Welcome to The Secret World, friend!

Regardless of which side of the secret war you chose, whether it be the Illuminati, the Templars or the Dragons, you will come across many of the same aspects of the world we live and play in.

As the guide information states, this isn't meant to be a newcomer guide to walk you through the basics of the game. It's meant to be a compendium of information about various aspects of the game we've stumbled across and needed more information about.


FIRST AND FOREMOST, if you don't know what The Secret World *IS*, please check out the Store Page to get alot more information!

But for information and update's sakes, here's the latest official trailer:

The original launch trailer aka This Bitter Earth:

1. Changelog
   
2. Memberships
   
3. Issues & Sidestories
   
4. Zones
   
5. Tokens
   
6. Roleplaying
   
7. Fashion & Fluff
   
8. Goodies
   
9. AP/SP
   
10. Decks/Builds
    
11. Crafting
    
12. Glyphs
    
13. Signets
    
14. Gadgets
    
15. Auxiliary Weapons
    
16. Augments
    
17. AEGIS
    
18. PvP
    
19. Dungeons
    
20. Addons
    
21. Scripts
    
22. Troubleshooting
    
23. Credits
    

05-13-2016

• Issue 15 information
  
• Put in more information about the OPTIONAL memberships

04-22-2016

• Information rearranging.. put Addons and Scripts section toward back of guide (seemed out of place where it was)
  
• Goodies information update since Item of the Month was discontinued with optional membership changes and WeLoveFine no longer carries TSW items

03-31-2016

• Issues & Sidestories section got too big to fit character limit of a section.. broke apart
  
• Added new Issue 14 information
  
• Added some Shambala PvP information

12-04-2015

• Updated to proper Issue 12 cover finally
  
• Added preliminary Issue 13 information (and crappy twitch screenshot grab for cover)
  
• Updated the currency section with the Issue 12 currency revamp details

07-11-2015

• Cleaned up the Issues & Sidestories section
  
• added some of the preliminary Issue 12 information

(undetermined dates) - added lots of stuff to various sections :P

11-14-2014 - Guide created

Firstly, The Secret World is STILL Buy-to-Play (B2P) and does NOT require any subscriptions (or memberships), although it DOES include a 30-day free one when you first purchase any edition of the game. With that said, memberships are still OPTIONAL but has been retooled to give some nice benefits and is a good way to boost your gameplay and support Funcom at the same time.

Membership benefits are constant effects that apply to all characters on your account during the time your membership is active. The benefits are as follows:

• Loyalty Rewards - Some of these are fluff items, some are functional. The actual loyalty rewards are based on the max length of membership you purchased. 30 days, 60 days, etc. Loyalty rewards information can be found below.
  
• 1200 Bonus Points (for every 30 days purchased)
  
• 30% Bonus XP
  
• 10% Item Store Discount
  
• 50% Bonus Black Bullions
  
• Token Capacity Increase
  
• 8 Hour Mission Cooldowns
  
• 18 Hour Raid Lockouts
  
• 2 Lockout Timer Reset Items (for every 30 days purchased)
  
• Free Anima Leap (anima well map hopping)

NOTE: The previously available Grandmaster Membership (lifetime subscription) was discontinued in early 2016 right before the Membership changes. All previous Grandmasters have been grandfathered and still maintain their Grandmaster lifetime subscriptions with all current membership benefits and maximum loyalty rewards applied. It is speculated the Grandmaster subs might become available during Funcom special sales/deals.

You gain Loyalty Rewards the longer you have an active membership. Loyalty Rewards include pets, vehicles, outfits, & more. New Loyalty Rewards will be added every 180 days.

30 Days Rewards

• Anima Dash - This is a run animation that leaves glowing (gold) anima particle effects behind you
  
• Faction Varsity Jacket - Appearance (coat) leather jacket that shows off your faction colours and letter

60 Days Rewards

• Hover-Tech Discs - Snazzy looking gold appearance mount
  
• Unity Core - Faction-coloured "Tron" outfit

90 Days Rewards

• Cthulhu Pet - The Unutterable Chibi pet
  
• Buzzing Vortex - An extra portal to Agartha with a special golden vortex animation

180 Days Rewards

• Carapace of Gaia - Immaculate Machine-inspired full/sectional outfit
  
• Permanent Transdimensional Banking - Permanent item with 1 hour cooldown that summons access to your bank pretty much anywhere

360 Days Rewards

• Bumble Scooter - Cute gold scooter appearance mount
  
• Third Age Weapons - 3rd age-inspired (read: steampunk) moulds for all weapon types

Issues are akin to expansions or DLC's. They usually add extra locations, extra storylines, etc. and tend to be what you want to get for more content.

Sidestories packs are similarly the same thing but they are a bit more optional as they usually only add some extra storylines or investigation missions. They are still quality pieces of work, but tend to be overlooked.

• The default base game comes with Issues #1-4.
  
• The Secret World : Massive Edition comes with the default #1-4 and #5-7 (plus goodies). (This was replaced by the Ultimate Edition in June 2015)
  
• The Ultimate Edition comes with Issues 1-11 and all the sidestories (plus goodies).

