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 multiple characters in other games (e.g., party members in Final Fantasy, Sims in a household, etc.) 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 for those (who like me) were drawn to Salem for the rewarding challenge of venturing out and establishing a self-sufficient homestead in the wilderness.

Create 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 the basic game mechanics. Once the in-game tutorial is completed and your character travels with the Native Guide to select a homestead in Providence, the character is saved on the server and you can log out without losing your progress.

Collect the listed items. Tip: Open the Abacus Window (Ctrl+A) in a 3rd Party custom client.
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

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.
Study the 3x Broken Bough. Study 1x Oak Duff. Craft and then study 1x Rock Maracas.
Learn the skill Collector. This allows you an additional 5kg of carry weight.

The Tutorial map with a variety of resources, including

Clay in the NW,

Lime in the SW, and

Granite in the SE.

Craft 1x Wooden Shovel

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 the more advanced

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. Skip ahead to #Increase Your Biles, #Learn More Skills, or #Prepare for your Departure.

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

Collect the listed items.
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.
Craft and study 1x Lumberwood Figurine to learn the skill Whittling.
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.

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)

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.
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.
Build, fill, and light 2 more Fireplaces.
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.
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.
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.

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)

'We will build on these basics on the Providence server in #Gluttony, Part 2'

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

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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.

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

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.
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.
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.
Study 1x Flaming Pinecone and then click the Herbs & Sprouts proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 500 to 700.
Study 1x Flaming Pinecone. Study 1x Oak Duff and then click the Herbs & Sprouts proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 700 to 900.
Study 1x Flaming Pinecone and then click the Stocks & Cultivars proficiency bar to upgrade its cap from 500 to 700.
Study 1x Leafy Leftovers and 1x Squirrel Stash to learn Acute Tree Harvesting.
You can now craft Novice Toolbelt and can now gather more nuts, bark, and inspirationals (e.g., Squirrel Stash) from trees.

Learn Bark Gathering

Study 1x Squirrel Stash to learn Bark Gathering.
You can now gather Birch Bark to make early game Tanning Fluid, Bark Boots, Barkpack, and Barkcup

Learn Foraging

Study 1x Rock Maracas and 1x Wood Choppings to learn Foraging.
You can now craft, among other things, Berries-on-a-Straw for early game Gluttony

Learn Indian Tracking

Study 2x Rock Maracas, 1x Sand, and 1x Simple Crucifix to learn Indian Tracking.
You can now craft Savage Charm as a great source of income when you travel to Providence.

Learn Simple Cooking

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

Learn Patchwork & Rags

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

Learn Bug Hunting

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

Learn Essential Mineralogy

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

Learn Quarrying

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

Learn Carpentry

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

Prepare for your Departure

Collect, craft and equip 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
Clay Pot (at least 4x but preferably more)
Birch Bark (28x)
Lime (2x)
Granite (6x)
Hay (2x)

Arrive in Providence

Choose your First Homestead

Once the in-game tutorial is completed and your character selects a homestead in Providence, the character is saved on the server and you can log out without losing your progress. The Providence server consists of the Town of ... to Providence and the wilderness that surrounds it. The Tutorial's Native Guide will take you to a random Lean-to in the wilderness near the town of Providence and ask if you would like to make that Lean-to your Homestead or skip to another random Lean-to location. This process can be repeated until you are forced to accept the 5th and final option. As you will only be at this location for 1 day and you only care about proximity to water, accept the first location that has a nearby lake or river and is not crawling with snakes (e.g., Badlands).

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.

PvE Dangers in Providence

It is advisable to read the article on Humours. When any one of your Humours reaches zero, you will become Knocked Out. For new players, this most commonly occurs through exhaustion (i.e., continuing to work despite depleted humours) or an encounter with an aggressive Creature:

Timber Rattler can be found in nearly all the biomes of the New World, but is most commonly found in the Badlands. A single bite of their venom can poison you, drain your Phlegm down to 0 and eventually knock you out. Timber Rattler Poison can be treated with Rattler Serum which is available from NPC Stalls for 250s or from other players for cheaper. While a snake will not follow you into shallow water it is best to outrun the snake as it will stop pursuing you once your are outside render distance. If you can't yet afford Rattler Serum, you can keep eating to keep your biles up while collecting reeds in shallow water (or autumn grass). You can place your valuables in the containers you construction giving you more time to return this location to recover them after you pass out from the venom.

Bear should be avoided at all costs. Even if a Bear is across an impassable stream of water, their Roar causes Fear which will drain your Black Bile down to 0 and eventually knock you out. It is best to remain vigilant, keep your camera zoomed out when hiking in the wild, and Run away if you are spotted by a Bear.

Cougar should be avoided at all costs. This is challenging because cougars are translucent and very fast. It is best to remain vigilant, keep your camera zoomed out when hiking in the wild, and Run away if you are spotted by a Cougar.

IMPORTANT! Be mindful of your humours and your surroundings.

PvP Dangers in Providence

Like other Skills, players can learn how to commit crimes such as trespassing on someone else's property (2000 Cloak & Dagger), taking someone else's property (4000 Cloak & Dagger), and destroying someone else's property (5000 Cloak & Dagger). They can also assault, batter, and murder (37500 Cloak & Dagger) non-criminals 'if they are online'. Committing crimes drains Humours and leaves Evidence on the ground that other pilgrims can gather to seek justice.

