Starter Guide

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Welcome to OrbusVR! We're glad you're here.

Welcome to OrbusVR

You'll probably want to check out the official Main Page/News which will fill you in on recent updates to the game.

If it's your first time here, then welcome! Read on to get the most out of your play experience.

Creating Your Character

After you launch the game you'll find yourself at the Character Select screen. If you've created a previous Character, just select that Character and then login to continue. If it's your first time, you will need to create an account with OrbusVR if you haven't created one already for the community forums. This will open a window on your desktop to enter your email and password. Once created you can log into the game, linking your Orbus account. You can then choose "Create Character" to create your new avatar.

While creating your Character, you'll see a preview of what it looks like in front of you. You can customize the skin tone, eyes, and mouth of the character, perform adjustments to various locations of the model by gripping the orbs on it and pushing or pulling, select hair style and color, as well as give it a name. In general don't choose something offensive or impersonate a well-known celebrity, fictional character (like Gandalf), or an OrbusVR employee. Note that you can't use spaces, numbers, or punctuation marks, but you can use accented characters, and names are case sensitive. You will also be given the choice of starting class, though after you begin you can switch to a different class at any time by speaking with the Beginner Weapons vendor in the center of Highsteppe.

After you create your new Character, select that Character to log into the game. Note that you can change your appearance later with the use of a Barber Shop Token.

Your First Time in Highsteppe

After you login on your Character, you'll find yourself standing in the training area near Highsteppe as a Level 1 of your selected class. You may begin the tutorial by speaking with Randel just in front of you. To begin the in-game tutorial, just wave your hand at Randel. He will walk you through the basics of interacting with the game world.

Interacting with the World

Generally speaking, OrbusVR uses only four buttons on your controller. The Grip button is used to grab objects and door handles. The Trigger button is used to "use" an object (such as firing a gun). In addition, for some controllers you may press the Trigger button when you have a free hand to "point" your finger which you need to do to select things in menus. Pressing the "Menu" button on the offhand controller will open your Player Menu, while the same button on the right is the default Push-to-Talk button. The center trackpad (or joystick) is used for movement, and submitting a spell as a Runemage on the Vive. To submit a spell on the Rift use the A/X button.

You often need a "free hand" to perform an action, such as interacting with the Menu or grabbing an object. If you have a weapon in your hand, you can sheathe it: reach behind your head, and press the Grip button. To get your weapon back out, just do the same thing again.

Player Menu

To open your Player Menu press the Menu button. Your Player Menu allows you to do many important actions, such as inviting players to your group, enabling Sliding Locomotion, and more. For all the details, check out the Menu article.

Getting Around

The default locomotion is Teleportation. For the Ranger, you use the arrow controller to teleport. For the Warrior, use your Sword hand. Other classes, just use your empty hand. Just press down on the Trackpad (on the Vive) or the A/X button (on the Rift) to bring up a green line, then let go to teleport. You will notice a grid building up, showing how far you can teleport. The longer you wait, the farther you can teleport.

Note that the controller you use for teleporting is the opposite hand of your weapon slot. So if you put your Bow in your left hand (the default), you use your right hand to teleport. If you put your Runemage wand in your right hand (recommended for right-handed folks), then you would use your left hand to teleport.

In addition to the Teleportation locomotion, you can turn on "Trackpad + Teleport" locomotion in your Player Menu, under Settings. Once this is active, you use the trackpad (on the Vive) or the thumbstick (on the Rift) of your teleportation hand to move around. Just touch the pad/stick toward the top to move forward or bottom to go backward. The farther from the middle you touch, the faster you go. You will travel in whatever direction your controller is facing. While Trackpad locomotion is active you can still Teleport as well by pressing down on the Trackpad (or the A/X button on the Rift). Note that once you are in combat, you speed will slow to "Combat Speed", but you have the ability to sprint (depleting your pink stamina bar) by holding the Grip button while moving. Teleporting and Sprinting during combat share the same Stamina pool. Note that you can turn off sprint in combat via a menu option.

If you get 'stuck' in combat (which can happen sometimes), and your Trackpad locomotion won't work, there is an option in the Player Menu that says 'Stuck in Combat', press that and it will fix the bug (sometimes). Note that there is a cooldown for the option, so use it only when you are sure you are not in fact in combat.

If you're using a front-facing (instead of 360-degree) setup, there's an option in the Player Menu under Settings called "Tracking Type." Set that to Front Facing (180-Degree). Once you've done that, you can press the joystick left or right to turn.

Inventory and Equipment

To open your Inventory, open your Menu, then press the Backpack icon. To move things around your inventory, press the Trigger on your controller to point then select an item once to highlight it, then press again in the box you want to move it to. To equip an item, just select it them press the slot you want to put the item into. By hovering your pointed finger over an item you will see a "Tool Tip" appear giving important information about the item.

If you find Loot bags on the ground after slaying monsters, use the Grip button when you have a free hand to pick up the bag, then place it behind your head (like you're placing it in a backpack) to put it into your Inventory. You will feel a slight haptic feedback when you are in the correct position.


