Journey to the West

I take my few belongings and decide that it is time to explore further from my starting area.

While traveling, I find some Spindly Taproot. This common string can be found while Foraging.

Climbing down from a cliff may grant you this Lore worth 200 Experience Points.

With a few points in Exploration, you can find Blueberries. Raising Perception also helps in Foraging.

After some time, I sit down on this chair that someone left behind and take a quick break.

I also take a few Beautiful Dreams from this Dream Catcher so I can rebuild my Hearth Fire in new locations.

This is the first Runestone I've seen in a while.

I catch and roast a couple of Rats for dinner before calling it a night.

Cleaning up a Fireplace

Once you are finished with a fire, be sure to clean up. Putting out the fire allows you to save on fuel and firewood so you can reuse it in the future. Remember that resources are often limited in Haven and Hearth.

Roasting Meat

You can use a Roasting Spit to cook prepared animal meat, such as a Cleaned Chicken. In this video, I demonstrate how to carve two delicious pieces of Sizzling Spitroast Chicken.

New Store Changes

Good news, everyone! Some new store changes have been included with today's patch:

• Free Play Time has been increased from 12 hrs/month to 7 hours/week
• Verified Account Play Time has been increased from 24hrs/month to 14hrs/week

Also note that purchased cosmetic items have become permanent upgrades and can be retrieved if lost or stolen. Due to the nature of permanent death in Haven and Hearth, this is an important change.

A new patch item has been added to the online store as well. I imagine that the developers may have gotten the idea from the recent events...

Discovering Fire

Creating a fire has changed slightly in the new Haven and Hearth. You need to build a Fireplace using stones, a Fire using branches and use a Firebrand to light the fire. This video demonstrates the procedure.

Note: The Firebrand turns into Ashes very quickly, so you need to right click the unlit fire as soon as it ignites.

Meeting the Neighbors

Since the game just started, I bump into a number of players while exploring.

Most of them seem to be in a hurry, but I do my best to be friendly.

Here, I bump into a flock of chickens. Lucky!

Chickens don't run away when you approach them. You can pick them up easily.

After plucking, cleaning and butchering the chicken, I use the Bone Material and a Bough to make a Bone Saw.

Rune stones seem to work the same way as in the old version of the game.

After learning Carpentry, I craft a Bucket and a pair of Clogs. Note that you can now drink straight from the Bucket!

Most players seem to be friendly at this stage of the game.

I found this cave while exploring. These will be key sources of early game metal.

While settling here is tempting, I decide to move on. There is still much more to discover!

Humble Beginnings

As I step into this new world, I take some time to learn the updated game mechanics.

Like before, you can chip stones from boulders. Character animations and sound effects have been added for activities like this.

Crafting is still a key part of the game. Here, I make myself a Stone Axe from a branch and a stone.

Looks like you can gain Experience points from achieving certain tasks, such as stepping into shallow water for the first time.

Experience points are separate from Learning points. Studying now requires both types of points.

Learning lore and skills is also a key part of the game. I recommend learning Foraging, Hunting and Lumberjacking as soon as you can.

Skills that can be improved incrementally are now called Abilities. The Study Report is in this page as well.

While definitely more polished than the previous versions, I often find myself worrying about my remaining play time. I like the game, but I can't say that it is worth the rates they are currently charging. Haven and Hearth is still in "Eternal Alpha", after all.