Difference between revisions of "Basics"

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(Merge from User:Hordes/Basics, a full rewrite for 1.4+ . Not finished, but i think it needs to be pushed by now)
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This is the guide covering the gameplay '''Basics''' of RimWorld in detail. If you want a ''quick'' guide to the game, check out the [[quickstart guide]].
{{TOCright}}
 
  
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Brand new players are encouraged to play the Tutorial first, if they haven't already. The tutorial will guide you through the RimWorld UI, help them set up a starter base, and defend against your first [[raid]]. Once you've completed the tutorial, you can set your storyteller and continue the game. The [[learning helper]] can also be a useful tool.
  
This page excludes content addressed elsewhere such as [[Game Creation|game creation]], [[Scenario system]], [[AI Storytellers]], [[World generation]] and [[Biomes]]. Instead, it focuses on basic concepts like: [[Basics#New colony members|Prisoners]], [[Basics#Hunting|hunting]], [[Basics#Trading|trade]], [[Basics#Animals|animal taming]] and much more.
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This guide is intended for players that are using the original Crashlanded [[scenario]], and without any [[mod]]s or [[DLC]] enabled. With DLC, things shouldn't be ''too'' different. Note that, for the [[Ideology DLC]] in particular, you'll want to use the "Ideology system inactive" option.
  
It is also assumed that the player has already completed the tutorial, which will guide them through the Rimworld UI, help them set up a starter base, and defend against their first raider. Starting with [[Version#Recent Version : Alpha 16|Alpha 16]], players can select their Storyteller and continue forward with this game.  
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==Colony Setup==
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*'''[[Scenario]]''':  Pick the standard '''Crashlanded''' scenario. This starts you off with 3 colonists, some decent weapons, and Electricity. Most tutorials, here and elsewhere, are geared towards this scenario.
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*'''[[Storyteller]]''': Select '''[[Cassandra Classic]]''' or '''[[Phoebe Chillax]]''' on any desired difficulty. The game's suggestions are fairly accurate; if you have trouble picking, then '''Adventure Story''' is a good start.
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*'''World set-up''': The default settings are just fine for gameplay purposes. Just select generate and continue on.
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*'''Starting site''': This consists of multiple factors.
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**'''[[Biome]]''': Pick Temperature Forest for now. It's not too hot, not too cold, has plenty of [[wood]], wildlife, and buildable land, but less disease than a rainforest.
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**'''Climate''': You'll want a "year-round" growing period. This (almost) removes the pressures of winter.
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**'''Terrain''': Flat, Small Hills, or Large Hills will do. It doesn't really matter. The larger the hills, the more ores you'll have, but the less open space for building. Larger hills can also be used for natural defense.
  
This guide is intended for players that are using the original Crashlanded scenario. This scenario setup is detailed in the New Colony section below.  
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" class="left" mode="nolines">
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ChooseScenario.png|'''Crashlanded'''
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Storyteller Basics.jpg|'''Cassandra on selected difficulty'''
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Basics_landing_site.png|'''Temperate forest with year-round growing'''
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</gallery>
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==Colonists==
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The Crashlanded scenario starts with three colonists. You can randomize them as much as you want, but you can't fully customize them without mods or dev tools. RimWorld is designed around a motely crew - you will not start with perfect colonists, nor should you try. But there are a few aspects worth taking into consideration.
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[[File:Basics colonist example.png|thumb|right|450px|Example colonist selection.<br>'''Skills''': Good at Plants and Intellectual, great at Mining and Social. <br>'''Traits:''' [[Undergrounder]] means that they like staying indoors. They'll dislike growing crops outdoors, but this isn't a dealbreaker - still a good planter. <br> [[Fast walker]] is an all-round good trait. <br>'''Health:''' Nothing bad right now, though on the older side. They may get detrimental conditions as they age. Again, not important right now, but a consideration.]]
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:'''Skills''':<br>
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Skills and ''passions'' in a skill are both important to colony wellbeing. Skill level determines proficiency in that skill. Passion determines how fast the skill is learned. Passionate pawns will also be happier when doing a job of that passion.
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The most important skills for survival are '''Shooting, Construction, Plants, and Medical'''. Any 1 colony should have a colonist with both a minimum of '''5''' skill points and 1 "flame" of passion each skill. The other skills are useful - each skill will be covered in detail below.
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*'''Shooting''' - Defense against [[raider]]s and other threats to your colony. Also helps with hunting. Increasing shooting skill increases accuracy, especially at long ranges.
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*'''Melee''' - Defense against enemies up close. In RimWorld, you cannot fire ''any'' ranged weapon at an enemy in melee range (directly adjacent). This applies to both colonists and enemies. Increasing melee skill will increase the chance to hit and dodge... in melee.
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*'''Construction''' - Creating structures, like [[wall]]s, [[table]]s, and [[bed]]s. A minimum construction (4-6) is required to build [[spike trap]]s and electrical equipment. Increasing construction skill will increase its speed, the [[quality]] of furniture, and reduce the chance of construction failure ("botched" construction).
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*'''Mining''' - Breaking rock and harvesting [[ore]]. Increasing mining skill will increase mining speed and ore yield.
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*'''Cooking''' - Creating [[meal]]s from raw food. Increasing cooking skill will increase cooking speed and decrease the [[food poisoning]] chance.
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*'''Plants''' - Growing [[crop]]s to eat and sell. Plants 8 lets you grow [[healroot]], a source of medicine, right away. Increasing plants skill will increase planting speed and harvest yield.
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*'''Animals''' - Taming and training animals. Many animals have a minimum skill to train them. Increasing animals skill will increase the chance of animal tame/train success. Also reduces the manhunter chance when hunting.
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*'''Crafting''' - Smithing [[armor]] and [[weapon]]s, and tailoring [[apparel]]. Higher crafting skill will increase [[quality]] of crafted items. Does ''not'' increase the speed of crafting. <br>Note that the work types in the "Craft" tab, such as [[stonecutter's table|stonecutting]], [[electric smelter|smelting]], and [[drug]] synthesis, do ''not'' use the crafting skill. Stonecutting is unrelated to any skill and can be done by any colonist capable of Skilled Labor.
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*'''Artistic''' - Creating [[sculpture]]s. Increasing art skill will quality of sculptures, but not their speed of creation.
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*'''Medical''' - Tending to injured and sick colonists. Increasing medical skill will increase [[tend quality]], making injuries heal faster and diseases less deadly. Also increases success for surgery.
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*'''Social''' - Trade, recruitment, etc. Increasing social skill will improve trade prices (both buy and sell) and make [[prisoner]]s easier to recruit. Higher social also increases the impact of the daily chats your colonists will have.
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*'''Intellectual''' - Research and [[drug]] synthesis. Increasing intellectual skill will make research faster, as well as drug production.
  
