereareverylargeportalsguardedbyneutral
guards. Theseportalsofferaquickandeasymeansof
getting around the Ashen Empires mainland. Some
maybehiddeninforestswhileotherswillhaveroads
and paths leading right up to them. Once you find
them, be sure to make a note of where they are.
Knowingwheretheseportalsareandwheretheylead
willdefinitelyhelpyouonyouradventure.
8.9 SecureTrading
Trading with other players is a great way of obtaining items or
money. Everyplayershouldbeawareofhowtotradeitems. While
some players may prefer t he old “drop it on the ground” method,
thereisabetterandmoresecuremeansoftradingitems.
To trade securely, first  yo u will need a table. Click on the table, and a reticule will
appear, allo wing you to select a player to trade with. Clickontheplayer you wantto
trade with. A paper will appear on the table, letting your trade partner know that you
want totrade. Whenyourpartnerclicksonthepaper,thetradeinterfacewillpopup.
47
On the right side, you will see what  you
haveinyourbackp ackthatyouareableto
trade. From here, you can click on the
items you want to trade. You won’t be
able to trade everything you have. Some
thingsyoucannottradeinclude:
· Stolenitems(unlesst hepersonyou
are trading with is the person the
itemwasstolenfrom)
· Nodropitems
· Itemsyouneedforaquest
· Container s thataren’tempty
The lower half of the screen shows you
what  items you are trading to yo ur
partner. If you accidentally put an item
thatyoudon’twanttotradeintothisarea,
youcanclickittoremoveitfromthetrade. Thetophalfofthescreenshows whatitems
your trading partner is trading to  you. When you are ready to trade, press the [lock]
buttoninthetoprightofthepanetolockinyourtrade. Onceyourpartnerhaslockedin
theirtrade,clickthe[check]markto confirmthedeal. Youcanclickthe[cross]buttonto
cancelthetradeifamistakehasbeenmade.
Youcanalsousethe[tokens]buttontotradeto kensfromtheAshenEmpiresExchange
store. For more information about the ingamestore, please read the official guide at
http://www.ashenempires.com .
48
8.10 LeadershipandPetTraining
LeadershipisauniqueskillinAshenEmpires. Withit,youareabletotrainpetfollowers
tohelpyoucarryitems,fightalongsideyou,andevenprotectyouincertaincases. Pets
arealsoalo toffuntohavearound.
Totraina pet, you will needa trainer’swhip. Thesecan be made by
leat herwo rkersor bought in most generalstores. Once you haveyour
trainer’s whip, yo u need to find an animal or creature that will not
attackyou. Tamableanimalswillhaveagreennameinsteadofthered
nameassociat edwith most monsters. Walkuptot heanimal,clickon
your trainer’swhip, and click on the animal. If you are successful in
tamingtheanimal, your character willauto matically namethe animal
something. Itwillalsoshowupinyourfollower’spane,accessiblewiththe‘F’key. 
Youcangive yourpetavarietyofcommandsusingthefollower menu. Rightclickon
thepetinthefollower’s panetogiveacommandtoyourpet.
· CalmDown—Thiscommandtellsyourpettoreturntoit’s
default,loveableself. Usethiscommandifyouwanttostop
your pet from attacking a creature. Note: If your pet is
attacked,itwilltrytodefenditself. Tellingyourpettocalm
downwhileit’sdefendingitselfwillnotwork.
· Protect — This command tells your pet to protect you. If
somethingattacksyo u,yourpetwillcometotherescue.
· Follow—Thiscommandte llsyo urpet tofollowyou. Itwillnotattackanything
unlessitisat tacked.
· GuardArea—Thiscommandtellsyourpettostayinacertainspotanddefend
itselfagainstthreats. Yourpetwillonlyat tackt hingstodefenditself.
· Attack— Thiscommandtells your petto attackthecreaturethat youcurrently
have t argeted. You can use this to get a little extra help when dealing with
monsters.
Youcangivethesecommandstoyo urpetatanytime. Youcanalsousetherightmouse
buttonon yo urpetto bringup thesecommandsexcept “attack”. Fortheattackoption,
simply rightclick on the target you want your pet to attack and choo se the “Attack”
option.
Asyougainexperienceinleaders hip,youwillbeabletotamemorepowerfulcreatures.
Continueyourtraining,andyoucanhaveuptothreepets atasingletime!
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8.11 PartyCreationandFunctions
Inanymultiplayergame,p layingwithagroup
is often more rewarding than playing by
yourself. Ifyoufindthatthegoinggetstough,
oryoujustwanttohavesomefunwithafew
ofyo urfriends,you should createaparty. A
party is a tempor ary group of players
generally formed to hunt together and share
theburden.
Toformaparty,bringupthePartypanebypressingthe ‘P’key. Rightclickontheparty
pane and choose the “invite” command. A target ing reticule will appear to select the
playeryouwant toinvitetoyourparty. Clickontheplayeryouwa nttoinvite. Ifthey
acceptyo urinvitation,youwillformaparty.
Tojoinanexistingparty,theleaderwillhavetoinviteyou. Whenyougetaninv itation,
youwillbenotifiedinyo urchatwindow. Pressthe‘P’keytobringupthepartypane
andclickthe[check]markbesidethenameofthepersonwhosepartyyouwa nttojoin.
Youcanhavemultipleinvitatio nsinyourpartywindow,butyoucanonlyjoinoneparty
atatime.
Membersofapartycansharebothgo ldandlootwhilekillingmonsters. Theycanalso
help ea ch other solve quests. In orderto share, you must be in the same area as your
party mates. Members who are too far away will not get credit for monsters that get
killedorreceiveanyofthegoldorlootshares.
There are several options in t he party pane. Some are available to only leaders while
thereareothersthatareavailabletoeveryo ne.
· GroupLootSplit*— Allows the leader totogglewhetheror
not the party will aut omatically share loot dropped by
monsters. Turning this off will show messages in the party
channela boutwhatlootisleftinamonster'scorpse.
· GroupGoldSplit*— Allowstheleadertotogglewhetheror
not the party will automatically share gold dropped by
monsters.
· TakeLoot—Allowsyoutotogglewhetherornotyouwanttosharelootdroppedby
monsterswithmembersofyourparty. Ifothermembersaresharingloo tandtheyare
in the area, they will receive the loot that would have gone to you had you been
sharing.
· TakeGold—Allowsyoutotogglewhetherornotyouwanttosharegolddroppedby
monsterswithmembersofyourparty.
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· Invite*—Allowstheleadertoinvitepeopletojointheparty.
· Disband*—Allowstheleadertodisbandtheparty.
· Assist/Stop Assisting — Allows you to assist another member of your party by
showingyouwhatthatmemberhastargetted. Whileassisting,mo nsterst argettedby
thepersonyouareassisting willappearinagreenbox.
· Follow/Stop Follow ing — Allo ws you to automatically follow a member of your
party. Youwillstopfollowingifyoustart walkinginanotherdirection.
· Leave—Allowsyoutoleavetheparty. Leaderswholeavethepartyautomatically
passleadershiptothenextpersononthelist. Whentherearenoot herpeopleinthe
secondslot,thepart yautomaticallydisbands.
*Theseoptionsareavailableonlytopartyleaders.
8.12 Guilds
Guilds are a more permanent way to play as a
group. Guilds have their own special chat
channelsaswellasa specialtagtoidentify their
members. This is an excellent way of meeting
newpeopleandgettingtoknowthegame. Guild
members often share their experiences with new
players.
In order to join a guild, the guild leader must
present you with a guilddeed. You cannot bea
member of another guild to receive this
invitation. Clickingonthedeedwillmakeyoua
memberof the guild. Pressthe‘G’keyto bring
up the guild pane. From here, you can see
informationaboutyourguildaswellasalistofallthemembers. Youcanleavetheguild
atanytimeby pressingthe[leaveguild]button.
Asamember,youwillbeabletolootyourguildmate’scorpsesw ithoutpenaltyincase
theygetintotrouble. Youcanalsohelpyourguild’sfarmersbyharvestingcrops. These
areafewofthefringebenefitsofbeinginaguild.
Tofo rmaguild,youneedtocompleteaseriesofquestsfortheguildmasterlocat edjust
northofthetownofVarg. Hewillonlyallowcharacterswhohavereachedlevel20or 
higher to test their abilities as a leader. He will send you o n a search for four books
outliningthehisto ryoftherunewaraswellastheformationofthefirstguilds. Fromthis
inspirationandt hesetrials,youwillearntherighttoformyourownguild. Newgu ilds
canbefo rmedforadonationof250,000goldtothetempleofVeldan,locatedsouthwest
ofParian.
51
Guildleadershaveafewmoreoptionsintheguildpanetomanagetheirmembers.
· Name—Thiscommandallowsyo utonameyourguild. Youcanonlydothisonce.
Youshouldnameyourguildassoonas youbuythedeed.
· Color— Thiscommand allows you t o changethecolor ofyour  guild’s identifying
tag. Becautiouswhenchoosingacolor . Youcanonlydothisonce.
· Invite—Thiscommandallowsyoutoinvitememberstoyourguild. Keepinmind
thatyoucannotinvitepeoplewhobelongtoanotherguild.
· Kick—Thiscommandallowsyoutokickmembersfromyourguild.
· Transfer—T hiscommandallowsyoutotransfer leadershipoftheguildtoanother
member. Only members who have successfully completed the quests for the guild
masterwillbeabletotakecontroloftheguild.
· Disband— This command allows you to disbandtheguild. Allofyour members,
includingyourself,willbekickedfromtheguildandyouw illlosetheoriginaldeed.
8.13 Events
Sometimes,bothplayersandtheAshenEmpires
staff will host events. These are special
occasions where players gather to have fun
outside of the normal everyday play. Players
areencouragedtohosttheir ownevents. Most
events are announced ahead of time on the
Ashen Empires fo rums. Generally, there are
fourtypesofe vents:
8.13.1 Playerrun
Players are encouraged to host their own
events. You do not need to wait for or have
approval to run your own event, though your
event must follow the Rules of Co nduct. You
canrequestassistancefor youreventbypaging
aGM. TheGMsarehappyt ohelpplayerswith
theirevent,thoughyo ushouldpageaGMwell
before the time you plan on hosting it. The
betterplanned yourevent,thebetteryourevent
willbe.
52
8.13.2 TicketEvents
Event ticket s can be bought from the Ashen
Empire s Exchange for 5 tokens each. Events
that requireticketswillalwaysgiveaprize,so
theyareoftencompetitionsofsomesort. These
events allow yo u to test your abilities against
other players. Prizes can be anything from
uniqueitemsandtrophiestosubscriptiontime,
storeitems,andeventshirtsorotherrealworld
items.
8.13.3 Monsterspawns(or
Hellspawns)
Sometimes, a GM will host a quick event in
which a group of monsters try to take over a
town or other area. Players like these events
becauseoftherandomnatur eandriskinvolved.
If you decideto  attendoneof these events, be
aware that often the rules for death and
alignment loss still apply. That means that if
you die, your items w ill degrade. You should
attendtheseevents atyourownrisk.
8.13.4 RolePlay
Some events are story based. In these events,
players are encouraged to act as though they
wereapartofthestorythemselves. Characters
andNPCsmayoffercluestowhatisgoingon.
Thenagain,theymig htbetheretowarnyouof
imminent danger. These events can be very
shortorlast for aweeko rmore. These events
give interested players t he opportunity to play
roles in circumstances they wouldn’t normall y
encounter. If youdecidetoattendoneofthese
events, please be courteous to all those
involved.
