Vow of Iron is one of the most punishing progression paths in Deepwoken, especially during the early game. The difficulty spike happens fast, mistakes are costly, and understanding the optimal route from spawn to power five makes a massive difference. This guide breaks down the most efficient starter progression, class choices, and early objectives so you do not waste hours learning things the hard way.
Best Starter Classes and What to Avoid
Your class choice defines how painful the opening hours will be. At the moment, Saint J and Berserker are the strongest and most reliable options for early progression. They offer consistent damage, survivability, and smoother fights against mandatory bosses.
Flame Worshipper is playable but underwhelming, as its early damage and utility do not justify the effort. Sightless scales extremely well later but struggles badly at the start, making it a poor pick for beginners. Rogue Assassin can become strong mid-game, but starting with reduced vitality and very low HP makes it one of the most unforgiving choices early on, especially when learning mechanics.
If your goal is efficient progression rather than experimentation, Saint J or Berserker are the safest and most consistent picks.
Understanding Early Tasks and Memory Checks
As soon as your character is finalized, the very first thing you must check is your assigned task. Tasks are directly tied to memories, which act as hard progression gates. Common early tasks include Primadon, Trial of One, or combined objectives.
If you start with a bell, Trial of One becomes unavailable. In that case, Primadon becomes your best early progression tool. Completing Primadon early gives a massive boost, often pushing you close to power five almost instantly due to the memory completion bonus.
This step alone can save hours of grinding.
Fast Power Boost Using Primadon
Once your task points toward Primadon, head directly to the teleporters near the stairs. These teleporters send you straight to your quest area. Upon reaching Primadon’s location, enter once to unlock the teleport, then proceed through the boundary to start the fight.
The fight itself rewards patience. You do not need aggressive combos. Parrying consistently deals significant damage and keeps the encounter manageable. Even if the boss is enraged, landing clean parries will melt its health quickly.
Once defeated, the memory completion will reward a large number of notes, often around 1.5k, and unlock further progression.
Returning and Power Recalling Correctly
After Primadon, return to the base and speak repeatedly to the Power Recall NPC. Each interaction converts your progress into power levels. Without Trial of One, you may stop at power four rather than five, which is normal.
At this point, selling loot may not always be enough to immediately reach power five. That is where world events come in.
Using Equipment to Stabilize Early Fights
Before heading out again, equip anything that gives even minor combat advantages. Items like the Ring of the Primal King are especially valuable, as knockback-induced daze and roar synergies can dramatically increase damage output in early encounters.
Armor pieces do not need to be optimal. Even small defensive boosts help reduce the risk of being sent to the Depths, which can completely derail your run.
World Events for Final Power Push
If you are missing that last power level, world events are your fastest solution. While sailing, keep an eye out for map-based events rather than ship events, which are slower and more tedious.
When you spot a land-based event, approach carefully. Assassination is the safest strategy. Enter from an angle where enemies cannot detect you, eliminate them quickly, loot the chests, and leave. One or two successful events are usually enough to hit power five.
Avoid dying at all costs. Being sent to the Depths during early Vow of Iron progression is extremely dangerous and often leads to wipes.
Selling Loot and Talent Decisions
After completing events, return to a safe hub or gate to heal and sell your loot. This is where you often get enough notes to finally reach power five.
At power five, you can unlock talents, though mantras may still be locked. Early on, it is often smarter to save notes unless a talent clearly benefits your build. Talents like Table Flip or Rapid Punches are strong picks due to their crowd control and burst potential.
Preparing for the First Major Roadblock
Once you have your core talents, ship upgrades, and basic setup complete, you will face the first major progression wall: the early boss encounter tied to Vow of Iron.
This boss is intentionally brutal and is designed to be learned through repeated attempts. Before engaging, make sure you unlock the nearby teleport so you can return quickly after deaths. This saves time and reduces frustration.
Do not rush this fight. Learn attack patterns, practice parries, and accept that failure is part of the process. Every attempt makes the fight more manageable.
Early progression is hardest before power five, not after. Primadon is the fastest early memory if Trial of One is unavailable. World events are your best tool for closing the final power gap. Avoid the Depths at all costs. Save notes unless a talent directly improves survivability or damage. Most importantly, patience and repetition are required for early bosses.
Once you clear this initial wall, Vow of Iron opens up significantly and becomes far more rewarding to play.
If you want, I can turn this into a step-by-step checklist or expand it into a full early-to-midgame Vow of Iron progression guide.