If Volkolak stops moving at the blacksmith quest or the Tsargrad guard, do not begin by sweeping every room again. Build 1.0.1 changed both gates: the blacksmith resource chain now tracks correctly and no longer locks equipment upgrades, while the guard conversation no longer softlocks when the required quest item is missing. Confirm the patch, read the quest state, and only then decide whether the problem is route, inventory, or an old bug.
This checkpoint guide was checked against Windows build 1.0.1 on August 27, 2026. The blacksmith achievement requirement was updated from Patch 1.0.2 on September 21, 2026; the route itself was not rechecked against later patches. The supplied 87-minute recording is an independently verified Early Access Chapter 1 run from August 2025. It still identifies the village loop, Plague Bear, Warlock, Ancient Imp, Dark Volkolak, map markers, and the post-banner Swamp Man cleanup. Do not use it for combat numbers, release-build pacing or loot, comparisons among classes, content beyond the first act, or ending logic.
Pin the run to 1.0.1 before retracing the map
Write down three readbacks before choosing a direction: the client patch, the active quest text, and the item or interaction the next NPC expects. Version 1.0 opened the complete three-act world and finished the Veteran, Volkolak, and Cursed skill trees. Patch 1.0.1 then repaired specific launch failures. An old video or Early Access comment can therefore show a recognizable room while giving the wrong reason that its gate opened.
| Visible state | What it proves | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Quest marker on the map | The map knows a quest-related point exists. | That the prerequisite item was collected or the prior dialogue was closed. |
| NPC conversation repeats | You reached the correct character. | That the resource, boss, or turn-in flag already changed. |
| Blacksmith upgrade menu opens | The equipment interface is available. | That the resource quest has advanced in an unpatched launch build. |
| Boss health bar appears | The arena state started. | That a class-only or choice-sensitive achievement remains valid. |
If the main-menu or installed-build readback is older than 1.0.1, update before testing the same gate twice. That single check separates current routing from two officially fixed launch blockers.
Use the village as a quest ledger, not a place to sprint through
The old Chapter 1 recording establishes a repeatable orientation loop rather than a universal 1.0 order. It starts from Svyatozar’s arrival, reaches the Witch, Priest, and village tradespeople, then exposes quest, NPC, save-stone, and player-marker symbols on the map. The useful lesson is the loop: speak, mark the requested job, leave, perform one named proof, and return to the person who created the job.
- Close every dialogue box. Do not run away when the speaker has just named a person, location, item, or creature. Reopen the quest panel and make sure that new state exists.
- Separate the Priest and blacksmith requests. The recording shows the Priest sending Svyatozar toward a village and forge torch, while the blacksmith identifies the bear hunt. Those are different ledgers even when their routes begin in the same settlement.
- Use save stones as return anchors. The map distinguishes NPCs, quests, save stones, player position, and a placed marker. Put the marker on the unresolved job, not on a room that merely contains loot.
- Return after the proof changes. A dead boss, collected object, completed cleansing action, and upgraded item are different proof types. The next conversation should acknowledge the one you actually completed.
This habit matters because the final game gives classes unique locations, NPCs, and story adventures. A route that opened for one class is not evidence that the same dialogue or side room belongs to another.
Read the Plague Bear as the first route proof
In the supplied run, the blacksmith describes a dangerous bear near the village and the Plague Bear fight begins around 24:40. The current public achievement list still names this boss through Hunter, so the encounter remains a valid Chapter 1 checkpoint even though the footage predates the final animation and balance passes.
Approach the fight as a state check:
- Arena: prove the boss name and health bar appeared. Killing an ordinary infected bear elsewhere is not the same event.
- Form: the official 1.0 description treats human-beast switching as a core combat system. Use each form because it solves the current spacing problem, not because the Early Access recording used it at a certain second.
- Exit: after the health bar empties, check the quest and return dialogue. The boss death is one readback; the village job closing is another.
