So...you've just purchased Renown, seen all the hype, and now you're probably wondering "where do I start?"

After seeing the local inhabitants of your surroundings (Pressing F4 allows you to check the leaderboard, left-click to invite them) and come to the realization, that parts easy; hit a rock and a tree with your fists 8 times each, and craft yourself the following from your CRAFTING MENU (press your R key)

Stone Pick-axe, Hatchet, and Stone mallet (You can upgrade this further on the RESEARCH tab, or purchase from a vendor)

To farm more efficient, HOLD YOUR MIDDLE MOUSE BUTTON DOWN, or change your jabbing hotkey to something more comfortable for your thumb. (Farming materials is tied to your swing timer animation)

If you made it this far, you're almost already to REALLY play the game.

You want to be up-close to the material you farm for the FASTEST farming method. The further you are, the longer you're gonna be at risk of being ambushed.

"Time-To-Kill", - the longer you spend in one area, the higher your chances of death will claim you...



BASE BUILDING GUIDE

For a starting base, a simple 2x2 design goes a long way. I've placed a small snippet below of an example-base for reference:



Be sure you are locking your doors you craft with your stone mallet



You can place objects such as tannerys, or boxes, to jump up to adjacent platforms within your base. This is exceptionally useful when being raided to grief/prevent further progress with the risk of being trapped inside your base (NOTICE; When a raid begins, you CANNOT remove/pick up the objects, but you can set up points in your base where you can prepare for this exact situation. Choose your build design wisely)


You are going to want 4-6 FURNACES crafted (animal fat from deers, or rucksacks) in order to smelt and refine your material you collect

Now that you've got yourself some goodies in your bigger boxes, (Which can be learned in the RESEARCH/TAB when you're in your inventory), you're gonna wanna protect all that good stuff.

How do you do that?

Making the castle is easy - Use your imagination and make sure you know what you're looking for in your base to keep you safe, and those nasty zergs at bay. If not, this next part will definitely give them a hell of a time trying to invade your homestead:

. YOUR DOOR IS YOUR FLOOR! Place your door ELEVATED from the ground for maximum early-game base defense. (Consider this the MOST IMPORTANT base tip for starting players)

. When placing your base, consider your BANNER placement, which is the heart of your base, and if captured, is game over

. Your loot should either be with this BANNER, or away from it in a secret spot of your base - Consider having a location that you can reach if they are inside when you make contact during an invasion

. YOUR ROOF, is your BEST, best friend - Be sure you place obstructions, such as outstretched foundations, to prevent people from using SIEGE LADDERS

. Its Okay Not To Be Okay - When you have yourself a bad time, make sure you have a spot to rest your head, be sure you craft yourself some SLEEPING BAGS, and have them placed around the house, or outside a bit further away, after taking an axe to the dome, or an arrow to the knee...

Awesome, you survived a man in trousers and a barbarian woman with a club trying to make a meal out of you and from bashing your face in, you've elevated your doorway to keep the local rubble-rousers at bay, and you have a nice healthy box of materials with a rooftop to shoot from.

Now wait, that first bow kinda sucks though, so how do I make it more dangerous? And what if I meet some cool neighbors?



Your research. Your Loot. Your Rules.

. Research is tied to one person every wipe (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) - When you research an item, ALL PARTY MEMBERS of your team can research when going to a RESEARCH TABLE and holding E. "Share Researched Items"

. The items required to make better gear can be located at points-of-interest on the map, or searching the beaches for destructible barrels/boxes (The further in-land you go, the more loot you will find, but also unwanted attention)

. GOLD, GOLD, GOLDDDDDD! - Gold is the economy of this game. It can be refined from Gold Ore, Gold Coins, and Gold Bars from specific enemies Your best methods include looting rucksacks, mining golden nodes with better quality picks (iron or steel), or killing stronger enemies

. Your banner without resources will decay, and your base will fall apart

. Not everyone is an enemy - consider the players you meet, and whether you can defer together an alliance to fry the bigger fish in your region

. Sharing is caring, only in moderation - Should you have a home you wish to micro-manage, consider having SEPARATED bedrooms, or bases adjacent to each other, and specify your goals/reasons immediately

Nobody likes a loot goblin ball-buster - The last thing you want are angry neighbors, or burnt-out knights in shining armor. Progression is key, and your teamwork, or personal independence, are what will shape the outcome

You survived washing ashore. You survived the onslaught of tribal vagrants along the borders of the woods, and established a point with others, or alone, in this unknown land. You've come to the realization once more, practically everything, and everyone, want you dead on the island.

