Of Ash and Steel Beginner Guide Wiki – The Forgotten Land

During the playtest and the early demo, players were allowed to explore only a small slice of Greyshaft—roughly five percent of the complete region. Despite the limited scale, the land managed to feel massive thanks to its vertical layers, hidden routes, and the complete absence of an in-game map.

The Forgotten Land is designed around discovery. Every ridge, ravine, cave, or patch of ruins offers either a secret, a stat boost, or an unexpected encounter. If you’re stepping into this area for the first time and want a clearer idea of how it works—without spoiling all the surprises—this guide provides the fundamentals.

Of Ash and Steel Beginner Guide Wiki – Walkthrough

Your character, Tristan, begins with a fully balanced stat profile. Before you step into the open world, you can increase your attributes in two ways:

1. Dialogue Responses

During the prologue, interacting with Sirdar, Murray, and other characters allows you to earn five free stat boosts depending on how you answer. Each choice aligns with a specific attribute:

  • Strength: Choosing bold confrontation or readiness to fight
  • Luck: Choosing cautious, playful, or ambiguous responses
  • Wine (Endurance/Will): Leaning toward effort-heavy or duty-based actions
  • Perception: Showing cunning, negotiation talent, or strategic thinking
  • CPT (Competence): Curious, introspective, or truthful choices

These increments form the foundation for early combat checks and equipment requirements.

2. Miscellaneous Early Boosts

Beyond dialogue, you can acquire a few quick stat benefits:

  • Potion of Strength found behind the barrel near Emmett the healer
  • +1 PPC from giving Navigator Murray a bottle of brandy and choosing playful responses
  • Additional stat bonuses appear as you progress through leveling, perks, reading skill books, wearing jewelry, or defeating elite creatures

Stat Requirements to Remember:

  • Skinning: 10 Dexterity + 10 Endurance
  • Lockpicking: 10 Dexterity + 10 Insight
  • Claymore (two-handed): 12 Strength
  • Dialogue Insight Checks: Rarely exceed 10 in early content
  • Rings can be removed after equipping a high-requirement weapon—this is an intentional feature

The Forgotten Land

The early zone is built around layered paths, elevation changes, hidden caves, and multiple locked or secret objects. Below is a general overview of the key locations you can expect:

Major Points of Interest:

  • Camps and hamlets scattered across forested ridges
  • Hunting lodges, some abandoned, some with intact loot
  • Caves containing ore veins and early hostile wildlife
  • Ravines and cliffside trails with hidden stat plants and books
  • Shrines and altars that often contain unique items or puzzles
  • Collapsed ruins that hold minor gear, potions, or skill boosts

Navigating Without a Map

Although an official map didn’t exist during early testing, the terrain design encourages natural orientation:

  • Tall landmarks like towers, watch posts, or altars help you reset direction
  • Water sources guide you to paths or caves
  • High ridgelines reveal major routes between settlements

Walking blind through the area is deliberately rewarding, and most treasures are placed around natural visual cues.

Treasure Map

This section explains how the hidden loot in the region is structured. Only read this after you’ve explored thoroughly.

How the Treasure Layer Works:

  • Potions, plants, books, jewelry, and amulets are color-coded by stat benefit
  • A red X marks a chest connected to an item
  • Lilac lines connect locked chests to the keys required
  • Some areas have height differences:
    • Raised plateaus (marked on the original map)
    • Depressions leading to caves or tunnels
  • Amulets have tags like A4, meaning +4 Agility
  • Many minor discoveries grant +1 to a stat or small skill upgrades
  • Some chests contain weapons that require high stats but can be equipped using ring-removal tricks

Because the Forgotten Land includes many missable items tucked behind rocks, up ledges, or inside collapsed structures, this treasure system adds an enjoyable layer of scavenger-style exploration.

The Forgotten Land sets the tone for what Of Ash and Steel aims to be: a world shaped by natural discovery rather than strict quest markers. Even in its early form, the region offers branching paths, meaningful stat checks, and small secrets that reward players who engage closely with the environment.