This guide was written by Hooper of the Real Wasteland Cool Dudes. Look us up on Steam at http://steamcommunity.com/groups/RWCD. Make sure you join us and hang out in chat - FOnline is a lot easier and more fun with other players to back you up, and it'll be easier when the time comes to rule the wasteland with an iron fist. If you notice any mistakes, contact us.

Open Beta begins August 15th. You can't play until then.

All you need to play is the MASTER.dat and CRITTER.dat from the original Fallout 2. Your Fallout 2 saves, mods and patches will not work. Just place the two .dat files into the same folder as your Fonline.exe.

The MASTER and CRITTER dat files can be downloaded here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IU8Z1DD8

The latest version of the client and server details can be found here come August 15th: 
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/RWCD

1.1 Character Creation
1.2 Traits
1.3 Skills
1.4 Suggested Builds
1.5 Quick Start Guide

2.1 Gameplay
2.2 Combat
2.3 Dying
2.4 Important Towns
2.5 Lawful Towns
2.6 Creating Parties
2.7 Creating Gangs
2.8 Capturing Towns

3.1 Features
3.2 Mercs
3.3 Banks
3.4 Rooms
3.5 Brahmin Trading
3.6 Shit Shovelling
3.7 Cars
3.8 Bounty Hunting
3.9 Crafting

4.1 World Map

1.1	Character Creation


Strength. Melee damage. 11kgs can be carried per point. 5 strength is essential for any character: less than 5 will stop you using most guns. You gain 1hp per point of strength on character creation. Take at least 7 if you're planning on being Big Guns.

Perception. How far you can see. Perception works differently in FOnline: if it's low you'll be near blind, and people will only fade into your view when you're right next to them. It also determines your ranged accuracy. 

Endurance. Hit points. The higher, the more HP you start with and the more you gain when you level up. Take at least 6, considering just how combat based FOnline is. You don't want to be dying every other encounter, or getting oneshotted by other players. 

Charisma. How many human players you can have in your party, and how many mercs you can hire. You can have 1 player follower per charisma point. The formula for NPC followers is half your charisma, minus one – after that you can't hire any more. If you're not planning on hiring mercs, or already know someone who's planning on making a charisma build, I'd recommend just 2 or 3. 

Intelligence. Skill points per level. Per point of intelligence, you gain an additional 2 skill points per level on top of the minimum 5. Take at least 6 or 7.

Agility. Your maximum action points. Make sure it's even - you only gain an extra action point per 2 agility points. Having an agility of 5 is the same as 4 agility, save for one extra point of Armor Class. Similarly, only take the 'Gain Agility' perk if it's going to bring you to an even number. Take at least 6.

Luck. Your critical hit chance. Per point of luck, you gain an additional % chance to score a critical hit. 


1.2	Traits


Gifted is removed from FOnline, so you're gonna have to plan your character a little more carefully. 

Fast Metabolism.  Poison isn't implemented and radiation barely exists. The heal bonus is barely noticeable. Your call.

Bruiser. +2 Strength, -2 AP. Not worth the loss of action points. Action points are too valuable just for a strength increase. 

Small Frame. Less carry weight for one character point. Worth considering if you don't plan on carrying too much, or are going to be in a group.

One Hander. A 20% accuracy gain in pistols for a 40% reduction in rifles? The best guns in the game are rifles. Avoid.

Finesse. 10% extra critical chance, -30% damage on all attacks. Useful if you're going to have a crit-based character.

Kamikaze. Useless. It gives you extra sequence, which is only useful in turn based combat. FOnline combat is realtime.

Heavy Handed. Your melee attacks always do more damage, but all your critical hits do 30% less damage. Avoid.

Fast Shot. -1AP on all gun attacks, lose the ability to make aimed shots. Now that people can run in combat and aimed attacks cost a lot of AP, it's worth considering. 

Bloody Mess. Everyone dies using the 'gory' death animations. No gameplay change. A novelty. 

Jinxed. You and everyone around you experiences more critical failures.

Good Natured. A 15% bonus in First Aid, Doctor, Speech and Barter, -10% in ALL combat skills. Depends if you're planning on being a doctor or not. 

Chem Reliant/Chem Resistant/Sex Appeal. Not implemented. 

Skilled. 5 more skill points per level, perks are taken every four levels instead of every 3. Perks are lot more useful in the long run than skill points, I'd advise against this. 

