FAQ That: Common answers to your basic Fallen Earth questions

We know. Life in Fallen Earth takes some getting used to. The virus has wiped out most of humanity, and there were nukes dropped in Asia because everyone was relatively sure someone over there designed the killer flu. What's left of humanity seems to be crowded into the Grand Canyon. We're all living in the shadow of a madman's legacy, and the world has - pardon the phrase - gone to hell in a hand-basket. It's not easy figuring out what to do with yourself in the post-apocalyptic world, but thankfully we here at Massively have been working on compiling a list of questions that should help make your first steps in this strange new version of Earth a bit easier.

Need a hand finding your way around? Join us behind the break for the first official installment of FAQ That - our irreverent take on those first, painful days of Noob Chat in your favorite new MMOs.

- GENERAL COMMANDS

How do I toggle walk/run?
Just hit / on your numeric keypad. First time you hit it, it should slow you to a walk. Second should be a jog. Third will be a run. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

How do I toggle between first-person and third-person?
You can either use F9 to toggle between them or use your scrolling center mouse wheel if you have one.

How do I turn off the UI?
Hit ALT and F10 at the same time.

How do I turn the camera around to look at myself?
Hold down ALT and use the right mouse button to swing the camera around.

How do I take a screen-shot?
CTRL-Q.

How do I switch weapons?
Weapons are controlled by hitting CTRL and then 1-6, depending on which slots you want to activate. Here's how they break down so far as defaults:

• CTRL-1 is the weapon on your right shoulder. This is your 2-handed ranged weapon by default.
  

• CTRL-2 is your left shoulder. This is a 2-handed melee weapon by default.
  

• CTRL-3 & CTRL-4 are your right and left hand melee weapons, respectively.

• CTRL-5 & CTRL-6 are your right and left hand ranged weapons, respectively.

You can change weapons around later with all manner of things - pool cues, shinai, hand-grenades with chemical agents, chainsaws, and more.

- LIFE, POST-APOCALYPSE STYLE

How do I skip the tutorial?
When you first enter the tutorial, the NPC directs you to go to the computer. Click on that computer, it will bring up a dialogue screen. There's an option under there at the bottom to skip the tutorial. Once you've skipped it, it will still bring up the cut-scene between the tutorial and the world. Hit ESC to skip the cut scene and get down to the post-apocalyptic action.

Why am I level 40 in the tutorial, but level 2 when I come out?
You get to be uber in the tutorial. You're but a wee babe when you emerge into the world. It's covered in the storyline as to why this happens, so we won't spoil it for you. Just be sure to actually complete the tutorial at least once, which takes approximately 20 minutes. After that, skip it all you'd like.

Is there any way to keep that ATV?
Nope, but you can craft one later. Gasoline, however, is a fun thing to get a hold of in the post-apocalyptic Grand Canyon. Wooooo....

How do I claim my pre-order mount/item/special item someone gave me a code for?
Type in /key, hit enter. A box will pop up. Enter your code in there. You should then find the item in your bag.
Please note: The Steam pre-order shirt codes do not appear to be working correctly at the moment. [Edit]: This appears to be fixed now. Here's how to get your Steam t-shirt.

I didn't get a mount from my order. When / how do I get my first horse?
You can get your first horse at level 3. Shawn wrote up a great tutorial on how to get your first horse.

Okay, I have a bridle and/or a key in my inventory. Where's my mount?
You have to right click it the first time to "create" your mount.

Great! Now how do I put it back?
Afraid there's no putting horses or vehicles into your bags in this game. They just don't fit. You can, however, put them away in a nearby stable or garage.

Okay, well then. What happens if I die in the middle of a bunch of bad guys who are way above my level and I resurrect way far away from my mount? I can't run back there and get it. They'll kill me again!
You'll have to go to the nearest stable/garage and pay them to tow your mount to that location so you can get to it. Much like the real world, the further away your ride is, the more it will cost to tow it in. Obviously it's better to get your mount towed from the nearest garage or stable to where you left it last.

How about if I put my mount in a stable and run to another town. Can I get it out in the stable at the other town without towing it?
Nope. You'll have to pay the towing fee to bring that other mount there. Besides, why would you do that to your poor feet if you have a mount? Anyway, you'll want to take advantage of your mount's inventory when you're out scavenging and looting.

Wait... mounts have inventory? How do I get to that?
When you get close to your mount, a little window will pop up just below your character information window on the UI. It will say "Refuel" "Repair" and "Info" - Click info. Under that window you'll see a tab that says "Inventory". While your mount may not have as many inventory spots as you do, it can carry far more weight. So if you've managed to scavenge up 87 pieces of tainted meat, you'd be wise to store it in there.

Obviously, you can also feed/refuel your mount or repair/heal your mount in this window too. Keep in mind that while a horse will regenerate stamina, vehicles don't regenerate gasoline. More's the pity.

A quick note for those with mounts:
Devote your first two slots in the mount's inventory to fuel and repair kits. For a horse, this means you want to put in Veterinary Kits and Sacks of Horsefeed. For vehicles, this is repair kits and gasoline. You do not want to be in the middle of nowhere (and this is an entirely possible scenario, mind you) when you are out of fuel, attacked, and your mount gets knocked out or wrecked.

