Newbie FAQ

The purpose of this page is to provide good answers to the most common questions that new players on Fallen Earth have, in an effort to reduce the clutter on the Help channel.

Account Questions[]

Q: What are the main limitations of the Free to Play (F2P) account?

A: Free to Play accounts generally do things at a slower pace than subscriptions, by about 25%. They gain normal 100% XP, craft 25% slower, etc. The big limitations are a limit of 10 Red Chips (which is a huge amount of cash, even as a limitation), no access to the Global chat channels (likely as an anti-spambot measure), only 1 item in crafting queue and only 1 character slot. The full list is found below.
A: Ref: Fallen Earth F2P Matrix

Q: What is the chip limit for F2P accounts?

A: It is 10 red chips (100,000 white chips), and it can be removed by buying anything on the G1 Marketplace.

Q: What do achievements do?

A: They give you a sense of personal accomplishment. Other than that, they give no in-game benefit.

Tutorial Questions[]

Q: How do I attack the technician? He's kicking my ass!

A: Press Tab or the middle mouse button to switch to your Aim/Combat mode. The game has a toggle between the two modes so that you can use one mode for selecting objects around you and another mode for shooting.

Q: How do I skip the tutorial?

A: Erm. I highly suggest that you do not skip the tutorial. The very fact that you are asking this question means that you are not carefully reading the text bubbles, as the option to skip the tutorial is available on the very first computer console after the first technician that you fight.

Q: How do I auto-attack?

A: The game does not have an auto-attack. You must manually aim all attacks in the game (aside from a few mutation abilities). It plays more like a first person or third person shooter than a typical MMORPG.

Q: I need a weapon!

A: The first weapon you get is an axe embedded in a corpse. This will represent one of the few times in the game that you'll find a weapon drop, as most of the drops in the game are tradeskill materials or vendor trash. Just click on the axe to pick it up.

Q: Where's the elevator button?

A: Facing the elevator, it's a control panel inside the elevator to the left. It's a bit small, so it's easy to miss.

Q: I'm stuck at the place where you get the crafting kits.

A: First, you have to double-click the crate in your inventory to receive a full set of crafting gear. Then, you have to harvest all of the nodes in the room by clicking on them. This should unlock the next section. If it doesn't, try logging out of the game and logging back in... occasionally, the quest gets "stuck" and a relog will fix it.

Q: What starter town should I choose?

A: Don't think of this as a life or death decision, as all of the starter towns can be visited at any time, and they are all within riding distance of each other. They each give you basic crafting recipes and a horse.
Clinton FARM - Bonus: First Aid skill books. Also has a town event, if you want a taste of the event system in the game. Close to Boneclaw.
Boneclaw - Bonus: Melee weapons. Close to Clinton FARM and Midway.
Midway - Bonus: Tradeskill books, Midway Weakening Agent. Close to Boneclaw.

The Following are no longer selectable as starter towns.

North Burb - Bonus: Various Melee Weapons, GA-15 Pistol, North Burb Sage Tea recipe. Close to Terance and South Burb.
South Burb - Bonus: Flaky Bill's Pie recipes, Tradeskill books. Close to North Burb and Mumford.
Terance - Near Depot 66 and Zanesville.
Depot 66 - Bonus: Darwin's Po' Boy recipe. Near Zanesville and Terance.
Zanesville - Bonus: Pistol, Air Rifle, and the Zanesville Defender Vest including the recipe to create more.

Q: Disrupt 1? What's that?

A: Press N and click on the Mutations tab. Drag and drop Disrupt 1 to your hotbars. Press the Disrupt 1 hotkey to activate it. Your next attack will be imbued with Disrupt 1, which is a short term stun attack.

Q: I need some direction... how should I start out in the game?

A: Start out by completing all of the missions in your starter town. If you'd like, head to some of the other Starter Towns (you can see them in your map by pressing M and unchecking the Overhead box) and complete the quests there. Between levels 7 to 10, head to Odenville, Oilville, and/or Embry Crossroads and do all of the quests in those towns. Start the first leg of "You're Dying" and the ATV quests, which should automatically be given to you. Between levels 10 to 15, head to Old Kingman and Coppermine and do all of the quests in those towns. Start the second leg of "You're Dying" and complete the next few ATV quests (up to the Needle Eye). Between levels 15 to 20, head to Spiderhill and Trailer Park and do all the quests in those towns. Finish "You're Dying" and the ATV quests. At Trailer Park, start and finish "Distressing Rumors". At around level 20+, head north of Spiderhill to Oasis, then further north into S2. Congratulations! You are ready to progress with the game.
A: Ref: Suggested Level Range for all towns and zones

Combat Questions[]

Q: What is the best weapon?

