'Game of Thrones: Kingsroad' officially launched its PC version on the 14th. Having already seen the game's potential during the pre-launch CBT, we’ve spent time playing the launch version to compile a guide on early-game progression and useful tips. If you are a newcomer, use this guide to help you step into Westeros with ease.

What Kind of Game is 'Game of Thrones: Kingsroad'?

Kingsroad is an open-world action RPG set during Season 4 of the HBO series 'Game of Thrones.' Players take on the role of an original character—a bastard of House Tyre, a Northern knightly house that swore loyalty to House Stark. After losing your siblings at the Red Wedding, you become the sole heir to your house. The story begins as you head to Castle Black to meet your uncle, a member of the Night's Watch, and your journey unfolds through the untold stories between the major events of the original series.

The world-building, which received positive feedback during the CBT, remains a highlight in the launch version. You can explore iconic locations familiar to fans, such as Winterfell, Castle Black, The Wall, and King's Landing, and encounter original characters like Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly, and Jaime Lannister. With areas that were only mentioned in the show now fully realized, fans will find the exploration alone to be a delightful experience.

Combat is available in three classes: Knight, Mercenary, and Assassin. There is no auto-combat; the game is 100% manual, focusing on real-time combinations of light and heavy attacks, parrying, dodging, and skills. Each class can freely swap between two main weapons and one ranged weapon during combat, offering plenty of tactical choices. It is also impressive that the combat design focuses on the impact of cold steel rather than flashy magic effects, staying true to the atmosphere of the original series.

Early Progression

The most efficient way to start in Kingsroad is to focus on Guide Missions. These missions, which can be checked by pressing F7, consist of 12 chapters; following them will naturally lead to leveling up and unlocking game systems. Rather than trying to do everything at once, it is best to follow the flow of the Guide Missions to learn the game's structure.

Don't miss the sub-quests, marked in blue, alongside the main quest. Sub-quests provide essential growth rewards like skill points, so it is better to complete them whenever you have the chance. If you only focus on the main quest, you may find yourself short on skill points later, so clear any sub-quests you see.

Also, remember to collect the daily gift boxes and weekly gift bundles that reset in the shop. They contain small but helpful rewards like elixirs and copper, so make it a habit to claim them every time you log in.

Occasionally, you may encounter objects that cannot be interacted with during a quest. This might feel like a bug, but don't panic; open your Quest Journal (J) and set the quest to 'Track' to enable interaction. Keep this tip in mind to avoid getting stuck.

It is best to join an Alliance (Guild) as soon as possible. Joining unlocks daily alliance missions and the alliance shop, where you can purchase items that aid in growth, such as equipment enhancement materials. Even if you prefer solo play, the benefits of joining an alliance are significant. If you really don't want to join one, create your own to at least enjoy the alliance-related benefits.

Equipment Farming and the Business Model

Kingsroad operates without gacha mechanics, relying instead on monthly subscriptions and a battle pass. Equipment, from high-grade to legendary, is obtained through blacksmith crafting or content farming and can be traded with other users via the marketplace.

If you plan to play slowly and enjoy the story, there is no need to spend money for growth. Most content is solo-focused with no competitive elements, allowing you to play at your own pace.

However, your bag space is limited, so your inventory may fill up quickly with quest rewards and gear. With the May 21 patch, the base bag capacity was expanded by 30 slots, and warehouse NPCs were placed in major towns. If your bag gets full, simply fast-travel to a town to clear out your junk; you can play perfectly fine without spending money.

Of course, if you want a more convenient experience, you can consider the monthly subscription products. The 'Convenience Support' package improves inventory management by expanding bag space and providing extra rewards, while the 'Combat Support' package is a time-saving product that provides additional RP or allows you to spend double RP for double rewards. Starting June 10, an integrated package will be available for ₩25,000, offering a roughly 26% discount compared to buying them separately.

Skills: Keep it Simple; Mastery: Be Careful

Skill points are granted one by one for each weapon when you acquire active skill points. Since you can set skills for your main and sub-weapons independently, it is best to consider the skill configurations of both weapons together. Planning which weapons you will primarily use will help you allocate skill points more efficiently.

One thing to note is that basic skills upgraded with Skill Mastery Books cannot be reset. Unlike regular skills, these books are limited in supply, so use them cautiously after careful consideration. When you liberate an occupied area, a general merchant appears in that town where you can purchase bag expansion tickets and Skill Mastery Books. Don't delay liberating areas; do it whenever you have the chance.

Bag and Resource Management

Bag expansion tickets can only be used to expand one of three categories: general, equipment, or materials. Since you won't be severely lacking space for equipment or materials early on, we recommend prioritizing the expansion of your general bag. You can expand your equipment bag later when you have more room.