UPDATE: In 2015, Funcom added an iconic listing of any additional content you added to your account (Issues and/or Sidestory Packs) to the Funcom (TSW) account management page.
You can usually access it via: https://register.thesecretworld.com/account

Some details about each of the issues are found below:
(you can click on the cover picture to see it full-sized)







Introduced:

• Carter Unleashed - Solomon Island
  
• Crime and Punishment - Solomon Island
  
• Hell & Bach - Solomon Island
  
• Funeral Crasher - Blue Mountain
  
• The 3rd Age - Egypt
  
• Red Handed - Carpathians
  
• Ankh (nightmare)
  
• Hell Fallen (nightmare)
  
• added Marketplace

Introduced:

• Investigation missions
  
• Action missions
  
• Lair revamps/missions
  
• 2 more Nightmare Dungeons
  
• Rocket Launcher/auxiliary wheel
  
• Group Finder Tool
  
• Barber Shop (London)
  
• Plastic Surgeon (NYC)

Introduced:

• New storyline
  
• New villain
  
• New locations/monsters
  
• Halloween event
  
• Lair update
  
• new Lair missions
  
• The Binding - City of the Sun God
  
• Dogs of War - Carpathian Fangs

Introduced:

• NYC raid
  
• Chainsaw (aux)
  
• PVP enhancements
  
• Albion Theatre (London)
  
• Reticule Combat
  
• new Missions
  
• beginner Decks (builds)
  
• Slaughterhouse dungeon (Nightmare)

Introduced:

• End of Days event
  
• Oxford archeologists - Scorched Desert
  
• Morninglight missions
  
• Quantum Brace (Aux)
  
• Tyler Freeborn mission line
  
• Sabotage missions - Scorched Desert

Introduced:

• Last Train to Cairo mission line
  
• Whip (Aux)
  
• Lair raid (Eidolon of the Outer Dark)
  
• PvP enhancements
  
• Vetern/Recruitment Rewards

Introduced more:

• storyline continued in Transylvania
  
• secret agent missions
  
• Flamethrower (Aux)
  
• Tokyo lead-in

Introduced:

• Scenarios in Council of Venice HQ
  
• Augment system
  
• Halloween event
  
• 10 new Item Missions - Solomon Island
  
• Cat God mission chain
  
• Stonehenge (PvP)

Introduced:

• Tokyo added
  
• Tokyo story line
  
• AEGIS system added

Introduced:

• continued Tokyo storyline/missions
  
• added more Tokyo locations including the Dream Palace (Love Hotel)
  
• AEGIS shields introduced
  
• UI improvements (available to everyone)
  
• Consider system improvements (for everyone)

Introduced:

• Conclusion to the Tokyo storyline (Season 1 finale)
  
• Orochi Tower instance/raid zone (w/randomized features/levels)
  
• the results of the "choices" you made during the main storyline

Introduced:

• 2 Orochi dungeons
  
• Flappy raid returns
  
• Lair revamps
  
• Currency revamps
  
• Gear progression increase
  
• PvP "updates"
  
• LFG tool revamp
  
• daily/weekly challenges

Introducing:

• New storyline arc tying up loose ends in Kaidan
  
• Introduction of a new storyline character to Tokyo
  
• NEW PvP zone: Shambala (Last person standing, come as you are)
  
• PvP updates (randomized faction start locs, change roles, kicks)
  
• new PvP gadgets
  
• various new signets
  
• Group Finder updates
  
• Item store gifting

Introducing:

• Storyline revisits Egypt after the Tokyo conclusion
  
• new mechanic: Anima Deviation - additional damage conversion
  
• Teleport Window - combines teleport items into one interface
  
• Jump Pads - blasts into heights, feature to be included in future missions

Introducing (not a full issue):

• Rolls all previous sidestories packs into one "issue"
  
• One new Tokyo-based investigation
  
• FREE to players that purchased any of the sidestories previously

UPDATE: Sidestories packs are no longer available as such and have been all rolled into "Issue 15: The Sleuth's Gallery" as of May 2016. Issue 15 is available for FREE to players that have previously purchased ANY Sidestories packs in the past as well as the Ultimate Edition.

These are optional mission packs that go in tandem with various issues. They are NOT required but do add more things to do as well as achievements and rewards for completing all the side stories.
As of this writing, there are 3 available sidestories packs:


Added 4 deep investigation missions. Completion of all four missions awards the epic Inspector's Gadget (buffs health and heals) and a Deep Mystery Box (random nice goodies) This was released alongside Issue 8: The Venetian Agenda.





Added 5 more missions revealing more of the story of Kaidan (Tokyo). Completion of all five missions awards the Cracked Noh mask (vanity face item) and a Deep Mystery Box. This was released alongside Issue 9: The Black Signal.





Added 6 more missions continuing the story of Kaidan. Completion of all six missions awards the Lorenzian Fabricator (teleport to Tokyo gadget) and a Deep Mystery Box. This was released as filler between Issue 9 and Issue 10.

Players need zones to run around and play in. TSW has some nice huge zones to do just that. Player starting zones are not like traditional MMO zones where noobs are running around killing skeletons, rats, and bugs. TSW starting zones are meant to give you some back story and indoctrination into your secret society.

An interesting thing to check out is each zone's map. Hit 'M' in-game and see an interesting stylized/themed map for that specific zone you are in.


Starting zones


New York City (USA): Starting zone for Illuminati. Home to the Illuminati HQ, New York Bridge park (event and roleplay common area), New York Raid zone, NYC Fight club, Plastic surgeon (missions and redo your body/face)



London (England): Starting zone for Templars. Home to the Templars HQ, Ealdwic Park, lots of vendors especially clothing vendors in places like Pangaea, Tabula Rasa hotel, Albion Theatre (roleplay stage), Crusades and The Horned God bars, Barber, 2 Bank/Marketplace/Post Office locations, Haitian Market, London fight club, etc. It is a very popular area because of all the things available here and a common roleplaying hub.




Seoul (Korea): Starting zone for Dragons. Home to the Dragons HQ, Seoul Fight Club, BlackHole PC Bang gaming center, etc.





Connection hub
Agartha: (or lore-wise, "the Hollow Earth"). It is a connection hub zone that provides an access point to all the zones, specialized areas like the Council of Venice scenario HQ, elite mode access to dungeons, etc. It's a bit of a maze for those that haven't travelled it alot. If all else fails, jump off the edge and it'll pop you back at the entrace of Agartha near the faction cities portals.


Adventure zones
For the purposes of not giving spoilers, I will not be giving any further details aside from zone names and commonly used abbreviations. Rest assured, each zone has TONS of missions of various types, a challenge area (QL10 drop mobs, generally tougher than the average mobs in the zone), a lair area (nasty area with bosses and missions specific to that area, you know you've reached it when the screen shakes and turns slightly dark and veiny).

