From Dust Walkthrough

The second downloadable game in Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade, From Dust lets you play God in a sandbox environment. Manipulate the forces of nature; soil, water, lava, and vegetation change the landscape in real-time, showing you the consequences of your changes within minutes. Publisher Ubisoft is looking to wow you with it’s simulation of changing climates when the game lands on the X-Box Live marketplace.

Every good God needs some believes — and we here at GameFront believe you might need a little help in your journey through From Dust. Look below after release for our full text and video walkthrough. To get all you can out of this god sim, check out more of GameFront’s lists; we have , and to offer in sacrifice.

The Breath

1. Follow the on-screen instructions and hold Left Trigger to create the Breath.
2. After the Breath has been created, you need to make a bridge for the men. To make a bridge, hold Left Trigger over a section of the soil and wait for the audible cue that you have collected as much soil as possible. Then deposit soil in front of the men to make a bridge by holding Right Trigger. You’ll need to do this a few times.
3. Once the men have reached the passage, press A to have them cross it.

The Ritual

1. The first thing you need to do is make a soil bridge for the men to reach the totem pole. Do this like before. Then press A on the totem pole to have the men create a village there.
2. To make a village on the second totem pole you need to get rid of the water. Suck up the water like it’s soil and dump it into the ocean.
3. Make another soil bridge to the second totem and have the men make a village there. Make sure you get the memory stone to complete the Memory of the Tribe. It is located right next to the second village.
4. At this point you can choose to either make a soil bridge to the passage, OR grow out the vegetation to get 100% vegetation. It’s really up to you, but to increase vegetation it helps to pick up soil and place it near areas where the palms are spreading
5. To get to the passage make a soil bridge.

The Roar of the Sea

1. Build a village at the first totem.
2. On-screen instructions will tell you to fetch the Repel Water because of the incoming tsunami. First build a soil bridge to the hilly area where the Repel Water is located. The next part is a little tricky. You need to divert the flow of the MIDDLE river that blocks you from getting to the Repel Water. Look upstream a little (close to the waterfall), and deposit some soil in front of the narrow part of the river where it looks like it can be diverted to the right. This is indicated by a little rocky outcrop between the middle and the right rivers. You’ll need to deposit soil a few times to ensure that the river doesn’t return to its original flow. Then press A on the Repel Water to have a villager retrieve it. You want to do this fairly quickly or else the tsunami will destroy the village. Keep an eye on the timer in the upper right corner.Remember that the villager has to go all the way to the Repel Water and back, which takes some time.You can see this villager because he has a parachute above him.
3. After the tsunami has passed you want to immediately begin diverting the flow of the rivers again. This time you need to divert the river on the far right. Notice how there is a center waterfall. You need to completely block off this center waterfall and divert the flow to the right. The farther upstream you do this, the better. There is a rocky outcrop to the right of the far right river that looks like a river should be flowing here. Build a strong soil dam to divert the river toward this rocky outcrop. You’ll definitely need to do this a few times to reinforce the dam. Then, send your villagers over to the second totem pole which is now accessible once the river has been diverted. Depending on how strong your initial soil bridge (to the hilly area with Repel Water) was, you might need to rebuild it because the tsunami might have destroyed it. Do this quickly and keep an eye on the tsunami timer. Note that you must also give time for a villager to move from your first village to this new village with the Repel Water ability.
4. Wait for the second tsunami to pass before you do anything else. You might want to encourage the growth of vegetation at this point. Locate the passage after the tsunami has passed. Note that it is submerged. To get rid of the water you can either suck it out or just remove some of the soil around it to let the water out. This is the easiest option. You’ll need some soil anyways to build a bridge from your second village to the passage. Build a sturdy bridge to withstand the tsunami, depending on how complete you want the vegetation to be. This bridge will also allow palms to grow on the soil area around the passage.
5. You can either wait for 100% vegetation completion or have villagers move to the passage at this point. Don’t forget to get the memory stone!

