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Getting Started

Your first steps in Nightmist Legacy.

Welcome to Nightmist

Nightmist Legacy is a text-based multiplayer RPG (MUD). You create a character, explore a living world, fight monsters, learn spells, and grow in power alongside other players. This guide will walk you through your very first steps — from creating a character to surviving your first few fights.

The game is designed to be played with the mouse. Clickable buttons and panels handle most actions — you rarely need to type anything. For players who prefer it, a full command interface is also available. See the Commands reference for the complete list.

Step 1 — Create an Account

Head to the registration page and create a free account. Once logged in you can create up to 50 characters and connect up to 8at the same time.

Step 2 — Choose Your Race

Race determines your starting stats, your stat caps, and which classes are available to you. If you're new, Human or Half-Elf are safe picks — they can be any class and have well-rounded stats.

HumanBalanced across all stats, can be any class. Perfect if you want flexibility.
Half-ElfNearly as versatile as Human, with slightly higher base stats. Good all-rounder.
ElfHigh INT, WIS, and CHA — excellent Mages, Clerics, and Druids.
GnomeHigh INT and DEX, limited to Mage, Cleric, and Thief. Great casters.
DwarfHigh STR and CON — tough melee fighters. Can only be Berserker, Fighter, Cleric, or Thief.
HalflingThe highest DEX in the game, great for Thieves and Rangers.
Half-OrcThe strongest STR and CON of any race, but limited to Fighter and Berserker only.
Tip: You earn a stat point to spend at levels 3, 10, 15, 25, and 30, so your starting stats matter a little less over time — though they still shape your early game.

Step 3 — Choose Your Class

Your class defines your role, abilities, and spell list. New players are recommended to start with Fighter, Paladin, or Cleric — they are forgiving and easy to understand.

FighterBeginner Friendly

A reliable melee warrior with steady HP growth and the freedom to use any weapon. No spells to manage — just a deep health pool and dependable staying power. A solid first choice.

BerserkerHigh Damage

The highest HP and damage in the game. Berserk, Rage, and Smite abilities let you burst enemies down fast — at the cost of your own HP.

PaladinBeginner Friendly

A holy warrior that combines melee with healing spells. More self-sufficient than a Fighter but requires managing both stamina and mana.

MageAdvanced

The highest mana pool and pure spell damage. Very low HP makes positioning important. Starts with Shock and gains Flame, Blast, and Vortex Gate at higher levels.

ClericSupport / Healer

The best healer in the game. Heal, Aid, and Divine Restoration keep parties alive. Also has Cleanse to remove poison and debuffs.

DruidSupport / Healer

Nature-focused healer with Morph (shape-shift for extra HP), Forage, and damage spells. Versatile but complex to master.

RangerControl

Ranged and melee hybrid with Hypnotise (reduces enemy hit chance) and Dual Shot. Great in parties for debuffing tough monsters.

ThiefAdvanced

Stealth, Assassinate, and the ability to steal gold. Requires positioning and timing. Rewarding for experienced players.

Step 4 — Your First Minutes In-Game

You start at the Boar's Tusk Tavern

Your character wakes up inside the Boar's Tusk Tavern in the city of Nightmist. Your starting gold of 200 coins is already safely deposited in the bank. Read the room description to get your bearings — the exits panel shows every direction you can move. Click an exit to walk through it.

Buy your starter equipment first

Before you fight anything, visit the shops and spend your gold wisely. The most important purchase for any new character is an Oak Staff — a cheap, reliable level 1 weapon available at Tiggy's Magic Store. After that, pick up a helmet and a shield from the armoury. Together they give you a solid defensive foundation before your first fight.

Tiggy's Magic Store — Oak Staff and other starter weapons

Braxus Firehammer's Armoury — helmets, armour, and shields

When you enter a shop, a panel will list everything for sale. Click an item to buy it — it goes straight into your inventory. To equip it, open your inventory and double-click the item.

Tip: If you're playing a Cleric, Paladin, or Druid, visit your class guild and learn the Heal spell straight away. It costs very little and will save your life more times than any weapon. Click the spell in the guild's list to purchase it.

Combat Basics

Starting a fight

First arm an action, then pick a target. Left-click the Attack button to bind it to your left mouse button (it lights up amber); right-click a button to bind it to your right mouse button instead (blue). Then click a monster in the room to strike it. There is no auto-attack — each click is a single swing, so keep clicking to keep fighting. The monster hits back on its own timer, so watch your HP carefully; if it gets low, move to another room to break off — though an aggressive monster may give chase.

Stamina

Every character has a stamina pool. Each attack spends 1 stamina, and so does casting most spells; some abilities spend far more. Stamina does not trickle back between swings — it only begins to refill about 10 seconds after your last action, and then returns in big chunks. So there is no reward for pacing yourself: spend your stamina in a burst, then pause to let it recover.

Recovering between fights

HP and MP do not recover on their own — you restore them at a safe spot, or with potions:

  • Rest at a tavern — click the Rest button while inside a tavern to restore full HP and MP for 100 gold.
  • Visit the Church — find the church in Nightmist and speak to the Priestess. She will heal you for free.
  • Drink potions — healing and mana potions restore you instantly, anywhere.

Death & respawning

If you die, any gold you had on your person goes to the monster that killed you — another good reason to keep your gold in the bank. You are then returned to your bound tavern automatically, fully restored to full HP and MP, losing only your carried gold and a small portion of your current experience.

Talking to Other Players

Type a message into the chat bar at the bottom of the screen and press Enter to speak to everyone in your room. For more options:

Shout — heard by your room and all adjacent rooms.

PM — send a private message to any online player.

Tell — speak directly to someone in your room, visible to everyone there.

Who — type /who to list everyone currently online.

Joining a Party

Playing with others is one of the best parts of Nightmist. Party members share experience from kills made in the same room, so grouping up is always worthwhile. Type /invite <name> to invite someone to your party (or ask them to invite you). Once in a party, party chat lets you speak privately to your group.

Tip: Healers are always in demand. If you're a Cleric, Paladin, or Druid, you'll have no trouble finding groups.

Keeping Your Gold Safe

Your starting gold is already in the bank — that's the safest place for it. Any gold you withdraw and carry on you is lost if a monster kills you. After shopping, make a habit of banking any leftover gold before heading out to fight. Find the bank in Nightmist and use the Deposit button to store it.

Leveling Up

XP is earned by dealing damage to monsters, and you share in the bonus XP when your party lands a kill in the same room. You do not level up automatically — once you have banked enough XP you must train. Below level 3 that means visiting a Training Arena; from level 3 onward you train at your class Guild. Each time you advance you gain max HP (and max MP if you are a caster) and a full refill of HP, MP, and stamina. At levels 3, 10, 15, 25, and 30 you also earn a stat point — open the Stats panel and click the + button next to a stat to spend it.

Focus on your class's primary stat first: STR for physical fighters, INT for Mages, WIS for Clerics, Druids, and Paladins. Then invest in CON for extra HP per level or DEX for better hit chance.

Prefer the Keyboard?

Everything in Nightmist can also be done through typed commands — useful if you're a veteran of text MUDs or just prefer keyboard shortcuts. Check the Commands reference for the full list. Common ones to know: /a <target> to attack, /cast <spell> to cast, /pm <name> <message> to message privately, and /quit to log out safely.