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Beginner’s guide

How to play Black Empire

Blackridge doesn’t wait for newcomers. Here, in order, is what really awaits you when you arrive in Black Empire — no marketing detours, just how the game actually unfolds.

7 steps 5-minute read How the game really unfolds
A Blackridge street at night, under rain and neon lights Blackridge, the main city

01Create your character

Creation is deliberately quick: a username, a gender, and you’re dropped into Blackridge. No class to pick and no stats to distribute — every character starts from exactly the same point: some money in your pocket, a handgun, a starting stock of the game’s four drugs (cannabis, hash, cocaine, crack), and a building permit. What you do next is entirely up to you.

A little cash in your pocket

The same for every new character.

A handgun

Provided as soon as the character is created.

The four drugs

Cannabis, hash, cocaine and crack, as starting stock.

A building permit

Included in the starting stock.

02The first systems to know

Four places shape your first hours. Each has its own logic, its risks and its rewards.

Training

One training at a time, with a real cost and a real duration. It unlocks access to new shops and new abilities.

The Street

The arena where players face each other, reserved for advanced levels. Losing has real consequences — better be prepared.

The Hospital

A paid stop after a bad fight. Getting treated is expensive: better to avoid it than to suffer it.

03Train and level up

Quests are your guiding thread in the first days: up to five active at the same time, they trigger as you perform real actions — dealing, training, going to the bank, fighting — and pay out money, experience or reputation once claimed. Leveling up, however, is never automatic: it is a voluntary action that requires having both enough experience and enough money, in the bank as well as in your pocket. A player in a hurry who spends everything cannot level up, even with the experience needed.

Keep in mind

Always keep money in the bank and in your pocket before trying to level up: experience alone is not enough.

The vault room of the Blackridge bank The Blackridge bank

04The Blackridge economy

Three places keep the money moving: one protects it, one restocks you, the last one makes it tremble.

The Bank

Deposit your money to keep it safe from theft if you lose a fight — an essential reflex as soon as you start to accumulate.

The Shop

A store to restock on drugs when your stocks run dry, available depending on the city.

The Casino

Unlocked at advanced levels. The winnings can be spectacular — and so can the losses. To be played with your eyes open.

A player's bedroom at the top of Blackridge Your bedroom

05Hideout, bedroom: manage and protect yourself

Your Hideout separates what you carry (vulnerable if you lose a fight) from what you actually put in safety. It is also where you equip your weapons and recruit bodyguards, which directly strengthen your resilience. Your Bedroom lets you rest for several hours in a row: during that time you become invisible to other players — impossible to target, impossible to find at the deal point. A real defensive tool, not just a decorative room.

The Black Empire world map, seen at night The world map

07Explore the world map

Blackridge is only one of the travelable cities on the world map — each with its own population and its own local trade. Traveling takes time, but opens access to other opportunities and other players. One thing to know before venturing out: some, more dangerous, areas apply particular restrictions once you are there — it is explained in detail on the Rules page.

Good to know

Before a long journey, read the "Vacation mode and the Dark Hollow zone" section on the Rules page.

And now

Ready to start?

Creating an account is free — your empire awaits you in Blackridge.