Switching Classes

To switch between classes, just equip the weapon for the class that you want to be. For example, to use the Warrior class, just equip the Beginner's Sword in your inventory. In OrbusVR, each class has its own skill level. So if you level up to level 4 as a Warrior, then switch to a Ranger, you'll start back off as a Level 1 Ranger. If you then re-equip your Sword, you'll switch back to a Level 4 Warrior.

Note that switching classes will not increase your current hitpoints to match a higher level class, but it will decrease them to match the maximum of a lower level class if you more than the class normally would when at full health.

Leveling Up

You will start at level one. You gain XP for each monster you kill and for completing missions or public events. You can advance to level 30 currently.

If you look up you can see a green XP bar to show your progress. You'll also see your current level. The XP you gain goes toward your current class. So if you are currently a Ranger, your Ranger level goes up. If you switch to a Warrior by equipping the Beginner's Sword, your level will switch as well, and you'll now apply your XP toward becoming a higher-level Warrior.

Note that the level of the monsters in the game relative to your own is displayed above their names, so don't fight things that are way higher level than you. All monsters in the game will attack you ("aggro" you) if you get too close to them -- so watch out! The range at which the are aggressive is dependent on how many levels apart your current class is from them.


Dying

If you die, you will become a ghost, and the entire world will become grayed out. You then have two options: you can press the Reawaken button, which will transport you to the nearest graveyard; or, you can wait and see if another Player will come by and Resurrect you. When you die, your equipped items will suffer durability damage, except for your equipped weapon. If you return to the spot where you died, you will see a Tombstone on the ground marking your death location. Just walk up to it and you will see a glowing effect, indicating that you have re-gained a significant portion of your lost durability. If you die again before reaching your gravestone, it will disappear and the original durability loss with be unrecoverable, but you can still return to the site of your new grave as usual.

If you have lost enough durability, your gear will break. Seek out an Apprentice Smith in any major village or city and they can repair your gear for a small fee (only gear equipped will be repaired). Note that you do not take any durability damage if you die when you are Level 4 or lower or while in Dungeon Instances.


Talking with other players

move this section to Communication By default Voice Chat is enabled, so be sure that on your PC your Input device is set to your HMD microphone. There are options in the Player Menu to disable your own voice chat, to use push to talk (B button on Rift), and to mute other players. The Voice Chat is currently only proximity based, so you will hear people nearby and not hear people far away. Just talk in a normal inside voice, there's no need to shout. You will also find a compass on your chest. This is used for your "Party" and "Fellowship" chat. Grab the compass and hold it near your mouth, you will see the compass turn Red, this means you are broadcasting. To switch channels between the Party and Fellowship chat, simply press the trigger while holding the compass and it will toggle between the channels. Your compass is set to Party chat by defualt (Purple Stone core).


NPCs and Quests

add in pictures of quest icons here To talk to an NPC, walk up to them and wave your hand. NPC's have indicators above their heads indicating what type of dialogue they have (Main story, Side quest, Information). A menu view will appear for Mission Vendors and a dialog box will appear within that menu if they have something to say to you. Hold down the Trigger to point and select the options to advance the dialog. If the NPC gives you a quest, you will be notified and the quest objective and description will be added to your Player Journal. Missions that you accept can be found in the Missions tab on your Inventory Menu. Complete the quest or mission objective and return to the NPC to get a reward, which will clear the objectives from your Player Journal or Missions tab.


Player Compass and Player Journal

Your character begins the game with two very valuable tools for navigating the world around you. The first, your Player Compass, shows you key landmarks in the world. You'll find it sitting on your chest when you look down, on the left side. To use it, just get out a free (empty) hand and use the Grip button to grab the compass. Then hold it and look at it. If you are in a party, you can hold the Compass near your mouth, and speak into it. This will broadcast your voice to your party members no matter where in the world they are.

Your Player Journal is an invaluable tool which keeps track of various things about the game world, including your active quests, Potion recipes, information about the game. To get it out, just grab your Player Compass and turn it upside down. Then, use your hand and press the Grip button near the corners of the pages to grab them and turn the pages. When you're finished, you can grab the journal by the bottom-center spine of the journal and place it behind your head like a piece of Loot, it will return to your bag. If you can't put it away just leave it where it is, you can always get it back out at any time, even if you left it out.

Beyond Highsteppe

Player Grouping

To invite another player to join a group, just open up your Player Menu, and then select their name from the Nearby Players option (the top-most one) and choose "Invite".

Once they are in your group, their name will appear green to you. In addition, if they drop below 30% health, they will have a red outline.

You must join a group with another player if you want to enter the Dungeon at the same time. Entering an dungeon while not in a party will place you in your own "Instanced" version of the dungeon, separate from all other players other than your party.

The Dungeons

There are 4 5-player dungeons now available for playing. To access them, go to the lower level of Highsteppe at the base of the tree.

The first two Dungeons are designed for level 10 players. These are the Crypt and Sewers dungeons (leftmost two). To access them, lift the orb to your face as you would a teleport stone and you will enter the dungeon. The second two are designed for level 20 players, and are called Airship and Broken Halls (rightmost two).

