A witch in a straw hat at a cozy Witchspire Hearth — a typical early-game scene
Where you start. The Veiled Steppes Hearth is the first thing you build. From there, the entire world opens up.

1. Pick the right Coven (and don’t overthink it)

For your first character, pick Stonekin if you want to focus on building and crafting, or Mirewarden if you want an easy combat experience. You can switch Covens at any Hearth for a Spirit Dust cost, so no choice is permanent.

Avoid starting with Emberkin — it’s powerful, but it’s squishy at low Hearth levels and not forgiving of mistakes.

2. Build your Hearth before exploring

The Hearth is your home base. Build it to level 2 before you leave the Veiled Steppes — this unlocks the Refining Bench and the Bind Altar, which you’ll need for almost everything.

3. Bind two Familiars early

Bind the Hearth Hound and Lantern Moth first. The Hearth Hound tanks adds and auto-defends the Hearth. The Lantern Moth lights caves and reveals hidden chests, which gives you a huge early-game loot advantage.

4. Follow the Luminary questline

The Luminary questline is the main quest. Follow it. It gates boss unlocks, Hearth upgrades, and the Spire Summit.

5. Don’t farm — explore

In your first 10 hours, don’t farm. Just explore. Resources are abundant in the open world and bosses drop more loot per hour than any farm.

6. Don’t skip the broom upgrades

Broom upgrades gate late-game zones. The Stag-Hair Broom is the biggest single upgrade and is craftable at Hearth level 4.

7. Try co-op early

Co-op scales monster HP but also scales loot. A 6-player coven is the fastest way to clear bosses. Join the official Discord (link in the footer) to find groups.

What to skip in your first 10 hours

  • Don’t farm Luminaries yet. The first Luminary is part of the main quest.
  • Don’t try to max the Hearth yet. Levels 1–5 are enough.
  • Don’t chase all achievements. Most are gated behind late-game content.
  • Don’t spend Spirit Dust on cosmetics. Save it for Hearth upgrades.
Next: For a complete Coven ranking, see the Coven tier list. For Familiar rankings, see the Familiar tier list.