Beginner's guide

New to Soulframe? Here's what to do first — plus the non-obvious tips most players miss. This is the depth layer: the full onboarding flow with the why and when behind each step. For a one-page quick reference instead, see Start Here → New Player — that page is the speed layer.

Quick Answer

• Do this first: press G to summon your Sparrow for navigation, head east to recruit Tuvalkane the Blacksmith, and start crafting immediately — Bond Level 3 gates Pact crafting.
• Match Virtue to weapon: every weapon is attuned to Courage, Grace, or Spirit — mismatched investment cuts your damage hard.
• Preludes 15 changes: Virtue respec is free per loadout, and 1–2★ weapons drop fully built.
• Save Gossamer Quartz for weapon and Pact recipes — not armour cosmetics.
• Want the non-obvious stuff? Jump to the 13 pro tips — thrown-weapon headshots, balloon farming, and the stealth trick most players never learn.

What is Soulframe?

Soulframe is a free-to-play third-person action RPG by Digital Extremes (creators of Warframe). You play as an Envoy — an exile returning to Midrath, a dying world being reclaimed by ancient nature and forgotten gods. Combat is melee-focused and deliberate, closer to a Soulslike than a looter-shooter.

You choose a Pact — your class — which defines your Arcanic abilities and Virtue scaling. Your starting Pact is not permanent: more unlock through story, factions, and Tuvalkane crafting after you recruit the Blacksmith. The three Virtues:

• Courage — melee pressure, poise damage, aggressive play. Starter: Tethren
• Grace — precision, dodge windows, finesse combat. Starter: Sirin
• Spirit — crowd control, buffs, resource management. Starter: Oscelda

Preludes note: Soulframe is in Pre-Alpha. Numbers and systems change every update — always verify stats in-game before committing resources. New to the test itself? Start with joining the Preludes.

Getting Started

Character creation & first Pact

Character creation is where you pick your Envoy's look and your first Pact — the class that sets your starting weapon and which Virtue your early build leans toward. Appearance options are chosen at creation; revisit cosmetics later at Verminia once she joins your Nightfold. Hotfix 14 (Jul 29, 2026) fixed starting-hairstyle customization and unlocked creation hairstyles for all Envoys — check the official patch notes if your look resets after an update.

Your first Pact shapes your opening hours but is not a lock-in. The main quest opens additional Pacts — such as Garren Rood after The Torment Stag — and there is no single "best" starter, only what matches how you want to fight. Wyld variants from the Founders Pack are cosmetics only: same gameplay as Tethren, Sirin, or Oscelda. If you are unsure, read the Pact selection guide (linked in the pro tips below) before grinding resources into the wrong weapon line.

Your first 30 minutes

Soulframe does not hold your hand. Here is what to do the moment you are set loose in the open world.

1. Follow your Sparrow. Press G (PC) at any time to summon your bird companion and navigation guide. It flies toward your current objective — when lost, summon it.

2. Recruit Tuvalkane immediately. You cannot craft weapons, armour, or Pacts without your Blacksmith. Head east from the starting area to a crater filled with enemies, clear it, collect the helmet at the centre, then follow your Sparrow to the nearby forge. Step-by-step: Unlock Tuvalkane.

3. Start crafting as early as possible. Every craft increases your Bond with Tuvalkane. Bond Level 3 is required to craft Pacts and higher-tier recipes — the sooner you start, the sooner better gear unlocks.

4. Talk to every NPC before leaving an area. Some NPCs give permanent passive bonuses; others unlock quests that cannot be triggered later. Exhaust all dialogue options — do not skip.

5. Use Spectral Sight in new areas. Hold your Soul Mode key (E by default) to highlight interactables, reveal hidden chests and Motes, and enable Smiting enemies. Make it a reflex in every new zone.

Your first week

After session one, aim for these milestones before mid-game dungeons:

Full quest-by-quest order: Main quest. Rank and weapon XP pacing: Envoy leveling.

