When you log in to A3, the first thing you will see is the most recent announcement, if you hit continue, the next thing you will see is your alien's home/main page. In the top left corner you'll see a picture of your alien and your alien's financial stats. The home page consists of a lot of information about your alien including: Personal Stats, Inventory (battle), Battle stats, as well as a few others.

On the Left hand side there is a list of places and areas where different game aspects become available. Some key places to visit and get you started include, Novigrad, Message boards, and the Town Meeting and of course the Help links located further down under the main list of places. These locations provide some key areas where you are able to learn about the game, and remember, explore a little, it's a big place. Novigrad is A3's main city and is the main area within A3 to play the game. As soon as you get there you'll notice a wide range of Districts and places to go.

For the first fifteen days, you will be able to attack others, but not be attacked. This protection period gives you a chance to train, and learn about the game, before you're thrown into the action. Make use of this time! A newbie who spends the first fifteen days gaining stats and currency will have a large advantage over a newbie who doesn't, once they can battle. Days in A3 start at 00:00 AST (12:00 AM, Alien Standard Time). You will find a game clock at the top of your right sidebar. At this time a daily reset takes place - during reset, all aliens are revived, their battle confidence is restored, they gain a day in age and game ranks are calculated among other things. Anything that can only be done daily in A3 restarts at reset. A second "Mid-day" reset also occurs at 12:00 PM AST. This reset only revives all aliens. One thing to remember, aliens can be killed and credits can be stolen if they are kept "in hand". While there are a few places where you will need to spend crdits from your hand most purchases can be made directly from your bank account. Keep your credits in the bank and only take them out when you need them and deposit them as you get them so you don't get killed for them.

Before doing anything else, you may want to set up your account to fit your own preferences. First, if you look on the sidebar to the left, you'll see a link to My Account. Here you can set your Messageboard settings, Chat settings, Game Schemes, Battle Settings etc... Most of these settings are self-explanatory. If, at any point, you want to change a setting in the game, you should check in the My Account area. Chances are, if it can be changed, it's there.

There are many different guilds in the game to choose from. They have different themes, some are more compeitive than others and some are more active than others in different ways. Finding a good fit is important and the lucky thing is you are able to change guilds if you join one and that particular guild was not what you were looking for.

If you want to look for a guild, you can visit the Hall of Guilds, go for a guild tour and look through the listings, alternatively, asking for a guild invite in chat is also a very good way to get flooded with invites. There is also a thread on the Game Help board where guilds that want to advertise themselves to new players can put an advertisment. Regardless of how you find one, getting into a guild is a good idea to help you get started.

As a newbie, a guild is a great way to make friends and ask questions. There are many guilds that will accept you. You can donate EXP to a guild as well as credits from battling. This is a good way to prevent levelling too early, also giving you a chance to build up those stats in the Galaxy Gym. Several guilds run competitions and games to keep activity going and to help improve the guild. While starting out it may be difficult for you to contribute to your guild significantly, but will give you something to strive for. Guilds that have a green check mark are subscribed and you can get another 24 motivation a day if you join one.

Next you should probably head to Novigrad and take a look around. There are many things you can see and do. Listed below are some of the things as a new player you may want to check out and some of them will become your daily activities as you continue to learn the game. Getting some extra credits to get you going is always a good thing so some of those activities are listed as well. The following places are just a few of the things you may want to do. Remember, exploring the game and figuring things out is part of the fun! However, if you join a guild, they usually have libraires that contain much more detailed information that can really help you decide what you might like to do (like how you will want to make credits) and the best way to go about it.

Stan's Boutique

In case you haven't noticed, you're in your underwear. If you're feeling a draft and want to get some clothes on, head on over to Stan's Boutique and find something stylish to check out with. You will find various players have made their designs available for purchase and some of them are even free.

Welfare Office

You can pick up some credits here for your first thirty days. Go to the Welfare Office and pick up your check. Then head over to the Employment Agency to cash it. The amount you will receive will go up every day until the month is over.

Learn Leet

It's never too early to start to learn Leet as it can take a long time. Start by going to the Cafe Giardia and talking to the robot waiter Pierre by hitting the top link twice. After you've talked to him then go to the Junkyard and pick up some spare parts by hitting the link there then returning to the cafe to talk to Pierre at the Cafe again. He will tell you if you have learned a letter or not. This is one of those things you will want to do every day because you will need to learn all the letters A - Z and then the numbers 0 - 9. Once you have learned Leet then you unlock the ability to make syn and spaceship parts.

