Overview
WARNING THIS GUIDE MIGHT FEEL A LITTLE DARK IT IS KENSHI AFTER ALL.CAN I GET A THUMBS UP.This Guide is list of base types you should strive to have.Also some ideas for your base + tips 4 gameplay.Alast this guide will take some time to fully completely so i will publish what I have typed so far as is.Best of luck Happy hunting. Don’t forget to rate me it will help others find the guide.Check back when u can to read more base types ideas added over time.If you have suggestions for base types I have yet to list leave it down in the comments n I will add them and credit you.
Base types Part 1
1.starter base.
typically the starter base is just make shift wall enclosure place near by any town with just few small shack buildings 4 basic stuff like food/research/mining.normally not worth keeping around long term.
[key buildings]
1A. research small shack
1B. barracks small shack 4 healing
1C. prison small shack if your starter base is Located near decent minor faction bounties spawn or its permanent location or your using the recruit prisoner mod otherwise skip this.
1D. cooking shack/food storage
1E. any other small shacks r storage built as needed.
1F. [bonus tip] save money the first ingame month by using dead bandits as backpack.
Best place 2 build these R typically few screens away from the town u spawned at.Most normal starter bases might have 5 small shacks.No need 2 go overboard on starter base thats just an means 2 an end 4 about the first few weeks.
2.Main base
typically your main base must have access 2 every resource.Also this base built in specific spot that might be important 2 u 4 the future of your playthru.
[key buildings]
2A. Hospital with alot of beds & chairs 4 your idle workers 2 hang out at u.Must b stocked with food & first aid + b enclosed with walls + its own gate n this hospital needs 2 have turrets.it must also b central location of the base.
2B. U shaped entrance 2 the fort with turrets towers on either side 2 achieve maximum fire ratio on enemies hitting your gates.at least 2 towers.
3. Fortress
reasons 2 have Fortress= quality of life when siege/campaigning against an enemy faction.
typically fortress u want 2 place in central location of your enemy faction lands. example united cities u want fort located in the middle of desert.This will make the trek in respectable time 2 raid any of their cities n make it back 2 base in short time.
[key buildings]
3A.Hospital located in the center most spot of your base.
3B.prison 2 house any people or bounties u have captured.must b walled in with their own gate .[prisoners can escape]
3C.Walled garden 4 food.the farms must b walled in with their own gate.
3D. U shaped entrance 2 the fort with turrets towers on either side 2 achieve maximum fire ratio on enemies hitting your gates.at least 2 towers.
3E. One storage building 4 random war junk type loot.
4.Money making operation legalish version in city
reason 2 have Money making operation legal version in city= because u don’t have 2 worry much about defending yourself since the town guards will worry about that 4 u [friendly tip u can built turrets on the roof of your purchased home in town n the town guards will man them 4 u].Steady flow of cats 2 buy anything u want such as books& recruits etc etc.Also u save tons of travel time mass producing something at your main base N try to haul it back 2 city & remove the risk of your caravan delivering your sellables 2 town no longer need 2 run the risk of ambush out in the world.it can be nightmare of hungry bandits killing that bull carrying 34545435435 cotton!
typically your Money making operation legalish version in a city will specialize in completing one Industry normally.
which Industry is up 2 u really.anything works.good part about living in city is being able 2 get recruits from bars.
u have like no tech? & no ideas 4 industry or cant be asked 2 micro manage that much?
even if u had no tech at all u can have 2 of the weakest recruits do copper mining in town while in stealth N have them fill up like as many storage boxes possible then at least once a week u micro one of them 2 sell all the boxes of copper. when u get the tech u buy third guy N have him turn the copper into electronic components. with this 3 man setup that has little tech your only micro is once a week 2 sell your product + buy food only.
I personally like 2 rush hydroponics n crank out wheat & cotton.These methods require alot of tech 2 do in town.Some towns will lack in wells or water so u will need 3 rain catchers on your roof.use best judgement before investing cats into town buildings.
reason 2 have Money making operation illegal version= Because its fun
Typically your Money making operation illegal version should b in enemy town or part of faction u don’t care much about.
