First and foremost, welcome to SerenityRO (and or Ragnarok Online altogether!).

It's hard joining a server for the first time, or transferring over to a new server for whatever reason, and hopefully by writing this guide, I can assist new players by teaching them the very basics of the game structure, as well as how to make zeny, and get started comfortably here at SerenityRO!

The Basics ~
After you've installed the game and signed up, you'll be ready to join our community.

Upon making your first character you will be teleported to a place called Novice Grounds. This is a very special area specifically designed to teach you the basic schematics of battling, setting hotkeys, equipping gears, using items, setting stat/skill points, and how to use skills. There is a lot to learn in this first area of the game and I highly recommend talking to every guide NPC (Non-Playable Character) if you're new to the game altogether. Some NPC's will even give you job/base experience and level you up, so remember to follow their instructions carefully so you don't miss out on the free experience they dish out to you!

Once you carefully navigate through the Novice Grounds, you'll eventually have a chance to fight monsters to gain experience. This can be skipped, and you can continue past this part at any time, however, again, I highly recommend taking the time to level here, as the monsters gathered in Novice Grounds come from all around Rune Midgard (the world of Ragnarok Online), and the loot that each monster drops is vital to get you started off monetarily after selling it.

Once you're finished fighting, head to the very north portion of the map with monsters on it and talk to the NPC to head off to the Personality Examiner's room. Take the test he issues, as you will receive many items that will help you along your way toward your first job class (or if you're like me, you can sell these items for quick zeny).

What are the first job classes, you ask?

The first job classes are what determine what role you will play in the game.

Swordsman - This character often times will be the "tank" in most parties. Tanks are basically people who allow a monster to hit them in order to protect the other characters in their party. Swordsmen have high defense as well as health, and dish out a nice amount of damage at close-range. They make use of all heavy armors, swords, daggers, some maces, and have a fair selection of what route they can take. This is an excellent choice for newer players to learn the basics and become more comfortable with gameplay. Swordsmen may elect to choose one of two paths at job level 40-50: Knight or Crusader.

Archer - This character deals damage at far distances by making use of bows and arrows. They can also wield some daggers, as well as a guard in their second hand. Most commonly these characters are known for their ability to deal high amounts of damage using Double Straffe at extremely far ranges. Excellent choice for people who like to play more cautiously, and don't like to be in the middle of the action while fighting monsters with other players. This class relies on Dexterity (DEX) to deal damage with Bows and Arrows, so raising the Strength isn't necessary for this class. Because of their amazingly high Dexterity boosting skills, they shoot with precision and scarcely miss their target. Archers may elect to choose one of three paths depending on gender at job level 40-50: Hunter (Male/Female) Bard (Male) or Dancer (Female).

Thief - This character is sneaky and wields the ability to steal from it's enemy. This character can also attack fairly quickly, and relies on it's ability to dodge monsters easily with it's high Agility (AGI), and dodge rate (Flee). It makes use of three types of weapons- bows (which rely on DEX for their strength, not STR), daggers (most common), and some types of one-handed swords. This character also has the ability to strike it's enemy twice in one blow automatically, as well as poison it's foe with ease making use of the Envenom skill. This class may elect to choose one of two paths at job level 40-50: Rogue or Assassin.

Acolyte - God's servants in Rune-Midgard. This character is also known as the healer of the party. They come equipped with various buffs (support skills that boost your power), offensive status ailment skills to weaken your foes, purification skills to rid you of status ailments, as well as skills that will help protect them from the forces of evil. This class is unique in the way that many of the skills that help their allies, can be used against undead monsters to weaken and even hurt them. Heal-Bombing is an Acolyte's main defense against the undead of Rune-Midgard. (This can be accomplished by typing /ns and then healing any undead monster, such as Zombies and Skeletons!) This is by far the most important class in any successful party in-game, and as such, this class is always in high-demand. If you like making friends, helping people, and feeling needed- this class is definitely for you. Acolytes may elect to choose one of two paths at job level 40-50: Monk or Priest.

Mage - This character makes use of the elements of the world and uses them to deal massive damage against their enemy. This is the Acolyte's counterpart, and casts offensive magic rather than supportive magic. This class is capable of dealing the most damage in the game through their high intelligence. Rods, Wands and Staffs will increase the damage output of this classes spells, as well as aid in stat bonuses. This class is very weak physically, but they make up for their weakness ten-fold by unleashing marvelous displays of nature's fury at it's best, and can typically kill most low-level monsters in one hit with higher spell levels. This class may elect to choose one of two paths at job levle 40-50: Sage or Wizard.

