Among the Trolls Crafting Guide: Materials, Tools, Recipes, and Survival Tips
Learn how among the trolls crafting works: gathering materials, building tools, and surviving the Finnish wilderness in this survival adventure.
Among the Trolls drops you into a remote Finnish forest with a missing grandfather, a thin jacket, and a wilderness that would rather you turned back. In a survival adventure where weather, wildlife, and supernatural forces all push back, among the trolls crafting is what keeps you alive long enough to follow the story. It is not a side activity bolted onto a narrative game — it is the engine that turns scavenged sticks and stones into shelter, warmth, and light. Get the loop right early, and among the trolls crafting stops feeling like busywork and starts feeling like progress.
Why Among the Trolls Crafting Sits at the Center of Survival
Among the Trolls is a first-person narrative-adventure with survival elements, developed by Avantgarden SRL and published by 505 Pulse and 505 Games. You play as Anna, who travels from the United States to a remote Finnish cabin to visit her grandfather — and arrives to find the cabin abandoned and her grandfather vanished.
The official Among the Trolls page on Steam frames the world around harsh weather, wild animals, scarce resources, and supernatural encounters. Every one of those pressures has a crafting answer, which is why among the trolls crafting rewards players who treat the forest as a workshop rather than a corridor to sprint through.
| Survival pressure | What crafting gives you | Why it matters early |
|---|---|---|
| Cold, rain, and shifting weather | Insulation, fire, and enclosed shelter | Warmth drains slowly, then all at once |
| Wild animals | Tools, weapons, and defensive gear | Avoiding a fight is cheaper than winning one |
| Scarce resources | Better yields from each gathering trip | Fewer risky treks into unfamiliar ground |
| Supernatural encounters | Light, prepared gear, and ritual items | Confidence to explore at night or in fog |
| Long distances | Storage, markers, and travel gear | Fewer wasted journeys back and forth |
Because the game leans on scarce resources, efficiency is the real skill. A player who gathers with a purpose will always outpace a player who gathers by accident, even if they cover less ground.
The Materials You'll Be Gathering in the Finnish Wilderness
Crafting systems in survival games almost always start with the same question: what does the environment actually hand you? In a Finnish forest setting, expect the resource list to mirror the landscape — timber, stone, plant material, and animal byproducts.
| Resource family | Where it usually comes from | Typical crafting use |
|---|---|---|
| Wood and branches | Fallen timber, dead trees, driftwood | Handles, frames, fire, basic structures |
| Stone and flint | Rocky ground, riverbeds, cliff faces | Cutting edges, hammers, fire-starting |
| Plant fiber and bark | Undergrowth, saplings, marshy ground | Cordage, bindings, baskets, bandages |
| Animal materials | Hunting, trapping, scavenging | Hides for insulation, sinew for string |
| Water and food | Streams, lakes, foraging | Staying fed and hydrated between trips |
Two habits separate efficient gatherers from frustrated ones. First, pick up common materials every time you pass them, even when you do not need them yet — the forest rarely offers a second convenient trip. Second, note where rare materials spawn rather than wandering randomly. Community reports from early players consistently point to route knowledge, not raw grinding, as the biggest time-saver.
The Crafting Loop, Step by Step
The crafting loop in Among the Trolls follows the classic survival rhythm: gather, convert, upgrade, repeat. What changes is the pressure. The narrative pushes you forward toward answers about your grandfather, while the survival layer pulls you back toward camp. Balancing those two impulses is the core tension of the game.
Stage 1: Light and a Cutting Tool
Nothing happens without a blade and a light source. A cutting tool unlocks almost every other recipe tree because it lets you process what you find, and a portable light extends your working hours into the dark. Prioritize these before anything decorative.
Stage 2: Weather Protection
Once you can cut and see, the next enemy is the climate. Shelter, bedding, and a reliable fire pit turn a hostile map into a base of operations. Without them, every excursion is a countdown instead of an exploration.
Stage 3: Food, Water, and Storage
Food security is the quiet gate on progression. Trapping tools, water handling, and storage containers reduce the number of times you have to stop what you are doing and solve the same problem again.
Stage 4: Mobility and Reach
With basics handled, crafting shifts toward range: better travel gear, upgraded weapons, and portable light so you can push into new regions and stay there longer.
| Stage | Primary goal | What to prioritize |
|---|---|---|
| First hours | Sight and cutting power | Basic blade, torch, simple fire |
| First day | Weather survival | Rain cover, bedding, fire pit |
| First week | Food security | Traps, water handling, storage |
| Mid game | Range and mobility | Travel gear, upgraded weapons, portable light |
| Late game | Supernatural readiness | Gear suited to mythological threats |
Väki, Lykky, and the Magic Layer of Crafting
The game's official description names two forces you are asked to balance: Väki (magic) and Lykky (luck). These are drawn from Finnish folk tradition and the Kalevala, the national epic that shapes much of the game's creature design and worldbuilding.
| Force | What it represents | How it shapes preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Väki (Magic) | The animistic power held by places, objects, and beings | Encourages deliberate, well-prepared approaches |
| Lykky (Luck) | Fortune and favorable outcomes | Rewards redundancy — spare tools, spare supplies |
Practically, this means among the trolls crafting is not purely mechanical. Building a spare set of tools, keeping backup fire-starting materials, and preparing before an encounter are all ways of hedging against bad luck and hostile magic at the same time.
Practical Among the Trolls Crafting Tips
Here is what actually moves the needle, based on how the game's survival systems are described and on early community experience.
- Craft tools before comfort. A blade and a light multiply everything else you do.
- Never travel empty-handed in one direction. Bring materials back even on short trips.
- Build a base near resources, not near beauty. A scenic spot with no timber is a trap.
- Keep duplicates of anything you would hate to lose. Fire-starting gear and blades especially.
- Craft in batches. If you need one bandage, you probably need four.
- Store before you explore. Dropping loot at a fixed point keeps death cheap.
- Upgrade one path fully rather than five paths halfway. Depth beats breadth in survival crafting.
- Re-read recipes after each new material type. New inputs usually unlock options you forgot about.
| Common mistake | Why it hurts | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| Hoarding without crafting | Materials do nothing in a pack | Convert materials into tools the moment a recipe unlocks |
| Wandering for rare spawns | Burns daylight and supplies | Learn two or three reliable routes and cycle them |
| Skipping shelter upgrades | Weather becomes a hard wall | Reinvest in camp every time you unlock a new tier |
| Ignoring the magic layer | Some threats cannot be solved with a spear | Prepare charms, light, and ritual-appropriate gear |
One more note: Among the Trolls released on October 14, 2026, and community reports on Steam currently show a mixed reception, so balance details and recipe costs may shift with patches. Treat any specific number you read as a snapshot, not gospel.
FAQ
What is among the trolls crafting actually for? It is the survival backbone of the game. Crafting converts raw materials from the Finnish wilderness into the tools, shelter, and light you need to keep exploring and follow Anna's search for her grandfather.
Do I have to craft to finish the story? The game is described as a narrative-adventure with survival elements, so crafting is not optional flavor — it gates how far and how safely you can travel. Players who ignore it will find weather and scarce resources become hard walls.
What should I craft first in Among the Trolls? A cutting tool and a light source. Almost every other recipe depends on being able to process materials, and darkness limits where and when you can gather.
Is the crafting system deep or lightweight? Based on the official description, it sits in the middle: broad enough to support base building, gear upgrades, and preparation for supernatural encounters, but built to serve the story rather than replace it. Expect depth in survival preparation rather than a sprawling tech tree.
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