Preludes 15 loot habits: pick up whole 1–2★ weapons from barrels and crates (preview Craftwork and Tempers on the ground), and refine favourites via Chordstone refining. 3★ gear still uses fragments → craft at Tuvalkane.

Core systems explained

Virtues

Virtues are your stats. Each weapon is attuned to one Virtue; investing in the matching Virtue increases damage with that weapon. Always match Virtue investment to your weapon's attunement — mismatched investment significantly reduces output. Preludes 15 removed Virtue Lith: reallocation is now free per loadout in Arsenal → Virtues. Details: Virtues explained.

The Nightfold

Your personal hub. Tuvalkane crafts gear here and recruited Ancestors offer services — but only three residents ever move in (community-sourced): Orlik, Tuvalkane, and Verminia. Everyone else stays out in the world, offering boons in the field. Return between sessions to craft and upgrade.

Motes

Glowing collectibles that unlock a location's map name and add a codex entry. One Mote spawns per area per in-game day — revisit regularly. Full route: History Motes.

World Trees

Dead trees with spears embedded in them — pull the spear to clear fog of war around the tree and unlock Wevetseed fast-travel to it. Prioritise these early to reveal the map. Full walkthrough: World Trees & Fast Travel. At Enclaves and World Trees you can see other Envoys, trade crafted gear, and use Dispatches mail.

Arcanics

Magical abilities granted by your Pact. Each Pact has three Arcanics — one per Virtue. You can equip and use Arcanics from other Virtues regardless of your Pact, but their effectiveness scales with the corresponding Virtue investment.

Revive Shrines

Touch a shrine to activate it as a respawn point. After death your spirit returns to the nearest activated shrine — or fly as your Sparrow to your fallen body and respawn in place. Activate every shrine you pass; they are your safety net in long Fables and dungeons, and you will be glad to have one live inside the Torment Stag gauntlet.

Sparrow's Tales

Short optional objectives while exploring (similar to world events in other games). Completing a Tale grants Pact and weapon XP plus materials or fragments — and raises Enclave Standing, which unlocks shop recipes. Check your Journal before leaving an area so you do not abandon nearby Tales.

Omen Beasts

Large creatures you befriend through Fables (for example Orengall the wolf). Bonding is story-driven — treat them as long-term progression rewards, not combat pets. Their optional Graces (boons) were refreshed in Preludes 15: Omen Beast & Graces.

Pro Tips: What Most Players Miss

The habits below separate comfortable first weeks from frustrating ones — each is something long-time players admit learning "way too late." Items marked (community-sourced) are community-reported: verify details in your client.

