This is where you'll find the answers to the questions that just keep coming up. I'm making this in the hopes that it will be helpful to both new players (for the info) and old players for not having to answer the questions every 10 seconds in-game. Well, maybe you oldies will learn something here too! I know I did!

If you want to find your questions easily, just do a ctrl+F and type in a key word from your question (i.e Red Illusion Sergeant or Mad Physician.)

If your question is a generic QUEST question (location, required item lists, and such,) the following is an EXCELLENT QUEST GUIDE:

http://www.mugzzzy.com/hero.htm

Here's where you can find a list of all the hotkeys and what they do. Why include this? Because this is just great stuff to know! After reading the list, I had learned of a few that I hadn't known before. Great stuff.

http://hero.netgame.com/guide/handling_02.php

Here we go...

A Beginner's Guide to Hero Online

System Requirements
It's not easy to have a computer that simply can't run Hero Online. If you find it running skippy at any time, just lower the settings (concentrate on video settings.) On even the best computer (i.e my new one ,) if you try to run this game at highest settings and it skips when you're in the marketplace, don't worry about it.

Downloading/Installing/Patching the Game
The most recent version of Hero Online can be found here: http://hero.netgame.com/downloads/download.php If disk space isn't a problem, just download the game client by lcicking one of the mirrors. The full client is about 450 MB, and is ALL you have to download to play this game. Well, besides DirectX 9.0: you need this to play Hero Online too. There's also a free "Download Manager" supplied by Netgame that is supposed to increase the download speeds for the game client, but I've never used it or felt the need to. There are links for these in the above site. Otherwise, the game patches itself (even if you are more than one patch behind, it'll still download and manage them in order) so you don't need to worry about that.

The game client should be called "Setup," probably on the desktop unless you selected a different download location. Just double-click it and it will take you through the installation process. Click "Next" a bunch of times. Painless and easy.

Playing the Game (For the First Time)
Ok! Game installed, and ready to go! Open the program (Hero.exe) through the start menu, via desktop shortcut, etc. It may take you through a patch or two, so just be patient and press "Play!" when it allows you to. You'll then go through creating your first character.

The Characters and the Classes: Which to Choose and Why
Let's get one thing straight. Your CHARACTER determines what weapons you can use and a few skills. Your CLASS determines more of your skills and details like what class mount you can use. Both character and class are COMPLETELY SEPARATE and are chosen seperately. Neither denotes the other. Here is a rough overview of both, starting with the characters:

The Ruthless Blade: The Master of Gunn-Gon
This guy is the fairly stereotypical male hero you see in many games. Generic, all-around protagonist. Is this a bad thing? No way! He can use swords and his character-specific weapon type is bows. His description matches with the Hunter class, but remember, you can choose whatever class you want!

The Elegant Mystic: Holy Oracle
Ooh! Pretty lady. The Elegant Mystic can use rods/spears, and her character-specific weapon type is claws. This makes her a fully short-range fighter. Her description is tailored around the Physician class.

The Piercing Eyes: The Empress of Bo-Ta
Just tell me this chick doesn't remind you of Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII? Well, that's where my ign came from. Anyway, she can also use swords and her class-specific weapon type is throwing weapons. This includes throwing knives, fans, and those nasty-looking shredders. She is described as being of the Thief class, furthering her hotness. Me? Biased towards her? Of course!

The Overseer of the Sky: Lord of Strength
This beast supposedly spends all of his time improving his martial arts. He can use rods/spears and his class-specific weapon type is axes. This guy can deal some major damage if done right. This character is, obviously, the Warrior of the quartet.

The FAQs

'Is Hero Online Free to Play?'
Yes. Downloading, installing, and playing this game is all completely free. There is a service called the "Hero Tavern" where players are given the option to use exchange real money for special in-game items that surely help, but are certainly NOT required to get the full Hero Online experience or to do well in the game.

'I'm Having Trouble Making My Account/Verifying I.D'
Sorry Firefox users. You have you use Internet Explorer for just a few minutes to do the Verify I.D to get your account registered. It only works with Internet Explorer.