Brand new players are encouraged to start with the tutorial, use the storyteller settings below, and leave the [[Learning helper]] on.  
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[[File:Basics team skills.png|thumb|center|600px|A balanced team skills selection.]]
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Of these skills, Animals and Artistic are easily the least important to start with. Crafting isn't needed for ''immediate'' survival, but can be very handy later on. That leaves 9 skills that are important to be at least competent at (4+ skill). Thankfully, the "Team Skills" area at the bottom shows every important skill, except Social.
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*You can forgo melee for the entire game. However, melee can be very helpful, and one of your 3 weapons will be a [[knife]], a melee weapon.
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*Cooking can be ignored if you plan to use a [[nutrient paste dispenser]].
  
[[File:Tutorial.jpg|300px|Finishing the tutorial]]
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Don't worry too much about starting skill levels, as characters will [[Skills#Experience Table|get more skilled]] with time (they are not fixed values) when they do relevant work. And other colonists will be joining soon! Being good in a few important skills and competent in others is all you need for now.
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----
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[[File:Basics colonist pyro.png|thumb|350px|right|Brawlers are great melee colonists, but pyromaniac is inherently a downside. If you're willing to handle that downside, then Zach would make a good constructor and fighter.]]
  
== New colony ==
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:'''Traits''':<br>
<gallery mode="nolines">
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Some traits can be very bad...
File:Main Menu Basics.jpg|alt=Main menu|Main menu
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*Pyromaniacs are liable to cause a fire starting spree at any time. This can be an issue if they're around [[Wood|especially]] [[Chemfuel|flammable]] [[Mortar shell|objects]].
File:Crashlanded Basics.jpg|alt=Scenario Selection|Scenario Selection
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*Chemical interest and chemical fascination pawns will ignore the player's [[Assign#Menus|drug policy]] in order to get their fix. However, they no longer go on random drug binges.
File:Storyteller Basics.jpg|alt=Storyteller selection|Storyteller Selection
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*Depressive and Volatile pawns are more vulnerable to [[mental break]]s. During a mental break, a pawn won't do work, and may cause damage to their surroundings or others.
File:Create World Basics.jpg|alt=Creating a world|World Generation
 
File:Landing Site Basics.jpg|alt=World generation results|Landing Selection
 
</gallery>
 
  
For the first time playing, it is strongly suggested that players:
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Others can be very good...
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*Industrious is +35% work speed, forever, for almost any task. Industrious (and hard worker) are one of the few ways to increase the speed of unskilled tasks, like stonecutting.
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*Tough is 50% damage taken, for all damage. This is effectively x2 health forever. No longer will a [[short bow]] instantly kill your colonists. Great for both melee AND ranged fighters.
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*Bloodlust gets an immense mood boost for witnessing a kill, and another one for doing the killing. They also don't mind [[human resources|war crimes]]. More likely to start social fights, however.
  