1. Thrown weapons can headshot. A charged heavy attack throws your weapon, and a headshot can one-shot standard enemies — the strongest open-world opener most beginners never try. Between throwing and recalling you can keep fighting bare-handed, and the Perfect Throw Combat Art adds extra scaling (community-sourced). Practise on Sinecure patrols.
2. Summon your Sparrow (G) whenever you are lost. It paths to the active objective, and holding Spectral Sight highlights its trail. Pair it with the Journal (J) — it shows your tracked Fable and its objectives, one at a time. "This game has no direction" is almost always "I forgot the bird exists."
3. Recruit Tuvalkane before anything else — The Steelsinger does not auto-trigger. Unlike the opening Fables, the Blacksmith's quest must be sought out near Rose Enclave (community-reported trigger: a letter at the Rezz Stone — verify in-client). Finish the auto-chained Fables, then go find her.
4. Craft often, even junk. Every craft feeds Tuvalkane's Bond, and Bond 3 gates Pact crafting no matter how many materials you hoard. Trash crafts are progression.
5. Hold Spectral Sight in every new zone. Chests, History Motes, and enemy weak points stay invisible without it. One hold per zone pays for itself many times over — inside dungeons it is also how you spot Motes and hidden rooms.
6. Match Virtue to your weapon before investing. Check the attunement on the weapon pages first: a mismatch can roughly halve your damage output. P15's free per-loadout respec makes fixing it painless, but matching from the start is still faster.
7. Pick your Pact by weapon family, not trailer fantasy. The Pact selection guide maps each Pact to the Virtues its weapons scale off — play the loop you actually enjoy swinging.
8. Shoot the floating balloons. They are one of the best crafting-material sources, and the Dermak Undercity has them in high density — plus chests, sword racks, Scrap Iron, Dracs, and efficient weapon XP. Make an Undercity loop your default "what do I farm" answer: Undercity guide.
9. Sneak up on the small dye creatures. With Spectral Sight on you will spot little animals carrying dye materials. Stealth-approach and pluck the largest — run straight at them and they jump and self-destruct, wasting the loot.
10. Do Sparrow's Tales in every region. Free Pact and weapon XP plus materials, and Tales raise Enclave Standing — unlocking faction shop recipes you will want later. Dermak Undercity examples include Fell the Mighty and Spoilt Plunder.
11. Save Gossamer Quartz for weapons. Six weapon recipes consume it — early cosmetic armour spends starve your forge queue. Farm it via Farming routes.
12. Unlock a second weapon before Torment Stag. The Stag has phase windows that practically require weapon-switching mid-fight — soloing it with one weapon is the classic new-player wall. Unlock the Nightfold second slot, then attempt the fight.
13. Track Agari with the timer. World bosses respawn on a ~30-minute cycle (separate from the ~3h siege timers) — once they are on your map, the kill-loop is your material backbone: World Boss Agari.

Gossamer Quartz — the key early resource

Gossamer Quartz is the primary rare crafting material in the early game — weapons, armour, and some Pacts (including Garren Rood) need it. Best sources:

• Crypts of the Circade — sarcophagi opened with Crypt Keys; the most reliable steady farm once you have keys (community cites ~50% per open — verify in-game)
• Rare chests — dungeon ends, hidden rooms, after boss fights
• Broken statues — repair with a song to guarantee a drop (verify in-game)
• The merchant — lists Gossamer Quartz at 150 Dracs when in stock; spawns near dungeons and during Faction Tales

Full route table: Farming routes. Not sure which materials to hoard first overall? See the New player material priority guide.

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping Tuvalkane — without the Blacksmith you cannot craft anything. Recruit her in the first 10 minutes.

Ignoring NPC dialogue — some NPCs give permanent passive bonuses or unlock quests that disappear if skipped.

Mismatching Virtue and weapon — check the attunement on every weapon before investing points.

Entering The Torment Stag underprepared — the fight begins immediately after defeating Lady Deora with no rest between phases. Unlock your Pact Arcanics and bring a weapon with a short recovery animation before attempting it.

Spending Gossamer Quartz on armour cosmetics — it is rare early; save it for weapon and Pact crafting first.

Deleting old weapons before reading migration rules — Preludes 15 converts many crafted weapons to Stock or Noble quality, and both can be refined. Read the Preludes 15 notes before clearing inventory.

Expecting everything to be marked — some Ancestors and storylines only appear if you wander off the main path (community view of developer intent). Unmarked does not mean broken; if something feels missing, check the main quest walkthrough before assuming a bug.

What to do next

Your main progression path after the opening:

1. Recruit Tuvalkane and craft to Bond Level 3
2. Complete The Last Pensive — find Ancestor Orlick at the Pensive Tower
3. Farm Gossamer Quartz via the Crypts of the Circade
4. Unlock the Nightfold weapon swap before attempting The Torment Stag
5. Beat The Torment Stag — unlocks Garren Rood and Faction access
6. Read the Pact selection guide and the Pact tier list before committing resources
7. Find a party for bosses — trading and Dispatches are live in Preludes 15
8. Read Envoy leveling for Rank, weapon XP, and Bond pacing, plus the Preludes 15 notes for the loot rework

Want the one-page version of all of this? Start Here → New Player is the speed layer — first-hour order, the Pact table, and the three navigation tools in one screen. For the full priority checklist, see the early game progress guide.