'How do I Equip Weapons/Armor?'
Ok. Go to your inventory (hotkey I.) Now, either left click the equipment and drag it to its spot or right click it to have it automatically go to where it's supposed to.

'AH!! Where'd my weapon that I paid (insert amount of gold here) for go?!'
Haha. This happened to me too. Don't worry, it's not a glitch or a bug. You accidentally hit the W key. Pressing this makes you switch to your 'alternate weapon' which is for most people....nothing. Check it out: go your your inventory and click the tabs under the weapon picture (or lack thereof,) and you can switch back to your primary weapon.

'Kyu? Dan? Huh?'
Each level you get is worth 1 Kyu. Every 10 Kyu you get is transferred into 1 Dan. So basically, take away the words and you get your level: 3 Dan, 5 Kyu = level 35 and 0 Dan, 3 Kyu = level 3, etc.

'How Do I Whisper/PM/Shout?'
Whispering(aka PMing) is done by typing a message starting with a ! followed by the player's name who you want to whisper to and your message. So to say 'Your guide sucks' to me, Wutai, you'd type '! Wutai Your guide sucks' excluding the quotes around it. Shouting costs 100 chi and you do it by typing a # in front of your message instead of the ! like in whispering. Unlike whispering, you don't put in the recipient's name so you would type '# Wutai's guide sucks' excluding the quotes to tell everyone how much I suck.

'Lots? What are they?'
Every once in a while, during combat you will get a lot. (Accurate information on when you get them is below, under the 'orange points/pts' section.) Click on the flashing red icon, and press Start and Stop (as far as anyone can tell, letting it go longer does not change your reward.) You will get some sort of reward. Sometimes it' good, like a Box of Lot Cask, and sometimes it's crappy like 10 Minor Healing Teas. Scroll down to the FAQ about the orange 'points/pts' for an explanation on how/when you get lots.

'GM Quizzes? Are these Supposed to be Hard?'
No, probably not. More like a little thing you wake you up in the middle of a grinding session. Answer the question (they can be a bit tricky,) and reap the rewards.

The actual point to these is to prevent botting (and the idea behind it is a stroke of genius, if you ask me.) If a bot gets one of these questions, the fool who is botting won't be around to answer it. Once time runs out, the character is whisked away to Dragon Castle.

'How do I set up a store?'
Click yourself while holding down the ctrl key and a small menu pops up. Here you can set up a 'sale' or a 'purchase' where you are saying you are selling or buying specific items, respectively. As you can see, this is also how you quit parties.

'How do I Trade with Another Player?'
Click someone while holding the ctrl key and a menu pops up which includes the 'trade' command.

'What's with the Shiny/Colored Equipment People Have? Can I have some Shiny/Colored Equipment?''
Nope, only cool people get them. Actually, these are simply upgraded equips. There is a distinct color (along with a universal shininess common with them all,) that shows up depending on how many times the equip has been upgraded (from +1 to +8.) Here's a list:

+1 Sort of shiny...let's just say Glass
+2 Silvery
+3 Gold/Yellow
+4 Bronze/Rusty
+5 Red
+6 Green
+7 Blue
+8 Purple


Here's the best Strengthening guide I could find, with more info on all this:

http://hero.netgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=46342#46342

'Precious Pendant?'
This is an upgrade item (like gems, etc) that seems to be bugged. When used in an upgrade, it seems to 'apply the stats incorrectly.' For right now, just bank 'em.

'Silver Bar? Gold Bar?'
These are items that you can get from some cases. I've heard of them coming from Fortune Cases, Boxes of Lot Cask, and Boxes of Love. There are rumors that they can be used to make/upgrade very high level weapons, but right now, if you are lucky enough you get one, just NPC it. Silver Bars go for 5,000,000 gold and Gold Bars for 10,000,000. If you see people selling them for more, or buying them for less, don't be fooled.