For example, destroying a wall on someone else's claim, will leave Evidence of Waste on the ground for 11 days which other pilgrims can pick up to (1) send that criminal to the Stocks in the Town of Providence or -- and this is disproportionately extreme -- (2) hire a bounty hunter to exact Revenge in a Trial by Combat. That bounty hunter will themselves leave scents for 9 days.

Continuing with the example of Waste, players with criminal characters (i.e., "alts") carefully consider their investment in Skills and Humours.[3] For a veteran, walking through an unlocked gate is easy, destroying a Stone Hedge is a breeze[4], destroying a Plank Fence requires a 200+? biles character[5][6], destroying a Brick Wall requires a 400+? biles character (i.e., several months in a massive base), and destroying an Iron Wall requires a 1000+? biles character. In addition, aggressive defense structures like the Torchpost and the Blazing Brazier will drain the black bile of attackers.

Visible valuables behind a weak fence (e.g., a full stockbin of black sand that suggests the player sifts[7]) can potentially yield high rewards for a relatively low investment in a criminal alt.

IMPORTANT! Non-criminals need to familiarize themselves with these mechanics because crime cannot be prevented, only deterred.

Permanent Death in Providence

It is advisable to read the article on Permanent Death. For new players that don't engage in crime, Permanent Death is rare but could occur if they:

Reach Level 10 Madness. Avoid this by simply not doing insane things.

Get Knocked Out due to Max Disease. Avoid the often naked and frequently vomiting "disease alts" that are sometimes placed by other players to spice things up. If you contract a Disease, note the frequency of each of the 4 symptoms and ask for help on Discord.

Get Knocked Out while Outside under a Blood Moon season. You can be extra careful or you can take the opportunity to create another "alt" for your homestead.

Are murdered by a criminal landing a Killing Blow. This is currently very rare for new players. Avoid interactions with strangers in the wilderness. Trades are best done in the Town of Providence where PvP is disabled.

Begin your Journey in Providence

Boil Tanning Fluid

At your homestead in the wilderness:

Build, fill, and light 4x Fireplace
Fill 4x Clay Pot with water and 16x Birch Bark and boil them over the Fireplace for 30 minutes. Tip: You can set a 30-minute timer in a 3rd Party custom client.
Craft 2x Woven Basket and fill them with heavy valuables (e.g., Granite, Lime, extra Clay Pot, etc.).
Lift each Woven Basket and right-click your Lean-to to store them there.
Move to the centre of your Lean-to and Travel to Providence.

RECAP ON CRIME: Remember that crime cannot be prevented, only deterred. Any players can take any unclaimed property on the ground. In the case of the containers you placed inside your claimed Lean-to, players that have invested in a criminal "alt" with the Larceny skill can either take those items and leave Evidence of Larceny or spend 150s on a Stake Claim (that overrides your smaller homestead claim) and Salvage/Destroy your homestead for the loot without leaving any Evidence of Larceny or Waste. Having your Homestead destroyed while you are off-line will cause you to lose all your Inventory and equipped items. While we could increase our defenses, (1) our current possessions are not worth more than 150s, (2) we won't be in this temporary location for long, and (3) our character is fairly new and any set back at this point would not be a huge loss. You can choose your own risk tolerance.

Visit the Town of Providence

While the Tanning Fluid is boiling at your homestead, you can visit the Town of Providence for the first time. The Town property covers a large area and since PvP is disabled, it is a safe place to peacefully gather basic resources.

Gluttony, Part 2

	Nuts and Seeds	Berries	Mushrooms	Vegetables and Greens	Slugs Bugs and Kritters
*Blood	Roasted Chestnut (8-10)	Cranberry Berries-on-a-Straw (11-12)	Lobster Mushroom 'Shrooms-on-a-Stick (10-16)	Wild Garlic (6-7)	Don't eat crickets yet.
*Phlegm	Roasted Myrtle Acorns (8-10)	Crowberry Berries-on-a-Straw (13-14)	Sugar Caps 'Shrooms-on-a-Stick (10-16)	Milkweed Roots (6-7)	Sizzled Slug (8-11)
*Yellow Bile	Roasted Pine Nuts (8-10)	Huckleberries Berries-on-a-Straw (13-14)	Lobster Mushroom 'Shrooms-on-a-Stick (10-16)	Ostrich Fiddlehead (6-7)	Sizzled Grub (8-11)
*Black Bile	Roasted Hickory Nut (8-10)	Blackberries Berries-on-a-Straw (13-14)	Sugar Caps 'Shrooms-on-a-Stick (10-16)	Oakworth (8-10)	Beetle (6-9)

'We will build on these basics, and introduce Froghetti, at our new base in #Gluttony, Part 3'

Visit His Majesty's Stall to obtain your first Trade Order.

Right-click His Majesty's son to receive the first order.
Visit the nearby berries orchard, across the bridge and near the barn, and pick 20 berries.
Grab each berry in your inventory and right-click the trader order to deposit them.
Return to His Majesty's son, grab the completed trade order in your inventory and right-click him to hand it in and then receive your second order.

for all Trade Orders (with some delay between orders). The one exception is Granite, which you have conveniently brought along from the Tutorial and stored in your Lean-to in the wilderness.

Unfortunately there are no valuable forageables so we will Fast Travel back to our ... Home in the wilderness.