Wrecked? Knocked out? You mean my mount can take damage?
In certain areas it's almost guaranteed your mount will take damage - like, the PvP areas. Be smart - prepare for the inevitable. This is the apocalypse. It will happen sooner or later.

Okay, so I get knocked out, my mount gets knocked out. I rez, now what?
Go to the nearest stable or garage, tow your horse or vehicle and get to using those repair or veterinary kits you stocked.

Where are the mailboxes?
There are several of them. Look in towns. They look just like the normal large, blue mailboxes you'd see in the real world. On the map, they're represented by little white envelopes.

Where are the banks?
There are Sector Vaults for each sector (1, 2, 3) in major towns. Some others have their own vaults, like Banker vaults. When you join a clan, you may also gain access to a Clan vault. Vaults are represented by little grey safe icons on the map/mini-map. (Mind you, they may be difficult to see on the mini-map due to all the little white player arrows crowded around them, so be sure to check your primary map for ease.)

How do I find Tainted Water?
Look for Water Barrels to scavenge, or Water Cactus plants to harvest.

How do I find Wool and Cotton?
Cotton comes from humanoid corpses, scavenged from graves, or harvested from Cotton plants. Wool comes from humanoid corpses, scavenged from graves, or can be harvested from Wooly Cactuses.

What is the current level cap for the game?
45

I've found a great area for scavenging/harvesting. How do I mark it so I can come back later?
Hit M to pull up your map, then right-click your map. You'll want to name your waypoint something descriptive like "Tech Salvage" or "Water Cactuses". The most recent one should show up on your mini-map as a yellow X marker. If you want to switch to another one you've saved, hit ALT-P to bring up your Waypoints menu. You can also delete them from inside the Waypoints menu.

Where are the auction houses?
In Sector 1, there are Auction Houses in Barter towns such as Embry Crossroads and Odenville to name two. They show up on the map as little brown gavels.

- SOCIAL

My friends and I really dig Fallen Earth, and we'd like to form a clan. How do we do that?
Head to a Barter town like Embry Crossroads. There, you'll find a Clan Manager NPC. For a cost of 10 blue chips, you can start a new clan up. You then have 10 days to get 10 members together. If you don't manage to get 10 members by then, your clan will disband automatically.

How do I send a private message to someone?
/tell [username] or /tell [firstname] [lastname], [message] - Be sure to get that comma in after the second name for a person who has two names, otherwise you may find yourself chatting with a stranger who wants to know precisely what you're blathering on about - or worse still, why you're /telling them such naughty things.

How do I add someone to my friends list?
/friend add [username]

How do I ignore someone?
/ignore [username]

- CRAFTING

What do the different colors on tradeskill recipes mean?
Grey is no skill, green is just skill-up, white is skill-up and xp, red means you cannot make that item as yet.

I was in the middle of crafting something, but I seem to have lost the little crafting window that shows me what's queued up. How do I bring that back up?
Hit L to bring up your crafting interface box. In the lower left-hand corner, you'll see an icon that looks like 4 pieces of paper. Click on that. It will bring up your Active Recipe queue window.

How do I craft a horse?
Be sure to check out Shawn's First Horse tutorial for all the details on how. I will say that it will save you about 300 chips, which is a lot when you're first starting out.

It says it will take a long time to craft this. I don't want to stand here!
Don't worry, you don't have to. Much like EVE Online's skill system, Fallen Earth's tradeskill system allows you to plug in whatever you want to make and then go on about your business. That said, standing by a tradeskill station will make you craft items faster, but unless you're folding towels in real life or about to log out, we don't recommend wasting valuable gaming time sitting there staring at your Active Recipes screen when you could be out playing. Crafting also continues while you're offline.

Where do I get pen & paper?
We're told you can make them later, but for now you'll want to get them from a Science merchant. Watch out - they're expensive at first!

PERFORMANCE ISSUES & OTHER HELP

I'm running an Nvidia card and having problems with video. Help?
Make sure that in the Nvidia control panel you have "Maximum pre-rendered frames" set to 1. On Nvidia cards, this is rather a big deal and can make all the difference in terms of performance. Also, we're sure this is a no-brainer, but check your drivers!

I've managed to fall through the landscape/get stuck somewhere. How do I get out?
First of all, here's a huge piece of advice for anyone new to the game - always dismount from your horse, ATV, motorcycle, etc before entering any building. Entering buildings while mounted appears to cause problems. That said, if you do manage to get stuck somewhere, try /unstuck. Most of the time this will reset you without a problem.

These are all great, but you didn't cover my question. How can I find more help?
Be sure to check the knowledgebase by typing /support while in-game, or by pointing your browser at http://kb.fallenearth.com/. Both go to the same site. If you absolutely can't find it there, you can usually catch a GM (yellow text) in game or Hazmat member (their names are listed on the forums, they also occasionally send out a call for questions in new player chat) who should be able to help you. We strongly recommend trying the knowledgebase first since they've done a great job of gathering together lots of information based on what players have asked before, and it's very easy to get to in-game.

Have some other nuggets of Fallen Earth wisdom we missed out on? Feel free to chime in by leaving a comment below.