- Achievement: verify Hunter at the moment the boss proof occurs. If it remains locked, record the class, patch, and whether the named boss bar actually appeared before replaying the whole cave.
Do not imitate the old run’s damage race or currency total. The developer later revised more than a thousand animation frames, refined parry and dodge feedback, adjusted combos, and performed balance work before 1.0.
Take the Passage branch as a two-boss checkpoint
The recording’s next clear combat pair is Warlock at roughly 33:50 and Ancient Imp at roughly 35:00. It labels the transition as Passage, then returns through Witch, Tsar, Priest, and blacksmith conversations. The current achievement page preserves Necromancer for Warlock and Exorcist of the Devil for Ancient Imp, giving you two independent proofs for this branch.
If only one proof is present, diagnose the missing half instead of declaring the entire branch complete:
- Warlock bar and Necromancer unlocked, Ancient Imp unseen: keep following the branch rather than returning to the village after the first boss.
- Ancient Imp arena entered, but the fight never settles into a valid state: verify the client. The developer previously fixed this boss’s damage colliders, so obsolete footage is not a reason to exploit a bad hitbox.
- Both boss proofs present, quest still points backward: return to the NPC whose dialogue named the job and inspect the item requirement before revisiting either arena.
- Map route looks explored, achievement missing: explored shading is navigation evidence, not boss-state evidence.
Make every return trip close a named loop
The middle of Chapter 1 is easy to misread because several conversations share the village. In the recording, Svyatozar can ask the Witch about skills, speak with the Tsar, return to the Priest, and use a travel list that names Village, Temple, Caves, and Tsargrad. Do not treat that list as a prescribed order. Treat it as a hub of open loops.
| Loop | Proof to carry back | Failure signal |
|---|---|---|
| Priest / monastery | The cleansing action or quest state that supports Plague Healer. | You only killed enemies near the monastery and never received a new Priest response. |
| Blacksmith | A resource counter change, the summoned blacksmith for Come Forth!, and the combat-equipment level. Son of the Blacksmith requires Level 3. | Resources do not register, or the gear reaches Level 3 without the achievement after installing Patch 1.0.2. |
| Witch / skills | A changed skill or path state visible in the menu. | You paid or selected something but cannot identify which branch changed. |
| Tsargrad guard | The required quest item and a conversation that exits normally. | The guard interaction loops or freezes without the item; update to 1.0.1 before another attempt. |
One trip can close several loops, but each still needs its own readback. That prevents a common failure: seeing three markers disappear and later being unable to tell which achievement, class state, or NPC branch did not persist.
Treat the blacksmith lock as a patch diagnostic
Patch 1.0.1 fixed the blacksmith’s resource counter and lifted the equipment-upgrade lock. It also removed a Dead Wastes loot exploit that repeatedly dropped items during that quest. Patch 1.0.2 then fixed Son of the Blacksmith so it unlocks when combat equipment reaches Level 3.
- Confirm 1.0.1 or later.
- Open the quest log and name the requested resource rather than farming whatever enemy is closest.
- Collect one legitimate unit and verify the counter or quest wording changes.
- Return to the blacksmith and open the equipment upgrade action.
- Check the equipment level after each upgrade. With Patch 1.0.2 installed, check Son of the Blacksmith once combat equipment reaches Level 3.
If step three fails on a patched client, you have a current reproducible issue: record the item, location, count before and after pickup, class, and build. If the counter rises but the menu stays locked, record that as a separate gate. Do not use the fixed repeated-drop exploit to make a broken quest look complete.
Enter the Dark Volkolak arena with a written path state
The supplied run reaches the Dark Volkolak dialogue around 66 minutes, defeats the boss, then receives a Dark Spirit prompt concerning the defeated creature. The old Chapter 1 banner appears around 70 minutes. These visuals are useful because they mark a genuine decision surface, but the 2025 prompt is not a complete guide to the final game’s three classes or endings.
