[mat13295]

So rather recently (As in today) i decided to make an account solely to see how the game tutorial holds up. The tutorial has...Always been rather poor. From E1 where failing to kill the wolf would end up throwing you to your spawn area and ending it to E2/3 where all you're really taught about is how to mine and what the say and RP button do.

For those who don't even pay attention to it since we've been playing for so long

WASD introduction. Standard afare nothing needs further explaining
Press X to chop down a tree and do an RP post

That's it. There's a LOT of features Eternia has that isn't even mentioned, the biggest offender being that players aren't told how to buy spells, what the giant energy crystal does, how parties and guilds work or even the options menu.

It desperately needs a rework

What i suggest:

Popup box on creation asking if you have ever played Eternia, if yes make them skip the tutorial and rebirth bonuses are applied as normal
Start off with a tutorial island again. It gives new players some breathing room to practise without feeling like they're imposing on other players.
Begin the tutorial as normal with WASD AS WELL AS SPACE TO DASH AND HOW TO RUN
Once they're comfortable with movement, move on to the hud elements. Highlight health, mana, energy. After that, show them the options menu and how to rebind keys.
This is when you should introduce players to the RP aspects. Keep the say and Rp tutorial as is, but emphasise more that this game is an RP game first and foremost.
Move on to spells next after they get their first RP drop from the tutorial. (Update the tooltips as well pls). Teach players how to slot spells and have them fight a rabbit or something. Some PVP tips could go well here such as how to dodge incoming waves with space.
Finally explain the party and guild system, maybe link to the guilds forum for players to get an idea on groups they can join.

This is a rough draft of course but hopefully we can improve this antiquated tutorial to better teach newbies and hopefully keep them sticking around. Because we do get plenty of newbies but i see so many walking around clueless because they have no clue what they should be doing.


Also i kinda hope we could get a button that opens up a search bar for keywords that then opens a browser link for people to better learn their lore.

[Chance]

Yeah, the tutorial could definitely do with some work. Thanks for putting this back on my radar, as I think it should be a priority and the first few minutes of a newbie's time are crucial in terms of retention and such. What I have in mind in the near future would be a 'guide' NPC at each spawnpoint that assigns a number of tasks/quests, each one granting a small amount of coin. If the player has completed the tutorial on a past character, it's skipped. 

Here's a rough idea of that and you can let me know what you think:

Once the player joins, visible on-screen text appears above their hotbar. 'Move with WASD / Arrow Keys.', 'Great - Now try dashing with SPACE!', 'Hold SHIFT to run.'

After the basic controls, they're told to speak to the guide with the interact key (X). The nearby NPC is highlighted.

The guide grants the following quests, and each one rewards 20c:
1.) Interact with the tailor and buy an item.
2.) Use Say, whisper, and RP, explaining character interactions.
3.) Use the /lore command. Mention /help to view other prefixes.
4.) Go out into the world and defeat a monster. Tell them about partying / to ask for help IC if necessary. Reward - Adventurer's Badge (guild sigil type item)
5.) Inform them about PvP conflict. Link the rules page. To finish this quest they must find another character and complete an RPB.

I'm purposely leaving out spell buying as I feel we don't want to make that mandatory or apply pressure to someone that just joined the game to choose a spell tree.

[Enginseer-42]

Honestly, could pull an old-school runescape and have a Tutorial Island of sorts. Separate little zone for newbies to spawn in, do their thing, then when they leave it takes them to their proper spawn point.

[Chance]

I wouldn't want to separate newbies from the overworld as I feel like an important factor when someone makes a new character is if there's anyone nearby. It's a better experience if you spawn in where there's other people, especially if that leads to interactions which can help get them started. Sometimes the best tutorial NPC is another player, after all.

[Enginseer-42]

Possibly, and separating them off does come with the issue of the blind leading the blind. But it's also a lot less intimidating to spawn in and start RPing with someone who's also new. Also, rather than /lore, maybe have them spawn in with a tome/scroll with the relevant lore for their race/home written in it? So they get a concise shot of 'What I should know about me.' that way they don't necessarily have to get bogged down in stuff not related to them.

[GrayHood]

Those memories when I have seen Sina standing on a cliff accessible by jump and they have shown me in character how to jump around.

Tutorial may be important, but it is FUN to learn things while you're playing. People are glad to explain mechanics in LOOC.

It's not that difficult, like SS13 for example.