53
8.14 UpdatesandBugReporting
Like ineveryothergame, youwillencountersomebugswhileplaying.TheDEVteam
worksonfixingthesebugsassoonaspossibleinordertooffertheplayers aproductwith
theleastnumberofbugs.
Playerscanhelpoutbyreportingthebugstheyencounter.Toreportabug,youcangoto
gameoptionsandchoset he"ReportaBug"opt ionlocatedinthetoprightcorner.This
optionwilldirectyoutoabugreportingtemplatewhereyouwillbeabletoenterabug
report. You can also access this template by going to the following website:
https://secure.pixelminegames.com/BugReport.aspx. To reach this page, log in to the
Secure Site, c lickonthe “Ga mes” tab, and then look in the bottom left corner for the
“Report a Bug” link. Make sure you have chosen the Ashen Empires project from the
dropdownlist.
Allofthereportedbugsgotoabugdatabase.TheDEVteamusesthisdatabasetokeep
trackofalltheexistingbugsandallthefixestheyhavedone.Furthermore,playerscan
uset he"TechnicalIssuesandBugs"sectiono ft heforumstodiscussnonabusablebugs
andproblems.Playersshou ldneverpostanyabusablebugsont heforums. Instead,use
thebugreporting template andPMor page a GM asso onaspossible. Abusing a bug
whileplayingisgroundsfo rsuspension,sopleasedo notabuseanybug.
Thedeveloperteamworkscontinuouslyonfixingexistingbugsandaddingnewfeatures.
Attimes, some bugs can be fixed"on the fly". In that  case, a developer can fix a bug
withoutbringingdowntheservers.Themajorityofthebugfixesgetimplementedduring
scheduledupdatesorpatches.Inmostcases,theDEVteamwillannouncethedateand
approximatetimeofupdatesandpatchesontheforumsinordertogiveever yoneafair
warningaheadoftime.Alistofallt hefixedbugsisusuallypostedinthe"GameUpdates
&Patches"sectionofthe forumsaftereachupdateorpatch.Thishelpsplayerskeeptrack
ofwhatwasfixedandwhatisstillbugged.
54
8. Combat
Oneoftheeasiestwaysofmakingyourselfintoaheroistohuntmonsters.Butcombat
isn’tlimitedtojust monsters.Sometimes,you mayfaceotherplayersa ndwillneedto
defend yourself. In Ashen Empires, combat is broken down into three major  forms.
Eachhasitsadvantagesanddisadvantagesanditisworthtakingthetimetolearnalittle
abo uteachwa y.Ifyouareanewplayer,wesuggesttakingthetimetofindoutwhich
styleofcombatsuitsyouthemost.
9.1 MeleeCombat
Often referred to as the skills of a Warrior, Melee combat
putsyouupcloseandpersonalwithyouropponent. InAshen
Empire s,  melee combat takes many forms with a  variety of
weapons.Someweaponsarefastandlightwhileothersmay
requiretwohandstowield.Whicheverform ofmeleecombat
you choose,all servethesamepurposeanddo it well.You
willstrikedownyourenemy. 
Meleesk illsare most affectedbyyourSTRENGTH. Placing yourorbs instrengthwill
allowyoutodomoredamagewithyourweapon.Strengthalsoaffectsyouraccuracywith
ameleeweapon.Asyouwillmostoftenbethepersondoingthefront linedamage,yo u
shouldprobablyalsoinvestsomeofyourorbsintoCONSTITUTIONforincreasedhealth
andstaminaregeneration.
Meleecombat is broken down into  six categories, each describinga particular type of 
weapon:
9.1.1 SmallBlades
Small blades include daggers, great daggers, small and regular stilettos, poignards,
falchions,andsome smallswords.Most small blades do piercingdamageandare very
fast ,butdolightdamage.
9.1.2 LargeBlades
Largebladesincludeswords,great swords,bastardswords,sabers,rapiers,shortswords,
andeven a fewgolden swords.Withthee xceptionofGreat andBastard Swords,large
blades are most oftenwieldedwitha s hield and do a good amount of cutting damage.
Great and Bastard swords are twohanded, and while slower t han the onehanded
varieties,oftendothemostdamageinasingleblow.
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9.1.3 Axes
AxesinAshenEmpiresincludehatchets,waraxes,battleaxes,greataxes,po leaxes,and
even double axes. The lighter axes are onehanded, quick, a nd can do a pretty good
amountofdamage.Butmostmastersoftheaxepr eferthesheerpowero fthetwohanded
varieties,suchasagreataxeoradoubleaxe.Axesdolargea mountsofcuttingdamage,
butare generallyslowerthanlargeblades.
9.1.4 BluntWeapons
Bluntweaponsincludemaces,flails,morningstars,clubs,greatclubs,andmauls.Most
bluntweaponsareonehanded,whilethemostpowerfularealmostalwaystwohanded. 
Bluntweapons,asyouprobablyhaveguessed,dobluntdamage.
9.1.5 Polearms
Polearmsincludestaffs,bat tlestaffs,spears,glaives,andlances.Manypolearmsaretwo
handed, though some are onehanded(which usually have theword "bound" in them).
Most polearms do blunt damage, though some spears and lances do piercing damage.
Becausetheyaretwohanded,theyaresometimesslowerthanthelighterbluntweapons.
However,Polearmshavetheuniqueabilitytohitanenemyfrom2squaresawayinstead
of1square.
9.1.6 UnarmedCombat
When all else fails, there's always your bare hands. Unarmed combat is based on a
combination of your strength, dexterity, and skill. There are a few weapons made
specifically to help you fig ht unarmed, but you do not need them in order to  fight.
Unarmedcombatdoesblunt da mage.
Youcanincreaseyourskillinanyof thesecategoriesbysimplypickingupaweaponand
doingdamagewithit .Asyoursk illlevelsincrease, mo reweaponswill beavailablefor
youtouse.
Keepinmindthatanytimeyoudie,yourequippedweaponwillsuffersomedegradat ion.
Thismeansthat your weapon will hit for  less damage, be lessaccurate,and be slower
thanitwouldnormally be. Thisdoesnotapplyifyouarenotusingaweapon.
Theeffectsofdegradationaccumulatewitheverydeath. Inordertocanceltheseeffects, 
youmustrepairyourweapons. Keepyourweaponsrepairedatalltimest ogetthemost
outof combat.
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9.2 RangedCombat
CommonlyreferredtoasArchers,characterswhotrainthemselvesinrangedcombatare
abletodogreatdamagefromadistance. Rangedco mbatinAshenEmp irespossessesa
uniquedynamic. Archersrelyonacombination oftheirweaponsandthetypeoftheir
ammunition. Withtherightcombinations,anarchercanbeaverypowerfulally,a bleto
drawtheattentionoftheenemyw hileprovidinglethalforce.
Rangedskillsare mo staffectedbyyourDEXTERITY. Dext erity notonly affects how
often you can hit your target,but also how much damage your bow will inflict . Since
monsters tend not to stand idle while being pelted with arrows, you might want to
consider spending time d eveloping your CONSTI TUTION as well. Not only will this
providemorehitpoints,butitwillalsohelpyoutakelessdamageandregeneratestamina
quicker.
InAshenEmpires,therangeofyourweaponistheentirescreen. Ifyoucanseeit,you
canhitit. However,ifthereissomethingbetweenyouandyourtarget(suchasarock,a
tree,amountain,awall,et c.),youwo n’tbeabletoattackyourtarget.Youwillneeda
clearlineofsightinordertobeginanattack. Therefo re,it'softenrecommendedthatyou
trytoputasmuchdistancebetweenyouandyourtargetbeforebeginningyourattack.
Ranged shots are also often blocked from melee distance (1 square). As yo ur skills
improve,yourenemieswon'tbeabletoblockasmanyshots. Asyouincreaseyourskills,
youwillbeabletohandlefacetofaceconfrontationsbetter.
RangedCombatisbrokendownintothreeseparateskills:
9.2.1 Bows
Bows come in a variety of materials and sizes. Fromthecommon woo den bow to the
more powerful steel bow, different bows have different firing speeds and damage
capabilities. Some bows even have unique names, made from mo nster parts or some
othermagicalqualities.
Bowsfirearrowsasammunitionandtendtodoafairamountofdamageatafastpace.
Arrowscomeindifferenttypesanddodifferentkindsofdamage. Theyinclude:
· Arrows—A generic, regular arrow. Adds +1 to  damage of the bow. No other
specialproperties.
· ElfinArrows—A magical,elfmadearrow. Adds+5 totheda mageof the bow
and+5 to hit. Adds+20 toyour bowskill(thoughthiscannotbeusedto equip
higherlevelbows).
· BroadheadArrows—Anarrowthatdoesblunt damage.Adds +6tothedamageof
thebowand+10tohit.
· Piercing Arrows—An arrow designed to  pierce. Adds +7 to the damage of the
bowand+20tohit .
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· FlameArrows—Anarrowsetonfirethatdoesmagicalbodydamage.Adds+8t o
thedamageofthebowand+25tohit.
· FrostArro ws—Anarrowwiththemagicoficethatdoesnaturedamage.Adds+9
tothedamageof thebowand+25tohit.
· DiseasedArrows*—Anarrowseethingwithdisease.Adds+10to thedamageof
thebowand+10tohit.
· PoisonArrows*—Anarrowseethingwithpoison.Adds+10tothedamageofthe
bowand+8tohit .
*Thesearrowsdon’tinflictpoisonordiseasestatus.Theysimplychangethetypeof
damageinflicted.
9.2.2 Crossbows
Crossbows, like bows, also come in a variety of materials and sizes. As your  skill
increases, you will be able to progress from Light Crossbows to the more powerful
HeavyCrossbows.Crossbowsuseboltsasammunitionandtendtodogreatamountsof
damageataslowpace.Boltscomeindifferenttypesanddodifferentkindsofdamage.
Theyinclude:
· BoltsAregularcrossbowbolt.Adds+1tothedamageofthecrossbow. Noother
specialproperties.
· BroadheadBoltsAboltthatdoesbluntdamage.Adds+6tothedamageofthe
crossbowand+10tohit.
· Piercing Bolts   A bolt designed to pierce. Adds +7 to the damage of the
crossbowand+20tohit.
· AcidBolt sAboltcoat edwithpoisonousacidanddoesSouldamage. Adds+8
tothedamageofthecrossbowand+25tohit . Adds+10toyourcrossbowskill
(thought hiscannotbeusedtoequiphigherlevel crossbows).
· FrostBoltsAboltwit hthemagicofice. Thisdoesnaturedamageandadds+9
tothecrossbow'sdamageand+25tohit.
· DiseasedBolts*—Aboltseet hingwithdisease.Adds+10tothedamageofthe
crossbowand+10tohit.
· Poison Bolts*—A bolt seething with poison. Adds +10 to the damage of the
crossbowand+8tohit.
*Theseboltsdon’tinflictpoisonordiseasestatus.Theysimplychangethetypeof
damageinflicted.
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9.2.3 ThrownWeapons
ThrownWeaponsare weaponsthatrely o n your ownstrengthto do damage. InAshen
Empire s,  thrown weapons include slings and staff slings. These require pebbles as
ammunition.Pebblescomeintwot ypesofammoatthistime.Theyinclude:
· Pebbles  A regular pebble made from crushed rock. These do blunt damage.