Night Person. +1 Intelligence +1 Perception at night, -1 Intelligence -1 Perception in the daytime. If you have 7 Perception, you'll spend half the time with 8 Perception and half the time with 6. Seeing as you can't rest to make time pass in FOnline, it's a matter of personal taste. 


1.3	Skills


First Aid, Doctor, Lockpick, Steal and Repair are all timeout skills. You have to wait for them to recharge for a while before you can use them again - the more skilled you are, the shorter the timeout. 

Small Guns. The most versatile gun skill in the game. Weapons and ammo are incredibly common, cheap, and purchasable everywhere. Remember you need at least 5 strength to use most of these guns. 

Big Guns. Incredible damage output, while very expensive to keep purchase and keep running. The best place to purchase the weapons themselves are the Boneyard Gun Runners, while ammunition is relatively abundant. 

Energy Weapons.Too much of a niche to bother with. Their damage is reasonable, but the guns themselves are expensive and rare, and the ammunition is a lot harder to come by. Avoid.

Unarmed. Now that people can run in combat, you'll probably just get shot to death. If you get close, most gun users will just use burst fire on you. You may be able to catch a few people off guard with it, but you'll be better off with a gun. Considering how easy it is for new players to get a bit of cash together to arm themselves, this tag is not needed for starting out.

Melee Weapons. Same as unarmed. 

Throwing. Useless. Grenades are too rare to make this worth bothering with. 

First Aid. Used for HP regain. The more skilled you are, the more HP you can heal on both yourself, other players, and NPCs. You also gain XP from this.

Doctor. Used for crippled limb repair ONLY. Unlike in Fallout 2, you can't heal any HP with this skill. 

Sneak. The more skill points you have the more likely you will be invisible to other players while sneaking. The higher their perception, the more likely they will see you. If you run you will break the sneak.

Lockpick. The main application for this is opening car trunks and getting into bank vaults.

Steal. The current problem with steal is that the 'Use' animation plays when you try to steal, whether you're successful or not. All human players will know if you ever try to steal from them, making this skill quite limited. 

Traps. There are no traps in this game. 

Science. Like repair, this is being pushed as the 'crafter' skill. It has no other application. The problem is how bad the crafting system is. Don't bother with it unless you're desperately curious about a poor crafting system. 

Repair. The other 'crafter' skill. This skill is also used to repair and maintain deteriorating gear. Gear degrades too slowly to make breakage likely - you're far more likely to die and lose your gun than have to repair your old one. You do, however, gain XP for a successful repair. 

Speech. Until there are more than 3 quests in the game, this skill is useless. 

Barter. Affects the prices you purchase trader items and the price you can sell your items for. Useful.

Gambling. It has no application in FOnline. The $5 slot machines in various places seem to run on the luck stat.

Outdoorsman. Sets worldmap travel speed and makes random encounters optional. The more skilled you are, the more encounters you can avoid and the faster you travel. 150% is enough to allow you to skip almost any encounter in FO 


1.4	Suggested Builds


These are just a few, combat oriented, character builds.

Small Guns

5 Strength
8 Perception
8 Endurance
3 Charisma
7 Intelligence
8 Agility
1 Luck

Tags: Small guns, Outdoorsman, Barter

Traits: Anything you want.

Sniper

5 Strength
8 Perception
6 Endurance
2 Charisma
7 Intelligence
6 Agility
6 Luck

Tags: Small Guns, Outdoorsman, Barter

Traits: Finesse, anything else you want.

Take this if you'd prefer making a few valuable aimed shots. Take the 'bonus critical rate' perks when you can get them. You'll start the game with a 16% critical chance.

Big Guns

7 Strength
7 Perception
8 Endurance
2 Charisma
7 Intelligence
8 Agility
1 Luck

Tags: Big Guns, Outdoorsman, Barter

Traits: Fast Shot. Big guns can't make aimed shots anyway, meaning all bursts are -1AP.


1.5	Quick Start Guide


When you create a new character you'll spawn in a random town with nothing but a jumpsuit and a radio. The radio will sell for around $200, which is also the price of a leather jacket. Go exchange your radio for one at the nearest store.