Solomon Island

• Kingsmouth (KM)
  
• Savage Coast (SC)
  
• Blue Mountain (BM)

Egypt

• Scorched Desert (SD)
  
• City of the Sun God (CotSG)

Transylvania

• Beseiged Farmland (BF)
  
• Shadowy Forest (SF)
  
• Carpathian Mountains (CM)

Tokyo

• Kaidan (KD)

The Secret World used to be full of lots of different kinds of tokens or currencies (but as of Issue 12, they've been revamped now.. thankfully)

There is some account "currency" you should be aware of first.


Funcom Points: These are universal Funcom-based points that can be used in various Funcom game titles. These are purchased with real world currency. Indicated by a gold circle emblazoned with an "F".
Veteran Points: These are earned in advance of each month of being subscribed as a member (ie. 6 month sub will earn you 60 vet points up front). They are spent on special social items, gear, and accessories in the Item Store that are available only with these points. Designated by a silver circle with a star in the center.
Bonus Points: Spent exactly like Funcom Points for the store items signified by the golden "F" coin, these points are TSW specific. They can be awarded in promotional events and contests. These points expire after six months.

TIP: Anyone playing the game that finishes ~30 missions will be awarded 1200 FREE bonus points that can be used to purchase one of the remaining issues (and some extra goodies). This is available only ONCE per account!

The rest of the currency discussed are available in-game only.

PAX is the basic and universal currency in The Secret World. It is used to buy items from various vendors, repair gear, marketplace, etc. You gain PAX from missions, kills, selling items, etc.

UPDATE: As of Issue 12, currency has been revamped and simplified. No more "Sequins of this and this zone" or "Credits of OMG.. another currency".

Currency has been simplified to just Black Bullion (or BB's) for most vendors (Council vendors, HQ vendors, PvP, etc.) and the Mark of the Pantheon (or MP's) for high-end gear (more details below). BB's are now awarded for most missions, PvP, challenges, scenarios, etc. MP's are obtained from raids and some daily/weekly challenges.

NOTE for returning players: Any old currency (sequins, etc.) were auto-converted on each account into Black Bullions (up to a storage amount of 2400 BB's)

(Regional Council of Venice vendors)

• The Kingsmouth vendor sells QL3 items at a building near the sheriff's office.
  
• The Savage Coast vendor sells QL5 items near Red's Bait and Tackle.
  
• The Blue Mountain vendor sells QL6 items at the Wabanaki Trailer Park.
  
• The Scorched Desert vendor sells QL7 items in the city of al'Merayah.
  
• The City of the Sun God vendor sells QL8 right near the entrance to the valley.

In the Transylvania zones, the Council of Venice vendors have NO weapon,
only talismans and weapon molds now.

• Beseiged Farmlands vendor sells QL9 items in a house next to the tavern.
  
• Shadowy Forest vendor sells QL9 items at the Romany camp.
  
• Carpathian Mountains vendor sells QL9 items at a house near the Smiths.

In Tokyo, there are 2 vendors in Ginpachi Park.

• a Council of Venice vendor with QL 10.1 talismans and signets
  
• an Orochi vendor for upgrade components for AEGIS items
  NOTE: This vendor accepts BB's for first half QL10.X tier items
  and MP's for latter half QL10.X tier items

(Specialized)
These vendors are specific to various Issues or features.

ISSUE CREDITS (now BB's): Previously, the following 2 vendors only accepted Credits currency, but now accept BB's.
However, the missions and vendors are still accessible only to those players that have Issue #6 and/or Issue #7.

• Scorched Desert (at Maryah camp near dancing Nassir) sells purple head talisman, signets and Indiana Jones-stylized clothing
  
• Shadowy Forest (at Romany camp) sells purple neck talismans, signets and Orochi clothing

SCENARIO AUERUS (now BB's): The Council of Venice vendors in the Sunken Library (Scenarios) accessed via portal in Agartha previously accepted only Auerus of Initiations (aka Oreos), but now accept BB's.

APPEARANCE COUPONS: These are for their respective places (barbershop in London or plastic surgeon in NYC). Some are mission rewards, purchased in the Item Store or you can just shell out the PAX for the services (coupons aren't required).

PVP MARKS: All PvP gear is handled with Black Bullions now and still purchased from vendors in your faction's HQ.

(New) MARK OF THE PANTHEON: These are the new currency for high-end gear obtained via raids, nightmares and various daily/weekly challenges. They are used to purchase upgrade components for upgrading gear past QL 10.5. Vendors in your faction HQ and an Orochi vendor in Kaidan accept this currency.

(New) ACHIEVEMENT POINTS: Not an actual currency tracked in the token area, but rather your total "achievement points" gained from finishing the various in-game achievements. The more achievement points you have, the more you can unlock (to purchase with Pax) from the Achievement Vendor named Dr. Caligari to the right of the stairs going down into the Haitian Market in London.

(New) LUCKY COINS: This is a new Item Store/Special Events "currency" obtained usually from opening up various holiday/event bags (for personal opening or group party opening). The new vendor can be found off the Haitian Market in a stall heading towards The Crusades club.

This section may not apply to some, but TSW has a rather healthy roleplay community. Roleplaying can entail walking around in-character like your faction (righteous templar, manipulative illuminati, etc.) to just chilling out with friends pretending you are actually in the game world.

Some of the best tips and RP information can be found at: http://www.tsw-rp.com

Some of the best casual roleplay events come from live DJ streamed radio programs hosted in the game and online and various times during the week. Playing all sorts of music from hip-hop to metal or dance mixes in various locations in TSW like London's park or the haitian market to NY's park, etc. Two of the best and most prominent live streams can found at:

• Radio Free Gaia - http://radiofreegaia.com
  
• GridStream Productions - http://gridstream.org

Some of them have an inline player, a dedicated player app or allow you to stream via your favourite shoutcast-enabled player (like VLC, Media Player Classic, etc.) I normally save the playlist file for each on my desktop and just load them up now and again for good music (they stream regardless of live shows, 24/7).

