[Please Read]Links for New Players & FAQs

List of Useful Links, Site Maps and Guides for New Players
by Zhou

Hey all,

I have been wanting to compile most if not all of the useful links throughout the forums for new players. Since the forums is getting larger by the day with more useful information, its only right to compile them in a 1 stop thread to assist new players.

Note that this thread is for New Players only, i.e. Freshies. I expect once they know their way around, they will be able to find all those guides for more advanced players by their own.

If you are a new player, you have arrived at the right place. I will divide this thread into sub-categories: Links, Site Map, Guides for New Players and FAQs.

Links:
Live Server: Link (Live Server - Browser Version)
Live Server + IRC: Link (Live Server with IRC)
Test Server: Link (Test Server - Only way to play Test Server. Recommended to use Firefox, no redownloading required.)
Test Server + IRC: Link (Test Server with IRC)
IRC only: Link
Card List: Link (Includes Legendary Allies)
Current Rankings: Link
Support Tools: Link (For IGN change, account reset, retrieve password) (To report an error/cheater, email to support@shadowera.com instead)
Downloads: Link (To download seperate clients to play on Mac, iOS, Android. Live Server only)
Purchase Crystals/Offers: Link
Physical Card Online Store: Link
Call of the Crystals Card List in PDF: Link
Dark Prophecy Card List in PDF: Link (Does not include Legendary Allies)
Call of the Crystals Deckbuilder: Link
Call of the Crystals + Dark Prophecies Deckbuilder: Link
Shadow Era Official Rulebook: Link
Redeem Page for your Codes: Link
Official FAQ Page: Link
Music of Shadow Era: Link
Lore of Shadow Era: Link
Official Featured Articles: Link

Site Map:
Warrior Strategy: Link
Hunter Strategy: Link
Mage Strategy: Link
Priest Strategy: Link
Rogue Strategy: Link
Wulven Strategy: Link
Elemental Strategy: Link
List of all Active Guilds: Link

Guides:
Guide to Heroes for New Players: Link
Raph's $19.99 Ultimate Way to Enjoy Shadow Era (Call of the Crystals Cards Only): Link
Raph's $19.99 Ultimate Way to Enjoy Shadow Era (Call of the Crystals Cards + Dark Prophecies): Link
Beginner's Guide to Shadow Era: Link
Guide to use the IRC: Link
IRC Command List: Link
Shadow Era Dictionary: Link
How to Join a Guild: Link
How to Participant in Organized Play (Tournaments): Link
Best Decks to Grind AI by kentuequi: Link
Raphael Majere's Article Compilation (Useful for New Players): Link
Preybird's Article Compilation (Useful for New Players): Link
Colosal's Guide to Understand Tournament Formats: Link
How to Play SE and Use IRC on Linux: Link
Pat Jay's Meltdown Risks and Rewards - A Guide For Newbies: Link
Pat Jay's Guide to Top 100 Ranking System: Link

Other Sites For Information:
Phoenix Fire: The Voice of WotBP: Link
A1: Project Omega: Link
Shadow Era Network: Link
Scholar of the Shadows: Link

F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the Game Part 1:
by Zhou

This is by no means the best answers, but its the more commons answers to the more common questions asked by new players. The list DO NOT include strategy questions, which should asked under the Strategy Section. As you might notice, these questions will pop-up in your mind as you progress your way in the game of Shadow Era.

**Note: I will use Google's URL Shortener to shorten all of the URLs in my posts due to the character limitation of 10,000 characters in each posts. So don't worry about clicking those dodgy looking links, they are all legit.

*Is there any official FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page for this game?
Yes there is, click here.

*Is there any way to play this game and to use the IRC on Linux?
Yes, you can. Click here for the guide. (Thanks to marcphemt for this information)

*What are Shadow Crystals used for?
Shadow Crystals (SC) are used to purchase additional Booster Packs (100 SCs each) or purchase additional Starter Decks (100 SCs)

*What are inside a Booster Pack?
Each booster pack are 15 cards: 1 Hero (alternate art hero from CotC), 10 Common, 3 Uncommon, and 1 Rare or Epic. There is a 1/5 (20%) chance that your booster will have a foiled card in place of a Common.

*What is the purpose of a foiled card?
To put it simple, its for aesthetic purposes, that's it. But its really pretty. Currently you cannot sell any Foiled Cards for gold.

*What are Gold used for?
Gold are used to purchase individual cards under the Merchant/Buy section. Each card's price varies due to rarity and availability.