A: The weapon lines are fairly balanced in Fallen Earth. Melee weapons do not require ammunition, but have limited range. Two-handed melee weapons tend to swing slower and hit harder, while one-handed melee weapons can be dual wielded without penalty. Pistols have limited range and eat through ammo quickly (especially when dual wielded), but deal great damage over time. Rifles have the longest range and many rifles have scopes for easier long-distance shooting. Rifles tend to have lower DPS than Pistols or Melee, but can kill targets much further away than the other weapons.

Q: How do I change my weapon?

A: CTRL and the number keys will switch to the appropriate slot (1-6). CTRL-0 (zero) holsters your current weapons. Note that there currently is no way to draw two weapons simultaneously for the purposes of dual wielding.
A: You can also go into mouse mode and right click directly on the weapon on your character's body and select Equip from the menu.

Q: Why am I only dealing 1-2 points of damage with my shiny new weapon?

A: Most likely, you lack the required Attack Skill. There is a severe penalty to damage for not meeting the skill requirement for the weapon.

AP/Experience Questions[]

Q: What is a good Rifle/Pistol/Crafting/Melee/Healer/Support build?

A: Fallen Earth has an Advancement Point system which allows very flexible builds. Unfortunately, this is also fairly confusing for most new players. I'll break down a simple way to raise your character. Every time you level, start at Step 1 and work your way down.
Step 1: Which weapon skill do you want? It is highly suggested that you pick a single weapon skill (Rifle, Pistol, or Melee) and stick with it. Even if you are a healer or support character, you will want to be good at one weapon. All three weapon systems are viable, but you should choose only one. If you place points in nothing else, you should max out the points in a main weapon as your first priority. Note that more advanced players may choose to simply raise up to the skill needed for gear requirements, but as a new player, you cannot go wrong with maxing a primary weapon skill.
Step 2: Are you a crafter? If you plan on crafting a lot, or focusing your character on crafting, then raise your Intelligence and Perception to max. Keep maintaining these two attributes at maximum level.
Step 3: Raise your weapon skill primary attributes. For Rifle and Pistol, this is Dexterity and Perception. For Melee, this is Strength and Coordination. Max these out.
Step 4: Maximize your Armor Use and Dodge skills. These skills mitigate damage done to you. Armor Use increases your resistances and makes you stronger against damage. Dodge mitigates critical hits, and thus also prevents damage. Among all of the skills, these two will help you survive more than any other.
Step 5: Raise any other skill/attribute/mutation. Once all of the above Steps are fulfilled, you can start investing in other things important to your build.
- Healer/Support builds - Empathy, Enhancement, Nano-Manipulation mutations, First Aid, Group Tactics skills
- Self-Heals - Empathy or First Aid
- Damage - Power and Precision
- Tanking - Escape Artist, Primal, Enhancement
- Direct Damage - Sonic Manipulation, Telekinesis, Thermal Manipulation

Q: What is the max level/AP/Stats/Skills?

A: Currently, the maximums are Level 55, with a maximum spendable AP cap of 1960 (35 AP per level), Attributes at 98, and Skills at 196.

Q: I just got AP for no reason. What the heck?

A: The game awards random 1 AP on occasion, so that people who play the game will eventually reach the AP cap by simply playing.

Q: ...AP cap?

A: You may spend up to 35 AP per level plus an additional 35 AP (35 x level + 35) on stats, skills, or mutations. This means at level 55 you may spend a maximum cap of 1960 AP (35 x 55 + 35 = 1960).
You receive 30 AP (three per "bubble" around your character's experience meter) per level, which will equal 1650 AP at level 55. To reach the spendable AP cap of 1960 at level 55, you may also accrue "Bonus AP" as rewards from missions, road rally races, or "random" AP awarded over time. These bonus AP will help you flesh out your build - a character who has the maximum AP at any given level is more likely to defeat a character of the same level with no bonus AP.

Q: Can I change my AP selections later? Can I "respec" my AP?

A: Various Recombinant Injectors can be purchased from Mutagenics Merchants. They are "banded" in a 10 level range, so you can only use the appropriate one for your level. Each injector resets 5 AP. By using injectors one at a time, you can slowly change your AP selections to something else.

