What do you do in Loftia?
You build up an island home, farm, cook, craft, fish and go on adventures, while the story takes you from Loftia City to the Hanging Gardens and the Gridfall.
How to Play Loftia
Loftia describes itself as a cozy, solarpunk MMO set on floating islands. You land in Loftia City, build up your own island home, farm, craft, fish and go on short adventures, and the story takes you on to the Hanging Gardens and the Gridfall. The opening in Early Access is the same as in the demo.
Loftia gameplay in one minute
For the rest of our Loftia guides, start at the Loftia guide hub.
- What to do first: follow the story quests. They hand out your tools, your first farm, your Glider, the trips to the new districts and your first pet.
- Solo or with friends: the whole story can be played alone. Friends who group up share a neighborhood, and adventures take up to four players.
Loftia basics at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Start | A Fresh Start, from Pebble in Loftia City; the same opening as the demo. Source: Game files. |
| Districts | Loftia City, then the Hanging Gardens, then the Gridfall, all through the story. Source: Game files. |
| Solo | Yes; playing alone does not block your progress. Source: Official site. |
| Groups | Friends in a group share a neighborhood; adventures take up to 4 players. Source: In-game text and game files. |
| Adventures | Open with Ryder's Adventure Awaits!; 3 Scrambled Coordinates per run. Source: Game files. |
| Story so far | Ends with Too Many Spores Spoil the Soup, the last story quest in the Early Access files. Source: Game files. |
Your first hour in Loftia
You arrive after "a (not so) soft landing in a sky-high world", and Pebble's first quest, A Fresh Start, is the tutorial for everything that follows:
- Gather in the city. Milo sends you for Screws, Plastic Discards, Clay and Scrap Wire. You get them by salvaging and foraging the junk and plants around Loftia City.
- Set up your island. The hot air balloon takes you to your neighborhood island, where you place a Project Station and a bed, craft a Hammer and clear the island.
- Start a farm. Hazel's The First Sprout has you plant and water lettuce and carrots, cook Carrot Soup and ship crops and meals in the Shipping Bin for your first Dew. The carrot seeds go into your Tool Wheel, not your bag.
- Refine materials and learn to glide. Cliff's Permission to Glide brings the Refining Station; Pebble's City Tour runs alongside it.
Every step and count for these quests is on our Loftia City quest steps.
The Loftia story route, district by district
The story is one chain: each part opens when the one before it is done. This is what each part gives you.
| Part | Story quests | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Loftia City | A Fresh Start, The First Sprout, Permission to Glide, City Tour, Adventure Awaits!, Certified Flying Loftian | Your island, farming, the Shipping Bin, the Refining Station, adventures and the Glider |
| Hanging Gardens | A Call From the Gardens, Fish Are Friends, Field Research | Fishing with the Collector Rod, the research stations, your first pet, Hammer Lv.2 |
| Gridfall | Everything Is Connected, Keeping the Lights On, then six more ending with Mending What's Broken | The Bounce Shoes, the Wrench, Project Station Lv.3, the Locator, the Recycler, the Propeller recipe |
| After the Gridfall | Following The Crumbs, The Shroom Next Door, Too Many Spores Spoil the Soup | Five side-by-side tasks in Loftia's underground; the last story quest in the Early Access files |
The Hanging Gardens open once you finish Certified Flying Loftian: Cliff meets you at the Airtram Station and the next quest, A Call From the Gardens, sends you over. Yes, you do the fishing quest to keep going: Fish Are Friends is the second Hanging Gardens story quest, and Field Research comes after it. Field Research also leads to Joanna's Notes From the Fauna, where you rescue your first pet. The steps are on our Hanging Gardens quest list. What the district holds and unlocks is on our Loftia Hanging Gardens guide.
The Gridfall opens with Everything Is Connected, right after Field Research, and has eight story quests with Mita, Milo and Atlas. The last one, Mending What's Broken, sends you back to Loftia City and gives the Propeller recipe; the full chain is on our Gridfall quest list. Its places, Urbex and the rooftops are on our Loftia Gridfall guide.
What to learn early in Loftia
Five systems shape the first days. Each has its own guide.
- Tools and the Tool Wheel. Your tools sit on the Tool Wheel; hold the tool key to open it, and "you can also equip tools and seeds directly from your inventory". The story hands out new tools as you go (table below).
