ArcheAge Chronicles enters Early Access on November 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST (midnight on November 4 in Central Europe). So your launch night isn’t spent stuck in a download or character creation, here’s what you can sort out now and what matters in your first hours.
Before launch
- Buy or pre-order: ArcheAge Chronicles is buy-to-play with no subscription. Early Access costs US$29.99 (€29.99) on Steam, and pre-orders get the Dawn Pioneer Set. According to XLGAMES there is no in-game shop at launch. Dates and price are on our Release & Demo page.
- Free up space: Steam lists 100 GB of storage for both minimum and recommended specs.
- Check your hardware: Minimum is Windows 10 64-bit, an Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER or Radeon RX 6600 (30 FPS at 1080p on Low). Recommended is Windows 11, a Core i7-12700 or Ryzen 7 5700X, 32 GB RAM and an RTX 4060 Ti 16GB or RX 7700 XT (60 FPS at 1080p on High). You also need 100 GB on an SSD, which is mandatory.
- Language: Interface and subtitles are available in English; voice-over is Korean only.
- Demo progress: Progress from the Steam Next Fest demo (October 19–26) does not carry over – everyone starts fresh.
Pick your class
You choose your class at the start, and your weapons define how you play. In June’s focus group test the Mage was the most popular class, ahead of Ranger, Warrior and Berserker – but that says nothing about what suits you. Our class guide compares every class and weapon, and the class pages show the full perk trees. In the build planner you can spend your perks ahead of time and share the build.
Tip: The pre-order Dawn Pioneer Set is announced as being for one class – decide before you redeem it.
Your first hours: what matters
| What | How many | Why early | On RaidDex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nui Statues | 182 | Revive and fast travel – every awakened statue saves you walking later | Collectibles |
| Raeven’s Coilstones | 48 | 2 Trait Points each, 96 in total – the main source for your perk trees | Coilstone guide |
| Nui’s Tears | 233 | Nui’s Blessing: 30 ranks of +20 HP each, +600 HP in total | Tears guide |
| Mir’s Far Sight | 43 | Experience, and they reveal chests and Tears nearby | World map |
| Books of Perdita | 13 | Permanently boost potion potency | World map |
| Xil’s Record Stones | 191 | Experience and notes on the history of Auroria | World map |
Every location is on our world map. Click a marker to tick it off; the lists under Collectibles show your progress per region. With an account your progress syncs between PC and phone – handy if the map runs on a second screen or your phone next to the game.
Leveling: where to go at which level
In the demo progress stopped at level 40, and every level-up gave 3 Stat Points for the six attributes. XLGAMES hasn’t said how far Early Access goes. The areas we know range from level 1 to level 100 enemies. Regions by enemy level:
| Region | Enemy levels |
|---|---|
| Diamond Shores | 4–40 |
| Vatic Shores | 1–39 |
| Gylden Ruins | 1–60 |
| Whalesong Shores | 29–56 |
| Heartland | 3–65 |
| Astron Plains | 13–85 |
| Diamond Shores East | 80–87 |
According to a developer interview three regions will be playable at launch – which ones hasn’t been confirmed. The full list of places by level, with enemy counts and bosses, is on our Leveling page. The main story leads you through matching areas anyway, and you can tick off every story quest there in order.
If you want more than combat
- Trade: Pack trade goods at a trading post and haul them to another. Which good pays most on which leg is in our trade guide and on the trade routes page.
- Gathering and professions: Ore, wood and herbs for crafting. Where to find what is in our gathering guide; on the world map the “Gathering nodes” selector shows every spot of one node type.
- Dungeons and field bosses: Every dungeon, raid and field boss with level and loot is in our dungeon guide and under Bosses & dungeons.
Tip: Hover over an item, enemy or trade good on RaidDex – the info card shows stats, loot and payout without leaving the page.
Numbers in this guide reflect the state before Early Access and may change at launch. We’ll update our pages as soon as anything changes.
Frequently asked questions
When does ArcheAge Chronicles Early Access start?
On November 3, 2026 at 3:00 PM PST – midnight on November 4 in Central Europe.
Does demo progress carry over?
No. Progress from the Steam Next Fest demo does not carry over into Early Access.
How much does ArcheAge Chronicles cost?
Early Access costs US$29.99 on Steam, with no subscription. According to XLGAMES there is no in-game shop at launch.
What should I collect first?
Nui Statues for fast travel and Raeven’s Coilstones for Trait Points – both are on our world map to tick off.