5A.running illegal operation with no tech….. then that means sneaking and stealing from town. the shinobi thieves [10k membership fee 2 join them] have a thief fence where u can sell your stolen goods. Joining them grants you access to their tower with the lockbox/assassination training dummies they have. some towns might not have the shinobi thieves tower but they will still be in the town but just operating out of the bar n while your in the bar u R safe.
now as low tech thief living in a enemy town isn’t a hard life u can survive just by always walking in stealth 2 everything.once your in the shinobi thieves they will have your back in fights.
on some nights u can steal over 100k cats worth of gear such as books backpacks armor etc etc.
when u start earning cats buy couple of the small shacks in the city.Small shacks cost 1.5k-4k.use these 4 storage of the best stolen gear u have that u want 2 keep.
6. Money making operation right outside town.
reason 2 have Money making operation right outside town= i don’t know i personally wouldn’t bother because I then have 2 start paying more attention yet another base N worry about things such as raids.2 micro as it is
Typically your Money making operation right outside town just needs 2 mass produce one thing N sell it in town.anything works really don’t need 2 be special it could just be 1 guy making 34534656543 cotton hanging out with 5 bulls. this topic is kind of no brainer so i wont go 2 much detail.
7.Temporary Siege Camp
reason 2 have Temporary Siege Camp=Place 2 medic downed soldiers + thin down enemy town guards.
Typically your Temporary Siege Camp will consist of some sleeping bags/turrets/one general purpose storage. sometimes siege can last week depending on your squad and the town. u might not have the squad it takes 2 kill an entire town in handful of hours so ya this Temporary Siege Camp helps.
best way 2 use one is find hilly high ground type area,then place turrets make sure u r 2 screens off enemy town because town guards will only chase that far. then u want 2 slowly kite town guards towards your siege camp.rinse repeat.
after couple days of kiting town guards u should have thin the defenders down 2 more manageable numbers. your Temporary Siege Camp should not ever get 2 the point where u need farm+food.Find food in the town.Have guy sneak in quickly steal some N run out while kiting
few guards.Withh mod “limbs r edible” u can have soldier with job to auto-haul limbs to storage 2 eat “hand-burgers” while sieging.
Base Types part 2
1.Recruitment office operation in city.
question reason 2 have recruitment office operation in city= quality of life 2 have operation like this running but not needed if you use mod called recruit prisoners.
typically Recruitment office in city operation means your rich at this point in the game.
Your going 2 want 2 buy biggest building in town. The building is multipurpose. one is some kind of hydroponic crop being made being manned by 1 permanent recruit manning the place.This recruits only purpose in life is 2 stay in that town N just crank out endless crates of food + hang out at the bar when idling.
other things u want in your recruitment office operation is training dummies of every type. u want those fresh recruits trained up 2 the max.every so often send your main guys on run 2 the Recruitment office in city 2 drop off gear or random war junk loot that new recruits can wear. but this isn’t that important 2 do N could be taken care of when your fresh recruits make it 2 your main base.
Best place 2 build these=typically in towns with two bars n up.[Tip I prefer towns with 2 bars +.]
2. Arena/Colosseum
question reason 2 have arena/Colosseum= don’t know maybe quality of life maybe u use mods maybe your sick & enjoy watching death/destruction & limbs flying.
so your Arena can be used 2 train your guys or just 4 entertainment.
set up is just enclosure walled area 2 hold prisoners in 4 u 2 fight or make them fight each other.
Best place to build these are in flat land.
question reason 2 have Hunting lodge= easy way 2 get guys trained up plus decent source of meat + hides.
3A. Beak things in the vain. DECENT
3B. down the west side of the swamp, you’ll find swamp turtles. MEH
3C.holy nation river area or by blister hills. set up farms,then river raptors will come visit. MEH
3D., leviathan plains.gutters and garru.GREAT
3E. The Crater. Beak Things + Raptors. DECENT
3F.Cannibal Plains Beak Things. DECENT
3G.Arach SPIDERS!!!! GREAT!my personal fav hunting grounds.get mid tier warriors they can easily get end game stats hunting the bug master spiders.use Desert Sabers [tip Weapons Shop in Scraphouse u can buy the blueprint 4 desert sabers @ scraphouse which is good vendor worth the visit]..Also u will power level stealthing & hit max while hunting these spiders. maxxing out your stealth will help loads 2 rush any labs 4 books + cores etc etc.Sadly the spiders have nothing 2 offer in the loot department but the skill gain make up 4 it.mainly maxing out stealth in very short amount of time.
