Mistake #1: Spending Gold on Common Shop Items
The NPC shop in Blood City sells common (white) and uncommon (green) weapons and armor. New players see an upgrade over their starter gear and immediately spend all their gold. The problem? Quest rewards and dungeon drops provide equal or better gear for free, and your gold is far more valuable spent on your companion, crafting materials, and auction house deals.
What to Do Instead
Save your gold. The only worthwhile early-game gold purchase is your race companion at level 10 (500 gold). After that, save for crafting materials and auction house gear. Shop-bought common items are never best-in-slot for any level bracket. Read our Gold Farming Guide to maximize your earnings.
Mistake #2: Ignoring Daily Missions & Login Streaks
Daily missions are the single most efficient source of gold, XP, and Battle Pass XP in the game. Each day you get 3 missions that take 10-15 minutes to complete. Missing a day also breaks your login streak, which provides escalating bonuses. Many new players skip dailies because they seem small, but over a week the compound value is enormous: completing all dailies for 7 consecutive days earns you approximately 15,000+ gold, thousands of XP, and significant Battle Pass progress.
What to Do Instead
Make daily missions your first priority every session. Log in, complete your 3 dailies, then do whatever else you want. Treat it like brushing your teeth: it is non-negotiable. If you only have 15 minutes to play, just do dailies and log out.
Mistake #3: Not Joining a Clan Early
Some players treat VvW as a solo experience and delay joining a clan until the endgame. This is a significant mistake. Clans provide a passive XP bonus to all members, access to clan-exclusive missions (which reward additional gold and reputation), participation in Clan Wars events, and a social network of experienced players who can answer your questions.
What to Do Instead
Join a clan on Day 2, as recommended in our First Week Roadmap. Look for active clans with at least 10 members. If you cannot find one you like, create your own and recruit from global chat. The clan XP bonus alone accelerates your leveling by 5-10%, and that compounds over every single battle you fight.
Mistake #4: Wrong Stat Allocation
VvW gives you stat points each level, and new players often spread them evenly across all stats. This "balanced" approach sounds logical but is actually the worst strategy. In VvW, specialization wins. A vampire with 50 AGI and 10 STR will always outperform a vampire with 30 AGI and 30 STR, because the game's scaling rewards focused investment. Each build archetype has 2-3 primary stats that should receive 80%+ of your points.
What to Do Instead
Follow a build guide. For vampires, Shadow Assassin builds focus on DEX and AGI. Blood Mage builds stack INT. For werewolves, Berserkers max STR while Moon Warriors balance STR and END. Check our Vampire Build Guide or Werewolf Build Guide for exact stat distributions.
Mistake #5: Skipping Crafting Entirely
Crafting seems complicated at first, so many new players ignore it completely. This is a major mistake because some of the best gear in the game can only be obtained through crafting. The crafting system also provides a reliable source of income when you sell crafted items on the Auction House. Players who skip crafting are locked out of entire equipment tiers.
What to Do Instead
Start crafting at level 8 when it unlocks. You do not need to become a master crafter immediately. Just craft one item per day using materials you have gathered. This builds your crafting XP passively and keeps you familiar with the system. By level 30, you will be able to craft equipment that rivals dungeon drops. Read our Crafting Guide for full details.
Mistake #6: Selling Rare Crafting Materials
When your inventory fills up, the temptation is to sell everything. New players frequently sell rare crafting materials (Wolf's Bane, Spider Silk, Blood Herb, Dark Iron Ore) to NPC vendors for a few gold each. These materials are worth 10-50 times more on the player auction house, and some are irreplaceable components for endgame crafting recipes.
What to Do Instead
Never sell crafting materials to NPC vendors. If you need inventory space, bank your materials or list them on the auction house. Materials like Dragon Scale, Gold Nugget, and Moon Blossom only become more valuable as you progress. What seems like worthless inventory filler at level 10 could be worth thousands of gold at level 50.
Your bank has limited slots, but you can expand it with gold. Investing 500 gold in bank expansion at level 15 saves you from having to sell materials you will desperately need later. Think of it as an investment, not an expense.
