Join the new world

Hi! And welcome to Erepublik.

eRep can seem complicated, but this guide is here to help. You will have heaps of information thrown at you in your first weeks as an eCitizen, so hopefully this gives that ‘zoomed out’ sense of what to be thinking about and I hope reassures you that you don’t need to be doing everything right straight away!

If you want a week-1 orientation on how to get started in The New World, this guide is for you. The ‘blue’ sections offer broad advice for brand new players, covering your income, fighting and politics/media. My hope is that if you are trying to make sense of training materials, tutorials, wiki content and so on, that these sections should be stripped back enough to give you a baseline idea of what to be doing, which you can then build on.

I have tried to form three succinct sections addressing the big themes players have asked help with when starting. These are signposted by blue boxes. The orange section at the end is advice to the Governments of the world so if you're new don't feel like you need to read it!

This article contains various links to the wiki and parts of eRep, that is all context but isn’t necessary to understand the advice, so skip it if you want to keep things simple. If you are reading this from the eUK, I also list some help you can get from the Government. If you are reading this abroad, contact your Government, via the politics tab on the ‘my country’ page (under the community drop down list), and see how they can help.

If at any point you have any questions, get in touch!

If you would like to replicate this article abroad with info on your own support packages feel free to drop me a message and I can give you the text.


Before you read on, some useful resources - the eRep Wiki has loads of information in it, and the eUK Portal has further advice for eUK Citizens. The Ministry of Education newspaper also has great advice on a range of topics for new players, in and outside of the eUK.

The Wiki’s Acronym list will be very useful as you learn more of the game.

The following four wiki pages are suggested on the landing page as ones to check out, I thought I would highlight them here because if you aren’t sure what they are, you will want to read them!

- Energy info - My Places summary - Daily Challenge info - Experience points -


Basics

Your first source of income will be your salary from your job. Owning a house and ‘activating’ it via the storage page will let you earn overtime points, which let you work multiple times a day. You’ll also be earning medals, and in the early stages of the game you will earn a lot of Battle Hero Medals, and these grant a gold reward. Gold and Currency can be exchanged on the Monetary Market.

Not long into your eRep experience you’ll want to explore companies. Be careful where you set up companies and seek advice if you aren’t sure. In the eUK Scotland is suggested as the main place for companies. This comes down to region bonuses which you can read about on the wiki. Each country will have advice on where to set up holding companies which you add businesses to.

There will be lots of advice as to which companies are profitable and which are harder to run. At the early stages, WRM and FRM factories will generally be profitable if you work as manager (WAM) in them. Then I’d recommend getting a food factory, as food sells well at all qualities and will save you some money on your own food. Once you have food production set up, seek further information on what a profitable next step may be. In most nations, the Governor will be well placed to offer advice.

Medals, as mentioned, will help you gain gold. The next section describes some advice around Battle Hero and Super Soldier Medals, and on your profile page you’ll see a medal section which can tell you what to do to earn other medals, which is also summarised in this article.


eUK Support

You can get extra cash to cover the cost of houses, reward working, and assist in setting up companies, this includes:

A Q1 house grant to assist in getting your first house. Speak to the Government of the day to get this reward.

Cash rewards for earning Hard Worker Medals (given for working 30 days). As with the above and generally for these pieces of support, message the Government to see what you can claim.

Grants are available to help you set up or move holding companies in/to the best regions. This can help offset the cost of starting companies. No surprises for guessing how to find out more - message the President or Governor.

General Giveaways, on special occasions or just for fun the Government may organise giveaways, games or competitions which sometimes offer prizes. These are a fun way to get a boost to your personal wealth so always keep an eye out for newspaper articles (such as in this paper) advertising such events.

For readers outside the eUK, your nations will almost certainly have similar programs to assist citizens. Check out your media and message your Government to see what you may be able to apply for.


Basics

Before getting into fighting itself it is worth pointing out that a great many of the battles in eRep are part of ‘Training Wars’ (TWs). So don’t panic if you see lots of countries occupying your home region and wars being fought on every border! It may be that they are planned, so as to create opportunities to develop rank and earn medals. Check your national feed and media modules to see if there is information on where to fight, join and MU for extra guidance and as always if you are unsure contact your government.

Players are split into Divisions based on their Level. For Air battles, all players fight in the same round, but on Ground we are split by division, with fewer players being in lower ‘Divs’.

There are different schools of thought around fighting at the early stages of the game, generally these can be condensed into two views. When fighting as a new player, you can either:

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Focus on Div 1 then 2 ground battles, where you will be able to win Battle Hero (BH) Medals and so earn gold (worth cc, and used to buy companies). The longer you are in lower Divisions the easier it will be to gain gold, so factor that into the rate you gain experience (exp points and so level determine your division) There's more info on this here!.

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Or; begin fighting in air battles to develop your air rank, so as to be more competitive in air battles over the long term (air battles rely on rank rather than rank and strength, and so you can compete with older players over time).

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My personal recommendation is to focus on ground, gain gold, and use it for advanced energy buildings (useful if/when you transition to air) or alternatively to explore companies, so you can get your teeth into more aspects of the game. It is of course your choice!

Training gets a special mention here, as using Training Contracts and updating your Training centres will increase the rate at which you can strength, and so Super Soldier Medals (which earn you 5 gold). Do not hurry to upgrade your Training Centre, as limited offers occur regularly which give you discounts on the price of doing so - it is worth waiting for these offers, which will appear as banners on eRep pages in order to save gold. Likewise Training Contracts regularly become available as limited offers which reduce the expense of training.


eUK Support

A lot of resource is directed at fighting players in the eUK so as you explore what style of combat works for you, remember to take advantage of the following:

MoD rewards for fighting. Whether you choose ground, air, or both, the eUK pays out to its fighters via rewards. Currently the gov distributes these via separate newspapers, so keep an eye on the MoD paper for air rewards and Armed Forces news for ground rewards.

