RuneScape Dragonwilds wound up becoming a surprise hit seemingly overnight. It’s a far-cry from the original RuneScape, which was a grind heavy MMORPG with way too many skills to count. This is something more, something akin to Valheim or Enshrouded. But even if you have experience in survival/crafting games, this one does things a little differently. After spending an hour with the game, there are a few things you should know before diving into RuneScape Dragonwilds!
1. Source food and water
2. Grind through your Woodcutting levels
3. Don’t rely solely on magic
4. Get your first base up quickly
5. Keep an eye out for treasure chests
Seriously, the biggest shocker when playing RuneScape: Dragonwilds, besides how extremely fun the game is overall, is how quickly your hunger and thirst meter drops as you explore, fight, and forage. Despite your stature, your character seems to have the metabolism of a bodybuilder, because they need food every ten minutes or so, sometimes less, depending on what you’re doing.
Sure, you could harvest a few berries, as the tutorial suggests, but those don’t last. Instead, craft a campfire at your base, then cook up various meals, including dried berries and, for the love of all things holy, cow. Those damned cows charge you anytime you walk past, so slaughter them all!
Almost every crafting and construction recipe in the game requires wood, and while you’ll inevitably unlock magic to help make woodcutting more accessible, it’s not enough. You’ll want to grind your Woodcutting levels early and often, decreasing the amount of stamina necessary for each swing of your axe. You’ll also unlock abilities, like the overhead swing, which make cutting logs easier and faster.
Trust us when we tell you that wood is about to become your best friend.
Magic is one of the more interesting parts of RuneScape Dragonwilds, allowing you to chop down streets or zip through the air like a superhero. However, casting magic requires runes, and while you’ll find plenty of rune-farming locations around the map, they’re not overly abundant. You will run low, unless you’re constantly scouring the world for farming locations.
As such, it’s best not to solely rely on magic. Take some time to level your other skills, that way you can use magic as a fall back.
The old man will explain that the surrounding village, while infested with goblins, should provide an advantageous point for your first settlement. He’s not wrong. It’s centrally located within this early-game zone you’re exploring, and there’s plenty of flat, clear ground around the ruins themselves to build.
However, if you’re at all like me, you’re keen on exploring more of the world before settling down in a single spot. That’s the joy of the game, though. You don’t have to settle in one place; you can construct multiple bases across the land. This, however, should be your first. Get a little plot down, even a 2×2 base, with a door, a crafting bench outside, and a sleeping cot on the floor so that you can rest and recuperate.
The first time you stumble upon a treasure chest, it’s part of the tutorial path. There’s one sitting atop the ruins beside the abandoned village, right where you’ll meet the old man for the second time. Inside, you can find Runes, resources, and best of all, crafting and construction plans to help you expand your base.
After that, keep an eye out when exploring the world to discover more. They’re usually scattered throughout points of interest, surrounded by enemies and animals, all of which want to consume you. Yes, even the rabbits attack on sight!
RuneScape Dragonwilds, a survival crafting action-adventure from the studio behind the long-running MMORPG, RuneScape, is out now on Windows PCs.
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