Coming from Meridian 59

Meridian 59: Shards began as Server 104's code, and the world will be familiar to anyone who played there or on the original servers. What follows is what we've changed: read it once and you won't be caught out.

The Modern interface#

On a computer our client starts in the Modern interface: the view fills the window, with the interface laid over it. The original's layout, its column beside the view, is the Modern Interface checkbox in Configuration away. Phones have a layout of their own.

Third person#

Press V to change the camera: first person, a chase camera you swing round with the mouse, behind you, and in front looking back at you. From first person, roll the mouse wheel back to step out into the chase camera; in the outside views the wheel brings the camera closer or takes it further away. Each session starts in first person.

Hotkeys#

Ten quick slots along the bottom of the view, on the keys 1 to 0, hold your spells and items. Drag a spell from the Abilities tab or an item from your bag onto a slot, or right-click a slot to choose one, and drag a slot onto another to swap them. Pressing the key casts the spell or uses the item, and a shadow sweeps round the slots until you can cast again. Tick Second Hotbar in Configuration for ten more on the numpad. Your slots are saved for each character on the computer you play on, not on the server.

The minimap#

The minimap sits in a ring at the top right, with the room's name under it and + and − to zoom. Click it to spread the map over the view, and click again to close it. It marks who has a quest for you with a gold "!" and who is waiting for you with a "?", rings the monsters a quest wants, and marks the portals you haven't attuned to. For a quest you track, it washes the area you're sent to gold and points to the exits that lead there (Questing). Right-click it to leave yourself a note.

The character window#

Press I for the character window: a figure of your character between the boxes for what you wear and wield, with your weight and bulk beside it and your bag below. Drag an item onto the figure to put it on, and from its box back into the bag to take it off. Sort puts the bag in order by type, weapons first and shillings last. The window's tabs hold your stats, your spells and skills, your quests, friends, pets and companion, and you can drag it anywhere on the screen.

The rest#

Your face, bars and enchantments are at the top left, the person or monster you've picked at the top, and the quests you track under the map. The chat runs down the left and fades when it's quiet. H hides the interface for a clear view, and HUD Size in Configuration makes it bigger or smaller.

Fighting and dying#

• No random player killing. Players fight each other only in the Faction War (both of you wearing rival soldier shields), in a war between two guilds that have both declared it, in the arenas and chaos zones, during a Frenzy, and in the council token game. See the Factions guide.
• Nothing drops when you die, except a council token you were carrying, even in the Arena of Death. Past newbie protection and outside a Frenzy, a death to a monster, in a guild war or in the Faction War breaks your worn weapon, armour, helm and shield instead. Jewellery, masks, soldier's shields and guild shields are spared. A smith can repair what broke (Magic Items).
• Death costs no experience, skills or spells, except that a death in the Arena of Death can cost points in your spells and skills.
• Outlaws and murderers are gone, with the Justicar's elections and pardons, the safety toggle, guardian angels and revenants. Names are white, or red for a guild at war with yours, or orange for a rival faction.
• Newbie protection lasts until 50 base health. You can't found or join a guild before then.
• Guild halls are safe. No one fights inside one, guild wars included.

Quests#

The old quest engine is gone. Quests are offered by people marked with a gold "!", tracked in a Quests tab, and give much of a character's experience. The old "say the secret phrase" quests are now ordinary quests: double-click the person. See the Questing guide.

Magic items#

• Curses are gone: no cursed weapons, Curse Weapon, Remove Curse or ring of lethargy. The Amulet of Shadows comes off like any amulet, but its power runs out: it holds 60 to 120 charges, spends one for each minute you wear it while logged on, and crumbles when they're gone. Its description shows the minutes left.
• Identify is gone. Reveal what an item does with the Reveal spell, a wand of revealing, or an elder in Jasper, Marion or Raza.
• Magic comes in four tiers, and armour, shields, jewellery and robes can be magic too. Magic items show a ring round their icon and a full name, such as "Potent fiery longsword of venom".

See the Magic Items guide.

Guilds#

• One player founds a guild, and two make it mature. Size never disbands one.
• No votes. The leader hands over, or after 30 days away the highest-ranked active member takes over.
• Five fixed ranks, each with set powers.
• No hall raids. The shield lever and Shatterlock are gone. Halls can be public or private, and the sanctum opens to "open", not a password.
• New: ranked chests in every hall, a recall stone, a guild prism, prestige, trophies, a +20% experience bonus for hunting together, guild cloaks, recruitment boards, and the Fallen Halls, eight old halls turned into dungeons.

See the Guilds guide.

Factions#

• Membership never lapses. The loyalty quests are optional favours now.
• Joining needs no PvP flag: 50 base health or a level-5 spell is enough to catch the court's eye.
• Renown, from 0 to 100, ranks you from Recruit to Champion. It never decays; leave your faction and you keep up to 40 for the next.
• The lieges fight battles over the flagpoles every two hours, in place of the old random invasions and mana node attacks.
• The faction schools changed: the Duke has Qor and Riija, the Princess Shal'ille and Faren, Jonas Kraanan and Jala.

See the Factions guide.

Magic#

Every school was reworked. Spells aimed at players work on monsters too, every spell's description shows what it does at your spellpower and where that comes from, Faren mages choose an element, Jala's songs turn on your foes, and light and darkness replace karma for Shal'ille and Qor. Many spells changed level, and Mana Shield is Kraanan's now. See the Magic guide.

A livelier world#

Towns have townsfolk going about their errands, inns their patrons and castles their courts, all drawn by our client. The arenas put on a show and offer mock bouts with no real death, the Office of the Justicar is a court in session with daily warrants and name changes, and the lieges' soldiers guard their flagpoles. See Ambient Life.

Growing your character#

• Training points are spent in a Train window, from the Train button beside your training points at the top of the Abilities tab or by typing train, not by meditating. Meditate, Appraise, Conveyance, Transference, Set, Loadout and Vault Loadout are retired. Appraising is now a scales button on valuable items.
• Unbound energy is gone.
• Skills improve on every use, with a chance that grows the longer you go without a gain. Tougher foes teach more, and weak ones much less. Dodge, and parry with a melee weapon in hand, improve on every blow that misses you.
• Anyone can learn Minor Heal, whatever their school, without spending a learn point on it.

Getting around#

Free portals stand in Raza, Tos, Marion, Jasper, Barloque, Cor Noth, Ko'catan, Berg, Brax, Castle Victoria and the Proving Grounds. Touch one to attune to it; after that, touching any portal opens a Travel window to every portal you've attuned to. You can't travel while carrying a faction token, or within two minutes of a fight with a player. The Cor Noth Museum's portals lead to the historic towns.

New to Meridian#

• Skip the tutorial. New characters start in Raza and follow a chain of quests through Marion to Cor Noth. Tick Skip the tutorial when you make a character to start at 40 health in Marion, Jasper, Cor Noth, Barloque or Tos instead. See the Tutorial guide.
• Companions. From 50 health your faction leader can give you a companion who fights beside you and carries a pack: the Duke a battle-mage, the Princess a spellsword, Jonas a war-priest.
• Cosmetics. Tailors dye your clothes and armour, and the barber Pellam, in Madelia's shop in Barloque, cuts hair.
• Selling to shops. Merchants who buy have a Sell button, listing only what they'll take and for how much.
• The market takes only valuable items, magic or worth 5,000 shillings or more, and a listing lasts 30 days.