host of the Agent field guide segment

on the weekly news show, The Ingress Report,

which airs every Thursday on the official

Ingress YouTube channel.

I'm here to get you up to speed on the world of Ingress,

and help you become its newest Agent.

All around us are Portals to another dimension.

And through those Portals something called exotic matter,

or XM is leaking into our world.

It's these Portals and this XM

which an unknown Shaper force

is using to potentially influence our world.

There are two teams, or Factions,

battling to control the destiny of human kind.

And you need to decide which side you're on.

The resistance believe that the Shapers and Exotic Matter

are not to be trusted,

and work to defend humankind.

While the Enlightened work to embrace the Shapers

and all the potential advances they may reveal to us.

As a new Agent, the first thing you should do

is find Portals in your city.

Because it's believed XM influences, or shapes,

human thought, all identified Portals

are located at some kind of great work of art,

architecture, or human achievement.

Often times that means statues, monuments,

noteworthy or historic buildings,

outdoor murals, and unique local businesses.

Open your Scanner device and look around you on the map.

Green Portals belong to the Enlightened Faction,

blue Portals belong to the Resistance,

and gray Portals are unclaimed.

The Enlightened have already captured this one,

and the Resistance have that one over there.

But the battle is just beginning.

These Portals can change hands at any moment.

If there aren't any Portals nearby,

your Scanner will vector you to the one closest

to your location.

You can also check out the

Intel Map and ingress.com/intel

to see Portals in your area

that aren't in your Scanner view.

Once you've located a Portal on your Scanner device,

walk towards it.

When it's in your action range,

no matter which Faction that Portal belongs to,

touch the Portal and select Hack.

Hacking provides you with essential items

that will help you do things like power up,

defend, or destroy Portals.

Portals controlled by the same Faction as you

are known as friendly Portals.

And those controlled by the opposing Faction

are called enemy Portals.

Note that hacking either kind of Portal

will add items to your inventory,

but hacking enemy Portals will also give you

access points, or AP,

which we'll cover in just a minute.

Earlier I mentioned exotic matter, or XM.

It's important to note that both Factions use XM

to operate their Scanner device.

This is the fuel that powers any function

you're going to do in the fields.

You collect XM by locating the glowing orbs on the Intel Map

and walking toward them.

The XM will be drawn to your device.

And when you collect it,

you'll see your XM bar at the top of your screen grow.

Now that you've hacked a few Portals,

it's time to start participating

in the struggle for the fate of the world.

To claim a Portal, you need to deploy Resonators.

Resonators help harvest XM to power Portals,

so they're vital for maintaining your Faction's territory.

You can get Resonators simply by hacking Portals.

To use a Resonator,

look for an empty Resonator slot

by touching a friendly Portal.

A Portal can hold eight Resonators,

so if there are any open slots that aren't filled,

place your own Resonator

by touching the Portal on your Scanner,

then touch Deploy Resonator.

If the Portal is neutral,

deploying a single Resonator

will claim it for your Faction.

To give the Portal more power and greater defense,

not only can you Deploy more Resonators,

you can Deploy Portal Shields.

Just like Resonators and other inventory,

Portal Shields are obtained through hacking

and they're used to defend friendly Portals.

Next, try to capture an enemy portal for your Faction

by destroying its Resonators.

To damage enemy Portals,

approach the Portal and stand over one of its Resonators,

hold your finger down on your Scanner screen

and slide up to fire XMP.

XMP bursters are weapons you'll also get from hacks,

which blasts away at those enemy Resonators.

They won't damage friendly Portals,

so you don't have to worry about that.

But be aware that enemy Portals can attack you back.

Hacking and deploying Resonators are a good start,

but soon you'll be ready for more.

Check your progress by touching your access level

in the upper left hand corner of your screen.

It'll always show your access level,

and when touched,

it will show how many access points, or AP, you've earned.

AP is important because it will unlock your ability

to utilize more powerful items.

For example, once you reach access level two

you'll then be able to deploy L2 XMPs and Resonators.

There's a different amount of AP required

for achieving each access level,

so remember to stay active

and keep looking for opportunities

to capture Portals for your Faction.

As you hack Portals,

you'll find yourself collecting Portal keys.

These are essential for one of the most important

and fundamental tasks in Ingress,

which is creating links between Portals.

Links between three Portals will create a control Field,

which will earn Mind Units, or MU, for your Faction.

An MU is how the global control

of each Faction is calculated.

To link two Portals, you need to have a Portal Key

for at least one of the two.

While standing at one of the Portals,

select link Portals.

Your Scanner device will tell you which Portals

are linkable or ask you to select

one of the eligible Portal Keys.

Select which portal you want to link to,

and the link will be created.

Once you've linked three Portals,

a control field will appear,

along with a message on your scanner

telling you how many Mind Units

you've secured for your Faction.

Remember, your ultimate goal is to cooperate

with other Agents in your Faction

to either resist the Shapers and defend the world,

or work with them to unlock a new era

of human enlightenment.

To connect with other Agents in your area,

open comm on your Scanner device

and introduce yourself as a new Agent.

Experienced Agents in your area

may be available to help you get started.

You can also search Google+, Facebook, and Twitter

to find local communities where you can connect

with other Agents from your Faction.

For more Agent tips and insights,

watch the Ingress Report each week

by subscribing to YouTube.com/Ingress.

For the Ingress Report and Agent Intel,

I'm Sarita Hayes.

- [Voiceover] Agent, subscribe for

up to the minute intelligence.

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