Player level 1-10: Weak Recombinant Injector
Player level 11-20: Basic Recombinant Injector
Player level 21-30: Simple Recombinant Injector
Player level 31-40: Average Recombinant Injector
Player level 41-50: Improved Recombinant Injector
Player level 51-60: Advanced Recombinant Injector

A: The Pristine Recombinant Injector can be bought from the G1 Marketplace (cash shop). This will reset your whole character. Note that you do not lose tradeskills, but your tradeskill maximums may be lower if you don't restore your Intelligence and Perception to their previous levels.

Q: There are lots of points and lots of ways to use them. How should I set out planning my character's development?

A: Someone on the internet made a wonderful skill planner(off-site) which you can use to plan your actual build at any given level (and with any amount of bonus AP). The guide recommends maxing four stats, which leaves room to max six skills/mutations with 130 AP left over (skills max at 196 when the relevant stats are maxed). Note that you do not need the maximum (196) in a skill to learn its highest-level abilities (though you usually need to be close); thus, by only levelling skills to the maximum required for an ability rank, you can squeeze out a few more AP for the aforementioned "seventh skill." Additionally, some abilities (like Dirty Steel and Kneecap, from the Dirty Tricks tree, or Resuscitate from First Aid) have effects which are more important than the damage they do (e.g. a stunning or slowing effect, or player resurrection). In such cases, what the ability does is more important than how well it does it, so you can get by with putting in only enough points to get the first rank in each ability (such a build would therefore be a utility/support/crowd-control build). As mentioned above, it's good to start by considering how you will kill enemies and then work out from there through tanking and utility. However, if you have a Free to Play account and want to be a self-sufficient crafter, you will need to maximize Intelligence to 98 and raise Perception to 95 to get the maximum tradeskill scores, so take that into account as well. Additionally, all mutations are affected by the Willpower stat, so Willpower can be considered a core stat of mutation-heavy builds.

Skills/Mutations Questions[]

Q: What are the effects of Power and Precision?

A: The full effect of Power and Precision, as stated by the developers, is as follows: "With Power, Precision, and a weapon skill at 180 at level 50, you will do roughly an additional 30% damage over time to opponents with no Dodge (Dodge here refers to Melee and Ranged Defense, which are derived from Dodge plus any buffs to them individually) but full armor."
A: Unfortunately, both Power and Precision affect damage at a linear rate, and in very small amounts. Power, for example, seems to affect damage at a rate of 1% per 10-12 points invested. Even with a sniper rifle that deals 99 damage, you are only going to see a 1 point damage increase for 12 points of Power! This makes Power less useful for low level characters, who tend to have weapons that deal lower damage. As for Precision, the developer states: "Because Precision is an increase in critical hit rate, this is not easily measured, and small changes are difficult to notice. Even large changes to Precision will not necessarily be visible over a small number of kills, but you should notice an increased critical rate over time."
A: Major points in favor of Precision and Power, however, include their abilities. Dent Armor is a useful Stun and reduces armor values on the target. Precise Hit slows the target and deals a high amount of extra damage.
A: Ref: Developer Blog "Of Alpha County and Hotfixes"

Q: What are the effects of Dodge and Armor Use?

A: The two main defensive skills, Armor Use and Dodge, work well in concert with each other. Armor Use increases damage mitigation (to a cap of 50%), while Dodge reduces the effect of Power and Precision passively at a rate of one third the user's Dodge value. The greatest value of Dodge is the reduction in the number of critical hits taken by the user, by adding to Melee and Ranged Defense values.
A: Ref: Developer Blog "Of Alpha County and Hotfixes"

Q: I just selected Sonic Lance/Always Armed, and now I can't zoom in! Help?

A: When you use Sonic Lance or Always Armed, the ability is remapped to your Right Mouse Button. While Dual-Wielding, this changes the behavior of your attack so that pressing the Left Mouse Button will swing both weapons. While using a rifle with a scope, you can still zoom in by holding the B key. It is highly suggested that if you intend to use either of those mutation abilities, you should remap your Zoom to a more convenient key under the game options (Alt-O).

Gear/Inventory Questions[]

Q: How do I store stuff from my inventory?

A: Several mounts can hold inventory in their storage. Get close to your mount, select Info from your Mount window, and select the Inventory tab. You can right-click items in your inventory and send them "To Mount" or drag and drop.
A: There are several different storage vaults in the game. The first one you are likely to find is the Sector Vault, which is found in every town in the game. Vaults with the same name have the same inventory across all zones. The items you place in a Sector Vault, for example, will be found in any other Sector Vault.
A: Ref: Where is the bank?