Cash for levelling and ranking. You can claim cash for earning Super Soldier Medals and gaining ground/air ranks. The government currently calls this is a ‘booster’, but it means cash in your pocket as you climb in ranks so don’t forget to contact the gov via the politics page to ask for your rewards.

Support for training grounds/contracts. When the discount offers run for training grounds/contracts the eUK offers citizens gold, usually as loans. Remember this when the offers appear!

A reminder, those outside the eUK should check out your media and message your Government to see what you may be able to apply for.


Basics

Politics and the Media module can be a lot of fun in eRep. Particularly in your early stages of the game as you get to grips with fighting. Keeping an eye on the media module and elections can provide a source of entertainment and offer something a bit different from many other games.

The Media Module is the term used to describe the media pages and newspapers. Anyone can own a paper and publish articles. A quick tip here is to pay attention to the cog in the articles panel on your home page, as you can choose between viewing the highest rated news or latest news. My preference is for the latest news, so I am shown all articles as they are released.

It is difficult to know what to publish, and eRep will give you missions to get comments on articles. For these missions do not feel any pressure - it is ok to publish anything, even just an article saying hello, to get those comments. If you would like to indulge in journalism, ask other writers in your country what you might write about, and keep an eye out in your friends feed for people sharing news.

Politics is a larger topic, and there is lots of information on the wiki about the different powers of the elected positions in eRep (Party Presidents (PP), Congress Members (CM), and Country Presidents (CP)) as well as Dictators.

These pages all discuss the roles these positions have in the game, and they are worth a read especially if you are planning to get involved in politics. Politics is a great way to interact with your fellow citizens and have a say in how your country is being run. Your entry route is usually going to be through a party, so take some time to review the parties in your nation and to identify an active party with similar ideas to your own.


Elections are held on the 5th, 15th and 25th (for CPs, PPs and Congress respectively) and every citizen will be prompted to vote on the home page, and can access voting and view results via the elections page on the community tab.

You will get a lot out of the game if you are interacting with fellow citizens, so I highly recommend engaging with the Media and Politics module.


My hope is the three sections above address your main concerns upon starting out in eRepublik. I know it can be intimidating and it can seem like there is a lot to it, but as I say at the top of the article, do not feel like you have to be getting everything right immediately.

I thought I’d end with some final tips that may have fallen outside these general areas.

- Play it your way! You can do what you like in eRep, there is no right or wrong approach so explore the areas you like and do it your way.

- You can only support one Resistance War (RW) at a time, so don’t be hasty to back one in a region that may be occupied for a reason.

- Reach out to citizens by joining an MU or Party, you’ll get access to special feeds and be able to interact and ask questions.

- You’ll see some battles go Epic, this means bonus prestige points are available for fighting in them.

Lastly, don’t be shy to ask for help. You can ask me if you like, I have no problem being approached with queries whether you are an eUK'er or not!

Hopefully this will be a useful bit of guidance that will cut through the storm of pages and tutorials you’ll receive early doors. It will not answer everything, so do explore tutorials and the wiki in your own time as you want to know more.

Now go forth and prosper!



If you are a new player, you don’t need to read this bit! What follows is some short advice to Governments around the world about the materials and support they offer new players, and how to optimise them in such a way as to not put people off.

Basics

Just kidding, there isn’t anything basic about figuring out the best way to communicate how eRep works to our new players. I am sure I am not alone in having lots of RL experience in training and teaching. I thought it would be useful to share some general advice on producing guides and managing support for people in their first week.

It always helps people to state what a particular resource is going to help them understand.
No one wants to read loads of material and only find out at the end it wasn’t what they were looking for! Say what the article, tutorial or wiki page will help them with up top.

Don’t give people a technical manual on Day 1!
eRep is a browser game with a lot of parts, but it is still a browser game. People need to grow into it, and if you give new players a massive wall of text they are unlikely to read it - it might even put them off if they are looking for casual gaming. Avoid making it seem like you have to be in MENSA to know how to play!

Bitesize chunks!
Do your absolute best to break up text and sections into small easy to follow paragraphs. Split them up with pictures - anything. Blue boxes, formatting, page breaks, take your pick. Signpost different sections so people don’t have to scan a page or rely on ctrl+f to find advice.

Offer straightforward support.
Just like you shouldn’t overcomplicate an explanation of how to play eRep, you shouldn’t over complicate the help you give people either. Long forms, different level requirements and different categories of handouts makes people feel like they’re signing up to clinical trials, not playing a browser game. (I would know, I have done both!)

Don’t expect to teach everyone everything all at once.
It will take time, and players will naturally explore the areas they are enjoying. The challenge is getting them through their first weeks without putting them off with tonnes of info.

Try to consolidate support and guides in as few places as possible.
Ideally players will know there’s a particular paper or wiki portal with all the information they need in it. The wiki team can help set up country portals, and editors can build mentoring pages that can help fulfil this purpose.

Don’t be prescriptive!
Always remind people their playstyle is up to them, and they can enjoy eRep however they want to*. Offer guidance, tips, best practise, but avoid suggesting there is a ‘right’ way to eRep. Definitely avoid suggesting people will struggle to contribute or won’t be worthwhile citizens without maxing out stats asap. Some players will love doing that, some players would rather write articles, make loads of cash, or become Presidents. Individuals can identify what works for them and what they enjoy.


Hopefully some or all of this has been useful, to new players and those who wish to support them. Thanks for reading, and for those who are not new, feel more than free to post your own top tips or advice in the comments.

Mr Woldy


*Within the Terms of Service of course!