Ratcatcher Quest Walkthrough — Vannaka's Hunting Lesson

Ratcatcher is the combat-and-cooking chapter of Dragonwilds' tutorial chain. Vannaka — the slayer master RuneScape veterans have feared for two decades — teaches the lesson every survivor actually lives by: fight something, cook the result, stay alive. Short, funny and generous with starter gear, it is the best thirty minutes a new player can spend. Full route below.

Quest overview

Detail	Info
Start point	Speak to Vannaka, south of the windmill (north-east of Doric)
Type	Primary quest (tutorial)
Requirements	Getting Started
Required items	4 raw rat meat, 6 ash logs, 4 stones (gathered during the quest)
Recommended	Extra logs for campfire fuel
Reward	Stone logging axe, stone dagger

Step 1 — Find Vannaka's camp

From Doric's position outside the temple, follow the road toward Bramblemead Valley. Vannaka's tent sits south of the region's windmill — the tall landmark visible across the meadows. Talk to him and he delivers the thesis of survival gaming: you want to fight things, fighting makes you hungry, and hungry fighters die. Therefore: rats.

Step 2 — Hunt four giant rats

Head north from Vannaka's camp to the windmill. The surrounding fields are a giant rat playground — and unlike most RPG vermin, these ones are genuinely sized. Kill four giant rats and collect 4 raw rat meat from the bodies.

Combat notes for brand-new fighters:

• Circle, don't trade. Sidestep the lunge, hit twice, repeat. Rats telegraph clearly once you've watched two attacks.
• Sprint is your panic button. Stamina drains fast at this gear level; break off early rather than trading hits at zero stamina.
• They come in twos. Pull one, finish it, then the second — the meadows are wide enough to fight on your terms.

Step 3 — Build a campfire and cook

With meat in hand, gather 6 ash logs and 4 stones (the windmill fields are littered with both; driftwood and loose rock count). Build a campfire from the build menu, feed it a log or two, and cook the rat meat into 2 rat roasts.

Cooking is the actual lesson here — raw meat barely feeds you, while cooked roasts restore real Sustenance and often carry a small buff. This is the exact habit that keeps expeditions alive in Ghornfell and beyond; the Cooking & Food guide picks the system up from here.

Step 4 — Report back (with lunch)

Bring the 2 rat roasts to Vannaka. He accepts your cooking, dispenses a little slayer wisdom, and hands you the quest's rewards: a stone logging axe and a stone dagger — your first proper tools of both trades.

Then he points you east along the road to Zanik for the magic chapter of the chain: the Rune Mysteries walkthrough continues from there.

Rewards, ranked by real value

1. Stone dagger — a genuine weapon upgrade that carries you until bronze.
2. Stone logging axe — chops dramatically faster than the improvised option; more logs per minute is more base per day.
3. The cooking habit — unsung and permanent. Every region ahead assumes you cook what you kill.

Speed tips for the run

1. Gather on the approach. Logs and stones between Doric and Vannaka mean you build the campfire before the rats respawn, not after.
2. Cook four, turn in two. Cooking all the meat you carry costs nothing and stocks your food bar for the walk to Zanik.
3. Kill five rats. The fifth is for you — one extra roast turns the next leg of the tutorial into a picnic.
4. Place the campfire near the windmill path. Other new players will thank you; and if you die on the walk back, a fire marks safe ground.

Common snags

• Rats not dropping meat? Every kill drops; if a body yields nothing, you looted too early — let the death animation finish.
• Campfire won't place? Slopes and root overlays block footprints; the flat ground around the windmill's south field is reliable.
• Meat burned? Dragonwilds forgives — take the roast off at the cook prompt and it lands; there's no fail state at the campfire.

What the quest sets up

Ratcatcher completes the survival half of the tutorial: after Vannaka's lesson you can fight, cook and feed yourself indefinitely. The chain then pivots to magic — Zanik and the Rune Mysteries — and from there to the hunt that gives the game its name. Rats first, dragons later; the ladder starts here.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use magic or a bow for the rats? At this point of the tutorial you likely have neither — that's the point. Vannaka's melee lesson is short and the rats are honest opponents.

Do I keep the extra roasts? Yes. Cooked food is yours; Vannaka only inspects two.

Where is Zanik exactly? East of Vannaka's camp, along the road toward Bramblemead Village — the quest marker walks you straight to her.