Why the First Steps Quest Is the Key to Learning the Game

Every new adventurer in RuneScape: Dragonwilds starts in the exact same place: standing in front of the Wise Old Man inside the Temple in Temple Woods. This opening conversation kicks off First Steps, the primary quest built specifically to teach you the game's core systems before the story proper begins. Skipping it might feel tempting if you've played other RuneScape titles, but the developers explicitly recommend first-time players work through it rather than jumping straight into Dragon Slayer, because it's the fastest way to actually understand how building, combat, cooking, and magic fit together. If you're wondering how to play RuneScape: Dragonwilds without getting lost in your first hour, this quest is the answer.

Tutorial Walkthrough: From the Temple to Bramblemead

First Steps unfolds in three broad phases, and understanding the shape of it makes the early game far less confusing.

  • Begin your adventure — Talk to the Wise Old Man in the Temple. He explains the dragon threat and offers to teach you the basics. You can accept the tutorial or refuse it.
  • Before Setting Off — If you accept, he sends you to Doric just outside the temple, which begins a chain covering building, combat, cooking, and magic through a series of connected NPCs.
  • Finishing up — Whether you completed the tutorial or skipped it, you head to Bramblemead Village to find the Wise Old Man again and wrap up the quest.

If you refuse the tutorial offer at the start, you can still finish First Steps by talking to the Wise Old Man again once you reach Bramblemead Village — he's waiting on the first floor of a ruined building at the far end of the settlement. This means there's no wrong way to technically complete the quest, but players who skip the guided lessons miss out on hands-on practice with systems they'll need constantly later.

Here's a quick-reference table for the quest's basic details:

| Detail | Information | |---|---| | Description | Begin your adventure | | Start Point | Wise Old Man in the Temple, Temple Woods | | Type | Primary Quest | | Requirements | None | | Required Items | None | | Recommended Items | None | | Enemies to Defeat | None |

Because there are no requirements, no items to gather, and no monsters to fight beforehand, First Steps is designed to be completed the moment you load into the world. There's nothing blocking you from diving straight in.

Tutorial NPCs and What They Teach

The heart of learning how to play RuneScape: Dragonwilds happens during the "Before Setting Off" phase, where four NPCs each hand you off to the next in a chain of short lessons. This structure mirrors how the full game plays: building bases, fighting enemies, cooking food, and casting spells all layer together, so the tutorial introduces them one at a time before expecting you to juggle them at once.

| NPC | What They Teach | Sends You To | |---|---|---| | Doric | Processing stations and the building system | Vannaka | | Vannaka | Fighting nearby rats, cooking food, and combat basics | Zanik | | Zanik | The magic system, crafting runes, unlocking spells | Wise Old Man | | Wise Old Man | Wraps up the quest and points toward the next step | — |

A few things worth calling out about this chain:

  • Doric is your very first stop after accepting the tutorial, and he's positioned just outside the Temple, so you won't need to travel far.
  • Vannaka, described as a slayer master, handles both a small combat lesson against rats and a cooking lesson — a reminder that Dragonwilds blends survival mechanics with traditional RuneScape combat.
  • Zanik's lesson is the most involved of the three, since she covers rune crafting on top of teaching you how magic works and unlocking your first spell or two.
  • Once Zanik finishes teaching you, she sends you back to the Wise Old Man, closing the loop before you head to Bramblemead Village.

For more detail on any single stage, the wiki notes that Getting Started, Ratcatcher, and Rune Mysteries each cover these lessons in greater depth, since they're the individual quests bundled inside this "Before Setting Off" phase.

Quest Requirements and Rewards

One of the more player-friendly aspects of First Steps is how little it asks of you. There's no combat requirement, no item checklist, and no recommended gear — it's built to be accessible from the very first minute of a fresh save. That said, the reward at the end matters more than it might first appear.

| Category | Value | |---|---| | Requirements | None | | Required Items | None | | Enemies to Defeat | None | | Reward | 1 Tome of Runecrafting - Vol 1 |

The Tome of Runecrafting - Vol 1 is your reward for finishing the quest, and it ties directly back into the runecrafting lesson Zanik gave during the tutorial chain. Beyond the item itself, completing First Steps is also a hard requirement for continuing the story. The wiki lists it as required to complete several other quests:

  • Getting Started
  • Ratcatcher
  • Rune Mysteries
  • Dragon Slayer

In other words, First Steps isn't optional filler — it's the gate that everything else in the early game passes through, including the primary quest most new players are eager to reach, Dragon Slayer.

Tips for New Players Working Through the Tutorial

A few practical notes can smooth out your first session:

  • Don't rush past the dialogue. The Wise Old Man's offer to teach you the basics is the single decision point that determines whether you get the guided NPC chain or have to piece things together yourself later in Bramblemead.
  • Follow the NPCs in order. Doric, Vannaka, and Zanik are meant to be visited sequentially — each one sends you to the next, so there's no need to hunt around the map for who's next.
  • Treat the combat and cooking lesson as low-stakes practice. Fighting nearby rats under Vannaka's guidance is a controlled, low-risk way to learn combat basics before facing anything tougher.
  • Pay attention during Zanik's lesson. Runecrafting and magic are systems you'll rely on throughout the game, and this is the only point where they're explained step by step in a guided setting.
  • Remember Bramblemead Village is the finish line. Whether you did the full tutorial or skipped it, that's where the Wise Old Man is waiting to close out the quest.

Following these steps in order is really the whole answer to how to play RuneScape: Dragonwilds effectively from the outset — the game front-loads its teaching moments into this one quest so you're not learning mechanics cold in the middle of a harder encounter later.

FAQ

How to play RuneScape: Dragonwilds as a total beginner? Start by speaking to the Wise Old Man in the Temple at Temple Woods and accept his offer to teach you the basics. This launches the First Steps quest, which walks you through building, combat, cooking, and magic via Doric, Vannaka, and Zanik before sending you back to finish up in Bramblemead Village.

What happens if I refuse the tutorial offer? You can still complete First Steps — just head to Bramblemead Village and talk to the Wise Old Man again, found on the first floor of a ruined building at the far end of the village.

What do I get for finishing First Steps? You receive 1 Tome of Runecrafting - Vol 1.

Do I need any items or combat skill before starting? No. First Steps has no requirements, no required items, no recommended items, and no enemies you're forced to defeat.

Which quests depend on First Steps? Getting Started, Ratcatcher, Rune Mysteries, and Dragon Slayer all require First Steps to be completed first.