Neutral Starter Missions
Arete Landing teleports everyone to ICC HQ. ICC is neutral in the conflict, so ideologically aligned with Neutral players, but not so much politically aligned. Neutrals true centers are Borealis and Newland City. The missions begin in Borealis and move to Newland. It has been perfunctorily tested that you can do some of the missions out of sequence, but they may not progress as planned by the developers if not done in a chain. You can even do the same quests again.
Anarchy Online's skill system works differently to other games, allowing items to give you for an increase in power that is not about percentage points of derived statistics, but enables you to effectively operate as if you were higher level, apart from hit points and nano pool, and of course even that can be arranged.
To put it another way: In another game, you may become able to use a new attack once you gain a level. Items you find might make that attack more effective. In AO, levelling will give you some more Skills, enabling new attacks, but items can give you enough skills to use an even higher level of attack.
Aleksei Innokenti in Borealis (685,475). If you played Clan or Omni, you will recognize Peter Roland (690,480). One credit is enough to begin his task to obtain a Vagabond Cloak from the Condemned Subway. You will want to do this later, as the only entrance to the Subway that still operates is in ICC HQ. You can give him a credit multiple times and in return, each time, along with joke banter, he'll give you a new mission for another Cloak, and reward you with a Lock Pick, money and XP each time you give him one.
Aleksei is first the chain of missions that used to be the means of teaching players about giving items to NPCs, tradeskills, Traveling etc. He sends you on a journey to deliver a Basic Bio-Comminutor to Ina Charlotta Kern who is also in Borealis (650, 650).
Ina already bought a new comminutor; her old one is now yours, and she has a new task: take a Borealis Mutant Population Study to Sprysi D'Lere who is in Newland City (410,310). Use the Whom-Pah in Borealis to reach Newland City.
Sprysi has two tasks; get both. One is for the Food Provider outside the West gate of the City, just a bit to the west on the banks of the lake in the Newland Area (1080,430), and the other is for Master Divenchy far in the desert to the northwest Newland (900 x 860, near the crash site north of the lake). Divenchy is a well spoken man who is enthusiastic about his work: designing Social Clothes. He is also going to be the target of a quest from the Food Provider, so tend to the Food Provider's request first so you can do both the missions in one trip.
Leona's Quest). South West of the Food Provider are Chirops who drop Eggs 100%. Chirops are what is called Social in AO: they will join in a fight even if they are not themselves attacked, if they see one of their kind attacked. Some social monsters even join in on any species' fight. 5 Small Chirop Eggs later (pack rats who have not discovered Backpacks at the local Container terminal will find this part difficult), the Food Provider gives a 2x NCU Belt, and a Bronto Burger for Master Divenchy. There are a lot of aggro mobs on the way; you could suicide back to the Insurance terminal if putting XP in the pool to earn back sounds better than walking.
For the two quests at once, Master Divenchy gives a Floating Torch, ostensibly a different burger, and a Sonic Analyzer to bring to the Good Time Party Mixer in Newland City (465,340). Divenchy can start paid players on Social Clothing missions. And the GTPM has the Living Cyber Armor mission, as well as the final mission in this series. Both of the missions involving the GTPM are on the humorous side, with a Karaoke microphone and a Leet Doll as rewards. Leets are part of the AO lore, a satire of 1337 (elite) gamers, with their leet-speak in ALL CAPS. Take the Whompah not the Grid; it is closer to the GTPM and Aleskei is on the south side of the city. Once you get back to Aleskei you will be rewarded with A Leet Doll.
External Links
Classic AO Guides - Quests Guides: Omni Start-Up Quests on AO Universe Mr Blake & Omni Barracks on Arcanum. The quick & dirty way to get that backpack