'Houses (aka Guilds)? Factions?'
There are two factions in Hero Online: Zhuang and Shao. You choose which one you want you be a part of by talking to the House Manager in Dragon Castle. When you are invited to join a house, that house must be bound to the one you chose or if you haven't chosen one yet, whatever faction that house belongs to is yours. Although you can leave a house in the Affiliation menu (hotkey G) by clicking 'seceede,' you may NOT leave your faction once you have joined one. When you have joined a house, the word 'Novice' above your character will be changed to 'Unkown-Novice' and whenever you have chosen a faction it will newly appear in orange lettering (for Shao Faction,) or blue lettering (for Zhuang) above your name. There are, of course, rumors that at some point we will be able to change factions.

'Where is the Ancient Warrior?'
We've all probably gone through a little trouble with this part of this quest. The Ancient Warrior spawns in the Highlands by a house. There seems to be a spawn bug tied to him, so if you can't find him, change servers. Dragons 2, 8, and 10 seem to have no Anicent Warrior spawn at all. If you do see him, chances are there is a crowd of people fighting him for the good exp. The only things you can do to finish this part of the quest is to try to outdamage them, ask politely if you can fight him once for the item, or change servers again.

'I Tried to Strengthen my Demon Restrain Sword and it Failed so It's Gone...What do I do?'
*Sigh*... Why do people always try to upgrade it? Alright, try killing the Red Illusion Sergeant another way. It still completes the quest.

'Box of Love...how do I get it? What do I do with it?'
This is made by going to a blacksmith (in Dragon Castle or Central Marketplace) and using the three Twines (Farewell, Destiny, and Meeting,) as well as the Millenium Scroll in a 'Composition.' These items are all obtained throughout the Legend 1 Quests. There have been a few problems with this Composition where some people can't put one of the scrolls in a slot or can't move the resulting Box of Love into their inventory. GM Scott posted that this will be fixed (probably by now.) Most people use their Box of Love for the chance of a Gold or Silver Bar or other good items. I say just open it.

'Where/How do I Obtain Skills?'
The first time you can get skills is at level 10, when you choose your class. You get 2 class skillbooks at that time: one is a passive skill (it's always activated,) and the other is, depending on your class, about 3-5 active buffs and attacking skills. At level 10, you can buy a skill book for your weapon from the shop in Dragon Castle as well Remember: you need 15 intelligence to use the level 10 books. To use a skill book and consequently the skills it contains, simply right-click it in your inventory.


At level 25, you are able to get yet another skill book for your weapon from the same dealer in DC, as well as the Wind Drift book. You need 30 intelligence for these, and don't forget it! Wind Drift is a very useful skill that all classes can use. Next, there are weapon skill books that come at level 40 and even more after that. At level 50 you make a class change and get skill books for your new class as you did with your first one.

'How do I Get the Book of Skill Exchange?'
This question is pretty common. There's a plus sign AND a minus sign next to each skill, but how do you use the minus sign? Well, as it says, you need a Book of Skill Exchange, which you can buy for real life currency at the Hero Tavern. This is the only way to subtract skill points from your skills. So if you don't want to cough up the dough (like me,) allocate wisely!

'PETS?!'
There is a lot to explain here, so I'll go over the basics. There are 2 types of pets: combat and mount. Combat pets run along with you and fight. Mounts you can ride for some additional speed. You may NOT use any skills while on a mount. All combat pets and the horse mount can be used by all classes. There are, however, 4 class mounts for the 4 classes. Warriors get Lions, Assasins get Wolves, Hunters get Reindeer, and Physicians get Tigers. Pressing the T key calls out whatever pet you have equipped.

A proven strategy to the generally quickest pet leveling:

1. Find a monster that takes you (for mount pets) or your pet (for combat pets) a long time (or an infinite time) to kill. Most people (including me) recommend the class mounts at Venom Swamp (all 4 class mounts spawn here) because they heal themselves, so there is VERY little chance you'll be able to solo them to death. Also, sometimes they get confused and stop attacking, which helps. You probably won't find a better monster to train your pet on than the class mounts on Venom Swamp, so from now one I'll assume that's where you'll go.