Adds+1totheda mageofyourthrownweapo n.Nootherspecial properties.
· ObsidianSeekersAspecialpebblemadefromcoat ingobsidianinacid.Adds+5
tothedamageofyourthrownweapo nand+15tohit.
Youcanincreaseyourskillinanyof thesecategoriesbysimplypickingupaweaponand
doingdamagewithit .Asyoursk illlevelsincrease, mo reweaponswill beavailablefor
youtouse.
9.3 InflictingPoisonandDisease
Melee and Ranged weapons users have an ace up
their sleeves when it comes to their weapons. You
cancauseextradamageifyoupoisonordiseaseyour 
weapon befo re attacking with it. These effects are
onlytemporary,butsometimestheaddedeffectsare
wellworthit.
In order to poison or disease your weapon, you will need to find a Poison or Disease
potion.Theseareusua llydroppedbymonsters.However,askilledalchemistcanoften
makeamorepowerfulversionthanthoseyouwouldnormallyfindwhilehunting.Click
onthepotionandthenclickontheweaponyouwanttoenhance.Youwillseeamessage
inyo urchatwindowindicatingthatyouhavepoisonedtheweapon.
Whilepoisoned, your attackshavea chance to inflict poison or disease st atus on your
target. Players suffering from poison o r disease cannot regenerate stamina or health.
They also suffer continuous damage over time. Poison and disease can be cured by
drinking CurePoison andCure Diseasepotions,orby casting the“Cure”or “Cleanse”
spells.
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9.4 Magic
EventhoughAshenEmpiresallowsyoutogainperfectioninall fourschoolsofmagic,
it’s besttotackle o neatatimeu ntil yougetcomfort ablewiththegame.Her e is some
basicinformationaboutthefourschoolsofmagic.
BodyMagic isthepreferredskillforhealers.
MindMagic providessomeofthemostpowerfulattackspells.
NatureMagichelpswithcraftingandfarming.
SoulMagicisusedtocausedamageoveraperiodoft ime.
Note:Theabovecategorizationisnotreallycomplete.Forexample,evenBodyMagic,
whichisusedbyhealers,providesattackspells.Likewise,NatureMagicofferssome
healingspellsandattackspells.Andallclassesofmagichaveacertainsetofspellsthat
areusedbycraftsmen.Ifyouarehavingtroubletodecide,thenyoucanpressthe<V>
keytoflipthroughthespellbook,andhavealookatallspellsingame.Inthebeginning,
however,youwillonlybeabletocastthefirst45spellsoftheclassyouchoose.
9.4.1 SpellCasting
In order to cast spells, you first need to equip a
Wand or MageStaff. The nextstep isto equip
anyoneofthefour classrunes.Todoso,pressthe
‘C’keytoopentheRuneWindow.Nowdragthe
rune from your backpack int o t he circular rune
slotinsidetheRuneWindow.
Onceyouaredonewithplacingther uneintothe
runeslot, you need to set a hotkey bar with the
spells you wishto  use. To dothis, pressthe‘1’
key above the letter keyson your keyboard; this
opens the first of nine hotkey bar s that are
available to you. Now open the spell book by
eitherpressing‘V’,orbyclickingthe purplebook
insidetheRuneWindow.
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Flipthroughthespell book,andfindthefirstpagefortheclassofmagicthatyouhave
cho sen.Dragthecolorediconsintotheemptyslotsinyourhotkeybar.
Note:Youcanflipthroughthespellbookbyclickingthefoldedcornersatthetopofthe
book.Clickingthetopoftheredribbontakesyoubacktothecategorylist.Furthermore,
youcanclickonacategorytextinordertodirectlyjumptothecorrespondingpage.
You canactivatea spell byclicking thecorresponding slot in
your hotkey bar. Alternatively, you canuse the function keys
‘F1’through‘F12’.
Onceyou haveactivatedaspell,youwillseeeitheraredora
greenglowaroundyourcharacter.Aredglo wmeansyouare
abo uttocastanoffensivespell,whileagreenglowmeansyou
areabouttocastadefensiveorbeneficialspell.
Trytofindaspellthatmakesyour c haracterglowred,andthen
findamonsteryouwis htoattack.Clickthemonstertoattackit
withtheactivespell.
Mageryisamongthemo stcomplexskillsinAshenEmpires. It
requiressomegettingusedto,butatsomepointrathersooner
thanlater  youwillfindittobeveryeffective.
9.5 Runes
Runes are magic g lyphs that feed magic energy t o mage
weapons.Withoutthisenergy,youcannotcastanyspells. A
rune's energy is limited. Some of that  energy is used with
every spell you cast, unt il theenergyisdepletedandtherune
disappears fromtheRune W indow. To continue casting, you
havetoplaceanewruneintotheruneslot.
Mostof thespells in AshenEmpiresrequire more than oneruneandare referredto as
multirunespells.Themostpowerfulmagicr equirestheuseof7runes.Inordertocast
suchspells, youneeda mageweaponwithenoughruneslots.Youmighthavenoticed
thattheRuneWindowhasenoughspaceforupto7runeslots.However,theseslotswill
notbeusedunlessyourweaponhasthatnumberofslotsormo re.
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9.5.1 TypeofRunes
Runes c an be broken down into two categories, the class r unes, and the nonclass or
secondaryrunes:
ClassRunes
BodyMagic isthepreferredskillforhealers.
MindMagic providessomeofthemostpowerfulattackspells.
NatureMagichelpswithcraftingandfarming.
SoulMagicisusedtocausedamageoveraperiodoft ime.
NonClass/SecondaryRunes
RuneofMalenox RuneofIsos*
RuneofUlthien RuneofMallith*
RuneofAgon RuneofVeldan*
RuneofKut hos RuneofAdregard*
RuneofSabal
*Theserunescannotbeboughtinshops,unlessaplayersoldthemtotheshop.Youcan
findtheserunesfrommonstersortheycanbecreatedbyplayerswiththerunecrafting
skill.
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9.6 RunePlacement
Inordertocastanyspells,youneedexact lyoneclassruneinthefirstrune
slot.Youcannotequipmorethanoneclassruneatatime,whichmeans
thatyoucannotusemultipleclassesofmagicatthesametime.Youca n
onlycastspellsofthec lassthatisreprese ntedbytheclassruneyouhave
equipped.
Tocastmu ltirunespells,youneedtoaddnonclassrunestotheruneslo ts,
butyoucannothaveidenticalrunesinmultipleslots.Forexample,ifyou
wishtocasta6runespell,thenyou needoneclassrune,a nd5different
nonclassrunes.
Note: You can replace equipped runes with other runes. If you do this,
thenthe old rune willbe destroyedand replaced bythe new one. Also, runesareused
fromtop tobottom.Forexample,if youhave7runeslots withrunesin them, and you
casta5runespell,thenonlythefirst5runeswillloseenergy.Becauseofthis,itmakes
senseto placethemorevaluablerunesinthebottomslots.
9.7 Intelligence,RuneSkills,andStamina
Intelligence is a mage's primary at tribute. You can see yo ur current intelligence inthe
paperdoll window. Intelligence has mu ltiple effects. First, it increases the amount of
damageyoucaninflictwithharmfulspells,anditalsoincreasestheamountyoucanheal
for. Secondly, it increases thesuccessrate ofca sting spells. Finally, it increases your
staminapool.
Every time you cast  a spell you use some stamina. You cannot cast a spe ll without
stamina.Theamountofstaminayoulosediffersfromspelltospell. Ifyoudon’thave
eno ughstaminatocastaparticularspell,thespelliconinyourhotkeybarwillturngray. 
Onceoutofstamina,youwillhavetoregenerateit.Thereareanumberofwaysyo ucan
dothis.Youcanrestandletyourstaminaregeneratenaturally.YoucanuseaStamina
Potionandregainsomestaminaimmediately.Thereisashorttimelimitafteryouusea
stamina potion before you can use another one, so be careful. Also, you can regain
staminaifanotherplayercaststheRefreshspellonyou.
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Most of the time, you will regenerate your stamina by s imply waiting for it.  In such
casesmakesurethatyoudeactivatethe currentspellandthatyouarenotinattackmode.
Yourstaminawillregeneratemoreslowlyifyouareinattackmodeorifaspellisactive.
Note: Your current stamina is shown as a percentage value in the purple bar on your
screen.
Thereisaskillforeachclassofmagic.Youcanlevelthoseskillsbysimplyusingthem.
For instance, you level the Body skill by casting body spells. Your skill level greatly
affectsthesuccessrateforcastingspells.Thehigheryourskillis,thelessyourcasting
attemptswillfizzle.Inadditiontothis,skillsdeterminethedurationofbuffs*.
* Buffs are spells that temporarily change a character's abilities. The Mind spell
"CerebralThought",forexample,temporarilyincreasesyourintelligence.Theduration
ofthespell dependsonyourMindskilllevel.
9.8 MageWeapons
Everyweaponthathasruneslots is considereda mage
weapon,andthegameprovidesmanydifferentt ypesof
those.Mostofthemarestavesandwands. 
Eachmageweapon hasa certain number ofrune slots.
Therefore, if you wish to cast multirune spells, then
you need to have a mage weapon with enough rune
slots.
The Mage Weapons skill is importantfor Mages, but
notevery mageweapon makesuseofthisskill. Some
wands only have an intelligence requirement, for
example.
Youcanincreaseyourskillinmageweaponsinoneoftwoways.Youwillautomatically
gainskillas youc astspe lls. Or youcanattackdir ectlywiththeweaponbygoing into
attackmodeandusingyourst affa sameleeweapon.Keepinmindthatonlystaffscan
beusedasmeleeweapons.
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9.9 Miscellaneous
Herearesomefinalnotesaboutt hemagicsyst em.
9.9.1 Reagents
Somespellsaresopowerfulthatrunesalonearenotenoughtocastthem.Forexample,
BlessingofArna,aspellwhichfullyrestoresaplayer'shealth,requiresanIdolofArnato
be cast. To cast this  and other spells, you need to carry the correct reagents in your
backpack(mustnotbeinabaginyour backpack,butinanemptybackpackslot).You
needonereagentpercast,whichmeansthatreagent sdon'tlastforever.However,these
reagentsdon’tgetusedifyoufailcastingthespell.
9.9.2 SpellRequirements
Beneatheachspellinthespellbookyouwillfindtwonumbers(lik e
2/10).Thesenumbershaveanimportant meanin g;int hisparticular
case,the“2”stand sforthenumberofrunesthatarerequiredtocast
thespell.T he“10”standsfortherequiredskilllevel. Forexample,
HolyWordisaBo dyspellthat requires2runesandlevel10Bodytocastthespell.
Ifyousatisfytherequirementsforaspell,butstillcannotusethespell,thenchancesare
thatyouneedreagentsforthespell.
9.9.3 Checked —NPConly
Within the Rune Window you will find a checkbox
named “Checked—NPC only”. T his is an additional
targetprotectionforcastingspells.Whenitischeckedit
means that only NonPlayer Characters can be attacked
withmagicspells.Ifyoutrytocastan offensivespellon
ano therplayerwhilethisboxischecked,youwillreceive
a message that you cannot  cast the spell on a party
member.
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9.10 AdvancedCombatSkills
The“Talazar'sRevenge”expansionaddssixnewskillsthatareusefulincombat.Unlike
most other skills, these skills cannot be trained by conventional means. You need to
spendExperiencePoolontheseskillstolevel them.Theskillleveldetermineshowo ften
thesespecialskickin.