Q: How do I filter my inventory?

A: Open the Pack and click on the funnel icon in the upper right corner. You can create new tabs and filter what you want those tabs to display. Also, you can sort all items to go to the top of the page. All of this is useful for keeping your pack organized.
A: Ref: How do I filter my inventory?

Q: Can I increase my inventory in my pack?

A: You can increase the original space in your bag from 64 slots by purchasing pack upgrades in the Fallen Earth Marketplace. Each pack upgrade expansion purchase will grant one character an additional 4 slots of pack space. Characters are limited to a a total of 96 pack slots. (Vault expansions can also be purchased at the Marketplace.)

Q: Can I increase my maximum inventory weight?

A: Every point of Strength increases your maximum weight by 0.5 kg. However, it is considered a waste of AP to increase Strength solely for the purpose of increasing carry capacity.

Q: What is a Barter Vault?

A: A Barter Vault is like a Sector Vault, except it is found in fewer towns, generally the larger towns in a zone.

Q: What is a VIP Vault?

A: A VIP Vault is like a Sector Vault, except it is only found in a few towns. Embry Crossroads (separate from the Barter/Sector Vaults in the east of Embry), New Flagstaff, Blaine, Trader's Flat, Los Alamos, and every town in Alpha County (including the Epsilon Zone a.k.a. The Outpost) have VIP Vaults.

Q: What is a Utility Vault?

A: A Utility Vault is like a Sector Vault, except it is only found in a few towns. Embry Crossroads (separate from the Barter/Sector Vaults in the east of Embry), Los Alamos, and every town in Alpha County (including the Epsilon Zone a.k.a. The Outpost) have Utility Vaults.

Q: Can I increase my Bank Vault slots?

A: Yes. There are Marketplace items and there are Construction tradeskill items that increase Vault space (starting at 150 Construction skill).
A: Ref: How do I get more vault slots?

Travel Questions[]

Q: When do I get a horse?

A: The first set of quests you receive when you arrive at the Lifenet facility in your starter town will give you an Old Nag, which should be your first mount. It is highly suggested that you upgrade to a Riding Horse as soon as possible. A good Riding Horse is the best investment you can make in the early game, as there is a lot of traveling to do.
A: To get a Riding Horse, you'll need approximately 30 Nature, Horse Training Knowledge, an Animal Training Kit, a Sack of Horse Feed, and a Horse Bridle, all which can be purchased at a Horse Merchant. The Sack of Horse Feed comes free with your Old Nag. You can save some cash by training up a Horse Bridle from an untrained Horse (also sold by a starting Horse Merchant). The total cost is around 550 chips, a very modest investment for a Horse that can last you for a long time.

Q: How do I unsummon my horse?

A: You cannot unsummon your mount once it is in the world. It will persist with you, even if you log out and log back in, so don't worry about losing it. Nevertheless, you have the option to delete your mount at the Stable Manager.

Q: My horse died! What do I do?

A: You can use any of your default healing abilities on the horse to raise it, like Stanch Wound or Patch.

Q: Can I get my horse to follow me?

A: No. It will stay at whatever location you left it. However, you can go to any Stable and ask them to tow the horse to your location, for a small fee.

Q: How many mounts can I have?

A: You can have up to 5 mounts, but only 1 can be active at any time.

Q: How can I rename my mount?

A: While close to the mount, you should have a separate Mount window that shows up near your health/stamina/gamma bars. Right click the name of your mount in that window, and you can rename your mount. Note that you cannot use any name that any other user has selected.

Q: Do horses/vehicles have different speeds?

A: Horses all have the same speed, regardless of stats. The speeds are Horses - 30, ATV - 32, Dune Buggy - 35, Motorcycle - 40, Interceptor - 48. Note that vehicles have a speed bonus on roads when the player is not near a city or a point of interest.
Ref: Horse/Blight Wolf/Prairie Chicken Statistics
Ref: Vehicle Statistics

Q: Where is the nearest Stable/Garage?

A: Ref: Where are the Gas Stations in Sector 1

Q: When do I get other vehicles?

A: You get other vehicles by either buying them from the Marketplace or the Auction House from other players, or you can research crafting them by completing the ATV questline given to you at level 5. Note that the ATV quest is extremely long and involved, and the developers expect you to finish it as you are leveling from 5 to 15 (although you can complete it at any level after 5).