2. If you're training a mount, equip the corresponding weapon for your class:

Ruthless Blade: One-Handed Sword
Overseer of the Sky: Rod (or Spear)
Elegant Mystic: Rod (or Spear)
Piercing Eyes: Throwing Weapon

The reasoning behind these is that you want the weapon that will attack the MOST (the fastest.) NOT what will do more damage. The amount of hits you land determines pet experience. The amount of damage you deal does not.

You'll want it to be the LOWEST level weapon possible, minimizing the chance of killing your target. So it'll be a Small Bronze Sword, a Rod or Short Spear, and a Throwing Knife, respectively. These can all be purchased for next to nothing at the Dragon Castle Weapon Shop.

3. You've got 3 minutes to do (or let your combat pet do, while standing aside) as MANY hits to as MANY mobs as you can. The Rod/Spear users can hit the Red Illusion monsters that will undoubtedly end up attacking you in addition to your main target: the class mount. This more than makes up for their slow attack speed. The One-Handed Sword is slower than the Throwing Weapon but they both only hit one monster at a time, making the Ruthless Blade the worst character choice for training pets.

4. Pay attention; keep your pet's hunger above 90 or it won't gain experience at all. You can do something else while training, but don't let your pet die! At the later levels, it really sucks.

There is a lot of information that I could add, but I'd rather put up a link to an excellent guild that deals with everything having to do with pet leveling and much more essential information on pets (yes, including loyalty):

http://hero.netgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14172&highlight=pets

To get info on the specific pets' names, evolution, etc go here and poke around the 'Pet System' and 'Pet/Pet Food' parts on the left menu:

http://hero.netgame.com/guide/inform_01.php

'Scruffy won't Wake up' (aka 'How do I Revive my Pet?')
This is done by using Dead Spirit's Incense. You can buy these from the stable guy right outside the north exit of Dragon Castle or for a probably cheaper price (in bulk, though) from a player store in the market.

'Where is the Mad Physician?'
No idea why people have no much trouble with this one...anyway go to Viper Swamp and maximize the map (press the little + sign above the smaller one.) Look towards the south. See the little dot that says 'Mad Physician' when you put your mouse over it? That's him.

'Where is the Puzzle of Wisdom/How do I Solve it?'
Ok. So you have all 4 books and you have to solve the Puzzle of Wisdom. In the western area of the swampy part of Viper Swamp, you'll see on your map that there are 4 statues. The Puzzle has to do with inserting your books into the statues- in a specific order. This order is DIFFERENT for every player. So you go up to a random statue and put in a book. If that's the right one, you will here a familiar 'chime' when you put it in, you receive a necklace, and you can proceed to try another one. If there is no chime/sound, remove the book and go on to another statue and try again. Once you have put all 4 books in the correct order (you do NOT have to start over if you mess up in the middle, just keep going until you find the right statue) and have your necklaces go to that giant Tombstone of Clairvoyance and 'talk' to it. You'll know when you've got it right.

2nd Cryptic Tale: 'Why Can't I Advance in the Quest? I Bought all the Items'/'How do I do the Puzzle of Sky'(tablets)/'What do I do with the Two Armors that Came from the Tree? Return Them or Keep Them?'

Been seeing a ton of Lion's Roars about this one. Well I'll start where everyone seems to start having touble: the item collection. I would list all of them and who you get them from, but I'm not that nice. Chief Guard Lee at the north exit of Dragon Castle can fill you in. Anyway, you MUST at least go to everyone on the list: talk to each person and click 'Quest' then '2nd Cryptic Tale,' to get their items. But let's say you've done that, but you've gotten mixed up with the items (it happened to me...) and don't know if you've sold some, dropped some, used some etc etc etc. HAVE NO FEAR! Simply buy enough so that you have 39 of all the items except the Calf Meat Loaf and Charms of Return, which you need 43 of for some reason. Put them in the order they should have come in at the top of your inventory and go to Gate Guard So Hwa. If it doesn't let you click '2nd Cryptic Tale' you haven't talked to everyone yet (and gotten their items.) If it says you don't have all the items yet...you don't have all the items yet.