*How do I get more Shadow Crystals?
The most common way to gain SCs are via Levelling Up in the game. Each gain in level will give you 25SCs. There are other methods to gain SCs, such as doing free offers: surveys, videos, etc. There are also free SC giveaways in the forums via contests. Tournaments are held regularly in the Organized Play section (view link above) and the rewards are in terms of SCs. Last but not least, you can purchase additional SCs using Real Life cash via Credit Card.

*My friend has some Shadow Crystals and he/she wish to send some to my account. Is that possible?
Yes, it is. Provided the SCs your friend wished to pass to you are purchased Shadow Crystals. SCs gained by contests, offers, tournament wins, are NON transferrable.

*Its ok, they are Purchased SCs, now how do I make the transfer?
Just ask your generous friend to email to support@shadowera.com and state the amount he/she wish to transfer from his/her In-Game-Name (IGN) to your IGN. Please provide as much details/information as possible.

*Some guy just gave me some of code, he claims I can get SCs out of it. What should I do?
Easy. Just go to this link. Key in the 16 alphanumerical code along with your email which your SE account is registered, and an amount of Shadow Crystals ranges from 100-200 (random) is automatically added into your account.

*How do I get more gold? I noticed you cannot purchase gold.
Yes, you are right. You can only purchase SCs. The only way for one to gain gold is to use the SCs, to purchase a Booster Pack or Starter Decks and sell the cards for gold. The most gold you can gain by selling all the cards you gain from a starter deck is the Elemental Starter Deck, selling all the cards from that deck yields the most gold.

*How much gold will I gain if I sell all the Elemental Starter Pack cards?
As of Dark Prophecies, each Elemental Starter Pack (40 cards) will yield a total of 2455 gold if you sell all of them. (Credits to A1 HBK for the calculations)

*But I am out of SCs to turn to gold. What other options do I have?
Next best thing if you do not want to spend any real life cash is to farm/grind the AI for gold as each victory gives you 40 Gold.

*What is the fastest way to go about grinding the AI?
My opinion is to build a 30-card Eladwen Rush Deck. But this link will give you more information.

*Which starting deck is the best to start with?
In my opinion, the Mage starting deck is the best to start with. It is strong and the cards are cheap. Please click this link to find out what is the fastest/cheapest way to start off with a decent Majiya deck. Note that the cards are from Call of the Crystals edition only.

*How do I play against another Human?
In the game, go and click the "Challenge" tab on your top right corner of the Shadow Era screen. Once you are in, click on the "Quick Match" button. The server will automatically pair you with another human with similar rating.

*It says I need at least 40-cards before I can play in the Quick Match, what now?
Starter decks only consists of 30 cards including hero. What you need to do before proceeding to playing against another Human is to purchase 10 more cards and add it in your deck to make it 40 cards in total. Once you have achieve this, try the Quick Match button again.

*How do I add more cards into my deck?
On top of your SE screen, go under the "Deck" tab, once you are in, you will see your current deck, below are the cards you can add into your deck. Drag the cards individually and slot them into your deck. Hit the save button and your new cards are saved into your deck.

*How do the ratings system work? What does my rating mean?
Rating is the rough number or an idea of how "good" a player is. As you win more games, you gain a higher rating. Rating is used by the server to pair you with another opponent with similar rating. This is to prevent new players getting paired with a very experienced player as their rating difference will be vast. Basically you will only get paired with another player within +/-50 of your current rating. Example: If your rating is 200, only players within the rating of 150-250 will be paired with you as you play Quick Matches.

*How do I check my ratings?
On top of your SE screen, go under the "Status" tab. You can see your current level, experience, current ratings, current gold amount and current Shadow Crystal amount.

*I was just wondering, is there a Ladder ranking leaderboard?
Yes, there is! Refer to the Top 100 of the current season and the previous seasons here.

*I think I made a mess with my initial in-game-name choice. How do I change it?
Visit this page: Support, then proceed to the "Change Name" section. Type in your email which your account is registered to, password and your new name of your choice. NOTE: Each name change requires 100SCs deducted from your account. If you do not have 100SCs, the change will not be approved. Name changes are instantaneous.

*Uh oh, I forgot what is the password of my account, please help!
No worries, go to this link. Under the "Change Password" option, type in the email address you used to register the game, then follow the instructions from the email which was sent to your email account.

*There is this guy in the game who kept on insulting me, or there is a person whom I think is cheating. What should I do if I want to report him?
Send an email to support@shadowera.com. Make sure you include details like "When the game is played?", "What is his In-game-name?", "What did he say?" or "What did he do to make you think he might be cheating?". Provide as much information as possible. And please refrain from "reporting" in the main forums. Let support handle the situation.

