Getting Started in Ashenfall
RuneScape: Dragonwilds launched its 1.0 release on September 15, 2026, bringing the full survival crafting experience to all platforms at $29.99. Whether you played during Early Access or you're loading in fresh, this RuneScape Dragonwilds guide walks you through everything you need to survive and progress across Ashenfall's dangerous regions.
When you first spawn, follow the opening objectives until you reach Bramblemead Village and meet the Wise Old Man. Speaking to him starts the Dragon Slayer quest, which serves as the game's main tutorial. This quest teaches you the fundamentals — building a shelter, hunting animals, crafting equipment, and preparing for tougher fights.
Dragon Slayer eventually leads you toward General Velgar, your first major dragon encounter. Resist the urge to rush into higher-level regions before you're ready. Explore the area around Bramblemead while following the main quest, and check your Journal regularly to track objectives and any side quests you've picked up along the way.
Your character has five survival stats to manage throughout the game:
| Stat | What It Tracks | |------|---------------| | Health | Hit points lost from enemy attacks and hazards | | Stamina | Consumed by sprinting and combat actions | | Hydration | Your thirst level — find water sources to refill | | Sustenance | Your hunger level — eat cooked food to restore it | | Rest | Recovered by sleeping in a claimed bed |
Keeping all five stats balanced is essential. Neglecting hunger or hydration weakens your character and makes even basic combat dangerous.
Building Your First Base
The Wise Old Man asks you to build a shelter early in the Dragon Slayer quest. Bramblemead Village is the recommended location for your first base because it sits near early resources, wildlife, and the main questline.
Your starter home doesn't need to be elaborate. Focus on these essentials:
- Enclose a small space with walls, a roof, and a door
- Place a bed inside and claim it to set your respawn point
- Add a Crafting Table and Campfire for immediate crafting and cooking needs
- Expand with processing stations like the Grindstone and Furnace as you unlock them
As you progress, you'll gain access to a wide range of crafting stations:
| Crafting Station | Primary Use | |-----------------|-------------| | Crafting Table | Basic recipes and early equipment | | Campfire | Cooking raw food | | Blacksmith Bench | Metal weapons and tools | | Armour Bench | Armor sets | | Furnace | Smelting ores into bars | | Kiln | Firing clay and advanced materials | | Tannery | Processing hides into leather | | Spinning Wheel | Making thread and cloth | | Loom | Weaving cloth into usable fabric | | Cooking Range | Advanced cooking recipes | | Fletching Bench | Bows and arrows | | Jeweler's Bench | Jewelry and accessories | | Mystic Forge | Magical equipment | | Rune Altar | Crafting runes |
A useful Construction leveling tip from the community: build as many walls as you can, delete them to recover the resources, then switch to a different buildable category like crafting benches or chests. Each category gives full XP before diminishing returns kick in, so rotating through them levels Construction efficiently.
Weapons, Armor, and Combat
Your starting stone equipment is meant to be replaced quickly. Better logging axes and pickaxes don't just deal more damage — they gather resources faster and let you harvest materials that weaker tools can't touch.
After hunting early animals, craft Bone weapons and Reinforced armor for your first meaningful upgrade. You should also craft a bow as soon as possible. Ranged combat makes hunting deer much easier and gives you a safer option against dangerous enemies.
Before entering a new region, always check the Power Level of your gear. If normal enemies barely take damage or kill you in a few hits, go back and upgrade first. Ashenfall is divided into several distinct regions — Brynmoor, Ghornfell, Fellhollow, Dowdun Reach, and Umbral Sands — each with its own challenges and resources.
The game also features Vaults, dungeon-like areas scattered across the map. The first vault at Bramblemead South teaches you how to unlock fast travel. Fast travel consumes Law Runes, and the cost scales with how much weight you're carrying. Vault 11 at the Lake of Lost Souls, known as the Skekven Kara vault, is one of the more challenging vaults and contains hidden secrets worth seeking out.
Skills and Leveling
Skills improve naturally as you perform their related activities. There's no class system — every character can train every skill. The more you chop trees, the higher your Woodcutting goes. The more you fight with melee weapons, the faster your Attack rises.
