Kenshi Base Location Guide — Building Your First Outpost

When to Build Your First Base?

Here’s what every veteran will tell you: don’t even think about base building until you’ve got 10-20 characters with combat stats averaging 30-40 and around 60,000 cats burning a hole in your pocket. Yeah, I know that sounds like a lot when you’re still getting mugged by hungry bandits, but trust the process.

The smart move? Buy a house in a friendly town first and drop a Research Bench inside. This lets you safely research up to Level 3 tech without triggering those lovely “welcome to the neighborhood” raids that come with actual base ownership. I learned this the hard way after my first settlement got flattened by dust bandits before I even finished my first wall 😅

Essential starter materials you’ll need:

• 100 iron plates (more than you think)
• 200 building materials
• 20 electrical components
• 20 fabric
• A prayer that your defenses hold

The beauty of town-based research is that nobody cares what you’re building inside city walls. You can learn every tech tree branch while sipping grog at the local bar, then venture out fully prepared.

Best Starting Base Locations

For your very first base, you want decent resources, manageable enemies, and quick access to civilization when things go sideways.

Border Zone (North of Squin, South of The Hub):

• Pros: Beginner-friendly enemies, close to trading towns, flat fertile land
• Cons: Limited farming potential, occasional Holy Nation “visits”
• Resources: Iron and copper outcrops, plenty of stone, decent fertility

That plateau between The Hub and Squin with road access is basically Kenshi’s tutorial zone. You’ll fight dust bandits and hungry bandits – annoying but manageable. Plus when your food runs out (and it will), The Hub is right there with overpriced bread.

Eastern Plateau (Border Zone) works great for Wandering Trader starts. Lots of stone, iron, copper, good wind, though you’ll be hiking a bit further to some trading posts. Located east of that ruined holy outpost, northeast of the Waystation.

Tax-Free Base Locations

Some of us just want to live free without some faction demanding tribute every few days. These zones offer complete independence, though “independence” in Kenshi usually means “constantly fighting for your life.”

Cannibal Plains – No major faction control means no taxes, but those cannibals don’t exactly send welcome baskets. The upside? Constant combat training and human jerky for days. The downside? Well… gestures at everything

The Fog Islands – Protected by fog from most major factions, you’ll only deal with fogmen. And honestly, after dealing with Holy Nation patrols, fogmen start looking pretty reasonable. Just stock up on gas masks and prepare for some atmospheric horror vibes.

Vain – The western plateau area is completely neutral territory. It’s like Switzerland, if Switzerland had beak things and was trying to kill you. Great wind power though

The Gut – Beak thing paradise and combat training central. If you survive here, you can survive anywhere. Perfect for those masochistic runs where you want your characters to get stronger through pure suffering.

Best Base Locations for Skeletons

Playing as skeletons means dealing with organic racism everywhere you go. Some factions literally want to scrap you for parts, so location choice becomes survival-critical.

The Floodlands – Completely devoid of organic life, plus Burns Tower provides free skeleton beds. It’s like a retirement home for metal people, except with more radiation and existential dread.

Black Desert City area – Near skeleton civilization with locals who won’t immediately try to dismantle you. The proximity to other skeleton settlements means repair facilities and understanding neighbors.

Deadlands – Skeleton homeland with proper repair facilities. If you’re going full skeleton roleplay, this is your Mecca. Just mind the local wildlife that thinks your shiny parts look tasty.

That valley between Dust King Tower and the waystation offers excellent settlement opportunities for skeletons too – no Holy Nation patrols means no “abomination” speeches while you’re trying to mine copper in peace.

Peaceful Base Locations

Sometimes you just want to build farms, research cool tech, and not get your face eaten by wildlife every morning. These spots offer minimal conflict and maximum development time.

Vain Coastline – The area south of Lost Library provides iron and copper deposits with excellent fertility. That western edge plateau above the Hive Village? Huge building areas with natural cliff defenses. It’s like having a penthouse apartment, but with more farming.

High Foglands Northeast of Mongrel – Features iron, copper, water, wind, and fertile soil with only three easily-blockable access trails. The views are stunning too, if you’re into that whole “scenic apocalypse” aesthetic. Those natural defensive advantages mean you can focus on building instead of constantly repairing walls.

Northern Coast – Near fishing villages with minimal threats and good trading access. Perfect for that “peaceful fishing town” vibe, assuming you can handle the occasional hungry bandit who wandered too far from home.

Shem Base Locations

Shem sits dead center on the map, which makes it strategically brilliant for trade routes and logistics. Plus that constant wind means your generators never stop spinning.

Why choose Shem:

• Central location: Shortest travel distances to everywhere
• 100% wind availability: Your power grid never fails
• Strategic position: Perfect for hashish smuggling between swamp and Flats Lagoon
• Natural defenses: Water features create chokepoints

The southern portion near those small lakes is perfect. You can force raiders to swim through water to reach your gates, creating natural killboxes for turret placement. Watching dust bandits struggle through knee-deep water while your crossbow turrets pick them off never gets old.