You can purchase bag expansion tickets with regional coins earned from exploration rewards, but there are sections where the difficulty spikes significantly once you leave the starting area. You might suddenly need crafting or enhancement materials, so unless you are desperate for bag space, we recommend saving your regional coins for materials. Keep in mind that there will inevitably be moments where even a slight difference in stats becomes crucial.

Inventory space was the most common complaint among players at launch. The developers acknowledged this and implemented improvements in the May 21 patch, expanding the base bag by 30 slots (10 each for general, equipment, and materials) and adding warehouse NPCs to major cities. As this applies to the mobile version as well, players who felt inconvenienced by inventory issues will find a much better environment after this patch.

Improvements were also made to the monetization structure. The EXP pack, which was previously a separate purchase for battle pass owners, became a free reward on May 21, and full refunds were issued to previous purchasers. An integrated monthly subscription package will also be available starting June 10 for ₩25,000, a 26% discount.

'Set Research' — Know This Before You Start!

Set Research, a core growth system in Kingsroad, improves overall stats and allows you to receive the effects of set items you are not currently wearing. You can increase Set Research experience by consuming unused equipment or dismantling materials; using the same set equipment as material grants more experience.

There is one important thing to note: the stats gained through Set Research apply even if you are not wearing that set. It is a waste to consume other set equipment as materials just to level up a specific set research quickly. The basic rule is to use only equipment without set effects for research and save set-specific gear for its corresponding research. Not knowing this and consuming materials blindly will lead to regret later, so keep this in mind.

When a set research reaches level 10 or 20, you can use the set effect separately even without wearing the set. For example, if you are wearing a 6-piece Berserker set and reach level 20 in Raider research, you can receive both the Berserker 6-piece effect and the Raider 6-piece effect simultaneously. However, you are limited to one additional set effect beyond the one you are wearing, and identical set effects cannot be stacked.

We recommend prioritizing the Raider set for research early on. The option that grants bonus damage upon parrying is quite powerful, but since many monsters cannot be parried, it is inefficient to wear the Raider set itself. Using the Set Research feature to just gain the effect is the most rational choice, so we recommend starting Raider research as soon as the feature unlocks.

Don't Dismantle Equipment Recklessly

As you progress through the main quest, you will unlock the Set Effect Change feature. Once unlocked, you can change the set options of your gear as you like, so make it a habit to keep gear with good imprint options. It is not too late to sort through them after this feature is unlocked.

Shortly after, the 'Forging' feature, which allows you to change additional stat values, and the feature to change refinement effects will also unlock.

Precautions Regarding World Level

When the Set Effect Change feature unlocks, so does the ability to increase your World Level. While rewards for RP-consuming content increase, you must consider that the overall difficulty of the game rises significantly. Don't increase it blindly just for the rewards; check your character's growth status first.

In particular, one-time content with fixed rewards—such as sub-quests, liberated areas, and bounties—does not offer increased rewards when the World Level is raised, only increased difficulty. Therefore, we recommend clearing one-time content before raising the World Level. Keep in mind that if you raise the World Level without sufficient growth, all content requiring RP will essentially become a hardcore mode.

If you have raised your World Level, make active use of Faction Hideouts. You can quickly farm Tier 2 Rare equipment through equipment chests inside the hideout without combat. Since the chests open immediately upon interaction, you can farm them easily while passing by without having to kill monsters. This is a great way to quickly catch up on the stat gap caused by the World Level increase.

Once you reach World Level 'Trainee' (Lv. 1) or higher, try challenging the field boss 'Drogon'. Drogon appears east of the Hornwood region at set times, and defeating it offers a chance to obtain legendary-grade equipment. Since legendary gear is hard to come by, keep track of Drogon's spawn times so you don't miss out.

Westeros: Remember This for the Early Game

Kingsroad has many systems that don't all unlock at once, which can feel overwhelming at first. However, the game is structured so that systems unlock naturally as you follow the main quest and Guide Missions. If you proceed in order, you will soon grasp the overall flow of the game.

To summarize what to focus on early: complete all sub-quests that provide skill points, use Mastery Books cautiously, save regional coins for materials, prioritize Raider set research, and raise your World Level only after clearing one-time content.

As the game received positive feedback for its polish and faithfulness to the source material during the CBT, the experience of adventuring through the world of Westeros in the launch version remains impressive. Fans of the original series will find plenty of enjoyment just by following the main story.

'Game of Thrones: Kingsroad' is currently available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Netmarble), and the mobile version (iOS, Android) is scheduled for release on May 21.