Evony is a massively multiplayer online real time strategy game (MMORTS). It is highly popular because it is a persistent world. The landscape does not change each game or each time you log in, but rather you control your fledgling kingdom and direct its affairs. Your subjects will continue building, gathering, researching and laboring even while you are away. You may complete quests, attack barbarians or rival players, form alliances, achieve rank and title and expand your kingdom. Raise your Prestige and vanquish your foes. Your destiny is in your hands.

Welcome to Evony. This article will help get you started in a new and exciting experience.

When you first begin, the Routine Quest will give you an idea of where your efforts are best directed. If you are new to Evony, the quest will help give you a boost in the beginning by rewarding your efforts with extra building materials, population and gold. New players should

stick to this quest and your time spent waiting on resources will be greatly lessened, but don't be afraid to branch out and try new things if you have extra resources.

What follows is a list of important things every Evony player should know. Spend a few minutes here and learn the basics:

1. Every player enjoys a 7-day Beginner's Protection when they first create their account. During this time, you will be free from attack by other players. Of course, you can't attack them either. Any time during the period, you may end the Protection by upgrading your Town Hall to level 5. Don't do this unless you are ready for war!

2. When you first enter Evony, you will see building sites in your town and resources fields around your city. To build on these fields, simply click on an empty site and select what you wish to build from the menu. If you're not sure what to build, consult the Routine Quest.

3. To upgrade a building, simply click the building you wish to upgrade and hit the upgrade button. Clicking a building also allows you to use the building's features, like creating troops, researching and recruiting heroes.

4. The administrative options for your city can be accessed at your Town Hall. You can rename your city, adjust the tax rate, offer comfort to the population or levy them for materials and gold as well as appoint a mayor. The Routine Quest 鈥� Administration will take you through many of these operations.

5. Once you accomplish the objectives of a quest, you will see a number appear next to the Quest icon at the bottom of your screen. Click it and find the checked off quest and select Get Award. Some main quests have multiple sub-quests, so to complete one of these select a checked main quest and then find the appropriate sub-quest in the list below and Get Award. If you need more help, check out the Quest Guide or head over to the forums for tips from other players.

6. Need gold? Raise your population by building and upgrading cottages and raise your tax rate a bit. Just remember that the higher your tax rate, the lower your population will be, possibly leaving you without enough workers for your resource fields or even causing grievances in the populace. Try to strike a balance between tax revenue and population.

7. There are 2 ways to earn additional resources. First, build and upgrade your farms, sawmills, mines and quarries. Each upgrade increases production, as long as you have enough population to man them. Second, send your armies into the field to conquer nearby valleys. Many valleys that are not Flats will have a resources bonus attached to them. For instance, conquering a Forest will increase your lumber production and conquering a Hill will increase your Iron production. Remember that the higher level the valley is, the bigger the bonus you will get, but the heavier it will be defended. Be sure to scout them out before sending troops in, so you know what you're getting into.

Note: When troops are outside your cities, they require twice as much food to sustain them as when they are garrisoned in a city, so don't leave them camped outside your town unless absolutely necessary.

8. To train troops, you need a Barracks. More advanced troops require technologies from your academies and take longer to train, as well as requiring more resources. They may also require an upgraded Barracks.

9. Need to leave the game? No worries. Your workers will continue harvesting resources while you are away and you will have that much more to spend when you return.

10. Heroes are an important part of city. Armies require a hero to lead them and will benefit from a heroes attributes, while appointing a hero as mayor of your city will increase production, based on the heroes attributes. Heroes are recruited from your city's Inn and they reside in your Feasting Hall once recruited. Remember that heroes must be paid a salary in gold, and if your Feasting Hall is full you wont be able to recruit additional heroes or have heroes sent from other cities unless you upgrade your Feasting Hall.

11. Ready to expand your territory and build a new city? The higher your title, the more cities you can control. To build a second city, you must reach the title of Knight. To raise your title, you'll need medals which you can earn in battle, like when you attack a valley. Once you are a Knight, you'll need 250 workers (trained at the Barracks) along with 10,000 of every resource, including gold. Then send your army to conquer a Flat of your liking, and once it is yours, click the Flat and select Build City. Now grab a cup of coffee, and when you return, you'll have a brand new city under your command!

If you ever feel confused or overwhelmed with what to do, return to the Routine Quest. It will help you in the initial phases of Evony. That's why its there. Good luck!