The First Power

1. Build a village at the first totem. On-screen instructions will tell you to rebuild the wall with lava to protect the second totem from the tsunami. The first tsunami is a good chance to see what parts of the wall need to be rebuilt. I found that taking lava from the spot next to the volcano was easier than instead of taking it directly from the volcano.
2. Rebuild the wall before the second tsunami by depositing lava directly on the spots where you observed water leaking through from the tsunami. The second tsunami will give a chance to see how well your wall will withstand future tsunamis. Note that there is a Repel Water stone next to the small volcano. You can get this if you choose to do so; just wall it off from the river with some lava, then remove the remaining water.
3. Build a village at the second totem. This will give you the Jellify Water power. To reach the final totem, first order your villagers to build a village there. Then wait for them to reach the water’s edge and then use jellify water. Suck out the water in their way to let them reach the third totem. Make sure you do this before another tsunami happens.
4. At this point, it might be prudent to do a few repairs. Because the volcano is constantly erupting, it may eventually reach your first village and burn it down. To prevent this from happening, build a lava wall in the water to wall off future lava flows from your village. The third totem is also somewhat vulnerable to tsunamis. You may want to either help the villager who walks around the Repel Water power if you have gotten it, or build another lava wall.
5. Either wait for the vegetation to reach 100% or send your villagers to the passage. Use jellify water and remove the water from the river in their path to let them reach the passage. Like before, you want to order them to the passage before you use jellify water and only use it once they’re at the water’s edge. At this point, you’ll also want to get the memory stone.

The Thousand Sources

1. The next map is one of the most difficult, in my opinion. When you start off, the villagers are nowhere near a totem. You first need to get some soil and cover up the three river sources. Be careful where you take soil from because you don’t want to uncover new sources. If you do, quickly put the soil back. Once you’ve covered up the three river sources, have your villagers build a village at the closest totem.
2. Next, locate the totem surrounded by impassable vegetation. You can actually just pick up this vegetation but be careful; you don’t want to uncover new sources. If you do happen to uncover new sources, just cover them back up. Once you’ve picked up enough impassable vegetation to build a village, tell your villagers to build a village there. At this point you must also get the Repel Water stone. This is very important in this level.
3. The last totem is unreachable for the villagers. You need to build a soil ramp for them to reach it. This is easy. Just zoom in and move the Breath back and forth from the top to the bottom, depositing soil by holding Right Trigger the whole time. Do this a few times and your villagers should be able to reach the totem.
4. If you just want to move on to the next level at this point, you should first order your villagers to the passage, then, if necessary, use jellify water and evaporate once they’re at the water’s edge in front of the passage. Remove the water in their way with Jellify Water, and then proceed to the passage. Don’t forget the memory stone!
5. If you’re going for 100% vegetation, then you need to open up several river sources. Make sure you don’t open up too many, as you only need a few to be open. They are scattered all over the map, as you’ve probably already found out. DON’T open up any river sources near the passage, as this will make getting to the passage very difficult later on. Just open up sources near the villages; since you have Repel Water, you don’t need to worry about your villages getting flooded. Be careful though, open too many up, and you won’t be able to pick up soil to cover them. After you get 100% vegetation, close up the river sourcces, wait for the water to dry up, then proceed with step 4.

Wildfires

1. The first thing you want to do is tell your villagers to build a village at the Put Out Fires totem. Next, the on-screen instructions will tell you that you can now move the water trees. If you choose to do so, you can move the water trees from the other parts of the map closer to your village, but beware that a flood of water is just as damaging as the fire. Build a village at the Jellify Water totem, then follow the instructions to move it on top of the ledge. Note the memory stone right behind the village.
2. Tell your villagers to build the Evaporate village now. You can now move this village if you choose to do so. A good spot for this, I found, was behind the original Put Out Fire village. You might have a little trouble containing the fires. If you are, there is a soil dam preventing a lot of water from entering the small valley to the left of the Evaporate Village. You can let in a little water and remember, you can always rebuild the soil dam if the water gets out of hand.
3. Once you have relocated the Evaporate village, tell your villagers to go to the last village. To do this, use evaporate and jellify water to remove water in their way. Then, use Put Out Fires to stop fire from spreading since the water is evaporated and jellified. Evaporate will also remove the small lake in your way of the last totem.
4. Building a village at the last location will then allow you to move the fire trees. I suggest quickly moving the fire trees to the far side of the mountain where they can’t start any fires. Alternatively, just put them in the water and let them drift away. Then, let the palms do their thing to get 100% vegetation.
5. Once you’ve done this, tell your villagers to move to the passage.