Some of us in our cabal, tune-in to some of the shows, head over to the appropriate location listening live and dancing in-game with a handful of other people all listening and dancing to the same music. You have to experience it at least once in your TSW lifetime.

The Secret World has a pretty decent array of appearance items that can be mix-and-matched, as well as, fluff items like fireworks and cosmetic pets (although some pets have newcomer buffs that boost dmg or experience up to a certain experience level).

Some of these items come from:

• mission rewards
  
• Faction Ranks - some ranks with your organization reward a faction uniform
  
• Achievements - from completing chain of missions or kills, etc.
  
• Item Store - purchased with Funcom points, Vet points and/or Bonus Points
  
• various vendors - clothing vendors in London (Pangaea & other locations), token vendors in faction HQ & out in the zones, etc.
  
• special Events throughout the year

Appearance outfits can be accessed from the Dressing Room (option from within Character Sheet, by pressing C) and chosen from their appropriate slots. Choosing a uniform takes the place of all appearance slots aside from head and face slots. Outfits awarded or purchased go straight into the appropriate dressing room slots.
Selectable appearance slots include:

• Hat - stuff like gas mask, party hat, etc.
  
• Face - stuff like glowing eyes, eyepatch, etc.
  
• Neck - bandana, necklace, etc.
  
• Chest - shirts, sweaters, dresses, etc.
  
• Coats - outerwear jackets, coats, harnesses, etc.
  
• Hands - gloves, rings, etc.
  
• Legs - pants, shorts, skirts, etc.
  
• Feet - shoes, sandals, etc.
  
• Uniform - full ensemble from deck rewards, faction ranks, etc.

A GREAT place to see pretty much ALL the appearance items/outfits is at: http://sephorassecretcloset.wordpress.com

They keep a pretty up-to-date catalog of appearance sets for clothing, weapons, pets, with details on where/when they come from and screenshots of the outfits for viewing.

Occassionally promotional events or codes can net some cute in-game rewards.

One of the most basic goodies is the Item of the Month freebie that players can claim while they have an active membership (you get free 30 day membership when you first create an account and can opt to pay monthly or longer membership fee for discounts from Item Store, some consumables, etc.). I.e. the Item of the Month for July 2014 was a backpack. for August 2014 it was a spirit Toro lantern pet.

UPDATE: The membership structure changed in 2016 and the Item of the Month was discontinued. Instead, various items are awarded depending on the duration of an optional membership you get, more details later.

Promotional events, like conventions, can sometimes net promo codes, as well.


Currently, the only leftover promotions that I'm aware of (and have used) are (while supplies last):

• TSWCSICONTSHIRT for 3-eyed smiley face t-shirt
  
• TSWBUFFEDTSHIRT for buffed.de t-shirt
  
• HALLOWEEN2014TEE for "When you solo, no one can hear you scream" t-shirt

(Promo codes are entered in the funcom account page)



Normally when you input the promo code into your Funcom account page, you need to go to to the Item Store (either in-game or via browser) and claim them via the Claim Items menu option usually found on the left side of the page.

Ability Points (AP) and Skill Points (SP) are the meat of The Secret World. You spend AP/SP to unlock various abilities, unlock higher tiers of weapons and talismans, etc. AP/SP are automatically earned as you gain experience from kills or missions, etc. in TSW. An Ability Point is earned when a player has filled up 1/3 of the experience bar (found at the bottom of the player screen) while filling out the whole bar gives a Skill Point. So filling up a full experience bar nets you 3 AP and 1 SP.

Pressing N, will bring up the Ability Points window.

Weapons/Magic are broken into individual spokes of the ability wheel with an inner wheel and an outer wheel with skills usually grouped into a set of specific types (ie. more tanking/healing/dps/support-oriented skills) with 2 sets on the inner wheel and 6 sets on the outer wheel. Weapon/Magic spokes are grouped into their base types:

• pink for Ranged weapons: Shotgun, Pistol, Assault Rifle
  
• orange for Melee weapons: Blade, Fist, Hammer
  
• blue for Magic skills: Elemental, Blood, Chaos

Skills must be unlocked progressively within a set and all of that weapon/magic inner wheel must be unlocked completely to begin unlocking skills in the outer wheel. Additionally, there are 3 misc sets of skills not tied to any particular weapon/magic that correlate with certain kind of function (1 misc set for tanking-oriented skills, etc indicated by green spokes)

Individual skills are classified as either Active or Passive. Active skills require having a weapon/fetish equipped to be able to use that particular skill. Passive skills do NOT require having a partcular weapon/fetish equipped and may be mixed and matched from various spokes. Some passive skills may boost specific active skills and should be used with them to provide some skill synergy. Alternately, some passive skills are generic and provide overall boosts to specific stats desirable for that build. Additionally, at the end of set is usually an Elite skill (either Active or Passive and indicated with a yellow border around its icon). You may have ONE Active Elite skill and ONE Passive Elite skill on your hotbar at any given time. Elite skills are usually very effective or very powerful skills.

You may hotbar up to 7 skills (from any 1 or 2 spokes depending on the weapon/magic fetish you have equipped and the skills you have unlocked). To hotbar a skill you can drag/drop it to the active hotbar or select the skill on the skill description pane (on the left side) and choose EQUIP button and then select a hotbar to load it into. Synergy comes from combining effects of active/passive skills into what are called builds/specs/decks. More information about those are discussed in a latter section.

NOTE: There is a cap on unspent AP. The AP cap extends as you unlock augments (discussed in a latter section) but otherwise, you will lose any AP earned but unspent past the cap. Spend your APs! (but spend them wisely, of course). Just because you may have finished a spoke, does not mean you can't put points into another area and eventually you will want to so that you unlock all abilities.

Pressing K, will bring up the Skill Points window.