Fighting is about sparring, or hugging someone close - Weapons consist of stabbing, overhead swinging, or long-arm swings. Positional fighting is 50% the battle, while the other is adjusting the angle of your camera and your character (Either first person or third) to make your weapon make contact to your target

Hug your target close, and keep them annoyed if they're using long melee weapons (Long maces, axes, swords), Keep them at a distance if they're using smaller weapons (one handed swords, axes, maces)

Dane Axe, Short Spear, Messer, Norse Sword, Cudgel, Club - Excellent earlygame weapons which are well-rounded if used correctly. Dane Axe and Short Spear for utility combat, Messer and Norse Swords for direct pvp

Grand Mace, Longsword, Claymore - Extremely versatile and practically end-game weapons, high combat potential, but long time to make contact, leaves you very vulnerable. Caution advised when deciding to take one of these out your first time

Longbow, shortbow - Perfect for backline pvp, or base defense when high atop your base walls. This plays good if your door is also elevated from the ground, making it an all-around important weapon to drain your enemy of medical supplies, or burn their armor

Lets face it: were not gonna get along, and the moral of the story is, you want some payback for earlier when that guy in metal-clad armor stole your stick, so now its personal, and you wanna go take him out.

Is he your ally, or your enemy?

Communication is key - depending on how your situations play out, its up to YOU to determine whether you want to fight today, or whether you can try and talk your way out of a situation. Just because you died the first time, doesn't mean he might have bigger enemies the second time around. Use this knowledge as a "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" type of situation

There's always a bigger guy - Just like the title of the game, the greatest most Renown thing about every kingdom, is its history of its eventual downfall, either by your hand, by your enemies/allies, or their own. The way you shape the community bulletin board, is what makes the short-term persistence unique and dynamic. Either use these moments as an advantage, or as a common-goal

This parts as simple as it gets: GO BLOW THAT DOOR OFF ITS HINGES! Or go tell them they have a new hole in their wall!

Petard, Sapper Axes, Catapaults, Chaos - Your tools of the trade, your weapons of literal destruction. Use these to take your enemy into the ground, and be sure you have ALOT of SILVER BARS, CHARCOAL, and MAGANESE (All these items can be LOOTED from mobs, SILVER is to be mined as is tradition of mining)

Its Not Just The Door - You may want to consider also making SIEGE LADDERS from the Tier 2 crafting menu (NOTICE: You can only begin this process by tech-ing down the trees 1/2/3 respectively, which will allow you to unlock the next progress-tier. )

Enemy At The Gates - Consider having your sleeping bags from the first steps, placed closer to a raid target to maximize pressure, and you may also want to prepare them at a specific entry-point into an enemies keep

QUICK STATISTICS RUNDOWN OF RAID COMBAT:

1 Sapper Axe ~=

. 2 wood doors
. 1 plaster, 1 wood wall
. half health a stone door

1 Petard ~=

. 1 wood wall
. 1 stone door
. 1 wood door
. 1 plaster door.

7 Petard ~=
. 1 stone wall

15 Petard ~=

. 1 brick wall

Catapault ammo 6-8 (splash damage)~=

. 2 stone walls
. 2 brick walls

(These numbers are rough-estimates off personal combat data/play-testing, and are very work-in-progress for this guide. If anyone has the actual values, please feel free to share in the comments)

You swaggered yourself hazily off the beaches, you found yourself a place to call home and a stick over the head, you made both friend and enemy that day, and now you have an enemy in your sights you wish to plunder.

What next?

Only time will tell for us all...and to all the knights of the island...

Goodluck out there, and don't let the local Pez dispensers take you down

Be sure to leave a review/rating, and don't forget to actively check the Renown Discord for any updates/official news to come!

Until then, I have a shiny rock in front of me, and its looking quite tempting. I hope they don't see me smother myself all over it with my pickaxe.