Ashes of Creation Beginner’s Guide – What to Do First in Verra

Stepping into Ashes of Creation for the first time can feel overwhelming. There’s a massive open world, a strange word – nodes – getting thrown around every five seconds, PvP that can happen almost anywhere, and a class system that explodes into 64 class combos later on.

Don’t worry. Take a breath.

This guide is your “first hours in Verra” roadmap – made for new players who want clear, simple directions:

• How to pick race & archetype
• What to do right after spawning
• Which early quests to follow
• How to handle your first node
• How to gear up without trolling yourself
• Basic UI, controls, and settings to tweak

Read this once, and your first day in Verra will feel way less scuffed. Let’s go. ⚔️

🌍 Understanding Verra – The World You’re Dropping Into

Verra isn’t just a big map where you run dungeons and log off. The world evolves with players. Cities literally grow, shrink, or disappear based on what people do around them. That’s the core idea behind nodes.

A few things to know about Verra from the start:

• The world is split into regions, and each region contains several potential node locations.
• As players in that area quest, kill mobs, gather, or do activities, the nearby node gains XP and levels up.
• A node can grow from Wilderness → Expedition → Camp → Village → Town → City → Metropolis.
• When one node evolves, it can lock out or block progression of nearby nodes, which creates drama, politics, and wars over territory.

So from the first minute, you aren’t just “doing quests.”

You’re helping shape which towns exist, which dungeons open, and which places become important hubs for the entire server.

Mental reset for you as a new player:

• You’re not just leveling in a world;
• You’re helping build that world with everyone else.

🧬 Races & Cultures – Choosing Who You Want to Be

Your first big choice on character creation is race. In Ashes of Creation, races don’t hard-lock your class, but they shape your visual identity, culture, and some baseline traits.

At launch, Ashes of Creation features:

• Four parent races:
• Humans (Aela)
• Elves (Pyrian)
• Orcs (Kaivek)
• Dwarves (Dünzenkell)
• Each parent race has two sub-races (e.g., Kaelar / Vaelune for humans).
• Plus a unique extra race: Tulnar – a mixed heritage race from the underground.

Race doesn’t stop you from playing any archetype. It’s more about:

• Lore flavor – empires, homelands, aesthetics
• Starting look – faces, body style, animations
• Some subtle differences – which may matter min-max wise, but as a beginner, it’s not that deep

Beginner tip:

👉 For your first character, pick the race you think looks coolest in armor and on mounts. You’ll stare at this character a lot. Min-maxing can wait. Roleplay and fun first.

⚔️ Archetypes & Roles – Setting Up Your Playstyle

After race, your next core choice is your primary archetype. This defines your main combat role.

Ashes of Creation uses a version of the classic MMO holy trinity:

• Tank – takes damage and holds aggro
• DPS – deals damage
• Support / Healer – keeps people alive or buffs them

There are eight primary archetypes confirmed (like Tank, Cleric, Mage, Ranger, Rogue, Bard, Summoner, Fighter). Later, you combine your main archetype with a secondary archetype, resulting in 64 possible classes (for example, Tank + Cleric, Fighter + Mage, etc.).

As a beginner, think in simple role terms:

• Want to be the front line, controlling fights? → Tank
• Want to blast things from range or melee? → Mage / Ranger / Fighter / Rogue
• Want to keep everyone alive and be group MVP? → Cleric
• Want to buff, debuff and support? → Bard / Summoner / some support builds

New-player friendly suggestions:

• Cleric – Groups always need heals, and you learn content while watching everyone.
• Fighter / Ranger – Straightforward DPS playstyles, easier for new players coming from other MMOs.
• Tank – Very powerful but has pressure; maybe not ideal as the very first character unless you enjoy responsibility.

Remember:

You choose your primary archetype at creation and your secondary later. So for now, just lock in your core fantasy: healer, caster, melee bruiser, archer, etc.

🎮 First Login – UI, Controls & Settings You Should Fix Immediately

Once you spawn in Verra, resist the urge to sprint straight at the nearest mob. You’ll thank yourself later if you spend 5–10 minutes cleaning up your UI and controls.

Things to adjust right away:

• Keybinds
• Put your main abilities on comfortable keys (1–5, Q, E, R, F, maybe mouse buttons).
• Avoid clicking abilities with your mouse as your default – it will slow you down a lot later.
• Camera & mouse
• Increase camera turn speed if it feels sluggish.
• Make sure right-click / left-click behave how you expect (look vs. turn vs. attack).
• UI scale
• If you’re on a 1440p or 4K monitor, shrink or enlarge the UI until health bars and action bars are easy to see.
• Combat feedback
• Enable floating damage numbers / healing / status effects if you like clear feedback.
• Make sure enemy cast bars and debuffs show clearly so you can react.
• Chat filters
• Set up tabs: General / Combat Log / Guild / Party, etc., so your screen doesn’t become chaos.

