Getting lost is part of the experience!

Finding your way around in MUD2 is relatively simple at first. Working on a basic 8-point compass you can navigate most of the land fairly easily. However, there are other directions to be taken into consideration.

Firstly however, let's just clarify the 8 compass directions and acceptable abbreviations:

NORTH - N
NORTH EAST - E
EAST - E
SOUTH EAST - SE
SOUTH - S
SOUTH WEST - SW
WEST - W
NORTH WEST - W

There are another 5 easy to guess directions:

UP - U
DOWN - D
IN - (No Abbreviation)
OUT - O
Jump - J

Finally on the basic directional commands is a MUD specific one:

SWAMPWARD - ZW

Swampward is pretty much self explanatory - when used it will take you towards the swamp (where you can drop treasure to gain points).

Learn landmarks...

When you first start in the land, it is very easy to get lost. The best idea is to get landmarks. A landmark is something that can be easily found, and where you can explore from - but know you can get back there without too many problems. There are 2 in MUD2 that are perfect for newbies:

SWAMP

The swamp is very easy to locate by using the SWAMPWARD or ZW command. The ZW command doesn't work while underground, to get out from areas that ZW doesn't work, use OUT and then the ZW command.

FORD IN THE RIVER

The Ford is easy to find because it is the place the OUT command leads to. Typing OUT often enough will cause you to end up by the Ford. Because the Ford is in a different area of land to the Swamp, it makes it another good landmark.