Delverium Beginner Guide: First Steps

The Delverium beginner guide, in one sentence: craft starter tools, raise a shelter, start a farm, recruit NPC traders, and only then chase dungeons. Delverium is a classless survival sandbox — progression comes from what you make and build, not a skill tree — and the first hours set up everything else. Here is the order that works.

Your first hour: tools and shelter

Delverium drops you into a procedurally generated world with minimal hand-holding.

1. Gather and craft your starter tools. Everything begins here — tools unlock efficient gathering, which unlocks everything else (see crafting recipes).
2. Build a basic shelter before night falls. A walls-and-door box is enough; the point is a safe respawn point and storage.
3. Do not chase dungeons yet. The world generates dungeons all over the map, but early gear turns delving into a death march.

Hour two and three: farm and settle

Survival games live or die on food economy, and Delverium's farming loop is the answer:

• Till soil and plant crops, then water them — crops feed you and feed your economy.
• Breed animals for a renewable food and materials line.
• Cook instead of eating raw — prepared food is the efficient route (community-reported; exact recipe values are unconfirmed until launch testing).

Recruit NPCs and start trading

A signature Delverium system: recruitable NPCs can join your settlement. Community sources highlight trader characters — including chicken and sheep vendors — and a copper coin currency that anchors early trade. Sell surplus crops and goods, buy what your biome lacks. The exact trader inventory pools are unconfirmed; we will document them from live play at Early Access.

The progression order that works

Stage	Goal	Why it matters
1	Starter tools	Unlocks efficient gathering
2	Shelter	Safety, storage, respawn
3	Farm	Food economy, sustainable supplies
4	NPCs & trading	Copper coins, missing materials
5	Crafting upgrades	Better tools, weapons, armor
6	Journey Shrines	Progression landmarks (community-reported, unconfirmed)
7	Dungeons	Combat content, loot, story
8	World boss	The demo's biggest fight — team content

Journey Shrines are reported by community sources as progression landmarks; their exact mechanics are unconfirmed — we will verify in the launch build.

Understand the "Faults"

The story hook: mysterious entities called the Faults are invading and destabilizing the land. Delving into dungeons is how you push back and uncover the secret. You are not just grinding — the dungeon loop is the narrative spine (see dungeons & bosses).

There are no classes — build by gear

Delverium has no character classes. Your "build" is the weapons, armor, and tools you craft. Decide early whether you enjoy front-line melee or support-style ranged play, and craft toward it (see builds and best weapons).

Play with friends from day one

Everything above works in 1–8 player online co-op or 4-player split-screen. Dividing roles — one farming, one building, two delving — is the fastest way through the early game.

First-week checklist

Print this mentally and tick it off — it compresses everything above into an actionable sequence:

• Starter tools crafted (gathering speed is everything early)
• Shelter with door, bed/spawn point, and storage
• First crop plot tilled, planted, and watered
• Two animals captured or bred for the breeding loop
• First NPC recruited; copper coins flowing from trades
• Tool tier upgraded once (don't skip tiers, they nest)
• A weapon and armor set of your chosen role crafted
• Supplies packed (food, spare tools) before the first dungeon

Common beginner questions

Can I skip farming and just fight? You can try, but cooked food is the fuel line for dungeon pushes, and NPC trades run on goods your farm produces. Skipping farming makes every later stage slower.

Does it matter where I build my base? Proximity to your first biome's resources matters most; the world is procedurally generated, so scout a few minutes before committing walls. Base relocation mechanics are unconfirmed — assume you are committing to the spot.

Do NPCs fight, or only trade? Community sources emphasize the trading and settlement roles of NPCs. Combat contributions from recruits are unconfirmed — do not plan a dungeon strategy around them yet.

What happens when I die? The exact death penalty (item drop, durability hit, respawn costs) is unconfirmed from official material. The shelter-with-spawn-point advice above is the safe default until verified.

Single player or co-op for a first run? Both are fully supported. Solo teaches the systems at your pace; co-op divides the labor — a farmer, a builder, and two delvers clear the checklist above in half the time.

Sources

• Delverium on Steam — official core loop description.
• Community/fan wiki sources for NPC traders, copper coins, and progression landmarks — community-reported, pending verification in the live build.
• Official Early Access trailer — gameplay reference.