Fair warning though – beak thing infestations and dust bandit raids mean you need solid defenses from day one. This isn’t a peaceful farming spot; it’s a strategic fortress location.

Border Zone Base Locations

Border Zone remains the gold standard for first-time base builders.

Hub-Squin Corridor – That plateau directly between these cities offers everything a new player needs:

• Pros: Multiple trading posts nearby, beginner-friendly raids, good resource diversity
• Cons: Can get boring once established, limited to dust bandits and hungry bandits

Northwest Border Zone – Straddling Border Zone and Vain gives you access to two biomes, allowing diverse farming and resource options. It’s like having the best of both worlds without the worst of either.

Perfect for learning base mechanics without the constant terror of getting steamrolled by cannibal hordes or Holy Nation crusades.

Fog Islands Base Locations

Despite looking like Silent Hill’s angry cousin, the Fog Islands offer some of the game’s best base locations – if you can handle the fogmen constantly trying to turn you into people soup.

Northeastern Plateau (Gold Standard):

• Location: Large plateau northeast of Mongrel
• Pros: Massive space, excellent iron deposits, multiple copper nodes, close to Mongrel trading
• Cons: Constant fogmen attacks, gas masks required, uneven terrain

Defense strategy: Build walls at valley entrances and rear access points. The fogmen are predictable – they come from specific directions, so you can funnel them into killzones.

Southeast Plateau offers a smaller but resource-rich location near Mongrel. Easier to defend with excellent accessibility, plus you’re close enough to Mongrel for emergency shopping trips.

Both locations offer green and arid fertility, so you can grow foodcubes and hemp. The fog provides natural protection from major faction raids – turns out most army patrols don’t enjoy wandering through horror movie fog.

Best Locations for Farming

For dedicated agricultural operations where food production takes priority over everything else.

Fishman Islands:

• Environment: 100% Green, 50% Swamp
• Pros: Highest fertility in game, extremely safe after clearing King Gurgler
• Best for: All crop types thrive here

Small island south of Bonefields with natural water defenses. Clear out the fish people once, then enjoy agricultural paradise forever.

Okran’s Pride:

• Environment: 100% Green fertility
• Pros: Excellent wheat farming, human-friendly if you follow the rules
• Cons: Holy Nation restrictions, no copper deposits
• Requirements: Human males only, prayer day compliance

The Swamp:

• Environment: 100% Swamp fertility
• Perfect for: Rice production, vegetable farming for Gohan
• Drawbacks: Swamp raptors think you look delicious

Near Hub Base Locations

For players wanting to stay close to The Hub’s familiar territory while still having room to expand.

Ravine Between Hub and Rebel Camp – Limited but secure buildable area with shops and guards nearby. It’s like having a suburban home with city amenities.

North of Stack, West of Bad Teeth – Avoids The Hub’s mountainous terrain while maintaining access to major trade routes. You get the convenience without the cramped mountain building restrictions.

Northwest Border Zone – Includes some Vain territory for biome diversity. Best of both worlds situation.

Okran’s Pride Base Locations

Holy Nation territory offers the game’s best farming conditions, but comes with some… religious obligations.

Northwest of Stack – Overlooking Okran’s Pride from cliff crossroads, featuring 3 iron nodes, 2 copper deposits, good stone, and slope access to fertile plains. The views are pretty spectacular too.

North End Near Blister Hill – Good for Holy Nation roleplay with easy prayer day participation.

Requirements: You need a human male representative with Holy Flame for prayer day compliance. Non-humans must stay hidden when the prayer police come calling. Yeah, it’s as tedious as it sounds, but those wheat yields though… 🌾

Specialized Base Considerations

Mining Operations

Great Desert and Stenn Desert offer excellent mining potential but require serious preparation for hostile environments. Think of it as extreme mining – great rewards, but everything wants you dead.

Combat Training Bases

Gut and Shrieking Forest provide constant enemy encounters for skill development. Perfect for those “git gud” playthroughs where you want your squad battle-hardened through pure chaos.

End-Game Locations

Sonorous Dark and Ashlands require advanced preparation but offer unique advantages for experienced players. These are for when you’ve mastered everything else and want Kenshi to hurt you in new creative ways.

Essential Base Building Tips

1. Use the Prospect skill to evaluate Stone, Fertility, Water, Copper, and Iron before committing. Nothing worse than building your dream base only to discover the soil is garbage and there’s no iron for miles.
2. Resource priorities: Iron is absolutely critical – you need it for everything. Copper comes second for electrical components. Stone becomes less important once you can afford to buy building materials.
3. Defense planning: Look for natural chokepoints, elevated positions, and potential killbox locations. The terrain should work with your defenses, not against them.
4. Power generation: Check wind patterns and plan for generator backup in low-wind areas. Nothing kills a base faster than running out of power during a raid.

No matter if you’re planning a peaceful farming operation, a combat-focused training ground, or a strategic trading hub, Kenshi offers base locations to match every playstyle. The key is matching your faction’s needs and capabilities with each zone’s unique advantages and challenges.

Answering Common Questions