Dungeons are a part of OrbusVR for all levels, concluding with endgame Shard Dungeons and Raids which are intended to prove challenging for players even at level 30.

Note that you must be in a Party with your fellow players before you enter the dungeon or you will find that you're all alone once you enter. Good luck and have fun!


Player versus Player Combat

In OrbusVR, PvP is an opt-in system globally and locally within the Battlegrounds. A zone can be either "safe" or "unsafe." In safe zones, such as Highsteppe, the area immediately outside Highsteppe, and graveyards, you cannot attack other players no matter what.

In "unsafe" zones, you can attack and be attacked if your World PvP is turned on.

To allow yourself to attack friendly players, open up the Settings option on your Player Menu and choose check the actual button name here "World PvP" -> "Enabled." Note that even if you have this option enabled, you won't be able to attack players in your own party or players in a safe zone.

There are currently some advantages to maintaining PvP-Enabled Status: you will receive 10% more experience, for monster kills, missions, public events, etc; 25% more resource nodes can be found (and are only visible with this setting enabled) across the world, and you can collect other players hard-earned loot by killing them (or lose your own by dying). Note that you must have PvP enabled when you accept a mission and for the entire duration of the mission for you to receive the experience bonus on turn-in.

The Classes

Here's a quick guide to each class and how to play it. Remember that you can play any class by just switching your weapon slot, so feel free to try them all and pick the one you enjoy playing best!

The Warrior

The Warrior is the primary Tank class of the game. It features a sword-and-shield style of gameplay, with a focus on controlling the battlefield to aid one's allies and surviving blows which would lay low other adventurers. In terms of difficulty, it is very easy to get started with (although hard to master). This is the highest impact class, be sure to properly stretch and respect your limits while playing.

If you want to play the Warrior, read this guide: Warrior Play Guide

The Ranger

The Ranger is one of the offensive-focused classes in the game. It features a bow and arrow that you have to aim and fire quickly and accurately while using your specially imbued arrows. In terms of difficulty, it's very easy to get started with (although hard to master). This is the second highest impact class, be sure to properly stretch and respect your limits while playing.

If you want to play the Ranger, read this guide: Ranger Play Guide

The Musketeer

The Musketeer is a support-focused class, and the primary healing class in the game. It features a gun which you aim and fire. You can also load special orbs into the gun to give your attacks different effects, such as healing your allies or poisoning your enemies. In terms of difficulty, it is moderately difficult to play, simply because there is usually a lot to keep track of during combat. This is a lower impact class but can be hectic at times, be sure to properly stretch and respect your limits while playing.

If you want to play the Musketeer, read this guide: Musketeer Play Guide.

The Runemage

The Runemage is one of the offensive-focused classes in the game. It features a wand which you use to draw runes into the air, which then become spells that you can cast. It requires hundreds of hours of practice to master the class and be able to accurately and quickly draw the runes. In terms of difficulty, it is the hardest class to play effectively, but can be one of the most rewarding once mastered.

NOTE: Unlike the other classes, you do not begin the game with information on how to play the class. You can find the starter set of runes in the Fellowship Circle inside of Highsteppe, and some more difficult runes can be found sporadically across the world. You can touch your journal to the runes to inscribe them for later reference.

If you want to play the Runemage, read this guide: Runemage Play Guide

The Bard

The Bard is a new support class in OrbusVr Reborn that uses a 7-note Marimba to charge up its special "instruments". At base level, three instruments can be selected at a time from six equipped, and each will be given a color. Hit the marimba in time with the falling orbs of these colors to power up the instruments (their passive effects will be active as long as your focus bar is high enough) and hit the instruments with your mallets to fire the crescendo abilities. A long swipe or quick doubletap on an instrument will activate or inactivate it.

If you want to play the Bard, read this guide: Bard Play Guide

The Scoundrel

The Scoundrel is a new dps class in OrbusVR Reborn that fires a 6-shooter pistol and uses a deck of six random cards to empower the attacks. Cards can be saved for later, burned to empower the next boost, or used to boost the next attack. Shots can be curved to provide an increase to your attacks over a period of time ("showing off").

If you want to play the Scoundrel, read this guide: Scoundrel Play Guide

The Paladin

The Paladin is a new tank class in OrbusVR Reborn that wields a hammer. This class's attacks and defense revolve around the number of orbs that are currently empowering the weapon. It can be raised to the sky to generate two orbs every five seconds, and will generate orbs as you take damage, to a maximum of five orbs. One orb is used in a melee swing (empowered basic attack), two in a ranged talent (Hammer of Retribution or Forgiveness), three in a Ground Slam (AOE attack), one if the hammer is thrown and teleported to, and one if the hammer hits an enemy after being thrown (this also acts as a stun and interrupt).

If you want to play the Paladin, read this guide: Paladin Play Guide

The Shaman

The Shaman is a new dps class in OrbusVR Reborn that throws totems to the ground that each have their own effects. Some generate throwable orbs that will damage or stun enemies, while others pulse an effect to all nearby creatures. This is the one of the highest impact classes, so be sure to properly stretch and respect your limits while playing.

If you want to play the Shaman, read this guide: Shaman Play Guide