If you're in Klamath, Modoc, NCR, Vault City, Redding or Broken Hills, try and find a 'Brahmin herder' or a brahmin trader. They're always hanging around outside brahmin pens. Talk to them, ask for a job. You'll receive a shovel. Cycle through to 'Use' and start clicking the brahmin shit. You'll get 10xp and 5 caps per piece of shit you shovel, 10 if you're in the NCR. I seriously advise doing this up to level 2. When you're sick of shovelling, talk to the herder, return your shovel, and get your pay. Buy yourself a 10mm pistol and 50 rounds or so.

Be wary of Russians, and know that most encounters can kill you at this stage. Visit the RWCD chat if you haven't already, there'll at least be a couple players prepared to find you and back you up. Try and find a gang to join, or join the RWCD gang.

A lot of neutral encounters won't attack you if you attack one of their group. If you think you can take them down one by one, it's an easy way to get gear.












2.1	Gameplay
 

FOnline is brutal. Most people will happily kill you just to get your gear, and they'll do it without warning. Always be on your guard. Watch out for Russians.

The towns have been stripped of all useful items. Don't head down to Navarro or Mariposa and expect to be able to pick up endgame gear. It'll just be empty. I can't overstate this enough. Don't waste your time trying. 

Most encounters will kill you, particularly if you're travelling alone. In most cases it's best to just bolt to the exit grid.


2.2	Combat
 

Combat in FO is realtime, not turn based. 

You can walk and run as much as you like in combat mode. It doesn't deplete your action points, but they don't recharge until you stand still again. 

Aimed shots cost more AP than regular shots, but now each aimed shot costs more AP according to how potentially lethal it is. Eyeshots cost the most AP, while torso shots cost the least. 


2.3	Dying


Dying happens a lot in FOnline. When you die you lose all your gear, which stays with your old corpse and is free to be picked up by other players. If there is no one else around when you die in an encounter, it will end up in a random capturable town's loot locker. When your HP goes beyond -20, you're officially 'dead' - you'll bleed out, and people can't use the first aid skill or stimpaks to bring you back. You'll have to lie there for 50 seconds, then the screen will go black, and you'll wake up in a random camp on the outskirts of the nearest town. 


2.4	Towns


FOnline is a vast game, encompassing towns from both Fallout 1 and 2. For the moment, however, this just means there's a wide variety of stores and floating text to choose from; quests are scarce to nonexistent. The most populated (in terms of both players and things to do) and useful towns are the northern, Fallout 2 towns. Stay up there for the most part. The southern towns are unfinished and barren.

Klamath

A good town to start in. You have the option of heading south to the trapping fields to kill geckos for their pelts, heading into the north part of trapper town to kill rats, or just shovelling shit. You can buy your supplies from either Maida Buckner or Sajag in the Golden Gecko. To keep a hold of your gear, rent a room for $500 at the Golden Gecko. If you're in a gang, speak to Slim Picket to take over the town and start getting free supplies every 2 hours.

Arroyo

Empty.

Den

Just stores. If you spawn here as a new character, you're better off heading northwest to Klamath. This town isn't capturable, nor does it have anywhere to gain XP through either quests or killing critters. The main stores are Tubby's and Flick's, located in the centre of the town. If you're feeling lucky, you can try the slots in Becky's for $5 a pop.

Modoc

Brahmin can be bought and sold here, and their shit can be shovelled. Rooms can be rented at Rose's Bed and Breakfast, and Jo can be extorted if you're in a gang and have backup. Jo is the town's main store, while Balthas at the Tannery sells armour from leather jackets to leather armour mk.2.

Ghost Farm

Serves no function at the moment.

Redding

Here you can check on bounties, open a bank account, hire mercs and extort the Sheriff. The main store is Mayor Ascorti, who sells weapons and armour, while healing and medical supplies can be bought from Doc Johnson. The banker is the man dressed in green behind the cash window in Ascorti's Ace. The Sheriff is the man you speak to if you want to check on bounties or claim the town for your gang. Lou at the Malamute Saloon rents rooms for $500.

Vault City

Vault City has a bank, a brahmin trader,You can shovel shit in the courtyard. You can buy a day pass for about $2,000 from Skeev, or talk the guards into making you a citizen if you're sufficiently skilled in pretty much any field. Citizenship means you can access the banks or the stores at any time you want.

Gecko

Here you can hire ghoul mercs, extort Harold, and shop at the Survival store on the north side of town.

New Reno

Reno's main stores are located on the west side: New Reno Arms and Renesco's Pharmacy. Eldridge sells a variety of small arms and occasionally stocks a couple big guns.