Wishing Well/Fake ID

Getting the Fake ID will get you past the bouncer and into the Beleagured Pony, the local bar. Once inside you will be able to buy some specialty drinks that will give you buffs and other certain items you can't buy anywhere else. The first thing you will need is a bucket. If you don't already have 1,000 credits in hand you will want to go the Bank of Webby first and withdraw them as the Miner won't talk to you if you don't have those credits ready for him. Head on over to the Miners Camp Store located in the Pit. Once you have purchased the bucket then go to the Wishing Well and lower your bucket. You may find some credits and lose your bucket, if you do, you will have to buy another tomorrow before you try again. If you're lucky you may just haul up a Fake ID, but don't be discouraged if you don't get it right away. Kepp trying each day until you find it.

Battle Village

The Battle Village is a place where you can "train" (not gym) your alien once a day. You can choose to take credits, experience or if you're feeling lucky, try for a level.

Housing Complex

Visit the Housing Complex once a day and take a good look around. If you go from room to room you can find either some credits or some bytes once a day. You will also notice there are other rooms where you can do other things like make NTs if you have the study or get a free battle buff that will give you extra experience from each battle.

Mini Games

There are some mini games that you can check out if you have a bit of extra time and it may even net you some credits or bytes! You can find a hangman game in Executioners Square, have a few games of Dumpster Dive or spend some time in the Casino if that's more your style.

If you are wanting to battle, then you will want to visit The Galaxy Gym - this is where you can work on your stats so you can defeat other aliens. It is recommended that you gym for at least a few days and check out the battle trace as well as the other aspects of battling before you begin. However, if you are wanting to jump right into it you can hit the Battle link on your left panel and use the trace to find someone to battle. Your account comes equipped with your first set of weapons and some blue herbs used for reviving your alien if you get killed.

There are different strategies to gymming, battling and getting your alien ready for what you want to do as well as the many of aspects of the game. While it may seem like a lot don't worry, as you learn the game you will figure them out. Feel free to ask existing players their opinions too!

A key feature of A3 is our community, you can explore and become part of this ever growing community through the Guilds, Message Boards and Chat Rooms. There is a link to the Message Boards in the side bar in your house, as well as in Novigrad. Additionally, there is a small Chatbox in the upper right corner which will be set to the last chat room you were in (all the action tends to happen in Town Hall/Town Meeting). To expand the chatbox and "enter" chat hit the link at the top of the mini chat or use the Town Meeting link in your left side panel.

The Game Help Board may be useful to you, as a newbie. This is the board on which you should ask any questions you have. Always be sure to check the Help Files and the other posts on the board for answers before asking any question. You can always try searching for some key words using the search board feature on the bottom of the main message board screen to see if a topic you have questions about has already been discussed.

You will also unlock a Guild Message board when/if you join a guild. These are extremely helpful as your guild will often post threads to help you learn/understand the game a little better.

Anything of a higher importance will probably show up as a Game Announcement and will pop up on the Welcome page the next time you log in. You can also go to the Game Announcements board and read all of the previous announcements that have been made.

There are various boards for various Game and Non Game topics.

There are of course some rules and general guidelines on how to conduct yourself on these Message Boards and Chat Rooms. This is to prevent people from spamming the boards, and to stop the negativity that can come from some players. Some playful banter is welcome but remember, treat others how you'd like to be treated. It is highly recommended you read over the Game Laws and the Tos so you know what is and isn't allowed in the game. You can find these in City Hall located in the Government District in Novigrad.

As for any site, NEVER give out your password or game email address. You should use a valid email and keep it active as you may need it to help prove you are the owner of the account and to have your password sent to it if you need it reset.

It is possible people may try to impersonate staff and ask for your email or password. Staff do not need your password or email address and they will NEVER ask you for it. If anyone threatens you with any sort of negative action unless you give them your password or offers you some kind of benefit such as money or items, do not give it to them. They will simply steal your alien or its assets, and their threats and offers are entirely empty. Please report anyone attempting to obtain your login information by opening a ticket on the Customer Service board using the link in your left side panel. This is a secure board and nobody but you and game staff will be able to see your post.

It is also strongly advised that you read the TOS and the Game Laws. By signing up you agreed to these rules so you should know what is in them.