Advanced combat skills generally fall into  oneof threecategor ies. Inthedescriptions
below, the red skills are those that generally benefit Melee and Ranged attacks. The
green skills are more often sought after by Magic users. Finally, t he blue skills are
defensiveskillsandbenefitallclassesequally.
· Critical Hit—Your attacks will do 150% the damage it would have done under
normalcircumstances.
· Double Attack—In a single hit, you will perfo rm two attacks. This is especially
hand y as the skill improves. This stacks with Critica l hit, meaning that you havea
chancetoperfo rmtwoCriticalHitsinasingleattack!
· Dodge—I ncreasesyourchancetododgeanattack.Dodgedattacksdonodamageto
you.
· Block—Increasesyourchancetoblockanattackwithashield.Blockedattacksdono
damagetoyou.
· CriticalBlast—Youroffensivespells willdo 150%thedamage it wo uldhavedone
undernormalcircumstances.
· CriticalHealYourhealingspellsandFirstAidskill willheal150%thedamagethey
wouldhavedoneundernormalcircumstances.
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9. TradeSkills
Tradeskillsformaninterestingalternativetohuntingmonsters.InAshenEmpires,you
havethechancetomakeyourownweapons,armor,andtools.Tradeskillsrewardboth
successand failure.Soevenifyouaren'tgoodataparticulartradeskill,you havet he
opportunitytoadvance.Ifyou'regoalistomakemoney,provideitemsfor yourfriends,
orevenjusttoplayinastressfreeenvironment,considerthetradeskillsasasourceof
fun.
Aquicknote:Bydefault,theoptionof“SingleItemUsage”istur nedon.Thisrestricts
some actions toonly effectingone item in a stack at a time. For example, if you are
millingastackof100logs,youwillmilleachlogoneatatime.Ifyoufindthistooslow
(or if you have a LOT of items you want to process), consider disabling single item
usage.Presstheescapekey.Clickonthe“GameOptions”button.Ontheleftsideof
the window, clear the check mark beside “Enable Single It em Usage”. You will now
processstacksofitemsby5insteadof1.
10.1 CraftingKnowledgeTest
Occasionally, you will see a window pop up in t he
middleofthescreenwhile youarecraft ing.Thisis
called the Crafting Knowledge Test. It is there to
prevent automated progr ams from allowing players
to gain experience while not at the computer. The
test is pretty simple and will appear less ofte n the
moreyoutakeit.
When t he window appears, you will see a row of
pictures at the top and a row of pictures at the
bottom.  C lick on the pictures at the bottom of the
windowthatmatchthepicturesinthetoprow.
Ifyoumessup,youwillhavetowait5minutesbefor eyoucancontinueyourtr ades.So
beverycareful whereyouclick.
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10.2 Alchemy
Alchemyistheprocessof turningrawmaterials intosomet hingmor evaluable.InAshen
Empire s, alchemyisusedtocreatevariouspotionswithdifferenteffects.Alchemyisa
trade skill that belongs to Magery so it's only f itt ingthat aspiring magic users at  least
dabble in this art. However, it is a difficult art to learn and even more so to master,
borrowingit'sa bilitiesfromhunting,carpentry,andfarmingalike.
Alchemy is a lot like Mixing in that you'll need a recipe in order to make somet hing
useful.YoucanfindalistofrecipesontheMage'sForumandtheCrafter'sForum. The
recipesarelevelspecific,sost artwithsmallthingsthatrequirelowlevelingredients (bat
ears, scorpion stings) and work your way up. Mo st recipes for healing and curative
potionsrequire youtohave Enchanted Bloodroot. Bloodroot isgrown by farmersand
thenenchantedusingtheEnchantFloranaturespell.
Onceyouhaveyourrecipe,you'llneedamortar.MortarsaremadeoutofFineWood,a
resour ce that can only be obtained o nce you have level30 Lumberjack ing. You'll also
needaskilledcarpentertomakeoneforyou.Placeyouringredientsinyourmortarand
thenusethemortaronaboilingcauldron.BoilingCauldronsareusuallyfoundinmagic
shops. IftheCauldronis not boiling,click onitto setit boiling.If you are u nableto
makethepotion,youwillreceivethemessage“Youarenotskilledenoughtomake[your
potion]”(where[your potion]willbe replaced bythe one you'retryingtomake).This
meansyouneedtolevelup somemorebeforeattemptingtherecipeagain.Ifyouareable
to make the potion, in a few seconds you'll receive either a message stating that you
failed(“Youarenotskilledenough.”Technically,youare.)oryousucceededinbrewing
a potion. You can brew up to five potions per attempt, depending on your sk ill level.
10.3 Agriculture:
Foraging,Planting,Harvesting
Agricultureisthefarmer'strade.Withoutfarmers,cookswouldnotbeabletomake their
foods,brewerswo uldnothavetheiringredientsfo rbeer,tailorswouldnothavecotton
(ormalacinth)tomakeclothesfrom,andalchemistswouldbehardputtofindagood
supplyofbloodroot.Itisanimportantskillsetandonethatrequir eslittletonocombat.
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10.3.1 Foraging
Foragingisused togatherseedsforfarming.Therearealotofseedstofindandalotof
places to look for them. To forage, you will need a foraging stick. Place it in your
backpack anduse it onsmallshrubs, grasses,a nd flowers. If you r eceivethe message
“Youcannotfo ragehere.”,thenyouarenotclickingontherightsquare.Ifyoureceive
themessage“Thereisnothingtoforagehere.”,thenthespothasnomoreseedstogive.
Eachplant canbeforagedmorethanonceuntil“Thereisnothingtoforagehere.”appears
in your chat window. You can forage up to a maximum of 5 seeds at o nce.
AsyougainskillinForaging,youwillbeableto foragemagicalseedsandcomponents.
Atlevel25, youcanforageMalacinthseedwhichisusedformakingmagicalclothing.
At level 45, you can for age Dolas Fern (if you have theTalazar's Revenge expansion)
whichisusedtoimbuemalacinthclot hformorepowerfulmagicalclothing.Atlevel70,
youwillbea bletoforageBitterwoodAshandMandrakeSeedsfromtheplantsthatgrow
inLava flow areas(likeHellandScorchedIsland). Theseare usedto create powerful
potionsus ingalchemy.
Magicalitemsthat boostyourforagingskillinclude:
ForagingSmock
HeavyForagingStick
EnchantedForagingStick
DiviningRod(tellsyouhowmanytimesyoucanforageaparticulararea)
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10.3.2 Planting
Onceyouhaveyourseeds,youwillneedtoplantthem. Forthis,youwillneedashovel
andafarmingfield.Gotoafarmingfield(whichlookslikeabunchofrowsinabitof
dirt)anduseyourshoveltodigahole inoneoftherows.Then,clickontheseedyo u
wishtoplant.Finally,clickontheho leyoujustdug.Ifyousucceed,you'llreceivethe
message “A seed has been planted.” If you fail, then you'llreceive the message “You
cannotseemtogett heseedplanted.”
Magicalitemsthat boostyourplantingskillinclude:
Farmer'sAlmanac(onlyhasto beinyourbackpacktoreceivetheboost)
10.3.3 Harvesting
Mostplantscan be pickedby usingthe space bar while standing next to it. However,
thereareafewplantsthatrequireyoutouseascytheinordertoreaptherewards.These
are your basic “grain”cropswhichareBarley, Wheat, Sugar, andCinnamon. Wecall
them grains because (with the exception of barley) they can be milled into other
component s used for other skills (mainly for cooking and brewing). Successfully
harvested crops will yield exactly one bundle or bushel of your crop alo ng with a few
seeds. Grain crops are excellent ways of making money in the beginning.
Magicalitemsthat boostyourharvestingskillinclude:
Farmer'sAlmanac(onlyhasto beinyourbackpacktoreceivetheboost)
ScytheofUlthien
10.4 Blac ksmithing:
Mining,Smelting,IronForging,IronRepair
BlacksmithingisastapleamongmanyMMOsandformsoneofthemostfamiliarlinkst o
tradeskillingforallnewplayers.InAshenEmpires,Blacksmithingisbrokendowninto
three different steps. Once you've gone through the process, you'll find that as a
Blacksmithyoucancreatesomeverypowerfulwe aponsandarmorforyo urselfandyour
friends.Onlyalittleamountofcombatisinvolved,althoughathigherlevelsitmaytake
ateamtoply yourtr ade.
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10.4.1 Mining
Therawmat erialforblacksmithingisIro nOre.Andtheonlywaytogetitistominefor 
itfromthero cksandmountainsoftheland.Tostart,you'llneedap ickaxe.Takeyour
pickaxetoamountainorboulder.ClickonthePickaxeandthenclickonthemountainor
boulder. You'll know if you aren't in the rig ht place if you receive the message “You
cannotminethere.” Iftheareahasnoironoretooffer,you'llreceive themessage“There
isnothingtominehere.”If,however,thereissomethingtominethereyouwillbeginto
mine.Inafewseconds,you'llreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryouhavesucceeded
infindingsomeoreorwhetheryoufailedandfoundnousefulmaterial.Youcanmineup
to5Ironoreatatime.
Skilledminersareabletominemagicaloresfo rmorepowerfulweaponsandarmor.At
level30,you’llbeabletominethralleniteore.Atlevel45,youwillbeabletominethe
redcrystals inthe lava flowareas(such a s Hell orScorchedI sland) for sulfur andthe
occasionalBrimid ianore.Atlevel70,youwillbeabletominetheblackcrystalsinthe
lavaflowareasfor obsidianandtheoccasionalTaleniteore.Bothsulfurandobsidianare
usedinalchemy,sosavethoseifyouknowagoodalchemist.
If you have the Talazar's Revenge expansion pack,then you can mine three additional
typesofore.Silverore,Goldore,andDarkorearethreetypesofmetalusedinjewelry
making.Silveroremakesupthebasisofjewelrymaking,whileGoldoreandDarkore
arebothusedtomakestro nger,magicaljewelry.Goldorecanbeminedatlevel45and
Darkorecanbeminedatlevel70.
Magicaltoolsthatincreaseyourminingskillinclude:
StonebiterPick
Miner’sHelm
OrcMiningHelm
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10.4.2 Smelting
Once you have your  ore, it needsto be smelted into  ingots before it can be made into
useableitems.Todothis,youwillneedtofindaforge.
Onceyouhavefoundaforge,clickonthebellowsto lightit.Thenclickontheironore
youwishtosmeltanduseitont helitforge.Inafewseconds,you'llreceivethemessage
“Youhavesmelted1ironor e.”ifyousucceededor“Youhaveruinedthematerial”ifyou
failed.Asyoudevelopyo ursmeltingskills,youwillfaillessandless.Itisgoodadvice
tosaveyourmagicaloresforahighlysk illedsmelter.
You can choose whether you want to smelt 1 or e or 5 or e at a time by enabling or
disablingsing leitemusage,locatedintheGameOptionsmenu.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour smeltingskillinclude:
Smelter'sGloves
10.4.3 IronForging
Nowthatyouhavetheingotstoworkwith,you canstartmakingforged items.Todo
this, youwillneedablacksmith'shammer.Withyouringotsinyour backpack,findan
anvil(usuallylocatednearaniro nforge).Whilestandingnexttotheanvil,clickonyour
blacksmith'shammerandthenonyo urironingots.Alistofitemsthatyoucancraftw ill
appear. Clickontheitem youwishto forge. After a fewseconds, you will r eceivea
messagewhetheryou havesucceededor  failedincraftingthe it em.The newlycrafted
itemappearsina nemptyspotinyourbackpack,somakesureyouhavesomeroom.If
youdon'thaveenoughroom,thecraftingmenuwillnotcomeupuntil you makesome
room.
