Initial Scout Guide
Hopefully, this will be an easy-to-follow, straightforward guide to getting started Scouting in Darkwind. If it isn't...either change it (it's a Wiki after all), or comment on it in the discussion section so somebody else can change it. :-)
It is assumed that if you want to scout you've spent some time learning how to drive, shoot, and use the interface of the game by running in-town events. As such, this guide is focused on the things you need to do to go out on your first scouting encounter, rather than more introductory information a new Player would need.
Save Your Money
If you waited to do your first scout until after you subscribed, you have some 'seed money' in your bank account. Resist the temptation to rush right over to Jake's and build a car. You will need that money for other stuff as you get started. Things like:
- Car Rentals
- Hospital Stays
- Training
- Ammunition (for the rental cars)
If you obey the two cardinal rules of scouting, you will soon have enough money to safely build your own vehicles (as a Subscriber) (Vehicle Design Guide), and a reputation as a smart player, and everybody wants to play with somebody like that; it reduces the chances that anybody is going to get dead.
RULE 1: DO NOT SCOUT ALONE
If you log in one day, and there's not much going on, but you've got 'the itch', and you say to yourself, 'Self, there's not much going on, I'm going to solo scout,' remember this rule. Do a race, or a deathrace, or anything except go on a scout alone.
Since everyone at some point will break this rule at least once anyway, refer to rule 1a: If you must try it out then use disposable characters. Expect to lose and don't feel discouraged if you do. There are a multitude of things stacking the odds against you, and in due time you will learn them all and how to overcome them.
RULE 2: DO NOT SCOUT WITH ONLY ONE PERSON IN YOUR CAR
Seems simple enough: if there's only one person in your car, you can't take a loot car home. Secondarily, if there's only one person in your car, chances are you don't have enough room to take much cargo loot home either, which means the scout will end up costing you money in ammo and repairs (if your car isn't a rental). Also note that a crewman can only shoot one weapon at a time.
Car Rentals
Car rentals are available (in Somerset only) from Dexter's Tavern. While Dexter handles the rentals the cars are actually available from your gang's web page on the Vehicles tab.
A deposit is required, and varies depending on your gang's wages. There is a refundable $5,000 component, and a non-refundable variable component that is based on how much you pay your gang. Obviously, you only get the $5,000 back if you bring the rental car back.
NOTE: Dexter pays the player who returns the rental even if that is not the person who took the rental out. So, if you return somebody else's rental you'll get the deposit money.
At the same time, if you leave the vehicle for a looted vehicle, you will lose your deposit. But, you won't be out scouting with just one person in your car, so unless there's an abundance of loot vehicles you should be able to bring home a loot car and the rental. Because you won't be out scouting with just one person in your car, right? Right.
After renting your vehicle, go to the Marketplace (Gameplay -> Map -> Somerset -> Marketplace) to buy ammo for reloads.
Buying Ammo
If you are not a Subscriber you will not have access to the Marketplace, so buying ammo reloads is not an option. This makes RULE 1 even more important, as a Rental Car's initial load-out will not give you enough ammo to see an encounter to a successful completion.
In the Marketplace click on Ammunition under Trade with NPCs. Find the ammo for the weapon (or weapons) in your vehicle, and either click the button to increment the quantity, or simply type the quantity you want in the box. All ammunition is sold in magazines; the number of rounds in a magazine is dependent on the weapon it is for. For example, a Machine Gun magazine has 20 rounds, while a Gatling Gun magazine has 40 rounds.
After you have selected your ammo, a Confirm Transactions button will appear at the top of the list. Click the button to purchase the ammo and transfer it to your Lockup.
Next, (from the same Marketplace page) click on Ammunition under Load/Unload Cargo (at the bottom of the page). You will be shown a table of the ammunition in your Lockup. Select your vehicle from the dropdown, and load ammo into its cargo space by entering a number in the appropriate box, and clicking the Load button.
The vehicle's available cargo space is shown at the bottom of the vehicle detail page, and the amount of space each magazine takes up is shown in the Bulk/Unit column of the ammunition table. Load as much ammo as you feel comfortable with. Generally, one or two reloads should be plenty.
Join a Squad
As you are not scouting alone (RULE 1, remember?), you'll be joining another player's squad. There are a few ways to find the squad.
- In the game client, click the squad owner's name in the Users in Lobby section, and select Open Gang Page, click the Squads heading, find the squad, and click it.
- On the main forum page, find the squad owner's name in the Currently Logged In list at the bottom of the page, click the name, click the gang name on the page that comes up, click the Squads heading, find the squad in the list, and click it.
- Go to Community -> Browse Squads, and find the squad name in the list, and click it.
- Go to Community -> Browse Gangs, and find the squad owner's gang in the list, click it, then click the Squads heading, find the squad, and click it.
After doing any of the previous steps, enter the password provided by the squad owner, and click the Join button. The squad page will refresh and show your gang in the list of member gangs.
Below the list of member gangs will be a list of vehicles in the squad. Select your vehicle from the dropdown and click the Add button.
Return to the game client and wait until you are notified that your event is starting.
The Scout
A few quick things to remember:
- Hit Spacebar (or Tab depending on your Preferences) when done with your turn. (You can see who's done in the upper right of the screen.)
- Be mindful of your LOS (Line of Sight) and the LOS of your teammates.
- Careful not to shoot up your salvage! Know which cars are demoralized and conserve ammo.
NOTE: Sometimes it is necessary to shoot demoed cars... if in doubt, ask!
After The Scout
After the scout comes Looting, where you get to divide up the spoils.
Your scouting party might also have a return. A Return is when you get ambushed on the way back in to town, probably with wounded vehicles low on ammo and looted cars which may be weaponless and have damaged engines. Check with the person who started the scout to see if there is a return. Thankfully, returns are rather rare for veteran scouts.
Good luck!