Merchant - This character plays a major role in the stability of the economy of Rune-Midgard by selling wares, and later after developing their skills, even produce various gears if they elect to choose to become Blacksmiths. Physically, this class isn't the strongest, but are definitely not the weakest. Very well-rounded, this class can make use of their profits and literally throw money at their enemy to deal massive damage- but at a hefty cost in most cases. They may also use their cart which holds their wares to deal damage to their enemies, and make use of various different types of weapons, such as one-handed swords, maces, daggers, axes and even hammers. This class has the largest weight capacity of all classes, meaning it can carry the most out of any other class in the game. They can also buy discounted items as well as overcharge NPC shops when selling their items to them for extra profit! (It's always a good idea to buddy up with a Merchant to make use of their discount/overcharge skills *hint hint*). This class may elect to choose one of two paths at job level 40-50: Blacksmith or Alchemist

New Job Classes -

Ninja - This character makes use of the elements and combines their understanding of them with karate-style techniques to deal massive damage to their opponents. There is no second job class to this, so if you choose to become a Ninja, you will remain one forever. This class makes use of daggers, some swords, kunai and shuriken. A combination of Mage/Thief style skills make this class very difficult to overthrow, especially at higher levels. They're able to dodge their enemies with ease and annoy even the most advanced players in player-versus-player situations.

Gunslinger - This character class makes use of various bullets ranging in elemental charge. This class also wields guns of various types- grenade launchers, hand-guns, and shotguns, just to name a few. This class is a cross between Archer and Monk, what with their ranged abilities as well as high damage output abilities (comparable to a few Monk Skills). They rely on hitting their target as well as dealing high damage at a fast rate. This character may not choose a second job class, as Gunslinger is a standalone class just as is the Ninja class. There are 70 job levels to this class.

Taekwon Boy/Girl- This class is similar to Ninja, however, very different. This class relies on kicks. This class relies purely on brute strength and attacks very fast depending on what type of build you elect to use. This class has two advanced jobs, as well as a ranking system. Any Taekwon level 90 or higher who elects to become a Taekwon Ranker, who stays within the top ten ranked Taekwons on the server, will have their HP/SP tripled and may use any and all Taekwon skills. This class may elect to chose one of two paths at job level 40-50: Soul Linker or Taekwon Master

Now that you know a bit about all of the classes in the game, you need to learn how to attain better gears, and know a little about what items to look out for while training.

Well, obviously you're low level, so we have to be very careful with how we go about making our money since we can't go straight into the hardest dungeons of the game where often times there is a hefty profit to be made. So, I choose a much easier route.. collecting herbs!

I know, it sounds pretty stupid, but believe me, collecting herbs has been one of the easiest methods to obtain most of my gears on most new servers, and my best friend is the person who got me into it.

The most expensive herbs are Blue Herbs, and so I won't waste any time-- to make an easy 2,500z, you will need two blue herbs and one empty bottle (these can be found by killing Poring, Drops, and various other low-level monsters around most cities).

Where Can I Find Blue Herbs?

The easiest spot I've found that I've been able to make use of is walking behind the building at Orc Dungeon. To get to Orc Dungeon, head to Prontera and walk to the West gate and talk to the Kafra. If you do not have any Free Kafra Warp vouchers, you will need 1,800z for the cost of the warp to Orc Dungeon.

Once there, immediately dodge any monsters there may be (you can even run inside the dungeon if there are too many and try your luck by hiding inside for a bit), and run back behind the building by heading to the right, and then up a little, and back left. Three or four Blue Plants spawn at this location every few minutes, so just sitting there killing them for a half hour will result in around 20-30 Blue Herbs and various other items (Grapes also sell for a lot if you sell them to other players, so collect these too!) that sell nicely. Each Blue Plant has ten health points, so they're very easy to destroy and collect items from. Just be weary of the Orcs that may sneak around behind there to attack you from time to time.

Once you collect two Blue Herbs and an empty bottle, head to Alberta, then walk to the Merchant Guild Headquarters (South West corner of town), and head to the lower room of the building. Talk to the Old Man and exchange the two Blue Herbs and Empty Bottle for one Blue Potion. You can now sell each Blue Potion you make for 2,500z to a shop NPC.

I've found this to be the easiest method, and it's what I recommend most to newer players as it takes little to no skill to do.

You can also try your luck fighting random monsters as sometimes valuable things drop, such as cards, slotted gears, recovery items, etc.

Items To Be On The Look-out For!

If you find cards or slotted gears, HOLD ON TO THEM if you don't know their price. Cards are very valuable in this game, and can get you a lot of money when sold to other players. One of the biggest mistakes of mine that I made while playing on iRO was selling a Pupa Card to an NPC-- which when sold to another player, can be worth upwards one million zeny or more.