Getting Started

Hi there! First off, welcome to Mistwalkers! We're glad to have you, and hope you'll enjoy the game and its community! If you're brand-spanking new and have no idea what's going on, you're on the right page! Follow these next steps and you'll be killing rats and harvesting pigweed in no time!
System Requirements:
* Cave
* Rock
* Chisel
* 2nd Rock to Carve Screen into 1st Rock w/ Chisel
* PC Compatible - 486/66 or better
* 14.4 modem or better required
* SVGA Graphics
* 8MEG RAM minimum/12MEG if running Windows 95 Internet SLIP/PPP connection required
* 2x CDROM drive
==Step 1==
You'll need to create an account (or two) at the Mistwalkers website in order to play the game itself. https://MistWalkers.co is the game's website. We also have our own Discord channel (which can be found here: https://discord.gg/YnUgEV3 [useable right in the browser, no less!]) Discord is not mandatory to play the game, but it is where a large portion of the players hang out when not playing in-game, and is a good source of updates and information from staff and players alike. 
==Step 2==
In the email you receive, there will be a link to follow. It will take you to the Mistwalkers website where you are asked to create a username and password. This username and password is for website access, not game access. You will create game accounts once you have finalized your website account. Upon acceptance of your username and password, you can now access the website proper. You'll be presented with the following list of options:
To install the client, click on 'Game Information' to drop down a menu, and then click 'Getting Started'.  An option to download our personal game client will be presented (the live version will not work, as indicated on the page).  Installation is simple: unzip the contents of the .zip file into any folder, and you're done! There's also an option to connect to our Discord, again, as if we haven't been throwing it in your face frequently enough already. If you encounter any issues, please see a Staff Member through the Discord and we will help walk you through the process!
==Step 3==
After downloading and installing the client, you'll need a game account. You are allowed two game accounts that are attached to your email address, and only two. Falsifying additional emails to Staff as separate people in order to play more characters is against the rules, and we have methods of knowing when it happens. That being said, we DO allow multiple people to play in a single household with their own email addresses, so don't be concerned about you and your brother/sister/wife/etc playing under the same IP. We can tell the difference.
From the top menu, click on 'Account' and then from the dropdown menu, click 'Game Accounts'. The following page is pretty self-explanatory in its design; enter a desired username, then a desired password, and click 'Create Account'. These credentials will be used to login via the game client, and are usable as soon as they are created. You can see a list of your accounts below, where it says 'Current Accounts'. Please note that you will not be able to find your password anywhere else after creating the account with it, so please write it down in case you forget it. If you do somehow forget it and can't access it again, you can change your account's password by clicking on the desired account, and then in the 'New Password' field, enter a change of password before clicking 'Reset Password'. Once you're satisfied, use the credentials to log in to the game and start playing! Read on for information about logging in and creating characters. If you have not done so, we recommend viewing the 'Code of Conduct' by clicking on 'Game Information' (at the top) and then selecting 'Code of Conduct'. It isn't overly long and can best be summed up as "Don't be a jerk if you want to play on the server," but some people have a real hard time understanding the concept.
==Step 4==
To log in to the game, locate your Realm directory (wherever you unzipped the folder), and inside, you open wlaunch.exe. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a Windows 8 or Windows 10 user, please do the following before opening wlaunch.exe file: Right click on the .exe, then select 'Properties'. On the window that comes up, navigate to the 'Compatibility' tab, and check the option to 'Run this program for compatibility for', then select 'Windows XP Service Pack 2' (or 3, doesn't matter) from the subsequent dropdown menu. Also, click on the box below it that says 'Run this program as an administrator' (it will save you headaches later, trust me). Click 'OK' all the through, afterward. If you are running the game on a normal Windows XP operating system or on Windows 7, ignore this step as unnecessary. Once that is done, open wlaunch.exe file, and on the opening screen where it asks you to sign up for a new account, click 'Skip/No/Later/Not Now' (whatever the negatory response option is), and it will proceed to the login screen. Enter one of the account's credentials that you created on the website, and it should log you into a brand new character selection screen (with nobody there)!
==Step 5==
Click on the 'Create' button to design a new character. Being that this an online RPG, the standard options are available: Warrior, Adventurer ('Red Mage,' if that term feels more appropriate), Thief, and Wizard. The warrior spends time dealing damage and taking hits, the adventurer does a little bit of everything in moderate amounts, the thief does well by staying back and flinging knives at rapid speed, and the wizard casts spells at the highest rate of potency. The game is extremely open-ended and all characters can (and likely will) learn all skills and spell, but their efficiency is limited (or boosted) by their inherent attribute points, which we'll cover in a moment.
On the first screen, you may determine what your character looks like from any of the feature options. You can also select male or female (no difference, stat-wise) and one of three races: human (average of all stats), elf (higher intelligence and dexterity, less strength and endurance) or giant (higher strength and endurance, less dexterity and intelligence). Different facial options are also available, depending on the race you select. Once you've designed a character to your satisfaction, click the 'Next' button in the bottom right corner.
On the next screen, you'll decide your class and statistic layout. As a rule of thumb, know that warriors deal more physical damage, thieves are faster, adventurers can do everything decently but aren't overly adept at any one thing, and wizards have the highest magical damage output. Your starting attributes are on the left side of the screen, and they will start differently depending on your selected race (from the previous screen), and will adjust accordingly with the class you select (on the current screen). In addition, you have 8 'free' attribute points that you may distribute to whichever stats you like, in order to further customize the class you select. The descriptions in the middle of the window will give you a brief summary on each attribute and what it does for your character. When you are satisfied, click 'Next' again.
On the final screen, near the top, you'll want to give your character a name, and also a title (if preferred; you can leave it blank otherwise). In the large box, you can add a bit of personal info about your character, which people will see in-game when they click on your character and look at them. If everything looks good, click 'Finish' to complete the creation, and return to the character screen with your newly-created persona! If you're having second thoughts, instead, click on the 'back' button in the bottom left corner at any time to move back a screen and make whatever changes you like. Once a character is created, if for whatever reason you decide that something didn't look or work right, left-click the character and select 'Erase'. Only do this if you're sure you don't want the character anymore! You may have up to four total characters at one time, per game account. Otherwise, click the round 'PLAY button below the character to enter The Realm!
And that's all there is to it! Since you're here, you can feel free to browse around the wiki and get an idea, based on existing articles, of how the game works. You may also browse the website to see everything available to you, information or otherwise, as far as the game and your account is concerned. Finally, everyone on the Discord channel is willing to help out if a problem arises or you just need game-related assistance or have questions, so be sure to ask them if you need to!
HAPPY ADVENTURING!