Ingress - start guide

There are lots of guides out there for this game, but I have yet to see a guide which spells out what to do at each level of play, this is my attempt at that.

: For the most part don't bother with XMP bursters till you're level 5, the time it takes to take down a portal is not worth it compared to the AP from hacking it.

: Don't use your ADA/Jarvis until you're level 7/8

: Don't get attached to a area/portals. Level 1-7 you want the AP of rebuilding it. At level 8 the only portals you REALLY care about are the Level 8 ones, and those are like honey to flies, the other faction is already on the road by the time you have it finished. This is a game of almost pure offence, any level 7-8 can take down any group of portals, by himself, no assistance, as long as he has enough xmp and cubes.

:The distance you are from a portal when deploying resonators helps determine how far out the resonators are placed. This is a handy trick when that distance will place a resonator inside a building or over a fence (especially the level 7/8 resonators). But don't stress it too much.

• Level 1: Welcome to the game. Complete the training under missions. Go to http://www.ingress.com/intel zoom in all the way to make unclaimed portals visible, find all the portals along or near your commute. Hack them during your journeys though the day (You will be amazed at all the cool stuff you have been driving past). Once you have 8 resonators fill up any gray portals you come across (but don't bother putting down a resonator unless you can fully fill it) and put 2 mods on it (Save your turrets/rare stuff for later). Make any link or field you can casually make (focus on small links/fields). You should hit Level 2 within a day or two as long as you have portals along your commute.
• Level 2: If you're still playing, you have likely caught the bug. Start watching in Comms for players within 20km of your commute. If you see anyone in the same faction as you capturing portals, long press their name to see what level they are. Almost all areas have active level 8 players for both factions around. Ask them where the local farms are, and if they are willing to help you out. Usually Level 8 players have lots of low level gear they would love to give you, because if they don't they have to recycle/drop it. Keep filling the gray portals and hacking, linking, and fielding.
• Level 3: By Level 3 you likely know what good portals look like (AKA statues, wall art, historic markers, churches, memorial plots with statues, park entrances, coliseums, theaters (any kind), memorials, and halls (VFW, Masonic, Shriner, etc etc)). Start submitting anything that could be a portal along your commute. This will allow you to play the game without expending too much time or money. It takes a few weeks for portals to be approved, so likely by the time you're 8 your commute will be fruitful. Find out from the local players (or by looking on the map), where the local farms are. A farm is a local area with lots of portals you can hit in a 5 minute loop in a vehicle or on foot. A good sized "farm" can yield 30-100k AP when fully deployed, linked and fielded. You want the other team to smash these so you can come back and rebuild for AP.
• Level 4: The Level 4 resonator is the first resonator you get that will be useful later on in the game. Since at this level you're basically in a mad rush for AP, use up all your level 1-3 resonators before you use you're level 4 resonators. Keep farming and hitting your commute.
• Level 5: By level 5 you have enough xm, and your bursters are strong enough to take down higher level portals. At this level you need to be right on top of the higher level resonators to really do any damage, so when you smash a portal plant yourself on top of the highest level resonator and blast away till it's gone, the others will likely fall before the level 7/8 resonator goes down. Focus on taking down portals with lots of links/fields (for that sweet sweet AP). Because you now want higher level bursters you need to start upgrading other players portals to make them as high of level as possible to get higher level bursters/resonators.
• Level 6: Level 6 xmp are the first burster you get that you will be using regularly as a level 8, so continue to use your resonators from lowest to highest (unless they have a turret on the portal, then highest to lowest). A level 6 can take down a level 8 player's portals with power cubes. By this point you should be in a groupme/hangout with the local players and start making connections. You will need your faction members shortly.
• Level 7: Level 7 players are some of the most dangerous players in the game. All the AP you have earned to date? Now double that, that's what you need to make level 8. To get level 7 equipment your going to need to upgrade a portal that at least 2 other level 7/8 have upgraded. If you're lucky someone else if farming along your commute, if not then this might involve a bit of extra travel. Smash all opposing portals, fully resonate/link/field everything you go by. Leave no stone unturned for AP. Reach out to the local level 8 players, they are salivating for you to hit level 8 to join the war wagons.
• Level 8: Level 8, you're done, congrats! Nope. Now the game gets cut throat. Before level 8 portal level was not that important, after level 8 you live and die by it. The name of the game is to deny the other faction Level 8 portals, that includes watching comms and party crashing their farms (Surprise!). Orchestration of war wagons of other level 8s to set up level 8 farms. Helping out lower level players with the all you're level 1-3 resonators and sub level 1-6 bursters, that you never use. Creating large fields over your metro area to force players to go to BFE to take down your fields, and good natured smack talk in comms. Above Level 8 the game is about smack talk, resource building for your faction, getting equipment for the next event, resource denial of the other faction, building large fields over your metro to deny other players AP, and hanging out with other level 8 players of your faction.

Anyway, I hope this helps any new players out there, did I miss anything?

https://m.reddit.com/r/Ingress/comments/1ui3yr/what_i_wish_i_knew_when_i_started_aka_a_level_by/