Do this once at the start and you’ll avoid fighting your controls while trying to learn your class.

📜 Early Quests – What You Should Focus on First

In your starting zone, you’ll usually see:

• A main quest line introducing the area
• Side quests around villages, camps, or node areas
• Low-level mobs and simple objectives (kill X, collect Y, talk to Z)

As a beginner, your priority should be:

1. Follow the main story / core quest chain

• It will give you early XP, gear, and guide you through your first few node areas.

1. Do nearby side quests while you’re already out there

• If you’re killing boars for the main quest and a side quest also wants boars → grab it.

1. Start getting used to combat flow

• Practice your rotation, movement, dodging, and resource management on easy mobs.

1. Loot everything

• Low-level gear, crafting materials, and trash items all help early (gold is tight at the start).

Don’t stress about “optimal” leveling yet.

Your goal for the first few hours is comfort: knowing your abilities, recognizing enemies, and understanding where your node is located.

🏘️ Your First Node – Why It Matters and How to Treat It

Very early on, you’ll be operating around your first node – even if the game doesn’t scream about it yet.

Nodes are invisible territories at first that gain XP as players complete activities (quests, kills, gathering) within their zone. As they level up, they become:

• Level 0 – Wilderness
• Level 1 – Expedition
• Level 2 – Camp
• Level 3 – Village
• Level 4 – Town
• Level 5 – City
• Level 6 – Metropolis

When your nearby node levels up, you’ll start to see:

• New buildings and services (vendors, crafting stations, etc.)
• More NPCs and quest hubs
• Potential access to dungeons, events, or world changes linked to that node type

Why should you care as a beginner?

• The node you help level will likely become your first “home base”.
• If you and your friends focus activities in the same node area, you’ll grow it faster.
• High-level nodes can vassalize nearby ones, restricting what can grow around them – this drives the world’s shape and political conflict.

For now:

• Learn the name of the node near your starter area.
• Get used to returning there to repair, sell, craft, and pick up quests.
• Think of it as your first “main city,” even if it’s still just a small camp or village.

🧥 Basic Gearing – How to Not Be a Walking Potato Sack

Gear progression in Ashes of Creation is built around drops, quests, and crafting, with the artisan system playing a big role [gathering → processing → crafting].

In your first hours:

1. Use quest rewards

• Most early quests will give armor or weapons roughly tuned for your level.
• Always compare stats and equip upgrades immediately.

1. Check vendors and basic drops

• If you’re missing a slot (no gloves, no boots, etc.), check NPC vendors or simple mob drops.
• Don’t overspend gold – you’ll need it for skills, repairs, mounts, and crafting tools later.

1. Don’t ignore armor type

• Try to stick with gear type that suits your role (e.g., heavier armor for tanks, lighter / cloth for casters where relevant).
• Mixed gear is fine early, but as you progress, you’ll want better synergy.

1. Keep your weapon up to date first

• A slightly weaker chest piece is fine; an underleveled weapon feels terrible.
• Upgrade your weapon whenever you can – it impacts both damage and sometimes ability scaling.

1. Don’t hoard low-level junk “just in case”

• Deconstruct, sell, or stash items you truly don’t use.
• Keep one or two backup weapons at most.

Later on, crafted gear and enhanced items may become best-in-slot or at least very competitive, so getting comfortable with the artisan system early is smart.

💰 Gold, Inventory & Early Economy – Not Going Broke on Day One

Ashes of Creation has a player-driven economy, and a lot of value flows through crafting, gathering, caravans, and node markets.

As a beginner, your focus is simple:

• Loot everything that stacks
• Craft materials, monster parts, and tradable loot will all matter later.
• Sell smart
• Trash → vendor.
• Anything that looks like a crafting material → consider saving or listing later when markets are active.
• Repair often
• Don’t let your gear hit 0 durability. It’s cheaper to repair early and regularly than let things fully break mid-run.
• Don’t spam-buy cosmetics or unnecessary items early on
• You’ll want gold for: skill training, mount-related stuff, crafting tools, potions, and repairs.
• Inventory space
• If there are bags or storage upgrades you can get early, prioritize at least one or two.
• A full bag slows your farming and forces constant backtracking.

Later, once caravans and market hubs are booming, you can get into buy low / sell high and more advanced gold strategies. For your first hours though, the rule is: stay liquid, stay light, and don’t waste gold.

🛠️ Getting Into Gathering & Crafting – Your Artisan Life Starts Early

The Artisan System in Ashes of Creation is massive. It’s split into three main branches:

• Gathering – mining ore, chopping wood, harvesting plants, etc.
• Processing – turning raw materials into usable components (like ore → ingots).
• Crafting – making finished items: weapons, armor, potions, and more.

