Before you reply:
This is a guide for Hands of War, made by someone who is an expert
at the game, therefore he
should already know just about every aspect of the game. Please
do not give suggestions of
your own in this thread, or I will be forced to flag it. If you
want to give suggestions,
make your own guide or post something to add in my profile requesting
me to update my guide ; Thank you.
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The second guide by Yours Truly. If you have any questions about the game, or have doubts
about your class stats/ your playing skill, then it would be best to look at
this (hopefully) great guide I am creating at this time.
QUICK FIND! Press CTRL + F to use the find feature in Windows XP / Vista to quickly
find a topic in the guide. This will make your search much, much easier to deal with, instead
of scrolling in a frenzy. Use the table of contents below to move to a specific topic, by using
keywords, such as "Overview", or "Getting Started". The search should automatically move to
the topic in mind on the first or second click.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I : Introduction to Hands of War
II: Overview
III: Classes to Choose From:
IV: Playing the Game
V: The Toolbar
VI: F.A.Q's
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I : Introduction to Hands of War
Hands of War -- a highly-rated adventure/RPG game from Djugan that is very addicting to
those free-roamer junkies. There is much gameplay to be..erm, played, and a bucket full
of quests to try out. Inside, you will find pretty much anything you will need to play the
game fully and enjoy it all the more.
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II : Overview
You are a traveler, in a land devastated by civil war between the factions. You are to set out
and do whatever it is that YOU, the player, desire. Shall you go forth and fight alongside
the noble Alliance to fight against the Shadow Runners? Will you be a wise Magician and fight
everything in their name? Or will you be a resourceful Tracker that preserves everything
natural in law? Choose wisely. The actions you take will have a positive and negative factor
on just what people see you in their eyes.
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III : Classes to Choose From
There are three classes, each having their own unique specialties and skills. After you choose
your character, you must type in its name where it says "Character Name" in the middle. Pick one
that you will naturally be better skilled in:
Warrior :
-- Melee sword attacks
-- High armor
-- Fast health recovery rate
-- High health
Description from the author: a classic battle character that is trained in power, defense
and strength, which enemies find hard to chew. His skills make him a worthy adversary, while
the opposite for the enemies, as he can cut down his foes in one fell swoop. This class is
recommended for the beginners. The Blade Masters are the perfect faction for this person.
Ranger :
-- Ranged bow attacks
-- Fast attacks
-- Average health/energy recovery rate
-- Fast movement speed
Description from the author: A well-rounded character that starts off weak, but gradually
gets better off as you progress in the game. Because of his high speed, he is able to
traverse quicker than the other characters in the map, evading enemy attacks all the
simpler. With his bow, he is able to pick off enemies from a distance without so much
as a single threat ; however, when trapped or ganged on by multiple enemies, he will get hurt
quickly and his health will drain in a snap. Recommended for the intermediate players who
wish to have a little challenge. The Trackers are the perfect faction for this person.
Wizard :
-- Ranged spell attacks
-- High damage
-- Fast energy recovery rate
-- High energy
Description from the author: The classic mage who is equipped with a variety of spells. The
keywords here are 'high damage' and 'fast energy recovery rate', as both of these are important
in the latter part of the game. He will do the greatest damage of all, while recovering his
energy faster than the other characters. His health, however, is dangerously slow and low,
making a rather easy target for his enemies. His main attack is slower than the ranger and
warrior's, and his defense is pretty low to start off. This is recommended for the expert
players, as survival is a fickle thing for this old man. The Magicians is the perfect
faction for this character.
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IV : Playing the Game
So you've chosen your character and are ready to start your grand adventure in this 2-d world
of Hands of War. Great! Oh no, you're naked! That's okay. Perform quests and obtain enough
gold and your wardrobe problems will be solved momentarily.
Basic controls:
Very simple: WASD keys for movement, mouse to aim, and left click to
grab items and manage your
inventory and shop. Navigate your character across the map
and move to the end of the
screen to move to a new panel. Your toolbar is down on the
bottom-right of the screen
to open up certain things, such as the map, and your character stats.
Attacking:
Very simple as well, once you get the hang of it. Using your mouse will make your character face
a certain direction. You must face the direction of your target
before you left-click to
attack it. To choose a spell, click on the spell in mind at the
lower-left portion of the
screen. Afterwords, aim at the enemy and click as you would a regular attack. Special
skills generally take time for it to charge. Return to your normal attack by clicking
on the first icon.
What's Shown on the Screen:
You can see your progress of killing the enemy at the
upper-right portion of the
screen. You can see its health bar (red), level circle, faction
it belongs to, and its name.
Your character is shown at the upper-left portion of the
screen. You can see your
health bar (red), your energy bar (blue), your experience bar (green), your level circle,
and your name. The number of potions are shown just below. Blue is for your energy, and red is
for your health. You can click on either one to restore the bar, but a faster way is to press
the correct button on the keyboard. Q is for energy, and E is for health. The
skill keys are down at the lower-left portion of the screen. Again, clicking them is one way, but
pressing the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 keys will be much faster, trust me.
Items, and Picking Them Up
Items are necessary for survival, believe it or not. They come in a variety of colors and picking
out which is which can be handy. To grab an item from the field of battle, simply click on it.
It will automatically be stored in your inventory. Too many items inside means that you will
no longer be able to pick up new items until you drop or sell the old ones. You can only
sell items for gold in cities. Trying to sell them in the wilderness will drop them.
There are also different kinds of items, specifically weaponry :
Yellow -- Normal, everyday items you could buy at the store
Brown -- Set items that come together with other parts of the body
that have the same name :
(e.g. Gladiator's Blade, Gladiator's Vambraces).