Skill points determine the QL (Quality Level) of gear you can equip and skill bonuses you can receive for particular types of weapon or magic fetishes you have equipped.

Initially, you can put points into individual Weapons/Magics and Talismans. Eventually, you will be able to spend SP on unlocking Auxiliary weapons, Augments and then AEGIS (discussed in latter sections). Weapons/Magic have 2 sets of point bars with 10 levels each that you can spend on that focus on a particular function of that weapon/magic (ie. Damage and Healing in Assault Rifle). SP cost is incremental as you unlock them in each set (Level 1 Damage Assault Rifle unlock = 1 SP, Level 2 Damage Assault Rifle unlock = 2 SP, etc.). Each Weapon/Magic/Talisman level unlock allows you to wear up to 1 more level of QL gear. (ie. Level 1 Damage Assault Rifle unlock allows you to use QL1 and QL2 Assault Rifles, while unlocking Level 4 Head Talisman would allow you to wear QL1-5 Head Talismans).

Decks are cookie-cutter builds meant to get players started with some skill synergies and foundations to work with. Selecting a deck will highlight various skills in your ability wheel that you need to complete the deck. The description tab of the Deck will describe some of the tactics and even gear itemization with some of them. Finishing all the deck requirements will give you a complete build and allow you to claim a reward (button found at the bottom of the completed deck information) that will usually reward you with a title and a deck outfit (usually a full-set uniform and a few individual deck fashion pieces like goggles or face mask, etc. that go with that deck uniform). Generally, the illustration is the overal look of the uniform on a player. Each faction has their own regular faction-specific decks. You can select a deck and work on the points while using a different deck (just don't choose the EQUIP DECK button on the deck.. otherwise it will load it as your in-use deck) Eventually, you can have ALL the decks and even finish up the Ability Wheel to 100% (resulting in the Panoptic Core reward).

KEY
Melee: B = Blade, H = Hammer, F = Fist
Magic: BM = Blood, C = Chaos, E = Elemental
Ranged: P = Pistol, SG = Shotgun, AR = Assault Rifle



Starter Decks are generic between all factions.

































Elite Decks are generic between all factions.













Completing 100% of the Ability Wheel:
Panoptic Core (aka the Tron suit)











There are TONS of ability combinations out there! Builds for Soloing, Survival, Healing, Tanking, Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, PvP, Raiding, Dungeons, Scenarios, etc. etc. etc.. Developing synergy between active and passive abilities and gear (signets) is an essential part of creating an effective build. However, builds tend to be customized to the player since there are so many variations out there and one size doesn't necessarily fit all. Due to this complex nature of creating builds, this guide will not be covering any. (sorry)

However, you can find some decent builds at some of these sites:

• TSWDB[www.tswdb.com] (LOTS of different kinds of builds)
  
• Official TSW Forums - Builds & Decks[forums.thesecretworld.com] (various builds and discussions)
  
• Official TSW Forums - PvP[forums.thesecretworld.com] (some PvP builds can be found here)
  
• TSW Guides[wordpress.tswguides.com] (good assortment, little bit outdated)

Crafting basics go here

(insert glyph list)

and how to craft

Signets are drop only or mission reward Glyph-like items that you can attach to Talismans and Weapons that have a Signet Slot. You can overwrite existing signets on items by just crafting the new signet with the item in the Assembly window. Signet icons indicate which type of slot item they can be attached to:

• Square icon - Head Talisman/Weapons
  
• Octagon icon - Head Talisman
  
• Square w/top notches - Major Talismans
  
• Square w/bottom notches - Minor Talismans

and what type of archetype they apply to (or basically the kind of effect):

• Plus symbol - Healing
  
• Starburst symbol - Damage (DPS)
  
• Shield in Cog symbol - Tanking
  
• Vertical bars symbol - All purpose

Signets can be upgraded by combining 10 of the same type in your crafting window. (10 Green Signets makes a Blue Signet, etc.)

Auxiliary weapon "signets" are discussed in the Auxiliary section of the guide.

(In the tables, three values such as 1/2/3 are based on 1 = Green, 2 = Blue, 3 = Purple)

Stimulant

Kickback

(how to craft)

Auxiliary Weapons are unlocked via missions specific to various issues. They are essentially an 8th hotbar skill with one active ability and one passive ability. Once you have completed their appropriate mission(s) and obtained the aux weapon and then spent 35 SP to unlock the abilities, only then can you start using the aux weapon. NOTE: You only have to spend 35 SP at one time to fully unlock the Aux weapon on the SP screen. There are no further tiers to unlock for that item on the SP screen.



Once you have unlocked aux weapons via SP, you can start using AP to unlock it's line of abilities (both active and passive). You can find the AP aux weapon screen by pressing N for the Ability Wheel and there will be an icon right above the wheel that will slide the regular ability wheel over to show the Aux ability wheel. All aux abilities are 50 AP each.


The issues you have purchased will determine the order you might come across the various Aux weapons. (please note that some of the screenshots below have a weapon mould applied and are not the plain, default appearance of that particular aux weapon) The current Aux Weapons are (in general order of zones, not issues):


Quantum Brace (Kingsmouth) - Released with Issue 5. Heal/Damage Aux weapon usually used by healers. Moose at the Kingsmouth Sheriff Station will have a mission to get started on this.


Chainsaw (New York) - Released with Issue 4. Melee-ranged Damage/Support Aux weapon usually used by tanks. The starting mission is obtained from the plastic surgeon. Despite being a solo instance, the meat locker, however, is not a solo instance and a friend can meet up on you and help with that portion of the mission.


Rocket Launcher - Released with Issue 2. Ranged Damage Aux weapon usually used by DPS for its AoE. The mission (Venetian Missile Crisis) for this Aux weapon is obtained from your society's HQ after reaching Rank 6 with your society.





Whip (Egypt) - Released with Issue 6. Melee-ranged Damage/Support Aux weapon usually used by tanks and DPS for AoE. This weapon's mission (The City Beneath Us) starts with Said in the Scorched Desert.



