Anvil Quest Beginner Guide - Your First Two Hours

Welcome to Anvil Quest. This guide walks you through your first two hours — from character creation to defeating your first world boss. Follow this in order and you’ll hit level 10 with a solid foundation, a Frostpike on your back, and enough gold in the bank to matter. Every step is written for a brand-new account; if you already have a class picked, skip to Step 3.

Step 1: Pick Your Starting Class

You choose one of four classes at character creation. You cannot change this later without paying 500 gems, so pick carefully.

Class	Difficulty	Playstyle	Recommended For
Warrior	Easy	High HP, simple melee	First-time players
Mage	Medium	Ranged burst, fragile	Players who like positioning
Rogue	Hard	High crit, melee	Experienced action game players
Cleric	Medium	Support/healing	Players who duo with friends

Beginner recommendation: Warrior. The extra HP forgives mistakes while you learn enemy patterns. Switch to Rogue or Mage once you understand the game.

One nuance the class cards don’t show: Cleric is the only class whose first skill (Heal) scales with a stat you can’t gear for until level 15, which is why Cleric feels weak solo early even though it’s the best duo partner in the game. If you have a friend starting with you, Warrior + Cleric is the strongest pairing for the Emberfang fight at the end of this guide.

Step 2: Complete the Tutorial Forge (0:00 – 0:20)

The tutorial is unskippable but only takes 20 minutes. It teaches you:

• Basic movement (WASD + space to jump, shift to dash)
• How to swing your weapon (left click)
• How to craft your first item at the anvil
• The dialogue system (press E to interact)

You’ll end the tutorial at level 3 with a Rusty Iron Sword and 100 coins.

Do not skip any crafting interactions. The tutorial forge gives you the Iron Dagger recipe for free. If you skip it, you have to buy the recipe later for 300 coins — that’s more than half of what the first two hours earn you.

Two settings to change before you leave the forge, both in Options → Gameplay:

1. Damage numbers: ON. Every boss guide on this site assumes you can see hit values; you can’t learn dodge timing you can’t measure.
2. Auto-pickup radius: Max. Copper Ore and coin piles stop being a chore.

Step 3: Reach Level 5 in Oakwood Vale (0:20 – 0:50)

After the tutorial, the game drops you in Oakwood Vale. Clear these quests in order:

1. “Speak to Blacksmith Mara” — walk 30 seconds north. Free 50 coins.
2. “Gather 10 Copper Ore” — the mine is east of Mara’s shop. Ore respawns every 45 seconds, so this takes ~5 minutes.
3. “Craft the Copper Sword” — back at Mara’s anvil. This replaces your Rusty Iron Sword and triples your damage.
4. “Kill 5 Forest Boars” — each boar gives 80 XP. You’ll hit level 5 mid-way through.

At level 5, unlock your first skill. Warriors should take Battle Cry (+20% damage for 10 seconds). Mages take Firebolt. Rogues take Backstab. Clerics take Heal.

Bank the Copper Ore while you’re in the mine — ten extra ore costs you two minutes now and saves a return trip when the forging guide projects start. Every material you’ll ever need, with respawn timers and farm routes, lives in our forging materials guide.

Step 4: First Dungeon — Frostspire Approach (0:50 – 1:20)

At level 5, the path north opens to Frostspire Keep. On the way, you’ll pass through the Frostspire Approach, a short dungeon with ice-elemental enemies.

Key tips:

• Bring 5 Health Potions (buy from Mara for 25 coins each). Ice enemies hit hard.
• The Frost Wisp miniboss at the end drops a Glacial Gem — save this for later crafting.
• Reach level 8 before fighting Emberfang at the end of the dungeon. He’s a real boss, not a trash mob.

The Approach is also where the game teaches you elemental resistance the hard way: your attacks still land normally, but the ice mobs’ hits chunk you for 60% more than the boars did. Nothing in Oakwood Vale prepared you for that spike, which is exactly why the five potions are on the shopping list.

Step 5: Defeat Emberfang (1:20 – 1:50)

Emberfang is your first world boss. At level 8 with a Copper Sword (or better, a Frostpike if you crafted one), he’s beatable. Read our full Emberfang Boss Guide for the phase-by-phase breakdown.

The short version: strafe right to dodge his fire bolts, jump his burning ground rings, and save your dash for his Phase 3 enrage.

If you redeemed the newest codes from our codes page before this fight, the Greater Frost Potion they buy makes his final phase trivial — the frost buff cancels the scorch that kills most first attempts.

Step 6: Unlock the Shattered Isles (1:50 – 2:00)

Defeating Emberfang opens the portal to the Shattered Isles — the game’s main progression zone. From here, the real game begins:

• New quest hubs every 3 levels
• World bosses every 5 levels
• Crafting tiers unlock at levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50
• Codes start giving meaningful rewards (check our codes page daily)

Your first Shattered Isles priorities, in order: turn in the Emberfang Shard quest (400 coins), craft the Emberweave chest (see the Emberforged armor set for why it’s the best early armor investment), and set your healing potion quick-slot to a key you can reach without looking.

Common Newbie Mistakes

• Spending gems on cosmetics early. Save gems for the class-change item or inventory expansions. Cosmetics can wait.
• Selling the Glacial Gem. You need 5 of these to craft your first Frostpike weapon. They’re soulbound, so you can’t trade for them.
• Skipping side quests. Oakwood Vale side quests give a total of 400 coins and 2 Health Potions. Worth the 15 minutes.
• Fighting Emberfang under level 8. Possible but miserable. Go grind to 8 first.
• Hoarding materials “for later”. Materials have zero value in your bag; the forging materials guide shows which of them gate your next three upgrades. Spend as you go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I respec my first skill?

Skills respec free at any trainer; the 500-gem fee is only for class changes. Experiment freely with Battle Cry versus the armor-break option — the DPS difference matters from Stormcaller onward.

Should I play solo or with a friend?

Solo is fine through Act 1 — the difficulty assumes it. Duo play halves the Emberfang and Stormcaller fights but splits code-redeemed gold and drops. If you do duo, Warrior + Cleric outperforms any double-damage pairing until level 30.

What's the fastest way to make gold at level 10?

Emberfang respawns every 20 minutes and drops 850 coins guaranteed — see the farming notes at the bottom of his guide. At about 2,500 coins per hour, it beats every quest hub until Act 2 unlocks Inferno Gem farming.

What to Do Next

Once you’ve cleared the tutorial arc:

1. Bookmark our codes page and check daily for free coins.
2. Read the weapon tier list before spending materials on a weapon you’ll replace in two levels.
3. When you reach level 22, the Stormcaller Boss Guide is your next exam — and the first real DPS check in the game.

Welcome to the forge. Good luck out there.