* Pick the standard 'Crashlanded scenario' since it is what most tutorials/information is geared towards.
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Others can be in the middle.
* Select the '''[[Cassandra Classic]]''' or '''[[Phoebe Chillax]]''' [[AI Storytellers|storytellers]] on the Builder or Medium [[AI Storytellers#Difficulty | difficulties]].
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*Very Neurotic is essentially Industrious and Volatile at the same time. Stacks ''with'' both Industrious and Volatile. Neurotic is a less intense version, as the name suggests.
** Alternatively, one may pick Peaceful, but they may lose out on learning how to deal with [[Events#Big Threats | major threats]].
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*Brawler improves many aspects of melee combat. However, a brawler ''hates'' ranged weapons. A brawler is more upset with holding a ranged weapon than having both of their parents die.
* If you own the [[Ideology DLC]], it is recommended to start with the ideology system inactive, or choose the "Classic-like" preset.
 
* Pick a landing site by clicking on the generated map.
 
**For biomes, choose 'Temperate Forest' or 'Arid Shrubland,' which will allow a comfortable location to learn the game, and food will not be a factor except during events.
 
**For climate, choose an area where the growing season is 'Year-round.'  
 
**For terrain, choose 'Flat' or 'Small Hills,' so there is enough area to expand later on. Large Hills is also a good choice as it gives more plentiful resources.
 
  
== Colonist Selection ==
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The main takeaway is that very bad traits are ''very'' bad and should generally be avoided, but you don't ''need'' very good traits in order to have a successful colony. If you have a pawn with a great set of traits, keep them. If a pawn has good and bad traits, then they can still be worth it.
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----
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[[File:Basics colonist health.png|thumb|right|350px|Don't take this colonist, regardless of how many good skills or traits they have. They'll move 60% slower and do any type of work 30% slower. Oh, and constant pain, too.]]
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:'''Health conditions:'''
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* Watch out for [[addiction]]s. [[Ambrosia]] addiction is tolerable, but a [[beer]] addict will end up going through a painful [[withdrawal]].
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* A colonist with a chronic condition like [[asthma]], [[artery blockage]], or [[frail]] will be much worse off. Some can be cured with [[artificial body parts]], others like frail require [[luciferium]] or one of few other solutions.
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* For similar reasons, try to avoid colonists with [[peg leg]]s or [[wooden hand]]s. A peg leg equates to 80% movement speed until replaced, which is not something you want.
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A health condition can be tolerated if a colonist is great in other fields. For example, an Industrious Crafter + Researcher is still worth taking despite a peg leg; a researcher won't need to move often, anyways. Otherwise, try to avoid any negative condition as much as possible.
  
The Crashlanded scenario starts with three colonists, which are randomized and cannot be fully customized by the player without mods. There are a few aspects worth taking into consideration:
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:'''Work (in)capabilities:'''
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* Colonists who are incapable of violence will not be able to fight incoming threats.
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* Colonists who are incapable of dumb labor cannot haul or clean, which are especially important early-game jobs.
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* Colonists who are incapable of firefighting will not be able to extinguish fires, which
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At a bare minimum, you'll want 2 colonists capable of any work task. Being capable and being ''good'' are 2 separate things. But a colonist can't be any more skilled at Hauling, for instance.
  
* Check their "Incapable Of" section to make sure they can do most types of work, if not all:
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==TO DO==
** Colonists who are incapable of violence will not be able to fight incoming threats.
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DELETE LATER
** Colonists who are incapable of dumb labor cannot haul or clean, which are especially important early-game jobs.
 
** Colonists who are incapable of firefighting will not be able to extinguish fires, which can be an issue if they're around [[Wood|especially]] [[Chemfuel|flammable]] [[Mortar shell|objects]].
 
* Check their [[Traits]], as they can vastly influence a pawn's stats and behavior:
 
**Some traits:
 
*** Abrasive will tend to insult others and start fights.
 
*** Chemical interest/fascination will often go on drug binges if drugs are present and accessible to them, even if the drugs are forbidden or outside their allowed area.
 
*** Volatile colonists can go into mental breaks very easily when their mood is low.
 
*** Pyromaniacs will start fires randomly and will do so more often when stressed.
 
** Some other traits are not as bad but are still worth watching out for:
 
*** Body purists will reject any form of bionic enhancement. This will be an issue when replacing (badly) permanently damaged/destroyed body parts.
 
** Some traits will bring both benefits and harm:
 
*** Trigger-happy colonists fire faster but are less accurate, while careful shooters shoot more accurately at the cost of a longer aiming time.
 
*** Neurotic colonists work faster, and Too Smart characters gain experience faster, but both traits increase the mental break threshold, which can be dangerous in some cases.
 
* Watch their [[Health]] conditions.
 
