SS2 Tutorial

Welcome to the complete Sigma Storm 2 Tutorial! We'll abbreviate this as SS2 through the rest of the article. Here you’ll find explanations for all the tiny details that make SS2 such a fun and challenging gaming experience. This tutorial is divided into sections based on the layout of the game screen. You’ll learn to use all the options on the left-hand toolbar, you’ll read in-depth descriptions of everything in the upper information bar, and you’ll find information about contributing to SS2 to make your character and your gameplay the best it can be. Just click below on any topic in the index to answer a specific question, or read through the entire tutorial to gain a full understanding of the SS2 universe.
= Top Information Bar =
The bar that runs across the top of the screen is where you can find quick information about all your stats, equipment, level, experience, and credits. We will work from left to right. 
== Username ==
First, you’ll see the name you chose for your character when you first registered for SS2. 
== Credits ==
Beneath, you’ll see yhow many credits you are currently carrying. This number will not reflect any credits in your personal bank. By default you only get one deposit per day, but this can be increased in the upgrades page. Keep in mind that if you belong to a faction you may choose to either deposit gold into your personal bank or into the faction bank. To do both (on the same day) you’d have to upgrade your character.
== Quick Link Icons ==
Below that is a row of icons with meanings as follows:
Icon 	Description
 	The "galaxy" icon will take you to the Sigma Storm 2 forum.
 	The "cyborg head" will open up your quick buff menu.
 	The "safe" will allow you to manage your backpack.
 	The "chevrons" will allow you to create an attack squad (you must belong to a faction in order to create an attack squad).
 	The "planet" will bring you to the world screen.
 	
Name: 	
Level: 	
Rank: 	
Attack: 	
Defense:	
HP: 	
Armor: 	
Damage: 	
Next to each of these categories except for the "Name" is a number. These numbers are important because they tell you the combined value of the stat modifiers of all your equipment and the total of the level points you have applied to your character. In battle with a creature or another player these stats determine who wins and who loses. When you equip an item, the stats of that item are immediately applied to your character. If you ever need to know the specific stats of an item, just hover over it and a pop-up window will appear that details everything about that item. You can go to the section titled Character for a full description of the item modifiers. If you click on the head icon, you will be taken directly to your character's Profile.
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== Health Bar ==
	The health bar appears beneath the row of icons and shows your current amount of hit points relative to your maximum amount of hit points. Some equipped items may increase your maximum amount of hit points, but when the item is degraded the number of hit points it provides will be decreased as well.
== Flux Credits ==
	The next section of the info bar shows how many Flux Credits you currently have. See the section titled Support Sigma Storm 2 to see how you can gain these credits. If you click on the icon above the number you’ll be taken to the Upgrades page so you can spend your credits.
== Level Progress ==
 	The next item you’ll see is your Level Progress meter. If you hover over the icon next to the meter you’ll see a pop-up box that gives you specific information on your current level, the experience points required to reach the next level, and how much experience you’ll gain per hour. The information is laid out like this:
{|width="100%"	Name	Description
Current Level	The level you’ve currently earned. 	 	
Progress 	Shows how far you’ve earned towards the next level. 	 	
Current XP 	How much experience you’ve earned so far from killing creatures in the game.	 	
Next XP 	How much experience is required to reach your next level. 	 	
Remaining 	The ‘Current XP’ subtracted from the ‘Next XP’. 	 	
Gain Per Hour	How fast you gain XP automatically. 	 	
Next Gain 	When you’ll get your next automatic XP gain. 	 	
== Energy ==
 	The next item in the information bar is your currently available energy. There is an icon next to this number as well. Hover over it and you’ll see your current and maximum energy, along with your current Gain per Hour and the next time you will gain energy. Starting out you’ll have a maximum of 500 energy points available to you, and you’ll regain energy at the rate of 50 points per hour. When the number here goes below 20, you won’t be able to attack creatures until your energy increases again. Once it reaches 0 you won’t be able to move around the game map. On the Upgrades page you can purchase increases to your energy with Flux Credits. The energy upgrades you can purchase are: 
::{|width="100%"
+25 Current Energy 	This simply adds 25 more energy to your total once per purchase.
+10 Maximum Energy 	This allows you to accumulate more than 500 energy points.
+1 Energy Gain (per hour)	This will allow you to increase the rate at which you gain energy points.
|}
== Tip box ==
In the upper right corner you'll notice a blank box. This is filled with tips from the SS2 team for a more enjoyable playing experience.
== Skill Power ==
The last item in the information bar is your skill power bar. Skill power is generated by killing MOBs. Initially you receive 1 point per kill up to a maximum of 50 points, but both the rate at which you receive points and the maximum number you can have may be altered by other factors within the game. This energy is then used to fuel the following class skills:
Icon	Description
 	Adrenaline (Adren) for Soldiers
 	Surge for Cyborgs
 	Radiation (Rad) for Mutants
 	Psi for Purists
 	Clones don't receive skill power
If the points are not used, they decay at a rate of 5 points per hour.
