Monsters & Memories Beginner's Guide: Essential Tips for Surviving Your First Adventure

Monsters & Memories is a retro-style MMORPG, now in early access. If you're new to the game, you might find it quite different from modern MMORPGs.

There are no prominent quest markers, and no auto-navigation to tell you where to go next. Merchants may refuse to buy your loot, skills need to be learned and acquired on your own, and death means you have to retrieve the equipment left on your corpse yourself.

However, these mechanics aren't as complicated as you might think. Once you master the basic controls, learn to interact with NPCs, and gradually familiarize yourself with combat, trading, and party rules, you can smoothly begin your adventure.

Interface and Hotkeys

When you first enter Monsters & Memories, don't rush to leave town to fight monsters. Take a few minutes to adjust the UI, making chat, combat information, and NPC dialogue easier to read.

You can move or resize windows, and you can also create new windows and filter different types of messages through the right-click menu of the chat window. It's recommended to separate player chat and combat logs. NPC dialogues in the game often contain quest clues, which can be difficult to find later if they get lost in the constantly refreshing damage numbers.

Here are the most important keyboard shortcuts to remember early on:

• I: Open Inventory
• B: Open Ability Book to manage skills and spells
• J: Open Journal to view previous NPC dialogues
• H: Greet the target NPC
• C: Assess the danger level of a target
• Q: Toggle auto-attack
• F: Assist teammates in attacking their current target
• P: View skills
• Tab: Switch between nearby NPCs or enemies

Learning Skills and Preparing Spells

Before starting combat, make sure you have mastered your initial abilities. Having an ability scroll in Monsters & Memories doesn't mean your character has learned the corresponding skill; you need to scribe it to master it - open your inventory, right-click the scroll, and scribe the ability to the corresponding Ability Book category.

After scribing, you also need to memorize it to use it in combat. A character can prepare a maximum of ten abilities at a time, so prioritize skills suitable for your current level and combat needs.

In addition, spells usually allow characters to scribe ahead of time, even if their level is not yet sufficient; innates may require a specific level to learn. If a scroll cannot be spelled, first check if the ability type and level requirement are mismatched.

Finally, don't rush to spend all your gold on spells. Prioritize learning the abilities you currently need, reserving some funds for equipment, food, and other adventure supplies.

Find a Class Guild and Learn to Communicate with NPCs

After preparing your skills, the next step is to go to a class guild. Take out your Starter Note, find the corresponding guild master, and give them the letter. Class guilds usually provide beginner quests, skill training, and new ability scrolls.

Because there are no quest markers or auto-navigation in MnM, you need to learn to ask NPCs for directions. First, select a guard, press H to greet them, and then ask for directions. When the guard mentions your class, trainer, or a district, you can continue asking for the corresponding keywords.

Note that after finding an NPC, don't rush to skip the dialogue. Quest clues are usually hidden in specific words and descriptions. If you forget the dialogue, press J to open the Journal and review previous NPC conversations. Additionally, typing ooc in the dialogue box allows you to use out of character communication, letting you ask questions to all players in the current area.

Combat, Looting, and Merchant Trading

When you're ready to engage in combat, use Tab to select a nearby enemy, then press C to use Consider. The system will provide general information about the enemy's relative level, their attitude towards you, and the difficulty of the fight.

Once you've confirmed the target is suitable, approach the enemy and press Q to activate auto-attack. During combat, some of your combat skills will gradually improve with use; press P to view skill proficiency. After defeating an enemy, right-click on the corpse to collect loot and gain EXP.

As your loot increases, you'll quickly find your inventory space insufficient. Prioritize keeping useful equipment, quest items, and easily stackable materials; the rest can be sold.

When selling loot, be aware that different merchants have different buying preferences. Butchers usually buy meat and animal materials, while tailors prefer cloth and tailoring materials. These specialized merchants often offer more Monsters & Memories gold, while Shady Merchants, though with a wider acquisition range, may not offer the highest prices.

If a merchant refuses to buy an item, don't discard it immediately. Ask guards or other players to find a suitable place to trade.

Team Leveling and Quest Exploration

MnM emphasizes class complementarity; teaming up significantly reduces adventure risks. You can type lfg on in the chat to activate the looking for group status, letting other players know you're looking for teammates. You can also type who to search for online players, filtering by level, class, and region. For example:

who 10 20 LFG all

This command can be used to find players level 10 to 20 with the looking for group status activated, and to search for players outside your current region. Once you find suitable people, proactively send a Tell to ask if they'd like to team up. You can also open the social window and use the group finder to find recruiting teams.

Once in a team, remember the F key's assist attack function. Select a teammate currently in combat and press F to switch to the enemy they are attacking. This prevents you from being left to fight a separate monster while your teammates focus on a single target.

Corpse Recovery and Useful Commands After Death

Death in Monsters & Memories doesn't mean the end, but rather an essential part of the adventure. After your character dies, you will return to Bind Point, but your equipment and items will remain on your corpse at the death location. You will need to return there to retrieve them.

Therefore, when entering unfamiliar areas, pay attention to roads, ruins, towers, and special landmarks. If a battle is clearly unwinnable, retreat as soon as possible to avoid losing more time due to greed for experience.

If you have already died, you can ask other players for help. Some classes have resurrection abilities that can help you return to your corpse; some resurrection abilities may also restore lost experience.

You can also authorize other players to drag your corpse by typing consent in the dialogue box. For example, consent group allows party members to drag your corpse. However, this permission should only be given to trusted individuals; to revoke authorization, use deny followed by the player's name.

If your corpse expires, you don't necessarily mean your equipment is permanently lost. You can find NPC Optimistic Adventurer, who will recall your corpse to a designated location.

Additionally, if your character gets stuck and can't move, try rewinding, stuck, or unstuck. If you forget other commands, simply type help, and you can add keywords to search for relevant help.

Start by Learning to Survive

When you first enter Monsters & Memories, don't rush to study all the class mechanics, the trading system, and hidden quests. First, get the interface set up, learn initial skills, find a class guild, learn to judge enemy strength, and then gradually master loot management, merchant trading, and party formation.

Before leaving town, prepare food, water, and light. When you encounter problems, actively ask other players. When you see suspicious environmental clues, try using look. If you unfortunately die, don't forget that your equipment is still on your corpse; plan your route before retrieving it.

The truly attractive aspect of this game is that it encourages player interaction, observation, and exploration. As long as you are willing to learn the rules, try different methods, and help other adventurers, you can gradually adapt to this world full of unknowns and dangers.