CraftingmagicalweaponsfromBrimidianandTaleniteingotsaredifferent.Youcannot
craftitemsoutoftheseusingasimpleanvil.Tomake thingsfromBrimidianingots,you
willneedtofindanobelisk.Obelisksareusuallyinthenooksofmountainvalleysoron
specialislands.TomakethingsfromTaleniteingots,youw illneedtofindaRuneSpire.
RuneSpiresaredangerousplacesusuallysurro undedbyhighlevelDemons,HellSpawn,
and other nasty monsters. When making things from Talenite, make sure you have a
team with you to bring your freshly forged weapons and armors back in one piece.
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Magicalitemsthat increaseyour IronForgingskillinclude:
Veldan’sHammer
Anvil ofVeldan
10.4.4 IronRepair
AgoodoptionforrepairingyourironormetallicgearistouseyourskillinIronRepair.
Forthis,youwillneedablacksmith'shammer.Unlessyouaretryingtorepairmagical
gear,youdonotneedtobeablacksmithtorepairinthismanner.
Clickonyourhammerandthenuseitontheitemyouwanttorepair.Iftheitemcannot
berepaired,youwillreceivethemessage“Thisitemcannot berepairedwiththat.”Ifyou
canrepa irt heit em,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceive
amessagetellingwhetheryouhavesucceededinrepairingtheitemorwhetheryouhave
failedanddamageditalittlemore.Donotworryaboutfailure.Thiscanbefixedwith
more repairing. Keep repairing the item u ntil you receive the message “This is not in
needofrepair.”
To repair magical items using iron repa ir, you will need to use Veldan's Ha mmer.
Monsters like Termigon Warriors and Shamblers are known to drop these as treasure.
Youwillneedtohave20ironforginginordertouseVeldan'sHammer,sodevelopyour
skillsasablacksmithifyouwishtorepairyouritemsinthismanner.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour IronRepairskillinclude:
Veldan’sHammer
10.4.5 IronSalvaging
IfyouhavetheTalazar'sRevengeexpansionpack,youcansalvagemetallicitemsforthe
ingotsthey'remadeoutof.Thisisespeciallyusefulforthosewho wanttoconservetheir
ironingotsorobtain magicalmetal ingo tswithoutgoingthroughtheprocessofmining
andsmeltingthem.
Tosalvagemeta lit ems,youwillneedmetalsalvagingtools. Clickonthe metalitemyou
wish to salvage. These are usually swords and heavy armors. If the item cannot be
salvaged,youwillreceivethemessage“Youcannotusethosetoolso nthat.”Ifyoucan
salvagetheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceivea
message telling you whether you have succeede d in recovering some ingots or if you
havedestroyedtheitem.Allsalvageditemsaredestroyedafteryourattemptsobevery
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careful about what you want to salvage. Powerful items that require high levels will
oftentimesg iveyoumultipleingots.Tosalvagemagicalitems,youwillneedVe ldan's
Tongs.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour IronSalvagingskillinclude:
Veldan’sTongs
10.4.6 GoldRepair
Theonlywaytorepairgoldenarmor s andweaponsisbyus ingthisskill.Goldrepairwill
repairGoldenArmor,Goldenbows,Goldenshields,Goldenswords,andsome jewelry.
Tostart,you'llneedasetofGoldsmithtools.
GoldrepairworksmuchlikeIronrepair.ClickontheGoldsmithtoolsandthenclickon
theitemyouwishtorepair .Iftheitemcannotberepaired,youwillreceive themessage
“This item c annot be repaired with that.” If youcanrepair the item, you will begin to
hammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceiveamessagetellingwhetheryouhave
succeededinrepairingtheitemorwhetheryouhavefailedanddamageditalittlemore.
Donotworryaboutfailure.Thiscanbefixedwithmorerepairing.Keeprepairingthe
itemuntilyoureceivethemessage“T hisisnotinneedofrepair.”
10.5 Cooking:
Mixing,Baking,Roasting,Brewing
EatingfoodinAshenEmpiresprovidesbonusessuchasextrastrength,extrahealth,and
evenstaminaandhealthregeneration.Cookingisagoodsupportskilltoconsiderifyou
likeremember ingrecipes.Bestofall,there's hardlyanycombatinvolved.
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10.5.1 Mixing
Mixingisarecipetradeskill. Thatmeansinordertomakeanythinguseful,youneedto
knowtherightrecipeinordertomaketherightproducts.Youcanfindalistofrecipes
onso meofthespoilersitesalo ngwithwhatyouwillneed.Allrecipesarecombinedina
mixing bowl a nd stirred witha spoon. So you willat leastneeda mixing bowlanda
mixingspoon.Also,buyyourselfabucketandamilkbottlesincea lltherecipesrequire
oneofthetwo liquids.
Aquick noteaboutmeasuring: Alltherecipescall foronecupportions(i.e.1cupof
flour mixedwith1cupofwatermakesplainbread).Allbagsofingredients(flour,sugar,
and cinnamon)areexactlyonecup.Abucketholdsexactlyfourcupsofwater.Amilk
bottle holds exactlyfourcupsof milk. You couldbuy a measuringcup andpour your
ingredientsandliquidsintoameasuringcupbeforeyouputthemintoyourmixingbo wl
ifyoulike.Butknowingthiscan saveyoutheextrast eps.
Once you have your recipe, co mbine the ingredients in a mixing bowl. PLEASE BE
CAREFULTOREMEMBEREXACTLYWHATYOU'VEPUT INTOYOURMIXING
BOWLASTHEREISNOWAYTOFINDOUTONCETHEINGREDIENTSHAVE
GONEIN.Thisisveryimportant,asmanyacookhasruinedagood beef stewbyadding
too many potatoes and carrots. If you succeed, you will receive a message like “You
havemade1 breaddough.”Asyou improve,youwillget morethanonefooditemper
bowl(withamaximumof5).Ifyoufail,youwillreceiveamessagethatsays“Youare
notskillede nough.Youdestroythemixt ure.” Itdoesn'treallymeanyoucan'tmakethe
foodyouwant.Rather,it meansthatyoudidn'tmakeitthistime.Sotryagain.
Magicalitemsthat boostyourmixingskillinclude:
SilverSpoon
10.5.2 Baking
Onceyouhaveyourfoodproperlypreparedandmixed,you'llfindthatyoucan'tquiteeat
it. After a ll, who wants to eat plain bread dough or uncooked beef stew? Take these
partially finishedcreationsto alit oven. Iftheoven isn't lit ( Cold Oven),click onthe
oventolightit.Clickont heit emyouwishtobakeandthenclickontheo ven.Inafew
seconds,you'llhavepipinghotfoodthatyoucanservetofriends.
PiesandCakesrequire youtohaveacakeknifebeforeservingthem.Cakeknivescan
usually befoundinanygeneralstore(theonewiththepictureofa bag).Clickonthe
cakeknifeandthenclickonthepieorcakeyouwishtoslice.Piessliceintoe ightslices.
Cakessliceintotenslices.
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Wedding Cakes are made by bakingeach cake tier individually. Once you havethree
Wedding Cake Layers, click on one layer and then click on anot her layer to combine
them. Finally, use the remaining layer on the 2/3 finished wedding cake to make a
completeWeddingCake.Useacakeknifetoseparatet helayersforslicing.
Magicalitemsthat boostyourbakingskillinclude:
Chef'sHat
10.5.3 Roasting
Ifmixingisn'tyourthing,oryouwouldratherlimityourpantry tosomethingyouhadto
killbeforeyoucouldeatit,thenroastingisagooda lternative.Thereareafewcreatures
inthewildthatleavebehindmeatthat youcanroast.Theseincludespiders,snakes,bat s, 
bears, deer, rabbits, sheep,and wolverines. You couldalso try your luck at fishing or
oystering.OystersareTalazarRevengeitems.
Once you have your meat, take it to an ovenor start a campf ire using some k indling.
Clickonthemeatyouwishtoroast,thenontheovenorcampfireyouwishtoroastover.
Inafewseconds,you'llhavesomefoodtochowdownonforver ylittlepreparationtime.
Magicalitemsthat boostyourroast ingskillinclude:
Chef'sHat
10.5.4 Brewing
Brewing is an interesting skill and probably one of the most overlooked ones. An
accomplished brewercanmakethetastiestandmostpowerfulofbeers,ales,andstouts
thatyoufindinnearlyeverytavern.Brewingisanotherrecipetradeskillandrequir esa
fewmoretoolstogetitworking.
To start, you'll needa BrewingKettle which is found in most tavernstores.All beers
require sugar, hops, malt syrup, yeast, and water—particular flavors using varying
amounts andtypesofthese.Findingallthedifferentvarietiesofhops(bitterness,aroma,
and flavorhops)willrequireyouto tr avelbetweendifferentcities.Noonecitysellsa ll
threevarietiesof hops(atthemoment). Malt  syrupcanbe turned intoBarleyMaltor
WheatMaltbyaddingthegra indir ectlytothesyrup.Bothmaltsyrup andyeastpackets
areusuallyfoundinthesameshopsthatsellyourbrewkettles.
76
Brewingrequiresaspecificorderinthewayyouaddyouringredients.Tostart,firstadd
yourwater. Thenaddthehopsandmaltsyrup.Finally,addyoursugarandyeast.Once
alltheseingredientsarein,useyourbrewkettleonalitoven.Ifsuccessful,thebrewing
processwillstartandyouwillhaveakettlewithametalcaponit.Aftersometimehas
passed,youwillbetoldthatthebeerhasfinishedbrewing.Clickonthebrewkettleand
youwillreceive32bottlesofyourswillforyoureffort.Youcandrinkthese,givethem
tofriends,orsellthemtothelocaltavernfor atidyprofit!
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Brewingskillinclude:
DrinkingHorn
10.6 Jewelry:
JewelryMaking,JewelryRepair,JewelrySalvaging
Weapons andarmorprovidethe basis for allcombat.  Tools andresourcesprovide the
basisforallt radeskills. WhatJewelrydoesisoffertheplayer,whetherhunterorcrafter,
bonusesandabilitiestohelpintheirskills. JewelryinAshenEmp iresoffersplayersthe
chancetofinetunetheircharactersforanysituation. IfyouhavetheTalazar'sRevenge
expansion pack, yo u can even make your own jewelry! Whether you need extra
resistancetocombatdamageorabufftoaparticularstat,whattypeofjewelryyouwear
isoftenthefirstplacetoconsider. Thereisverylittlecombatinvolved,thoughjewelry
makingcloselyfollow s theartsoftheblacksmith.
10.6.1 JewelryMaking
JewelryMakingfo rmsthebasisoftheJewelryprofession.Butinordertomakejewelry,
you will first have to obt ain silver ingots. You can mine for silver in the Talazar's
Revengesnowcapped area. Silver or e comes from thedullgreen mountains(whereas
theregular grey mountainswill net you ironore). Once you have yo urs ilver ore, you
must smelt it into ingots. Buy yourselfa set ofJeweler'sTools,and you're settostart
makingjewelry.
