Your first moments in the sprawling world of Ashenfall are critical. Forget wandering aimlessly; your immediate priorities are to establish a foothold, craft superior gear, and push through the initial quest line given by the Wise Old Man. The single most important upgrade you can make is crafting a Bone Dagger. It dramatically outperforms your starting weapon and is the key to surviving the challenges ahead, specifically the goblin-infested castle that stands as your first major test. Focus on this, and your journey into the Dragonwilds will begin on solid ground.
What should I do first?
After a brief, skippable cutscene, you'll awaken near a dilapidated shack. Your first objective is simple: speak to the figure waiting there, the Wise Old Man. He serves as your initial guide and quest-giver. He’ll offer a tutorial, which you should accept to get your bearings, but don't be afraid to gather every resource you see along the way—wood, stone, and especially the blue-flowered flax plants are crucial.
Your first real task is to build a base and place a bed. This isn't just for decoration; placing and claiming a bed is the trigger to advance the Wise Old Man's quest line. Don't overthink your first structure. A simple 2x2 wooden box with a roof is more than enough to house a bedroll, a crafting bench, and some storage chests. You can get fancy later. The building system is intuitive, with pieces that snap together cleanly, and it even clears the ground underneath for you.
Once you’ve placed a simple bedroll (crafted from basic materials at your bench) and claimed it, you'll gain two key benefits. First, sleeping passes the night and fully restores your stamina bar, increasing its maximum capacity from a tired 80 back to 100. Second, and more importantly, it unlocks the next stage of the main quest. Return to the Wise Old Man to continue.
How do I craft better gear?
Before you venture far from your new home, your priority should be upgrading your pathetic starting equipment. The resources you need are all around you in the starting meadows. You'll need to build a few key crafting stations to process them.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds in-game screenshot
Step 1: Build a Spinning Wheel and Fletching Table
The first items on your list are flax and wood. Flax is the vibrant blue plant you'll see scattered across the fields. Gather as much as you can. At your crafting bench, build a Spinning Wheel. This station allows you to turn raw flax into Coarse Thread, a vital component for early-game armor and other recipes.
Next, build a Fletching Table. This unlocks the ability to craft bows and arrows. The Wise Old Man's next quest will require you to hunt, and doing so with a melee weapon is an exercise in frustration. An Ash Shortbow is cheap to make and will be your primary tool for the next task.
Step 2: Craft the Bone Dagger
This is the most important upgrade you will make in your first few hours. The basic stone dagger is weak. The Bone Dagger, craftable at your main bench, is a massive leap in power. Its damage output is nearly double, climbing from a max of 12 to 23. To craft it, you need Animal Bones and Small Animal Fangs, which you can get from hunting the deer and other small creatures in the area. Make this weapon your top priority before considering any serious combat.
Step 3: Set up a Tannery for Leather Armor
After completing the upcoming hunting quest, you will unlock the recipe for a Tannery. This station is where you turn Animal Hides—looted from deer, cows, and other wildlife—into Leather. Leather is the key ingredient for a full set of starter armor. A complete leather set (helmet, body, legs) provides a significant defensive boost that is practically mandatory for surviving the assault on the Goblin Castle.
What's the deal with the deer antlers?
With a bed built, the Wise Old Man sends you on your first real mission: to hunt a deer and bring him its antlers. This quest serves to teach you about ranged combat and pushes you to craft the necessary gear. You’ll need the Ash Shortbow and some arrows from your Fletching Table.
Finding deer is easy; they roam the open fields near the starting area. Hunting them is a slight challenge. When you land a shot, the deer will bolt. Don't panic and give chase immediately. They tend to run in a large circle and will often return to their original area after a short time. Be patient, reposition yourself, and lead your shots slightly. It will take several arrows to bring one down.
Once you've felled a deer, loot it to find the required antlers, along with some valuable animal hide and bones. Bringing the antlers back to the Wise Old Man completes the quest and progresses the story. He will mark a new location on your map: a large, ruined castle to the north, swarming with goblins. This is your next major objective.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds in-game screenshot
How do I beat the Goblin Castle?
This is your first real combat test. Do not attempt it with starter gear. Before you head north, ensure you have crafted and equipped a full set of Leather Armor and the Bone Dagger. A shield is also highly recommended for its blocking capability. Health potions are rare at this stage, so preparation is your best medicine.
The castle is a multi-level ruin crawling with goblins. Your approach will determine your success. When you encounter a group, resist the urge to charge into the middle. Your best strategy is to focus down one enemy at a time, thinning their numbers quickly. Stamina management is critical; running out of stamina mid-fight leaves you unable to attack or dodge, which is a death sentence. Attack in bursts, then back off to let the yellow bar recover.
Dealing with Goblin Archers
Your biggest threat will be the goblin archers. They hit hard from a distance and will whittle your health down while you're busy with their melee counterparts. Make them your primary target in any engagement. You can use your own bow to soften them up from afar, but the most effective tactic is to close the distance quickly. Once you're in their face, they stagger easily and can't get a shot off. Use your shield to block as you advance, then overwhelm them with rapid dagger strikes.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds in-game screenshot
As you fight your way up through the castle, be sure to loot the goblin packs you find along the way. They contain useful resources. At the very top, you'll find a chest with some valuable loot and a lore item. Interacting with the objective at the peak will trigger a cinematic encounter with a dragon and give you your next main quest: investigating a blue flame door in the swamp. For now, your work at the castle is done.
What happens when I die?
Death in Ashenfall is punishing but not catastrophic. When you die, you will respawn back at your claimed bed. However, your entire inventory is dropped at the spot where you fell. A skull-and-bones icon will appear on your map and compass, marking your 'death point'.
You can run back to this point to retrieve all of your lost gear. Be aware that any enemies that killed you will likely still be in the area. If you die inside a dungeon or instanced area, your loot will be conveniently placed just outside the entrance, saving you from having to fight your way back through it just to recover your things. It’s a setback, but one you can always recover from.
A final word
Your first hours in Ashenfall set the tempo for the rest of your adventure. The core gameplay loop is simple: get a quest, prepare by crafting the right gear, and then execute. By focusing on building a Bone Dagger and a full leather armor set, you'll have the tools you need to overcome the Wise Old Man's initial trials and step confidently into the wider, more dangerous world of the Dragonwilds.