There’s something about survival games that have captured the gaming community’s imagination. From the robotic dinosaurs of Ark: Survival Evolved to the wartime intensity of This War of Mine, the genre requires you to dive deep into a game’s systems to succeed, the constant threat of death making every victory feel satisfying.
If you’re looking to scratch your survival game itch, or if you’ve had Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on your mind lately, Frostborn, by developer Kefir! might be just up your alley. You play as a Viking, exploring a wild and dangerous land, collecting resources to build up your base camp, and expanding your district in this free-to-play survival game. However, it’s a tough game, so we’ve put together a Frostborn guide to help you get started.
If you’re looking for similarly gripping games, we have a list of the best mobile strategy games, best mobile RPGs, and best mobile MMORPGs. Or, for a broader overview, we have a list of the best Android games and best iOS games.
Here’s what’s in our Frostborn guide:
How do I download Frostborn?
You can start your Viking adventure by downloading Frostborn on the below devices:
- iOS: App Store
- Android: Google Play
- PC: BlueStacks
- APK: APKPure
Frostborn tips, tricks, and cheats
Now, we’re going to break down the individual aspects of Frostborn to give you a solid start on your new adventure.
You initially choose between three different classes: Bowman, Warrior, and Curer. However, the game allows you to swap between these classes at will and your initial choice only determines which weapon you start with.
Bar your weapon, you start without any gear and equipment and must make your way to your camp after speaking with the village elder. Here you’ll be tasked with gathering raw materials for crafting – the core loop of the game.
You can do this manually or by selecting ’auto’ mode on the bottom left of the screen for a hands-free approach. You can also team up with other players after the tutorial if you’d rather not play solo.
New crafting items are unlocked with blueprints, which you can get by upgrading your district. To do this, you need to provide a hooded man, located beside a cart in your base camp or in the village, with the required materials. Afterwards, speak with the elder to clear out construction sites and develop new buildings like a tax collection office, which provides you with a daily income of silver.
Make sure to focus on the list of objectives for each Act, as completing them rewards you with materials and items. Limited-time competitions pop up frequently, represented by a trophy icon at the top of the screen, and also give you items.
As you progress, new blueprints will require increasingly rare materials to craft. Workstations like smelters, campfires and woodworking tables will help you to refine materials into more useful resources at your base camp.
Your character auto attacks when you tap and hold down your weapon’s icon. For solo players, classes like Curer and Healer are extremely useful, letting you keep your health topped up as you fight monsters.
Enemies clustered in groups can be fought one at a time by approaching them slowly until one chases after you, preventing you from getting overwhelmed. You can loot enemies for specific resources – for example, if you need to collect pelts you can focus on hunting wolves.
Death in Frostborn is serious. You drop everything you have equipped, including weapons and armour, and the contents of your inventory. To retrieve your gear, go back to the area where you died and look for a green skull indicator on your minimap, where you’ll find a bag on the ground.
However, certain areas are PvP zones, meaning that other players can attack you and steal your loot when you die (or vice versa). It’s good to get into the habit of leaving collected materials at your base camp before embarking to a new area, so that you’re not starting from scratch if you lose your equipment.
Make sure to keep a close eye on your hunger and thirst levels as you explore, shown underneath your health bar. You can top them up by eating food, which also restores health, and by drinking water.
Your base camp is protected with an aura provided by the Totem of Protection, located in the bottom right corner of your land. However, this aura can wear off, leaving your camp open to raids from other players. You can extend this aura by going on raids yourself or by acquiring an orb of protection, which you can purchase from the in-game shop for 40 gold.
Equipment in Frostborn degrades over time, including weapons, armour, and tools like pickaxes. When the green bar beside your item’s icon is fully depleted, it will instantly break. Try to have at least one weapon as a backup as you explore, although you can craft equipment anywhere in the game one you have the right materials.
You can also discover new items by exploring levels thoroughly for chests and tombs. If you’d like to fix your broken gear, you can purchase the blueprint for a repair table for 145 gold in the in-game shop.
And that’s it! Thanks for reading our Frostborn guide, and stay safe out there, Viking.