The Players' Guide to the Cities/Your First Game Session
< The Players' Guide to the Cities
When you have finished creating your character, you may begin your adventure. You will be given the option to either play through or skip the game tutorial when leave the Character ID screen. Playing through the tutorial will help to demonstrate to you the basics of movement, navigation, combat, and interacting with non-player characters (NPCs). In addition, upon completion of the tutorial, your character will have enough experience to progress to level 2.
Remember, don't just rely on the text messages from NPCs in the tutorial; you must also pay attention to the reminders automatically placed on your map and other informational screens.
If you're interested in collecting badges, defeating 100 Contaminated awards the Isolator Badge, which is not available again until flashing back at level 25.
If you're interested in collecting badges, visiting one of the jail cells awards the Jail Bird Badge, which is not available again until flashing back at level 25.
After completing the door mission in the tutorial, you'll be told to return to your contact (Coyote for heroes, Arachnos Pilot for villains). Clicking on your contact at this point will force you to leave the zone, so be sure you're ready to leave before handing in your mission.
Canceling Coyote's dialog will send you to Galaxy City or Atlas at random, while canceling the Pilot's dialog sends you to Mercy Island with Kalinda selected as your starting contact.
(If you accidentally click on Coyote/Arachnos Pilot before you want to leave the zone, go to Menu and select Quit to exit the game without closing your contact's dialog. When you log back in, you'll still be in Outbreak/Breakout.)
Heroes: Your First Day on Patrol
After skipping or completing the tutorial, you will be given a choice between starting your career in either Atlas Park or Galaxy City. If Atlas Park is selected, your first contact will be located inside Paragon City Hall. If Galaxy City is selected, your first contact will be located inside the Freedom Corp building. Your contact will offer you a choice of missions.
You can either patrol the streets looking for criminals to arrest or go ahead and tackle your first mission. It's up to you. Pay attention to your map, which will reveal more and more of the zone as you explore. Be cautious when crossing the yellow or red lines on your map as these mark off more dangerous areas within the zone.
When you have enough experience to train to level 2, you will need to visit either Ms. Liberty (Atlas Park) or Back Alley Brawler (Galaxy.) Speak to them to train.
Villains: The Struggle for Survival Begins
After skipping or completing the tutorial, you will be given a choice between taking either Kalinda or Matthew Burke as your starting contact, both within Mercy Island. Kalinda is located in Fort Darwin, conveniently located near the drop off point from the tutorial and near Arbiter Diaz, while Matthew Burke is located just outside the Fort, nearby in the neighborhood of Darwin's Landing. When you speak to your new contact after your arrival on Mercy Island, they will offer you your first mission.
You can either roam the streets of Mercy Island beating on anything unfortunate enough to be in your path or you can go ahead and run missions. The choice is entirely up to you. Pay attention to the map. As you move around the zone, you will clear away the fog of war and reveal more of the map. Use caution when crossing the yellow or red borders on the map which indicate you have entered into one of the zone's more dangerous areas.
When you have enough experience to train to level 2, speak to Arbiter Diaz in Fort Darwin to train.
Training
When you speak to your trainer and tell them that you are ready to train to level 2, you will be granted the inherent power Rest, another row of inspiration slots, and your choice of one new power. Your 3rd primary and 2nd secondary powers are now available, giving you a total of three powers to choose from.
As you progress throughout your career, you will find other trainers you may speak to in other zones. It is not necessary to always return to your initial trainer throughout your career; any trainer will do once you are ready for your next level.
Ending Your Game Session
When you are ready to end your game session, open the Menu Window from the Status Window and select "Quit". You will be given the option of quitting to the login screen or quitting to your desktop. Quitting to the login screen will allow you to log back in to continue with another character or create another character. Quitting to the desktop will exit the game client entirely.
When logging out, you will remain visible and can still be attacked for 30 seconds. If you press any key during this time, the countdown will be aborted and you will not log out. When the countdown reaches zero, you will either be sent back to the login screen or sent back to your desktop.
If quitting to the desktop, you will have the option to quit out of the game before the 30 second timer has expired. If you do this, you will be sent out to the desktop, but your character will remain visible and may still be attacked until the remainder of your 30 second timer has expired.