Buckles’ Big Guide to Shaiya

CONTENTS

To go straight to a particular section of my guide: use CTRL+F, type in the heading from the table of contents below in CAPITAL LETTERS, select ‘match case’ and when you click ‘next’ you’ll be whisked straight to the beginning of the topic.

• THE RACES
• THE CLASSES
• GAME MODES
• LIGHT SIDE vs DARK
• ALL THINGS MONEY
• MOUNTS

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THE RACES

There are four races in Shaiya, belonging to two different alliances.  The Alliance of Light is made up of humans and elves.  The Union of Fury is made up of the Vail and the Nordein.  These are the descriptions of the races, as given by Aeria Games:

The Humans

Newest to the lands of Teos are the Humans. Spiritual, strong, and swift, the Humans are adept at nearly every job that Teos has to offer. However, their power truly lies in their strength of body and spiritual nature. Born Fighters and Priests, the Humans are natural complement to the magical Elves. Brought to Teos by the Goddesses, the hope was that the Humans would help restore balance and unity. Unfortunately, the Humans got swept up into the chaos, and the Elves were the first to assist them.

The Elves

Methodical, deliberate, and smart are just some of the words used to describe the Elves. The Elves, like the Vail, are descendents from the Dumianas. The Laws of Nature are very important to the Elves, and their society relies on order and discipline. The Elves are in constant conflict in their attempts to keep the monsters of Teos outside of their borders. The magical Elves are the chosen of the Goddess of Light.

The Vail

Intelligent and swift, cunning and spiritual, the Vail are the chosen of the Goddess of Darkness. One of the two races that are descendents of the Dumianas, the Vail, while exotic and mysterious in appearance, are not the war-like people most expect them to be. Ferocious and treacherous only when necessary, the Vail seek to find a state of equilibrium in their surroundings. Not as strong as some of the other races, the Vail use stealth and the mystical arts when in battle.

The Nordein (aka Deatheaters)

Towards the end of the great war, the Goddesses created the Nordein to help protect Teos. The Nordein, or “Deatheaters,” have every appearance of being brutish and unintelligent, violent and aggressive. But this race of Ancients is a book that should not be judged by its cover. In the wars that followed their appearance on Teos, the Nordein acquired a disdain for magic and choose not to use it often, if at all. This is likely one reason that they sided with the spiritual Vail, and not the magical Elves.

 

You can find out more about races and their roles in the world of Shaiya here: http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/info/intro

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THE CLASSES

There are 6 different classes in Shaiya. The classes, and the abilities of the classes, are the same whether you choose to join the Alliance of Light or the Union of Fury. The only differences are in appearance and name.

Here’s a basic outline of the six classes including other-side equivalents and race.

HUMAN		NORDEIN
Fighter		Warrior

Your basic melee class.  Uses two-handed swords, one-handed swords in conjunction with a shield, or dual swords.  Deals great physical damage using SP skills or a basic attack and has some debuff skills at its disposal e.g. stinger which teleports the player towards an enemy, allowing an initial attack from a great distance, and stuns if successful.

I don’t have much experience with this class but I’ve been attacked by fighters enough in PvP to know that they hit pretty hard.  Also, if there aren’t enough players around to form an AoE party then warriors can make very good companions for a healer.  A while ago I had a very successful dungeon run healing a group of three warrior boys who I gradually accumulated.

You may want to experiment with your fighter/warrior’s level of defence, evasion or even luck but physical power is obviously the key to this class.  You’ll therefore want to put a fair share of your stat points into STR to boost your strength.

• Gains 1 STR point per level

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HUMAN	VAIL
Priest	Oracle

Shaiya’s healing class.  My favourite and most-played class.  Healers in Shaiya have a great deal of spells to restore health to allies and to buff them, greatly increasing their chances of survival in battle.  Healing and Instant Heal will be your most-used healing spells and Aura of Peace and Prayer are likely to be your most-used buffs.