Mistake #7: Not Running Dungeons Daily
Dungeon loot resets every 24 hours, and each dungeon boss has a chance to drop rare and epic equipment. Running dungeons D1 through D3 daily takes about 15-20 minutes and provides more gold, XP, and gear than an equivalent time spent on any other activity. Some new players run a dungeon once, get a mediocre drop, and never return. Over time, missing daily dungeon runs means missing hundreds of potential rare drops.
What to Do Instead
Add dungeon runs to your daily routine right after daily missions. At minimum, clear the highest dungeon you can handle each day. The loot accumulates: even on a bad day, the gold and XP from dungeon mobs alone makes it worthwhile. Check our Dungeon Guide for boss strategies.
Mistake #8: Ignoring the Battle Pass
VvW offers a free Battle Pass track that rewards gold, gems, gear, and exclusive cosmetics for completing Battle Pass milestones. Many new players do not realize this exists or assume it is only for paying players. The free track is generous and requires no purchase. Even the premium track costs less than you might expect. Ignoring the Battle Pass means leaving thousands of gold, dozens of gems, and rare items on the table.
What to Do Instead
Open the Battle Pass tab on day 1 and check what milestones are available. Daily missions, weekly challenges, and normal gameplay all contribute Battle Pass XP. You are probably earning Battle Pass progress already without realizing it. Just claim your rewards. Read our Battle Pass Guide for the full reward breakdown and whether the premium track is worth buying.
Mistake #9: Starting PvP Too Early (Or Too Late)
There are two extremes. Some players jump into PvP Arena at level 10 with a barely functional build, get destroyed, and conclude that PvP is unfair. Others avoid PvP entirely until level 50+ and then find themselves facing opponents with thousands of matches of experience. Both approaches lead to frustration.
What to Do Instead
Start PvP at level 15. By then you have enough skills and gear to compete meaningfully. Play 3-5 arena matches per day as part of your routine. Treat early PvP as practice, not a competition. Your ELO will calibrate, and the matchmaking system will pair you with similar-skilled opponents. The PvP Guide has arena-specific strategies for every build.
Mistake #10: Not Exploring the Map
VvW has 20+ unique locations across Aeternum, from the starting Dark Forest to the endgame Blood Moon Realm. New players often stick to one zone for too long, grinding the same monsters without realizing that higher-level zones offer dramatically better XP, loot, and gathering resources. Map exploration also rewards region completion bonuses: gold, titles, and unique items for discovering all locations within a region.
What to Do Instead
Move to the next zone as soon as your level matches its minimum level requirement. The Graveyard Lands (Level 5+), Blood City (Level 8+), Ruined Castle (Level 12+), and Forbidden Swamp (Level 15+) each have progressively better rewards. Make a habit of exploring one new location every few levels. The world of Aeternum is rich with hidden quests, gathering spots, and storylines you will miss if you stay in the Dark Forest too long.
The 10 mistakes ranked by impact on your progress: #2 (Dailies) > #4 (Stats) > #7 (Dungeons) > #3 (Clan) > #6 (Materials) > #1 (Gold) > #5 (Crafting) > #8 (Battle Pass) > #9 (PvP timing) > #10 (Exploration). Fix the top 3 and you will already be ahead of most players.
Bonus: The #1 Mindset Mistake
The biggest mistake is not mechanical but psychological: comparing your progress to veteran players. VvW has been running since early 2026, and some players have hundreds of hours invested. Seeing level 80+ characters with mythic gear in the arena or global chat can feel discouraging. Remember that every one of them started exactly where you are now, and every one of them made at least half the mistakes on this list. Focus on your own progression and enjoy the journey through Aeternum.
Frequently Asked Questions
I already made some of these mistakes. Can I recover?
Absolutely. None of these mistakes are permanently game-breaking. You can always earn more gold, find more materials, and respec your stats (for a gem cost). The only thing you cannot get back is the time spent, which is why we wrote this guide: to save you that time.
What is the single most important habit for a new player?
Complete your 3 daily missions every day without exception. This single habit provides more gold, XP, and Battle Pass progress than any other activity, and it only takes 10-15 minutes. Build everything else around this core routine.
Should I follow a build guide or experiment?
Follow a build guide for your first character. Once you understand the stat system and skill synergies, experiment on your second character or after a stat respec. Experimentation is fun, but informed experimentation is far more productive than blind guessing.