Holyday Studios launched Firestone into Early Access on 26 September 2019 and shipped the 1.0 version on 1 April 2024. You field a party of up to five heroes plus one guardian against waves of enemies in the setting of Alandria, and the party keeps fighting while you are offline. Progress comes from research trees, slot-based gear enchanting and repeated ascensions rather than from manual combat input.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Campaign | Five hero party plus one guardian basics | Mage | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Chaos Rift | Slot-based gear enchanting mastery | Mage | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | War Machines | Firestone and Meteorite research trees + gear | Warrior or Mage | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Guild Expeditions | Build optimization | Warrior | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Alchemist | Min-max | Warrior or Paladin | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Campaign)
The main stage progression through Alandria, where hero unlocks are gated behind specific stages: Boris at stage 2, Solaine at stage 7, Leo at stage 150. Stalling here is the normal signal that it is time to ascend.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 1 onward, reset on every ascension Key Rewards: Hero unlocks, gold, firestones and the meteorites that gate tier 2 and tier 3 gear
What to Do in Campaign
- Learn Five hero party plus one guardian. You bring five heroes and a single guardian into each fight. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Mage as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Enchant the slot and not the item. Levels stay attached to the slot, so a Common chestplate enchanted twice stays at level 2 when you replace it with a Mythic one, which means you should never wait for good gear before enchanting.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Chestplate or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Five hero party plus one guardian fundamentals
- Mage selected and functional
- Campaign main content cleared
- Ready for Chaos Rift
Phase 2: Early Game (Chaos Rift)
Endgame content with its own rules. Guardian bonuses from research, experiments, exotics, guild trees and talents do not increase guardian damage here, so the loadout that carries your campaign will not carry this.
Level/Difficulty: Endgame, after substantial account progress Key Rewards: Endgame currency and the reason to build a guardian setup separate from your campaign one
What to Do in Chaos Rift
- Work on Slot-based gear enchanting. Enchantment levels attach to the equipment slot rather than to the item sitting in it, so upgrading a Common chestplate to a Mythic one keeps the enchantment level you already paid for. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Chestplate if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Watch the enchant cost curve before committing gold. Costs double per level up to level 8, rise 50 percent per level after that, then double again for levels 13 and 14, so pushing one slot far past the others burns gold you could spend across four other slots.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to War Machines.
- Consider whether Warrior might suit your playstyle better than Mage.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Slot-based gear enchanting integrated into gameplay
- Chestplate acquired
- Chaos Rift fully cleared
- Ready for War Machines
Phase 3: Mid Game (War Machines)
A separate campaign where your machines fight enemy machines and other players' machines. Battle speed options are available from Mission 1, which keeps the early missions from dragging.
Level/Difficulty: Mission 1 onward, progresses independently of the hero campaign Key Rewards: A second progression track that keeps earning when the hero party is stuck
What to Do in War Machines
- Master Firestone and Meteorite research trees. Gold, firestones and meteorites each buy different upgrade trees, and meteorites in particular gate the tier 2 and tier 3 equipment unlocks. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Weapon. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Unlock tier 2 and tier 3 gear as soon as your meteorites allow. Tier 1 gear only helps the hero wearing it, while tiers 2 and 3 give attribute bonuses to every hero on the account including the ones sitting on the bench.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in War Machine campaign for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Firestone and Meteorite research trees mastered
- Weapon acquired or in progress
- War Machines fully cleared
- Ready for Guild Expeditions
Phase 4: Late Game (Guild Expeditions)
The cooperative side of the game, run through guilds and fellowships. Guild trees feed bonuses back into your account, though not into guardian damage inside Chaos Rift.
Level/Difficulty: Available once you join a guild Key Rewards: Guild tree bonuses and shared objectives with other players
What to Do in Guild Expeditions
- Finalize your build. You should be running Warrior or Mage with optimized gear.
- Weapon should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Ascend earlier than feels right. Grinding three extra stages before an ascension usually returns less than the permanent multipliers you would have banked by resetting sooner and pushing further next run.
- Ascension resets optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Alchemist.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Weapon upgraded to max
- Guild Expeditions fully cleared
- Ready for Alchemist
Phase 5: Endgame (Alchemist)
The research screen where alchemist experiments run on their own timers alongside the Firestone and Meteorite trees. It is passive income for your account, so leaving experiments idle is a straight loss.
Level/Difficulty: Unlocks during the early to mid campaign Key Rewards: Experiment results that feed the wider upgrade trees
What to Do in Alchemist
- Alchemist tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Build a separate guardian plan for Chaos Rift. Guardian bonuses from research, experiments, exotics, guild trees and talents do not raise guardian damage there, so the setup that carries your campaign is worth much less inside the rift.
- The endgame loop: run Alchemist, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Paladin for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Ascension resets mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Alchemist fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Waiting for high-rarity gear before spending on enchants, when the levels attach to the slot and carry over anyway
- Dumping every gold coin into the Weapon slot, which only benefits one hero, while the Relic and Wrist slots sit unenchanted
- Delaying ascension to chase a few extra campaign stages instead of banking permanent multipliers
- Carrying the campaign guardian build straight into Chaos Rift and finding most of its damage bonuses do nothing
- Ignoring the war machine campaign entirely and losing a whole parallel progression track
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Enchant the slot and not the item. Levels stay attached to the slot, so a Common chestplate enchanted twice stays at level 2 when you replace it with a Mythic one, which means you should never wait for good gear before enchanting.
- Watch the enchant cost curve before committing gold. Costs double per level up to level 8, rise 50 percent per level after that, then double again for levels 13 and 14, so pushing one slot far past the others burns gold you could spend across four other slots.
- Unlock tier 2 and tier 3 gear as soon as your meteorites allow. Tier 1 gear only helps the hero wearing it, while tiers 2 and 3 give attribute bonuses to every hero on the account including the ones sitting on the bench.
- Ascend earlier than feels right. Grinding three extra stages before an ascension usually returns less than the permanent multipliers you would have banked by resetting sooner and pushing further next run.
- Build a separate guardian plan for Chaos Rift. Guardian bonuses from research, experiments, exotics, guild trees and talents do not raise guardian damage there, so the setup that carries your campaign is worth much less inside the rift.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
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