Overview
Basics like settings, controls, movement, HUD, all the way to end game content such as research, base building, training, crafting, farming, etc. Please leave any questions, corrections, or additions.
Main Menu, Settings, Choosing A Start
Before you enter the game, it is recommended you optimize the settings for your best experience.
The menu has 6 tabs; General, Gameplay, Graphics, Audio, Controls, and Mods. Hover over each option and see a description of the setting in the box belown.
General Tab:
Tutorials – openable text windows that provide information,
Autosave
show names
show movement
show rotation
edgescrolling – with mouse
language censorship
show damage
font size
civilians in towns – wandering civilians that simply provide some immersion
fast zone hopping – uses a lot of ram but will load areas quicker.
The last two options are the only ones that will change performance.
Gameplay Tab: Best left on default, but use best judgement.
Squad size multiplier – size of npc squads in the world,
Global Population Multiplier – number of npc squads in the world,
Towns Raids Size – When you establish an outpost, you may have targeted attacks, this changes the size of the attacking force,
Town Raids Frequency – how often your outpost is attacked,
Dismemberment – Chance of a character losing a limb in combat
Graphics Tab: This is completely based on performance of your PC and personal preferences. I will not explain these options here fully, use the hover feature to read about
the settings, comment a question, or simply use trial and error to test which settings work best for you.
Audio Tab: Turn that frequency up cause the music is great. but yeah this is self-explanatory.
Controls Tab: Kenshi has a very easy to navigate control system, allowing you to use mouse, keyboard, on-screen buttons, or a combination. Some things to hotkey are quicksave
(F5), Pause Game (spacebar), Highlight items on floor, (ALT), Hide UI (F7), Map (M), Inventory (I), Stats (C), Research (T).
Mods: The Steam WorkShop for Kenshi is full of free mods for things like new weapons, armors, locations, characters, factions, missions, animals, etc. Mods that I use on my
main save are
Shops have more items
Shops have more blueprints
Recruit prisoners – wound enemies and imprison them, use the correct dialogue and recruit them based on their requests
Personal starts – different starting scenarios
Interior and exterior design – adds decorations
Guardpost – makes a position where you can permanently station a guard to work
Godsend Training Dummies – allows the MKIII training dummies to train characters basic attack skill to 74 instead of 30
256 Squad Limit – increases the amount of characters you can have
Purchaseable AI Cores – needed for end game research and are otherwise only found randomely in certain ancient labs.
Choose a start to begin, use the arrows to browse the starting options. Wanderer, as its description states, is the intended way Kenshi is ment to be played. Starting as just
a single character without any squad members, little to no training, equipment, or funds, you must find everything for yourself. This provides the most complete experience. However,
there are easier, as well as more difficult starting options based on your preferences. And in the world of Kenshi, you have a lot of freedom to change all of this later if needed.
HUD
The interactive HUD has everything you need to communicate with the world of Kenshi. I am going to explain each section as it has been boxed off according to the above photo.
1: Character Description|
Shows character name and faction
Condition – normal, unconscious, bleeding, etc
State – normal, working, fighting, etc
Current goal
Encumbrance – weight will affect run speed
The 5 main character attributes – attack, defense, strength, dexterity, and toughness
The condition of each of the characters appendages – blood, head, stomach, chest, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg
The hunger bar – slowly depletes over time, eating food will slowly recover this based on the quality of food.
2: Squad and Character Selection | Click on a squads tab, and then click on the character you wish to use. (or press ~ (tilda) to select the entire squad, or hold shift to select and deselect multiple characters.)
3: Controls | INV – currently selected characters inventory (or press i while character is selected)
STA – currently selected characters stats (or press c while character is selected)
MAP – world map that will show the location based on which character you have selected (or press m)
TEC – research for new technologies requires a research bench as well
SQD – squad management to create and disband squads and disband characters
HLP – help for basic gameplay information.
4: Jobs and Hostility |
Block – stops selected character from attacking only blocks attacks to increase defense
Hold – keeps selected character from running off and will only fight units that come to them
Jobs – hold shift and right click a task to make it a permanent job for a character and disable it to stop them from working
Ranged – character will prioritize ranged weapons in combat when possible
Taunt – makes character aggressive and draws enemies towards them
Sneak – allows characters with high enough skill levels to sneak past enemies.
5. Floors, Time Speed, Time, Money, Build Options |
Use the floor button to change the view buildings
Use the time speed controls to change the speed of time in game
Displays amount of currency owned denominated in Cats
The Day in-game since your first day
Build options button that allows you to construct anything you have currently researched.
Above box 5 is a simple explanation of your outpost, an option to close it off to the public, what research you are working on, the amount of power you are producing versus the amount you are using, and the amount of power stored in your batteries.
Character Inventory
Total Weight | How much weight you are carrying versus your strength level
Disguise | Wearing another factions uniform
Slave of and Looks like slave | Slavery and escape slaves.
