Campaign: Quickstart Guide

Category:Guides
Campaign Quickstart Guide by Egomzez
This quick-start guide is just a quick blurb on how to get to campaigning. It took me a little bit to figure it out myself so I wanted to throw this out for anyone else like me.
== Unlock the past ==
So you go to campaign in the past. Past sections are denoted with [S]. The challenge here is that you can only start this for the first time in the areas outside Jeuno / Rolanberry Fields (S), Batallia Downs (S), & Sauromugue Champaign (S). What is challenging is that you likely will enter a maw in Rolanberry Fields or Batallia Downs. You get a cut-scene and then if you go right back through the maw it doesn't bring you back where you entered. BE CAREFUL It may not even bring you back to the present, so watch out if you have warp or teleport because it can be disastrous. Having improperly left the past on your first visit, or so, you will be unable to enter through that particular maw again. Then you have to go to one of the other three maws and enter there. You don't want to have to try and get the maw in Sauromugue Champaign because you will have to go through the Third Banishing Gate in Garlaige Citadel, which is a nightmare for anyone but VERY EXPERIENCED players in a party of 4 or more. Should you make the mistake I speak of start by going to the other maw and if you can't go back to the past then seek help. 
=== Starts with a letter ===
Assuming you don't get locked out of a maw, you will have to complete a quest involving a letter of recommendation. Talk to a NPC as follows (the choice you make, binds you to a nation);
 
*The Eldieme Necropolis (S) Turbulent Storm (J-9) 
*Garlaige Citadel (S) Randecque (I-6) on map #2 
*Crawlers' Nest (S) Kalsu-Kalasu (L-8) 
See Campaign Operations for details.
=== Run for your life ===
When you set out to make this run you should set aside a few hours. What you need is either a truck load of Silent Oil and Prism Powder and a secondary online access to the maps you won't have - or you get a friend to help you who has Sneak and Invisible. The time consuming part of any of these runs is the concealing. Everything is too tough to fight alone or even in a party short of all 75s. There is gonna be at least one zone on the way that is new and you won't have a map to it and it seems that SE made it complicated enough to be a challenge. I have run a number of linkshell members to Southern San d'Oria (S) and almost always there was lots of dying and it took a long time. Additionally you will want to go to the maws along the way, which unlocks them for you to access from the present later, and there are some new teleport crystals you will want to get for Recall spells that take you to the past. Once you get to the area outside the city be sure to get the maw so you don't have to run all that way again.
=== Complete run by going back ===
In the city of your choosing take your letter to a NPC, as follows, and then return where you started to complete quest.
For Windurst Waters (S) Miah Riyuh (H-9)
For Southern San d'Oria (S) Mainchelite (I-9)
For Bastok Markets (S) Adelbrecht (E-8 in front of AH)
== Unlock Campaigns ==
Then complete a quest to enable you to do campaigns and such. Talking to the above person for the following quests. 
For Bastok: The Fighting Fourth
For San'doria: Steamed Rams 
For Windurst: Snake on the Plains 
== Campaigning ==
=== Talk to Ops ===
Talk to Campaign Ops to get into campaigns. This is NOT a necessity, as you can participate in Campaign Battles without doing Ops, however Ops will provide bonus EXP and Allied Notes.
Hieronymus - Bastok Markets (S) (E-8) 
Rasdinice - Southern San d'Oria (S) (I-9) 
Emhi Tchaoryo - Windurst Waters (S) (H-10) 
When you talk to the op NPC you will want to probably start with supplies to get some currency to be able to teleport yourself, but you only get one op credit per day (can have up to 7 credits accumulated) so if you do supplies first you will have to wait till the next real day to try another Campaign Op. If you just want to start in the immediate area then scroll down to defensive or offensive operations. You don't have to start at the top, you can pick from the list. Campaign, as in fighting in a style similar to besieged, would be defensive operations for areas under your Nations control, Offensive for areas under Beastmen control. For the sake of the quick-start I will just leave it at that.
=== Get your Sigil === 
Be sure to get your Sigil, which is similar to signet. Sigil is very handy because, like Sanction, you can get bonuses such as refresh and regen, but they all stack together. This will help in the long run.
=== Go to a campaign site ===
Then you either get a teleport or you run to a campaign site. You will see NPC walking around, or not. May even see other players. There is a guard NPC under a banner. The trick here is that a campaign will only start randomly. I don't use sound when I play, but others have said you wait for the music. Usually you will see something like "A Campaign battle has begun." When you do then you talk to guard and choose New Tags. Then you get a icon at the top of your window and a sword next to your name. You are now campaigning. If you wish to leave early simply speak to the NPC who gave you the allied tags and ask for an evaluation. Should you depart or HP before it is over (without 1st clicking the NPC for performance assessment) you lose what you accumulated. So wait for someone to raise you - being raised gives someone else the opportunity to do their thing in campaign. Don't wander far from battle so you can easily get raise.
=== Deleveless death ===
No experience points are lost here folks - hooray! So don't get too frustrated if all you do during the first few campaigns is die. Go with the flow.
=== Report back in for your credit ===
The end of the battle will display your xp and op credits. Depending upon the level of Campaign Ops you selected (I II III IV V) it may take more than one battle to complete the op. When completed, you will see additional lines of text stating "Objective completed", then teleport back to the city and speak again to Campaign ops and get additional credits. Be sure to follow through to this last part so you get the maximum benefit from campaigning.
== End of Quick-start guide ==
Obviously this only touches on the complexity of campaigning, but as I have just started successfully campaigning myself I wanted to help all you, who are like me, to get going with the new fun way to get experience points! please feel free to chime in on the discussion page if I am omitting key facts or even make your own guide if my guide inspires you to saying "But ..." Egomzez 10:16, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
Just thought I'd add that its not necessary for you to actually stay in the Campaign Battle for the entire duration. If you talk to the NPC that gave you your allied tags, there's an option that something along the lines of "Performance Assessment." If you do that then you receive your exp and allied notes. As far as I know, there's no penalty for doing this
Kyokusada 21:55, 29 March 2009 (UTC)
A couple of minor edits to clarify Campaign Ops and the completion of.
Themutznutz 02:27, 12 June 2010 (GMT)