4.Water base aka Water World
question reason to have water base= depends on the who you ask but…. i feel like all water base is either just for niche purposes or base with purpose but mods r involved.
if your using mods then the fishing mod would work great with all water base.Your defenses would be impossible 2 crack if u get sieged.If u built in acid water then i feel sorry 4 any would be raiders.lol
this water base is considered niche so its purpose can be watever u want it 2 b.Have fun. is a water base overpowered as far as defense go? umm yeah..
5.Plateau Citadel
question reason to have Plateau Citadel=They r epic 2 look at when fully built.niche style base
Plateau Citadel can be used as an anchor for your population of low level recruits.
The defense on Plateau Citadel r normally epic because many reasons such as the high Ground
max height advantage 4 turrets. I will link tutorial 4 using the high ground
Main things needed are Barracks,Arsenal,Blacksmith,Gym training area,Walled Gardens,Library to house any lore books,Barn 4 animals.
6.Logistics respite
question reason to have Logistics respite= you have some long distance trade route 4 watever you doing that always follow the same path every time.
Logistics respite just need one building with a ton of beds. I personally feel this is a waste because you could just carry sleeping bags but ya just one building maybe to rest and heal up troops doesn’t even need walls. there should be no one permanently manning this place.a place like this can also be useful if used as well as rally point for raiding caravans or bounty hunting rally point. or all purpose rally point for random troops on random missions that are grouping up.
If you build these I recommend building them in every key town that u go 2.Just get the largest building u can afford & put endless beds + all purpose storage in them.U never know when u need 2 just drop in 2 heal up or need spot somewhere really far where u can rally/ regroup your troops and heal up.The way i play i sometimes have many teams out on missions at same time cuz sometimes kenshi is walking simulator . so something like this helps for regrouping mission teams up.sending mini teams out at same time so max your legwork on lab raiding.
4 Roleplay Purposes dress this place up 2 look like inn/bar. there a mod for idle training so many this could be a thing at a place like this.
question reason to have Mining Camp= Your main base or industry area doesn’t have access to some ore like copper and your to lazy to rebuild your entire base over it.
The mining camp needs to be walled off plus 1 farm and building 4 cooking + beds. 3-5 man set up should do the trick.you shouldn’t need more then one building in this mining outpost.
very little micro for this.
8.Research Lab operation in city.
question reason to have Research Lab operation in city= free power from the city. free protection from town guards in city. can easily buy books in city.
IF YOU USE THIS METHOD ITS BECAUSE YOUR ROLLING IN THE CATS.
very little micro 4 this.
Research operation in city set up should need just 1 man 4 research an one man 4 food at the minimum.This method works best if u have some steady income. the way it works is you buy house in the city have one guy just research forever & another guy use hydroponics 2 grow food. whenever the money comes in have the farmer guy buy books.some towns sell ancient science books etc etc.it will be expensive but you save on the leg work of running the labs 4 the books.
9.Bounty Hunter lodge/bounty hunter lodge operation in city.
question reason 2 have Bounty Hunter lodge= fun way to get items,cats & experience.
Key buildings 2 have if its based outside town
9A.Hospital/medical kit production
9B.Walled Garden/Cooking shack
9C. Prison.
one permanently manning this place required 2 keep food/first aid production going.
if its in town then just cram everything into one building.
Some of the best bounty hunting farming is against the minor factions.
some bounties examples: Shek 4 Holy Nation,Fogmen Prince’s.[modded]Cannibals hunting is a job=good bounties. Sand ninjas &rebel farmers in united cities.I can earn over 50k in the first 3 days of the game just farming rebel farmers bounties up in the early game with zero tech[vanilla].required stats 25 plus stealth and 20ish assassination.best way to get that up from the start of the game is forking over 10k 2 shinobi thieves & training in their towers or go 2 police station n stealth k.o prisoners 4 free.
10.Shop/marketplace $$$ npc buy from u.
question reason 2 have Shop/marketplace= passive income
Key things 2 have
10A. research of public sales
10B. Shop Counter
in my experience the only thing i ever see the npcs buy is food.With mods u could get more done but lets discuss vanilla.
