For those not in the know, Ingress is a Google created (Niantic Labs) ARG (Augmented Reality Game).
Available for free on Google Play Store, ports rumored as available for non-Android devices.
This is just to cover the Basics that, while the tutorial goes over them in actions, doesn't provide a "manual" for comprehension.Welcome Agent to the world of Ingress.
If you've completed the Tutorial, you may still have questions regarding the "How" and "Why" behind the game mechanics and what works vs. what doesn't.
If you haven't completed the tutorial, then I suggest that you go to your OPS screen, Missions and complete them first before we begin.
The name of the game is: Control. Think of Portals as the "Spice" from Dune, and you won't be too far off.
The following will assist you in better understanding of HOW to play the game Ingress, regardless of your Faction. (Intelligent life-forms will already be lovely shades of Blue as we all know.)
Firstly: Safety. Be aware of your surroundings. Have a designated driver, play for them if the route doesn't allow for stopping along the way. Abide by local area laws that govern hours of access, curfew, trespassing/loitering... all portals are -supposed- to be in areas of Public Access, but this isn't always the case. If you are out at night, be sure that you can be visible. Carry a flashlight and if possible, either a spare phone, additional battery or calling card. Observe local laws in your area regarding acceptable personal defense items. Respect the personal safety of others regardless of "Faction", this is after all just a game.
Now, time for the 101's.
Portals: These are the points to control. Unclaimed portals will always be Grey. You can still hack them, but that's about it. Claim a grey portal by "Deploy"ing a Resonator to it, if you are the first one to do so, you also become the Owner of it so long as your faction has unbroken control over it, even if somebody else later replaces (Upgrades) all the Resonators on it. The most important thing about Portals though, is that you should -always- have a Key for it. These can be acquired by hacking (friendly or not) or by other Agents 'Drop'ping them out of their inventory.
Resonator: "Anchors" portals to the faction of whomever the Deploying party is. These are necessary to stabilize a portal, as well as allow for it to be Linked to other Portals (assuming that all Portals in question have a full compliment of Resonators).
Deploying a Resonator: If at all safely possible, get the Portal you wish to Deploy on as close to the edge of your scanner (Orange) circle. This will increase the distribution spread of the Resonators, preventing them from getting as easily destroyed by attackers. Please note that when Upgrading a Resonator, this rule doesn't apply, as you cannot change the location of an already deployed resonator.
Attacking a Portal: I place this after Deploying a Resonator, because a lot of people follow the above advice. As a result, if you simple stand on the Portal directly, you won't end up doing a lot of damage, especially at the lower levels. So, (keeping safety in mind) position yourself so that you are standing as close to directly on top of a Resonator as possible, and fire off an XMP Burst. If at all possible, try to keep the main Portal itself -outside- of your Scanner circle, Portal attack damage has falloff and a maximum distance depending on its Level and Upgrades.
Defending a Portal: Defense is a hard game to play in Ingress currently. Ally yourself as quickly as possible with local Faction members and a Local Faction Group G+ page in order to best coordinate efforts. Don't rely solely on the in-game Faction Chatter, especially for sensitive events, as it may be compromised by Spies. Defending a portal that you are not at the location of requires that you have a Portal Key, even if you are the owner or have a Resonator deployed on it. Recharging a Resonator gives you AP, which is good. But how MUCH AP you gain is dependent on HOW you recharge the portal.
- Recharge All: This takes a bulk shot of XM from your reserves and distributes it equally to all Resonators that need XM. Depending on the levels and the damage, you may have to do this multiple times to fully recharge an entire Portal. 10 AP is gained for each Recharge "Burst".
- Solo Recharge: To do this, when you select the Recharge option, it displays the individual Resonators connected to the Portal. Tap one of them directly and the "Recharge All" should become just "Recharge". Tapping that will directly inject XM at capacity to that Resonator only. You gain 10 AP per recharge until the Resonator is full, and then you can select another one and repeat. You also get a return "boost" of XM where it will return any unused difference back to you, so try for Resonators that are at your Level or 1 lower and work around.
Based on the above information, you could either Burst recharge a Portal 3 times for 30 AP, or you could individually recharge each Resonator for 80 AP (assuming only one Recharge per Resonator is necessary. Multiple Recharges to a single Resonator rewards AP each time.) Maintaining Portal control can best be done by picking 1 Resonator and just continuing to recharge it, especially if other players are able to focus on their Resonators and Recharge them in the same way. (Note: You don't have to be the player that Deployed the Resonator in order to recharge it, it takes the same amount per Resonator Level to recharge it regardless)
Portal Upgrades: These handy things come in a variety of flavors and there are already Wiki documentation about them and what they do. It is worth pointing out though, unless you are the Portal Owner or working WITH the Portal Owner, if at all possible, check with them before placing any Upgrades. Generally, most people will appreciate having a Shield thrown on, but if they have plans for Link Amps or Turrets, you don't want to make this any more frustrating a game than it already is.
Portal Linking & Fields: It takes 3 points to make a Triangle. Same goes for Fields. Making a Link grants you AP, this AP is regardless of Length of Link or in area covered by the Field.
Larger Fields will generate more Faction MU (Mind Units, the total dominate control for which Faction is "on top" Globally speaking), but if you make your Fields or Links too long or large, you may interfere with other Portals being able to make Links or Fields themselves. You cannot make a Link where it would cross another Link, you cannot Link Portals together that are inside of a Field. You can however make a Field around Portals that are already Linked or forming a Field themselves.
Keep your Links and Fields short and sweet. Use the Ingress site Intel page for a local area map and coordinate with other local players whenever possible to maximize having as much area covered by as many fields as possible rather than mondo-gargantuan singular fields that can be taken down easily.
Biggest note about Linking: Requirements are that all portals involved with a Link have a full compliment of Resonators (currently, that is : 8), level doesn't matter. To initiate a Link, you MUST be in scanner/hack proximity to a Portal and it must be aligned to your Faction. Portal Key is NOT required for the Origin Portal of the Link, but you MUST have a Portal Key for the Destination Portal you are linking TO. When you Link a Portal, the destination Key WILL BE 'consumed' from your Inventory.
Portal Keys: Advanced: By default, a Portal will only ever give you a Key once. Further Hacks on a portal that you already have a Portal Key for will not grant you additional Portal Keys. Solution? Obvious: Go to your OPS menu, Portal Keys, select the key for the Portal you are in proximity to, and Drop it. Hack the Portal, and while hacking is occurring, tap your Key and hit the "Acquire" button. You can drop any item from your Inventory that you wish, and so can other players.
Portal Hacking: Any portal can be hacked. Owned, unowned, Friendly or not. 1st ones free, as they say, but doing additional hacks past the first one will kick in a cooldown timer. You can only successfully hack a portal 4 times in 4 hours before it "burns out" unless it has a Multi-Hack installed. Best way to maximize a portal Hack for an enemy Faction portal: Burn it out, then take it down, take it over, hack it again. If you do this close enough to midnight your local time, you can then (generally) hack it again after that.
More Intel here as it develops.