*How do I concede a match in a "proper" way?
To concede the match in a proper way, click on the "Challenge" tab again, then a warning will appear, click OK then you have conceded the match properly.

*How can one check their streak(s) without manually recording it?
You can search your own games and see your own streak (up to past 30 games). Go to the "Challenge" tab, then click the "Search". Type in your own IGN (In-Game Name) and your past 30 games record are shown.
These games includes Meltdown, Quick Match & Custom Games. Limited to a total of 30 games only! (Thanks to the Atomzed for the reply)

*How many turns or how much time needs to go by before winning the game grants gold and experience?
Both players must reach turn 5. (Thanks to the Samzyn for the question and Raphael Majere for the answer)

*Hey, the in-game music is nice! How can I listen other time when I am not playing?
Visit this link. (Thanks to Joker Bro for this information)

F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the Game Part 2:
by Zhou

This section is for slightly more experienced "New Players", i.e. once they know their way around the game (Start playing Quick Matches).

*Are there any guides/articles which will help me improve as a player?
Yes there are many articles all over the forums. As I can't list them all here, I will list down the more prominent ones for New Players:

1. Official Featured Articles - Featured on the Shadow Era homepage, written by players themselves.
2. Compliation of Raph's articles for New players - Compilation of Articles written by one of Shadow Era's most prominent teachers of the game, Raphael Majere.
3. Preybird's Article Compilation - Compilation of Articles useful for new players, and also featuring excellent detailed breakdown of some heroes in Shadow Era.

*Is there any Lore/Story of the various characters in the game?
Yes there is. This section just started recently. This is the official link. To view the forum section with comments from other players, please view here. There are many fan fiction stories going around, and I am sure you will stumble upon them in the "Game Discussion" section of the forums.

*I think I will be playing this game for quite some time, I am willing to invest some cash into the game, how can I purchase crystals?
Proceed to this link. Type in the email you used to register your account, then proceed to purchase the crystals.

*I see all these free trials for free Shadow Crystals, what is this?
These are offers, surveys, downloads which offers a reward system based on Shadow Crystals into your account once you completed the offer stated. Do this at your own risk! The softwares you are required to download/install might contain malware. Beware!

*Ok, I have purchase/own quite a substantial amount of crystals to be competitive, what is the fastest way to achieve greatness?
Firstly, congrats! Best way to construct multiple competitive decks of different heroes is based on this guide. In my opinion, its the fastest way to "Enjoy Shadow Era". This is the guide: Raph's $19.99 guide to enjoy Shadow Era: Dark Prophecies version.

*I think I have become quite good in this game, and I am climbing in the ratings. But is that it? What's next?
Once you have reached this stage, I guess you are not considered a new player anymore. Congratulations! If you feel you want to get more of out the game, you are encouraged to join in organized plays (Tournaments). Please refer to this link to get started.

*What is difference between a standard Tournament and a Pop-up?
A 'Pop up' tournament is usually ranges from 8 to 32 players, depending on turn out. A pop up tournament entire duration takes place at 1 sitting, I.e. start to finish. It can range from 1 hr to 3 hrs + depending on number of players.
A 'Standard' tournament is similar to pop up tournament except that once the tournament brackets are up; players are free to contact their respective opponent to set up a convenient date/time to play. The deadline for each round will be stated by the Tournament Organiser.

*I noticed within a tournament, there are many formats such as Single Elimination, Double, Triple, Swiss, League. What are the difference?
Just like formats in real life tournaments, Shadow Era tournaments come in many different formats to make things more interesting. Instead of explaining here, click on this link for a detailed explanation of the many different formats. (Thank you Colosal for the guide)

*What is SE Community's definition of A Game/A Match/A Round?
This is taken from this link, well explained by Raphael Majere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raphael Majere

In SE community, A "Match" is used to denote usually a Best of 3 games between 2 players. This is technically "wrong", as a "match" could also mean a "game". But since it works for the SE community, i don't see why we should change it.

"How is the match between you and BP Index coming along?"
"Have you played your match with BP Mip, Zhou?"

A "Round" is a better word technically. It denotes the exact stage of the tournament: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, etc.

For example,
"I will be playing my Round 2 with BP Vince1992 in 8 hrs"
"BP Colosal won me in Round 4, 2 - 0. GGs"

But the SE community has been using the word "Match" since we begun more than 2 years ago, I suppose it's fine; as long as new players are informed along the way.