Purple -- Unique items that are generally the best of its kind. I'm
going to go ahead and say that there are 4 kinds of unique
items PER CLASS, PER ARMOR PIECE and WEAPON.
Interacting :
Unique characters, such as those that would give you quests, will be shown with a color circle
around him/her. Simply move to that character to 'interact' with them. Depending on that
person and their color, you will receive different responses.
Interacting characters :
-- Commanding Officers
-- Traders
-- The Innkeeper
What the colors mean :
Yellow -- Has quest to give. Your influence in a faction will
determine whether he/she will give you that quest or not.
Green -- You have completed this quest, and he/she is ready to give
you your reward.
Black -- You have already received this person's quest and are
currently working on completing it.
Orange -- This character has training services.
Brown -- This character has trading services. Depending on your
influence, he/she may allow services or refuse them.
Blue -- This character can save your game for you. Click and wait
for the bar to completely charge and the game is saved.
Indestructibles :
Shrubs, buckets, trees, the river, whatever it is, you cannot
move here, but it is there
for a reason : You can protect yourself from ranged attacks and
vice-versa. Taking advantage
of the terrain on the map can turn the tide in a seemingly unwinable battle.
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V : The Toolbar
The toolbar contains many sections of the game that you might need to manage and check. Here's
a list of the sections and a brief description of each:
Character :
Shows your inventory, equipped weaponry, stats, and money. If you have something you want
equipped and it's in your inventory, simply click, drag 'n' drop it to the correct place
(e.g. boots go to the boots panel). Every time you level up by getting enough experience,
you will gain stat points to use on your attributes. Choose wisely, as you cannot retrieve your
precious points again. Here's a list of the stats and what they are used for :
Strength -- Increases damage from melee weapons (keep out of
reach from rangers and wizards)
Intelligence -- Increases your max energy and energy recovery rate.
Agility -- Increases run speed and damage dealt with bows (Keep
out of reach from warriors and wizards).
Vitality -- Increases your maximum health and health recovery rate.
Focus -- Increase damage dealt with spells (Keep out of reach from
warriors and rangers)
Armor -- you can't increase this with points, it just shows you how
much total armor points you have from your equipment.
The Map :
This shows the world of 2-D Land in Hands of War RPG. Included are the symbols of every
faction, where you are currently located, and the towns from which you can buy things from
and save at. Using the map correctly will help complete quests faster and help you in
times of chaos.
Abilities :
Your current selection of spells and skills that you can use in battle. From here, you
can switch the hotkey order and remove spells from that slot. Simply drag 'n' drop the
icon from the left to the right slots and you're done! Also shows the description of the
spell, how much energy it costs, and how long it takes for the spell to charge up.
Quest Log :
Shows the current quests you have accepted. Includes the description of the quest in
detail, and the option to opt out of the quest, allowing you to do it some other time.
Factions:
The handful of 'clubs' in Hands of War RPG. Each has their description, whose enemy
they fight against, and your current influence in that faction.
-- The Alliance (blue star)
-- Shadow Runners (red...leaf thingy)
-- Merchant's Guild (gold scales)
-- The Mercenaries (crimson Stamp)
-- Trackers (green and orange swirl)
-- The Magicians (silver staff)
-- The Blademasters (blue and red swords)
Each of these factions has their own specific 'influence', which you can alter by
helping/hurting them. Killing their own people and finishing the enemies' quests will lower
their influence, while killing their enemies and finishing their own quests will raise their
influence. Each 'level' has its own color and condition over you:
Green -- Ally: Total bud, allows for any quest from that faction to
be taken. Required for faction's epic quest.
Blue -- Friendly: Pals. Allows for quests to be taken, although some
quests require more influence than others.
Grey -- Neutral: Okay with you. Considers you normal and
uninfluenced in any way. Quests from factions (other than
level one quests) require positive influence in order for
you to do quests for them.
Orange -- Unfriendly: Grudge against you. Will not attack you,
although it's a long climb to get them back to neutral.
Quest givers will not give you quests.
TRADERS WILL NOT ALLOW SERVICES IF YOU ARE UNFRIENDLY!!
Red -- Kill on Sight: Uh-oh, you've been marked for death. Don't
worry though, they will only engage in combat if they see
you, though it will be difficult to traverse freely.
Game Controls :
Allows for certain tweaks in the game. Turn sound/music on/off, adjust the graphics quality,
turn the tutorial pop-ups on/off, configure the interface, and view the list of tutorials given.
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VI: F.A.Q's
-- How come I can't cross the bridge to the second town?
You have to complete the first heart piece quest. See either the Alliance or Shadow Runner
captain in the first town first, for them to give you the quest. Next, venture into the cave
closest to the first town and complete the quest. Sorry, no spoilers as to what's inside.
-- What's the best attributes for each class?
Warrior : Lotsa Strength, Vitality, some Intelligence, but not a whole lot.
Ranger : Lotsa Agility, Some Vitality, Some Intelligence
Mage : Lotsa Focus, Lotsa Intelligence, good amount of Vitality
...As for specifics, that's up to you to decide what's best.
-- How do you get moar uber weaponz?!?
It all depends on luck. The boss of each cave will most definitely drop a unique item, though
it is uncertain as to what really is dropped. Keep fighting, and you will eventually have
some goodies to hoard.
-- Glitch! I'm inside the wall! Help meee!!
... LOL!! Try wiggling or something. If all else fails, hopefully you didn't go too far...
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Well, hopefully this is as good as my guide will ever be, I certainly did put a lot of
thought and patience into, not to mention blood from my fingers and tears from my anguish...
Well, good luck with Hands of War, hope you like it as much as I do!
