Exiles

In-depth walkthrough, tips, and personal insights for getting the most from Exiles

Exiles is a single-game title that blends exploration, player progression, and interactive systems into a provocative and adult-oriented experience; this article dives deep into its mechanics, storytelling, and community aspects to help new and returning players feel confident jumping in. In this guide I share personal experiences from dozens of hours of play, practical step-by-step tips for early progression, and my take on advanced systems that separate casual play from mastery. Whether you want a concise walkthrough, build ideas, or community-savvy tactics, this guide covers what mattered most to me while testing and refining strategies.

Getting Started: First Steps and Early Progression

Welcome, fellow castaway! 😅 Staring at the loading screen for Exiles, the sheer scale of the world can feel overwhelming. I remember my first spawn—I was so dazzled by the sunrise over the dunes that a hungry hyena had me for lunch before I’d even picked up a rock. Not the best start! This Exiles starter guide is designed to save you from my early (and repeated) follies. We’ll walk through those crucial first moments, from who you want to be to where you should go, turning panic into a plan. Think of this as your friendly survival manual, packed with Exiles character creation tips and a clear path for Exiles early progression.

Let’s get you from helpless newcomer to established survivor.

Creating your character and understanding cores

Your journey in how to start Exiles begins not in the world, but in the creation chamber. This isn’t just about picking a pretty face; it’s your first major strategic decision. Your archetype and your core are the foundation of everything you’ll do.

First, the look. Go wild! ✨ The slider-heavy system lets you craft anyone from a grizzled warrior to a neon-haired wanderer. My personal tip? Prioritize practicality over pure aesthetics in these early hours. A very tall character can be easier to spot in tall grass, but might also feel a bit clumsier in tight caves. I made my first exile a giant of a man with immense braided hair… only to constantly get it visually “caught” on low doorframes I built later. Lesson learned.

Now, the important part: your archetype. This choice subtly influences your starting attributes and which skills you’ll learn slightly faster. It’s not a permanent prison, but it gives you a welcome head start.

For a brand-new player, I strongly recommend the Survivor or Scout. The Survivor’s resource bonus accelerates your entire crafting chain, while the Scout’s mobility is the ultimate survival tool—running away is a perfectly valid strategy! My own Exiles character creation tips often point to these as the most forgiving choices.

Finally, you’ll select a core. This is the mystical spark that defines your character’s innate potential. Don’t overthink this for your first playthrough, but do choose one that resonates. The Core of Resilience offers passive health regeneration, which saved my skin more times than I can count when I was learning what not to poke. The Core of Precision makes your arrows and thrown weapons fly truer, a huge boon for early hunting. I initially picked the flashy Core of Fury, which boosts attack speed, but without good weapons or armor, it just meant I exhausted my stamina and got hit more. For your first foray, a defensive or utility core provides a much better safety net.

Remember, these choices set the tone but don’t limit you. The beauty of Exiles is that a determined Brute can still become a master crafter; it just might take a little longer. Now, let’s take that character and throw them into the wild! 🌍

Early goals: resources, shelter, and simple tools

You’ve spawned. The wind is blowing, something screeches in the distance, and your survival bars are already ticking down. Breathe. Your first hour has one mantra: secure the basics. This is the core of any Exiles starter guide.

First 10 Minutes: The Essential Gather
Look down. See those small stones and branches on the ground? Pick them up. Immediately. Your first goal is to craft a Stone Pick and a Stone Hatchet. To do this, you need:
* 10 Stone (from picking up loose stones or punching rock outcrops—yes, really).
* 10 Wood (from picking up branches or punching small trees).
* 10 Fiber (from picking up plant fiber bushes, the tall grassy ones).

Open your inventory (I key by default) and look at the “Crafting” section. You can make your tools directly there to start. With pick and hatchet in hand, your efficiency skyrockets. Now, gather more intelligently: use the pick on rock for more stone and ore, use the hatchet on trees for wood and bark. My classic early mistake? I made one tool and wore it out completely before making the other. Always keep a backup of resources to make a replacement; being stranded without a hatchet is a serious setback.

Shelter is Everything 🏠
With a few dozen extra wood and stone in your pocket, think about shelter. Nighttime brings colder temperatures and more dangerous creatures. Your first shelter can be laughably simple. Find a relatively flat spot, preferably near resource nodes (trees, rocks) but not right on a major creature path. Open your crafting menu (V key) and place a Bedroll. This is your temporary respawn point—do not forget this step! I once built a beautiful little hut, died to a surprise sandstorm, and respawned miles away at the desert starter basin. I never found that hut again.

Next, craft a Simple Shelter (just a few wood and fiber) or, if you have the stone, a small Basic Box to store your extra resources. Storage is security. It means if you die, you don’t lose everything. Which you will. We all do.

