Stoneshard Walkthrough — Start to Endgame

Stoneshard is a challenging turn-based open-world RPG with a brutal pain, injury, and permadeath system. You control a lone mercenary navigating a medieval world, taking contracts, clearing dungeons, and managing a complex health system where injuries affect gameplay — broken arms reduce accuracy, leg wounds slow movement, and untreated infections can kill. The caravan management system lets you build a trading empire between adventures. Stoneshard is still in early access but already offers 50+ hours of punishing RPG content for players who want consequences.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. Follow this path to avoid common traps that stall most players.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase 1: Getting Started — Osbrook

The starting village with a tavern (contract board), inn (save point), and basic shops. Osbrook's surrounding area has entry-level dungeons and camps suitable for fresh characters. The tavern contracts here pay modestly but provide manageable challenges for building your character.

Level/Difficulty: Level 1-4 Key Rewards: Starter contracts, basic equipment, save point access, caravan start

What to Do in Osbrook

1. Learn pain and injury system. Beyond HP, Stoneshard tracks individual body part injuries: head trauma causes dizziness, arm fractures reduce attack accuracy, leg injuries slow movement, and torso wounds increase pain. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Archer as your starting build. It's the most forgiving option.
3. Save at inn beds and campfires — death is permanent and losing a 10-hour character to an avoidable fight is devastating. Save before every dungeon and risky encounter.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade — Warbow or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand pain and injury system fundamentals
• Archer selected and functional
• Osbrook main content cleared
• Ready for Brynn

Phase 2: Early Game — Brynn

The major city with advanced shops, a larger contract board, and caravan trading hub. Brynn is where you sell valuable dungeon loot and buy advanced equipment. The city's contracts send you to harder dungeons with better rewards. Reaching Brynn is a mid-game milestone.

Level/Difficulty: Level 4-8 Key Rewards: Advanced equipment shops, high-paying contracts, caravan upgrades

What to Do in Brynn

1. Work on caravan management. You manage a caravan that travels between towns, trading goods and hiring mercenaries. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Warbow if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. Pain affects all actions — at high pain levels, your accuracy, damage, and dodge chance all drop. Carry painkillers (herbs, potions) and use them when pain exceeds 30-40% to maintain combat effectiveness.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Mannshire.
5. Consider whether Swordsman might suit your playstyle better than Archer.

Phase 2 Checklist

• caravan management integrated into gameplay
• Warbow acquired
• Brynn fully cleared
• Ready for Mannshire

Phase 3: Mid Game — Mannshire

A town between Osbrook and Brynn with mid-tier content. Mannshire's contracts bridge the difficulty gap between starter and advanced areas. The surrounding wilderness has mid-level dungeons with challenging but manageable enemies.

Level/Difficulty: Level 3-6 Key Rewards: Mid-tier equipment, moderate contracts, wilderness dungeon access

What to Do in Mannshire

1. Master open world exploration. The world map connects towns, dungeons, camps, and wilderness areas. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Longsword. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. The contract board in taverns gives direction and income — take contracts matching your level and equipment. Dungeon contracts pay best but require preparation. Camp clearing contracts are safer income.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in skill trees for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• open world exploration mastered
• Longsword acquired or in progress
• Mannshire fully cleared
• Ready for Bandit Camps

Phase 4: Late Game — Bandit Camps

Procedurally generated outdoor camps with organized bandit groups. Camps have lookouts, fighters, and a leader. Clearing a camp provides equipment, gold, and occasionally prisoners to ransom. Camps are easier than dungeons but offer less valuable loot.

Level/Difficulty: Scales with area Key Rewards: Equipment drops, gold, bandit bounty contracts, ransom opportunities

What to Do in Bandit Camps

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Swordsman or Archer with optimized gear.
2. Longsword should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. Don't fight more than 2 enemies at once early on — Stoneshard's turn-based combat punishes being outnumbered. Lure enemies into corridors for 1v1 fights, or use AoE abilities to soften groups first.
4. permadeath optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Crypts.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Longsword upgraded to max
• Bandit Camps fully cleared
• Ready for Crypts

Phase 5: Endgame — Crypts

Underground multi-level dungeons with undead enemies, traps, and boss encounters. Each crypt level is procedurally generated and gets harder with depth. The deepest levels contain the game's best loot but are deadly for unprepared characters. Save at a campfire before entering.

Level/Difficulty: Scales with depth (deep levels = high difficulty) Key Rewards: Best equipment drops, rare crafting materials, boss loot, high contract payouts

What to Do in Crypts

1. Crypts tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. Splints fix broken bones but slow your movement — a broken arm splint reduces accuracy temporarily while healing. Carry splints and bandages on every expedition. Running out of medical supplies mid-dungeon is a death sentence.
3. The endgame loop: run Crypts, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Two-Handed for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where permadeath mastery separates good players from great ones.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Crypts fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

Common Progression Mistakes

• Ignoring the pain system — high pain from injuries reduces all stats. Players who push through pain without painkillers fight at 50-70% effectiveness, turning winnable battles into deaths.
• Not saving at every opportunity — permadeath means one bad fight erases hours of progress. Save at every inn and campfire, even if it feels excessive. You'll thank yourself later.
• Fighting multiple enemies in open areas — being surrounded means taking hits from multiple directions with no escape. Use corridors and doorways to create 1v1 chokepoints.
• Entering deep dungeon levels without medical supplies — one serious injury on level 3 without bandages or splints means a slow death from bleeding or infection with no way to heal.
• Spreading skill points across multiple weapon trees — a character with 5 points in Swords, Axes, and Bows is worse at everything than one with 15 points in Swords. Specialize for power.

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Save at inn beds and campfires — death is permanent and losing a 10-hour character to an avoidable fight is devastating. Save before every dungeon and risky encounter.
2. Pain affects all actions — at high pain levels, your accuracy, damage, and dodge chance all drop. Carry painkillers (herbs, potions) and use them when pain exceeds 30-40% to maintain combat effectiveness.
3. The contract board in taverns gives direction and income — take contracts matching your level and equipment. Dungeon contracts pay best but require preparation. Camp clearing contracts are safer income.
4. Don't fight more than 2 enemies at once early on — Stoneshard's turn-based combat punishes being outnumbered. Lure enemies into corridors for 1v1 fights, or use AoE abilities to soften groups first.
5. Splints fix broken bones but slow your movement — a broken arm splint reduces accuracy temporarily while healing. Carry splints and bandages on every expedition. Running out of medical supplies mid-dungeon is a death sentence.

For detailed build optimization, see Stoneshard builds. For quick wins, check tips & tricks.