Overview
The open world of Pywel is full of rewarding detours that can give you a significant advantage if you visit them early. Rather than rushing through the main story, taking a few minutes to explore these locations in the first few chapters will net you powerful gear, fast travel points, rare crafting materials, and useful consumables.
Bell Towers
Bell towers are tall structures scattered across each region. Climbing to the top of a bell tower and ringing the bell clears the fog of war covering the surrounding area, revealing landmarks, points of interest, and nearby resource nodes on your map. Prioritize ringing every bell tower you pass, because the map visibility they provide makes all other exploration far more efficient. There are eight bell towers in the game:
Bell Tower | Region Covered |
|---|---|
Central Hernand farmlands and city surroundings | |
Scholastone and surrounding research areas | |
Demeniss city and outskirts | |
Delesyia faction territory | |
Pailune mountainous region | |
Tommaso area | |
Varnia region |
Ring the Toll of Hernand first since it covers the starting area. As you unlock new regions through story progression, ring each region's bell tower before doing anything else there.
Witch of Wisdom Sanctums
Three Witch of Wisdom sanctums contain treasure chests with powerful Abyss Gear. The key detail is that enemies only appear inside these sanctums after the Witch of Wisdom questline becomes active. If you visit them before starting that quest chain, you can loot the chests completely unopposed.
Sanctum | Reward | How to Access |
|---|---|---|
Look for a chest hidden behind tall grass near a nook by the entrance | ||
Jump into the hole near the brown dog to reach the hidden area | ||
Light your lantern to reveal a secret passage leading to the treasure |
These locations are easier to traverse earlier rather than later. Once the Witch of Wisdom questline activates, enemies populate these sanctums and make looting significantly harder.
Icemoor Castle Ruins
In addition to the three sanctums, the Icemoor Castle Ruins contain the Leather Cloak of the Fallen Kingdom, another piece of Abyss Gear. Visit this location early while it is unguarded for easy loot.
Hernand Highlands Cavern (Diamonds)
Located southeast of the Greymane Camp at Howling Hill, the Hernand Highlands Cavern is the earliest reliable source of diamonds in the game. Diamonds are needed for crafting Abyss Cores, so visiting this cavern early sets you up for mid-game gear upgrades. Head to the crater southeast from Howling Hill and follow the path to the bottom, where you will find a small cave with crystal deposits. Use a pickaxe (buy one from the Provisioner's Shop in Hernand town) or the Force Palm attack to break the crystals and collect diamonds.
Waterfall Caves
Many waterfalls in the Hernand region and beyond hide small caves behind the falling water. To enter a waterfall cave, stand near the stack of stones in front of the waterfall and use the Stab skill to pass through. These caves consistently contain Palmar Pills (sometimes the golden variant that restores full health) and a chest holding weapons or armor. Systematically checking waterfalls as you travel between objectives is a low-effort way to accumulate early gear.
Cairn House
North of Three Saints Falls, Cairn House is occupied by Bleed Bandits who are manageable even with early-game equipment. Clearing them out unlocks the Mineral Shop, which stocks Iron Ore, Copper Ore, and other upgrade materials. Having reliable access to these materials early saves a lot of time when you start crafting and refining gear.
Pororin Village
This small settlement is home to an NPC named Lumiel who provides the Sustained Supply Arrow, a unique arrow with unlimited use. For players who enjoy ranged combat, obtaining this arrow early eliminates the need to constantly purchase or craft ammunition. To access Pororin Village, you must attempt to enter three times (each time you are turned away), then complete "The Unreachable Village" and "Authorized Access" quests.
Estate in Dismay (Mining Knuckledrill)
Complete the "Estate in Dismay" quest early to receive the Mining Knuckledrill tool. This tool allows you to mine ore deposits throughout the world, which is essential for crafting and equipment refinement. Without this tool, you cannot efficiently gather raw materials from mining nodes.
Mysterious Energy Locations
The white question-mark circles on your map represent Mysterious Energies. Investigating these as early as possible unlocks fast travel points (Abyss Nexus or Abyss Cresset nodes), which dramatically speed up traversal across the large map. The more fast travel points you unlock in the early game, the less time you spend riding between objectives later. Some Mysterious Energy locations also contain puzzle challenges and unique loot.
Hernand Bank and Lioncrest Manor
For early money, consider robbing the Hernand Bank (yields 40+ silver) and stealing the gold bar from Lioncrest Manor (worth 500 silver at a bank). See the All Gold Bar Locations guide for detailed theft instructions. The gold bar from Lioncrest Manor alone can fund significant early-game purchases.
Tips
Ring bell towers first in any new region to reveal the map before exploring further.
Visit the three Witch of Wisdom sanctums before starting the Witch of Wisdom questline to loot their Abyss Gear unopposed.
Check behind every waterfall you encounter for hidden caves with loot. Use the Stab skill to enter.
Buy Small Bags from every vendor you meet to expand your inventory early. Each one costs just 50 copper.
Complete "Estate in Dismay" as soon as it becomes available to unlock the Mining Knuckledrill.
Tame a pet early for automatic loot gathering. Pets pick up dropped items on the ground so you do not have to.
Prioritize unlocking Mysterious Energy fast travel points. Each one saved you dozens of minutes of riding over the course of the game.