Tears of Metal Act 1 Walkthrough

Landing and First Map Tier

Act 1 begins immediately after you commit to a hero and starting loadout. The map unfolds left to right with relatively gentle combat nodes and fewer Hazard types than later Acts, but do not confuse “gentler” with “safe.” Your battalion is small, healing is scarce, and the first elite you take can delete a soldier permanently. The opening tier is about learning battalion positioning: keep troops between your hero and archer lines, use command calls to focus fire, and pick Emblems that boost survivability over flash damage until you understand enemy tell animations.

On your first campaign, favor straight combat paths over elite branches unless you have a comfortable health buffer and at least one rest site planned before the tier-three fork. Gold matters less than living soldiers early because village recruitment pools are limited until you unlock key settlement upgrades. Grab shop nodes only when you can afford a meaningful Emblem upgrade or a defensive Charm; skipping a shop to reach rest faster is often correct. If the map offers a scouting preview and you have Scout Tent bonuses from a prior run, use that intel to avoid Hazard icons hidden behind optional elites.

Threat in Act 1 rises slowly if you avoid elite chains, but boss access still requires clearing a fixed number of nodes. Rushing the boss with under-leveled Emblems is a common failure state. Aim to enter the Gilles the Hog gate with at least one defensive Emblem synergy online—block, thorns, or battalion shield effects—and enough rest healing that a bad phase does not end the run. Read how to play for control basics and survival without healing if you are struggling to stay topped up.

Mid-Act Routing and First Elites

The middle Act 1 map introduces elite variants with area denial and charge attacks that punish idle battalion formations. Before accepting an elite node, check Threat: if the bar is above half, consider a combat-rest-combat pattern instead. Elite rewards scale well in Act 1 because any Emblem tier upgrade is a large relative gain, but one dead soldier costs more long term than a blue Emblem you skip. When rewards show Charms, prioritize effects that reduce damage taken or accelerate Emblem cooldowns rather than pure speed boosts that leave troops behind.

Hazards first appear in Act 1 as lighter modifiers—occasional fire patches, wolf packs on timers, or reduced rest efficiency. Treat each Hazard icon as a question: “Can I clear the next node before this punishes me?” If not, take a rest site or a shorter branch. The Training Grounds village upgrade helps here even on early accounts: passive drill bonuses carry into Act 1 and make baseline combat nodes smoother, which indirectly lowers Threat because fights finish faster with fewer battalion hits taken.

Document which enemy families appear on your route. Act 1 mixes beast, bandit, and armored knight templates that teach distinct dodge timings. Gilles the Hog later reuses beast aggression patterns on a larger scale; learning how to sidestep boar charges and cancel archer volleys with battalion interrupts pays off in the boss room. For emblem planning during Act 1, see Emblem families and best Emblem synergies for low-investment combos that work before village meta is fully unlocked.

Pre-Boss Checklist and Gilles the Hog

Before the Gilles the Hog gate, confirm three things: Threat is manageable, your hero has rest healing available or full health, and at least two battalion soldiers remain alive. Permanent death means entering the boss with one soldier dramatically reduces passive Emblem aura coverage. Spend gold at the last shop on defensive trinkets or consumables that reduce burst damage rather than offensive gambits that require perfect execution. If co-op is available, assign one player to add crowd control while another focuses boss rear damage during stagger windows.

Gilles the Hog fights in aggressive phases: ground slams that shockwave the arena, charge lines that must be dodged sideways, and add spawns that threaten your battalion unless interrupted. During slam phases, pull the boss toward walls you can circle rather than fighting in arena center where shockwaves cover maximum space. When adds appear, prioritize battalion safety over hero DPS—losing a soldier to boarlings in Act 1 hurts the entire campaign. Phase two typically speeds attacks; save Emblem abilities for interrupting charge wind-ups rather than opening the fight with burst cooldowns.

Detailed pattern notes and video timing references live in beat Gilles the Hog and the broader boss guide. After victory, Act 1 concludes and you return to the village with currency and unlock progress. Immediately review settlement upgrades before launching Act 2; Act 1 rewards mean little if you repeat the same under-upgraded village on the next push.