• Gains 1 WIS point per level

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ELF	VAIL
Ranger	Assassin

Shaiya’s stealth class.  Deals melee damage coupled with a bucketful of debuffs.  Can use daggers, reverse swords or claws.  Has skills which boost the attack power and speed of each of these weapon types.  Can use stealth to become invisible and sneak in to or out of battle.  Can paralyze opponents, leaving them open to attack until the status wears off.  Can also afflict an enemy with reduced defence,

  My second most-played class after the healer.  I decided to try the assassin class as I wanted to be able to dish out some damage but didn’t fancy the hack and slash mechanics of the warrior.

• Gains 1 DEX point per level

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ELF	VAIL
Mage	Pagan

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HUMAN	NORDEIN
Defender	Guardian

• Gains one REC point per level

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ELF	NORDEIN
Archer	Hunter

• Gains 1 LUC point per level

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GAME MODES

When you create a character in Shaiya you’ll be given a choice of mode.  Your first character will only have the choice between easy mode (EM) and normal mode (NM).  Hard mode (HM) and ultimate mode (UM) only become available once you reach a certain level in the mode below.

Which mode should you choose?

Easy mode is designed for beginners  or people who are new to the MMORPG genre and its mechanics.  To help you, your character will receive twice as much exp as a normal mode character.  Unfortunately though Aeria have set a level cap, which means that you will not be able to get past level 30, and they’ve restricted the use of special skills.  This cuts you off from some of the best skills in the game: if you were a healer you would not have access to Aura of Peace, Prayer or Resurrection, key skills for any half-way decent healer; and if you were an assassin you would be denied Slasher which is a very powerful, pure damage attack.  The level of slotted equipment that you can use e.g. noble, worship, heroic is also limited.

In my opinion easy mode isn’t worth the hassle.  You might want to use it if you’re absolutely clueless about MMORPGs but to be honest I wouldn’t bother.  When I created my first Shaiya character I chose normal mode and if I remember rightly it was my first MMORPG.  I’ve only ever found myself stuck a few times and always managed to find a solution.  With an in-game tutorial, designated help forums and thousands of players to ask for a hand you’ll never be stuck for long.  PLUS you’ve got ME!  What more could you want?

EM in brief:

• fast levelling
• can’t progress beyond level 30 (cuts you off from having a mount)
• can’t join or create a guild
• no special skills
• can use noble, heroic, worship gear
• 5 stat points and 3 skill points per level

Normal mode is similar to easy mode but is much less restrictive as there is no level cap and you’re not restricted from using special skills.  You also get the reward of unlocking hard mode when you get to level 40.

NM in brief:

• no level cap
• able to join or create a guild
• able to use special skills
• can use noble, worship, heroic and dread gear
• 5 stat points and 3 skill points per level

Hard mode is well deserving of its name.  Although you get more stat and skill points, instantly making you more powerful and giving you an advantage over NM PvPers, levelling takes a LONG time.  Grinding now becomes a major focus of the game, more-so than in normal mode.  Thanks to those extra points though, you should find that you’re able to take on more powerful enemies much earlier on which means you’ll probably be making a lot more money on high-end loot.

I haven’t been playing HM for long but parties and teamwork seem to be a big part of it.  Thanks to my wonderful guildmates and the kindness of a few equally wonderful strangers I haven’t had to put a lot of effort into levelling my new HM characters.  That’s because I’ve been the subject of much charity power-levelling which is a lot easier to provide since the Eternity update.

HM in brief:

• unlocked at level 40 NM
• no level cap
• able to join or create a guild
• able to use special skills
• can use noble, worship, heroic, dread and legend gear
• 7 stat points and 4 skill points per level
• some new skills

Ultimate mode

I have no first-hand experience of ultimate mode because I haven’t reached it yet…but that doesn’t mean that I can’t tell you anything about it.

UM characters have some powerful exclusive skills.  For example, healers receive an instant self-healing spell which doesn’t require them to select themselves before casting, a real time-saver in an emergency.  A UM character also receives 9 stat points and 5 skill points per level, giving them a real edge over all over players.

Sound too good to be true?  It is.

