Beginner Guide: First Steps for New Pioneers

What to expect in your first hour, based on the tutorial flow shown in the Steam Next Fest demo.

1. Start at Beginner's Bay: Every new character begins on Tutorial Island, known as Beginner's Bay. An NPC named Major will explain the situation and hand you basic starting gear.

2. Learn to Buy & Equip Gear: West of your starting point are two vendors: a Gear Vendor and a Cosmetic Vendor, both selling simple equipment for gold. Use them to get comfortable with equipping weapons and armor before you fight anything serious.

3. Clear the Two Tutorial Dungeons: You'll need to complete two short dungeons: Bulkatron (Easy) and Scrapclaw (Medium). Each one unlocks achievements that grant gold, which you can spend on gear upgrades before you move on.

4. Arrive in Virelda: Clearing both tutorial dungeons teleports you to Virelda, the real starting point of the game. Talk to the Virelda Chief and an NPC named Fritz to pick up the thread of what's happening to the townspeople and start your first real quests.

5. Learn the Core Loop: SpiderWare describes Soulbound's rhythm in five words: Home, Craft, Dungeon, Gather, Home. Practically, that means: Return to your base to craft gear and consumables Take that gear into a dungeon run for loot and a dungeon resource called Yoku Head into the overworld to gather more materials (the overworld itself has no roaming enemies) Go home, craft your next upgrade, and repeat — each lap should let you push a little further

6. Try Both Life Skills and Combat Early: The overworld layers in farming, gathering, fishing, cooking, and crafting alongside the story and side quests. Dipping into a couple of these early gives you materials for gear before you need them. A couple of practical early tips: head to Virelda Outskirts for Foraging and Mining contracts, and hold off on Gearforging contracts at first — you'll want your early gold for other upgrades and can craft later. Kill-based contracts are plentiful in the Eastern Reach dungeon near Virelda if you want combat EXP alongside gathering.

7. Check Your Quest Log Often: The in-game map/globe (default hotkey M) shows a larger map view along with your currently accepted quests and contracts, plus a full list of every quest and its rewards or requirements.

8. Don't Expect Demo Progress to Carry Over: SpiderWare has confirmed that all characters reset when Early Access launches on July 21, 2026 — everyone starts fresh regardless of demo progress. Players who took part in the Next Fest demo keep an exclusive outfit called the Duskbound Pioneer , and everyone who took part in any demo also receives a Red Panda Plushie Backpack cosmetic — but not levels or gear.

9. Get Comfortable Respeccing: Because Soulbound is classless, your first build doesn't lock you in. Gear determines your role, so experiment freely in these early hours — see our Best Beginner Build guide for a starting approach.

10. Decide If You're Playing Solo or With Friends: Dungeons scale for solo play or up to 3-player co-op. If you're starting with friends, read How Co-op Works before you queue into your first real dungeon together.

See the full data: Soulbound: Online Getting Started