Q: This last mission for the ATV quest is impossible! How can I finish it?

A: Know Your Mechanic is suggested to be completed at level 15 or higher. If you die, you lose the mission, but you can just pick it up again at Lonnie Parker back at Pass Chris (note: The Lonnie Parker in Murphy is not the quest giver). The best way to do this quest is in a team. However, if you can't find a team, then get on a mount and ride around in circles until the NPCs (the Scavengers and Lonnie) get the attention of the Night Wolves. After that, dismount and pick them off one by one.

Q: I'm at "End of the Road", and I don't know what to do with the Junked ATV. Help?

A: If the Junked ATV is in front of you, beat it up. Destroy it. This will complete the quest.
A: Sometimes, it takes a while for the Junked ATV to spawn. Wait a few minutes, or relog.

Q: I completed the ATV questline, but I still didn't get the ATV knowledge.

A: There are two ATV quest lines. The old one no longer gives you the knowledge to build ATVs. The new ATV quest line is the one you want to follow, and that starts with John Harris at Embry Crossroads. The quest is automatically given to you at level 5.

Q: How do I Fast Travel?

A: The Fast Travel system requires you to activate Checkpoints found in specific Lifenet facilities scattered throughout the world (underground near the respawn point). You can only teleport from one Fast Travel node to another. Note that Fast Travel does not cover teleportation to a location that you haven't been to before, nor can you teleport from anywhere in the world to a Fast Travel point (without a Reward Point consumable item called a Lifenet Hack). Fast Travel costs some chips to use, with higher amounts for greater distances.
A: In South S1 (the starting zone), the first Fast Travel points that you find will be near Odenville, Oilville, Embry Crossroads, and Old Kingman. None of the starter towns currently have a Fast Travel terminal.
Ref: Fast Travel

South S1 Questions[]

Q: (Boneclaw) Where is Nipper?

A: Nipper is a severed arm that is on a metal platform near the marked red X. It is small and difficult to see, but look for the metal platform with an arm on it.

Q: (Boneclaw) How do I catch the Cockroaches?

A: In the first leg of the quest, you need to get close to a Cockroach, who will likely attack you. While the Cockroach is close, select it by clicking on it, then double click the trap in your inventory. The second leg of the quest involves a Female Cockroach. In this portion, simply go to the red X and talk to the Female Cockroach there, and escort her back to Boneclaw.

Q: (Boneclaw) How do I bury the dead in "A Grave Result"?

A: Target the corpse, then double click on the shovel quest item in your inventory.

Q: (Midway) How do I reach (insert NPC) on the roof?

A: If you are delivering crossbow bolts for Keller, you can actually just climb to the second floor of that building, go to the corner where the NPC is above you, look up, and talk to his "feet" to deliver the bolts.
A: Otherwise, there are red signs that say "Roof Access" above doors in certain buildings which will allow you to get to the rooftops of Midway. In particular, you can only reach Dr. Cremaster using one of these Roof Access buildings.

Q: (Embry) How do I collect DNA for the "You're Dying" quest?

A: Follow the red X and select the creature indicated by the quest. Walk close to the creature, click on the creature, then double click on the DNA collector in your inventory. The target MUST be alive for this to work, and it has to be done in the particular order indicated by the quest (in other words, you can't shortcut by getting the Prairie Chicken DNA first).

Q: Where are the Embry Crossroads stables?

A: There are no Stables near or in Embry, for some reason. The closest ones are North, East, and South of Embry, following the roads.

Q: Can I Fast Travel back to my starting town?

A: Currently, there is no way to Fast Travel back to the starting towns.

North S1 Questions[]

Q: (Rest Stop) How do I continue the "You're Dying" quest? Something about Alpha Clone DNA...

A: Go into the zombie-infested town of Rest Stop. There should be a Graham clone who will give you the quest in the nearby mines, which will eventually give you the Alpha Clone DNA sample.

Interface Questions[]

Q: How do I remove the Upgrade button?

A: If you are on a Free to Play account, you cannot remove it. You can move the button by clicking and dragging it off to the side. In most cases, this will open an outside browser window in the process. This is annoying, but it's only something you have to do once per session. Some pop-up blocker and firewall programs allow you to prevent browser/pop-up access to the client program, and thus prevent the browser window from ever showing up.
A: Since the Upgrade button is an HUD element, it is conceivable to create a skin that removes or moves it, but I do not know of any skins at this time which can do this.
A: The obvious answer, of course, is to subscribe to the game. Is the game worth 10 bucks a month to you?

