Welcome to Of Ash and Steel. This game isn’t your typical walk in the park RPG. It’s gritty and old-school. You play as Tristan, a cartographer who became a survivor. You’re going to need more than just luck to survive anything this harsh world throws at you. What you need is some Of Ash and Steel tips and tricks. Without further ado, let’s do this.
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What you will read here:
There Are No Quest Markers
You’d think a game starring a cartographer would give you a fancy map? No. There are no floating arrows, no quest markers in Of Ash and Steel that tell you where to go.
You have to actually listen. When an NPC tells you to follow the road that goes somewhere, they mean it. You need to rely on the clues in your journal and the dialogue itself. You have a compass, but the rest is up to your own sense of direction. It’s disorienting at first, but once you start paying attention to the world, it feels incredible.
How to Get Gold and XP in Of Ash and Steel
Progression can feel slow, that’s why you need to seize every opportunity. So how to get gold and XP in Of Ash and Steel? Find shrines. Pray there and offer some gold for XP. Find books and read them immediately to get some well-earned XP.
Don’t hoard junk. Use the dialogue options with vendors like “Do you need herbs?” to bulk sell your excess materials. It clears your inventory and lines your pockets.
Manage Your Body’s Condition
You aren’t a superhero. You’re a guy named Tristan. You have needs. You should manage your body’s condition or you’ll be in serious trouble.
- Hunger & Thirst: Ignoring these lowers your max health and stamina. Eat and drink regularly.
- Fatigue: Tired characters hit like wet noodles. Get some sleep.
- Wounds: This is brutal. A small scratch can fester into a serious injury if you keep taking damage. You’ll need to pay a healer good gold to fix you up if you let it get too bad. You don’t want that.

Go Fishing for Food
In Of Ash and Steel, you’re going to get hungry. While you can get vegetables and fruits, fishing is a reliable way to keep your belly full too. Find a river and cast a line. You should be patient. Watch the bobber. If it sinks, hook it. If the fish fights, reel it in.

Commit to Your Attributes Early
Your stats aren’t just numbers here. In Of Ash and Steel stats matter. They define who you are. And you need to decide fast because they dictate your entire playstyle.
- Insight & Fortitude: These are very important as well. Insight helps with critical hits and persuasion, while Fortitude grants HP and keeps you alive longer.
- Dexterity: Crucial for bows and fancy blade work if you want higher damage.
- Stamina: It helps you a lot when running, swimming, dodging.
- Strength: If you want to smash things and lift heavy objects, this is for you.
You get bonus attributes based on your prologue choices and +3 points every level up. Choose wisely. Don’t spread yourself too thin or this is gonna be bad for you.

Skill Unlocks in Of Ash and Steel
This is the tricky part. You can’t just level up and magically learn to parry. Unlocking skills requires three things:
- The right attribute scores: If you want to be a Master Blacksmith you better have high Insight and Strength.
- Gold: You need gold to unlock skills.
- Trainers: This is the big one. You have to find specific people in the world to teach you the skill.
Workbenches
Scavenging is only half the battle. You need to know where to take your loot. The game is full of specific stations for specific jobs.
- Workbenches are for bows and consumables.
- Tanneries turn those hides you skinned into leather.
- Anvils and Sharpening Stones are essential for keeping your weapons deadly.
- Alchemy is where you brew the potions that will inevitably save your life.
Day Night Cycle
Nighttime in Grayshaft isn’t just an aesthetic choice. It changes the rules.
- Darkness: When night falls, it is pitch black out there. You need a torch.
- Shops: Merchants sleep. If you break into a shop at night, you’re trespassing. Linger too long and it becomes a crime.
- Lockpicking: Night is the best time to steal, provided you have the lockpicks and the skill.

Combat in Of Ash and Steel
Early on, Tristan is terrible at fighting. He’s a map maker after all. You will probably die. To survive, unlock Basic Combat Training ASAP to get heavy attacks. Learn to Parry. A perfect block knocks enemies off balance and open them up.

If you’re using a bow, use that range to thin the herd before they reach you. Last but not least, don’t forget to sheathe your weapon when you enter a town. You don’t want to get in trouble.
Get NPCs to Help You
You don’t have to fight fair. If you are being chased by something scary, run towards the nearest NPC. They will often engage the enemy for you. If they kill it, you get a slice of the XP. If you manage to land the killing blow, you might get all of it. It’s cheesy, but you’re just trying to survive.
That’s about it with our Of Ash and Steel tips and tricks. Hope you’ve learned a thing or two. Feel free to share your experience in the comments.
Of Ash and Steel’s Official Steam Page
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