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(Thank you Raphael Majere for the post)

*I feel that I can improve further in this game, but I need help. Plus I want to make more friends in this game too. What should I do?
Well, sounds like you are ready to join a guild. A guild is where players can "meet-up", normally in a separate guild forum. In the forum, players can discuss more about the game, about decks, about gameplay and strategy. Normally guilds have their own IRC channel where players can meet-up in real time to chat/testplay decks or play matches. One can progress and improve the fastest in a guild environment. Click here for the list of guilds and click here to learn how to join a guild.

*Maybe I am not ready for Guilds yet. I just wanna make friends.
No worries. Join the "Unofficial" Shadow Era IRC Channel to meet up with other SE Players. Besides making friends and chat, you can also setup games with them for fun or to testplay. Typically for tournaments, the IRC is used as a means of "Real-Time" communication. To join the IRC, click here, type in your Nick and solve the CAPTCHA and you are in!

*Now I am ready to join a guild. Which guild would you recommend?
Firstly, I would of course recommend my guild, WotBP (Shameless Plug) but they are a few established guilds which are very new player friendly. They are:

Warriors of the Blue Phoenix (My Guild)
Acolytes of A1 (AA1) - Sister Guild of A1
Team Juggernauts Xtended (TJX) - Sister Guild of TJ
And So Forth (ASF) - Sister Guild of ETC
Legion de Dragones Latinos (LDL) - An active guild for the Hispanic and Spanish speaking community

Click on the individual links above for more information of the respective guilds. Choosing a guild is a very important process. Do check them out in detail and PM some of the members to get a feel of each guild before making a decision. Frequently "guild-switchers" do not leave a good lasting impression in this forum.

*I noticed under "Create Game", there is the "Meltdown" feature. What is it? And how I do go about playing this format?
Each Meltdown (MD) game costs 200 gold to play. You can view here for a detailed explanation of the Meltdown format, what are the risks and rewards involved, and links to the many awesome guides available in this forum. (Thank you Pat Jay for the guide)

F.A.Qs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the Forum:
by Zhou

This section is dedicated to explain features of the forum that new players and even senior members might find useful. The answers provided here are based on my personal experience while moving about in the forums. Let's start.

*How do I keep my Forum Account logged in and not logged out every 15-20 minutes or so?
As you perform the quick login from the top right corner of your screen, you can see a "Remember Me" box beside "Login" and "Remember", make sure you tick that box and click login. This is to prevent the account from automatically logging out and automatically logged if you open the page again in the future. NOTE: Do not tick this box if you are using a shared computer.

*I see other members having avatars and I want one too. How can I have my own profile picture?
View the top middle part of your screen, you can see the large banner "Shadow Era". Check out the tabs just right below it. You can see a tab called "Forum Action". Click it to go "Edit Profile". Once you are in, on your left sidebar, click on "Edit Avatar", then follow the instructions there. NOTE: The maximum size of your custom image is 80 by 80 pixels or 19.5 KB (whichever is smaller).

p/s: Avatar is the picture under your Forum Name everytime you make a post. Profile Picture is the picture displayed in your profile page when others are visiting.

*How can I have my own signature?
View the top middle part of your screen, you can see the large banner "Shadow Era". Check out the tabs just right below it. You can see a tab called "Forum Action". Click it to go "Edit Profile". Once you are in, on your left sidebar, click on "Edit Signature", then follow the instructions there. Click "Preview Signature" to preview your signature before you choose to edit/save it.

*I made a typing error in my post, how do I modify it?
After every post you made, on the bottom of the post, you will notice a few features and one of them is "Edit Post", click on that, make any amendments you wish, and click "Save".

*But I think I prefer to delete my post, how to?
After every post you made, on the bottom of the post, you will notice a few features and one of them is "Edit Post", click on that, make any amendments you wish, and click "Delete". Then at the bottom, tick on the "Delete" option and click on "Delete Post".

Note: You cannot use this method to "bump" your thread.

*How do I link card images in my post?
So far DP cards still in the works *I hope* But you can link CotC cards, but make sure you type them correctly, Caps first letter, and it will only Link the first card of your post, not every one of them. If it doesn't work immediately after you typed in the post, try refreshing the page. Check this for a perfect explanation of an example.

*Is there rules for the forum?
Yes there is, but its rather short though. Click here.

*How I search for a particular member's name/profile?
View the top middle part of your screen, you can see the large banner "Shadow Era". Check out the tabs just right below it. You can see a tab called "Community". Click it and proceed to "Member List". Once you are in, check the left side of the screen, just below the alphabets, you will see a "Search Member" option. Type in the member's forum name and click "Search". From there you can proceed by clicking on that member's name to reveal his/her profile page.

