Of Ash and Steel — Order of the Seven vs Free Hunters: Which Faction Should You Choose?

Of Ash and Steel is a unique RPG set in a dark fantasy world. The game invites you to travel to the farthest corners of Greyschaft, where treasures await their time. In this guide, we’ll take a close look at the features of the knightly Order of the Seven and the group of Free Hunters. You’ll learn how the alliances differ from each other and which one is better to join on your first playthrough.

At the end of the story quest "The Long Road Home," Tristan will survive an encounter with an assassin. The hero will be saved by Irwin, who will advise him to join one of two factions: the knights of the Order of the Seven or the rangers of the Free Hunters.

It’s important to understand that the choice of faction is final—you won’t be able to leave it and join another. At the same time, the story and gameplay don’t undergo significant changes depending on the chosen guild. However, before making a decision, you should take into account a number of nuances, which we’ll discuss in the following sections.

The factions differ from each other in ideology and problem-solving methods. There is also a significant difference in the location of the guild forts. In addition, teachers can affect gameplay, since certain skills become unavailable depending on your alliance, which means builds and playstyle change.

Each faction has its own unique set of teachers and merchants. Character progression works as follows:

Your build is formed from a combination of these skills and attributes.

Also, in some story quests, the approach to completing them changes. Depending on the faction you choose, some characters will change their attitude toward the hero, and unique dialogue options will appear. As we’ve already noted, the choice of guild does not radically affect the ending or the overall story.

You will still play through the same main quests, which lead to a single ending. All first- and second-tier characters will participate in the story’s finale in the same way. The only difference is which flags hang in High Fort and which armor Tristan wears. We discuss other changes in more detail in the following sections.

The Order of the Seven’s fortress is located in a city in the southeast. The faction is a knightly order, representing discipline, law, faith, and order. The organization is present on all royal islands and reports directly to the High King.

That’s why among the knights you’ll mostly find teachers who train you in advanced skills from the Warrior tree. There are also unique blacksmith-merchants in the fortress who sell special recipes and abilities for crafting. In addition, the hero gets their own room with a bed, and on the lower level of the castle, their personal altar is unlocked.

How to Reach the Faction’s Castle and Join the Order of the Seven is described in detail in other guides. Here, you should understand that each guild has its own trials. After the initiation ceremony, the next story chapter begins. As a result, the hero receives a title, which increases as you progress through the story. At the top corner of the screen, at the start of the health bar, the alliance flag will now always be displayed. With each rank up, Tristan will receive a unique set of armor.

Note that becoming a knight is more difficult than becoming a ranger. This is because you’ll still have to travel to the Free Hunters’ headquarters and explore the island while searching for the knights. Naturally, there won’t be any hints. However, all subsequent story quests will be easy. Therefore, for your first playthrough, we recommend choosing the Order of the Seven. This way, you can quickly level up any combat skill tree, such as one-handed or two-handed weapons.

The wooden fortress of the Free Hunters is located in the eastern part of the island beyond the farmlands. Note that on the world map, the names of the Free Lands are displayed on a green background, while the Knights’ are on a red one. Neutral territories are shown in gray.

Rangers can teach the hero unique survival skills and advanced archery. There are also special herbalist and hunter merchants in the camp who sell rare animal parts. In all other respects, this faction works just like the Order of the Seven, except for the entrance trial and some story quests.

Becoming a ranger is easier, since all the trials can be completed in one region in literally a single in-game day. The challenge is that the hero receives vague instructions, so figuring out what’s required can be quite difficult on your own. For example, the falcon-herbalist will ask you to bring a frost petal, and no one will give you even the slightest hint. Of course, you can go to the port tavern and talk to the innkeeper, but you have to figure that out yourself first. That’s why we recommend reading our separate guide on how to complete the Free Hunters’ trials.

After the initiation ritual, the story will continue as usual. Occasionally, there will be differences in some quests. For example, when you need to drive the Children of the Moon out of the fort during the "Impenetrable Fort" quest. On the Knights’ side, you’ll need to uncover a conspiracy, interrupt the ceremony, and fight the false prophet. Playing as a Free Hunter, you’ll have to organize a series of sabotage actions and then persuade the Cultists to move to the swamps.

In reality, it doesn’t matter which faction you join. The only difference is that you won’t be able to create certain builds. For example, as a Knight, you won’t be able to make an assassin-archer build. In all other respects, the alliances don’t have any impact, and the main story and ending don’t change depending on your choice. We recommend making your decision based on your personal preferences.