If you are new to Nordhold and struggling to survive all 20 waves, this Nordhold Beginner Guide Wiki & Win All 20 Waves guide will help you build a strong economy and set up an effective defense to secure victory. Follow these step-by-step strategies to guarantee a win, even if you are just starting out.
Nordhold Beginner Guide Wiki & Win All 20 Waves
Step 1: Building a Stable Economy
A strong economy is essential for long-term success. You should focus on balancing resource collection while ensuring that your defense remains intact.
Early Game Setup (Wave 1-4)
- Step 1: Build one house and one worker to start gathering resources.
- Step 2: Construct a Tea House to boost worker productivity.
- Step 3: Upgrade the Lumberjack once and then build a Mill with one upgrade for efficient resource collection.
- Step 4: Assign two workers each to reed and lumber to generate enough materials for expansion.
During these early waves, you will rely on Runestone Towers for defense. You should build your first Runestone Tower on high ground and only upgrade its damage while enabling Focus Until Death mode.
This setup will allow your single tower to handle enemies up to wave 4, so you can prioritize building more workers for a stronger economy.
Step 2: Expanding Your Economy (Wave 5-9)
Once your defense is stable, you should focus on expanding your economy.
- Step 1: Increase your worker count to six and assign them all to wood production.
- Step 2: Continue to build more houses to accommodate additional workers.
- Step 3: Construct a Quarry and upgrade it once before assigning two workers to gather stone.
- Step 4: Prioritize building one additional Runestone Tower on high ground to strengthen your defense.
During this phase, you should focus on obtaining Focus Runes, as they provide essential single-target damage that helps defeat elite enemies and bosses that appear around wave 10.
Step 3: Preparing for the First Boss (Wave 10-13)
- Step 1: Maintain eight workers and put all additional resources into wood production to unlock the Brewery.
- Step 2: Build the Brewery and upgrade it with the R Construction upgrade, which boosts productivity by 60%.
- Step 3: Assign workers to the Gold Mine to start gathering gold for future upgrades.
- Step 4: Build one more Runestone Tower to strengthen your defenses before wave 10.
If you have followed the guide correctly, you will now have a strong economy and defense ready to handle the first major boss fight at wave 10.
Step 4: Strengthening Your Defense (Wave 14-19)
Once you reach wave 14, enemy difficulty will increase significantly. To prepare, you must build more towers and optimize banner placement.
- Step 1: Select the Trinity Legendary Course, which provides powerful AoE (Area of Effect) damage for clearing large waves of enemies.
- Step 2: Upgrade the Mill to increase weed production, ensuring a steady flow of resources.
- Step 3: Focus on banner synergy, as good banners can be more effective than just building more towers.
- Step 4: Assign workers to stone mining, as stone will become the most important resource for the Runestone Tower build.
- Step 5: Stack your towers close together in high-ground positions, allowing them to benefit from attack speed auras.
Step 5: The Final Boss (Wave 20)
If you have followed this guide, you will be fully prepared for the final wave.
- Step 1: Build as many additional towers as possible, ensuring maximum coverage.
- Step 2: Use Fireball or Arcane Explosion spells to handle Orc Generals, which summon minions upon death.
- Step 3: Maintain 10 workers and focus entirely on stone and gold for tower upgrades.
- Step 4: Stagger enemy spawn waves by making them enter at different locations. This will give your towers more time to clear each wave efficiently.
- Step 5: When the final boss appears, use all available spells to maximize damage and ensure victory.
Winning all 20 waves in Nordhold requires a strong economy, smart tower placement, and effective use of banners. You should always focus on upgrading the right resources at the right time rather than simply spamming towers.