If you die in UM then there is no handy resurrect-at-the-next-town option.  Instead you must be resurrected by a healer within 3 minutes or your character is deleted and dies permanently, losing any items and money in their inventory.  Also, not just any healer will do – only Resurrection 2 works on UM characters so only a high level healer can save you if you fall in battle.  Because of this, UM characters rarely travel into dangerous territory on their own.  Many train with a capable HM/UM healer at all times but as there is no guarantee that the healer will not die at the critical moment, even this isn’t completely safe.  Enter rez runes.

A resurrection rune will automatically resurrect your fallen UM as long as you have activated it beforehand.  One-shot resurrection runes and 24 hour resurrection runes are available but don’t even ASK about how much they cost.

The philosophy that UMs I’ve met seem to live by is: better safe than sorry.  You may be more powerful when you reach UM so mobs won’t do as much damage as they used to but this also makes you more likely to push yourself, take on more and harder mobs and put yourself in a position where you’re likely to actually BE mobbed.  Know your limits and play it safe and you should be alright.

If anyone wants to share their experiences with ultimate mode to give everyone a better idea of it, please leave a comment.

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STATS

Every time you level you will be given stat points which you can use to increase your character’s power.  Simply press T to bring up your character information and expand the stat window to add your available points to whichever attribute you wish to improve.

STR	Strength – adding stat points to this increases your physical damage.
REC	Responsible for defence.  Adding stat points to this decreases the amount of damage you take from physical attacks and increases your health.
DEX	Dexterity – adding points to this increases your chance of evading an attack and, your chance of landing a hit against an enemy.  Increasing your DEX also slightly increases your physical damage.
WIS	Wisdom – adding points to this increases your MP, your magic defence and the success rate of your spells (apparently).  Increasing your WIS also slightly increases your magic damage.
INT	Intelligence – adding points to this increases your magic damage.
LUC	Luck – adding points to this slightly increases your shooting attack power, chance of a critical hit and chance of evading a critical hit.

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EQUIPMENT

As in most RPGs, Shaiya comes with a wealth of equipment for your character to use.  When you first start the game your character will be very poorly equipped, carrying nothing but a basic weapon.  As you fight monsters and complete quests though you will soon get your hands on pieces of armour and better weapons to improve your performance in battle.

The basic items that you can equip are:

• upper armour
• lower armour
• shoes
• helmet
• weapon
• shield*

*Only fighters/tanks can equip shields.

All items of equipment will improve your stats.  Armour improves your defence and HP while better weapons will have increased attack power.

There are different ranks of equipment which you’ll probably notice quite early on but which you might not understand.  In your first few hours on the game you’ll see noble weapons and armour and notice that these give you extra stat bonuses compared to an ordinary piece of equipment of the same kind.

Oracle/Pagan Equipment

Staffs:

spider staff
curse staff

Armour sets:

Name
Toga
	Toga protector
	Toga leggings
	Toga walker
	Toga muffle
Blitz
	Blitz protector
	Blitz leggings
	Blitz walker
	Blitz muffle
Metrin
	Metrin protector
	Metrin leggings
	Metrin walker
	Metrin muffle
Hearth
	Hearth protector
	Hearth leggings
	Hearth walker
	Hearth muffle
Morcelle
	Morcelle protector
	Morcelle leggings
	Morcelle walker
	Morcelle muffle
Serche
	Serche protector
	Serche leggings
	Serche walker
	Serche muffle
Tatoram
	Tatoram protector
	Tatoram leggings
	Tatoram walker
	Tatoram muffle

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RESTING

Sit down to rest between battles as this increases your HP/MP/SP regeneration rate.  Just make sure that you’re a decent distance away from any nearby enemies as they’ll still come along and wallop you if you’re in range.  On the same note: watch out for spawn points – an empty dungeon room isn’t likely to stay empty for long.

 

LEVELLING

Remember to use your stat points and check for new skills you might want to learn every time you level.  You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve forgotten then found 10 or 15 stat points waiting for me a few levels later.

 

YOUR MAP

Yellow dots on your map are quests that are available for you to take on.

