ow that you have the basic information you'll need to jump right in, we've assembled a collection of tips on the finer points of living a long and happy life in the world of Ultima Online. Some are from players who have been right where you're standing now, looking out at a brand new world ready for you to explore and perhaps conquer! We've also included ten tips from the UO Team. Not only do we make the world in which you're about to enter, but we live in it too!

See you in Britannia!

Welcome to Ultima Online, a world like no other. If you're new to UO, we hope this section helps you on your way to a virtual life filled with friendship, prosperity, and adventure. As a new player, you can take on the new player quests for each character you create. These quests teach you many UO gameplay basics, plus you'll earn some extra gold and items. UO is not built on a rigid quest and leveling system that leads you by the nose up a fixed ladder. After you finish the new player quest, your future really is up to you. Having that much choice can be intimidating so here is a recommendation: Choose a skill and begin working on it. Say you want to be a warrior; begin working on Swordsmanship by hunting through the forests near your home city. Or work on Taming by trying to tame stray cats and dogs, and then try horses or even dragons. As you train up any of the more than 50 skills, you'll find yourself adventuring further and further from home, developing new tactics for skill-building, and most importantly, meeting other players. Find out more about the UO skill system at www.uoherald.com/guide/skill.php. A great way to meet other players is by joining a guild, a group of players dedicated to helping each other grow rich, powerful, and famous. There are more than 28,000 active player guilds, and you can find more about who they are and how to reach them at http://town.uo.com/guilds. There is a lot going on in UO, pretty much all the time. There are large in-game events moderated by UO staff, and smaller events staged by UO players - everything from auctions to new player help days to murder mysteries. Make a point of visiting www.uo.com at least once a week to get the latest on what's happening and where. Sometimes you'll need technical or account support help not covered in the Playguide. In those cases, head over to http://support.uo.com where you'll find answers to commonly asked questions about technical support, game rules, or server maintenance schedules. The following is a collection of advice from some of Ultima Online's most advanced players. Here they talk you through everything from how to gain experience in the game to what to do when you're dead. The note boxes beneath some of the player tips were written by the UO development team. These offer extra information or definitions that might be unfamiliar to novice players. The best advice I could give a new player is to try everything. UO is great in that it offers a myriad of possible activities, and there is something to enjoy wherever you look. For example, I started playing UO with the intention of just warring against other people. Yet some of my best times in-game were in completely different fields, like crafting and collecting rares. There is more content being added to the game all the time.

1. Read the forums and ask questions there. Experienced players enjoy sharing their knowledge. (note: The official UO forums are located at uo.stratics.com.)
2. Treat other players with kindness and respect. That's the way you'd like them to treat you, so do the same for others.
3. Don't get obsessed with developing your character too fast. Enjoy each stage as you pass through it. And when you reach the high skill levels, realize that there is still a vast amount to learn. Players have been playing UO-and have been challenged by UO-for eight years. Enjoy the journey.

Choose the skills you want to play and play them. Don't get too caught up in what other players say and do when it comes to training and pay no attention to the powergamers hitting Golems. Play the game like you want to play it and always make sure you are having fun. Don't carry what you can't afford to lose. NOTE: Siege Perilous is a shard (server) with wide-open, almost-no-rules, player-versus-player combat. It's for experienced players who want an extreme challenge. Ru gives this advice because, on Siege, if another player kills you, that player can take whatever you are carrying. Remember to enable the auto-renew on insurance, since the alternative can lead to so much frustration. If you're alone in UO and want to make friends, don't be shy. Just start up a conversation with the next stranger you see. Be aware of scam artists and the tricks of the trade, so that you can avoid them. No matter what that stranger says, that red gate probably does not lead to some sort of 'happy' land where bunnies and butterflies want to be your friend. Oh, and don't eat yellow snow. NOTE: Auto-Insurance is a system that lets you keep 'insured' items after you die for a minimal fee. For more information, visit click here. A good way to protect yourself when you are starting out is to never hand over your items for someone to 'look at'. They can see it very well on your paperdoll. Also a good way to keep track of your items at your house is to never put valuables in chests that are set to 'friends' or 'anyone.'

Dragons are not friendly animals. You can't walk up to them and say hello with out being eaten!

NOTE: Lady Beth makes an excellent point. UO is filled with people, mostly good people, some great people, and a few bad people. Take the same precautions you would if you were visiting a big city for the first time. If someone asked to hold your wallet so they could inspect the leather, would you give it to him? Take your time learning the game. It has a lot of depth, and may seem a bit frustrating at first. Don't be afraid to search out established guilds that focus on helping the new player-for instance the NEW guild on Siege.

1. Explore some of the more challenging areas whilst "young" and unavailable for a butt-kicking.
2. Once your character has become more established you should invest in a runebook. Recalling is the fastest method of returning to areas of interest.
3. What are "reds"? They're players who have killed enough of their fellow players to be considered murderers. Murderers have severe penalties placed upon them by the upstanding citizenry of Britannia.
4. The Britain and Luna banks are great for scavenging discarded loot. (Haven is ok at first but generally the loot there is not worth very much.) Those banks are also great places to ask questions.
5. The right guild can be a great source of info and assistance. When I joined a large one, my game experience really took off.
6. Dungeons probably aren't the best place to hold a tea party.
7. After you create your character, one of the first things you should probably do is purchase a horse. This will allow you to get around much faster. The additional speed of being mounted will also help you escape dangerous situations. Just remember to feed it regularly!
8. As you're exploring the world, get to know where the moongates are located. These are usually found close to different towns.
9. Lots of creatures can be skinned after you'd killed them, so make sure to bring along a sharp blade when you venture out of town. Sheep can be sheared for wool, which can be turned into cloth. You can cut cloth to make bandages for healing yourself or your pets.
10. Many of the actions you can take in-game can be assigned to a macro and executed with just one key press. Explore the Macro section of the options pane to create some.

One final tip: Ultima Online's greatest asset is our community. Our community has created many fansites packed full of information on the game. You can find a list of some of the more popular fansites here.