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In Congress I hear a lot of compelling arguments that the newer players are "starving," and that they cannot "keep [their] wellness up." Let me break this to you guys: If you are starving, and you are skill 0, you re not playing this game correctly. Quit blaming the government for the first part of the game being challenging. That is how games work.

Have you ever joined a game to where there were organizations dedicated to helping the newer players by giving them free things? We have that here in the eUS (Called Meals on Wheels). So our "pocket lining" Congress and Government are doing something right. But quite frankly, like any game, the player has to learn how to succeed on their own unless there is a social community to help. Luckily, we have a wonderful eUS Forum and an even better in-game media system which brought The Report and other newspapers to your browser. These two resources should help any player learn how to improve and excel in this game.

I can't afford food!

What? You are a skill 1 employee and have no money for food? Sounds like you screwed up your first days. Why?

Look at these fun facts (notice: Wages are actually higher than what I said, and I even raised the price of Q1 food from its current offer, so people should be saving more and spending less right now):

Let's say you have daily expenses of 1.5 USD (Q1 Food)
Your skill 0 pay is minimum wag (1 USD - 0.80 post-tax)
You get 5 USD from the nation's citizen fee!

Work Day One, Buy 1 Foo😛 4.3 USD Remaining
Work Day Two, Buy 1 Foo😛 3.6 USD Remaining
Work Day 3rd, Buy 1 Foo😛 2.9 USD Remaining
Work 4 - 2.2 USD Remaining

By Day Three, you can have a Skill 1 Job which almost always around, or better than, 2 USD a day. I assumed you did not notice this and worked two extra days for minimum wage than you could had.

Assuming on Day 5, you get a skill 1 job, you have this:

1.5 Daily Expenses (Food)
2.0 Daily Income (1.60 post-tax)
2.2 In Accounts from Day 4

Day 5, Buy 1 Foo😛 2.3
2.4 Day 6
2.5 Day 7
2.6 Day 8
2.7 Day 9
2.8 Day 10
2.9 Day 11

Of course, after five days you are now skill 2. Assuming you stayed at your low paying, skill 1 required, job, you are gaining 0.10 USD (ten cents) a day. Also note that food is at an all-time high for the past two months so food is likely to be lower for future populations. So really...your burden is not too bad.

My Wellness Sucks!

I think my friend TheSupernatural put it best: "orly?" Whenever you start a game, you cannot be on top within a week, or even a month. eRepublik is no different. The Wellness formula was designed to give a "class system," where the lower skilled (and thus, lower paid) workers had wellness values around 40-50, the "Middle Class" had 51-70, and the "Upper Class" had 71-80. The 81+ wellness was previously designed to be those who are skill 5+. With warfare (and thus, the ability to use a hospital for bonus) and gifting programs that many parties (USWP, CVP, UIP, NP, FP, etc...) deploy, the general wellness of the eUS often is above 70. This is great, and does not "suck."

Do not take an offer just because it is highest. If the work place is paying 10 USD, but is a quality 4 company, reconsider and use your head. Maybe taking that Q1 company for 9 USD will be better for your checkbook and wellness.

When I started playing, I complained too - mostly because I was grumpy that I was weak and these politicians had 100 wellness. Well, most politicians are skill 5+ and very active, so naturally they get elected (active) and they have high paying jobs (skill 5+). I myself just barely broke the skill 5 level and have kept my wellness up to 100 for quite a while. Why? Because I play my wellness like I would a game.

When an employers employs skill 0, skill 1, and skill 2 employees they are not expecting 100 wellness. If they are, they are fools and running on a fool's errand. Almost always in the eUS with current wages and prices, skills 0 through 2 will bring about a loss or break-even. So why employ them? Maybe because they need jobs too.

So, your wellness is low. Save up some pennies, buy a moving ticket, and go to Florida or somewhere with a Q4 hospital (California, Texas, New Jersey, Delaware being a few examples I can think of). Next time there is a fight (and we almost always have one within a week or two's time), just fight once. Your wellness, if you are skill 2 or lower, is probably below 50 but struggling around 40. If you are at or above 40, just fight and use the hospital. If you are around a Q5 Hospital, you just got +50 wellness.

Awesome, eh? Well, this service is free because of the tax dollars of people before you and we are expanding to make more higher quality hospitals as we speak. So, just try to keep your wellness above 40 until you reach skill 3.

After skill 3, it i pretty much "smooth[-ish] sailing" when it comes to things. By now, you have gotten your free 5 GOLD reward for level requirements and possibly have purchased a Q1 (or even Q2) house to help with your wellness. To find good and cheap deals on houses, go to the Flea Market board of the eUS Forums. Some houses sell for 2g (more than half the current market price)!

So, don't worry about wellness and just keep it above 40 until you hit skill 3. Around skill 4 is when employers will set wellness requirements and the higher quality companies will demand 80+ wellness. Quite frankly, if you are working in a Q3 company or higher and you are below skill 3, you need to quit and find a better job. Even if it pays two to three dollars less, look at the gifting differences in how much a Q1 gift costs and how much it costs to work for an employer of just one less quality level.

After skill 3, if you are complaining of your income and saying how you are poor, you need to learn how to spend your money. You do not need a fancy Q4 weapon. You do not need to buy anything but Q1 moving tickets. You do not need to consume Q4+ food when you could save up 5g, make an organization, and use it to gift yourself.

My Economic Council colleague and Director, One Eye, posted a great thread where he tracks if it is cheaper to buy just Q1 and gift yourself the difference. He has been doing this since February 9th, and every time he reports (every two to four days) it is never cheaper to buy higher quality food.

What did I learn today?

You learned that this game is not like the real-life, and you have to play it like a game. Learn what works (budgeting) and what does not (buying what you do not need to survive). In the beginning of your eLife, you just need to focus on survival. If you have played any game which involves health or damage (such as an RTS, or WoW, or something like Cybernations) you know that the first couple of days, or even weeks, are building up yourself to stand alone in the world of other people. This is no difference when speaking of eRepublik and you have to treat it that way.

The easiest and simplest way to advance in this game is to join the eUS Forums and I cannot stress this enough. Not only is there a helpful community full of those willing to answer questions in posts titled "This is a n00b question, but...," there is also a rich group of people which just hang out and talk about the game, real-life, and other issues.

Also, I read an article somewhere about someone saying that the Florida Commerce Bank getting a "government bailout" by our treasury's donation to the company. What actually is happening is that we have paid upfront for the construction of another Q5 hospital and when it is completed, it will be listed for 1 USD on the market for the government to purchase. To avoid mistakes like this (within an hour, there were fifteen or so comments saying "Lulz, check the forums. We're paying in advance") go to the forums. There, we - politicians, "experts," and citizens - discuss public policy and Congress debates on the floor. An informed voter is a powerful one.

Oh, and if anyone is really "starving to death," then they are not playing the game correctly and need to learn or die. Is that so cruel? If it is, why is it not cruel when some new player joins a random game and makes stupid purchases or depletes their resources? This is a game people, start treating it that way.

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To do List:

Check out the eUS Forums. I know I have mentioned it in excess of five times, but I cannot stress the value of the information there.

Check out the debates on the forums and see if there is something for you to get involved with. If there is something you do not understand just ask. We are always glad to explain.

Rumor has it that Michael Lewis achieved 100 Wellness quite a while ago. Send Mr. Lewis a congratulations letter, as well as asking how he did it. I am sure we could all learn as I am sure he went about it differently than I did.

-Jewitt, Chief Editor