Sierra

Beware, the turrets shoot at you. It'll probably also be looted by the time you get there.

Stables

Nothing to do.

Golgotha

Nothing to do.

Broken Hills

The General Store often stocks metal armour mk.2 for around 15,000 caps, one of the better purchasable armours in FOnline. You can hire super mutant mercs and open a bank account.

NCR

You get paid twice as much to shovel crap here, and this is also the place to buy cheap brahmin to sell up in Modoc. Speak to Buster in the Guns tent to purchase some of the better guns in the game.

Raiders

Here you can join the Raiders faction. It involves Metzger somehow, I've never been able to. There are also a few crappy stores. The raiders themselves are worth stealing from – they carry expensive drugs and the best pistol in the game, the .223.

San Francisco

Not a lot to do here.

Navarro

Just a gas station at the moment, you won't be able to get inside. Eventually players will be able to join the Enclave.

Mariposa

Useless.

Vault 13

You can't get inside. There's some rats around the entrance, that's it.

Vault 15

Nothing.

Junktown

You can't get in if it's night-time, and if you try you'll get shot. You can't have a weapon equipped when you approach, or you'll get shot. Don't worry, there's nothing good to do in there anyway. You can buy dogs or rent a room.

The Hub

Here you can buy some of the best guns and armour in the game. Regular combat armour is available in Oldtown, along with some useful small and big guns. The Hub Police in combat armour are armed with combat shotguns – but they aren't equipped, meaning you can steal them. Besides this, there isn't much to do.

Boneyard

Combat armour and big guns are available from the Gunrunners.

Necropolis

Nothing good here.

Brotherhood

You can't join yet. Just a fence and some guys who want to shoot you.

The Glow

Nothing inside, but the radiation still kills you. Avoid.

Ares Military Base
Empty.

Cathedral

Nothing to see here.


2.5	Lawful Towns


Some towns don't allow you to openly carry any kind of weapon. If you're carrying one in their presence you'll receive a warning and have about five seconds to holster your weapon. If you don't, they'll shoot you.

Similarly, attacking another player in these towns will alert the guards who will hunt down the aggressor. If you're in trouble, run to the guards.

Even the brahmin shit shovel counts as a weapon, so be careful.

The known 'Lawful' towns are as follows:

Vault City
Junktown
NCR


2.6	Creating Parties

Note: You can only have as many human players following you as you do charisma points. NPC mercs do not count toward this limit.

At some point, you'll want to travel as a group in the wastelands. 

To do this, select the member of your group you wish to follow (I suggest the one with the most charisma) and select this icon: 


To stop following, do the same.
This icon over someone's head means you're following them: 

 

This icon over someone's head means they're following you: 

Make sure you're all near the exit grid when the leader leaves if you want to follow him. All party members will then receive this message: 

 

Click follow. 

When you enter the worldmap, you will move at the speed of the leader's outdoorsman skill. If you seem unable to move, your have more people than your leader's charisma will allow.

If the floating icon greys out, you're out of following range. If you leave the map your followers will not get the option to follow you.


2.7	Creating Gangs


If you get enough cash together, you can buy a hideout from Smiley in Klamath and start your own gang. The cheapest base is $25,000. Use the terminal to add new members, and use the 'Party' option to bring them to your hideout. Get them to use the terminal to accept the invitation. 

Join the RWCD gang if you don't want to spend $25,000.


2.8	Capturing Towns


In order to successfully capture a town you'll need to be an official gang, and have purchased a base. You'll also need quite a few members. When you do, you can visit one of the people following towns, with a group of your gang members, to extort them: 


Klamath – Slim Picket
Modoc – Jo
Gecko – Harold
Redding – Sheriff Marion

Then, after 2 hours, supplies will appear in the designated footlocker.

























































3.1	Features


FOnline has a lot of gimmicky features in lieu of actual content.

3.2	Mercs


Hirable NPC backup. Purchasable in various towns, human, ghoul or super mutant mercs are available. You can only hire as many as your charisma allows which is half your charisma, minus one. NPC mercs do not count toward your player companion limit. Even the basic ones have reasonable HP. Speak to a 'Merc Recruiter' to hire them.