Waves

1. Start by building a village on the Amplify the Breath totem. Next, you need to drain the water out of the basin that moves up and down. Do this by placing a lot of fire trees next to each other in the middle, narrow part of the basin. After a while, the fire trees will abosrb all of the water, allowing you to build a village at the Totem of the Bird, which currently keeps getting submerged. Use the fire trees to absorb water around the map in places that are flooded. You just need to put them at the water’s edge. When you don’t need them anymore, move them away.
2. I suggest moving your Amplify the Breath village away so it doesn’t get submerged, near the Put Out Fire totem. Use the Amplify the Breath power to remove the water around the totem, then tell your villagers to build a village here.
3. Once the basin is dry, move your fire trees to the submerged area around the Jellify Water totem. This will drain it out. Also tell a villager to retrieve the Repel Water stone.
4. Once the fire trees have removed all of the water, you can move them to the outside of the map. Proceed to build a village at the Jellify Water totem. Then, stack the exploding trees in front of the passage. You don’t need a lot, just enough to break down the wall.
5. You should get the memory stone at this point if you haven’t already. Then, you can either go to the passage or if you’re going for 100% vegetation, line the center basin with water trees and trigger them by holding a fire tree near them. Since your villages have the Repel Water power they won’t be submerged. Once you’ve done this, the water should spread enough to get 100% vegetation. All you need to do is wait. After you get 100%, you can proceed on to the passage. Hold a fire tree near the exploding trees to trigger them, and tell your villagers to move o the passage.

High Tides

1. Since you start out with a village already built on this level, you can immediately tell your villagers to go to the Jellify Water totem. Just tell them to go to the totem and they’ll go once the surf has drained out of the center basin.
2. After the Jellify Water village has been built, get the Repel Water stone. Wait for your Amplify the Breath village to get the Repel Water ability before you move on to the next step.
3. You need to get to the Engulf All totem next. First, build a soil ramp over the hills that separate Engulf All from the Jellify Water village. It helps to use Amplify the Breath to get the soil you need. Make sure you get soil from the exposed areas once the surf recedes and not from around the villages, you want to be sure that they don’t have a chance of getting flooded. To make a ramp, just zoom in (Right Bumper) and go back and forth over the hill, holding Right Trigger until it is smooth. Try sending villagers to the Engulf All totem and if they can’t go directly over the hill, your soil ramp needs more work. Notice that the water keeps coming in even before the surf actually ‘begins.’ To counter this and to buy your villagers time, wait until the very last second for the water to come close, then use Jellify Water. This will give enough time for your villager carrying the Repel Water ability to reach your new Engulf All village. To buy even more time for the villager carrying Repel Water, use Engulf All with Amplify the Breath to get rid of the water directly around the village.
4. Wait for the surf to recede. Then tell your villagers to go to the Infinite Earth village. If you need to, buy more time by using Engulf All ability to get rid of water nearby the village. Immediately use Infinite Earth once the village is built and construct soil walls to keep out the surf. During this time, the villager with the Repel Water ability should have been able to reach the new Infinite Earth village.
5. Now you can either build a soil ramp to the passage with Infinite Earth or if you’re going for 100% vegetation, build huge soil ramps around your Infinite Earth Village to keep out the Surf. Then, line this area with the water trees and let them do their thing to encourage palm growth.
6. TIP:Using Infinite Earth or Engulf All together with Amplify the Breath is very effective. For instance, you can quickly build up your soil walls by using Infinite Earth and Amplify the Breath together.

