RuneScape: Dragonwilds Getting Started Guide

RuneScape: Dragonwilds rewards the familiar RuneScape habit of doing a little of everything. Gather, craft, fight, cook, build, and explore instead of trying to rush one combat style from the opening minutes.

Your first hour

1. Follow First Steps and collect loose stone, branches, and basic food.
2. Build a sheltered camp with a bed, storage, a campfire, and your first crafting facilities.
3. Make a logging axe and pickaxe. Gathering levels unlock recipes, perks, and magical skill spells.
4. Keep food, clean water, and a bed-rested character before travelling far.
5. Speak with the Wise Old Man and other named characters rather than clearing the whole map without quests.
6. Mark ore, rune essence, useful plants, vaults, and safe routes on the map.

Build a working base, not a palace

Your first shelter only needs to keep essential stations close together and leave room for expansion. Separate raw-material storage from finished gear, place cooking beside food storage, and keep repair supplies near the exit.

Once Farming is available, reserve sunny ground for plots and room for water access. A compact base saves more time than an ornate one during the opening regions.

Level skills naturally

Dragonwilds uses activity-based skills. Mining raises Mining, weapon combat raises Attack or Ranged, spell use raises Magic, and building raises Construction. New levels can unlock recipes, perks, and spells such as Rocksplosion for mining or Axtral Projection for woodcutting.

Use the Skill Tracker to record your current levels without creating an account.

Prepare before leaving Brynmoor

Carry:

• a repaired weapon, shield or ranged option;
• the best axe and pickaxe you can currently make;
• food and clean water;
• a bedroll or materials for a small shelter;
• spare inventory space for ore, logs, hides, and quest items;
• runes for the skill spells you actually use.

Follow the main quest toward Dragon Slayer while upgrading through the local material tiers. Do not discard lower-tier resources: stations, ammunition, repairs, building, and Farming keep them relevant.

Where to go next

Use the Ashenfall Regions guide for a spoiler-light progression overview, then the Crafting Progression guide to see which stations and material tiers should be ready before each major region.

Sources: official Steam page and the RuneScape: Dragonwilds Wiki.