Q: How do I take a screenshot? How do I remove the HUD?

A: Screenshots can be taken by pressing CTRL-Q. The HUD can be removed using Alt-F10.

Q: How do I view the front of my character?

A: Hold down the ALT key while holding down your Right Mouse Button, and drag across the screen. This should rotate the camera around your character.

Q: How do I set/view a waypoint?

A: Press the M button to view the map, and then right click the place you want to set the waypoint marker. Press Alt-P to view your list of waypoints, and click on the waypoint that you wish to display on your minimap as a yellow X. You can have up to 100 waypoints.

Q: The nights are too dark, and I can't see a thing! How can I make my game brighter?

A: Press F to activate your Flashlight.
A: When you open the launcher and input your Name/Password, you should be able to select OPTIONS in the lower left corner. This should give you some options, including a slider to adjust your Gamma. Raise this value until the game is bright enough for you.

Q: Is there a GM online?

A: You can press the O button and select the GM tab to see if any GMs are available to assist you.

Q: What's with the different color names in Help Chat?

A: Yellow names indicate GMs, Fallen Earth staff who are in-game to assist players. Green names indicate Hazmat members, knowledgeable player volunteers who are players just like you.

Q: How do I send a private tell to a friend with two names?

A: You need to type /tell FirstName LastName, Message. The comma after the last name is important with two name combinations. Be sure to add the comma.

Q: What is the Wardrobe tab in my Gear window?

A: The Wardrobe tab allows you to equip items to benefit from their appearance, but not their stats. It allows you to overlay your normal gear with a different outer appearance layer. For example, you can look like you are wearing a Duster even though you are wearing a Reinforced Vest. The Wardrobe tab slots are only unlocked as Rewards or bought from the G1 Marketplace.

Crafting Questions[]

Q: How do I raise my tradeskills? I can't invest AP in them.

A: Unlike attributes, mutations, and skills, Tradeskills are raised by using them. As long as you do a task that has sufficient difficulty (typically up to 30 levels below your current skill level), your tradeskill will raise by 1 point per task (no more, no less). For example, if I have a 36 Geology skill and I harvest a 30 Chemical Node, my Geology skill will raise by 1 point to 37.

Q: What is the largest needed tradeskill?

A: Although you can raise every tradeskill to 196 by maximizing both Intelligence and Perception, there is no recipe or skill/ability which needs more than 195. Therefore, raising Intelligence to 98 and Perception to 95 is sufficient.

Q: What is the Commander's Best Crafting Kit? Do I need it to craft?

A: The Commander's Best Crafting Kit is a reward item that can be purchased with Reward Points or bought with real money from the G1 Marketplace. It is not needed to craft. It allows you to carry only 1 Crafting Kit instead of carrying one kit for every tradeskill, saving on space and carry weight.
A: Patch update - As of the 2.1 Patch, kits are no longer needed for harvesting.

Q: Why is my tradeskill not going up anymore?

A: You lack Intelligence or Perception, which determine your tradeskill caps. Raise these attributes to raise the tradeskill cap.
A: If you are capped on Intelligence and Perception, then you probably have to level up some more before you can raise them again. Every level, you will gain +1 to Intelligence and Perception, so your tradeskill caps will go up by 2.
A: You can only gain up to 30 levels above the difficulty of the item you are crafting, with a few exceptions (Belts and Gloves only raise to 10 above their difficulty, trivial tasks don't raise your skill, and some books don't raise skill at all).
A: The color of the skill level requirement (the number) in your recipe window indicates the result:
- White: Receive full XP and 1 tradeskill point (unless your tradeskill has reached its cap, see first answer)
- Green: Receive reduced XP and 1 tradeskill point (unless your tradeskill has reached its cap, see first answer)
- Gray: No XP and no tradeskill point

Q: Why am I randomly gaining/losing points in Geology/Nature/Scavenging?

A: Most likely you have gear equipped which raise those values. Whenever you holster the gear (usually when riding a horse), you lose the bonus.

Q: Can I get materials back from items?

A: Right click an item and select "Salvage" to take it apart. You need to be able to create the item before you can salvage it. For example, you cannot convert Salvaged Wood to Scrap Wood without the recipe knowledge Refine Wood and without 90 Nature skill. You will receive approximately 30-50% of the materials back when you salvage, with more materials received at higher skill levels and a minimum of 1 material.

