Kingdom Under Fire II (Part Two) ~ All You Need to Know About Games

Gameworld
The gameworld of Kingdom Under Fire II actually consists of a relatively large world map filled with sporadic instance areas and/or map zones.

With the storyline as the "driving force", you will basically be moving about in some flying contraption...all over the gameworld...visiting these places.

And as you continue to level up, the amount of such places that you can visit will slowly increase...gradually unlocking a couple at a time (per level).

Type of Zone

As far as these places are concerned, they can generally be summarized into the following three zone-types, Mission, City and Field.

Mission Zones

Mission Zones are essentially "dungeon-ish" areas whereby you follow some specific scenario (and its instructions) to fend off monsters or kill them and clear the zone.

Depending on how well you've performed (during the mission), you will be given a mission score, ranked accordingly and then assigned with some random rewards (appropriate for your performance bracket) to choose.

However, before you blindly join any of the mission zones, there are certain things that you might want to know about first.

Before creating or joining a mission zone, right at the mission entrance, you will usually be shown with some minor details about the zone (if you bother to hover your mouse cursor over it).

These details often include stuff like the "Level Requirement" (this is actually also the level at which you will first unlock the mission zone) to participate in the zone, the number of players and troops allowed to join and the quests that you have that are related to the mission zone.

Once you've gotten a rough idea about the zone, you may then use the "Party List" button to create a new instance or join an existing instance. Alternatively, if your feeling adventurous, you may also attempt to solo the mission zone all by your self as well (by clicking on "Single").

As for the "Quick" button, as far as I know, it seems to be a quick join button that allows you to immediately join in any available copies of the mission zone. However, as the system is made in such a way that you can only join instances which have not started yet, this pretty much renders the "Quick" button useless.
Anyway, regardless of whether your doing it alone or in a group, the next few pieces of mission info that is shown to you (and your group) in the window with the big fat "Start" (if your the team leader or doing it solo) or "Ready" (if your a team member) button is equally important as well.

In this window, you will find an indicator (in words) that tells you roughly how difficult the mission would be, how much leadership points it would cost you (to enter) and how much troop stamina would be deducted from the "Stamina" stat of the troops that your bringing in.

From what I can tell, the actual amount of leadership points deducted isn't accurately shown here. The value reflected here only indicates how much is needed to "enter" the mission zone. There appears to be a smaller "secondary deduction" that is made when you clear or complete the mission (which isn't noticeable unless you've bothered to tally).
Similarly, the actual amount of troop stamina that is deducted isn't shown here correctly either (although its close). From what I've noticed, the actual amount deducted appears to be some other "value" that is derived from god knows what system variables and then equally borne (shared evenly) by all the troops that you've taken into the instance (each troop has its own stamina stat of 100/100 when full).
City Zones

As its name suggests, City Zones are monster-less populated instance areas where you will find your much needed amenities.

Things like storage, auction, mailbox, troop skill trainer, item crafters, item upgrader and quest NPCs can all be typically found in this zone.

The only important thing you will need to know about the place is how to get yourself in and out of the zone. And as far as that is concerned, meet "Portal-san".

The "White" one puts you back into the "World Map" while the "Blue" one transports you to an adjacent "Field Zone".

Which brings us to the next item on the agenda...
Field Zones
Field Zones ultimately behaves quite similar to a City Zone. They house their own quest NPCs as well as provides some basic amenities...not quite everything...but just the more needed services like repairing and regular buying/selling of stuff (to clear your inventory of loot or load up on consumables).

The difference?

A field zone harbors monsters within them while a city zone does not (and sometimes, as an event, high level "boss monsters" may also be spawned). Additionally, mission zones can also be found there too...in the form of "Portal-san", Red Version.

The "Red" portal functions just like the mission zones that you see in the world map. As for the other two, the "White" one throws you to the world map while the "Blue" one just takes you back into the adjacent city zone (that its linked to).
Just remember though, that at times, the servers may become wacky. So if you ever find yourself in a seemingly empty field (with no monsters) and your HP stays stuck at a certain number (not regenerating), that is a sign that your in a non-functioning channel.

When that's happening, use the channel option at the top right corner of your mini-map to switch to another channel.