Of Ash and Steel Money Guide: How to Get Rich Fast

The new RPG from Russian developers — Of Ash and Steel — tries to capture the vibe of the good old Gothic. It doesn’t quite succeed — the game turned out to be full of flaws, but the developers did manage to deliver a hardcore approach to life in a fictional world. This is reflected in almost every aspect, including making money. In this guide, we’ll cover all known ways to get rich in Of Ash and Steel.

First, you need to understand that there are no truly abusive mechanics that allow you to get rich quickly in a short time. You’ll have to spend time and effort, starting from the bottom of the food chain. However, there are some general principles.

The first and most obvious way to earn gold is by completing quests. This is especially relevant in the early stages. Following the questlines will give you a decent starting capital, as well as loot you can use or simply sell. It’s also best to pick up standard enemy gear to sell later at the nearest shop.

Pay special attention to side activities. In the first act, you can find quests that reward you with 50 to 150 gold, which is pretty good.

Once you get the hang of things, it’s time to get into crafting. The trick is that any processed item is worth several times more. Cooked meat, refined ore, and so on will be much more profitable to sell. That’s why you need to prepare items and resources: cook food at a campfire, and process various ores and metal scraps at the forge.

Through crafting, you can make a variety of basic items. You don’t always need a special place like a forge for this. Craft as much as you can. This not only levels up your skill and unlocks access to more complex items, but also always raises the price of the goods. Finished items can then be sold to merchants or other NPCs with the appropriate dialogue options.

Crafting chains are familiar for RPGs, so it’s hard to get confused, and the higher your skill and the quality of your crafted items, the higher their price. Players say that at an average crafting level, income from selling items is several hundred gold per hour, which is much more than you get from killing mobs.

Level up your thievery. In this regard, Of Ash and Steel is very similar to Kingdom Come: Deliverance, as stealing helps you bypass internal restrictions on loot and money. It’s important to know that, in most cases, it’s better to steal from people than to break into houses. The detection system works terribly in the game, so when you break into houses, even if everyone is asleep, you’ll still somehow be considered detected (most of the time). This leads to either execution or a huge fine. Robbing NPCs you meet is much easier. Just get close from behind and hold down the Shift key so the dialogue icon changes to the theft icon.

As you progress, you’ll discover a bank, and it’s not just a building — you can actually use it. Deposit gold in the bank and earn about 2.5% interest every 30 minutes of in-game time. For serious income, start with around 14,000 gold in your deposit, but you can start with less.

There are no markers in the game, so try to explore every corner. Once you’ve acquired some gear and no longer worry about every piece of loot, begin your journey as an explorer. Only this way can you find especially valuable items and resources.