Tears of Metal Act 1 Walkthrough: Current Route Guide

Act 1 route structure

The official Steam store does not publish a fixed tile-by-tile Act 1 route. It describes more than 45 handcrafted environments and “endless opportunities for unique scenarios and objectives.” The correct walkthrough model is therefore:

1. use the campaign's visible objective and route state;
2. build from the Emblem and artifact offers that actually appear;
3. preserve enough resources to handle the next visible decision;
4. prepare for Gilles as the Act 1 endpoint.

A no-commentary Early Access duo run uploaded July 29 provides a useful observable sample. Its creator labels eight pre-boss segments, Act 1-1 through Act 1-8, followed by Gilles at Act 1-9. The same run begins Act 2 immediately after the boss. Because Paper Cult documents varied scenarios, this page does not convert those chapter labels into a universal fixed route.

Before starting Act 1

1. 1

   Check the displayed version

   Normal Steam is currently on 0.11.57863. A player using Paper Cult's Crossplay Beta may be on an older compatible build, which can change economy and balance details.
2. 2

   Read the campaign offers

   Version 0.11 makes Emblem-family selection favor families not yet seen. Build from the available trigger and payoff instead of assuming a named family will appear on a fixed stage.
3. 3

   Track the current objective

   The environments are handcrafted, but Paper Cult describes scenarios and objectives as variable. Use the in-game objective rather than a copied tile number.
4. 4

   Recheck costs before spending

   Patch 0.11 adjusted shop, fountain and treasure prices across acts. Old campaign-economy screenshots may no longer match.

Patch 0.11 changes that affect Act 1

Preparing for Gilles the Hog

Paper Cult's official demo announcement identifies Gilles as the fight that culminates Act 1. Current public Early Access videos dated July 23–29 also show him as the first boss and the Act 1 endpoint.

The most important current official combat change is older than 0.11: version 0.8 made boss block-breaking attacks parryable. That is a documented rule, not a promise that every Gilles attack has the same timing or response.

Continue to the Gilles the Hog guide for the exact verified facts, patch caveats and the tactics we are intentionally not inventing.

Public gameplay sample

The sample below is linked as a community observation, not labeled as our own test:

• Full Brienne duo run on Trials of the Mother 2, uploaded July 29, 2026. Its chapters place Act 1-1 at 0:49, Act 1-8 at 17:40, Gilles at Act 1-9 at 20:03, and Act 2 at 21:42.
• Complete Act 1 playthrough, uploaded July 24, 2026. The title and description identify the final first- biome fight as Gilles the Hog.

Those samples corroborate the official endpoint. They do not establish the best route, expected clear time, fixed segment count or universal build.

Sources

• Tears of Metal official Steam store page
• Paper Cult's official demo announcement naming Gilles
• Paper Cult's version 0.11.57863 announcement
• Paper Cult's version 0.8.57278 announcement