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As capricious as in the Iliad and Odyssey, the Greek gods summoned you to The Island of Arrival for no apparent reason other than to search for your mysterious goal. You must explore to find Altars of the different gods, obtain their graces, and open Hecate’s domain. However, in your epic journey, you will encounter soldiers hindering your way, face the necessity of satisfying your basic needs, and need to improve your skills to reach your heroic destiny. Of course, approaching the Gods will be no easy task, and without a companion like Philoctetes, this starter guide will be your only oracle in Dawn of Defiance.
Dawn of Defiance: Getting Started
Dawn of Defianceis a survival game that seeks to replicate the epic story of Greek heroes guided by fate, such as Hercules, Achilles, or Odysseus. A hero with a promised destiny that is only revealed after following the fate entrusted by the erratic Gods.
Follow the Path of Hecate
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When you start Dawn of Defiance for the first time, there will be two main options to start playing the game:
- Start game
- Create a new world for yourself or host the server.
- Game settings (Enemy HP, Number of Resources, Drop Inventory on Death, Enable Cheats, and more.)
- Save files.
- Join game
- You will see the Public servers, your favorites, and the history of servers you joined.
Once your settings are ready, press Start Game to begin your adventure. Next, you will notice that there will be no Character Creation menu; you will only appear as a male avatar in Greek-style ruins on the beach.
Your First Steps in These Godly Lands
Without much explanation other than a short verse from a narrator, you will be able to control your avatar to explore the island; to do so, you need to know all the controls to make the process easier:
- WASD – Movement
- Space – Jump / Glide (double jump)
- Shift – Sprint
- E – Interaction
- 1-9 – Action Bar Slots
- Left Mouse Button – Attack
- Right Mouse Button – Secondary Item Action / AIM with bow
- CTRL – Dodge
- I – Inventory
- V – Crafting Menu
- K – Skills Menu
- M – Map
- H – Crafting Menu
- J – Quests
- C – Crouch
Gameplay Essentials
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You must learn the basics to accomplish the tasks the Gods impose on you to advance in your adventure and not end up like the rest of Lost, Abandoned, or Fallen wandering around the island.
Leveling Up
Leveling up your skills will depend on how much you use a skill; you must train each individual. For example, you will level up your Athletics skill the more you run, your Foraging skill the more herbs you collect, or your Unharmed skill the more you fight with just your fists. If you want to make fights easier and your attacks more accurate, the best way is to upgrade your Primitive equipment to more durable weapons.
Enemies
Enemies do not appear on all sides of the map and will depend more on their species. Humans, like the soldiers, are near areas of interest such as the Arcs and the Place of Power. The Lost are night hunters who will roam the forest or caves, just like the wolves. Boars are in wooded areas, and some others are along the beach. Also, expect gorgons and golems as you progress further into the map.
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These are the initial tools you get in the early game and will allow you to take your first steps on the stairs to become a legend, for which the muses will create songs of heroism.
Primitive Axe
Besides clearly helping you get wood by cutting trees, the Axe will also help you collect Resin from them.
- 3x Softwood
- 2x Stone
- 4x Thatch
Torch
Stay safe from the darkness because the enemies take cover in the shadows to attack you by surprise, like the Lost.
- 3x Softwood
- 5x Thatch
- 1x Resin
Primitive Hammer
The Primitive Hammer allows you to build structures to protect yourself or to help you survive.
- 3x Softwood
- 5x Stone
- 3x Flax
- 2x Resin
Crafting & Equipping Your First Weapons
These are the basic weapons you can craft to defend yourself from enemies or help you hunt animals to cook them later.
Primitive Club
- 2x Softwood
Primitive Bow & Arrows
- Primitive Bow
- 5x Softwood
- 3x Flax
- 1x Resin
- Wooden Arrows
- 2x Softwood
- 4x Feather
- 4x Stone
Primitive Spear
- 3x Softwood
- 4x Thatch
- 3x Stone
Primitive Shield
- 3x Softwood
- 1x Resin
- 4x Thatch
Hide Armor
- Hide Bracers
- 2x Pelt
- Hide Chest
- 5x Pelt
- Hide Helm
- 3x Pelt
- Hide Leg Guards
- 4x Pelt
May Apollo Illuminate Your Steps
The Gods from Olympus will summon you to begin this new legend in the Isle of Arrival. You must investigate on your own with nothing but your skills to uncover the island’s mysteries, but you will not be alone. The Fallen were once warriors like you, but on their way to becoming a Hero loyal to the Gods, they ended up lost, and now they are stalking you from the night. Gather the materials you need to build your tools, weapons, a base, and sturdy armor to venture out without worrying about the dangers that lurk in the forest. You will also need them to solve the puzzles of the mysterious altars scattered around the island.
Dawn of Defiance F.A.Q.
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With a few more things to discover while playing Dawn of Defiance, we’ve made a section in this guide with some of the most common burning questions players will have when beginning this adventure.
Does Dawn of Defiance HaveMultiplayer?
Dawn of Defianceallows you to play with your friends in your world or host a server to guide a maximum of 4 players. The entire server group will get the same rewards, so you don’t have to worry about splitting gold or a particular recipe.
Is Dawn of Defiance on Consoles, Too?
Sadly, Dawn of Defiance will only be available on PC on Steam and the Epic Store on its release date.
Does Dawn of Defiance Support Mods?
Dawn of Defiance will not have Mods support for the debut, and there aren’t plans to do so soon. However, in world or server creation, players can edit settings to increase the game’s difficulty and make some gameplay adjustments.
Is Loot Random or Static?
You can find specific items from certain enemies; for example, when defeating soldiers, you can get hides, while when hunting, you get the whole animal (then you have to process them for more materials). Some chests have random materials, and others have specific recipes. It depends on the rarity of the chest, too.
Will Dawn of Defiance Have PvP?
There is no PvP game mode for Dawn of Defiance at launch because it focuses on Co-op collaboration to advance in this game.
What Are The System Requirements of Dawn of Defiance?
- Minimum:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 or Higher
- Processor: 2.3 GHz Quad Core Processor
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 1060 6GB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 9 GB available space
- Recommended:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 or Higher
- Processor: 3 GHz Quad Core Processor
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 3060 12GB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 9 GB available space
