How to play guide for Covens

What is the objective of Covens?
Explore the world. Gather items to empower your magics. Banish spirits and practice your spells on other witches. All of these things will prepare you to battle in the world’s many Places of Power and rise among the ranks of a new generation of witches.

How do I become strong?
Witches can become more powerful by gaining higher level, more points of power and resilience, increasing their base energy and unlocking more spells.

Gaining Experience and Levels

 * Experience points are awarded to players for activities like banishing wild spirits, completing daily objectives, wining Places of Power and casting spells, additional activities can also reward experience and there are new sources of experience added to Covens with every season. One example of additional activities that reward experience is addition of world bosses in Winter Season 2019, they among other things award large amount of experience to witches that manage to defeat them.

The in-game store has 3 Elixirs of Experience.


 * Level is a number that represents witch overall skill and experience, after witch accumulates enough experience points they gain a level. Until level 5 for each level that witch gains they are rewarded with bonus 1000 energy to their base of 10000 energy, after level 5 each new level will no longer reward energy increase but instead witches will gain point of power or resilience.

Power and Resilience

 * Power is a stat in Covens that increases damage done by 5% for every point and can be obtained from alignment, rewarded for leveling and can be temporarily increased as a limited time buff from spells. Power can also be reduced with temporary debuffs from spells.
 * Resilience is a stat in Covens that reduces damage done by 5% for every point and can be obtained from alignment, rewarded for leveling and can be temporarily increased as a limited time buff from spells. Resilience can also be reduced with temporary debuffs from spells.


 * After level 5 you will gain 1 point of Power on every even numbered level and 1 point of Resilience on every odd numbered level.

Energy



 * Energy is the life force of all witches, you use your energy to cast spells, summon spirits, project yourself in astral form, and do all things witchcraft. If you lose all your energy you will enter the Death State.


 * If you are low on energy, you can fly around and collect energy from the blue little bottles available on the map.

Spells
Spells allow witches to deal damage, restore energy, or manipulate other characters as well as apply effects that will affect the target in a variety of ways. Spells are divided into 3 schools of magic: White, Shadow, and Gray.

Not all spells are available to witches when they start the game. As they level up, they will unlock new spells.

Some spells are only available to witches that master one of the alignment paths.

List of spells that witches can obtain in Covens:

What happens when I'm out of energy?
Once your energy is reduced to 0, you are sent to your physical location and you enter what is called the Death State. While in the Death State, your actions are limited, so you are unable to do anything but use the in-chat. If you want to see how you entered the Death State, you can check the Event Log.



How do I exit the Death State?
To exit the Death State you have several options at your disposal:


 * You can pay Savannah Grey 1 Gold Drach, and she will instantly restore you to full energy.
 * You can wait for the 1 hour Death State timer to run out, after which you will be revived with a small portion of your energy.
 * You can wait for Savannah Grey's daily blessing, which will restore you to your full base energy.
 * You can share your location in chat and ask other players to revive you by using either Grace or Resurrection. Both spells can only be cast on witches in the Death State, and only players above level 5 have access to these spells.

To share your location in any of the chats, tap on the map pin    next to the send ➤ button. To properly get the revive, healing, or help that you need, it's best to send a message in the chat with what is needed before you send your location.

To go to another player's location in any of the chats, tap on the map pin   next to the "go to location" in the chat.



Can I play alone, or do I need to be in a Coven?
Being in a coven provides a witch with a private chat with the coven members, a power & resilience buff when other witches from your coven are online & nearby, and allies you can call upon when facing the challenges too difficult to face on your own. However, a witch can play Covens without joining the coven and will not be blocked from any content inside the game.

How do I change my alignment (shadow, white and grey)?
When witch first starts the game they are aligned with Grey School of magic, from that point onward every spell that witch cast from White and Shadow school will affect their alignment and attune them to those schools, casting spells from Grey school will not affect players alignment.

Moon Phases affect all witches in Covens and on days when Moon is illuminated 🌕 White witches gain benefits of more energy while when Moon is in the shadow of the Earth 🌑 Shadow witches gain more energy.

The in-game store has an Elixir of Alignment.