If your in town [no micro required] get hydroponics then crank out endless food.get large building with all the shop counters u can.
If your not in town [some micro required]
Key things
10C. high foot traffic area. [tip holy nation valley or desert]
10D. alot of farms 2 crank out wheat 4 bread.
10E. Defenses against raids required or every hungry bandit & raptor will b on your farms.
Base Types Part 3
1.Spy Den/spy network
question reason 2 spy den/spy network= quality of life 2 have operation like this running before sieging town but not needed if u got good squad 2 raid town. [tip will only work in town if your not hostile with the faction yet] If your hostile with the faction then just build huge building with the max amount of prisoner cages right outside town N be prepared 2 do alot of running sigh.
typically Spy den in city operation means your planning on attacking this town or going 2 do very slow passive take over of town. 1-2 man setup. need high stealth/ assassination/cooking required.
how this operation works
Key things:
1A. Central located building with alot of turrets on the roof.Alot of beds.This building would become very useful 4 when the main raiding squad comes into town.
1B. Small Shacks around back alley. these small shacks will have alot of cages.
1C. 1 permanent recruit manning a building with food production.[Hydroponics required]
how this operation works
1D. your stealth assassin guy will travel out at night N kidnap/stealth k.o guards & toss them in prisoners cages.
1E. build up decent amount of enemy guards uniforms. [Tip Recommended 10+]
1F. Just before the raid start focusing on stealth k/o & kidnapping turret guards & replacing those guards with your own men disguised in the enemy faction uniform.
1G.make sure your troops disguised in the enemy faction uniform R manning turrets at Central located building with alot of turrets on the roof.Alot of beds because thats your battlefield triage point.
1H. If u have trimmed down the town guards by 20+ then your ready 4 An assault on that town.
Last thing this operation could completely wipe out the town with Just 1 spy manning the operation but will take several nights [up to week]4 this task 2 complete.
Whats slows things down alot is waiting 4 guards 2 starve 2 death in prisoner cages. so yeah prisoner cages [sigh iron plates]
question reason 2 Temporary Patrol Ambush spot/Farming enemy patrols= Decent way 2 farm item/experience/easy prisoners.
Temporary Patrol Ambush spot should b placed on high foot traffic areas or on roads patrols always walk down.
Key things:
2A. Sleeping Bags
2B. Prisoner cages 4 bounty collection or if u have the recruit prisoner mod.Otherwise not needed.
2C. The High Ground https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKJB_rGKLs8
2D. 2 turrets N up.
easy faction 2 farm patrols R holy nation cuz the patrols routes R super easy N fast spot on the roads south of blister hills.
2E. *OPTIONAL MOD “limbs r edible” u can have soldier with job 2 auto-haul limbs 2 storage 2 eat “hand-burgers”.
question reason 2 Sniper Tower/Guard Tower In/out of town= answer is it depends on who u ask but… has many uses such as trolling enemies, area denial, harassing enemy patrol routes or towns.[tip* With skeletons u could use this tactic in the no tech early game since they don’t eat.]
[requires no micro]
Key things:
3A. Sleeping Bags
3B. One tower with Turrets on roof.
3C. hydroponics with food produce inside the tower.
how this operation works
3D. seal yourself/squad inside the tower with no way out.
3E. use alot of turrets + squad members 4 best area denial.
3F. Build it in an enemy town, have a laugh.
3.Island Paradise Fortified settlements
question reason 2 Island Paradise Fortified settlements= they can look very nice + niche style base that is remote.
Such a niche base can do whatever u need it 2.With mods u could do even more with island bases please comment down below with nice eye candy pics.
4. Castle with moat
question reason 2 have Castle with moat n how is this diff from fortress type u listed = This castle with moat would function exactly as fortress but with moat.quality of life when siege/campaigning against enemy factions.
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
typically Castle with moat u want 2 place centrally in enemy faction lands but due 2 the fact it requires moat building this type of base in desert isn’t possible.Nevertheless This will make the trek in respectable time to raid any of their cities n make it back to base in short time.
[key buildings]
4A.Hospital with alot of beds & chairs 4 your idle workers 2 hang out at.Must be stocked with food & first aid,be enclosed with walls + its own gate.This hospital needs 2 have turrets.it must also be centralized location of your base.