Flamethrower (Transylvania) - Released with Issue 7. Melee/Ranged Damage Aux weapon usually used by tanks and DPS for AoE. The starting mission for this weapon (Who Horrifies the Horrors?) starts with Carmen Preeda in Beseiged Farmlands and takes you through the other 2 Transylvania zones during the entire mission lines.


All starting Aux weapons start out at QL10 Green. A blue aux upgrade kit can be obtained as a random drop during elite dungeon runs. A purple aux upgrade kit can be obtained as a random drop during nightmare dungeon runs. Aux weapons must be upgraded gradually (from green to blue, then blue to purple).

(insert aux signet listing here)

Additionally, appearances of auxiliary weapons can be applied through the use of molds either created from blueprint combinations for aux weapons or copied from other weapons via casting toolkits.

3 sets of blueprints (i.e. Demonic Visual Blueprint 1,2,3) drop from nightmare mode dungeons or purchased off the Marketplace. They are combined with an Auxiliary casting toolkit (sold for 16k PAX off a London vendor) to create a mold. That mold can be combined with an aux weapon to give it the desired appearance.

For regular weapons, you combine a Casting toolkit (found on Council of Venice vendors for Sequins) with weapon you like the appearance of. WARNING: that weapon will be destroyed! Then apply the created mold to the weapon you the appearance on.

With the release of Issue 8: The Venetian Agenda and following the mission storyline and/or upon entering a Scenario in the Council of Venice HQ (located via Agartha portal), the Augment system will unlock. Augments can be dropped during Scenarios or during special/seasonal world events. They can be attached to various abilities on your hotbar to enhance/boost all range of skills or that particular skill (depending on the Augment).

Once unlocked via mission/scenario, you will be able to spend SP to give you the ability to load up higher QL augments (up to 5 levels of augments)

Augments come in 4 varieties that can be harmonized to specific TYPE of skills (indicated with a colour pie piece right over the ability on your hotbar)

Red for DPS/Damage skills
Yellow for Buff/Support skills
Green for Healing skills
Blue for Tank/Survivability skills

Upon unlocking augments, you can access the Augment ability wheel/list by pressing N and looking for an icon above the main Ability Wheel that will slide it over to the Augment Wheel/List:


Augment information here

After obtaining Issue 9: The Black Signal and completing the mission storyline that leads into Kaidan (Tokyo), a new system called AEGIS will be unlocked (with a convenient video from the Council of Venice giving you a nice little overview of the AEGIS system).

AEGIS information here

Within each of the 3 starting faction cities (NYC, London, Seoul), there is a fight club instance tucked away somewhere. Fight clubs are free-for-all PvP instances (FFA as long as you are ungrouped). NYC's Fight club is located off the construction yard and is an unlit warehouse (thought flares are available from boxes within the fight club). London's fight club is off the Black Market area near the cage fights and is a lit warehouse. Seoul's fight club is (what's it near?) and is an open arena-type area. Each fight club usually has a spectator railing area to watch what is going on. However, fight clubs are horribly under-utilized and you will usually only find the ocassional person testing out PvP builds or used during special events for live stream music or RP events, etc.

Pressing P, will bring up the Secret War screen:


Fu-sang


Fu-sang is a persistent PVP zone where you are awarded marks of venice (pvp currency) at intervals for controlling wells (respawn points) and facilities. All 3 factions duke it out in there. Control of the zone fluctuates alot. Total shutout of the zone grants the non-controlling factions, the underdog mission which lets them activate a guardian to help take over a facility. There is a cap on marks of venice, so you have to regularly hop out to cash them in (convert them to the greater version.. that doesn't have a cap). (This keeps people from just living in there)



El Dorado



El Dorado features Capture the Flag style play. 3 teams of 10. Points are earned for controlling relics (either holding on to them or placing them). Relics also provide buffs when placed. Controlling all 4 relics starts a 2 minute countdown timer to win. Otherwise, whichever team has the most points at end of main timer is declared winner.


Stonehenge
Stonehenge features King of the Hill style play. 3 teams of 5. Winner is whichever team has the most points or reaches the cap (I think 750 or something). Points earned for staying in the center.

Shambala

Last man standing style play. 10 vs 10 firefight scenario. Teams are made from any faction. No premade groups, queue is done solo only.

Polaris

detailed dungeon information to go here

Hell Raised

The Darkness War

Ankh

etc. etc.

normal, elite, nightmare

As TSW's UI is Flash-based, addons/plugins are usually Flash-based as well. Addons are not required but can make information more readily available or make your layout and functions more intuitive from the default one included with the game.

Three popular sites for getting addons would be:

• Curse[www.curse.com] - (client can handle easy install/update)
  
• SecretUI[www.secretui.com]
  
• TSW Official Forums[forums.thesecretworld.com]

Some of the more popular and/or handy addons I've had the pleasure/experience of using include (but not limited to):

• Topbar Informaton Overload - Places handy information or links on the topbar like location, tokens, inventory, friends, cabal, real time, game time, etc.
  
• EffectsUI - replaces the buff/debuff icon area with very configurable buff/debuff tracking
  
• Valyrie's Fashionista - create outfit sets that you can quickly switch through or generate random outfits (hilarious)
  
• BuildList - quick and easy-select list of your saved builds for quick switching
  
• AutoMU - automatically confirms any meetup requests.. great for events!
  
• Advanced TradePost - good tool for managing your personal bank, cabal bank and for selling/buying from the marketplace
  
• TSWACT - good interface addon for users of ACT (combat parser)

There are LOTS more out there that might be more of what YOU might need in an addon, go check out the sites!

