The Silkroad screen looks like an airplane cockpit the first time you see it: bars, icons, numbers, and windows everywhere. But every piece is there for a reason, and after five minutes of reading you'll be able to read the whole thing at a glance. In this guide we break down the HUD (everything you see on screen) and hand you the complete map of keyboard and mouse controls, so you can move, fight, chat, and manage your party without stopping to remember where each button was.
The interface (HUD) at a glance
The HUD gathers all the information about your character, the map, your party, and the chat onto a single screen. Before we dig into each part, take in the whole thing: everything that follows is a piece of this same image.
Read your status: HP, MP, and Berserk
Your character's status updates in real time: name, level, HP, MP, and the Berserk gauge. This is the area you'll watch most in combat, so get comfortable with it first.
When you level up, the + button appears so you can assign your status points. That same button also lets you check your character's full details.
Target window: who you're hitting
It shows the info of whatever you've clicked. For monsters, you see their HP, their rank, and their abnormal-status icon. For characters, you see the race icon (European/Chinese), the name, the status icon, and the Job with its level: merchant, hunter, or thief. That Job info is crucial: it tells you at a glance whether the person in front of you is prey, an ally, or a threat.
Minimap: never get lost
The minimap keeps you oriented at all times between cities and territories. The globe-shaped button at the top opens the map at full size. Party members show up as green dots; if they've drifted far away, a small arrow points toward where they are.
Summon panel: keep an eye on your pets
It shows detailed info for your Pet, your Skill Pet, and your Transfer Pet. Click the pet summon icon to manage it.
Two mouse moves you'll repeat a thousand times:
- Select a target: left click with the mouse.
- Open the status window: right click with the mouse.
Party quick window
It shows the name, HP, and MP of each party member, so you always have their status in view, ideal if you're the healer. It also shows their mastery, displaying only the two highest-level masteries. You can select a teammate by clicking directly on their entry in this window.
Notices and quest messages
This area is where notice messages and your quest messages appear. Keep an eye on it whenever something changes on screen: it usually explains what just happened.
Equipment durability alert
It shows your equipment's durability. The base color is gray, and it turns yellow or red as durability drops.
Chat: talk on the right channel
You can talk to different players separately by picking the channel with the All / Party / Clan / Union / Academy button. Choosing the right channel keeps a private message from being read by half the server.
These are the commands and shortcut keys to open each chat channel:
Comando Atajo 1 Atajo 2
Conversación de grupo (party) # /grupo
Conversación de clan @ /clan
Conversación de Unión % /unión
Conversación de Academia & /a
Responder a susurro /respuesta /r
Susurrar /susurrar /w
Bloquear conversación /bloquear /b
Desbloquear conversación /desbloquear /u
Comercio /comercio /t
Invitar como amigo /amigo /f
Invitar al clan /unirse /gSP and EXP indicators
As you earn Skill Points (SP) and experience points (EXP), the indicators fill up and also show you the exact value in numbers. SP is the currency you use to level up your skills, so it's worth keeping an eye on.
Quick slot: your skills one button away
This is where you store and trigger skills, actions, items, and other icons. You use them with the numbers 1 through 0, and with F1-F4 you switch between the four available sets. Setting this bar up well is the difference between fighting smoothly and fighting in fits and starts.
Extension slots
The game adds an extra extension slot. You can place it freely left/right and up/down, move it around the screen, and change its orientation to whatever angle suits you.
Menu and quick access (Item Mall included)
Clicking the menu button opens the inventory window, and from the tabs on the left you jump to the character, inventory, skill, action, party, and quest windows.
Next to the menu button there are three small buttons: the top one is the Item Mall, where useful in-game items are sold; the middle one is the community button; and the bottom one is options, where you control every setting, including the keyboard shortcuts.
Status icons: active buffs and debuffs
Here you see the skills you have active, their state, and the time left on each one. Beneficial effects (buffs) go on the top line and harmful ones (debuffs) on the bottom. One glance tells you whether a buff is still up or something is wearing you down.
System messages and their filter
This is where system messages appear. With the filter window at the top you choose which messages you want to receive, so you don't drown in notices you don't care about.
Mouse controls
The mouse is your main way to move and select. This summary pulls together the actions you perform with each click:
Keyboard controls
The keyboard covers movement, skills, and shortcuts. We start with the general overview and then go group by group, spelling out which ones you can remap and which you can't.
Movement. These keys are fixed: their setup can't be changed.
Customizable hotkeys. These you can change freely from the options menu.
Basic hotkeys. These are fixed: they can't be changed.
More customizable hotkeys. These can also be changed freely from the options menu.
Keys used together with the mouse. These are fixed: they can't be changed.
Other keys. Also fixed: they can't be changed.