Entering the world of Mirthwood is an exciting adventure filled with endless possibilities, but getting started can be a bit daunting.
There's a lot to explore, making it tricky to know what to focus on first. This article provides a quick rundown of the basics to help you get off to a great start in Mirthwood.
Ready to Dive into Mirthwood? Here’s What You Should Do
Mirthwood mixes medieval landscapes with various gameplay options, including farming, combat, and social activities for all players.
The game's open-ended nature can feel overwhelming at first. Tasks like managing your farm, exploring the world, and building relationships compete for attention.
Here are a few things to focus on early to help you get the most out of Mirthwood.
1. Expand Your Inventory Space Early
Exploring the Free Lands, you’ll stumble upon colorful items called Fabled Feathers.
These feathers might initially seem pointless since you can't sell or trade them.
However, they are essential for expanding your inventory and unlocking skill-card slots.
To upgrade your inventory, head east of Brightoak, crossing the river to find Old Fernfoot.
You can trade eight feathers for an inventory or skill slot upgrade from this merchant.
Since inventory space is limited at first, expanding it early on will make resource collection and questing much easier.
Make exploring a priority to gather as many feathers as possible.
2. Unlock and Utilize Fast Travel
Mirthwood’s world is vast, and walking between far-off locations can consume a lot of time and stamina.
Fast travel is a lifesaver, but it requires some setup—campsites throughout the map act as fast-travel locations, crafting zones, and resting places.
To activate a fast travel point, locate and interact with the signpost at a campsite.
Your map starts blank, so you must find these locations yourself. You can just get in the habit of marking new campsites as you explore.
You should begin by unlocking the fast travel point close to your housing plot, then branch out to nearby towns like Brightoak.
This system helps you save time and prepare for long trips or quick escapes.
3. Gear Up with the Blacksmith’s Bow
Combat in Mirthwood can be daunting, especially against stronger enemies.
The sword you start with is sturdy but not very flexible. Head to Clayton the Blacksmith in Brightoak early in the game to get ahead.
He will give you a quest to retrieve his hammer, lodged in a tree.
As part of the quest, he lends you a bow, which becomes yours once the task is complete.
The bow lets you target enemies from a distance and hunt wildlife like deer and rabbits.
It's not as powerful as melee weapons, but that range is handy when dealing with harder battles or trying to kite enemies.
4. Crafting and Resource Management Made Simple
Mirthwood thrives on crafting, from cooking meals to forging better tools.
Early on, focus on building essential crafting stations such as a Furnace, Cooking Pot, and Anvil.
These stations allow you to process raw materials into valuable items.
For instance, smelting iron ore into bars can significantly boost its sale value, while cooking food enhances its healing properties.
To streamline crafting, position chests near your crafting stations.
This system lets crafting stations access materials from the chests, so you don't have to make constant back-and-forth trips to your inventory.
Plan your crafting area thoughtfully to maximize efficiency, especially as your resource stockpile grows.
5. Understand the Morality System
What you do in Mirthwood influences your morality, shaping NPCs' views of you and opening up specific opportunities.
Positive actions, like donating at shrines or completing contracts, will increase morality and improve your reputation with townsfolk.
Conversely, stealing from crates or choosing morally dubious dialogue options will lower it.
But low morality isn’t always a disadvantage. Specific merchants and quests become available only to characters with questionable ethics.
For example, a shady merchant in Murkwood Marsh caters exclusively to low-morality players.
To maintain balance, consider how your choices align with your playstyle. If you prefer a high-morality approach, focus on helping NPCs and avoiding theft.
For those who wish to explore the game's darker side, embrace morally questionable actions to unlock exclusive paths.
Remember, morality can be adjusted by visiting shrines, where you can donate money to recover lost points.
6. Master Health, Stamina, and Hunger Management
To survive in Mirthwood, you must manage three essential meters: health, stamina, and hunger.
Each helps ensure your character stays functional and ready for what's ahead.
Health is depleted during combat or when encountering environmental hazards and can be restored by consuming food or crafting health elixirs using herbs and other ingredients.
Stamina is used up during activities such as farming, mining, and sprinting. It can be restored by resting at campsites or using stamina elixirs.
Hunger also slowly fades throughout the day. If it drops too much, it hampers your recovery of health and stamina.
Prepared meals like venison or rabbit restore hunger much more effectively than raw food, so keep a stock of cooked dishes.
Exhaustion can also prevent you from restoring these meters altogether.
Regular sleep or naps at a bed or campsite help keep your character in top condition.
Managing these meters wisely ensures you’re always prepared for exploration, combat, and daily tasks in the Free Lands.
What do you find most challenging in Mirthwood? Comment down below!