Please note that this guide is written for players who do not intend to purchase mushrooms with real money.
FAQ
Q: How should I spend my mushrooms?
A: If you want to increase the amount of quests you can do, you should save it for the gryphon mount (25 mushrooms over 14 days). Gryphon doubles the amount of quests you can do over 14 days. A combination of the raptor/tiger and beer still should not beat the gryphon. Should you have under 25 mushrooms and no mount, then you should buy a raptor or tiger (30% mount).
Q: How should I allocate my stats?
A: 1 luck is worth approximately 40% of your primary attribute. 1 Cons is worth approximately 80% of your primary attribute. The other two attributes are worth about 10% of your primary attribute. Allocate points accordingly. Try to keep cons about 60-80% of your primary attribute.
Eg:
If you're a mage, the importance of stats goes in this order:
Intelligence
Constitution
Defence/ evasion
Q: What should I buy from the weapon or magic shop?
A: Do not purchase any items that cost mushroom(s). Otherwise, always upgrade your current equipment whenever possible selling your old item. It is optimal to buy cons, primary attribute, and eternal life potions whenever they become available.
Q: When should I use potions?
A: It’s a good idea to stack them and use them all at the same time to make some progress with dungeons. Otherwise, feel free to use them whenever. Another option is to use them when you get a new one to replace the old one.
Q: Is arena good?
A: Arena is fun but it is not a good source of income. Honor does not help your character other than the achievement stats. Just remember to do arena with as little gold as possible.
Q: Should I take quests which give exp or gold?
A: It's recomended to take gold. It makes it easier to buy stats, which are then needed to complete better quests. Taking exp gives will eventually mean less successful quest completions, so it's not recommended. Take the quests in the following priority: Superior equipment, best gold ratio, dungeon key, low time.
Edit: Some people believe what is written above, but it's not completely true. EXP always outclasses gold, but if you take quests with high EXP reward only, you will fall behind eventually, leading to losses from low levels. You should keep it balanced.
If you're going for a "cookie cutter" build, meaning you don't want to think too much about the missions you do, then you should probably go for the method cited above the edit, since if you keep going for gold your equipment will always keep getting better, meaning that you won't fail missions or lose to low levels. The only downside to this is that you're not going the optimal route, but going for the optimal route is a tiring process, you should decide which route you want to go depending on the time you want to allocate to the game.
Q: Should I do dungeons higher than my current level?
A: Because the epic drops from dungeon monsters are rare (25%), it is expected that you do not get an epic item. Therefore you do not lose much from completing a dungeon earlier than your current level. Try to save the last stage since you are guaranteed an epic drop.
Gameplay
(Good guide for the gameplay, but probably too long to read: http://forum.sfgame.us/showthread.php?t=6986)
Level 1-3:
(Do not buy a mount yet)
Take the quest that takes the least time. Should there be a tie, take the quest that gives fewer exp. You want to maximize your mushroom chances in the early stages of the game. Upgrade stats accordingly. Note that mounts do not reduce quests below a minute.
Level 4-9:
(Save up for the raptor mount (-30% quest time))
By now the quests should take a fair amount of time to complete so it is necessary to reduce the time per quest by using a mount. We will be saving the gryphon mount for another time. For now the raptor mount will suffice. Use above guidelines to take quests but do not use gold to upgrade stats. Once you get 10 gold, buy the raptor.
Level 10-30:
Always take the quest that gives a superior item or a dungeon key first.
With gryphon mount: Take the best exp 2.5 minute quest. Otherwise take the quest with the best exp/time ratio.
With raptor mount: Take the quest with the best exp/time ratio.
Level 30+:
If you been taking high exp/time ratio then try do high gold quest to blance it out until level 32.
Tips
Guilds
Try to join a guild with exp/gold bonus as soon as possible starting level 9-10. It drastically improves your questing results. You can do this by clicking hall of fame and then guild. A guild also regularly attacks another guild. The experience is as good as a medium 10 minute quest. This happens twice a day.