With your tools a nd ingots in your backpack, click onthe toolsand use them on your
stackofingots.Amenuwillpopupwiththeitemsthatyoucancraft. Clickontheitem
youwishtocraft. Afterafewseconds,youwillreceiveamessagetellingyo uwhether
yousucceededorfailedinyourattempt.I fyousucceed,thenewlycrafteditemisplaced
int hefirstemptyslotinyourbackpack.Ifyouhavenoemptys lots,thecraftingmenu
willnotappear.Makesureyouhaveroominyourbackpackforyourcreations.
77
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Jewe lryMakingskillinclude:
MysticJeweler’sTools
10.6.2 JewelryRepair
Mostjewelrycanberepairedbymagic. Butmagicisn'ttheonlywaytorepairjewelry.
Unlessyouaretr yingtorepairgoldordarkorejewelry, youdon'tneedtohaveskill in
JewelryMaking.
Click onthe jeweler'stoolsandthenclick onthe item you wish to r epair. Ifthe item
cannot be repaired, you will receive the message “This item cannot be repaired with
that.”Ifyoucanrepairtheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,you
will receive a message telling whether you have succeeded in repairing the item or
whet heryouhavefailedanddamageditalittlemore.Donotwo rryaboutfailure.This
canbefixedw ithmorerepairing.Keeprepairingtheitemuntilyoureceivethemessage
“Thisisnotinneedofrepair.”
To repair gold a nd dark ore jewelry, you will need to find a set of Mystic Jeweler’s
Tools. MysticJewe ler’sToolsrequireyoutohave20JewelryMakinginorderforyouto
usethem.Ifyoufindthatyourely onthiswayofrepairingyouritems,youshouldinvest
somet imeinJewelryMaking.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Jewe lry Repairskillinclude:
MysticJeweler’sTools
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10.6.3 JewelrySalvaging
IfyouhavetheTalazar'sRe vengeexpansionpack,youcansalvagejewelryfortheingots
they'remadeout of.Thisise speciallyusefulforthosewhowanttoconservet heiriron
ingotsorobtain gold anddark ingotswithout goingthroughtheprocessof miningand
smeltingthem.
Tosalvagejewelry,youwillneedjewelrysalvagingtools.Clickonthepieceofjewelry
youwishtosalvage.Theseareusually ringsandamulets.Iftheitemcannotbesalvaged,
youwillreceivethemessage“Yo ucannotusethosetoolso nthat.”Ifyoucansalvagethe
item, youwillbegintohammer at it.Aftera fewseconds, youwillreceivea message
telling you whether you have succeeded in recovering some ingots or if you have
destroyedtheitem.Allsalvageditemsaredest royedafteryourattempt.Powerfulit ems
thatrequirehighlevelswilloftentimesgive you multipleingots.Tosalvagegoldand
darkorejewelry,youwillneedArna'sGildedTools.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Jewe lrySalvagingskillinclude:
Arna’sGildedTools
10.7 Leatherworking:
Skinning,Tanning,LeatherMaking,LeatherRepair
Leatherworkingprovidesthebasisformakingthingsoutoftheskinsofanimals.It'sa
veryversatileclass,offering skilledleatherworkersthechancetomakebagsandsmall
containers,light weightandmediumweightarmor,andafewweaponsforthosewho like
thrownweapons.Itisoneofthefewtr adeskillsthatgohandinhandwithhunting.If
youlikecombat andyoustillwantabitoftradeskilling,thismay bethepathforyou.
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10.7.1 Skinning
Allgoodleatherworkersfirstneedrawanimalhidestoworkwith.Todothis,youwill
need a skinning knife. While you venture throughout the lands, you may notice that
some monsters leave a red splat looking thing in their bodies. Some people describe
themasapieceofcherrycobblert hatgotrunoverbyatank.Thesearecarcasses.Click
yourskinningknifeandthenonthecarcasstoskinthemonster.Inafewseconds,you'll
receiveamessagetelling you ifyousucceededandskinnedsomehidesorwhetheryou
havefailedanddamagedyouskinningk nife.Youcanskinupto5hidesatatime.
Asyourskillatskinningimproves,youw illbeabletoskinhigherlevelcreatures.These
creatures give you a c hance at skinning higher quality hides that are used in making
magicalleathergoods.Atlevel30, youwillbeabletoskinOgres forhidesaswe llas
superio rle atherhides.Atlevel45,youwillbeabletoskinMinotaursand HellHounds
forachanceatqualityleatherhides.  Atlevel70,youwillbeabletoskinHo rnedDevils,
DeathTyrants,andevenHellspawnfor achanceatflawlessleatherhides. At level90,
youwillbeabletoskinWyvernsfo rWyvernSinews.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Skinningskillinclude:
MagicSkinningKnife
10.7.2 Tanning
Onceyou haveyouranimal hides,youwillneedtotanthembefore youcanworkwith
them.TanningvatsareusuallyfoundoutdoorsnearLeatherworkingshops.Takeyour
hides to one of these tanning vats. Clickon your stack of hides anduse them onthe
tanningvat.Ifyouaresuccessful,thehideswillturnintoleather.Ifyoufail,thenyou
ruint hehidesandyou'llhaveto gogetmore.Bydefault,youwill tanonehideatatime.
To tan 5 hides at a time, disable SingleItem Usage in the Esc>Game Options menu.
Analternativetofindingatanningvatis touseatanningpotion.Tanningpotionscanbe
found on the bodies of most monsters that drop other potio ns.  To tan with a tanning
potion,clickthepotionanduseitonyour skinnedhides(insteadofusingthehidesonthe
potion,asyouwouldwithatanningvat).Theadvantagetodoingthisisthatyoudon't
needtobeatatanningvattotanyourhides.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Tanningskillinclude:
PotionofTanning
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10.7.3 Leatherwor king
Nowthat youhaveyourleather,it'stimetoshapeit int osomethinguseful. Forthis,you
will need a set o f leather working tools and a leatherworker's bench. Leatherworking
benchesareusuallyfo undinshopst hatsellleathergoods.Withyourtoolsandleatherin
yourbackpack, standnexttothebench.Clickonthetools and usethemonyourstackof
leat her. A menuwillpop up withthe itemsthat you cancraft. Click onthe it em you
wishtocraft.Aft erafewseconds,youwillreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryou
succeededorfailedinyourattempt.Ifyousucce ed,thenewlycrafteditemisplacedin
thefirstemptyslotinyourbackpack.Ifyouhavenoemptyslots,thecraftingmenuwill
not appear. Make sure you have room in your backpack for your creations.
Crafting magicalweapons fromQualit yandFlawlessleatheraredifferent.Youcanno t
craftitemsoutoftheseatasimpleleatherwor kingbench.TomakethingsfromQuality
leat her,youwillneedtofindanobelisk.Obelisksareusuallyinthenooksofmountain
valleysoronspecialislands.TomakethingsfromFlawlessleather,youwillneedtofind
a Rune Spire. Rune Spir es are dangerous places usually surrounded by high level
Demo ns,  HellSpawns, andother nasty monsters. When making things from Flawless
leat her, makesureyou haveateam withyoutobringyour freshlymadegoodsbackin
onepiece.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour LeatherWorkingskillinclude:
MagicalLeat herwo rkingTools
10.7.4 LeatherRepair
Oneof manyalternativestorepairingyour leatherarmorandweaponsis leatherrepair.
Todothis,youwillneedasetofleatherworkingtools.Unlessyouaretryingtorepair
magicalleathergear,youdon'tneedtobea leatherworkertodothis. Youalsodonot
needtobeataleatherworkbenchinordertodoleatherrepair.
Clickontheleatherworkingtoolsandthenclick ontheitemyouwishtorepair.Ifthe
itemcannot berepaired,youwillreceivethemessage“Thisitemcannotberepairedwith
that.”Ifyoucanrepairtheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,you
will receive a message telling whether you have succeeded in repairing the item or
whet heryouhavefailedanddamageditalittlemore.Donotwo rryaboutfailure.This
canbefixedw ithmorerepairing.Keeprepairingtheitemuntilyoureceivethemessage
“Thisisnotin needofrepair.”
Torepairmagicalitemsusingleatherrepair, youwillneedtouseasetofmagicleather
workingtools.Monst erslikeTermigonWarriors andShamblersareknowntodropthese
as treasure. You will need to have 20 leather working in order to use magic leather
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workingtools,sodevelopyourskillsasaleatherworkerifyou wishtorepairyouritems
in this manner.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour LeatherRepa irskillinclude:
MagicalLeat herwo rkingTools
10.7.5 LeatherSalvaging
IfyouhavetheTalazar'sReve ngeexpansionpack,youcansalvageleatherit emsforthe
leat herthey'remadeoutof.Thisisespeciallyusefulforthosewhowant toconservetheir
tanned hides or  obtain magical leathers witho ut going through the process of skinning
andtanningthem.
Tosa lvageleatheritems,youwillneedleathersalvagingtools.Clickontheleatheritem
youwisht osalvage.Theseareusuallylightandmediumarmors.Iftheitemcannotbe
salvaged,youwillreceivethemessage“Youcannotusethosetoolso nthat.”Ifyoucan
salvagetheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceivea
message telling you whether you have succeeded inrecovering some leat her or if you
havedestroyedtheitem.Allsalvageditemsaredestroyedafteryourattempt.Powerful
items that require hig h levels w ill often times give you multiple leat hers. To salvage
magicalitems,youwillneedAsha'sAuger.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour IronSalvagingskillinclude:
Asha’sAuger
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10.8 Runecrafting
Runesareamusthaveifyouareamage. Inthepast,youhadtorelyprimar ilyonstores
andvariousmonstersinordertofindrunes.Now,withtheSandsofCreationexpansion
pack, you can make your own. Inaddition, skilled runecraftersarealso able to  create
totemsthatboostcertainstats.
Runecraftingusesgemstonesasits baseresource.Yo ucanfindgemstonesbyfighting
andlooting certainmonsters.Youalsofindgemswhilemining. Whenyou haveyour
gems,you’llneedaGemMort ar,soldinLotor’sSummerPalace,Khafra,orRahura(t he
lasttwotownsbeingaccessibleonlyfromLotor’sSummerPalace).
LikeAlchemy,Runecraftingisprimarilyarecipebasedskill.Youwillneedto
find and use theright recipes to createthecrystals yo u seek. Once you have
yourrecipe,put thegemsyouwantintothegemmortarbyclickingonthemand
thenclickingonthemort ar.Afteradding yourgems,c lickonthemortarandclickona
nearbyRunecraftingtableino rdertomakeacrystal. Onceyouhaveyourcrystals,you
canusearunecraft er’stoolonthemtomakerunes.
Inordertomaketotems,youneedtohaveatotemmold.Totemmoldsaremade
from greater heartwood, so you will need to find a high level lumberjack and
carpenterin orderto obtainone.Totems alsohavespecificrecipesthatyouhave
tofo llow.Clickonthecrystalsyouwanttouseforthetotemandthenaddthemtothe
totem mold. After add ing your crystals, click on the mold and then click on nearby
Runecraftingtableinordertomakeyourtotem.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Runecraftingskillinclude:
NuminousRu necraftingTools
10.9 Tailoring:
Spinning,Weaving,Sewing,ClothRepair
TailoringisastapleprofessioninAs henEmpires.Skilledtailorsprovideclothesforthe
many peoples of Ashen Empires as well as some magical clothing for wizards and
archers.Asmostoftheproductsaregearedtowardscharacterswithlowstrength,it'sa
nicetradeskillto pickup ifyou thinkyou aren'tgoing togoonthepathofawarrior.