Inventory | Items are placed based on their block size. they can not be rotated.
Backpack | Additional inventory storage space and weight reduction, bought through traders
Limbs | Only becomes accessible when a character loses a limb, allows for prosthetics
Weapon 1 and Weapon 2 | Carry 1 large weapon or 2 small weapons in the primary slot and an additonal weapon in the secondary slot. Crossbows, blades, or blunt.
Shirt | cloth, leather, chainmail
Pants | cloth, leather, plate
Boots | cloth, leather, plate
Head | cloth, leather, plate
Armor | cloth, leather, plate
Belt | Mods only, no vanilla belt items yet.
Note: Some races have restricted equipment slots.
Character Stats
Strength | Affects
Max carry weight
Attack speed with heavy weapons
chance to break free or resist kidnapping attempts
martial arts damage
Ways to train – carrying people or overloading inventory, using a heavier weapon
Toughness | Affects
Damage resistance
Martial Arts damage
Chance to resist stealth knockouts
Knockout point and duration
Wound deterioration speed
Amount it takes to stagger you
Ways to train – getting hurt, losing battles, not wearing armor, get up and fight instead of playing dead
Dexterity | Affects
Attack speed
Block speed
Weapon cutting damage
Rate of fire and Reload speed with ranged weapons
Ways to train – attacking with light weapons
Perception | Affects
Accuracy
Range
Shooting Moving Targets
Ways to train – using turrets and light weapons.
Weapons | Affects amount of damage dealt. Specific to each weapon
Katans, Sabres, Hackers, Heavy weapons, Blunt, Polearms
Ways to train – using weapon types
Combat |
Melee attack |
Frequency of landed attacks
Chance of attacks not getting blocked
Ways to train – Fighting with swords, training equipment,
Melee Defence |
Chance of blocking incoming attacks
ways to train – getting hurt, losing battles, blocking incoming attacks
Dodge |
Chance of evading attacks while unarmed
Chance of evading attacks while stumbling
Ways to train – fighting unarmed, getting hit while stumbling.
Ranged
Turrets |
Accuracy
Rate of fire
Reload speed
Ways to train – use harpoon and crossbow turrets
Crossbows |
Accuracy
Rate of fire
Reload speed
Ways to train – use crossbows and ranged weapons
Theivery
Stealth |
Ability to remain undetected while sneaking
Avoiding discovery while in disguise
Avoiding discovery when you have a bounty
Ways to train – use stealth
Lockpicking |
Lockpicking doors and cages
Ways to train -picking locks and cages, training equipment
Thievery |
Stealing Items
Selling stolen items
Ways to train – stealing things
Assassination |
Stealthy knockouts
Chance to kidnap someone
Chance to break free when being carried away
Resist ♥♥♥♥ out and kidnapping attempts
Ways to train – stealthy knockouts
Athletics |
Athletics |
Max run speed,
Ways to train – running with light inventory
Swimming |
Max swim speed
Ways to train – swimming
Sciences |
Field Medic |
First aid skills
Ways to train – healing
Engineer |
Building and repairing things
Ways to train – building and repairing things
Robotics |
Healing robots
Ways to train – healing robots
Science |
Research rate
Ways to train -research
Trades |
Weaponsmith |
Crafting weapons speed,
Weapon quality
Ways to train – crafting weapons
Armoursmith |
Crafting armour speed
Armour Quality
Ways to train – crafting armor
Crossbowsmith |
Crafting crossbows and bolts speed
Ways to train – crafting crossbows and bolts
Labouring |
Mining
Using Machinery
Ways to train – work hard
Farming |
Harvesting Speed and Yield
Ways to train – farming
Cooking |
Cooking speed
Ways to train – cooking
Character And Squad Movement And Management
Squad Control Menu |
Change the name of your squads
Add or remove squads
Arrange the order of the characters in each squad
Arrange the order of your squads
Character and Squad movement
Right-click anywhere in the world or anywhere on the map
Hold CTRL, Middle Mouse Button, or use Q and E to turn the camera
Mouse Wheel to zoom in and out
Double Left-Click on a character in the bottom HUD to keep the camera focused on them
Left-click and drag to select multiple characters
Hold shift and left-click to select or delect multiple characters
~ (tilda) to select a whole squad
Hold shift + ~ (tilda) to select multiple whole squads
Hold right click on NPCs and fellow squad members to bring up options such as attack unprovoked, follow, bodyguard, pick up, and first aid.
Right-click on enemies that are already hostile to attack, note that everyone you have selected will only attack the target you selected until it is no longer a threat before attacking anything else. A better strategy is to wait for the enemy to attack and let your squad members choose their own targets, or manually choose a different target for each one of your squad members.
Generally speaking, left click things to inspect them, right click things to interact with them.
Your Faction
Displays your factions name
Displays your relations with the other factions. If you have not encountered a faction yet, it will not be shown on this list.
Displays “Upcoming Events” such as traders guild visits and bandit raids.