Scripts/Macros are a relatively untapped resource available to all users, with a little groundwork. Ever see someone in chat with all the pretty colours in their text or some post a link to a popup window with information? That's one of the features of a script. running some commands (like emotes or auto-joining chat channels), infoview windows (those popups), chat colours, web links, etc. are just a few of the things you can accomplish through scripting. However, scripting isn't intuitively added into the game. You have to enable it and put some scripts in. There isn't a handy way to do it in-game without enabling a basic macro editor via command (/option chat_macro_window true OR /option chat_macro_windows 1) or a more robust macro editor addon.

Firstly, you to create a folder/directory called Scripts in your TSW install directory. (there usually isn't one created by default). Any file you place in there can be called from within the game. (ie. if your file is called OMGIWin.txt, you can type /OMGIWin.txt to run that script). To make your script more command-like, you can name the file without an extension (ie. OMGIWin becomes /OMGIWin)

Variables are shorthand ways to fill in various information without having to specifically hardcode them in your script.

%m = your character's nickname
%t = your target's nickname
%f = your combat target's nickname (name of mob)
%0 = script's name
%1 = the first word after the script name (a good way to inject some variables manually into a script) (you can specify even more.. ie. %2, %3, etc.)
%* = ALL the words you input after the script name (this could be helpful when used with a chat changer script)

/delay X (inserts a pause into a script, X = a numeric value, in milliseconds, where 1000 = 1 second.. so /delay 1000 would insert a 1 second pause)

/text (displays a text only to YOU, not regular chat)

/#[something] ([something] should be replaced with a chat channel.. ie /#Sanctuary would output text directly to the Sanctuary chat channel)

Pretty much any chat command can be output into a script/macro. (you can type / and then hit the TAB key to get a complete list of available chat commands)

Some script commands use a limited/restricted version of HTML. Some HTML commands work and others will not (this will be discussed below)

• Infoview popups and chat changes must all be on ONE LINE, if you need to insert carriage returns use the <BR> or ]\n command.
  
• Popups/Chat have a character limitation of 1900 characters though it is recommended to keep it under 1024 characters. Be warned: It may look just fine to you, but everyone else will get spammed with a wall of HTML text if you surpass this character limitation.
  
• Some common HTML cannot be used such as <B> (bold) and <I> (italic)
  
• You cannot have any quotation marks " between the initial <a href="text:// and ending ">. Doing so will interrupt/break the command link. However, if you need a literal quotation mark you can use the HTML code &quot; to print one up in your script
  
• You cannot have any single quote marks ' between the initial <a href='chatcmd:// and ending '>. Doing so will interupt/break the chat command link.
  
• You cannot use UTF-8 encoding. Use ANSI encoding instead.

This is just another name for chained together commands. They are subject to some of the limitations specified above when using Infoview or Chat changes but otherwise you just specify a command on each line (maybe with an ocassional /delay command)

There are various changes to chat that you can do that can be both handy and annoying to some. Use should be limited and not abused or you may find yourself on many people's ignore lists.
NOTE: Chat colour or font changes REQUIRE <a href="text:// and "> surrounding it.

COLOUR
Changing colours can be done with <font color=COLOUR>Your text goes here</font>
Colours can be specified by name (ie blue or red) or via hex colour codes (ie #00CCFF). You can find more HTML colour informaiton here: http://html-color-codes.info/
(ie. <font colour=blue>Blue text</font>)

FONT
Bold and italic codes may not work, but underline <U> </U> does work.
Changing fonts can be done with <font face=FONT>Your text goes here</font>
Font faces are limited but include:
NORMAL - Size 12
NORMAL_BOLD - Size 12
LARGE - Size 14
LARGE_BOLD - Size 14
HUGE - Size 15
TSWLARGE - Size 16
HYBORIANLARGE - Size 18
HEADLINE - Size 21
(ie. <font face=HEADLINE>Big azz text!</font>)

You can combine some of the chat changes
(ie. <font face=HEADLINE color=blue>Big blue azz text!</font>)

A useful script could be one like:
name it TextBlue and place in the Scripts folder:
You would then type in something like: /TextBlue Hey! Check out my blue text!
and it would output "Hey! Check out my blue text!" in blue in the say channel.

InfoView are in-game popup windows usually used to house information or links.
Remember, that InfoView windows must be contained within one line, are characters-restricted and use limited HTML codes.

Adding chat channel links: (chat commands are prefaced with <a href='chatcmd:// and '>)
join a channel - <a href='chatcmd:///chat join Sanctuary'>Join the Sanctuary channel</a>
tells - <a href='chatcmd:///tell Moon-Risen Thanks for the guide!'>Send Moon-Risen thanks!</a>
websites - <a href='chatcmd:///option WebBrowserStartURL &quot;http://google.com&quot; \n /option web_browser 1'>Search for help!</a>
centering text - use: <center> </center> or <div align=center> </div>

Alot of really complex and handy Infoview windows can be created. Here's a basic example of an InfoView script using a few concepts from above:

A useful and complex script used to help reduce lag during anniversary events or raids can be downloaded below (click link then save the file):
Lag Script[thelefthand.org]
Lagall Script[thelefthand.org]
You would dump those scripts into your Scripts folder and call them via chat by typing /lag to display the text only for yourself or /lag-all to display in your current selected channel.

One of the biggest issues I've experienced, as well as some of my cabal mates, is lag. Lag can come in various forms such as network latency (data up/download) or CPU/GPU lag (related to your processor and/or graphics card). There is no "one fix to rule them all". But, a combination of things might help some.

The easiest of the fixes can be done in-game via various settings and/or commandlines.