There are over 20 professions spread across these branches, and you won’t be able to be a maxed-out god in everything. You’ll need to specialize.

As a beginner:

1. Pick one or two gathering skills early

• While you’re questing, gather whatever your profession uses (ore, herbs, hides, etc.).
• You’re already out in the world – might as well double dip XP and resources.

1. Don’t obsess over the “perfect profession” yet

• The meta will shift, balance will change, and the economy will evolve.
• Focus on something you actually enjoy doing visually and mechanically.

1. Use resources to craft simple gear or consumables

• Even basic crafted items can give you good early upgrades or extra gold.

1. Learn where your node’s crafting stations are

• As nodes level, they unlock better crafting infrastructure. Your “home node” might become your main crafting hub.

Starting your artisan journey early means by the time everyone hits mid-game, you’re already that person people go to for mats, gear, or crafted goodies.

⚔️ PvE, PvP & Corruption – Staying Safe While You Learn

Here’s the spicy part:

Ashes of Creation has open-world PvP in most places, with a corruption system to punish griefers.

Basic idea of the corruption system:

• Players can attack others almost anywhere.
• If you attack and kill someone who isn’t flagged / doesn’t fight back, you gain corruption.
• Corrupted players suffer serious penalties:
• Dampened stats & skills
• Increased risk of item drops on death
• They become attractive targets to everyone else

This is designed to discourage random ganking while still allowing PvP to exist as part of the world.

As a beginner:

• Stick near groups / active nodes early
• More people around means less chance you’re the only target.
• Learn how flagging works
• Understand what actions flag you, what counts as defending yourself, and when you’re safe.
• Don’t tilt if you die in PvP
• You’ll die sometimes while learning – it’s part of this game’s design.
• Treat early PvP deaths as “free lessons” when you have nothing valuable on you.
• Run light in dangerous areas
• If you’re going into a high-risk PvP zone, don’t carry your entire bank in your inventory.

Once you understand corruption, you’ll realize this isn’t a pure gankbox – it’s a risk vs reward system where mindless killing is punished hard over time.

🤝 Friends, Parties & Guilds – Don’t Play Verra Completely Alone

Ashes of Creation is built around group play, politics, and community:

• Nodes get big because lots of players build them up.
• Sieges, world bosses, caravans, and politics are all group-focused systems.

As a new player, joining people early makes your experience 10x better:

• Join a guild
• Even a casual one will give you people to ask questions, run dungeons with, and share resources.
• Guilds also matter for node influence, wars, and general server politics later.
• Use party finder or local chat
• Group up for tough quests, elite mobs, and early dungeons.
• You’ll learn way faster watching experienced players.
• Decide on a “home node” together
• If your guild or friend group focuses one node, you can shape that place into your shared base of power.

Ashes of Creation is not a game designed to be “MMO solo offline story mode.”

You can solo for a while, but the real magic shows up when you’re part of a group shaping Verra together.

✅ Quick 10-Step Checklist – Your First Hours in Verra

If you want a super short version of this entire guide, here’s your “do this first” list:

1. Pick a race you love visually – you’ll be staring at this character for a long time.
2. Choose a simple archetype (Fighter, Ranger, or Cleric are great beginner picks).
3. On login, spend 5–10 minutes fixing keybinds, camera, and UI scale.
4. Start the main quest chain in your starter area and follow it naturally.
5. While questing, grab nearby side quests that overlap with your main objectives.
6. Learn the name and location of your first node – treat it as your home base.
7. Always equip quest rewards and weapon upgrades immediately. Prioritize your weapon.
8. Start one or two gathering professions and pick up resources as you go.
9. Repair often, sell junk, and don’t blow gold on unnecessary low-level items.
10. As soon as you can, join a guild or regular group – the game is built for social play.

Follow this checklist and you’ll go from confused new player to someone who actually understands what’s going on around them in Verra.

🏁 Conclusion – Setting Yourself Up for a Strong Start

Ashes of Creation is not a theme-park MMO where you just follow a glowing arrow and spam queues. It’s a living world where your node, guild, and personal choices genuinely matter.

In your first session, your goals are simple:

• Lock in a race + archetype that matches your fantasy
• Get comfortable with controls and UI
• Follow the early quest chains without rushing or stressing
• Treat your first node as a home base and understand that you’re helping it grow
• Start dipping your toes into artisan skills and social play

Once you get past the first “what the hell is a node” phase, Ashes of Creation becomes one of those games where even logging in to do small tasks feels meaningful.

And later, when you’re ready to push harder content, farm more efficiently, or optimize your progression, you’ll already have a strong foundation instead of a messy, half-understood start.

Welcome to Verra. Don’t just play the world. Help build it. 🌋