Q: Can I make Scrap Fasteners?

A: The Create/Refine Fastener recipe was removed with the 1.9.3 patch, along with a few others (Petroleum, Plastic, Synthetic Cloth). They can no longer be crafted. However, you can loot them from some enemies (most notably Judge Acolytes near Coppermine and S3 CoGs).
- Revision - As of Patch 2.1, Scrap Fasteners no longer drop from Coppermine Judges or S3 CoGs.

Q: What's a quick way to raise...?

A: Ballistics - Zip Gun Ammo will raise your Ballistics to 30. After that, most folks recommend crafting Light Pistol Ammo (obtained from Ballistics Trainers in any town that isn't a starter town).
A: Science - Bleach (Dyes schematic, from Tradeskill or Science Trainer vendors) requires 1 Weak Botanic and about a minute to make, and can be salvaged immediately after crafting to get the 1 Weak Botanic back. This will raise Science to 33 pretty quickly. Gunpowder isn't nearly as fast, but will raise your Science from 30 to 60, and is used in Light Pistol Ammo.

Q: Will I still receive the crafting time bonus from a facility when I'm logged out?

A: Yes. You receive the bonus for as long as you remain in that facility, even when you log out.

Where do I find...[]

Sector 1 edition. Try to keep suggestions on item locations restricted to things that can actually be found in S1.

Ragged Cotton - This drops from any humanoid mob and from Cotton nodes. The easiest drops are from Rotters, which can be found in the underground facility east of Terance, the mine south of Odenville, and Rest Stop. Cotton nodes are also very plentiful in the areas surrounding the Clinton FARM.
Ragged Leather - This drops from nearly any mammal or reptile in the game. Also, there are many items that count as Ragged Leather, such as Ragged Furs.
Rifles - Small Arms Rifles Schematics are available starting in Embry Crossroads and going north from there.
Salvaged Copper - Coppermine has a couple of higher level Copper Ore nodes within the mine east of the town. The enemies near Coppermine also occasionaly drop this in their loot.
Salvaged Wood - Wood nodes starting in North S1 (North of Pass Chris/Watchtower). The further north you go, the more likely you'll get Salvaged Wood.
Scrap Coal - The Deep Gully Coal in the mine south of Odenville counts as Scrap Coal. The mine north of Clinton FARM includes plentiful, fast-spawning coal nodes, as well.
Scrap Copper - Every starter town has Copper Ore nodes around their Lifenet facility. If the area is crowded, it may take some patience for the copper deposits to respawn.
Scrap Gears - Rarely found in Junked Tech and other Junk scavenge nodes. They are easily crafted, however, using a Science recipe. Also, they drop 100% from LifeNet Mechanical Junk found in the underground facility east of Terance.
Scrap Glass - Junked Tech or Junked Cars. Usually those that require 45 or higher scavenging skill.
Scrap Fasteners - Merchant-only. They rarely drop from Junked nodes as well.
- Revision - As of Patch 2.1, Scrap Fasteners no longer drop from Coppermine Judges or S3 CoGs.
Scrap Plastic - Junked Plastic nodes. These are often found in areas like Junk Fortress or PvP areas like the area north of Trailer Park (far in northeast Sector 1). In Old Kingman all around the Gaunt's Riders occupied territory. Also, the Lifenet Junk Piles near the Lifenet facility in Terance occasionally drop Scrap Plastic (rare). Same with Midway Hermit Crabs (rare).
Scrap Steel - Steel Pipes from the Scavenger camp southwest of Embry "also counts as" Scrap Steel.
Shotguns - Large Gauge Guns (schematics for Shotguns) cannot be bought until S2 vendors.
Scrap Wood - From Junked Wood, Logs, and Tree Stump nodes. There are 6 nodes due north of North Burb near the abandoned houses near the tall grey tower. There are many, many log and stump nodes just south of South Burb.
Tainted Grain - Grain nodes all over North S1. A small respawning field of Tainted Grain can be found West of Mumford and due north from the Mumford Science Facility. South Burb and North Burb both have farmsteads with abundant Tainted Grain nodes.
Weak Biologic Chemical - Any animal/mutant can drop this. Drops often from Rotters (uncommon) and Rats (very common). Canyon Rats can be found north of Terance. Other rats can be found SW of South Burb.
Weak Antiseptic - This can be found by scavenging Misplaced Medical Bins that appear in towns, but you are usually best off either buying this off a merchant (usually medicine merchants) or refining it from weak botanic chemicals after learning the Refine Antiseptic Formula from a Medicine Trainer. Note: Clinton FARM's merchants do not sell this item.
Weak Botanic Chemical - Vegetable Nodes (uncommon) and Red Mushroom nodes (100%). Most starter towns have a lot of nearby Veggie nodes. Needle Eye has an area with hostile living mushrooms which drop Weak Botanical with higher frequency. Crater Weed counts as Weak Botanic and can be found in abundance near the Satellite crash sites north of Mumford. Sage Leaf counts as Weak Botanic and can be found in abundance near North Burb.
Weak Geologic Chemical - Chemical Nodes (found throughout S1). The mine south of Odenville and the hills north of Embry have respawning nodes.
Weak Healing Accelerant - Mender Ferns (found throughout North S1). Also, a repeatable exchange mission in Trumbull.
Weak Petroleum - Gas Can/Barrel nodes can be found north of Trailer Park (Sector 1) in the Satellite Array PVP area when the "Resouces Abound!" event icon appears on your map. This is a great place to stock up early on since most players appear to be more concerned with harvesting than PvP, and the nodes have very quick respawn rates while "resources abound"- so there's plenty for everyone as long as you play nicely. Weak Petrol nodes can later be found throughout Sector 2.