Food, Water, and First Defense
Your hunger and thirst bars drain constantly. Listen for the sound of water 💧 and fill your waterskin at any river, pond, or oasis. For food, your first friends are the Desert Berries on small bushes. They provide a little food and hydration. Next, craft a Stone Knife. This lets you harvest meat and hide from creatures. A Stone Sword or a set of Throwing Stones are your first real weapons. Hunt the feeble shalebacks (the little turtle-lizards) for easy, safe meat. Cook it at a Campfire (crafted from stone and wood) to avoid getting sick.

Personal Insight: My biggest “aha!” moment was learning to use the terrain. Climb a rock! Most early enemies can’t follow you up. You can safely regain stamina, shoot arrows, or plan your next move without being nibbled to death.

This focused loop—gather, craft, secure—is your foundation. Once your immediate survival is handled, you can start thinking bigger. This process is the absolute key to how to start Exiles on the right foot.

First-week progression roadmap

Having a long-term vision transforms the experience from reactive panic to satisfying growth. Here’s a Exiles first day roadmap that expands into your first week, a crucial part of mastering Exiles early progression.

Day 1: The Foundation (0-4 hours of play)
Your goal today is stability.
* First Hour: As above. Tools, bedroll, basic weapons.
* Mid-Day: Build a simple 4-wall shack with a door and a roof. Place your bedroll inside, along with at least one storage box. Craft a Carpenter’s Bench. This unlocks better building pieces and essential furnishings.
* End of Day: Ensure you have a steady supply of cooked food and clean water. Have a full set of Rough Clothing (fiber and hide) for temperature protection and a little armor. Go to sleep in your bed to set your respawn point firmly. You are now no longer a visitor; you’re a resident. ✅

Days 2-3: The Expansion 🛠️
Your goal is capability and exploration.
* Upgrade Tools: Use your Carpenter’s Bench to craft an Iron Pick and Iron Hatchet. This requires finding Ironstone (darker, metallic rock nodes) and smelting it in a Furnace (crafted from stone). This is a game-changer for gathering speed.
* Secure Your Perimeter: Place some Spike Palisades around your base entrance. It won’t stop a raid, but it will dissuade wandering beasts.
* Unlock the Wheel of Pain: This is a major milestone. Start gathering materials for this station. It’s your gateway to obtaining a thrall to help guard your base or work at your stations faster. This is where the game truly opens up.
* Map the Immediate Area: Craft a Map at the Carpenter’s Bench and start uncovering the fog around your base. Mark locations of key resources, dangerous creature spawns, and potential dungeon entrances.

Your First Week: Establishing Dominance ⚔️
Your goal is to transition from surviving to thriving.
* Obtain Your First Thrall: With your Wheel of Pain ready, you need to knock out a humanoid enemy (use a truncheon, which you can now craft) and drag them back to your wheel. A simple taskmaster from a nearby camp will do wonders for your crafting efficiency.
* Craft a Better Armor Set: Move past Rough Clothing into Light Armor or even medium-grade Hide Armor for significantly better protection.
* Tackle Your First Minor Dungeon or World Boss: Seek out a small cave or a named creature you’ve marked on your map. Prepare thoroughly with healing items (Aloe Potions are great), good weapons, and armor. The loot will be a massive upgrade.
* Plan Your Next Move: Are you staying in your starter hut to fortify it into a castle? Or are you gathering resources for a migration to a more resource-rich or scenic location? The choice is yours.

This Exiles first day roadmap and its expansion provide a scaffold. It won’t prevent all surprises—the sandstorm that blew out my campfire, the hidden spider in the resource node—but it gives you the tools and confidence to handle them. These are the Exiles beginner tips I wish I’d had from day one.

To wrap up this starter chapter, here’s a quick-hit checklist you can reference whenever you start a new life in the desert:

• [ ] Gather 10 Stone, 10 Wood, 10 Fiber.
• [ ] Craft Stone Pick and Stone Hatchet.
• [ ] Harvest more resources: Wood, Stone, Fiber, Hide.
• [ ] Craft a Stone Sword/Weapon and a Bedroll.
• [ ] Find a base location and place Bedroll & Storage Box.
• [ ] Build a simple shelter (4 walls, door, roof).
• [ ] Craft a Campfire and cook food.
• [ ] Craft a Carpenter’s Bench and Furnace.
• [ ] Upgrade to Iron Tools.
• [ ] Begin crafting the Wheel of Pain.

Stick to this plan, and you’ll build a life from nothing. Remember, every master exile once died to a pack of hungry hyenas. The difference is how quickly they got back up, learned, and built a spike trap for the next pack. Welcome to the exiles. Your story starts now. 🔥

This guide distilled practical, experience-based advice for players at every stage of Exiles: from first-hour survival to advanced endgame strategies. I shared concrete steps, personal anecdotes, and build examples to help you make better in-game decisions faster. Try the starter checklist, experiment with one of the sample builds, and join a friendly server to accelerate learning—then come back and iterate on your approach using the tactics in this guide.