Next comes a discernible copy of the notorius Puzzle of Wisdom called the Puzzle of Sky. With your 4 tablets in hand (make sure you have them...) go to the Highlands. You'll notice 4 Trees (Conciliation, Golden, Inspection, and Yellow) scattered across the map. Look familiar? Of course. Go to the nearest one and insert its corresponding tablet (it chooses which for you, just click 'insert.') If you hear a familiar 'ding' move on to the next tree. If not, click 'withdraw' and move on to the next tree. After you have inserted them all, and thus coaxed a quartet of 'dings' from the 4 trees...well, you'll know when you have it right.

The armors. Well, you can return them to Warrior Trainer General Hwang if you want a crappy ol' pair of boots (10 less bonus defense) in return. Or...you could keep them for yourself and reap the benefits. Either way...Quest Completed!

'What are the Orange pts/points that Appear Under My Exp?'
This orange counter starts after you have killed 10 monsters 'around your level,' and it resets when you log out and when you die. You get 1 point/pt whenever you kill a monster 'around your level.' It can still be a few levels lower than you. Every time you rack up 50 more points in the counter, you get a lot. When you get 1000 points/pts, the lot you get yields 3 times the rewards (you get 3 separate things from one lot.) After 1000 points/pts, every lot you get (so starting at 1050 and going up by 50,) the lot you get yields 2 rewards in one 'spin.' This stays the same at 2000, and apparently up past 3500. It is worthy to mention that many people have reported that on these double or triple-winning lots, they always seem to have at least one of them fail (yield no reward.) Curious.

Also, you may be wondering why you keep getting 'exp' as a reward. That's on account of the fact that whenever your orange counter value ends in a 50 (so 1050, 250, 4532150) you get exp as a lot reward. For each exp lot you get, it adds about 1% to the total exp you receive from each monster.

'Where is the Red Illusion Sergeant?'
This guy is located in Venom Swamp, near one of the GIANT skulls on the map. It's in the southern area, the one where you have to go down one of two wooden ramps to access the little amphitheater area where the Sergeant is along with a few other Red Illusion 'officers.'

'Why won't General Yong talk to me about The Demon of Spirit quest?'
You can't continue this quest until you have reached level 43. When you get to level 43, talk to him again.

'Which Weapon Has the Highest Attack Speed?'
Well, I've always wondered the same thing (just atk speed in general) and luckily I have a Piercing Eyes so I could test both one and two-handed swords as well as throwing weapons. I bought bare lvl 2 versions of each from the weapon store and did a quick test for each. My results:

One-Handed Sword: 42 hits per minute
Two-Handed Sword: 35 hits per minute
Throwing Weapon: 46 hits per minute

I only did the test twice and actually tested for 30 secs (or I would have killed the Horror Knights I did it on) and doubled the rate to get per minute. I averaged the results of the two tests, and they were only one hit off on two of the weapons so I'd say that although not perfect, it was a fairly accurate test.

So one-handed swords attack slightly faster than two-handed swords (As the above data perfectly shows, 20% faster.) Throwing weapons go even faster: approximately 30% faster than two-handed swords, and about 10% faster than one-handed swords. I ask other players to try the same test, but be aware that I don't know what determines attack speed (besides the weapon you use, obviously) I have heard people say that Dex in no way effects it, though. Still, you may get different NUMBERS but similar ratios. So if you can, test as many different weapon types as you can on one character and post your results.

'Why Can't I Access slots III/3 or IV/4 in my Storage?'
This isn't known for sure. It probably does not have to do with player level, since level 70+ players have commented that they still do not have access to them. It's more than likely that access to these slots will have to be purchased from the Cash Shop (so, with real money) when it comes out.

'Where is the Assassin's Tally?'
You get these by killing Assassins in the Highlands. There is a 'loop' in the trail in the south-eastern area of the map. They stay invisible unless you walk right up to them.

'What are the Answers to Physician Trainer Bong's Questions?'/I Have 100 Minor Healing Teas; Why Does He Say I Don't?
The answers are 3, 2, 1. Put the Teas in the first slot of your inventory and it should work.