Grey Witch

 * A Grey Witch is a witch that follows Grey path and sits between White and Shadow schools by casting an equal amount of White and Shadow spells. Although these witches do not benefit from bigger energy restoration or higher damage, they are less affected by the changing of the Moon's phases and they have higher success rates for their spells.

White Witch

 * A White Witch is a witch that follows the White path and mostly casts spells that belong to White school of magic. These witches are better suited to restore energy and are most powerful when the Moon is illuminated by the light of the Sun.

Shadow Witch

 * A Shadow Witch is a witch that follows the Shadow path and mostly casts spells that belong to Shadow school of magic, these witches are better suited to deal damage and are most powerful when the Moon is darkened by the shadow of the Earth.

What is a covens tournament?
In Covens, each season (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) is a tournament. Each tournament is judged by the arbiters of the Grey Hand coven in the name of Dea Savannah Grey. The witch and coven with the most points at the end of each tournament wins, but many awards are given for high placement within the ranks. The criteria for gaining points may change from tournament to tournament, as well as the titles given to exemplary witches. The final two weeks of every tournament is called the Ember Days. During the Ember Days, the rules may change significantly. The nature of these changes will be shared before the start of the Ember Days. The next set of Ember Days will begin on March 6, 2020.

What is the Leaderboard?
In the Leaderboard, we list the strongest witches and covens of the world according to the judgement of the Grey Hand coven. We consider many factors, including your experience, your success in Place of Power battles, your mastery of spirits, your knowledge of the three schools of magic, and your use of spell ingredients. Top witches and covens will be awarded prizes at the end of each seasonal tournament, and your score will reset.

How do I get Silver and Gold Drachs?
Silver and Gold Drachs are the currency used by witches in Covens to pay for various services and trade with Madame Fortuna. Both of these currencies can be purchased from the in-game store, but they can also be acquired by playing the game.

Drachs are an ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries.

In-game store prices for Silver and Gold Drach are as listed below:




 *  Silver Drachs  are obtained from banishing wild spirits, completing Daily Achievements, opening the chest reward for completing all three Daily Achievements, turning in forbidden tools to Grey Hand Coven, gaining levels, and fighting in Places of Power.


 *  Gold Drachs  are a reward for a witch that manages to win a Place of Power battle, and there is a small chance for a witch to earn 1 or 5 Gold Drachs when opening chest reward for completing all three Daily Achievements.




 * Daily Achievements are in three categories:
 * 1) Explore — fly to a location
 * 2) Gather — collecting ingredients
 * 3) Spellcraft — cast some spells at specific targets with or without adding ingredients.



How do ingredients work?
Ingredients are collectible items that can help or harm your spells; this is due to their properties. Some items have a clear indication of what branch of witchcraft they're best suited for by their descriptions, while others can be more cryptic.

Each spell in Covens has a signature of a gem, a tool, and an ingredient.

Should you ever get yourself in need of some ingredients and can't seem to find any to collect, there are 3 different packs of ingredients that can be purchased from the store using in-game currency.

Why can't I cast spells or summon spirits?
There are many reasons you may not be able to cast spells or summon spirits, such as:


 * Not enough energy to cast
 * Not enough ingredients to cast
 * Cooldown time not over yet
 * Lag (this is easy to tell by the cooldown time not moving while the icon is faded out or the game telling you to wait)
 * You casted a damage causing spell on a witch outside of a PvP area, which led to you getting spell blocked

The Rules in Covens
To help make sure that players are well-informed, here are the in game rules for Covens. Everyone deserves a fun & safe environment to play this beautiful game.

How to Cast Spells with Ingredients
1. After you tap on your target, tap on the spell book.



2. Tap on the spell's description then tap on the chest.



3. Tap on the ingredient(s) that you want to add, then tap on the spell symbol.



How to set up Quick Cast

 * 1) Tap on the     next to Quick Cast to have the hot bar drop down.

2. Tap and hold the hot bar slot you want to change.

In the example below, we're changing the last slot. 3. Tap on any of the available spells you wish to cast easier and faster.

Tips and tricks
First and foremost, if you have any questions about anything, check out the Witch School videos for more information. You can locate the Witch School but tapping on Settings      on the lower right side of the screen.


