Runes of Magic US / AU

It's a good game. Populations are low. With the upcoming future merges, hopefully, I would personally only recommend the proposed base servers which are Govinda and Artemis. And since the 2 servers which are forecast could turn into one when it finally comes about, Artemis is probably the safest choice. I have no idea how Artemis is doing right now or guild recommendations since I've never played on Artemis.

Once you download, there will be a bunch of patches. How many, I dunno, I haven't downloaded the full game in a while; but they don't repackage game with every patch, so there is always some.

Also, make sure that you set region to US, from game launcher . It defaults to EU, and a lot of new players get stuck at that point because they don't check that setting.

Finally, new zones are not that well populated, so it will be a little hard getting help at the start of game. Finding a good newbie guild should help you through the process of learning the game systems, getting some help with leveling, gear, etc. I dunno what there is on Artemis for new player. On my server, Reni, we have couple newbie friendly guilds. Perhaps an Artemis player can give you some recommendation.

Also, human starting areas are best place to learn the game systems. They are more straight forward than elven or dwarven areas. That doesn't mean your main should be human (elf is likely best choice, depending on role you want to play long term), but to figure out the game, I'd roll a human first.

Welcome to ROM.

Artemis has a couple good starting guilds being- Fractured, Corruption, Whitesharks, Orion, Nativepride... I know I'm missing some but yea, there are certainly places to go.

Upon joining the server type "/join Trade" (capital T) and you will be able to chat with most of the players online in that channel right away.