Dust 514: Starters Guide

To Begin

If you have played Eve then the process of Character Creation in Dust will be very familiar to you.

There are the four established races to choose from, Gallente, Caldari, Minmatar and Amarr. You can choose one of the three the bloodlines for each race and then the gender.

Gallente Bloodlines are Gallente, Intaki and Jin-Mei.

Caldari Bloodlines are Civire, Achura and Deteis.

Minmatar Bloodlines are Sebiestor, Vherokior and Brutor.

Amarr Bloodlines are Amarr, Ni-Kunni and Khanid.

Specialties

You are now given the choice of four starting specialties. These give you a starting skill set up but you are not limited to any particular form of career progression or skill progression and are the same across all races.

Arbiter (Sniper)

Dropsuit Command I

Weaponry I

Combat Engineering II

Sniper Rifle Operation I

Shield Enhancements I

Shield Boost Systems III

Enforcer (Assault)

Dropsuit Command I

Weaponry I

Assault Rifle Operation I

Circuitry III

Nanocircuitry I

Grenadier I

Scrambler Pistol Operation I

Sentinel (Heavy)

Dropsuit Command I

Weaponry III

Swarm Launcher Operation I

Field Mechanics II

Armour Upgrades I

Armour Repair Systems I

Artificer (Logistics/Medic)

Dropsuit Command I

Weaponry I

Circuitry III

Nanocircuitry I

Sub Machine Gun Operation I

Field Mechanics II

Now you are presented with a choice of four avatars for your Dust Merc to represent you to others and then decide on a name. Remember that this character will be searchable in Dust 514 and Eve so the usual rules apply. It will also have to be a unique name.

Once this is done you'll arrive in a familiar looking room.

File:Mquaters.jpg

Mercenary Quarters

This where you spend your time while not playing the game. Like the Captains Quarters in Eve you can walk around the room and interact with the displays and devices. You can also call them up on the Neocom by pressing L1.

Neocom

The Neocom, like its counterpart in Eve is the hub of your Merc's life in New Eden. Once called up, you can use either the left stick or the D-pad to select the menus and tunnel into them and out using the X and O buttons.

It currently has the following submenus.

Battle

Here you will find the Battle Finder. This lists the current game types available. Currently listed are just Instant Battles, Ambush and Skirmish.

Mercenary and Corporation are unavailable at this time.

Character

Here is where your Character Sheet, Skills and Augmentations are found

Fitting

Both Dropsuit and Vehicle fittings are listed and can be created/edited

Market

The Marketplace is here. This is where you buy everything you need for your fittings and Skill Books Your assets are also listed here.

Social

Chat, Contacts, Mail and Leader-boards can be found here.

Corporation

My Corporation, Search and Create Corporation can be found here.

System Operation

Options. This is where you'll find all the settings for gameplay in Dust 514.

Help

Instructions, Tutorials, the loading Movie and Legal notices are here.

Social and Chat

Pressing the select button on your PS3 Controller will bring up your Chat Channels. Again using the left stick or D-Pad and using X and O to tunnel through the menus shown above.

Chat Channels work exactly the same as on Eve and are an important tool in constant use.

Notifications

Mails, chat requests and when you've added someone to your Contacts list appear here.

Local

Exactly the same as in Eve. Talk to Merc's and Capsuleers in Local.

Corp

Exactly the same as in Eve. Chat to your corp mates. Using Aurum from the Playstation Shop you can purchase a 30 day UVT (Universal Voice Transmitter) which allows voice chat in Corp should you tire of typing.

Squad

Allows the creation of a 4 man squad with you as Squad Leader. Invite up to 3 Merc's from your contacts list to join you in some mayhem.

A UVT is NOT required for squad chat. Simply highlight the Squad channel with your D-Pad, press X and select Activate voice to hear and speak to to members of your squad. They also need to activate voice in their client to do the same.

+

This is where you add or create your own Chat Channels, Such as Chat.D-UNI. Any chat Channels you join or create will remain active till you close them, including shutting down the PS3. The channel will load back up automatically next time you play Dust.

Voice Chat

Currently in the beta, voice chat is off by default.

Assuming that your headset is set up correctly on your PS3 system settings before loading up Dust 514, then this is how to activate it.

Call up your Neocom by pressing L1 and using the D-pad highlight System Operations and press X. By default the first page of options is Audio.

Ensure that Voice Chat is enabled and push to talk is off. Even if you don't have a mic, activate voice chat. This ensures that you hear any orders given by your squad leader if in Squad chat or the whole team in Team Chat.