The Tears of Stone

1. First build a village at the Amplify the Breath totem.Next, you need to get the Repel Fire/Lava stone. To do this, wait for your villagers to finish building the village, then use Amplify the Breath to suck up the lava and allow your villager to obtain the stone. Do the same for him to get back.
2. Your next priority is to build a village at the Put Out Fires totem. Once again, use Amplify the Breath to move the lava aside. Now that you’ve done that, you now need to reach the Jellify Water totem. As the volcanoe keeps erupting, you need to divert the flow of the lava to the right of the totem. Using lava, build a wall big enough to stop the lava from reaching the totem when the volcano erupts, and make sure it directs the lava to the right. It is also helpful to divert the flow of the smaller volcano to the left (so that it doesn’t fork and only goes along the path fo the lava river on the left). After you do this, tell your villagers to build a village at the Jellify Water totem.
3. After your villagers build the Jellify Water village, there is a risk that the lava could set your village on fire when the volcano erupts. If this happens, use Put Out Fires. You’ll probably need to do this to buy time for your knowledge villager (with Repel Fire/Lava) to reach your Jellify Water village.
4. Now that you have three villages built, you can then get the Repel Water stone. This is going to be very helpful later on. Note: if you wanted to get all of the memory stones, then you’ll need to get the one behind the volcano now. It will be impossible to reach later.
5. The final Engulf All totem needs to be reached by first exploding the mine trees that are right next to it. This will drain out the water. To explode the mine trees, put a little lava next to them and they should explode. Then cover up the river source next to the totem with lava. Now that it’s dry here, tell your villagers to build a village at the totem. Remove any remaining water.
6. After you finish building a village at the last totem, immediately the volcano stops erupting. The entire map floods (good thing you got Repel water!) and it is now almost impossible to reach the memory stone. You can still do so with jellify water. You can now go through the passage or wait a little bit and the exposed river sources will provide enough water around the map to give you a 100% vegetation score.

The Raging Earth

1. When you start the map off, you need to build a village at the Amplify the Breath totem. To protect yourself from lava, build a small wall to the left of the village and below the village. You don’t want this wall to be too tall because later, your villagers need to be able to go over it.
2. Next, you need to divert the flow of the rivers. Get some lava and at the mouth of the water source, close off all of the rivers except the right-most river to divert all the flow of the water. This will allow you to easily reach the Jellify Water totem and the Repel Fire/Lava stone. Do this now.
3. The Infinite Earth totem can be reached by watching the volcano eruptions. You need to time it to give your villagers the maximum amount of time to reach the totem. Notice that eruptions alternate between the left and right volcanoes. You want to tell your villagers to go to this totem during a tsunami and when the next eruption is going to happen on the left volcano to give your villagers the maximum amount of time to reach it.
4. Once you have built a village at the Infinite Earth totem, get the Repel Water stone. This will be useful later on. Notice that during tsunamis the pool of water behind your Amplify the Breath totem gets larger and larger. Eventually it will be high enough to reach your village and having Repel Water before then will be vital.
5. After Repel Water has been spread to your villages, you need to get the Engulf All totem. This is done by building up an upside down U shaped wall to divert lava around it. Don’t build this wall too close to the totem or else the village can catch on fire before the Repel Fire/Lava villager has reached it.
6. Now is the time to retrieve the memory stone and to use Infinite eErth to spread some soil around and grow vegetation. Either wait for the palms to grow or move on to the next step.
7. Since you have successfully gotten all of the totems, tell your villagers to go to the passage. Once they’re at the water’s edge, use Jellify Water and Engulf All to move the water out of their way. Wait for them to reach the passage, then cross over it once they’re ready.
8. Alternatively, use Infinite Earth and Amplify the Breath to make yourself a soil bridge to the passage. You can literally raise the passage out of the water by using Infinite Earth right under it.

