IdleWorlds can feel overwhelming when you first arrive. There are skills, zones, a player market, crafting queues, zone control, leagues, and a progression system that spans dozens of gear tiers. This FAQ covers the questions new players ask most often, in plain language, without assuming prior knowledge of any particular idle game tradition.
**What should I do first?** Start Mining. Mining is the foundation of the economy and feeds directly into Smithing, which gears your character for combat. Once you have your first few Mining levels and a stack of ore, queue your first Smithing session to craft basic gear. Then use that gear to start running combat zones. The core loop of Mine → Smith → Fight → progress will carry you through the early game.
**Do I have to be online for my character to progress?** No. That's the core premise of IdleWorlds. Queue a session, set it running, and your character works while you're away. Sessions can run for hours or days depending on your settings. When you come back, your character has accumulated resources, XP, and any loot from the session. The game is explicitly designed around the assumption that you will not be present during most of your character's activity.
**What is the player market and how do I use it?** The market is where players buy and sell resources, gear, and consumables using in-game gold. You can list items from your inventory to sell, or buy items listed by other players. The market is the fastest way to fill gaps in your resource supply — if you need Tier 7 ore but your Mining isn't there yet, buy it. If you have a surplus of something you no longer need, list it. Market prices are set entirely by players.
**What is SSF mode?** Solo Self-Found is an optional league type where your character cannot use the player market. Everything you use must be gathered, crafted, or dropped by your own character. SSF is significantly harder but considered the purest test of skill progression in IdleWorlds. SSF characters have a separate leaderboard and their achievements are marked with [SSF] in world chat. You can choose SSF at character creation — it cannot be switched later.
**What are Arcane Caches and should I open them?** Arcane Caches are craftable containers that drop a randomized reward when opened. They require Spellcrafting to craft and contain a guaranteed base of potions and Arcane Orbs, plus a bonus roll for passive items, trinkets, or cosmetics. For most players, saving Arcane Orbs until Spellcrafting is high enough to craft Tier 5+ caches is the best approach — the bonus roll rewards are substantially better at higher tiers.
**How does Zone Control work?** Zone Control is the monthly competitive layer of IdleWorlds. Players compete to contribute the most combat activity to each world zone. At the end of the month, the top contributors to each zone receive payout rewards scaled to their contribution rank. You do not need to win Zone Control to benefit from it — even mid-ranked participation pays out meaningfully. Just keep combat sessions running in your best available zone and your ranking will accumulate naturally.
**Is there a way to communicate with other players?** Yes. World chat is accessible in-game and shows messages from all players in your league (Standard or SSF). Rare events like unique trinket drops and cache cosmetic finds are automatically announced in world chat. You can also join the IdleWorlds Discord community for real-time discussion, trading, and game updates from the development team.