OK so if you're in the slightest bit tempted to get involved in the Matrix Online story then you'll also want to know what to expect while playing the game. So as well as the storyline I'm going to try and introduce to you the neighbourhoods, personalities and quests you can undertake while playing the game and exploring the Matrix. In this installment I'm going to try and take you through the first area you'll encounter and get you aquainted with the basics of the game.
Uriah Industrial Park
The first place you'll wind up in after completing your basic training is Uriah. Uriah is one of many neighbourhoods in the city and a part of Richland (aka the Slums) one of four key districts you can explore. Your travel options will be limited so you'll spend your initial moments in this area. Uriah is a warehouse district that's not very pretty to look at, but has some interesting features so it's worth roaming around. For this post I'll concentrate on what you can find in the neighbourhood though it doesn't have every feature in the game.
The Choppers
Hopefully you'll bump into some friendly redpills when you enter the Matrix and often they are willing to show you around so it's always worth asking. But that's not all you'll find there, a local gang names the Choppers, a crew of car thieves who are also exiled programs, not human like you or I. There are many such gangs on many streets in the city, they are a danger, but there can be rewards for taking them down. Some of them carry Chopper keys, a gang emblem (which all the gangs have) and there are people who are willing to reward you for attacking the gangs.
I've written about this gang and others HERE
My First Quest
A new feature has been added to the game for new players only so you may want to check it out when you start. Quests are common in many MMOs, MxO had been lacking them since it is mission focused but more and more are being added and these will be what I cover in these posts amongst other things. The quest centres on a group of "collectors" there are people willing to trade with you - they are represented on your map (press M) with a pink icon with two arrows representing the trade. You should have in your inventory (press I) an ID Card, you can trade this with the first collector "Clio" who will give you a note to pass to the next collector. It carries on and as you go you will be required to obtain keys from the Choppers nearby and you will be rewarded for your efforts with items useful to you as you start. Here you can get the "Industrial Pants" and "Industrial Boots" part of a set of clothing you can obtain only in the Uriah district.
FastBack
Somewhere amongst these collectors will be FastBack who has a grievance against the gang. He rewards the Industrial Boots so you're better off getting them from the quest but if you lose them or anything you can get them from him. In each district there is a collector willing to reward you for giving them gang tokens.
Vendors
At the end of the collector trail you should find some Vendors marked on your map with a blue V icon. These will sell you items relating to the basic starting abilities, enougn to get you started on whatever path you chose whether it be hacker, coder of combat. Vendors are dotted throughout the city selling everything from clothes to weapons to abilities - there's lots to check out. They will also buy unwanted items from you.
Hardlines
Near the Vendors you should find a Hardline in the shape of a phone booth, it will be glowing and as you get near it you should have the option to "synchronise" - do this and you will gain experience and add it to your list of Hardlines. Hardlines can be used to enter and exit the matrix you can upload goods to your hovercraft in the real and you can also change your abilities there and trade goods on a virtual marketplace. The most common use for hardlines is travel though as you can instantly transport yourself between synchronised hardlines. Try it, send yourself back to the place you started from and come back in a blink!
Mercury
There are lots of missions you can do in game, as you start you can do missions for Zion that will get you aquainted with the game and your abilities. Later you are given missions that can either get you further up the ranks in Zion or tempt you into the employ of the Machines or the Merovingian - but they aren't the only ones willing to hire you. Mercury is an exile who lives in the basement of a building near the Vendors and Hardline you've just found. He is part of a group called the Elements, who are prominent in the Richland district. He is an inventor and garage owner who has various uses for you, which add to the flavour of life in the Matrix. He has five starting missions that tell you a bit about him and the elements group and give you good experience starting out so they're well worth doing. The developers also added a sixth mission recently, but I'll get onto that in a nother post I think.
If you want map coordinates and other info to help you find Mercury and others I'd reccomend THIS SITE which I've been using as a reference for this post.
For more information of Mercury, Sugaree has written reviews of his missions and virtually all the other "contact" missions on her BLOG
Parallaxis
There's nothing better than a club to unwind or party down after a mission and Uriah district has just that for you. Parralaxis is viewable on your map with a blue musical note icon and is well worth checking out, especially as you can often find other redpills there. The club is a warehouse converted into a massive club with a huge dancefloor, banging music and some private rooms upstairs you can chill in. It's not the most suave of places but it's a nice place to hang out in when you're starting off. There are several clubs of varying nature and tastes dotted throughout the city - check them out, a lot of them have "contacts" lurking within.
That'll do, once you've checked all that out you'll want to head out on foot, maybe find a few hardlines or use the subway to get around. But I wouldn't be a stranger 'cause Uriah's got a lot more to offer and I'll tell you all about it soon.
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