Community Guides/Getting Started

**Versioning**

This article *could* contain outdated information that is inaccurate for the current version (1.52) of the game. It was last updated for 1.50.

Welcome to Foxhole! If you're new to the game, there are many community made tutorials available to you! For more help, feel free to stop by the Foxhole Official Discord or the Steam Discussions and Guides! If you are unsure of any terminology that players say, please refer to the Slang page.

## Main Menu

### Shard Selection

After clicking "Play", you must choose which shard you want to play on. A shard is basically a separate game server independent from the other shards. The shards help the game handle more players. You can play on both shards, even on different faction. Shards are not linked to world regions (EU, NA, Asia, etc...), every player around the world can play on the same shard.

The "Live-1" usually is more populated which can mean longer waiting queues.

After selecting a shard, click play again to get to the faction selection screen.

### Faction Selection

You are presented with a choice to join a faction: Wardens or Colonials.

The two factions are very similar, gameplay wise. They do have visual differences between their vehicles. Be warned though! You will be locked to that faction (on that shard) after playing **for 6 minutes** as them and you won't be able to change until the current war is over and a new one starts. When playing with friends, it is best to decide beforehand which faction to join as, to avoid being locked into different factions for the remainder of the war.

If you are below level 5, the game grants you a single chance to switch faction past the 6min limit.

Press the "Deploy" button to spawn on the Home Region Island.

The Home Region is not the actual war but a lobby and a training area.

UI
--

For now the only status effects you should really know about are:

* "Encumbered" (carrying too much weight, drop some items)
* "Bleeding" (slowly losing health, get medical help),
* "freezing" (slowly freezing to death, go somewhere warm).

## Movements & Camera

*See: Controls*
* `WASD`: Movement
* `C`: Crouch
* `X`: Prone
* `Spacebar`: Climb / Vault
* `Shift`: Sprint
* `Hold MMB + mouse movement`: Rotate camera
* `RMB`: Aim (camera zooms out and follows)

## Communication

*Main article:* Chat
Voice Chat:

* `T`: Local Voice Chat
* `G`: Squad Voice Chat
* `U`: Enable/Disable Voice Chat

Text Chat:

* `Enter`: open chat / Send Chat Message
* `Tab`: switch chat channel

Here's a quick explanation of each channel:

* Local: Talk to players near you
* Region: Talk to your allies in the same region.
* World: Talk to every allies in the world.
* Logistics: world chat to talk about logistics.
* Intel: world chat to share intel.

## Equipment & Interactions

* `Tab`: Inventory
* `LMB` on item in backpack: Equip Item
* `1/2/3`: Equip Primary/Secondary/Tertiary weapon
* `RMB`: Aim
* `LMB`: Use held item / Fire weapon (must be aiming to fire)
* `R`: Reload
* `F`: Switch fire mode / attach bayonet (if applicable)

* `Q`: Enter vehicle/structure

* `E`: Interact
* `Shift + E`: Interact Context Menu (i.e. when there's multiple possible interaction)
* `Escape`: Exit / Menu

## Map

Press `M` to open the map, this will only show the map of the Home Region for now since you haven't joined the real world.
The orange arrow is you.
Notice the different training areas marked, and the "Deploy" areas represented by crossing swords. The deploy point is where you'll need to go to join the real war.

## Appearance Selection

You can change your appearance at any of the cylindrical barracks near the area you spawned in. Press E to open the appearance menu.

## Deploying into the War

To get into some action, locate the Spawn & Deployment (Deploy) on the map and head there. When you are close enough to the deploy area, press default key `E` to open the deployment menu. You can also check the war map by going to a War Tent close by. Each region is separated in areas that will either be colored with respective faction's color or not having any at all. This is decided by what faction controls the current Town Hall.
Click a black diamond (representing a base) on the Deployment map to teleport to that specific point of the map, the bigger the diamond the more active the zone.

## Spawn & Respawn

*See: Respawning*
Once you've deployed to a base, the first thing you should do is assign your spawn to that base so that you can respawn there after you die.
Press `E` to open the Base's menu and click the house icon  at the bottom to assign your spawn there.

After dying, you will be able to spectate friendly soldiers near your corpse while being able to cycle through them with `PgUp` and `PgDown`.

