Which early weapons should you use?
Start with a Stone Dagger or Stone Club, then work toward a Bone Club once you have animal materials. Add a bow for hunting and fighting at a distance. The Wooden Training Sword is another early option, with its recipe hidden in a church rooftop chest near the starting area.
An accessible upgrade is a useful priority during your opening hours. Mobalytics' beginner guide recommends moving beyond stone equipment after hunting early animals, with bone weapons providing the next practical step. It also recommends carrying a bow to help with deer and dangerous enemies.
Think of your equipment as a small toolkit. Melee covers close encounters, while ranged weapons and magic let you attack from farther away. Enemies can have different weaknesses and resistances, so developing another combat option gives you more ways to handle exploration across Ashenfall.
Stone Dagger versus Stone Club
Both stone weapons are crafted at the Crafting Table using Stone and Ash Logs. The dagger costs fewer logs, while the club has the higher listed base damage range. Their block values are identical, making material cost and preferred attacks useful starting points for choosing between them.
The Dragonwilds Wiki's weapon reference lists these starting statistics and recipes:
| Starting weapon | Base damage | Block value | Materials needed | Special attack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Dagger | 7–18 | 26 | Stone ×8; Ash Logs ×4 | Lacerate |
| Stone Club | 14–24 | 26 | Stone ×8; Ash Logs ×6 | Block Breaker |
The Stone Dagger is a reasonable first craft when you want to conserve logs. A YouTube weapon progression guide favors it for its speed and opening encounters. Choose the Stone Club if you prefer its higher base damage range, but remember that these numbers alone do not establish damage per second.
There is an important qualification around combo length. The video describes the dagger as having a seven-hit combo, while the wiki explains that its displayed combo totals include Weapon Expertise. That perk unlocks at Attack level 16. The seven-hit figure therefore should not be read as the dagger's starting combo before that perk.
You can block with melee weapons without equipping a shield; the wiki states that this applies to both one-handed and two-handed weapons. These starter weapons also lose durability through use. Return to the facility that crafts a weapon to repair it, and check its condition before leaving for another expedition.
How to unlock the Wooden Training Sword
The Wooden Training Sword gives you another early melee choice without requiring a long search for a random recipe drop. A YouTube early-game walkthrough describes its unlock in a chest on the roof of the church near the starting area.
The rooftop chest contains a relic that teaches the recipe. Collecting the relic is only the first part of the process: you must study it from your inventory before the crafting recipe becomes available.
To collect the unlock:
- Find the church near the starting area.
- Build stairs or scaffolding beside it to create a route upward.
- Reach the roof and open the chest.
- Take the relic into your inventory.
- Study the relic to learn the Wooden Training Sword recipe.
- Check the unlocked recipe for its crafting requirements.
Building your way up means you can retrieve the relic before unlocking advanced movement abilities. It is a convenient detour while you are already exploring nearby, especially if you want to try a sword during the opening stage.
Treat this as an additional weapon choice rather than a reason to delay your other upgrades. Learning the recipe permanently makes it available even if you do not craft the sword immediately. You can continue using stone equipment while gathering what you need, then decide whether to make the sword or move toward bone weapons.
Bone weapons, bows, and your first staff
Power Level 2 gives you a useful opportunity to broaden your equipment. The weapon progression video recommends the Bone Club for melee, the Ash Shortbow for ranged combat, and the Ash Battlestaff as a starting point for magic.
| Weapon | Early role | Why consider it? |
|---|---|---|
| Bone Club | Main melee upgrade | Provides a straightforward progression target without pursuing a rare weapon recipe |
| Ash Shortbow | Hunting and ranged combat | Described in the progression video as an inexpensive, accessible bow |
| Ash Battlestaff | First practical magic option | Provides a starting point for fighting with rune attacks |
The Bone Club's listed base damage is 26–46, with a block value of 33, according to the Dragonwilds Wiki. Both values increase over the Stone Club's corresponding statistics. Its special attack remains Block Breaker, so the upgrade preserves that named attack option.
