Bellwright is Donkey Crew's medieval survival and town-building RPG, in Steam Early Access since 23 April 2024 and still in Early Access as of August 2026, with a full release the studio has targeted for 2026. You start as an outlaw with a knife in the region of Karvenia, and you finish as the head of a settlement that other people work in. Seven village capitals sit on the map, Haerndean, Padstow, Bradford, Farnworth, Blackridgepool, Horndean and Crasmere, and each one only hands over recruits once you have earned its Trust. The 2026 Summer Update brought a performance overhaul and console versions, while the Maiden Voyage update added the Halmare Isles as a second landmass.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Trust and Renown are two separate gates
Trust and Renown are two separate gates. Trust decides which recruits a village will offer, Renown pays for them. Grinding one without the other stalls your population either way.
2. Assign a job priority the moment a villager joins
Assign a job priority the moment a villager joins. Unassigned villagers idle or default to whatever station is nearest, and a settlement of thirty idle people eats as much food as a settlement of thirty working ones.
3. Build the sawmill and the coal burner before anything cosmetic
Build the sawmill and the coal burner before anything cosmetic. Planks and charcoal are inputs to nearly every later station, and skipping them stalls the whole research tree.
4. Melee skill experience comes from hitting human enemies, not wildlife
Melee skill experience comes from hitting human enemies, not wildlife. If your one-handed skill is stuck, the answer is a bandit camp, not another deer.
5. Agility experience comes mostly from ranged combat, so even a dedicated melee player should carry a bow and use it on the approach to every fight
Agility experience comes mostly from ranged combat, so even a dedicated melee player should carry a bow and use it on the approach to every fight.
6. Bandit camps show a difficulty rating from easy to very hard
Bandit camps show a difficulty rating from easy to very hard. Read it before you commit, because the gap between an easy camp and a very hard one is measured in whole gear tiers, not a few percent.
7. Companions fight with the gear you give them
Companions fight with the gear you give them. Arming three villagers with spare iron weapons changes squad fights more than any personal upgrade you can buy at the same moment.
8. Haerndean and Padstow are the gentlest places to plant a first settlement
Haerndean and Padstow are the gentlest places to plant a first settlement. Blackridgepool and Crasmere are where late-game players go, and arriving there early is the most common way to lose a run's worth of gear.
9. Research order decides your first winter
Research order decides your first winter. Food preservation and basic tools before decorative buildings, every time.
10. The game is still in Early Access after two years, and updates such as Maiden Voyage and the 2026 Summer Update have changed balance and added the Halmare Isles
The game is still in Early Access after two years, and updates such as Maiden Voyage and the 2026 Summer Update have changed balance and added the Halmare Isles. Check the patch notes before following any guide written more than a few months ago.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Worker (A-Tier):
- Focus on Village Trust and Renown recruiting combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: One handed sword
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Companion (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Two handed axe
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Bellwright's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Village Trust and Renown recruiting + Villager jobs and work priorities: Each of the seven village capitals tracks its own Trust in you, raised by doing the odd jobs its people ask for: setting traps, clearing the wolves, running deliveries. Combined with Villager jobs and work priorities, the population screen assigns each villager a role as worker, companion or guard, then sets job priorities across gathering, hauling, crafting and combat.
Production chains and research + Liberating bandit camps and villages: Nothing useful is one step. When paired with Liberating bandit camps and villages, bandit camps carry a difficulty rating from easy to very hard, and clearing them is how territory opens up.
Stamina based melee with companions scaling: Combat is stamina-driven and directional. Attacks, blocks and sprints all draw from one bar, and running it flat leaves you unable to defend. Companions you bring along fight with their own gear and their own stamina, so a squad of three badly equipped villagers loses fights that two well-armed ones win.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One handed sword | Your first fifty hours, and any fight you are not certain you can win | Balanced speed and damage, and the only melee category that pairs with a shield without a heavy penalty. |
| Two handed axe | Players with a Guard squad to absorb attention while they hit things | The highest damage per swing and the fastest way to drop an armoured bandit, at the cost of a shield slot and a stamina bar that empties in a handful of attacks. |
| Spear | Group fights and camp clearing with companions | Longest melee reach in the game, which lets you contribute to a squad fight from a position where nothing is swinging back at you. |
| Bow | Hunting for hides and meat, and softening bandit camps before the melee starts | Ranged damage plus the main source of Agility experience and the food supply. |
| Shield | Anybody still learning enemy attack timings, which is everybody for the first several villages | Blocking builds shield skill, which raises attack speed while a shield is equipped. |
Location Efficiency
Haerndean (Opening area, lowest threat tier): One of the two lowest-threat village capitals and a standard first stop. It has a blacksmith among its professions, so early tool and weapon work can be done here while you are still building Trust.
Padstow (Opening area, lowest threat tier): The other low-threat starting village, with a carpenter among its professions. Between Padstow and Haerndean you can cover the two crafting lines that matter most in the first dozen hours without walking into anything that can kill you.
Bradford (Mid threat tier): A step up in threat from the opening villages. Camps in its territory hit harder, so this is where a sword and shield player wants a squad of Guards rather than a solo run.
Horndean (Mid threat tier): Mid-tier territory with a blacksmith among its professions. Useful as a second base of operations once your production chain has reached iron and you need somewhere closer to the harder camps.
Blackridgepool (Highest mainland threat tier): One of the toughest mainland territories, with very hard bandit camps. Do not come here on hide armour and a starting sword. It carries both blacksmith and carpenter professions, which is the reward for surviving the surrounding area.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Building a large settlement before recruiting anybody. Buildings do not staff themselves, and empty stations produce nothing.
- Leaving job priorities on default, which produces a village where everyone chases the same task and the rest of the chain starves.
- Attacking a very hard bandit camp in starting gear because the map marker looked close.
- Ignoring village quests and then wondering why the Elder will not offer better recruits. Trust only moves through those odd jobs.
- Sending companions into fights in whatever rags they arrived in. Unarmed villagers die and take their Renown cost with them.
Pro Quick Tips
- Trust and Renown are two separate gates. Trust decides which recruits a village will offer, Renown pays for them. Grinding one without the other stalls your population either way.
- Assign a job priority the moment a villager joins. Unassigned villagers idle or default to whatever station is nearest, and a settlement of thirty idle people eats as much food as a settlement of thirty working ones.
- Build the sawmill and the coal burner before anything cosmetic. Planks and charcoal are inputs to nearly every later station, and skipping them stalls the whole research tree.
- Start with Companion, switch to Worker when ready
- Invest in One handed sword above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Haerndean → Padstow → Bradford → Horndean → Blackridgepool. See our maps guide
- Village Trust and Renown recruiting + Villager jobs and work priorities together are stronger than either alone
More Bellwright Guides
- Bellwright Bellwright Overview
- Bellwright Best Builds
- Bellwright Tier List
- Bellwright Walkthrough
- Bellwright Beginner's Guide
- Bellwright Weapons Guide
- Bellwright Combat Guide
- Bellwright Boss Guide
- Bellwright Maps & Locations
- Bellwright Crafting Guide
- Bellwright Classes & Characters
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If you enjoy Bellwright, check out these related guides:
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- Rust Tips & Tricks: survival game with similar mechanics
- ARK: Survival Evolved Tips & Tricks: survival game with similar mechanics