With very little tools to buy and little to almost no combat involved, it's also a good
alternat iveifyoudon'tplanonhuntingmonstersforaliving.
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10.9.1 Spinning
Spinningisthefirststeptomakinganytypeofclothing.Tospin,youwillneedcotton,
wool,rawsilk,ormalacinthf lax.Cottoncanbeforagedforandgrownbyfarming.To
getwool,youwillneedapairofshears.Usetheshearsonasheeptogettuftsofwool.
You can use them on the same sheep over a nd over. For raw silk, most spidertype
creatures drop their raw silk when they die. Most tailors prefer to stick to lo w level
spiders and spider queens for stocksofraw silk. Malacinth flax, used for higher level
magical clothes, can only be obtained from skilled farmers. See the farming section
abo utobtainingMalacinthseeds.
Onceyouhaveyourmaterial,findaspinning wheel.Spinning wheelsarefoundallover
thelandinhouses,generalstores,andclothingshops.Standnexttothespinningw heel,
click on your material, and use it on the spinning wheel. In a few seconds, you will
receive a messagetelling you whether you have succeeded inturningthe material into
string(or twine) or ifyou have failed anddestroyedthematerial. By default, you can
spinonepieceofmaterialintostringatatime.To spin5piecesatatime,disableSingle
Item Usage by going to the Esc>Game Options menu and clearing the check mark
besidetheoption.
10.9.2 Weaving
Onceyouhaveyourstring (ortwine),youhavetoweaveitintoclothbeforeyoucanstart
makingclothingoutofit.Todot his,youwillneedtofindaloom.Loomsareusually
foundinthesameroomsasspinningwheelsorcloseby.Standnexttotheloom,clickon
yourstring,anduseitontheloo m.Theloomwillstartworking.Inafewseconds,you
willreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryouhavesucceededinweavingthestring into
clothorifyouhavefailedanddestroyedthestring.Bydefault,yo ucanwe aveonestring
into oneclothat atime. If you wantto weave5 strings at a time, disableSingleItem
usage.
10.9.3 Sewing
Nowthatyou haveyour cloth,youneedapairofscissorstoturnit intoclothing.Get
yourselfapairofscissorsanduset hemonyourstackofcloth.Amenuwillpopupwith
theitemsthatyouareabletomakeoutofthematerialthatyouareusing.Ifyouarejust
startingout,youwillno tbeabletomakeanythingoutofwoolorsilkatleastuntillevel
4.Startwithcottoncloth.
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Once the menupopsup and itdisplays itemsthat yo u cancraft,click onthe item you
wishtomake.Inafewseconds,youwillreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryouhave
succeeded in making your itemor if you havefailedanddestroyed the material. New
itemsareplacedinthefirstavailableemptyslo tinyourbackpack.Makesureyouhave
roominyourbackpackfor yo urnewitems,orthemenuwillnotco meup.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Sewingsk illinclude:
MysticScisso rs
10.9.4 ClothRepair
AnalternativeforrepairingyourclothitemsisbyusingClothRepair.Whilenotasfast
as magicorpotions, it ischeap andeasy. And unless you are trying torepair magical
clothitems,youdonotneedtobeatailorinordertorepairyouritemsus ingthismethod.
Clickonthescissorsand thenclickontheitemyouwishtorepair.Iftheitemcannotbe
repaired, you willreceivethemessage “This item cannot berepaired w iththat.”If you
canrepa irt heit em,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceive
amessagetellingwhetheryouhavesucceededinrepairingtheitemorwhetheryouhave
failedanddamageditalittlemore.Donotworryaboutfailure.Thiscanbefixedwith
more repairing. Keep repairing the item u ntil you receive the message “This is not in
needofrepair.”
To repair magicalcloth items, youwill needto  finda pairo fMysticScissors. Mystic
Scissorsrequireyoutohave20Sewinginorderforyoutousethem.Ifyoufindthatyou
relyonthiswayofrepairingyouritems, youshou ldinvestsometimeinsewing.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour ClothRepairskillinclude:
MysticScisso rs
10.9.5 ClothSalvaging
If you have theTalazar'sRevengeexpansionpack, you cansalvage cloth items for the
cloths they'remade outof.Thisisespeciallyusefulforthosewhowanttoconservetheir
cloth or obtain magical fabrics without going through the process of spinning and
weavingthem. 
Tosalvageclo thitems,youwillneedclothsalvagingtools.Clickonthec lothitemyou
wishtosa lvage. Theseareusuallyclo thesandlightmagearmor.Iftheitemcannotbe
salvaged,youwillreceivethemessage“Youcannotusethosetoolso nthat.”Ifyoucan
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salvagetheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,youwillreceivea
messagetellingyouwhetheryouhavesucceededinrecoveringsomeclot horifyouhave
destroyedtheitem.Allsalvageditemsaredest royedafteryourattempt.Powerfulit ems
that require high levels will often times give you multiplec loths. To salvage magical
items,youw illneedEsabeth'sHandloom.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour ClothSalvagingskillinclude:
Esabeth’sHa ndloom
10.10WoodWorking:
Lumberjacking,Milling,Carpentry,WoodRepair
Wo odworkingisavitaltradeinAshenEmpires.Skilledwoodworkersareabletomake
a variety of weapons a nd arrows, as well as many large containers. There is hardly
anyoneinthega methathasn'trequiredtheservicesofagoodcarpenteratsomepointor
ano ther. There will be combat involved, but only while you are trying to gather logs
during your lumberingtrips. If you likeArchery,this might bethetradeskill for you.
10.10.1 Lumberjac king
To start with wood working, you 'll need wood. And to get wood, you'll need a
Lumberjack Axe. Withyour  lumberjackaxe inyour backpack,findatree youwishto
cho p.Clickonthelumberjackaxeanduseitonthebaseofthetree. Ifthereiswoodto
cho p, you will begin chopp ing the tree. If there is not, you will receive the message
“There is nothing to chop here.” If you receive the message “You cannot chop that.”,
makesureyouareusingtheaxeatthebaseofthetreeandthatthetreeisn'tapalmtree
(palm wood doesn't make for good weapons). You can chop up to  5 logs at a time.
Youcangetregularlogsfromthegreena ndbrowntreesyouseedottedacrosstheland.
Asyougrowinskill,w illbeabletochopsomeFineWoodlo gsfromthesetreesatlevel
30. At level 45, you will be able to chop some of the larger trees for Gnarled Logs
(which yield double the amount of planks than regular logs) and the occasional
Heartwoodlog.Atlevel70,masterlumber jackscanchopthelargestheartwoodtreesfor
GreaterHeartwoodlogs.
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Therearealsosometreesinthelandthatappeardeadandtwist ed.Choppingthesetrees
yieldskindlinginsteadof logs. Kindlingcan beusedto starta campfire to ro ast meat
over.Tostartacampfire,plac eapieceofkindlingonthegroundandclickit.Becareful
whenpickingupkindling;clickinganentirestackofkindlingwillst artacampfire.Asit
beginstodie,youcanusekindlingfromyo urbackpacktokeepthefiregoing.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Lumberjackingskillinclude:
FellingAxe(doublesthenumberoflogsperchop)
LoggingAxe
10.10.2 Milling
Skilled carpenters can makeonly a fewthings fromlogs. Forlargerweapons, shields,
andcontainers, you will first needtomill your logsinto planks. Since youcan't make
anythingo utofplanksbe foreyouarelevel5incarpentry,youmightwanttowaitbefore
millingyo urlogs.
Tostart,youwillneedasaw.Clickthesawanduseitonthelogsinyourbackpack.Ina
fewseconds, youwillreceiveamessagesayingwhet heryouhavesucceededincreating
thewoodplanksorfaileda ndruinedthematerial. Bydefault,youcansawonelogata
time.Tosawfivelogsatatime,disableSingleItemUsagebygoingtotheEsc>Game
Optionsmenuandclearingthecheckmarkbesidetheoption.
Atthispoint ,youmightwanttoenchantyourwoodplanks.Enchantedwoodplanksare
usedto make special ammunition for archers. Toenchant your woodplanks, yo u will
needtohaveat leastlevel10 inyo urnatureskillanda2runestafforwand.Youcan
onlyenchantonewoodplankatatime.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Millingskillinclude:
TwobladedSaw
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10.10.3 Carpentry
After you've gathered your logs and milled them int o planks (if you're just starting
carpentry,don'tmillyourlogsjustyet),youcanworkwiththemtoproduceyourgoods.
For this,yo uneedasetofCarpenter'sTools.Wit hyo urtoolsinyourbackpack,clickon
thetoolsanduse themon your stack oflogsor planks. A menu will pop upwith the
itemsthatyouareabletocraft.Clickontheitemyo uwouldliketocraft.Afterafew
seconds,youwillreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryousucceededorfailedinyour
endeavor.Ifyousucceed,thenewitemisplacedinthefirstavailableemptyslotinyo ur
backpack.Somakesurethatyouhavespaceinyourbackpackbeforeyo ustartcrafting.
Otherw ise,themenuwillnotcomeup.
Crafting magical items from Heartwood and Greater Heartwood are different. Yo u
cannotcraftitemsoutofthesejustanywhere.TomakethingsfromHeartwood,youwill
need to find an obelisk. Obelisks are usually in  the nooks of mountain valleys or on
special islands.Tomaket hingsfromGreaterHeartwood,youwillneedtofindaRune
Spire.RuneSpiresaredangerousplacesusuallys urroundedbyhighlevelDemons,Hell
Spawns,andothernastymo nsters.WhenmakingthingsfromGreaterHeartwood,make
sureyouhaveateamofsk illedfriendswithyou.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Carpentryskillinclude:
CarpentryToolset
10.10.4 WoodRepair
One of your options to repairing your wooden weapons and shields is to use Wood
Repair.Toutilizethisskill,youwillneedtouseasetofcarpenter'stools.Unlessyo u
aretryingtorepair magicalwoo den items, youdo  not needto bea carpenterto r epair
itemsusingWoodRepair. 
ClickontheCarpenter'stoolsandthenclickontheitemyouwishtorepair.Iftheitem
cannot be repaired, you will receive the message “This item cannot be repaired with
that.”Ifyoucanrepairtheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,you
will receive a message telling whether you have succeeded in repairing the item or
whet heryouhavefailedanddamageditalittlemore.Donotwo rryaboutfailure.This
canbefixedw ithmorerepairing.Keeprepairingtheitemuntilyoureceivethemessage
“Thisisnotinneedofrepair.”
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Repairingmagicalitemsrequire s theuseofaMagicalCarpenter'sToolset.Touseoneof
these,youneedtohavelevel20Carpentry.IfyoufindthatyourelyonWoodRepairto
repairyouritemsoften,considerpickingupCarpentryforatradeskill.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Wood Repairskillinclude:
CarpentryToolset
10.10.5 WoodSalvaging
IfyouhavetheTalazar'sRevenge expansionpack,yo ucansalvagewoodenitemsforthe
plankst hey'remadeoutof.T hisisespeciallyusefu l forthosewhowanttoco nservetheir
wood planks or obtain magical woo den planks wit hout going through the process of
lumberjackingandmilling.