Before committing, write down:
- the current class branch shown in the Skills menu;
- whether The Gift of the Gods, Outcast, Pagan Sigil, or Stigma of Darkness has already unlocked;
- whether this run is reserved for the Veteran-only or Volkolak-only Chapter 1 boss condition;
- the exact choice text visible now, rather than the wording remembered from an Early Access recording.
The safe claim is that class and god/darkness decisions matter: the official store says classes have distinct adventures and endings, while the official achievement list exposes separate path records. The footage does not prove which final ending or hidden achievement a 1.0 choice will produce.
The Chapter 1 banner is not a cleanup certificate
After the Early Access end banner, the supplied player returns to unexplored areas and reaches Swamp Man near the end of the file. The current achievement list still asks for Witcher by defeating Swamp Man, plus all Chapter 1 secret rooms, places of power, supplies, and amulets. The banner therefore marks story progression, not proof that the chapter ledger is empty.
Before leaving a Chapter 1 cleanup run, audit five buckets:
- Bosses: named boss achievement readbacks, plus any all-boss condition for the active class.
- NPC jobs: Priest, blacksmith, Leshy, and messenger chains that have a visible completion state.
- Rooms: every secret-room discovery required by Secret Paths.
- World points: every altar and place of power required by Memory of Ancestors.
- Inventory sets: Chapter 1 supplies and amulets for For Mushrooms and Berries and Keeper.
Use the Volkolak achievement roadmap to separate those cleanup sets from class-only clears, Leshy and Firebird choices, later-act bosses, and the four achievements whose public conditions are hidden.
Use the old recording as a locator, not as build 1.0
YouTube oEmbed confirms the public upload title and credits RB69 GAMING; frame review of the downloaded copy matches official Steam art, UI, characters, and bosses. The file is 1:27:44, 854×480, H.264 with AAC audio. Its practical locator points are approximate because deaths, menus, and exploration pace vary:
- 0:00-9:30: opening, Witch, Priest, village map, and blacksmith bear request.
- 24:40-26:00: Plague Bear fight and immediate route transition.
- 33:50-36:10: Warlock, Ancient Imp, and the return toward skill and village conversations.
- 66:00-70:20: Dark Volkolak, Dark Spirit dialogue, and the Early Access Chapter 1 banner.
- 85:40-end: Swamp Man cleanup after the banner.
The video is not embedded because its title explicitly says Early Access and the final release added two later acts, the Cursed class, completed skill trees, new locations, revised combat animation, and final endings. Linking it as a current full walkthrough would create a larger error than its layout value solves.
Six 1.0.1 failures and what they mean now
- Attack-assisted second jump no longer works: the patch removed that exploit. If a route assumes it, find the intended movement upgrade or entrance.
- Dead Wastes sand does not rise: 1.0.1 fixed a missing sand-event animation. Update and retrigger the event before searching for an invisible switch.
- Blacksmith resources do not count: the tracking fix should make a legitimate pickup change the quest. Capture a before/after counter on a patched build.
- Equipment remains locked: the official note says the lock was removed. Confirm that the resource chain advanced, then report the separate menu state.
- Tsargrad guard freezes the run: the missing-item softlock was fixed. Carry the required item or exit normally; do not rely on the old frozen interaction.
- Dead mantis bodies slide: this was an enemy-physics defect, not a clue, loot route, or hidden-room indicator.
What the official record proves—and what it does not
The official Volkolak Steam page identifies Volk Team and Progamefactoryllc. It records the Windows 1.0 launch on August 24, 2026, along with three classes, form switching, class-specific adventures, the completed world, and 39 achievements. The official Steam announcement archive documents the launch, the blacksmith quest repair in 1.0.1, and the achievement’s Level 3 unlock change in 1.0.2. The supplied Early Access video supports only the bounded Chapter 1 orientation and timeline stated above. Exact release-build room routing, damage numbers, drop rates, fixed builds, hidden-achievement conditions, later-act order, and ending triggers are not claimed.