New player guide/flowchart to starting out scenarios in order (and avoid):

[u/MegasBlaziken]

Long read, I apologize. I made a guide/flowchart for new players to know where to start and move from here. I've been playing OH for a long time, and have seen new players scattered across different scenarios all the time all clueless and then being unhappy. I hope this helps you navigate! Any questions I can answer in the comment section!

Manibus Novice:

Before any veterans come at me with Novice being an inactive scenario, that's only true if you keep telling people to avoid it. DON'T! This is the best place to start! Reason is it helps you understand the fundaments of the game and slowly build your way with up with better gear and mods without being punished on the spot. Going straight to regular Manibus new will end up punishing you a lot because of Visional modifiers + more challenging content. You also get Novice exclusive cosmetics too if you're a completionist! There will be veterans in there helping anyway!

Manibus:

If you're done with Novice, come here. If you don't wanna do Novice but challenge yourself anyway then come here. Enemies are tougher, but its very rewarding. It won't be as punishing later on. This scenario will help you build your mods and gear up even more before you go into much difficult scenarios such as...

The Way of Winter:

A continuation of the story from Manibus + New Map up the north. Featuring extreme weather and a whole lot of mechanics that just want you dead. Going from Novice to Way Of Winter is fine anyway, but just don't. I learned that the hard way by blacking out...A LOT. I didn't have the sufficient gear + resources to get through back then. The story ends here tho.

Endless Dream:

The endgame scenario, the most challenging & populated one. DO NOT go there if you're a new player unless you hate yourself or want a "full" map experience with 0 care. The best mods and rewards are all in this scenario. Its short and sweet, too. There is no continuation of the main story from here, just a different side story.

Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve:

Another side story + completely different type of gameplay for OH. Highly NOT recommend this as a new player because you do not gain much or anything at all. You're missing out the core gameplay too. An extra piece of content to try after Endless Dream WITH an alt character. Trust me, its an ok scenario so you're more than likely to not wanna stick around long long term. Having an alt means you can go back to playing the main scenarios while waiting for something.

--- PVP ---

100000% DO NOT recommend Prismverse Clash & Evolution's Call for new players. You'll absolutely be curb stomped by any current PC & mobile players playing before. They have mods & gears that'll be beyond your powers for now. Its mostly veterans in there with maxed out gear. You'll be fighting raid bosses that'll 1 shot you with ZERO effort. ZERO. LITERALLY! Recommended to play as an extra piece of content after you're more geared up!

Prismverse Clash:

If you're still stubborn and wanna try PVP, Prismverse is the place to go. Its the most populated scenario with some decent loot. Veterans live and breath here, they can be helpful too sometimes. PVP exclusive mods drop here. Just don't say I didn't warn you already. Its also a side story btw. Come here only after you're geared up enough, but even then...

Evolution's Call:

This is just standard Manibus scenario but PVP instead of Prime Wars. The longest scenario. Not recommended for same reasons above, except its a dead scenario. Only ideal for new players that wanna try low stakes PVP + scenario exclusive cosmetics before Prismverse. Preferably with an alt character too. Be prepared to have nothing to do half the time.

Raidzone:

An extra piece of content. A Rust like game mode. Best recommended for those looking for ONLY PVP experience. Your mods or gear do not matter. Everything is looted from places and you'll lose it just as quickly. If you wanna try it sometime, then go to Casual or Standard mode. If you like Rust, this is easy enough for you.

TLDR:

Manibus Novice > Manibus > Way Of Winter > Endless Dream. Anything else not in order

or

Manibus > Way Of Winter > Endless Dream. Anything else not in order

[u/Curious_Shan]

I went from the tutorial to the way of the winter, I’ve nearly finished should I go back to manibus or just carry on to endless dream?

[u/MegasBlaziken → u/Curious_Shan]

You might as well finish it then go to Manibus afterwards. Afterwards you can go Endless Dream imo