- The Battery. "The Battery you carry powers crafting stations around Loftia. Every craft uses a certain number of Battery charges." Charge it at the solar panel on your island or at Battery Totems; our guide to charging the battery covers why it is slow.
- Dew. "Dew is the main currency used across Loftia's various shops." You earn it by shipping crops and meals; our Loftia money guide shows what sells best.
- Skills. "Leveling up those Attributes will award you Skill Points, which you can use to learn new Skills." Ready for the Rumble introduces the Progression screen.
- Research stations and adventures. Research stations turn materials into recipes for tool and station upgrades; our Loftia research station guide lists every set. Adventures open with Ryder's quest and cost 3 Scrambled Coordinates a run; see our Loftia adventures guide.
| Tool | Where the story gives it |
|---|---|
 Hammer | A Fresh Start |
 Pruners | Fish Are Friends (optional step) |
 Collector Rod | Fish Are Friends |
 Glider | Certified Flying Loftian |
 Wrench | Keeping the Lights On |
Loftia crafting basics
Crafting happens at stations you place on your island: the Project Station from A Fresh Start, a Cooking Station from The First Sprout and a Refining Station from Permission to Glide, with more as you go. Every craft costs Battery charges, so a flat battery is the usual reason a craft won't start. New recipes come from story quests, research station sets and shops, and stations themselves level up through research and the story: Project Station Lv.2 comes from a Hanging Gardens research set and Lv.3 during Keeping the Lights On.
Playing Loftia solo or with friends
Solo: the official site says Loftia "can be enjoyed both solo, and together with others" and that "playing alone will not block your progress in the game". Every story quest can be done alone. In adventures, the game lets you "queue solo to be matched with other adventurers", and five objectives need at least two players.
With friends: form a group. The game's tip: "Forming groups is a great way to have everyone in the same Neighborhood!" Near other players, press the interact key to interact with them.
Watch your Share Box. "Items placed in the Share Box can be taken out by other Loftians, so be mindful of what you store." You choose who can use it in the Privacy Settings of Decorate Mode; the game warns that permissions like Use Share Box and Decorate "may let other players take items from your island and house."
Loftia beginner tips
- Give the first start a minute. The developers said on November 3, 2026 that the game compiles shaders in the background the first time you start, and that it feels faster once that is done.
- No quest costs money. The developers said so on November 3, 2026, when players asked whether quests had to be bought.
- Your progress stays. The developers said before Early Access opened that there would be no more progress wipes.
- Short on Dew while doing the story? Players report it; cooking and shipping meals is the steady fix.
- Make fishing easier. The developers pointed players who find fishing hard to the accessibility settings. The settings also have toggle sprint and auto run.
- Stuck somewhere? The game's Teleport To Start option puts you back at a safe starting point; our quests page has more fixes for stuck quests.
Version notes and limits
Two points are open. We found no setting to hide other players in the game files, so this page does not say whether you can. And we found no option to rename a character; players in the official Discord report that a name can't be changed after you create the character, but the developers haven't said so. We will reread the story order when the next Early Access build adds quests or districts.
Loftia gameplay FAQ
What should I do first in Loftia?
Follow Pebble's A Fresh Start and then Hazel's The First Sprout. They give you your island, your first tools and your first farm.
Can you play Loftia alone?
Yes. The whole story can be played solo, and playing alone does not block your progress. Five adventure objectives need at least two players.
How do I play Loftia with friends?
Form a group; group members share a neighborhood and can go on adventures together, up to four players.
Is the Early Access start the same as the demo?
Yes. The Loftia City quests are the same in Early Access as in the demo.
When do the Hanging Gardens and the Gridfall open?
The Hanging Gardens open after Certified Flying Loftian, with A Call From the Gardens. The Gridfall opens after Field Research, with Everything Is Connected.
Can I change my character's name in Loftia?
Players report you can't rename a character after creating it; making a new character is the only way they know. We found no rename option in the game files.
Do quests cost money in Loftia?
No. The developers said no quest costs money.
Why am I running out of Dew?
Players report it during the story. Cook your crops into meals and ship them in the Shipping Bin; our money guide compares the best sellers.
Sources and version history for this guide: Loftia sources and versions.
Spot an error or a post-patch change? See how we label evidence and handle corrections in the Editorial Policy.