Here's an overview of the key skills:
| Skill | How to Train | Why It Matters | |-------|-------------|----------------| | Woodcutting | Chopping trees | Provides logs for building and crafting | | Mining | Mining rock nodes | Supplies stone and ore for tools and structures | | Artisan | Crafting items at stations | Improves crafting output and unlocks recipes | | Cooking | Preparing food at campfires or cooking ranges | Produces meals that restore health and sustenance | | Attack | Fighting with melee weapons | Increases melee damage | | Ranged | Using bows and thrown weapons | Improves ranged accuracy and damage | | Magic | Casting spells | Unlocks powerful offensive and utility spells | | Agility | Running and completing agility courses | Reduces sprint stamina cost and unlocks movement abilities | | Construction | Building structures and furniture | Lets you create better bases and crafting stations |
Prioritize Woodcutting and Mining early because you'll constantly need logs, stone, and ore. Artisan directly supports your equipment progression, while Cooking keeps you fed during exploration and combat.
Agility deserves special attention. It levels passively as you run around Ashenfall, but you can boost it faster by completing agility courses scattered across the map. Higher Agility means less stamina drain while sprinting, which makes exploration and escaping dangerous encounters much smoother.
The magic system includes spells such as Windstep, Rocksplosion, Magical Mending, Tempest Shield, Surge, Snare, Spectral Arrows, and Superheat. Some spells focus on combat damage, while others provide utility like smelting on the go with Superheat.
Quests and Exploration
Quests drive much of the progression in Dragonwilds. The main questline takes you from your first steps in Bramblemead all the way to facing the game's most powerful dragons.
| Main Quest | Details | |-----------|---------| | First Steps | Initial tutorial objectives | | Getting Started | Core survival mechanics | | Ratcatcher | Early combat quest | | Rune Mysteries | Introduction to the magic system | | Dragon Slayer | The central quest leading to General Velgar | | Withering Heights | Mid-game storyline | | Black Knight's Fortress | Challenging mid-game dungeon | | Icthlarin's Little Helper | Story quest involving the character Icthlarin | | Regicide | Late-game quest |
Side quests offer unique rewards and often guide you to powerful equipment. Notable examples include:
- Granite Mauled — rewards the Granite Maul weapon
- Highlighting the Problem — leads you to the Staff of Light
- Heartstrings — points you toward the Crystal Bow location
- Restless Ghosts, Goblin Diplomacy, and Dog Days — additional side stories with their own rewards
Several key NPCs appear throughout Ashenfall, including Vannaka, Zanik, Doric, Doctor Fenkenstrain, Death, and Postie Pete. Speaking to them can unlock quests, crafting recipes, and lore entries. Keep an eye out for rare crafting materials like Blightwood, Anima-Infused Bark, Sapphire, Opal, Harralander, and Swamp Weed as you explore — these feed into advanced recipes for gear like the Abyssal Whip and the Paladin Armor set.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best starting strategy in RuneScape: Dragonwilds? Follow the Dragon Slayer quest from the Wise Old Man in Bramblemead Village. It teaches all the core mechanics and leads you through natural gear progression. Don't push into distant regions until your Power Level matches the area.
How does fast travel work? Fast travel unlocks after you complete the Bramblemead South vault. It costs Law Runes, and the price increases based on how much weight your character is carrying.
Can I play with friends? Yes. RuneScape: Dragonwilds supports multiplayer and co-op, so you can build bases and explore Ashenfall together.
What skills should I focus on first? Woodcutting, Mining, Artisan, and Cooking give you the strongest foundation. Add a combat skill based on your preferred fighting style — melee Attack, Ranged, or Magic.
How much does the game cost? RuneScape: Dragonwilds is $29.99 (£24.99). Jagex confirmed the price would not change after the 1.0 release.
Where can I find a more detailed RuneScape Dragonwilds guide? The official wiki at dragonwilds.runescape.wiki maintains over 3,500 articles covering vault walkthroughs, crafting recipes, and detailed mechanics. Community-written Steam guides also cover specific topics like vault strategies and fast travel costs.