New Player Walkthrough

Introduction

Salem is a lovely game “focused on all manner of crafting (farming, building, invention and so forth) and developing [the] required character skills for doing so. It also features free-for-all PvP combat with the possibility to permanently kill player characters.”[1] This can be very intimidating for new players who fear losing all their progress at the hands of veterans. This walkthrough aims to help new players by going a little further than a guide and outlining, step-by-step, how straight-forward it is to get started or back on your feet after a setback.

Progress in Salem is understood by the fact that increasingly stronger characters can make increasingly stronger bases that can in turn make increasingly stronger characters. While it is tempting to put all of one’s eggs in one basket and follow the path and progression of a single “main” character through the game, you will likely enjoy more success playing several characters. If you already have experience managing different Sims in a household then managing different characters in a Salem homestead may feel familiar to you.

One of the interesting features of Salem is that the “world is persistent and mutable, meaning player characters are able to make permanent changes to it by destroying and building landscape and houses etc.”[2] In fact, the current Providence server has persisted online since February 2014 and many veterans have by this point built extensive industrial complexes behind heavy fortifications. The in-game economy is quite stable and it is very easy for new players to procure more advanced foods to quickly boost the strength of their characters and procure more advanced materials to quickly build more advanced defences, tools, and structures at the start of their journey.

Most of the early game mechanics can be skipped entirely if new players plan on joining an established town, buying from established players, or taking over an abandoned base and salvaging from other abandoned bases. The early game is outlined here in detail for new players who wish to practice these mechanics or those (who like me) were drawn to Salem for the rewarding challenge of establishing a self-sufficient homestead in the wilderness.

Creating a New Character

The Tutorial

Collect: Tumbleweed (1x) Hickory Nut (4-8x) Branch (6x) ( Stray Chestnut or Smooth Stone) (2x) Flint (3x) Myrtle Oak Leaves (2x) Oak Duff (3x) Maple Leaf (2x)

After crafting and equipping the Flint Axe: Woodblock (1x)

After learning Colonial Tradesmanship: Broken Bough (3x)

The Tutorial will teach you how to acquire your first Skills, how to Craft items and how to Build structures. Once the in-game tutorial is completed and your character travels with the Native Guide to select a homestead in Providence, the character is registered in the game and you can log out without losing your progress.

1. Collect the listed items. Tip: Open the Abacus Window (Ctrl+A) in a 3rd Party custom client.
2. Follow the tutorial instructions, using a Stray Chestnut or Smooth Stone to learn the skill Survival Skills and then again to learn the skill Lore of The Lumberwoods.
   • When prompted to build a Drying Frame, a building window pops up requesting 5x Branch. Hover over that branch icon in the building window and Shift+Scroll Wheel to quickly fill it with appropriate materials from your inventory.
   • When prompted, glutton one Hickory Nut and proceed.
   • When prompted to increase your proficiency cap, craft 1x Leafy Leftovers (3 uses), study it once, and then click the Flora & Fauna proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 500 to 700.
   • When prompted, Study Leafy Leftovers again to learn the skill Colonial Tradesmanship.
   • Eat a hickory nut to replenish your biles.

Learn Collector

1. Start collecting branches from a tree and continue until you receive 3x Broken Bough among them, discarding (Ctrl+Alt+Click) any regular Branch to save weight.
2. Study the 3x Broken Bough. Study 1x Oak Duff. Craft and then study 1x Rock Maracas.
3. Learn the skill Collector. This allows you an additional 5kg of carry weight.

FAST-TRACK! If you plan on taking over an existing base with an existing Mine Entrance in the New World or you plan on buying Dowsing Rods from established players, you can skip these steps as you won't need to craft your own early-game Woo-Woo-Wand to build your own base from scratch.

The Tutorial map with a variety of resources, including Clay in the NW, Lime in the SW, and Granite in the SE.

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Craft 1x Wooden Shovel

Collect: Woodblock (1x) Branch (3x) Pinecone Scale (2x)

Woodblock (17x)

A shovel is a handy second tool to have for digging soil and quarrying useful materials like clay and lime. You can craft one in the tutorial area, before heading out to the New World.

Learn Whittling

1. Collect the listed items.
2. With your axe still equipped, right-click 1x Woodblock in your inventory to split it into 2x Wood Choppings. Study both to upgrade your Hammer & Nail proficiency from 500 to 700.
3. Craft and study 1x Lumberwood Figurine to learn the skill Whittling.
4. Collect 17x Woodblock and use 10x to build a Whittler's Bench and 7x Woodblock to craft a Wooden Shovel.

A Whittler's Bench in the Tutorial.

