Scarab Online

Getting started

From download to your first steps in Memphis.

1. Install the launcher

Download the launcher for Windows, macOS or Linux from the download page. It installs Scarab Online, checks for updates every time you start it, and only swaps in a new version once it's fully downloaded and verified. Press Play and you're in.

On macOS the launcher isn't notarized yet, so the first time you open it macOS refuses: open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. On Windows, SmartScreen may ask: click More info and Run anyway. The download page has the details.

2. Create your account

On the login scroll, click Create account and pick a name and password. The server address is already filled in. Your name is how other players will know you, so choose well.

3. Khnum's Wheel

Ram-headed Khnum shapes every child of Egypt on his potter's wheel, and he shapes you first: body, hairstyle, skin, hair colour, tunic and kilt. Drag the figure to turn it. You can come back later from Settings → Change appearance.

4. Follow Thoth's guidance

Thoth, god of scribes, walks you through your first quest. His scroll in the top-left corner tells you what to do next, a golden arrow hovers over whoever you need to talk to, and a star marks the spot on your minimap. If you already know the way, hide it in Settings.

5. Born of the Reeds

You start on Reedmarsh, a little island in the Delta marshes, where Hapu the fisherman found you as a baby. Talk to him to begin Born of the Reeds. In short:

  1. Hapu gives you a Small fishing net. Catch a Raw tilapia at one of the rippling fishing spots around the island.
  2. Cook it in Meryt's clay oven and give it to her.
  3. Visit Old Tiye by the shrine on the west of the island. She wants proof you can fight: kill a Scarab beetle on the north shore.
  4. Tiye reads the glyphs on your amulet. Hapu gives you a letter: take the reed boat on the south shore to Memphis and deliver it to Vizier Ptahhotep at the palace.

The full walkthrough has every step.

6. Memphis and beyond

Memphis, the White Walls, is the capital and your home from now on. A few things to find there:

  • The temple storehouse: a Storehouse scribe shelves whatever you can't carry. Your satchel holds a weight, not a number of slots, so heavy ore fills it faster than fish.
  • The markets: food, tools, weapons and bows. Merchants barter: put your goods on their balance, take what you need, and they make up the difference in deben. See the merchants.
  • A patron god: pray at a shrine to bind your ka there (it's where you'll rise if you die), then choose a patron in the gods' tab. Its blessing is always on, and its Invocation (key Q) helps in a pinch.
  • The temple: a Priest restores your spirit, sells glyph tablets and explains Heka.
  • The palace: the Vizier has work for you: A Stranger in Men-nefer.

Tips from the river

  • Right-click everything. Left-click does the most likely thing; right-click lists every option, including Examine.
  • Eat when you're hurt. Cooked fish, bread and roast goose heal you. Bring food before a fight.
  • Stay on the green. The Nile valley is safe. The red desert beyond the cliffs is Deshret, where other players can attack you.
  • Switch crafts now and then. Each craft has Inspiration, bonus xp that refills while you do other things or are away. A glowing craft in your Crafts tab is inspired.
  • Use the wiki. Every item page says where it drops, who sells it and what it makes. The craft pages list what unlocks at each level and the title each rank brings.
  • Ask on the forums if you're stuck.