- Dragonwilds progression guide: Regions, materials, skills, and gear all advance together across Ashenfall.
- Tools first: Upgrade pickaxe and logging axe before anything else when entering a new region.
- Power level symbols: Match or stay one level below a region's tier to keep fights manageable.
- Skills and stations gate recipes: Finding a new material is only step one of three.
- Explore freely: Chests, vaults, vestiges, and side quests drive natural progression.
How Progression Works in Dragonwilds
This Dragonwilds progression guide breaks down how the game's core loop fits together. Progression in RuneScape: Dragonwilds is built around exploring new regions of Ashenfall, finding stronger materials, and using those materials to upgrade your equipment, tools, and base. Moving deeper into the world means tougher enemies, but each region also supplies the resources needed to match its difficulty.
Video Highlights:
- Progression = regions + materials + gear tiers + power level
- New materials unlock recipes when first collected — and again at crafting stations
- Power level symbols (white, orange, yellow, green, skull diamonds) show region difficulty
- Skills level naturally as you mine, chop, craft, cook, and build
- Vestiges unlock end-game gear options beyond normal material tiers
The four pillars of progression are:
Gear & Power Level
- Weapons, armor, tools advance through tiers
- Power level compares you to regions and enemies
- Drives combat readiness in new areas
Skills
- Mining, woodcutting, cooking, crafting, and combat styles
- Level up naturally through use
- Unlock recipes, perks, and skill spells
Crafting Stations
- Tannery, furnace, anvil, loom, fletching bench
- Upgrades unlock advanced material processing
- Your base is the progression hub
Regions & Materials
- New ores, woods, hides, plants, enemy drops
- Each region feeds the next gear tier
- Collecting materials unlocks recipes
Some recipes only unlock after you bring a new material back to base and interact with the matching crafting station. Always carry new finds home and check every station before assuming nothing new is available.
Power Level and Gear Tiers Explained
Your displayed power level is based on equipped armor. Mixing gear tiers averages them together and rounds down, so a single weak piece can drag your score. Regions and enemies have their own power levels, giving you a fast read on whether your setup can handle the content ahead.
| Diamond Symbol | Meaning | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| White | Zone and enemies are neutral | Comfortable — common in Temple Woods |
| Orange | Power level 1 below zone | Acceptable challenge |
| Yellow | Same power level as zone | Ideal match |
| Green | Power level above zone | Overgeared — safe farming |
| Skull | More than 1 below zone | Avoid or prepare for a hard fight |
If a story quest drops you into a region marked with a skull diamond, step back. Farm the previous region, upgrade tools and armor, and return once you're within one level of the zone's tier.
Gathering tools follow their own progression path alongside weapons and armor. Your pickaxe, logging axe, shovel, and farming tools eventually hit resources they can't gather — that's your cue to upgrade before fully exploiting a region.
Region-by-Region Walkthrough
Follow this route to move efficiently from Temple Woods to the final battle with General Velgar. A detailed walkthrough is also available at Game8's progression guide.
Temple Woods (Prologue)
Speak to the Wise Old Man, then complete Getting Started with Doric, Ratcatcher with Vannaka, and Rune Mysteries with Zanik. The optional tutorial teaches core basics worth learning.
Bramblemead Valley
Build a roofed base with a bed roll, craft a Spinning Wheel, Ash Shortbow, Wooden Shield, and Bone Dagger. Hunt deer and cows for hide and bone, build a Tannery, craft the Reinforced Armor Set, and raid the South Temple Woods Vault for a Vault Core. Place a Lodestone near base.
Whispering Swamp
Find Spitfoot in the vault for the Dragon Slayer quest — interact with the Dragonkin Effigy to learn the Anti-Dragon Shield recipe. Gather swamp clay for a Kiln and build a Furnace. Stock up on Harralander, Bittercap Mushrooms, and Swamp Tar for antipoison potions.
Fractured Plains
Place a Lodestone near copper and tin deposits, smelt Bronze Bars, build a Smithing Anvil, and upgrade to the Bronze Pickaxe and Bronze Logging Axe. Raid the Fractured Plains Vault for shards and cores.
Bloodblight Swamp
Brew Weak Antipoison Potions first, then set a Lodestone. Gather 12+ Blightwood for the Anti-Dragon Shield, defeat the Abyssal Demon for an Abyssal Spine (camp on nearby ruins it can't reach), and collect Snapdragon for stronger healing potions.