Tosalvagewoodenitems,youwillneedwoodsalvagingtools.Clickonthewoodenitem
you wish to salvage. Theseare usually shields, polearms,bowsandcrossbows. Ifthe
itemcannot  besalvaged, you willreceivethemessage“Yo u cannot  usethosetoolson
that.”Ifyoucansalvagetheitem,youwillbegintohammeratit.Afterafewseconds,
youwillreceiveamessagetellingyouwhetheryouhavesucceededinrecoveringsome
planks or if you have destroyed the item. All salvaged items are destroyed after your 
attempt. Powerful items that require high levels will often times give you multiple
planks.Tosalvagemagicalitems,you willneedAcheron'sMiter.
Magicalitemsthat increaseyour Wood Salvagingskillinclude:
Acheron’sM iter
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11. SuggestionsforPlayingonValinor
The followingare only suggestions and not hardfact rules to follow. As you develop
yourcharacter(s)anddiscovertheworldofAshenEmpires,youwillfinddifferentways
ofdoingthingsbaseduponyourownexperiences,and choosethepathsthatleadyouto
yourownendgoals.
Tohelpstartyouonyourway, herearesomeverybasicsuggestions:
1. WhenyoufirstarriveontheIsland,talktoeveryNPCyousee.So mehavevaluable
information about  playing the game, some have quests that  you can choose to do.
Somewillevengiveyo uweapons,armor,andtoolstohelpgetyoustarted.Theseare
invaluabletoanewplayer,sodon’tmissthesefreeopportunities.
2. Take a few moments to learnaboutthegame interface. Look throughthevarious
windows, click a few buttons, and get an idea how to  do the basic functions.
Experiment with the different options for mo vement,  until you find theoption that
suitsyo uthebest.
3. Hunt what you can kill. Directly southof the c astle you will find some lowlevel
creaturestokill.Bats areprobablyt heeasiesttokill,sowhackafewandgettoknow
howcombatworks.Ifyo ugetintrouble,justrunbacktothecastle. Theguardswill
helpyou. Ho wever,yo uwon'tgetexperiencepointsorbeablet olootanythingoff
monstersthatguardshit.
4. Develo p your fighting skills. Regardless of what you want your character to be
(fig hter/mage/crafter) yo uaregoingtoneedtolearntofight.Evenifyouo nlyplanto
craft, there will be times when you are attacked by monsters while collecting
resour ces. Soit'sgoodtohaveatleastonefightingskill. Startoffbytakingaquest
from any of the combat trainers o r mage tra iners. You are going to be killing
monstersanyway,soyo umig htaswellgetsomecredit(andanicequestreward)for
itwhileyou'reatit!
5. Experimentwithdifferentcharactert ypes. Valinoristheperfectplacetodecidewhat
youreallywanttobeordointhegame.Experimentwithmorethanonecharacter,
using different “builds” (characters with different stats). Remember that you can
alwaysdeletethecharactersyoudon'tlikebeforeyouendupputtingtoomuchtime
intothem.
6. Askforhelp. Don'tbeafraidorashamedt oaskforhelp! If youarehavingahard
timecomp letingaquestorjustcan'tseemtogetthosegoblinskilled(beforetheykill
you)...askaroundandseeifthereisanotherplayer thatisonthesamequestandneeds
helptoo!Remember,thisisamultiplayergame.
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7. ExploreasmuchofValinorasyoucan. Exploreasmuch,ifnotall ofthemap.You
willhavetodosomequestsbeforeyoucangettotheeasternportionofthemap,but
overthereyouwillfindmorechallengingmonstersandevenmorequeststo do,soit
isworthyourtimediscoveringanddoingthequeststhatwillallowyourentrytothat
sideoftheisland.
8. Don’tbetooanxioust oleavetoosoon.Valinorisaplaceoflearning. Useittoyour
advantage! Experimentwiththedifferenttradeskillstoo . Ifnothingelse,talktothe
trainers and get the tools you will need for crafting. Remember too, that you can
expand the amount of inventory yo ur bank can hold by cra fting some containers.
CarpentryandLeatherworking especiallyhaveitemsyoucanmakeat verylowlevels
thatwillgiveyouextrainve ntoryspace. Justremember,notever yitemwillfitins ide
everycontainer!
9. Choosesingleitemusage forgreaterexperience. Although it takesmore time, you
mightwantto selectsingleitemusagewhile crafting.Yougetthesameamountof
XP(experience points) if you roast1bat wingor 5bat wingsat atime.  So if you
have20 bat wings,androastthem 1 atatime, you will getthesameXP 20 times.
Butifyouro ast5atatime,youwillonlygettheXP4times.
10. Itemsmarked"NoDrop"meansthatyoucannotdropthem,sellthem,ortradethem
tootherplayersor NPC's.OnValinor,mostoftheitemsyoufindwillbe“NoDrop”
(suchasarmo r/weaponsyoumaylootfrommonsters).Thiswasdonesothatplayers
can't just give new players everything they need  and to  encourage new players to
learnhowtogetthingsthemselves.OnceyouleaveValinorand reachtheMa inland,
mostofthetreasureyouwillfindisavailabletotradeorsell.
11. Collect and sell all drops for gold. If you are planning on becoming a paying
subscriber and leaving Valinor, you will need some gold once yo u get to the
Mainland.Themonstersareabittougher,andyouwillwantbetterarmor/weapons.
These cost money. Usually, 20,000 gold will get you off to a good start on the
Mainland. That maysound likea lot,but if yousellallthe monster resources( bat
wings,spiderlegs,etc),youwillbeamazedhowquickyourgoldgrows,especiallyif
youroast them. Justremember,theremightbeaquestortwofortheseitems,sotalk
totheNPC'saroundtownbeforeyoujuststartsellingmonsterresources.
12. Joinaparty.  Itispossibleto"solo"your entirewaythrougheverythingonValinor
(except forthetwo big Boss Monsters; you will definitely need helpkilling  them).
Don'tbeafraidtoask forhelp! Besides,thiswillgiveyou anopportunity to learn
howtoworkwithateam,andlear ntheteamwindowinterface.
13. Last  but not least,  remember, you are here to have fu n!!!  It can sometimes get
frustrating when you are learning a new game. If you are getting frustrated, just
relax,cometothebankandhaveachatormaybedosomecraftingorsomething.
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12. LeavingValinor
Once your character has r eachedat least level7,  you may journeyontothemainland.
Allofyourbelongingsandstatswillcarryover withyou, sothereisno needtoworry
abo utleavinganythingbehind.
YouwillfindtheValinorStewardintheeastpartoftown. Speaktohimandhewillask
you which town you would like to travel to – Silvest (Human), Krog (Orc), or
Whisperdale(Elf).Onceyouhavemadeyoursuggestion,stepthroughtheportalandin
theblinkofaneye,youwillfindyourselfonthemainland. Besurethatyouarereadyto
leaveValinor.Onceyouhavedeparted,youcanneverreturnonthatcharacter.
Youdonotneedapa idsubscriptiontoleaveValinor.However,playingwithoutapaid
subscriptionwillplacesome limits on your abilities. This isreferredtoasa“Bronze”
levelsubscription.
Bronzeplayersonlyearn10%ofthenormalexperiencerate. Bronzeplayer sarelimited
inwhat theycan loot and craft. They cannot trade or party with other players. They
cannotengageinplayer vs.player(PvP)combatunlesstheyareattacked.
KeepinmindthatwhenyouleaveValinor,youwillloseafewoftheprotectio ns thatthe
tutorialisland provides.Whenyoudieonthemainland,anyiteminyourbackpackthat
isnota“Nodrop”itemwillbeleftinyourcorpse.Youwillhavetogobacktowhere
youdiedinordertor etrievethoseitems.Also,ifyouareonthePvPserver,youwillbe
open to attack from o ther players. If you do not want to participate in player versus
player combat, please keep this in mind and try the nonplayer versus player server
instead.
13. SubscribingtoAshenEmpires
AshenEmpiresismovingtowardsafreetoplaysystem.Wethinkthatthisisgreatfo r
playerswhowanttoenjoyourga mewithouthavingtoworryaboutpayingforanannual
subscription. Withthischangeinservice,IronWillGamesalso introducedaningame
store.Throughthisstore,playerscanmakesmallmicropaymentsfortinybitsofcontent
thathelpimprovetheplayingexperience.
In this system, players buy tokens. Each token is worth about five cents.  To kens are
available in various quantities, allowing players to buy as fewor as many tokens they
needatatime.Theyarealsotransferable,meaningthatplayerscantradetheir tokensor
givethemasgifts.
There’snoteno ughroomint hisgu idetocovereverythingabout tokensandtheAshen
Empire sstore.Ho wever,t hereisagu ideavailablethathasmoredetails.Youcanfind
theAshenEmpiresStoreguideat
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13.1 PurchasingTokens
YoucanpurchasetokensforyouraccountbygoingtothePixelM ineSecureSite.Log
intoyouraccountathttps://secure.pixelminegames.com/AccountLogin.aspx.Afteryou
haveloggedin,clickonthe“St ore”buttontopurchasetokensfromPixelMine.Once
your purchase isapproved, yourtokens will becreditedto your account. You will see
themonyouraccountpageaswellasatthebottomoftheingamestorescreen.
Tobeeligibletopurchasetokens,youmustvalidateyouremailaddressandupdateyour
accountinformation.Untildoingso,thestorewillnotallowyoutopurchasetokens.
13.2 Subscriptions
Subscriptionsapply towardsall charactersonanaccount.Therearetwoplacestopurchase
thesubscriptions,fromthewebsiteortheingamestore.
Ifingame,firstclickontheamountoftimeyouwishtobuyfromthestore.Then,clickthe
buybutt on. Once the t okens are deducted, the button should appear. Click onthe
buttontousethesubscriptionandaddsubscribedtimetoyouraccount.
Youcanalsopurchasesubscriptiont imefromthewebsite.Login,chooseStore,t henchoose
“BrowsetheStore.”MakesureAshenEmpiresisselectedasthegame,thensortthelistby
subscriptions available to you at that time. Add the subscr iption time to your cart, and
proceedthroughthestoreasdirected.
Note:Both waysdescribedabovewillonlyaddtimetoyouraccount.Tosetupreoccurring
subscriptions,visitthissecuresitepage:
https://secure.pixelminegames.com/storesubscriptions.aspx.
Subscriptionscurrentlycomeinthefollowingamounts:
SubscriptionPeriod Cost(intokens)
OneDay
10
ThreeDays
25
SevenDays
50
OneMonth
120
ThreeMonths
345
SixMonths
660
13.2.1 SubscriptionLevels
AshenEmpiresaccountswillbeseparatedintofourlevels.Alllevelsarerepresentedby
an ingame icon next to a player's name. There are no disadvantages to having any
subscriptionlevel,exceptfor theBronzelevel.Theiconappearsnexttoallc haracterson
thataccount.
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· Bronze—ABronzeiconindicatesap layerwhodoesnothaveanactivepaidaccount
(Silver or  Gold). Bronze players may e xplore the entire world, including the 2
expansionareas(ifthey havethoseexpansionsactiveontheiracco unt).
· Silver—Asilvericonindicatesaplayerwhohasan activeaccount,buthaspaidfora
periodoflessthanoneconsecutivemonth.
· Gold—Agold icon indicatesa playerwith acurrent active AshenEmpires account
with30ormoreconsecutivedayspa id.
· Diamond—Adiamondiconindicatesaplayerwho hasbeenasubscriber(atgoldor
silverlevel)for 6continuousmonths.Rockon!