Survive first, then follow the opening quests
To survive Permafrost's opening hours, gather Wood and Stone, craft your starting tools, and use a fueled Campfire to recover warmth before following the quests into Horizon. Cook for Robyn, rescue the dog in Bone Cave, and complete New Home's shelter objectives before pushing toward Hunter's Glade and House Camp.
Gather materials, craft tools and light a fire
- Collect Wood from bushes and Stone from loose Rock Shards in the starting area. These supply your initial crafting materials. Gather for your next recipe instead of filling your pack with everything you find.
- Craft a Stone Shiv in your inventory using 1 Stone and 2 Wood. It works as a knife for skinning animals and breaking simple locks. Keep it available when you go hunting.
- Craft a Stone Axe using 2 Stone and 4 Wood. It needs no Workbench and lets you gather Wood. Check its durability before relying on it for an extended trip.
- Craft a Stone Pickaxe using 2 Stone and 4 Wood. It can mine Stone and Flint. Leave Coal and Copper boulders until you have a Flint Pickaxe.
- Place a Campfire from the Building menu's Survival section for 2 Stone. This gives you a fire site ready for fuel. Keep enough materials available to make heat during later travel.
- Light your Campfire after placing Wood in its fuel slot. The burning fire restores warmth and can cook Meat. Warm up before continuing instead of treating the fire as a tutorial task to rush past.
- Unlock Rope when the opening quest introduces the Blueprints screen. The CRAFTING tree unlock costs 1 point, and Rope costs 2 Cloth to craft. Rope supplies an ingredient needed for the Crude Bow.
- Craft a Crude Bow from 2 Wood and 1 Rope to prepare for hunting. Its recipe is known from the start. Bring your Shiv too, since skinning an animal requires a suitable knife.
- Craft Wooden Arrows from your inventory for your hunting trip. Each craft uses 1 Wood and produces 3 Wooden Arrows. Have ammunition ready before leaving the fire to look for Meat.
Reach Horizon and cook for Robyn
- Speak with Robyn in Horizon after traveling through the opening cave. The early quest sequence begins A New Beginning, Feel the Heat, then Horizon's Kitchen. Horizon is a No Build Zone, so save your own construction for a buildable area.
- Cook Meat for Robyn during Horizon's Kitchen. Her kitchen's stone hearth works like a Campfire, and cooking requires a lit fire or stove fueled with Wood or Coal. Put 1 Meat in the primary ingredient slot and press R to make a Dish. Cook future Meat too: eating it raw can cause PARASITES.
- Collect your reward from Robyn's reward box in Horizon. It includes the Survivor's Backpack, an early storage upgrade. The box also supplies food and bandages for your next trip.
Rescue the dog and complete New Home
- Follow Dog Days into Bone Cave to rescue the dog. Once it joins you, its pack provides storage separate from your backpack. Make the rescue your immediate goal before taking a longer resource trip.
- Mine accessible Flint Boulders with your Stone Pickaxe as you pass through Bone Cave. They line the route between the dog's chamber and the far exit, including the lower cavern where a bear roams. Avoid approaching the bear just to gather extra ore.
- Complete New Home's home-building objectives after Dog Days. New Home leads into The Outpost. Focus on a shelter that supports your next trip instead of delaying progression for decorative work.
Upgrade your pickaxe before longer mining trips
- Build a Workbench from Utilities in the Building menu for 10 Wood. It gives you access to flint-tool crafting. Bring Flint back from Bone Cave before starting your crafting session.
- Craft a Flint Pickaxe at the Workbench using 2 Flint and 4 Wood. It can mine Sulfur, Copper, Coal, Flint and Stone. Check a boulder's tool indicator before swinging; a red crossed-out icon means the equipped tool cannot mine it.
Watch body warmth before chasing loot
Compare the cold rating of your gear with the conditions around you. When the environment is colder than your gear can handle, body warmth falls; reaching zero brings hypothermia and health loss. Retreat toward warmth before a gathering trip becomes a struggle to get home.
Treat Cold Zones as short, prepared visits. Blue fog identifies them, and a banner appears when you enter; set up a fueled fire outside the zone where building is allowed. If you have a heater, check its condition and use it sparingly, because it wears out quickly.
Keep backpack space for survival supplies
- Equip the Survivor's Backpack by right-clicking it in your inventory and choosing EQUIP. It provides 20 slots compared with the starting Casual Backpack's 15. Extra backpack capacity does not add cold resistance or armor.
- Move spare gathering materials into a storage chest or the dog's pack. Inventory uses slots rather than a weight limit. Leave room for prepared food, a bandage and fire-making resources before accepting more low-priority loot.
Avoid combat surprises and quest detours
- Check your surroundings when the danger music changes. The warning can come from armed enemies or wildlife, including bears and wolves. Give yourself room to retreat instead of chasing a threat while you are getting cold.
- Check your status after a fall. Falls can cause bleeding, so keep a Makeshift Bandage or regular Bandage available. A Makeshift Bandage costs 2 Cloth and is known from the start.
- Follow active quest objectives before repairing or collecting later objectives. Quests have suffered blockers when steps were completed out of order or items were picked up early. Updates have addressed some blockers and keep quest items in the world after pickup, but following the intended sequence remains a sensible habit.
- Let the host handle main quest steps if you are playing together. Guests can join once the host reaches the cabin. Steam invitations work when the joining player has already launched the game and is in the main menu.
Continue to Hunter's Glade and House Camp
- Follow The Outpost after completing New Home. The next quest is High Frequency, and the route continues through Hunter's Glade and Skinwalker's tower. Prepare food and fire-making supplies before extending your journey.
- Follow The Way Home along the South Road to House Camp. Speak with Anna at the Church to finish that quest. Look for the LOCAL CHURCH sign in front of the building.
- Unlock the fast travel posts you encounter, including Horizon and the Church. Travel links posts you have unlocked in person. Combat and severe snowstorms block it, so keep a walking return route in mind.