Stormtouched Highlands
Lodestone near iron deposits, smelt Iron Bars, and build the Loom Harness. Craft the full Iron Armor Set (20 Iron Bars, 6 Padded Cloth, 14 Hard Leather, 6 Vault Shards) and the Abyssal Whip. Upgrade to Iron tools, brew Attack Potions from granite, and mine the southwestern dragon skull for a Dragon Tooth.
Final Battle: General Velgar
Craft the Challenge Horn (5 Bronze Bars, 1 Dragon Tooth, 1 Bloodwood Sap). Stock food, water, healing and antipoison potions. Dodge the homing earth attack and fight from range with the Crystal Bow, or close in with the Abyssal Whip. Drink an Antipoison Potion beforehand to negate poison damage.
| Region | Key Unlock | Must-Build Station |
|---|---|---|
| Temple Woods | Tutorial quests, basics | Bed roll base |
| Bramblemead Valley | Leather gear, first Vault Core | Tannery, Lodestone |
| Whispering Swamp | Anti-Dragon Shield recipe | Kiln, Furnace |
| Fractured Plains | Bronze tier tools | Smithing Anvil |
| Bloodblight Swamp | Blightwood, Abyssal Spine | Potion supplies |
| Stormtouched Highlands | Iron gear, Abyssal Whip | Loom Harness |
Build a Lodestone in every new region before pushing its story content. Vault Cores are the limiting resource — plan which areas need fast travel most.
Skills, Stations, and Vestiges
Skills are arguably the most important progression system in Dragonwilds. Virtually every action — mining, woodcutting, cooking, crafting, construction, farming, and each combat style — levels its own skill through use. Higher skill levels unlock recipes, perks, passive bonuses, abilities, and skill spells.
Finding a high-tier material doesn't mean you can immediately use it. You typically need:
- The right tool tier to gather it
- The right skill level to process it
- The right crafting station to turn it into upgrades
The basic Tannery processes animal hide into leather. The Tanner's Kit buildable expands what it can handle, and advanced leather types later require the Advanced Tannery. This upgrade chain repeats across every station in your base.
| Station | Handles |
|---|---|
| Blacksmith Bench | Weapons and tools |
| Armor Bench | Armor progression |
| Fletching Bench | Ranged weapons and ammunition |
| Tannery / Advanced Tannery | Hides into leather tiers |
| Kiln | Adhesive, Charcoal, Clay Vessels, Wild Anima |
| Furnace + Anvil | Bars and smithed gear |
Vestiges are Dragonwilds' end-game gear source. Normal material tiers give you the standard upgrade path, but vestiges unlock additional weapons, armor, tools, and recipes that expand your build options. You don't need every vestige to advance regions, but they reward thorough exploration.
Progression Checklist and Tips
Before Leaving Each Region:
- Upgrade pickaxe and logging axe to current tier
- Collect new materials and check every crafting station for recipes
- Place a Lodestone and stock Vault Cores
- Keep core skills leveling alongside region difficulty
- Open chests, clear vaults, and complete side quests
- Match or stay within one power level of the next region
Key habits that keep progression smooth:
- Mark ungatherable resources on your map and return once the matching tool is upgraded.
- Don't grind every skill to max — main skills progress naturally through normal play.
- Don't replace every gear piece the moment you enter a new region; use power level as your guide.
- Explore beyond quest markers — much of your power comes from chests, vaults, and vestiges found off the beaten path.
Progression in Dragonwilds is tied into everything you do. Gathering, cooking, building, and fighting all feed skill growth, so playing at a steady, exploratory pace outperforms rushing the main story.
FAQ
Q: What is the best progression priority when entering a new region in Dragonwilds?
Upgrade your gathering tools first. Your pickaxe, logging axe, and shovel determine which resources you can collect, and combat gear can't be crafted without materials. If you find a resource you can't gather yet, mark it on your map and return after upgrading.
Q: How does power level work with mixed gear tiers?
Your displayed power level is based on equipped armor. Mixing different tiers averages them together and rounds down, so one weak piece lowers your score. Aim to match or stay within one level of a region's power tier.
Q: Do I need to grind skills before advancing regions?
No. Skills level naturally as you mine, chop, craft, cook, and build. You just need your main skills to keep pace with the regions you're exploring, since higher-tier materials often require a minimum skill level to process.
Q: Why didn't a new material unlock any recipes?
Some recipes only appear after you bring the material back to base and interact with the associated crafting station while holding it in your inventory. Check each station after collecting anything new.