= Main Page =
This section will provide details about the information that is available in the main frame of the game Home Page. Separate sections below deal with the left-hand and right-hand toolbars. The game Home Page is used to communicate important in game news and is worth checking fairly regularly.
== Bulletin Board ==
Here you’ll find any news updates from the SS2 development team. Any time the game is updated you’ll see it here. When an important game update is added to the Bulletin Board section, you will see an alert on the left-hand side of the screen below the toolbar buttons. Click on that alert, and you’ll be taken to home page. Older messages can be accessed by clicking on the "View News Archive" link at the bottom of the Bulletin Board box.
== Featured Faction ==
This box provides advertising space for the many factions in the game. It is generally used by factions looking for new recruits. The advertisement changes each time you refresh the home page and is selected from the active bank of advertising factions. Factions can place advertisements from the Faction Upgrades page. 
== Live Comms. ==
The Live Comms. is a news bulletin system for the use of SS2 players. The cost to post a message here is 1 FC, and your message will be seen by anyone reading the Home page. This service is used mainly for trade offers, buff sales, faction recruitment messages; however, you may post on anything subject to certain rules. You may not use the Live Comms. to promote another game, post negative comments about the game itself, or post comments of a sexual, discriminatory, or abusive nature. Offending Live Comms. messages will be removed and the posting player may be subject to disciplinary measures. You may post a Live Comms. message by clicking on the ‘Upload Message!’ button at the bottom of the box. If you see a post that violates SS2 guidelines, please report it.
= The Right-Hand Toolbar =
This next section will provide details on all the options along the right-hand toolbar. This toolbar can be seen at all times while you are logged in. It contains an assortment of general game information. This part of the tutorial is divided up by major heading, working from top to bottom. 
== Community ==
This box contains links to the SS2 forum, a place that is a good entry point to obtain more information about the game. 
== Sigma Box ==
This box contains short messages and advertisements from your fellow players. The displayed message is selected randomly from the current bank of player messages and will change every time you refresh the page. The "send message" button allows you to send your own message (at the cost of 1 FC). Messages persist in the message bank for 1 hour after submission. The rules that apply to the home page Live Comms.(see above) also apply the the Sigma Box. The Sigma Box can be hidden via a setting in your character config page (see below). 
== Game Stats ==
This box shows your current rank within the game, plus your change on the last update. Player ranks are determined by total experience points gained and are updated daily at 09:00 server time. 
Below your rank you will find the total number of registered SS2 players online. The "View Online Players" link at the bottom of the box takes you to a list that shows you all the players who have logged in within the past 20 minutes. For each player you’ll see their name, and their level. Plus, you can click on the familiar head icon to check out their Data Sheet. This is especially helpful if you are undecided about what equipment to use or if you are about to level up. Just find someone at your level or at the level you are about to reach and check out their Data Sheet. After checking out several other players you should have a good idea about what equipment is best for your level. You aren’t limited to just looking at their gear; you can also use the links provided here to send private messages to another player. Click on their Data Sheet and then send them a message if you’d like to ask a question or just chat! 
The Game Stats box also contains the official in-game time. This is important if you are participating in auctions or if you are hunting Elite creatures. Please note that the Server Time is expressed in GMT, or Greenwich Mean Time, so you’ll need to adjust for your own time zone. For example, the East coast of the United States is GMT -5 (or -4 during daylight savings). Therefore, if the official server time is 10:30, then it is actually 5:30am EST (or 6:30am EDT). Your computer’s clock should be able to tell you this adjustment by looking under ‘Time Zone’. 
== Support SS2 ==
SS2 is free for anyone to play. However, many of the upgrades available in the game require Flux Credits to purchase. 
There are many ways to obtain Flux Credits, one way is to support the game by recruiting new players. By clicking on the words 'recruiting your firend' you will take to the recruiting links page which provides you with several types of link that can be used for recruiting people to the game. If a new player enters the game through your link you will gain FCs as they level up. The active players you have recruited can be seen through a link on your character data sheet page, and all recruits count towards the "Enlisting Medal". 
Another way to support the game is to donate money to Hunted Cow Studios. Clicking on the word ‘donating’ in the box, take you to a page where you can purchase Flux Credits. There are many ways to donate to SS2, including: 
:*Paypal 
:*Credit/Debit Card 
:*Cash/Money Order 
:*SMS 
:*Telephone 
You are also free to choose how much you wish to donate to SS2. Of course, if you donate a higher amount you’ll get more Flux Credits for your money, but it is entirely up to you. You can donate as little as $5 and you’ll receive 25 FCs in return. If you’re planning to purchase rare and expensive items, or if you belong to a Faction that needs a lot of expansion room, plan on making a larger donation so you’ll have more FCs to work with.