The Map
The world of Kenshi is filled with different biomes and environments. Dust storms, acid rain, wild animals, and large bodies of water can make travelling deadly. Examine routes closely on the map, purchase map locations from traders in towns, and reference the wiki for more specific information.
Earning Money And Leveling Up For Beginners
Mining
Iron Ore nodes are fairly common. You can also build power assisted and automated iron mines later on. You can sell the raw ore, refine it into iron plates, or refine it even further into steel plates. Many things require iron plates to build, so it will save you cats to produce your own.
Make sure if you are labouring at night to have lights near work stations, characters will have a work speed penalty for working in the dark. Also consider placing large walls and a gate around iron nodes and resource rich areas. This will allow you to safely and freely mine resources. Research and utilize resource storage bins to maximize efficiency and protect your resources. Inevitably, bandits will show up, and they can break down your gate. Your options are to run away, kite them to a friendly town and have the guards dispatch them, or build crossbow and harpoon turrets to defend from the walls.
Purchase tamed animals from farms. Tamed animals when purchased (or tamed through mods) become a party member similar to regular characters. A tamed bull can be equipped with a bull backpack, also sold by the farmers. Bulls equipped with backpacks can stack a lot of resources and weight. This can be used to transport large amounts of raw materials or finished products from your base or back from a town. However, animals can not directly communicate or interact with traders without a human character present. You can use a regular character to begin the dialogue with the trader, and then switch to the animals inventory to make trades to and from. Animals can directly interact with storages you’ve built, allowing you to Shift+Right Click resource storages and collect the whole bin into the animals inventory or vice versa.
Copper Ore nodes are slightly rarer, but can be found in groups such as these two. Copper is used in construction of base buildings and electronics. Or of course it can be sold for a good profit as raw copper or refined copper plates.
Scavenging
Animals such as bone dogs and wild bulls carry valuable resources. Often times they will randomely fight with starving bandits and holy paladins/sentinels, leaving behind the animals skins, meat, teeth, etc. The animal skins can turned into leather at a leather tanning bench, and the raw meat can be turned into dried meat at a campfire. Either hunt down animals yourself with a strong enough team, scavenge already deceased animals, or kite aggressive animals to friendly towns.
This also works with bandit groups too. The starving bandits will only have tattered clothes and iron clubs, but it is essentially free cats. Bandits killed near towns are usually taken as prisoners, so you’ll have to be quick to get the loot. The guards wont mind if you take the bandits loot, you can even take prisoners for yourself.
Defending Against Bandit Raids
Utilize Mounted Crossbow Turrets and strategically placed gates and walls to easily defend against raids.
Be careful for friendly fire. Use the “Passive” “Block” and “Hold” options to keep everyone inside. Assign workers to the turrets and lock the doors of the buildings they are on. Use the small walls so the turrets can shoot over them. The turrets can also shoot through closed gates and open gateways. The more turrets the better. Crossbow turrets are still useful, but harpoon turrets are much stronger, they can cripple or knock out enemies in a single hit.
Purchase Bonedogs or even Packbulls or Packbeasts from the wandering Beast Trader or from Holy Farms as a final line of defense. Animals your faction owns can upgrade their skills just like regular characters, but they also slowly upgrade all of their limbs HP over time, so if you keep them fed and alive, they can become very strong. Bonedogs in particular attack very fast and can usually go up against several hungry bandits or other unarmored targets.
If larger or more powerful groups are attacking your base, utilize mercenaries. They are strong fighters that can feed, heal, and manage themselves, they just need payment. You can find them almost anywhere wandering around in the world, mostly in taverns or around towns, but also in some special locations. There is several different types of mercenaries based on your location. They usually cost 1000 cats per day to contract a 6-8 man party of mercenaries. You can contract them to bodyguard you. With option for 1 or 2 days contract, they will closely follow the character they spoke to and eliminate all threats that come near them. You can also contract them to guard your base. There are several contract options, up to 8 days for 8,000 cats. They will run to your base and then patrol it and defend it against all threats. Pay attention in your “Faction” tab to see when then next contract is going to expire. You can talk to the mercenaries again when they are going to leave and re-contract them again. So if they stay alive and contracted, they will grow stronger alongside your main characters.
Basic Farming
If you click on your field it lists the amount of plants, the health of the plants, and the percentage grown. If you do not water your plants the health will go down. Wild animals such as River Raptors can be attracted to your fields and eat some of your plants, reducing the maximum amount that will grow for that yield. Wall off your fields and place Turrets to defend them. Remember you can harvest the meat from the River Raptors and feed it to your animals, as well as the skins to sell for Cats or turn into leather.
I’d recommend having the same character running the farm and the Grain Silo, as the Grain Silo runs off of the Farming skill. If you follow the order of jobs I have in the photo above, but simply add all of your Wheatstraw fields on top of those jobs, your character will automate the whole farming/bread making process.