UI Elements Introduction in ArcheAge

The UI is one of the most important aspect of any game. If you don’t like the look of the UI then it can be difficult to enjoy the game. Fortunately the UI in ArcheAge does have customization options. Upon logging into the game your UI will look something like the picture below. I have also provided a key that explains what each of the UI elements are.

1. Skillsets - Just above the health and mana bars there will be 1-3 icons, depending on your character level. These icons display your current skillset and it is visible to other players. If you mouse-over it you will see your current mix of skill trees.

2. Chat - This is where you will see the various chat channels of the game. These include Trial, General, Faction, Trade, etc. You can move this to anywhere you wish by clicking and dragging the All tab to the desired location on the screen. You can also re-size the chat box by mousing over the edge of the chat box until you see the re-size icon. Chat can be customized further by right clicking on the relevant tabs and selecting tab settings.

3. Mini-Map Settings - As I am sure you can tell the mini-map on the screenshot is a bit large. This can be adjusted by clicking on the L button at the top of the UI, just above where I have the number 3 on the picture. This allows you to toggle between 3 map sizes; small, medium and large. To the right of the size button there is a mini-map settings button. This allows you to hide the mini-map and gives you the choice to show or hide icons on the mini-map.

4. Time - The bar at the top right of the UI indicates the current game time. This is NOT a measure for real life time, it moves much faster. The game time provides a new dynamic that allows for certain events to only occur at specific times of day or night. An example is a group of Undead enemies and quest givers that only appear at night. You can mouse over the bar to get the current game time.

5. Action Bars - As expected, the action bars will contain your skills. The picture above is a reflection of how your action bars will look when first creating a character. Abilities worth a mention is the Dash ability at the Shift + 1 position. The gives you a boost in move speed at the expense of mana. You can also activate this by pressing the W key twice in quick succession.  Shift + 9 is your Recall ability which will teleport you to your resting point. The = key is your Teleport Scrolls. As you explore the zones you will unlock locations that you can teleport to with a Hereafter Stone, a material that can be crafted by Stonemasons or purchased on the store. You can move the action bars by clicking and dragging them and you can add additional action bars in the Options > Shortcuts menu.

6. Labor Points - Labor is a very important resource in ArcheAge. Crafting, gathering, fishing, etc all require labor points. You start out with a low amount of Labor points but for every 100 Labor you spend, you get 10 added to your total cap. Labor is regenerated at a rate of 10 Labor every 5 minutes when online and 5 Labor every 5 minutes while offline. Free players will not have any Labor generation while offline and will have reduced Labor generation compared to Patrons when online. There other ways to restore Labor, such as resting in a bed, but this costs Gilda Stars which is a currency that you will not have to spare for quite some time. You can also purchase a Worker’s Compensation potion from the in game store which will restore 1000 labor but this has a 12 hour cooldown.

7. Menu Shortcuts - Finally we have a bar of icons at the bottom right of the UI. These are buttons that you can click on to access specific menus such as your character sheet, the quest log, profession recipes, skills window and more. If you ever manage to get stuck then you can free yourself by opening the skills window (K), clicking on the Basic tab and using the Escape ability. After a period of time it will teleport you to the nearest respawn point.