Blue dots on your map are NPC characters who you should visit to finish a quest.  The blue dots will appear automatically if all you have to do is visit the NPC as part of an errand/make-me-run-all-over-the-map quest, or when you’ve racked up the required number of kills or items required to complete the quest.

Green dots on your map show you where your party members are.  If you can’t see the right number of dots on your map, then some of the members of your party are in another area, either a dungeon or a different map.  You’ll probably be able to see a green dot locked over whichever portal they went through.  Once you run through and join them you’ll once again be able to see a moving dot tracking their location.

NOTE: Be aware that the map isn’t completely accurate.  Some locations are actually slightly removed from their icons/names on the map.  It shouldn’t cause too many major problems but you will find yourself occasionally running in to a mountain range that’s not quite where the map says it should be.  Once you’ve started mapping the area yourself though you shouldn’t have that problem.

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ALL THINGS MONEY

As you slaughter your way across Shaiya you’ll pick up a lot of loot.  Slain enemies will drop weapons and healing items but you’ll also pick up a lot of stuff that isn’t any use to you at all.  To clear your inventory for more valuable objects and earn yourself a bit of pocket change, go to any of the NPCs with ‘merchant’ above their heads or to the ‘professional trader’ and drag and drop the things you want to sell from your inventory to theirs.  Bear in mind that once you’ve sold something there’s no getting it back so make sure that you really want to sell it, and make sure that you don’t drag the wrong thing over.  If you have a number of the same item you’ll get a window asking how many you want to sell which acts as a confirmation of sorts but you won’t get this if you’re selling an individual item.

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THE BLACK MARKET

As you go through the game you’ll find that you’ll be picking up weapons and equipment that you’re unable to use because they’re exclusively for the opposite alliance.  In certain areas of the map you’ll find more gear for the other alliance than you will for your own, particularly in dungeons.  Of course you can sell this stuff to the NPC merchants as you would anything else but if it’s something particularly rare or valuable you may wish to visit the black market and sell it through bootleggery to someone in the other faction who can actually use it.

To get to the black market go to the location marked on the map of your capital, speak to the gate keeper and choose to go to the Auction House.

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MOUNTS

At level 40 on normal mode you’ll be able to get your first mount from Apulune or Iris. You won’t have a choice of mount because they are alliance and race specific. Your normal mode mount will cost you 11 million gold from the ride merchant. You can buy it before you reach level 40 but you won’t be able to ride it until then. This table shows you which mount your race can use.

FURY
Vail – Black leopard
Nordein – Basilisk

LIGHT
Human – Horse
Elf – Leopard

You can get a second mount when you get to level 50 on hard mode and this one has the advantage of being big enough to carry a second rider so you can take your training partner with you when you go galloping off into the distance. This mount will cost you 75 million. The table below shows which mount your race can use.

FURY
Vail	Blood wolf

Nordein

Red dragon

FURY
Vail – Blood wolf
Nordein – Red dragon

LIGHT
Human – Sunsteed
Elf – Silver lion (actually blue)

The ride merchant is located in the area of the capital marked Tredysis Auction on the dark side, and Stardust Knights on the light side.

The mounts that are available at the ride merchant aren’t the only ones in the game.  There are others but they must be won in real-money raffles through the item mall or received during certain events.  The requirements for being able to use these mounts are pretty ridiculous if you ask me.  Despite this I’ve provided a link to a rare mount gallery so you can see them and find out a bit about them:

http://wiki.aeriagames.com/shaiya/index.php?title=Mounts

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GLOSSARY

buff
debuff
NM
HM
UM
ORC	Oracle
PAG	Pagan
WAR	Warrior
TANK	Adopted term for any class responsible for taking the damage in a group battle in an MMORPG.  In Shaiya – the defender and the guardian. Tank is also used as a verb.  The player with the highest REC tanks in the absence of a true tank.  My assassin, Buckles, has often tanked by attacking first and receiving most of the punishment while pagans have helped chip away at a monster’s health.
Mob	Generic term for a monster which I’d never come across until I played Shaiya.  Don’t ask me about its origins ‘cause I just don’t know.