This is meant as a beginners guide/faq. If you find any info missing or wrong, please let me know and I'll correct it when I see it. Please let me know you're thoughts. Thanks!
I am making this for the benefit of my fc - we have a lot of folks who are under level 5/haven't even stepped foot in Eureka: Anemos yet, and trying to explain all the nuances from scratch multiple times while in Eureka is hardI'm going to reference them here.
What is Eureka? Is it like PotD?
Not really. It's like PotD inverted.
Instead of an indoor-dungeon type thing, you have a "home base" at the southern tip of this wide-open area/island that's absolutely full of monsters. You have mobs that will happily push your face through the back of your skull. Everything is aggro, and most are sight aggro (some are sound/blood/magic).
You are item level synced to ilvl300, so new 70's keep that in mind.
It's the beginning of the relic quest - offering ilvl 350 armor and 355 weaps.
What is Elemental Level
Or elvl for short. It's the new level/progression system used inside of Eureka: Anemos. The cap, currently, is 20. Each time you level up, you gain dmg in all of the 6 elemental categories. Eureka: Anemos also has a very interesting system where, the further the gap between you and a monster is, the more dmg is dealt/less is received - favoring the higher level.
For example, I did a midare: setsugekka for 350k on a level 1 at level 20 with all my magia attuned to the monsters weakness. The reverse is also true - I know someone who was under lvl 5 hit for over 400k by a lvl 2x monster.
However, a pic is worth a thousand words:
A: These are the elements I'm talking about. These numbers here are static, they increase with elvl. Of note: The 28% number next to fire. This means that, because I have a magicite in that first fire slot, I will do 28% more dmg to enemies weak to fire - or take that much less dmg vs fire based enemies. More on elements below.
B: Your elemental level and experience is at the top. It also shows how many magicite pieces you've collected so far (you get them at level 1, 3, 5, 13 and 17). You place them then confirm. Note: You can come back to this and move them around whenever you feel like it. You can also spin the magia board to take the magicite you've placed in fire (for example) and put them instead in a different element. Play around with it, you'll see.
C: These are the elements themselves.
How do elements fit into this? How do I know which element to use?
There are 6 elements, and they interact with each other - ice, fire, wind, earth, water, and lightning. The board really explains this better than words will, but to give you an example - earth is strong against lightning, and weak against water.
You are provided 1 magicite to begin with. Putting it somewhere via the Magia Melder will increase your effectiveness in that element by 28%. A good rule of thumb is this: If you're tanking, attune to the same element the monster you're fighting is attuned to. If you're DPS, attune to the element a monster is weak to. If you are heals, well, it's up to you.
Here are some examples.
First, I target a monster that is attuned to lightning and attack it while myself attuned to it's weakness - earth. Here are the results:
A: The weapon skill I used, you can see what it hit for when attuned to the monsters weakness - so the attack was enhanced.
B: Earth element - what I'm attuned to (you can see the number in there - 5 - showing this). Also note that it has a sword - that means "this is the element this monster is weak vs." You'll want to select this if you're dps, or a healer who wants to do some dmg.
C: Lightning element - what the monster is attuned to. Attuning to this reduce the damage you take from the monster - direct attacks, aoes, dots, everything.
This is what a tank would generally attune to to take less dmg. Note the "shield" - meaning attuning to this element will reduce dmg the monster does to you. You can see I have no magicite in this by the "0".
Here's that same attack again, this time attuned to lightning (or literally anything else):
A: Same attack as before, less than half as effective. Also note: Just above the "A" in my picture, you can see the monsters elemental affiliation.
B: What I'm attuned to. You'll see it has the shield, meaning I take less damage from the monster.
C: What the monster is weak against. You can see I have 0 magicite here, thus affecting my damage.
How do I level?
Well, it seems the original intent (and the way it started the first day of Eureka: Anemos) people would party up and chain-pull to get experience chains off monsters about +5 lvl to you. An "experience chain" is accomplished by killing multiple monsters within
However, it was "figured out" that the NM's give great experience - and that these are "popped" (summoned) by meeting certain conditions - most of which are simply "kill x of y mob" (though some are time of day/weather/combination dependent.)
What does this mean? Well, you're probably best off levelling up to level at least 3 by killing low level mobs solo or in a group. After that (or before, if you feel like it) you will join the "nm train".
Also of note is the Anemos Fairy. If you find it, it provides an aoe buff (it casts it every few seconds until it dies) you can stand in to get more xp off mobs (not nms), do more damage, and get a hot. It looks like this:
What's the nm train?
It's the term used to describe the amorphous mob that runs around genociding monsters until an nm pops, then throwing bodies at the nm until it dies - then moves on to the next nm spawn. You can usually get a group invite if you ask in /shout chat. Note: NM's are available to spawn (with 1 exception) every 2 hours after death (dependent on weather and other factors).
Example of an NM that's popped on the map:
Some things to note:
*The fates are 5 level's lower than the mobs that spawn them. For example, the above level 12 notorious monster is spawned by killing level 17 monsters. Also note that if you over level it you will have to level sync:
*You will not get loot if you are more than 1 level lower than the level of the fate. For example, if you were level 11 fighting the above level 12 fate, you'd be fine. If you were level 10, you'd only get xp (and only a reduced amount). Each fate is worth a set amount of xp, and how much of that pie you get is determined by how close you are to the level of the fate itself - with the xp amount capping once you achieve the same level as the fate.
*While chain killing monsters you will likely get no xp. This is due to the sheer amount of folks hitting it, as well as how much lower level you are than it. That's fine. High levels will not affect the xp you get from NM's.
*The amount of xp you get is also dependent on the rating you get - bronze, silver, gold. Be sure to at least hit the mob once before it dies so you get some credit.
What if I have a higher level friend to help me? Can they group up with me and power level me?
Well, that depends.
If they are within something like 6-7 elvls of you, yes, they can power level you by rounding up mobs, partied, and taking them out.
If they are higher than this, then they should do no dmg to the mobs and follow you around healing you (or flashing the mobs if they're pld) - just make sure you tag it.
What does "chaining" mean?
Once a monster of equal or higher level to you dies, a timer will start (for some reason I notice after the second mob, not the first) that basically means "If you can kill another one before this timer runs out, you'll get bonus xp and a better chance at loot." Chains can go to 30 before resetting. Chains 10/20/30 also award extra extra xp:
A: These are the buffs from the anemos elemental I was talking about earlier.
B: Protean crystals. Used to turn in for Anemos gear.
C: The chain number and time left to kill another monster.
How do I get loot? What loot can I get?
*Chaining mobs gives you protean crystals (used to acquire and start upgrading armor and weapon).
*NM's give you Anemos crystals (these are required for the final stage of the armor, not weapon, currently). These can be traded into Gerolt for 2-5 (random) protean crystals.
*NM's also give you anemos lockboxes. These can have a variety of things in them (fireworks, potions, minions, barding, mount).
Note - you must be of appropriate level to receive loot, otherwise all you receive is xp.
How do I get around?
You can mount after completing the full level 17 quest. You can use the atherytes at level 9.
Hope this helps, happy hunting!!