Linden Realms 101: A Beginner's Guide

Around Christmas 2011, I discovered the new Linden Labs area, Linden Realms. This was at a time when my computer was broken and I was on my six year old notebook and 1.23.5. Slightly bored (OK, mucho bored) with no opportunity to take photos or blog, I ventured over as Lani, my Gogo inspired alt, to see what there was to see. It took me awhile to figure out that the reason I was seeing blobs instead of objects is because I needed a MESH viewer.   OK. There is point one *wink*.  A few weeks after my computer was fixed, I ventured back over in the newest Firestorm release (mesh enabled) and it was a much prettier place. Shadows reigned and bright colors reminded me of Disney and childhood.

No matter how much research I attempted though, I couldn't find out anything that actually helped me understand Tyrah's realm. And so, I decided to make a post for all those that are interested, and especially the new folks. Not to leave Linden Labs out of the equation, here are the official FAQs.

Point 2:   You need to go to a Linden Realms Portal park in order to get to any of the game areas.

Here are the links as of the beginning of January 2012.

LR Portal Park1
LR Portal Park2 
LR Portal Park3
LR Portal Park4 (Spanish)

Once you enter the gateway from the Portal Park doorway to Tyrah's place you will be greeted with a message and a HUD will be attached. The HUD shows the amount of crystals you have collected as well as the current quest that is on your "To Do" list should you care to partake.

IMPORTANT: You will also get messages in chat from Tyrah as you work on quests. These are easily missed, so be sure and check your chat often. If you can read your chat while you are running from rock monsters? Even better.


Your first quest activity will be to collect a red, yellow and orange crystal and then bring them back to base camp and stand on the mechanical device in the workshop. Listen to what Tyrah tells you.

Update:  There are five quests in all. The first quest is actually the most difficult as you go all over the island and then get paid $3 *wink*. The next four you collect crystals (or use ones you have already collected), make flares and jog across the continent to light the four different canons. Once you have shot off all for cannons (just click the cannon when you are right next to it) your quests are done and you can go about collecting more crystals if you choose.

There is a known bug in the first quest -- or at the end. If you have gone to the Spire and received a message to "return to Tyrah's workshop and share your findings", you of course need to make it back to base camp. If standing around in the workshop garners no money or further instructions, you -- like many of us -- are stuck. I tried removing the HUD and entering through another portal park to a different instance. Eventually I found one that worked. For me it was Portal Park 4 and instance 7. So give that a try if you are stuck. 

There are five types of crystals to collect. Greens and blues are rare and pay $1 and $2 each respectively. You need 50 crystals of the red, yellow, orange variety to turn in. They pay $1, $2 and $5 per grouping. Now this sounds like it is almost a worthless activity. I mean 50 crystals to make a linden? BUT, it is also lots of fun. And at the end of a morning, with some practice and a plan, you can make $50 or more. Better than a kick in the pants.

There are various dangers in Tyrah's domain, most notably the rock monsters who patrol a good portion of the land -- especially the crystal fields. While they look friendly enough in patrol mode, they get fierce when they come close to getting you. One of the first rules of Linden Realms is ALWAYS RUN!.  Ctrl + R toggles running and you can also use the run icon in your movement control pad.

When you get caught by a rock monster, fall into the toxic water, get flamed by some nasty, seemingly live fireballs etc., you get taken to a nearby resurrection circle.  You do not lose any crystals. There is no mandatory rest period.

Sometimes this trip is a "good" thing as it may be close to the area you are heading to. It is also a place that is always safe, so if you want to take a real life break without having to come back through a portal, this is a good place to park yourself. The base camp buildings and close environment are also safe havens. Beware though, not too far from the buildings, the rock monsters patrol.

There are plenty of other places to stay safe. Finding a spot within some sculpties (or even inside) works. Standing close by a big rock most often times will not. Water edges are often safe havens.

Crystals clusters reappear in the same areas.  It doesn't take long at all for the less precious one. So sticking around in a relatively secure area and watching the pattern is a good plan. Greens and blue appear in reoccurring spots; it just takes longer.

Each person finds their own adventure in The Realms. It isn't for everyone of course. It is a game within a game. Pick your own challenge. How many crystals can you get in an hour? Can you make it through the cavern without getting sent back to a resurrection circle? How many quests can you complete?

The portals lead to different instances of Tyrah's, but they are all very similar; not quite exact, but with so few differences you probably won't notice.