Crafting a Bone Club at the Crafting Table requires:
- 8 Animal Bone
- 6 Ash Logs
- 4 Leather
Animal materials therefore become part of your weapon progression. Gather them while following the opening quests and exploring nearby areas. Mobalytics also recommends processing new resources, since collecting materials and making processed items can reveal additional equipment recipes.
The Bone Dagger is another Power Level 2 melee choice. The wiki lists 14–35 base damage, 33 block, and the Lacerate special attack. Its lower damage range does not, by itself, prove that it performs worse across a full fight; attack behavior and your ability to land hits also matter.
For ranged combat, the progression video identifies the Adventurer's Longbow as a stronger alternative when unlocked. It also mentions the Goblin Sword as an optional loot-based melee target. Neither needs to interrupt your basic progression. Use accessible equipment while treating those unlocks as opportunities, and prepare ammunition or runes alongside your chosen ranged or magic weapon.
When to move beyond your first weapons
Power Level 3 offers the next straightforward crafting targets. The same weapon progression guide recommends a Bronze Sword, Oak Longbow, and Oak Battlestaff, giving each combat style a clear direction after its initial equipment.
| Combat style | Suggested next weapon | Reason given in the progression guide |
|---|---|---|
| Melee | Bronze Sword | A dependable upgrade with a straightforward progression path |
| Ranged | Oak Longbow | Stronger charged shots and better range |
| Magic | Oak Battlestaff | A higher rune damage multiplier than the Ash Battlestaff |
For melee, the video also highlights Skullsplitter for crush damage and a critical-hit bonus. Its recipe is rare, so it is best treated as an alternative if you obtain it. The Bronze Sword remains a practical target while that recipe is unavailable.
Before gathering materials for any upgrade, check its crafting station. Mobalytics identifies the Blacksmith's Bench for later melee weapons and tools, the Fletching Bench for ranged weapons and ammunition, and the Mystic Forge for staves and advanced upgrades. Your starter Crafting Table will not cover every later recipe.
Use enemy encounters as a readiness check. If ordinary enemies take very little damage or defeat you in only a few attacks, Mobalytics recommends reviewing your equipment's Power Level before pushing into the next region. That is a useful signal to return, repair, and pursue an available upgrade.
Also consider the enemy itself. The Dragonwilds Wiki notes that foes can resist certain attack types or be vulnerable to others. A varied selection gives you options when one weapon performs poorly. Keep this in mind before assuming that every difficult encounter requires a rare named weapon.
FAQ
Which runescape dragonwilds early game weapons should I craft first?
Craft a Stone Dagger or Stone Club first, then gather the materials for a Bone Club. Add an Ash Shortbow when available for hunting and ranged encounters. The Ash Battlestaff is the progression video's recommended early magic option if you want to develop that combat style.
Is the Stone Dagger better than the Stone Club?
The dagger saves two Ash Logs and is favored for speed in the weapon progression video. The club has a higher listed base damage range. Both have 26 block. Choose based on resource availability and preferred attacks; their damage ranges alone do not establish overall combat performance.
Does the church rooftop chest give you a finished sword?
The early-game walkthrough describes a relic inside the chest. Study that relic in your inventory to unlock the Wooden Training Sword recipe. You still need to craft the weapon afterward, so keep your existing weapon equipped while arranging the materials and crafting requirements.
Should I farm a Goblin Sword before upgrading?
The progression video advises against spending hours pursuing it at the beginning. A Bone Club provides a direct upgrade target, and larger equipment upgrades follow. Pursue the Goblin Sword if that hunt interests you, but it does not need to become a requirement for continuing.
How do I repair early weapons?
Use the same crafting facility that makes the weapon, according to the Dragonwilds Wiki. Stone weapons and the Bone Club are made at the Crafting Table. Checking durability before a trip helps you prepare your equipment before entering another sequence of fights.