4B.prison 2 house any people or bounties u have captured.must be walled in with their own gate .[prisoners can escape]
4C.Walled garden 4 food.Farms must be walled in with their own gate.
4D. U shaped entrance 2 the fort with turrets towers on either side 2 achieve maximum fire ratio on enemies hitting your gates.at least 2 towers. AKA killbox
4E. One storage building 4 random war junk type loot.
5.Troll Base
question reason 2 have Troll Base= plead the fifth.
Troll base is not real base preferred 2 have no one ever manning these.
Here R some examples of troll bases.
5A. large wall completely surrounding an enemy town.
5B. Find an area that u pass by often full of alot bandits.Must be at war with someone like holy nation. drop few walls or one building watch holy nation siege + occupy your base.Now they will clear the area 4 u of bandits N anything else thats nasty that spawns in the area.
5C. Build Single wall or gate in acid water Somewhere close 2 the coast then have a laugh whenever the place gets raided.Also if u show up few days after raid u can go 4 swim n get e.z loot.
A troll base is what u make it so good luck happy hunting.
6. Strip Club
question reason 2 have Strip Club= I plead the fifth.
how this works in vanilla. It doesn’t. how does this work at all then. well that answer is easy boys. with MODS.
MODS! MODS! MODS!
DO with this what u will.I suppose it has lore friendly roleplay aspect 2 it if u play as wasteland apocalypse Rag Tag outfit of strippers Or maybe hold on now i might be on to something.They r Super sexy stripper ninjas Assassin chicks by day they are killers but by night they are still killers.ikr what a plot twist bet u didn’t see that one coming.this is starting 2 sound like B rated Netfliks movie so yeah moving right along now.
question reason 2 have abe’s odyssey Farm” aka soylent green Production= food
how does this works? mostly mods + vanilla knowledge
ok get yourself all the mods for eating people + limbs are edible + soylent green mods.
now u need constant supply of fresh bodies.main problem with that is raids actually
r few & far between in vanilla.So no problem we can use mods to increase the raids…
but lets say u don’t want that 2 add that much risk 2 all your bases or that many mods in your game well then thats where abe’s odyssey Farm kicks in u see your going 2 have 2 pay the good old hives a visit n captures their queens^^^.I recommend starting with the southern hive then traveling 2 the other hives.
[Tip if your grabbing western hive queen don’t forget there sweet sweet 10 to 20k bounty princes just a short swim from the coast on those little islands]
Whilst u have the queens captured n in cages back at your wonderful abe’s odyssey Farm the hives will launch endless raids at u thus increasing your wonderful food production.
8.Hive Village
question reason 2 have Hive Village= roleplay/fun
With the use of mods u can get all types of hive stuff.Your Hive village could do anything u want it
2A. Example: selling stuff to those No-Hives!
2B. Can someone find out what Hives are n where they come from n tell me?
Base Types Part 4
1. Beach Resort
question reason 2 have Beach Resort= Roleplay/fun they look nice
Example of life in perfect beach resort
The first minute of this video explains life at a kenshi beach resort
2. Hadrian’s Wall
question reason 2 have Hadrian’s Wall= u have sprawling empire.
The main use of this is 2 define your borders more sharply from your main base.
2A. Creating Choke points outside your main base 2 funnel troops 2 walk down certain paths.
2B. Area Denial
2C. Making Kenshi great again
2D. advance gameplay users 2 alter the travel of trade caravans n other traveling npcs by creating area denial in nearby towns forcing travel thru your lands.
2E. Creating the perfect choreographic sequence Battlefield landscape of your choosing by capitalizing on the terrain usage, [such as forcing enemies into rivers or weather hazard or another possible npc allied town]
2F. creating rat maze 2 enter your empire that might lead to large open area where u can have staged open area battles 2 fight with your troops in the field 4 fun/training.Or that leads 2 an area thats forces enemy 2 attack from the low ground.
2E. 2 take alot of the defense strain off your main base.
2F. Can create a very narrow private “fast travel” lane that leads from your main base to a certain area very very very far away.Might be worth building if your base resides in an extremely dangerous place where you can’t be asked to micro kenshi walking simulator.
A link of tactics 2 roleplay with once u have enemy squads just the way u want them
question reason 2 have Indoor Killbox= space saver/elite battle tactics /Training facility/After Raid Clean up time saver.