Also, some NPCs have repeatable quests that exchange goods for each other. For example:

Giovanni Contadino (Odenville) - Trades Tainted Grain, Tainted Eggs, or Weak Botanical for Tainted Meat.
Caprice Gallo (Odenville) - Trades Ragged Bandages, Scrap Copper, or Scrap Coal for Tainted Water.
Alberto Basso (Odenville) - Trades Scrap Iron, Weak Geological, or Weak Painkiller for Scrap Copper.

Faction Questions[]

Q: When can I join a Faction?

A: When you start out in the game, you won't have access to any of the factions in the game. You won't be able to select a Faction until you reach Level 15. Read up on the factions within the stories and lore in Sector 1 and decide which faction appeals to you.

Q: Where can I join a Faction?

A: There are missions available in each faction town in Sector 2 (Northfields) and Sector 3 (Kaibab Forest) to join one of the six factions: Faction Choice Missions. You'll require at least 1,000 reputation with the faction you want to join.

Q: Is there an advantage to join a Faction?

A: Joining a Faction will make you friendly with this Factions NPCs, but will make you hated by their opposing Faction (arch-enemy). Faction merchants have more gear in stock (armor, weapons, trinkets, consumables, recipes; many of them tied to Faction points). There are also many quest lines that are specific to each Faction. You also get access to a Faction global chat.

Q: Can I be friendly with more than one Faction?

A: You can be friendly with up to 3 Factions. In the past, after joining a Faction you automatically have been friendly with its two ally factions (so-called "shoulder-faction"). This has been changed, now you can be friendly with any combination of 3 factions (except arch-enemies).

Q: Can I reset my Faction?

A: There is an NPC in New Flagstaff called the Disgruntled Outsider that allows you to reset all of your factions. This can only be done once.

Bugs/Glitches Questions[]

Q: (Insert Generic Glitch Here)

A: When in doubt, exit the game and log in again. This will fix the vast majority of glitches in the game.

Q: I just lost all of my inventory in my mount, for no reason. What do I do?

A: This can often by fixed by moving to another zone or town and relogging there.

Q: I just lost my mount in the middle of nowhere! What do I do?

A: Unfortunately, certain area transitions can cause you to lose your mount. Sometimes, your mount can be restored by simply relogging. If this doesn't work, you are going to have to find the nearest Garage/Stable and tow your mount there to restore it.

Q: All of the walls are grey, and I can see objects through the walls! What do I do?

A: Press Alt-O to open the Options menu. In the Options menu, under the Graphics tab, disable Post FX. This should fix the problem, possibly after a relog.
A: If disabling Post FX does not work, it is likely that you have some corrupted textures. This can be fixed by opening the FE Launcher and selecting either Perform Complete File Check or Defragment Game File System.

Q: I'm stuck! What do I do?

A: First, try relogging. If that doesn't work, use the Unstuck emote or /unstuck in the chat window. The Unstuck command kills you, and sends you to the nearest Lifenet facility. If you cannot use Unstuck, even after a relog, you may have to ask a GM to help you as a last resort.