	Humans

		Unarmed 
		2,000 - Unarmed 
		3,000 - Sledgehammer 

		Small guns 
		5,000 - 10mm Pistol 
		7,000 - 10mm SMG 
		8,000 - Assault Rifle 

		Big Guns 
		15,000 - Flamer 
		20,000 - Minigun 
		25,000 - Rocket Launcher

		Energy Weapons 
		50,000 - Plasma Pistol 
		75,000 - Plasma Rifle 

Super Mutants 

		40,000 - Unarmed 
		75,000 - Minigun 
		85,000 - Rocket Launcher 

Ghouls 

		     500 - Spear 
		10,000 - Sniper Rifle 

Slaves 

		     500 - Unarmed 

	Dogs

		  2,500 - Unarmed

Hiring Locations:

Broken Hills. Super Mutants - Building behind Jester 
Gecko. Ghouls - Town Entrance. 
Reno. Humans -Town Entrance. 
NCR. Humans - Town Entrance 
Den. Slaves - From Metzger
Klamath. Dogs - Boy named Vic on the west side


3.3	Banks


Cash-only banks are in the following towns: 

Vault City 
Broken Hills 
Redding (The teller inside Ascorti's Casino.)
NCR 
San Francisco 
The Hub

It costs $100 to open an account. They all run independent of one another. Opening an account in Broken Hills does not mean you can withdraw funds in Redding. 

They can all be identified by the FLC logo, except Redding's.



3.4	Renting Rooms


If you need to store items, the safest way is to rent a room. It costs $500 to rent a room for 60 days, and that gives you a secure place to store you gear. It can't even be lockpicked. It doesn't require a key to access, so if you die you can get back in immediately. 

Rooms can be rented from the following people: 

Klamath. Sajag, Golden Gecko.
Modoc. Rose, Rose's Bed and Breakfast.
Redding. Lou, Malamute Saloon.
Broken Hills. Some guy.
Junktown. Some guy.


3.5	Brahmin Trading


You can buy cheap Brahmin in the NCR. If you successfully escort them all the way up to Modoc, you can sell them for profit. 

If you find any wild brahmin out in the wastes, use a rope on them. They become yours, and you can sell them to a brahmin trader.






3.6	Shit Shovelling


The quickest way to get cash and xp for the first level or so, and an easy way to get back on your feet if you die and lose everything. Speak to either a brahmin herder or a brahmin trader in one of the following towns: 
 
Klamath
Modoc
NCR
Vault City
Redding
Broken Hills
The Hub 

Ask them if they have any work, or comment that their pen looks dirty, then ask them for a shovel. As a side note, this shovel also serves as a rudimentary melee weapon. Equip the shovel and then scroll through the attack modes until you get to 'Use'. Left click the shovel (the cursor should turn gold) and then click one of the piles of 'Brahmin shit' that are around. You will receive 10exp, and the shit will disappear. 

Do this as much as you want, or until there's no shit left, and then return to the same character to return your shovel and collect your payment. In the NCR and Hub you will receive $10 per piece of shit shovelled, while all the other towns only offer you $5. Whichever you choose, it's still a good way to earn quick cash. 

Note: You have to talk to the herder and ask them to employ you before you start shovelling if you want to get paid for it. 


3.7	Cars


Cars are a much faster way of getting across the wasteland, and they all come with trunks for item storage. They can be purchased from T-Ray in the Reno Gas station (Use the town/map feature on worldmap). The following models can be purchased: 

Buggy – 21,000








Scout – 24,000

  

Hummer – 60,000

  

Highwayman – 168,000

  


The prices may still be dynamic, so you may get them for cheaper/more.

Car trunks can also be lockpicked. After a successful lockpick, you HAVE to then use the 'Steal' skill on the car trunk. Not the regular hand icon. It doesn't make any sense to me either, but that's how it's done. 

If you lose your car or leave it in an encounter, it will appear as a tiny map circle.












3.8	Bounty Hunters


Redding and the Hub have bounty hunters. In Redding, speak to the Sheriff to set up a bounty on someone, see what bounties are available, and redeem bounties you've earned. 

Killing a player with a bounty on them nets you a pair of dog tags. You then redeem these at Redding for the amount they're worth.


3.9	Crafting


FOnline does include its own crafting system, but in its current iteration it isn't worth bothering with. Wait until it's overhauled, unless you want to spend 60 skill points to be able to manufacture 10mm ammo.


4.1	World Map


Anything marked in red is not worth visiting.

http://www.my-image-host.com/images/8vg7u5les03ujb2diftl.png