Emergence

1. You start off on an island in this map. The first thing you need to do is get lava and build a bridge to the first totem pole. Since this first totem pole is also underwater, you need to use lava and soil to get it out of the water. You definitely want to get the Amplify the Breath totem first. I recommend using more lava to build your bridges because the soil will easily get washed away during the tsunamis, and you have a limited supply of soil in the beginning. You want to save the soil to put around the villages and to raise the totems out of the water. I also recommend building your bridges by filling up on lava, then dumping everything at once (by pressing Right Trigger then Left Trigger), like stepping stones. Then, get some more lava and fill in the cracks.
2. You can smooth over the cracks in your stepping stone bridge with soil. You probably will need to, anyways. Next, after the bridge to the Amplify the Breath totem pole has been built and you have sent your villagers there, you need to build a bridge from the starting island to the Repel Water stone. Do this by building a bridge in the same way.
3. Return to your Amplify the Breath village and begin building a bridge to the next totem, Jellify Water. Accomplish this bridge in the same method. Raise the Jellify Water totem out of the water by just dumping soil right on top of it until it comes out of the water. Once this is complete, have your villagers build a village here and build a bridge to the repel fire/lava stone.
4. Locate the Infinite Earth totem and build a bridge to it. Once this has been done, you can use Infinite Earth and Amplify the Breath to spread soil around and get a 100% vegetation rating. You’ll also need to get the memory stone out of the water. It is very close to the Amplify the Breath totem. Just look for the small white nub in the water and keep dumping soil on it until it is raised out of the water.
5. Now that you’re pretty much done, you should wait for the next tsunami to pass and then build a bridge to the passage. Raise the passage in the same manner.

Movements

1. This is by far the most difficult and the last level in the game. You need to start right off the bat with telling your men to go to the Amplify the Breath totem. Once you’ve done so, immediately remove the water trees that are right next to the totem. Your next step before the volcano erupts is to move some of the exploding trees to the left side of the volcano to try to direct the flow in that direction.
2. Now that you’ve done that, the volcano is now erupting and the rains have started. You’ll be able to withstand the floods but you need to quickly create a dirt bridge to the Repel Fire/Lava stone. Use the dirt lining the crater with the Amplify the Breath power, and then tell your villagers to retrieve the stone.
3. Next is the tricky but crucial part of the map. Using Amplify the Breath, create a V-shaped wall formation around the erupting volcano to direct the flow away from the Amplify the Breath village and the Evaporate totem. This will allow your villagers to reach the Evaporate totem. Tell them to go ASAP. You need to do this quickly before the rains start up again. If you don’t build a village at the Evaporate totem quickly enough the Amplify the Breath village will be floodd. Make sure that the V-wall is sturdy and prevents any lava flow from going anywhere but away from both villages.
4. TIP:To use Amplify the Breath to the best of its abilities you should turn it on when you’re picking things up, and then turn it off when you’re depositing materials. For this level I found this is necessary.
5. Right after the rains start, your Evaporate village should be complete. Immediately use Evaporate to save your Amplify the Breath village and make the Infinite Earth totem acccessible. Once this is done, send villagers to the Infinite Earth totem. Do this quickly. Timinig is very crucial now. Keep in mind that whenever the rains start, you’ll need to turn on Evaporate.
6. Immediately, lava will start flowing in from all sides. The Infinite Earth village will be especially vulnerable and chances are that the villager carrying the Repel Fire/Lava hasn’t reached the Infinite Earth village yet. To hold off the lava, use Infinite Earth together with Amplify the Breath to quickly build up a wall arund your village and buy time for the Repel Fire/Lava villager.
7. Now that you’ve done this, you can sit back and wait a bit. The Jellify totem you can get later. Eventually the lava will stop flowing in and you can fill the area with Infinite Earth and Amplify the Breath to get 100% vegetation. Remember to use Evaporate every time the rains start.
8. After you get the final Jellify totem, you can cross the passage.

The Origins

1. This is a sandbox map. You can do anything you want to in this map, which makes it easy for you to get 100% vegetation.
2. The first power you can get are the Earth powers. To get these powers, build the totems and then try out the powers following the on-screen instructions. The next powers are the Lava powers. Be careful when holding Y or B because you can actually create a volcano! Then, you are given the water powers. Be careful with these as well because you can create a tsunami! I found this out the hard way. The final powers you are given are the plant powers.
3. Now that you’ve built all of the totems and built villages there, you can either end the game by building a passage, or continue playing in sandbox mode. You will be taken to the very beginning of the game for the final screen.