DirectX: By default, TSW tries to run via DirectX 11. This provides some of the nice visual bells and whistles, but doesn't necessarily run well on some GPU and OS combinations. One of the first fixes is to switch from DX11 to DX9. This can be accomplished directly from the patcher (Options button to the right, Client radial button option, DirectX 9/DirectX 11) or from the Settings (F10) menu -> Video Options -> DirectX version pulldown at the bottom of General tab - Note: this will require a client restart).
Advanced Graphics: Some of the extra pretty details are controlled by the advanced settings (Settings (F10) menu -> Advanced tab). The absolute minimum of settings of 0 in all fields and 1 in texture details will turn off extra stuff but preserve most of the game's looks.
Screen details: Some of these options will be unavailable if you switch to DX9, but if you didn't. Tessellation and SSAO can be heavy hitting if you don't have a decent enough graphics card. Turning them off or to the first setting (Ground only and Low Quality, respectively) will still make things look good without sacrificing performance. Other options like Anti-alias quality and Motion Blur can be turned on/off according to taste (Motion blur makes me queasy anyways but Anti-alias does help reduce some of those jagged edges). Note: Simply using the Overall Quality buttons at the top of the General tab will NOT set advanced settings to 0 even with LOW selected.

Due to TSW's use of Flash for much of the UI, TSW's UI can be rather CPU-intensive. Turning off some of these options can help reduce some CPU throttling.
Damage Numbers: These are the numbers that appear above/next to you and/or your target's head. These tend to be a strain on resources and recommended to be turned off. Settings (F10) -> Interface Options -> General Tab -> Damage Numbers (uncheck Show target damage numbers, player damage numbers, player heal numbers)
Nametags: Overall, this is harmless. but when you get into areas with alot of mobs or players, this can be taxing on the system since the client has to track everyone. Settings (F10) -> Interface Options -> Nametags tab. You can safely turn off all these options if you so choose and according to your preference
Buffs: Particularly on event bosses or raid/dungeon bosses, keeping track of buffs/debuffs on players and targets can cause some lag. Settings (F10) -> Interface Options -> HUD tab -> Buffs. Turning these off can help ALOT. If you absolutely need some info, it is recommended to turn off here and then get the EffectsUI addon to display buffs a bit more efficiently. Alternately, you can type in the folliowing command in your chat window to turn off target buffs: /setoption ShowBuffsonTarget false (you can turn back on by changing false to true)

NOTE: Because of the UI, it is a good idea to periodically /reloadui to refresh the UI, like after zone changes, during downtimes or if you start to experience a bit of lag. This doesn't always work for some folks, but,overall seems to help a number. It's worth trying.

Combat chat: You can easily disable combat chat by removing the Combat tab from your chat window area. This helps to reduce the network latency caused by the constant recording of combat details.

Particle Effects: These are the spell effects and the flashy colourful things. Turning these down/off can help with some lag, but may remove some important spell or AoE indicators.
Type the following command in the chat window: /setoption SpellEffect_DisplayLevel # (# = 0,1,2,3 or 4 depending on what you want to do: 0 shows ALL particles, 1 shows particles only for your raid, 2 shows particles only for your group, 3 shows only your particles and 4 turns OFF all particles)
Textures Range: Range of rendering textures. Type following command in the chat window: /setoption RenderSetting_HighQualityNPCRange # (# = 0-10: 0 = OFF, 10 = Fully ON)
Animations: PC/NPC animations range. Type following command in the chat window: /setoption RenderSetting_AnimationLODRange # (# = 0-60: 0 = OFF, 60 = Fully ON)
Grass: Rendering of Grass. /setoption RenderSetting_EnableGrass false (true to turn back on)
Foliage: Trees, shrubs, etc. kinds of foliage rendered around character. /setoption RenderSettings_RemoveFoliageAroundCharacter true (false to turn back on)

NOTE: After changing ANY of the advanced tweaks, be sure to use /reloadui for it to take effect properly!

These are the things you can do as a last ditch effort to reduce some lag. Some are impractical.. others may just be annoying.
Resolution: I play at 1920x1080 resolution, but turning down the game resolution can help reduce some of the graphics strain. Something like 1280x720 takes it down an HD notch, but should still be bearable and less of a strain on the system. Optionally, playing in windowed mode has proven to help some folks.
Away with thee, UI!: If all else fails, nix the UI for a little bit. This is helpful if you know your hotkeys by heart or just like to faceroll them. Alt-X will remove the UI (but keeps the chat window up still). Alt-Z removes the UI completely (usually good for taking screenshots).


These aren't necessarily the most feasible tweaks for some folks either due to familiarity with their OS or the price barriers. Just something to think about if you can do so.

1. SSD: Moving the game onto a SSD (Solid State Drive) away from a mechanical hard drive helps IMMENSELY with resource loading, load times, etc.
2. Defrag Drive: Defragging the hard drive helps clean up the file system some and can help speed things up. Defrag is beyond the scope of this document but usually in most Windows OS you can go to "My Computer", right-click on the drive that contains your game, go to Properties, then the Tool tab and choose Optimize or Defrag, etc. from there. If you don't find that.. check online for how to defrag your drives for your particular OS version.
3. Memory (RAM): If you have a 32-bit version of your OS, you can have a max of 3-4gb of RAM. It is best you have 4gb (tho your system doesn't take advantage of the FULL 4gb, it's a good idea to provide the most memory resources you can). If you have a 64-bit version, 8-16gb of RAM provides for more than enough memory resources for your system as well as the game.
4. Broadband Router/Modem: If you have a broadband router or modem, it's a good idea to periodically restart it. Error correction and bad packets tend to fill up a resource bit bucket and restarting the device can flush it and update IP's, etc. depending on your type of connection. Doing this usually results in a smoother internet connection and reduce your network latency. (I usually recommend doing this at least once a month or so).

Most, if not all, images contained in this guide are of Funcom's intellectual property of The Secret World and copyright belongs to them. Most, if not all, images are either in-game screenshots or publicly-available press kit image licensed for public use. I am not affiliated with Funcom nor TSW and claim no ownership of the materials or images contained herein.

Thanks to Funcom[funcom.com] for the awesome reality of The Secret World[thesecretworld.com].

Thanks to my cabal mates in -LEGACY-[login.guildlaunch.com]:

• Jabberwooky (Sleepz) <-- wouldn't have played this game without him wanting to play this first
  
• Lilienne (Deoxa)
  
• Wester0 (Wester)
  
• TheWildWing (Polly)