RuneScape: Dragonwilds Beginner Guide | What to Do in Your First Few Hours?

Since April 2025, after a long series of updates, RuneScape: Dragonwilds has finally reached Version 1.0. This does not mean the game has reached its end, but rather that its content has now reached the developers' initial vision for the game.

For beginners, the first time you enter the game, you will see an extremely large map, which can be quite overwhelming. Here is what you should do during your first few hours so that you can become familiar with the various game mechanics instead of spending hours getting lost in the valleys.

Follow The Main Quest

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is not a traditional MMORPG, but a 1–4 player co-op open-world Survival RPG. You may already be eager to chop down some wood and start building a house, but that is not what you should focus on first.

You should stay in Bramblemead Valley and follow the main quests. Do not rush off and explore randomly. The game encourages you to explore and find your own way from the beginning. However, following the quests will help you obtain tools, food, and various unlocks.

While you are in Bramblemead Valley, upgrade your Axe and Pickaxe as soon as the quests allow you to. Tools determine a lot in this game because anything you cannot gather without the proper tools cannot be used for construction.

Try to obtain every available tool upgrade and gather resources along the quest route whenever possible. This will make the early game much smoother.

Fast Travel

RuneScape: Dragonwilds has a huge map, so your real enemy is not the boss, but the long travel time between locations.

Therefore, whenever you enter a new area or find that two areas are far apart, activate a Lodestone before continuing with your quests. This will save you a huge amount of travel time later.

Lodestones do not unlock automatically. You first need to find a key item called a Vault Core.

Vault Cores can only be obtained from Dragonkin Vaults scattered throughout the world. Each vault usually contains multiple cores, which are placed on small pedestals.

Once you obtain your first Vault Core, the crafting recipe for a Lodestone will automatically unlock. You do not even need to defeat the final Boss of the vault. Once you have the core, you can return to your base and build it first.

In addition, they respawn after roughly three in-game days, so you can revisit previously completed vaults to obtain more cores.

After obtaining a Lodestone, you can place it almost anywhere in the Overworld, although you cannot build one inside dungeons or certain restricted areas.

It is wise to carry the necessary crafting materials with you while exploring; this allows you to drop a Lodestones as an escape point whenever RuneScape: Dragonwilds items in inventory is full or you encounter danger.

Combat Style

For combat, it is recommended that you choose one style and stick with it during the early game. Simply put, Melee uses swords, Ranged uses bows, and Magic uses staves.

Although you can experiment with different builds later, focusing on one style will make it much faster to train the corresponding skills. The game's progression system unlocks better Abilities and more efficient attacks as you progress with each weapon style.

Armor Upgrades

You do not need to craft every tier of armor. If your current progression is not being blocked and your armor is not noticeably holding you back, there is no need to constantly farm materials for every single tier.

Generally speaking, progressing from the starter set to Tier 3 in Fractured Plains and then upgrading your entire set once should be enough to handle many early-game battles.

The enemies you encounter early on are not particularly strong, and Skills and a good weapon are often more useful than armor obtained through extensive material farming.

You can use a decent set of equipment to take on enemies at slightly higher levels. When you see new equipment that is roughly two tiers higher than your current gear become available, that is a good sign that you can upgrade your armor for the next area.

Skills Upgrades

Skills and Experience are best gained naturally while completing quests, fishing, and crafting. There is no need to intentionally grind a specific skill because the time required is generally about the same. As you explore the world, Experience will gradually accumulate on its own. Let it come naturally instead of rushing to grind.

Managing Base And Inventory

The location of your Base is important. Ideally, it should be near a Lodestone, on relatively flat ground, and close to trees and a water source. Solve your Storage problems first, then worry about the appearance of your base.

Your inventory will fill up very quickly. Build Private Storage as early as possible, expand your storage capacity, and use armor stands to clear out your inventory.

If the roof is unstable, add supports and shorten the span. You will acquire a lot of Loot, so your storage system needs to be well organized.

For example, use one chest for food, another for farming materials, and another for old equipment and miscellaneous items. As a survival crafting player, this will make the overall experience much more enjoyable.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds is a very enjoyable game. Its main focus is survival and building, while the combat system is also decent. The main storyline takes roughly 40 to 60 hours, and hundreds of hours of gameplay is perfectly normal if you include building and side content. You can also enjoy the game together with your friends.