# Beginner Guide — Your First 30 Minutes in Advenexus

## Overview
This is a code-audited starter path for a brand-new player. It prioritizes the commands and purchases that still exist in the live server code and avoids older advice that has drifted out of date.

## Commands

### Fast starter checklist
1. `.daily` — claim coins + 1 lootbox + 1 weapon crate
2. `.vote` — claim 500 coins + 10 gems
3. `.quest` — see today's quest
4. `.hunt` — start building your zoo
5. `.team add <animal>` — put your best catch on your team
6. `.battle` — fight bots for XP and coins
7. `.crate` / `.lootbox` — open your starter rewards
8. `.buy guard dog` — buy steal protection for **150 coins**

## Core Mechanics

### Step 1: Claim the guaranteed freebies
| Command | Reward |
|---|---|
| `.daily` | 300-500 base coins, plus level bonus, plus 1 lootbox and 1 weapon crate |
| `.vote` | 500 coins + 10 gems |

### Step 2: Hunt early and often
Live hunt rules:
- level 1-5: **free** hunts
- level 6-15: **1 coin** per hunt
- level 16+: **2 coins** per hunt
- every hunt costs **1 hunt stamina**
- hunt cooldown: **15 seconds**
- stamina refills by **+10 every 2 hours** up to 100

Why this matters early:
- hunting gives your first battle team,
- hunting can drop lootboxes,
- hunting can also drop gems,
- low-level hunts are cheap or free.

### Step 3: Build one working team first
Use:
- `.team add <animal>`
- `.team remove <animal>`
- `.team`
- `.set team <1|2>`

Practical beginner rule:
- use your best **Rare / Epic / Mythic** animals first,
- do not try to manage both teams immediately,
- keep one clean main team for battles and dungeon entry.

### Step 4: Use normal bot battles before ranked
Normal battle is the safest early loop.

- `.battle` has the daily reward cap for bot rewards.
- `.battle ranked` costs battle stamina and is harsher if your team is weak.
- `.battle @user` can cost the loser **500 coins**.
- battle cooldown is **20 seconds**.

### Step 5: Equip your first weapon
Open the free crate from `.daily`, then use:
- `.weapon`
- `.equip <weaponId> <animal>`
- `.unequip <animal>`

Starter shop prices begin at:
- Mythic weapons: **15,000-18,000** coins
- Legendary weapons: **45,000-50,000** coins
- Fabled weapons: **100,000-120,000** coins

### Step 6: Buy your guard dog early
`.buy guard dog` currently costs **150 coins**.

Guard dog behavior:
- 90% chance to block a steal
- 1 guard dog is consumed on a successful block
- they stack, so owning several is useful

### Step 7: Clean out weak animals for resources
Use:
- `.sell <rarity>` when you need coins
- `.sacrifice <rarity>` when you need gems

This matters because:
- coins fund weapons, crates, and guard dogs
- gems fund weapon rerolls

### Step 8: Watch timed systems, but don't force them too early
#### Dungeon Raid
- spawns every **3 hours**
- signup window is **3 minutes**
- join with `.join dungeon raid`

#### Tower Dungeon
- modern Tower play happens through the **sidebar**, not old `.tower create` chat commands
- the useful chat helpers are `.tower help`, `.tower status`, and `.tower stats`

## Database / Storage Details
For a beginner, the important persistence rules are:
- animals go into `animals`
- weapons go into `weapons`
- lootboxes, crates, gems, enchantments, stones, and materials go into `inventory`
- guard dogs are tracked on `users.guard_dogs`
- your active team selection is stored on `users.active_team`

## Strategic Tips / Balance Notes
- Spend your first free coins on stability, not greed: a guard dog and a usable battle team are better than random gambling.
- Do not hoard weak animals forever. Commons and Uncommons are usually fuel for coins or gems.
- Normal `.battle` is a better early benchmark than PvP or ranked.
- Save gems until you understand whether a weapon is actually worth rerolling.
- If you see a dungeon gate open and already have a team, it is worth joining for stone/diamond upside.
- When you are ready for Tower, use the sidebar UI; the old chat flow has been retired.