 * Witch School videos is available to watch at Raincrow Studios Covens YouTube channel.

Asking questions in the World chat is always welcome and there are plenty of other witches that may be able to answer.

When you first get started playing the game, you should really spend time exploring the immediate area and see what's around.


 * You should start collecting any of the ingredients you may find as it will be essential to have what you need to cast spells and summon spirits.
 * You will want to banish (attack and kill) a Familiar spirit as they will help with banishing other spirits. Recommendations: Barghest and Lares (both are easiest to find).

  Wild spirits are located around the world in their native environment, so you should probably see the List of Spirits for more information on each one!

    In the beginning, we recommend that players focus on fighting and discovering Lesser spirits so that they do not die as often in the game.


 * Greater, Superior, and Legendary spirits will become easier to defeat after level 5 but if you do choose to go after them, have other witches help you and make sure you are the one to defeat them and pick up the ingredient if it drops one. This will make sure that you are the one who gains the knowledge to defeat them.


 * All spirits have an expiration date of 1 hour. If you are going to be actively attacking spirits or witches during that 1 hour, you can always cast Bless on your spirit to improve their health. The weaker the spirit, the shorter they will last.

Healing Etiquette

 * If you asked for a revive because you died or you asked for healings because you're low on energy, please be kind by returning the favor and heal whomever is healing you.


 * If you are a Shadow witch, casting Bless will NOT affect your alignment - so if you are revived by a helpful witch, you should cast Bless and that way you both are being healed.
 * At level 7, you learn the spell Greater Bless. Both Bless & Greater Bless looks like this:  , so Shadow witch, be careful not cast Greater Bless as it WILL affect your alignment.


 * Please do not take advantage of the witch who is healing you and start attacking spirits (unless the helpful witch agrees to continue with healing you).


 * If you want to help out with a healing request but you have any spirits summoned, fly to the location with a healer spirit   or no spirit at all.


 * Also, before you start attacking spirits you see pop up out of nowhere, take a good look at the spirits around you when other witches are near you.
 * Tapping on the spirit and looking at the bottom of the description box will tell you if that spirit belongs to another witch.

Location Tips
To send your location in any of the chats, tap on the map pin    next to the send  ➤ button.


 * To properly get the right help that you need, (i.e. revive, healing) or if you see a spirit that other witches may need to defeat, it's best to send a message in the chat with what is needed before you send your location.


 * For example: "I'm dead." or "heals please." or "Legendary spirit here!".

To go to another player's location in any of the chats, tap on the map pin </i>    next to the "go to location" in the chat.

Maintenance/Updates Notes
Updated on July 28th, 2020: New server transfer.

Current bugs/glitches:
 * 1) A LL spirits are not behaving normally (summoned spirits do not do what they usually do & attacked wild spirits do not attack back and do not move/patrol from their spot). Update (end of August 2020): Some spirits are behaving normally, some are still behaving as stated above.
 * 2) Map dots are missing (makes it harder to locate items, spirits, and other witches).
 * 3) If you are in Flying/Spirit mode for too long, you may have to restart your game (remedy this by taking shorter flights, also you may try to minimize the game/bring up the window of the running apps on your device and then tap back into the game to resolve this issue).
 * 4) Leaderboard is not updating (currently displayed rankings are not correct, especially when some of the top players have not been playing since the server update).
 * 5) on August 4th, 2020, Daily Achievements/Quests are bugged: tapping in each category makes the quests change to a variety of quests. Makes quest completion impossible. (see a small video clip of the vicious cycle of quests in the Covens Discord server under the #support channel)
 * 6) On August 9th, 2020, the spells you cast are taking a lot longer time to actually cast. It seems to be lagging and it is significant enough that several people have been addressing the issue in World chat. So, be prepared - it'll take a little bit of time. (see a small video clip of the spellcasting lag in the Covens Discord server under the #support channel)
 * 7) Around the end of August 2020, the game lag is so frequent, the "Please Wait" message will pop up on screen at various times. Also, many players have been stuck at the "Please Wait" message to the point of the game kicking players out of the game. Players have to input their login info to get back in. Some have to do this multiple times a day.