You can click the respawn button to respawn at the base you chose. This process consumes 1 Soldier Supplies (item that looks like a shirt) in the base's stock. Once the base no longer has any Soldier Supplies you can no longer respawn there! So keep an eye on the amount your base has.

You can only assign yourself two possible spawn, a Forward Base spawn and a Home Base spawn (Town Base and Relic Base). Selecting a new spawn point will replace the old one.

## Gearing up

At your base, press `E` to open its menu. In the center is the stockpile, click on what you need to retrieve it (takes a few seconds per item). Grab a Rifle and 2 or 3 magazines of the corresponding ammo (usually 7.62mm). Close the menu with `Escape`, then press `Tab` to open your inventory. Click on the rifle in the bottom "backpack" section to equip it and Tab again to close the inventory. Press `1` to equip your rifle and `R` to reload it. Aim with `RMB` and fire with `LMB`.

You can drop unwanted items in your inventory with `Alt + LMB`.

Also grab a bandage. if you are bleeding , equip the bandage (gets in the third slot), press `3` then `LMB` to use the bandage. It will stop the bleeding but not heal you.

You can carry downed soldier by pressing `V` to move them to safety or bring them to a medic. The downed soldier cannot bleed out as long as they're carried. Press `Shift + V` to drop them.

You know the basics to fight. Read the Combat Guide to learn more.

Open the map and find the nearest front line (where blue and green icons meet).

## Resources & Crafting

*See: Resources*
*See: Crafting*
Logistics is a huge aspect of the game. Nearly every item, weapon, ammo, structures in the game is created by players.

There are several main resources you will gather during the war.

* Salvage  : resource used for making Basic Materials  , Diesel  , and Explosive Materials
* Components  : resource used for making Refined Materials
* Sulfur  : resource used for making Heavy Explosive Materials
* Crude Oil  : resource used for making Petrol
* Aluminum & Iron: uncommon resources that occasionally drops during mining, used to progress technological research.
* Wreckage: resource that randomly spawns and is turned into Salvage and Components

### Gathering Materials

Gathering resources is a simple as equipping a Hammer or Sledge Hammer, going to a resource field, positioning yourself near a small resource pile, and clicking the pile until it is depleted. Or collected from a Resource Mine.

* Salvage is mined at the  icon and looks like a pile of assorted metal pieces or directly picked up from a Salvage Mine icon.
* Components are mined at the  icon or directly picked up from a Component Mine icon.
* Sulfur is mined at the  icon and looks like a yellow rock or directly picked up from a Sulfur Mine  icon.
* Crude Oil is picked up at the  icon for the Oil Well.

A successful mining strike will produce a banging sound and sparks/smoke. A message will appear on bottom left of the screen telling players that they collected `+2 (resource type)`.

**Reminder!** Components and sulfur can only be gathered with sledgehammers. Hammers do not work.

### Refining Materials

Once obtained Salvage, Components, Sulfur, and Crude Oil can be refined at a Refinery  .

Salvage can be refined into either Basic Materials (Bmats), Explosive Materials (Emats) or Diesel.

Components can be refined into Refined Materials (Rmats).

Sulfur can be refined into Heavy Explosive Materials.

Crude Oil can be refined into Petrol.

### Usage

These materials play a vital role to securing victory in the war. Basic Materials are used in nearly every aspect of the game: building defenses and vehicles, making weapons and tools, among other things.

Refined Materials are used to produce advanced equipment in factories and vehicles at Garage  .

Explosive Materials are only used at the Factory  to produce explosives such as Grenades or R.P.G. shells

Heavy Explosive Materials are used for really advanced explosives like mortar or howitzer shells and the Warhead.

## Building

*See: Community Guides/Building Guide*
Building structures requires a Hammer and some material, or a Shovel, or Large Materials. Most structures require either Basic Materials.

Bunker and Trenches in their first stage just require a shovel, but when upgrading them to the next tier, you'll need Basic Materials and in higher tiers Concrete.

To build equip the hammer and press `B` to select the structure you want. You should now have a blue copy of the structure to move around and place. You can rotate the blue structure with the `RMB` + drag(right mouse button). Finalize your placement with the `LMB` (left mouse button).

Repairing structures always only cost you Basic Materials to repair, even if you needed another resource to build it.

Bunker Bases: For a tutorial on how to build a basic bunker base check out this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clsDKZOlzU&ab