How this works. Good squad plus great feng shui when u ikea up your place with furniture.
This tactic works great against holy nation/shrek kingdom/western hive/cannibal + some of united cities troopers because they like to use Hackers/heavy/polearms weapons that are terrible indoors.
Station House preferred 4 this for the extra space for prisoner cages/storage boxes.This method making dealing with raids n the after raid clean up very fast + effective for looting bodies etc etc
With mods u can place alot of turrets indoors + get much more use out of furniture but with vanilla u can place shop counters 2 seal your crossbowmen in n cheese enemy that way.If your lactose intolerance then place shop counters in way that funnels enemy troops into positions where only one of their troops can fit N attack at a time while two or more of yours troops can weld their weapon at the enemy.alot of mods tend to add nice weapons that give indoor bonuses.
I will however list vanilla. The Jittes not to be confused with the Heavy Jittes.The Jittes useful for takedowns If you want prisoners/food depending what mod u are using but requires good weapon smith 2 make good Jittes.They have meh attack but great indoor/defense bonus which is exactly wat u want. Wakizashi are another option 4 indoors against unarmored targets + great for dex training. Desert Sabers another choice for indoor fighting but they dont get any bonus for indoors fighting but however have decent blunt n cutting damage + doesn’t require good weaponsmith.
If done properly you can have 3 man squad wipe out entire raids with almost not even a scratch plus everything looted n cleaned up within 3 mins off raid completed.
4.Low Tech Crime Increasing Enterprise
question reason 2 have Low Tech Crime Increasing Enterprise= Depends on who you ask but I feel u need this base type because don’t have high level thieves or high tech 2 earn a living n u need steady source of income or your serious about your trolling or your sick n enjoy chaos n watching bloodbaths while eating popcorn.
Whats required.Basic knowledge of factions + their enemies & location of high profile npcs. The basics u need small shack in town [price 1.5K-4k] build prisoner cage that u afterwords block with furniture.imprisonment tech is Tech Level 3.IF u dont have access 2 prisoner cage then the town must have police station or barrack with prisoner cage.
next step is an example of one possible way of how u will increase crime.
kidnap hive queen bring into cage of holy nation city. Can’t get it done? hire mercs n make them earn those cats.It will be worth it in the end.The payout will be an entire towns loot n then some.
now enjoy the increase in crime thats u have caused.this is starting to sound like “that’s how the mafia works” meme going around. town/shop guards become extremely distracted u can rob all stores n everything else daily from this point on in the safety of the crime wave u created.Plus endless free loot on the ground 2 sell legally. lolol
[Tip maximizing criminal activity or acquire “life is hard on the streets of Kenshi feel” capture as many high profile npc’s as possible from every major/minor faction n cage them up in the same city.
question reason 2 have Slave camp= roleplay/ your game your fun
How does this work in vanilla= I don’t think it does but with the power of mods all type of slavery type options open up 2 u.
I’ve never made base with this play-style so if anyone has suggestions leave it down in the comments and i will re edit this n credit u for the tips.
6. Trap Base
question reason 2 have trap base= Roleplay/trolling enemies/easy kills
key things needs
knowledge of how to lure enemies + fast moving character. A large building preferred.
Instructions…
6A. Tactic against hungry/straving bandits: put food barrel in the building rooftop .”They” will hover around the food barrel to steal the food. You seal them in by constructing furniture that blocking the doorway.Remove food from barrel wait till they starve to death.
6B. Tactic against everyone else. lure everyone into a building. as they are running in to chase you seal yourself inside of a “room” by quickly constructing furniture to block yourself in.Have a second guy then run to doorway of building and construct furniture that blocks doorway. Rinse repeat endless easy loot as long as you have the patience to sit and wait for the enemies to drop dead from hunger.
6C.There are no traps in the game but I’m sure some day the game might have update that adds the traps such as bear trap etc etc or A great modder will end up doing it and yeah with traps you can come up with some pretty wild ideas at that point and if it ever should come to pass that day in kenshi then look up on youtube a game called rust and trap bases for further inspiration.Also If you ever do make a true trap base because of that message me a screenshot for the lolz.
7. MORE CONTENT COMING SOON