*How I send a private message to another member?
Firstly, click on Member's Forum Name, just above his/her avatar. A drag option will appear, click on "Private Message" and it will direct you to the Private Message page.

*What if I couldn't find his/her Forum Name to click on?
View the top middle part of your screen, you can see the large banner "Shadow Era". Check out the tabs just right below it. You can see a tab called "Community". Click it and proceed to "Member List". Once you are in, check the left side of the screen, just below the alphabets, you will see a "Search Member" option. Type in the member's forum name and click "Search". From there you can proceed by clicking on that member's name to reveal his/her profile page. Click on "Send Private Message" under his/her Profile Picture and you can proceed to send a private message.

*How do I send Private Messages to Multiple Members?
On the right top corner of your screen, click on the "Notifications" tab next to your Forum Name. Then click on "Inbox" to proceed to your mailbox. On the left side, click "Send New Message". Then under Recipient Users, type in the members' name you wish to send to, separated with a semi-colon ';'.

NOTE: You can only send to maximum of 4 members at 1 time!

*I like friends, how I do make one?
Proceed to that particular member's profile page. Below the Profile Picture, there is a "+Add As Friend" button. Click on it and click "Yes". Once approved, he/she is now your friend and will be under the Friends List of your profile page.

*I may not be able to come on to the forums often. How I subscribe a particular thread?
In your thread, once created, view the top right corner of your FIRST POST. Click on "Thread Tools" and then click "Subscribe to This Thread".

*Is there any way to receive email notifications of new private messages or new messages in the thread I subscribed?
Yes there is. Proceed to Forum Actions/Edit Profile. On the left side, you will notice "General Settings", click on it. Then under the "Default Thread Subscription Mode" setting, choose the settings you want. For receiving Email notifications for New Incoming Private Messages, check out "Email Notification of New Private Messages" You can also receive Pop-up notifications from Private Messages while you are in the forums, check out "New Private Message Notification Pop-up".

*Is there any way to change my forum name?
Yes there are. Firstly, the best and easiest way is to create a new account with your new name. But if you are a senior member already and you wouldn't want to throw all your post counts to the drain, I think you are not really new to the forums anymore, just shoot me a PM and I will let you know how. Wouldn't want too many forum name changes going around.

*I noticed if I attach a picture to my post, the picture is so small! How can I display it as its original size?
You have to type it manually. Get the URL of your image, then paste it within the IMG (image) tag. Just type *img* and */img* before and after your URL.

Note: For display purpose, the [ ] of the tag is replaced with **. Actual tag code is [ ].

*How can I reply to multiple quotes? I wouldn't want to make a double/triple post.
After each post, you will notice a + sign next to the "Edit, Reply, Reply With Quote" button. Click on that sign for each post you wish to quote. Once you are done, click on "Reply With Quote" of any one of the posts you wish to quote. Then all the posts will be quoted on 1 single reply post.

NOTE: You can tick on posts on multiple pages. I.E: You can tick a post on Page 1 and a post on Page 2 and wanting to reply to them together on a single post. Just tick all the post within the same thread, then click "Reply with Quote" on the final post you wish to quote.

*How I do create a new thread?
In every section, view the top left corner of your screen. You will find a "+ Post New Thread" button. Click on it to proceed.

*How come in some sections, I can't seem to find this button?
2 Reasons, either you are not logged in to the forum, or the section is closed.

*Why I posted a new thread/reply, but it did not appear?
Most probably that section is moderated by an administrator. Your thread is pending approval, once approved, it will appear at the page. One of such section is the "Card Rulings" section.

*I like polls. I want to add a poll to my thread, how do I do it?
In your thread, once created, view the top right corner of your FIRST POST. Click on "Thread Tools" and then click "Add Poll To This Thread".

That's all for now. I will add in more content on the later time.

Hope you will find these information useful. :)
Cheers and enjoy yourself in the forums.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zhou86

oh no, flyingferrari, could you please delete your post and make a new one? Haha we posted on the same time. :(

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lol!

Sticky!

Very good idea Zhou. Well done!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlyingFerrari

lol!

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Thanks bro. :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jazz

Sticky!

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I hope so too! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Preybird

Very good idea Zhou. Well done!

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Thanks bro for your support. Do try provide some FAQs with answers if possible. :p

Welcome to the forums!

Zhou wins the prize for Contribution of the Day! :)