Things I'm learning as a newbie I wish I had known! (Please feel free to add to this list! I will edit this posting as it allows me.)

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:
[*]The Consignment vendor wares are globally linked on the community.istaria.com website. You can use the website to see all listed wares. There's no need to visit individual Consignment vendors to see what they have listed.[*]If you are new, click on one of the buttons in the lower right-hand corner of the left-hand chat window to see the available channels. Join the "New Player's Assistance" channel.[*]Play the game in Windowed Mode if you plan on using other applications on your computer while playing (music, e-mail, etc.). [*]You can use %T% and %L% in messages. If you use Coordinated bolt/strike with a group, have the hotkey start with a text message command like "Coord strike on %T%" to announce what you're hitting. Or you can just be crazy and have all your attack keys say things like "Eat hot triple teched mithril you misbegotten %T%". This is extra amusing when you highlight a crafting machine and accidentally press a hotkey. When someone asks where something is, or where you are, you can select the object/person in question and say "I'm at %L%" to give the coords.[*]alt-Q / alt-W for cycling through chat windows. alt-A / alt-S for cycling through chat tabs. F9 to select self. F10 to select nearest enemy. If you like using only a single hotket bar in your UI, then you probably know this. If you're looking to free up space in your UI then consider using shift + number of hotkey bar to switch to that hotkey bar. Then use the corresponding number for the hotkey you wish to trigger. Saves moving the mouse all over the place if you've got ten hotkey bars filled up with spells and abilities.[*]Press enter to activate your chat, Hold down shift and use the arrow keys to cycle through the last things you said so you can repeat them.[*]When in a chat channel, typing andyou want to delete your whole line without having to backspace the whole thing (very annoying sometimes) shift + delete will take care of the whole lot of it.[*]If you use the inventory screens in list mode instead of icon mode you can use shift and control to select multiple items, just like you would in windows explorer for example. Very handy to mass delete, mass hoard, or mass deconstruct if you forgot to check the auto-decon option.[*]/setpref useloadingscreen false - for the faster porting[*]/loadui - to reload your UI if something is messed up with it.[*]Toggle +/= to switch between run and walk.[*]Faster flight for dragons: Hold down the scroll wheel (so it clicks) and rotate the screen so that you are looking down. Then rotate your screen back into a view you like with the PageUp/Down buttons. Now as you fly, you will be in constant desent but will not land when you hit the ground, only glide. Gliding in this way increases your rate of movement (but not the numerical value displayed for Flight Speed). Some mice have conflicting commands associated with the Wheel Button. If you are not able to look around while holding the wheel button, play around with its associations in your mouse config.[*]A command called /availemotes will give you a list of all the standard emotes with movements.[/list]CRAFTING:[*]The training tools are useful only until your current skill is 50. Once your skill surpasses 50, look in the Consignment wares to find a bronze tool (good until skill 250). If you don't find the tool you need, ask politely on the Marketplace or the New Player's Assistance channels if someone can assist you.[*]If you are a bi-ped and ready to begin crafting, buy yourself a better backpack and a flaxen sack from the Consignment merchants. Your default (newbie) encumbrance is 1500 bulk. A better backpack increases it to 1800, and a flaxen sack increases it to 1950. If you don't find any backpacks or sacks available, you may wish to ask around, as crafters will be happy to help you acquire these items.[*]Your base skill rating for each crafting-based skill increases only when you level a relevant crafting school. Your current skill rating is based on buffs (augmentation spells and potions and items) and your tool. Your efficiency at crafting any item is based on your current skill rating, not your base skill rating. As the relevant skill ratings increase, your efficiency will increase proportionally. The more efficient you are, the less component resources are required to successfully craft an item.[*]You can purchase formulae from your crafting trainers. [*]You can purchase techniques from Quartermasters in various cities.[*]Formulae and techniques are also available from Consignment merchants, as quest rewards, and as loot drops.[*]Players will often refer to techniques as "tech" and formulae as "forms"[*]While you use a formula to create an item, you can also use a technique to enhance the item. For example, you can craft the beginner spell "Revitalize I" to heal 11-15 points of damage. If you use the technique "Increase Heal I" while creating the spell, it will heal for 16-21.[*]You always have to manage inventory and encumbrance when crafting. I found it useful from the start to vault adventuring items I didn't need when crafting, and vault crafting items I didn't need when adventuring. Tools also have significant bulk, so you may wish to consider only carrying around the tools you absolutely need. Note: items you have equipped (armor, for example) don't count against your bulk, so there's no need to strip down and wear a simple smock when crafting (unless you're role-playing, of course!).[*]The tasks your crafting trainers offer will change every 10 crafting levels. From levels 1-9, you may be asked to craft 15 sandstone bricks. When you reach crafting level 10, the same trainer will then ask you craft 35 sandstone bricks. XP and Imperial Token rewards increase commensurately.[*]Don't hesitate to switch crafting schools as whim and interest dictate. You can switch back and forth between as many crafting schools as you wish without penalty. Learn what's useful for your character(s), learn what's fun for you as a player![*]Dragons can craft scales on an anvil as well as a scaleforge.[*]You can deconstruct everything you make EXCEPT any item that will count as a stack (bars, bricks, orbs, spools, hide strips, boards, construction units, potions, spell shards, etc. do not deconstruct). To deconstruct your items all you need to do is click the checkbox in the create item interface and it does it automatically for you. I found this after 66 levels of blacksmith and deconstructing from from inventory using list mode andselect --> shift key -->select to highlight a range before right clicking and choosing deconstruct.[/list]ADVENTURING:[*]Dead? Hit the RECALL button to return to your bind point.[*]You can queue up spells. You'll see the spell queue in the window with your health and experience meters. This is useful for buffing and healing, too.[*]Trophy Hunters are merchants in various cities who will accept trophies from monsters from you in exchange for both XP and coin. As a newbie, visit the towns of Kion and Sslanis to see the trophies the Trophy Hunters there are interested in. These forums also have a perpetual thread with a listing of trophies mapped to adventuring levels.[*]The community.istaria.com website has a listing of all class trainers and their locations. Don't know where to go to become a Monk? Look on community.istaria.com for the trainer's name and general location![*]You can go to Town Marshals and get mini "kill tasks" for coin.[*]You can use the command /snc to select the corpse closest to your location.. if there is one.. so that you will be able to more easily loot it... I myself have a hotkey that is set up with the /snc followed by the /loot command as to be able to select the corpse and open the loot window with one fell swoop.[/list]