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Craft 4x Clay Pot

Collect/Craft: Any Stone (10x) Branch (10x) Tinder Drill (1x) Any Nuts

Any Stone (20x) Branch (20x) Tinder Drill (2x)

Unburnt Clay Pot (12x)

1. With your axe still equipped, chip 10x Stones and craft a Fireplace near the clay pit to the north. You can add fuel to it by right-clicking a Branch on the stones. Tip: You can do this faster (and indiscriminately) by holding down Ctrl as you right-click the ring of fireplace stones once.
2. Craft a Tinder Drill and light the fire. Right-click the Fireplace and use the Roasted Nuts recipe to roast Any Nuts you collect and get much more energy from them. If you get any precious Gelatinous Lard during roasting, save it for later.
3. Build, fill, and light 2 more Fireplaces.
4. In the bottom left of the User Interface, next to the chat icon, click the “Display Landscape Tool” and then click the button in the “Select area” window that pops up. Click and drag a rectangle over the clay pit to practice with this tool. Click the “Release” button. This tool will be useful when you are quarrying materials or flatting terrain for construction.
5. Equip your Wooden Shovel, dig the Clay, and craft 12x Unburnt Clay Pot. To save weight, discard any branches and craft pots as you collect clay. Close the Landscape Tool.
6. Place 4 of these Unburnt Clay Pot in each of the 3 Fireplaces. Make sure all 3 Fireplaces are lit (smoking). This crude firing process takes 20 minutes and can result in either a Clay Pot or a Pottery Shard. Hopefully at least 4 clay pots survive for your trip to Providence.

The Clay Pit in the North.

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Increase Your Biles

FAST-TRACK! If you plan on joining an established town or buying more advanced foods like Sweet Jerky and Spore Bajgiel from established players, you can skip this introduction to Gluttony.

The previous task highlighted how tiresome it is to do strenuous activity and how frequently one has to replenish one’s biles by eating food. By raising these 4 humours, the character can carry more, work longer and replenish biles less frequently. To do so, we will practice the gluttony mechanic one more time before leaving for the New World, and only focus on a single Food Group for the sale of simplicity: Nuts and Seeds.

	Blood	Roasted Chestnut (8-10)
	Phlegm	Roasted Myrtle Acorns (8-10)
	Yellow Bile	Roasted Pine Nuts (8-10)
	Black Bile	Roasted Hickory Nut (8-10)

Reduces Nuts and Seeds by 50% with 50% chance.

Tip: In a 3rd Party custom client, you may wish to enable the follow checkboxes in the options menu: General>Show weight widget General>Always show humor numbers Camera & Graphics>Farmer mode trees/bushes Inventory & Items>Always show purity percentage/multiplier

1. Begin by collecting and roasting some Stray Chestnut, Myrtle Oak Acorns, Pine Nut, and Hickory Nut. If you get any precious Gelatinous Lard during roasting, remember to save it for later.
2. Click the forks under the biles to open up Gluttony Mode. Click 1x Roasted Chestnut to raise the “red” bile from 5 to 6. Click 1x Roasted Myrtle Acorns to raise the “blue” bile from 5 to 6. You may need more than 1x Roasted Myrtle Acorns if your Nuts and Seeds efficiency was previously reduced from 100% down to 50%. Repeat this with Roasted Pine Nuts to raise the “yellow” bile from 5 to 6. Assuming you previously gobbled a hickory nut during the tutorial; your biles are likely an even 6/6/6/6 now.
3. Immediately after you raised your biles for the third time, the gluttony forks likely reset and the Nuts and Seeds efficiency reset back up to 100%.
4. Click the gluttony forks again to repeat this exercise for another 3 increases (always aiming to increase the blue, red, yellow, and black evenly) before the gluttony forks reset so you can repeat the cycle.
5. Roasted Nuts are relatively “weak”. Even if you had a lot of nuts, you will eventually struggle to increase your biles. At higher levels, more roasted nuts will be needed to go up by a single point, and as you gobble more nuts, more will be needed to overcome the resulting drop in efficiency. As you progress in the game, you'll not only be able to prepare foods that are both “stronger” and more efficient but also foods in different food groups that each start at 100% efficiency at the beginning of the gluttony session.
6. Move your fork cursor outside your inventory and right-click to exit gluttony mode. Hovering over the Full and Fed Up debuff icon in the top left corner of the user interface will tell you how many minutes you need to wait before the gluttony forks reappear for your next session.

For more information, please consult the extensive wiki pages on Humours, Gluttony and Craving.

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Learn More Skills

Collect/Craft: Sand (2x) Wood Choppings (5x) Leafy Leftovers (1x) Rock Maracas (2x) Flaming Pinecone (1x) Oak Duff (1x) Squirrel Stash (2x)

Simple Crucifix (1x) Broken Bough (1x) Grass Whistle (1x) Spinning Top (1x) Stray Chestnut (2x)

Heated Stone (4x) Sand (1x)

Heated Stone (10x) Sand (4x) Smooth Stone (2x) Rock Maracas (1x)

Spinning Top (3x) Wood Choppings (4x)

Learn Exploration

• Study 1x Leafy Leftovers (from Tutorial, 1x Sand, and 1x Wood Choppings to learn Exploration.

