Tears of Metal Walkthrough

Village hub before you deploy

The Village (settlement hub) is where meta progression happens. Upgrade buildings, recruit Battalion soldiers, promote commanders, buy equipment, and enable challenge modifiers after your first boss clear. Skipping hub upgrades makes Acts 2 and 3 unnecessarily painful — see village upgrades for priority order.

Launch onto the overhead map

Selecting a run opens the node map — a roguelike route picker with battle nodes, event nodes, and emblem icons visible before you commit. Emblem clan symbols on nodes let you plan which build direction the run will take before the first sword swing.

Campaign battles and rewards

Campaign nodes drop you into handcrafted battlefields with objective markers — usually elite kills, captain hunts, defense timers, or rescue goals. Victory grants emblem picks from the clan tied to that territory. Defeat or timeout raises Threat Level and may trigger map hazards on later nodes.

Plan emblem routes before moving up

Nodes display which emblem families they reward. If you started a fire clan build in Act 1, lateral moves toward matching icons beat rushing the boss with a split build. Cross-family emblems dilute finisher chains — details in emblems guide and builds.

Event nodes: Charms and merchants

Event nodes trade time for power: Charms (passive buffs), equipment purchases, or story context about the Dragon Stone Meteor. When Threat Level is already elevated, a safe event node beats an optional elite room.

Long path vs short path

The game explicitly warns: longer paths yield more rewards but stronger enemies. On first clears, take the shortest route to the act boss to learn mechanics. On farm runs with a completed build, weave optional elites and merchants for village currency.

Hazards at high threat

Reported hazard types include endless reinforcements, arrow towers, and elite ambushes on standard campaign nodes. The exact hazard roll can vary, but the pattern is consistent: high threat punishes greed.

Conquering more regions also increases passive village currency income — the risk/reward trade-off the walkthrough optimizes around. Push threat when your Artifacts and Emblems synergize; retreat to shorter paths when heals are low.

Co-op threat scaling

4-player co-op scales enemy counts. Threat management becomes a squad call: one player handles adds while others burn elites before the bar hits the next threshold. Role splits: co-op guide.

Opening nodes

First campaigns teach light/heavy combos, block/parry, and special gauge battalion commands. Objectives focus on clearing elite squads — do not chase kill counts on every grunt. Pick the emblem clan shown on your first reward and commit for the rest of the act unless the run is doomed.

Mid-act routing

When the map opens lateral branches, prioritize one event node if you lack a Charm for survivability (stamina, health, healing). Avoid optional elite rooms until you have at least two emblem synergies online.

Threat thresholds in Act 1 are forgiving — use them to learn hazard tells before Act 2 stacks more enemy types.

Act 1 boss approach

The Act 1 finale tests block discipline more than DPS. Learn boss telegraphs here; parry windows and battalion focus-fire carry over to later acts. Detailed patterns: bosses hub. After the boss, spend Village currency before launching Act 2.

New enemy types and elites

Each act ships unique enemies, elites, and bosses. Act 2 elites often combine ranged pressure with armored captains — assign co-op roles so one player breaks armor while others handle adds. Ruadh Stonecrusher excels at shield break if you run him.

When to extend the path

Act 2 is the first act where long-path farming makes sense — if your emblem clan is online and you have battalion reinforcements. Extra merchants fund equipment slots unlocked via village upgrades. Bail to the short path if a hazard spawn chain starts.

Act 2 boss checklist

Enter with Threat Level below the next hazard threshold if possible. Bring at least one Charm defensive layer and a full special gauge for add waves. Co-op: designate one player to call phase transitions — see co-op guide.

Recommended readiness

Enter Act 3 with Village upgrades purchased, a committed emblem clan, at least one battalion promotion, and defensive Charms. Solo first-timers should expect multiple attempts — co-op dramatically eases add control.

Route optimization

Min-max routes: one safe event node for healing charm if available, then the shortest boss path unless farming village currency for meta unlocks. Optional elite rooms in Act 3 are for stable builds only — one failed objective can stack hazards on the boss node.

Act 3 boss — EA capstone

The Act 3 boss combines prior act mechanics at full threat. Save battalion commands for phase adds, not trash mobs. Parry-heavy players should review controls for stamina breakpoints before the attempt.

Elite room value calculation

An elite room is worth entering when: (1) Threat Level has headroom, (2) your build lacks a key Artifact synergy, and (3) you have healing resources. Skip when two thresholds ahead would trigger before the boss — the walkthrough favors consistency over greed.

Boss phase resources

Enter bosses with full special gauge, battalion recruits alive, and knowledge of unblockable attacks (dodge those). Co-op squads should pre-assign who handles adds vs boss face — overlapping ultimates waste gauge.

Currency from conquered regions

Longer map paths and higher Threat Level runs yield more village currency — but only if you survive. Farm Act 1 with a safe build before risking Act 3 greed routes.

Soldier permadeath reminder

Battalion soldiers who die mid-campaign are gone until re-recruited. Between acts, review roster gaps — understaffed boss attempts are a common walkthrough failure point.