Exiles

A player-focused walkthrough, insights, and practical tips for Exiles

Exiles is a provocative and immersive game that blends open-world exploration, survival mechanics, and adult-themed narrative elements to create a distinctive player experience. In this article I’ll walk you through the core features of Exiles, share personal anecdotes from dozens of hours playing, and give actionable strategies so you can progress faster and enjoy the story and mechanics more deeply. Whether you’re starting out or trying to master advanced systems, this guide focuses exclusively on Exiles and will help you make better choices in gameplay, character build, and social play.

Getting Started with Exiles: Setup, Controls, and First Hour

So, you’ve taken the plunge and decided to brave the brutal, beautiful world of Exiles. Welcome! 🙌 The journey ahead is equal parts punishing and rewarding, but before you can conquer its deserts, dungeons, and dangers, you need to get the game running and make it past your first sunset. This guide is your friendly campfire chat, designed to take you from hitting “install” to laying the foundation for your legacy. Let’s get you started on the right foot.

Installation and system requirements

The first step in your adventure is, of course, getting the game onto your machine. The good news is that the Exiles installation process is pretty straightforward across platforms. You can find it on major PC storefronts and consoles. Once you purchase it, the download should begin automatically. A quick pro-tip: make sure you have enough space on your chosen drive. The world of Exiles is vast and detailed, so the initial download and any subsequent patches can be sizable. 🖥️

Before you even begin the Exiles installation, though, it’s crucial to check if your rig can handle the heat (literally, some biomes are scorching!). There’s nothing worse than the game stuttering just as a sandstorm—or something worse—rolls in. Here’s a clear breakdown of what you’ll need:

🎮 For console players, you’re good to go on current-generation platforms, where the game runs smoothly. No matter your platform, I highly recommend letting the game run its first launch patching process completely. The developers are constantly tweaking and improving, so starting with the latest version is part of a smart how to start Exiles strategy.

Once in, don’t skip the settings menu! Exiles offers some fantastic accessibility and quality-of-life options. You can adjust UI scaling, subtitle size, and even toggle hints for puzzles. If the survival aspect feels too intense right away, look for world settings that might allow you to adjust things like resource harvest rates or enemy damage. There’s no shame in tailoring the experience to learn the ropes!

Character creation and early stats

Now for the fun part: shaping your outcast. The Exiles character creation screen isn’t just about cosmetics (though there are plenty of sliders to make a face only a mother—or a monstrous god—could love). This is where you define your initial playstyle and potential. Your first big choice is your archetype.

Think of this as your character’s rough background story and starting kit. You might select the Brute, who begins with higher strength and a solid club, perfect for smashing things and wearing heavier armor early on. Or perhaps the Scavenger, who starts with better agility and a skinning knife, ideal for gathering resources and moving quietly. Each has its own pros and cons, and there’s no single “best” choice—it’s all about how you want to play.

My personal rule of thumb for new players: if you want to focus on combat and defense, lean toward strength-based archetypes. If you’re more interested in exploration, stealth, and crafting, agility or vitality starters are a safer bet.

During Exiles character creation, you’ll also distribute a handful of initial stat points. Don’t panic! This isn’t a permanent life sentence. You can improve all stats later through gameplay. For your first foray, I suggest a balanced approach:
* Put a point or two into Vitality for more health. Survival is job one.
* A point in Strength never hurts for carrying more loot and dealing melee damage.
* Consider Agility if you plan to use bows or daggers down the line.

The real secret? Your starting equipment is often more impactful than a single stat point. Choose an archetype whose starting weapon you’re comfortable with. A club has a different swing rhythm than a sword or axe. This early comfort will save your life more than one extra point in a attribute.

First-hour priorities and survival checklist

The sun is blazing, you’re naked and afraid on the scorching sands—classic Exiles welcome! 😅 Your first hour is a mad dash against thirst, hunger, and local wildlife. Having a plan is the difference between a promising start and becoming vulture food. Here are your Exiles first hour tips framed as a clear survival checklist.

The Immediate Exiles Survival Checklist:

1. Gather Everything You See: Don’t walk past a bush or a rock. Your first minutes are dedicated to collecting stone, branches, fiber, and plant fiber. These are the building blocks of survival.
2. Craft Your First Tools: Open your inventory and craft a Stone Pick and a Stone Hatchet. These will let you harvest better resources from nodes (metal from rocks, wood from trees).
3. Secure Water: Find the nearest water source—a river, oasis, or even a suspicious pond. Drink directly from it to sate your thirst, but be ready to move quickly. Dangerous creatures often lurk near water.
4. Build a Rudimentary Shelter: Don’t aim for a palace. Place a Bedroll (crafted with fiber and hide) in a relatively hidden spot. This is your spawn point. Then, throw down a Chest (a few pieces of wood) to stash your extra resources. Congratulations, you now have a base!
5. Get Dressed and Armed: Craft some basic Clothing for temperature protection and a Wooden Club or Stone Sword. Even basic armor mitigates a surprising amount of damage from early enemies.
6. Learn to Hunt (or Scavenge): Kill small wildlife like lizards or birds with your tools or weapon. Harvest them with your hatchet to get Meat and Hide. Cook the meat at a Campfire (crafted with stone and wood) to avoid getting sick.
7. Unlock Essential Knowledge: As you perform actions, you’ll earn “Knowledge Points.” Immediately invest in learning to build a Wheel of Pain (if you’re into thralls) or Improved Tools. Progression is gated behind these unlocks.

Let me share a story from my early days. I spawned in a gorgeous canyon, spent 30 minutes marveling at the scenery and casually picking berries. I had a nice little stash! I saw a suspicious-looking ostrich-thing. “How bad could it be?” I thought. Famous last words. 🦃 It turned out to be a Terror Bird, and in two kicks, it shattered my health bar and sent me back to the desert winds, all my loot scattered. The lesson? Never assume a creature is passive. Scout from a distance, and when in doubt, climb a rock! Early combat is about picking your battles.

Your Exiles first hour tips all boil down to this: speed and focus. You’re on a timer defined by your thirst bar. Move with purpose, gather efficiently, and get that basic safety net of tools, weapons, and a bedroll down. Once you’ve ticked off that Exiles survival checklist, you can breathe, survey your surroundings, and start planning your first real expedition to that mysterious ruin on the horizon.

Remember, every master of the exiled lands once spent their first hour running from scorpions and eating raw bugs. You’ve got this. Now get out there, gather, build, and conquer

Exiles combines survival, narrative, and social systems into a single experience that rewards planning, experimentation, and community engagement. This guide focused on practical steps for starting strong, advancing through the world and systems, and connecting with other players and tools that improve the game. Try one of the sample builds, follow the survival checklist in your next session, and join an active community hub to accelerate learning—then come back to refine your approach based on your own playstyle.