Learn Acute Tree Harvesting

1. Study 1x Wood Choppings. Craft 1x Leafy Leftovers, study it once, and then click the Flora & Fauna proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 700 to 900.
2. Study 1x Leafy Leftovers. Craft 1x Rock Maracas, study it once, and then click the Flora & Fauna proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 900 to 1100.
3. Study 1x Leafy Leftovers. Craft 1x Flaming Pinecone, study it once, and then click the Flora & Fauna proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 1100 to 1300.
4. Study 1x Flaming Pinecone and then click the Herbs & Sprouts proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 500 to 700.
5. Study 1x Flaming Pinecone. Study 1x Oak Duff and then click the Herbs & Sprouts proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 700 to 900.
6. Study 1x Flaming Pinecone and then click the Stocks & Cultivars proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 500 to 700.
7. Study 1x Leafy Leftovers and 1x Squirrel Stash to learn Acute Tree Harvesting.
8. You can now craft Novice Toolbelt.

Learn Bark Gathering

• Study 1x Squirrel Stash to learn Bark Gathering.

Learn Foraging

• Study 1x Rock Maracas and 1x Wood Choppings to learn Foraging.

Learn Indian Tracking

• Study 2x Rock Maracas, 1x Sand, and 1x Simple Crucifix to learn Indian Tracking.

Learn Simple Cooking

1. Study 1x Broken Bough and 1x Grass Whistle to upgrade your Sugar & Spice proficiency from 500 to 700.
2. Study 2x Rock Maracas, 1x Sand, and 1x Simple Crucifix to learn Simple Cooking.

Learn Patchwork & Rags

1. Study 1x Spinning Top to learn Patchwork & Rags.
2. You can now craft Jute Cap, Jute Pants, and Bark Boots.

Learn Bug Hunting

1. Study 1x Stray Chestnut and 1x Wood Choppings to upgrade your Hunting & Hideworking proficiency from 500 to 700.
2. Study 1x Stray Chestnut and 1x Wood Choppings to learn Bug Hunting.
3. You can now craft a Slingshot.

Learn Essential Mineralogy

1. Study 2x Heated Stone to upgrade your Mines & Mountains proficiency from 500 to 700.
2. Study 2x Heated Stone and 1x Sand to learn Essential Mineralogy.

Learn Quarrying

1. Study 2x Heated Stone and 1x Sand to upgrade your Mines & Mountains proficiency from 700 to 900.
2. Study 3x Heated Stone and 1x Sand to upgrade your Mines & Mountains proficiency from 900 to 1100.
3. Study 3x Heated Stone and 2x Sand to upgrade your Mines & Mountains proficiency from 1100 to 1300.
4. Study 2x Smooth Stone and 1x Rock Maracas to learn Quarrying.
5. You can now dig the Lime Pit in the SW and chip some Lime

Learn Carpentry

1. Study 1x Rock Maracas and 1x Wood Choppings to upgrade your Arts & Crafts proficiency from 500 to 700.
2. Study 1x Spinning Top to upgrade your Hammer & Nail proficiency from 700 to 900.
3. Study 1x Spinning Top and 1x Wood Choppings to upgrade your Hammer & Nail proficiency from 900 to 1100.
4. Study 1x Spinning Top and 1x Wood Choppings to upgrade your Hammer & Nail proficiency from 1100 to 1300.
5. Study 1x Spinning Top and 3x Wood Choppings to upgrade your Hammer & Nail proficiency from 1300 to 1500.
6. Study 1x Lumberwood Figurine and 1x Spinning Top to learn Carpentry.
7. You can now craft Stone Saw

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Prepare for your Departure

Collect/Craft and pack the following items before talking to the Native Guide to end the Tutorial and travel to Providence

• Slingshot
• Jute Cap
• Jute Pants
• Bark Boots or Haybales
• Novice Toolbelt
  • Flint Axe
  • Wooden Shovel
  • Stone Saw
• Clay Pot (at least 4x)
• Birch Bark (28x)
• Lime (2x)
• Granite (6x)
• Hay (2x)

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Arriving in Providence

First Homestead

The Native Guide will take you to up to 5 different Lean-to locations in Providence to make your Homestead. In sequence, you can accept or skip the first 4 options the guide presents and you can only accept the 5th and final option. As you only care about proximity to water, accept the first location with a lake or river nearby.

The game allows Travel between your Homestead ... Home and ... to Providence with items in your inventory. Traveling to these destinations from other locations in the wild requires that you first clear your inventory.

Boil Tanning Fluid

1. Build, fill, and light 4x Fireplace
2. Fill 4x Clay Pot with water and 16x Birch Bark and boil them over the Fireplace for 30 minutes
3. Craft 2x Woven Basket and fill them with heavy valuables (e.g., extra Clay Pot, Granite, Lime, etc.)
4. Lift each Woven Basket and right-click your Lean-to to store them there
5. Move to the centre of your Lean-to and Travel to Providence.

Tip: You can set a timer...

First Trade Order

...under construction... collect valuables

Dry Bark

30 minutes

Craft New Tools

1. Buy 2x Nails
2. Craft a Sawbuck and Tanning Tub

2x Leather

...under construction...

Prepare for your Departure

Collect/Craft and pack the following items before heading back into the wild to scout a new homestead location