**Older characters are more prone to [[Ailments|chronic conditions]], have a slower immunity gain rate (which can lead to a higher chance of death by illness), and can randomly have heart attacks. On top of that, they are more likely to spawn with scars/other permanent injuries.
 
**Asthmatic characters will require constant medical attention.
 
**Drug addicts require drugs to keep them in check or will lapse into withdrawal.
 
***With multiple withdrawals, the colonist may fall unconscious and stay down for a long time.
 
**Artery blockage means they have a deadline to get a replacement heart for that colonist before their heart stops working, and they die.
 
**It is rarely possible for a colonist to be incapacitated from the start.
 
  
<gallery mode="packed-hover">
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A. Base planning - Before you unpause
File:Colonist incapable of violence.png|Colonist #1 incapable of violence.
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:1. Weapons (possibly armor too?)
File:Colonist Pyromaniac.png|Colonist #2 is a pyromaniac.
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:2. Where to set up
File:Colonist with Health issues.png|Colonist #3 with health issues.
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:3. Stockpile zones
</gallery>
 
  
Try and get colonists capable of doing tasks related to the important skills (listed below) and effectively. Additionally, at least one colonist should be proficient in the following skills (Try and get several skills with at least 5-6 skill and preferably passion in those skills):
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B. Colony planning - Essentials (Food, Shelter, Security)
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:5. Base building
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:6. Growing Zones + plant info
  
* Shooting - Allows for hunting/attacking raiders/manhunters with better accuracy while using ranged weapons
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C. Technical details
* Social - Makes recruiting new colonists easier and also improving trade deals
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:7. Work + work priorities
* Medical - A good doctor can heal colonists and prisoners quicker and more effectively.
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:8. Schedule
* Cooking - Having a skilled cook reduces food poison chance and allows for making higher quality meals, among other culinary-related things
 
* Construction - A highly skilled constructor can quickly build complex structures with ease
 
* Plants - Allows for faster plant sowing and more efficient harvesting
 
* Mining - Useful for hollowing out mountains/hills and mining for mineral resources
 
* Crafting - Used to create clothing, weapons, and other items
 
* Intellectual - Advancing technology, which allows creating/building better stuff
 
  
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D. After the first day
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:9. Research
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:10. Combat
  
Additionally, characters have [[Skills#Passion|Passions]], which are represented by fire icons (single and double), meaning that they will learn such skills faster. Colonists with one flame learn the skill at 100% speed, while those with two learn it at 150%.
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==The Very Beginning==
  
But do not worry too much about starting skill levels, as characters will [[Skills#Experience Table|get more skilled]] with time (they are not fixed values) when they do relevant work. And other colonists will be joining soon!
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===Weapons===
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You start with 3 weapons:
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*{{icon small|bolt-action rifle|24}} [[Bolt-action rifle]] - A gun with amazing range. Of all the weapons in RimWorld, it has the second best range - only beaten by the [[sniper rifle]]. However, it isn't much stronger than a pistol up close. Because Shooting skill is more important when shooting from far away, '''have the colonist best at Shooting wield the bolt-action rifle'''.
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*{{icon small|knife|24}} [[Plasteel]] [[knife]] - A melee weapon. Knives are one of the weakest melee weapons, but it is made of plasteel, the strongest material in the game. The plasteel knife is roughly equivalent to a [[steel]] [[longsword]] or [[mace]] of normal quality. '''Have your best melee fighter wield the knife''', unless they're also your best shooter.
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*{{icon small|revolver|24}} [[Revolver]] - A pistol, good up close. Better than the bolt-action at close range, though most other firearms are stronger. Remember that you can't fire any ranged weapon in melee. '''Have your remaining colonist wield the revolver'''.
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To summarize: best shooter should get the rifle, then best melee gets the knife, and then the other colonist (if capable of violence) gets the pistol. To equip a weapon, select a colonist and right click a weapon on the ground. To drop a weapon, go to the Gear tab and click the down arrow.
  
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The tutorial forces you to pick weapons without being able to pick your character bios. If you are continuing play after the tutorial, just re-equip them in the desired order.
  
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You don't have to worry about enemies ''just'' yet, since Cassandra gives you a few days to prepare. Enemies shouldn't arrive until you get the "Need Defenses" pop-up on the bottom-right. But since your colonists start near their weapons, you might as well pick them up, right?
  
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Unpause the game, have your colonists equip their gear, and re-pause. There's still things to set up.
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----
  
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===Base location===
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[[File:Basics_starter_location.png|thumb|275px|right|Good starter location circled in yellow.]]
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In the tutorial, players are taught to build their first home at the map's center to hasten the lecture. This makes sense, as it's where your colonists start off at.
  
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When creating your base, there are a few things to consider, in rough order of importance:
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#Location - somewhat near the center of the map
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#Near rich soil
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#Somewhat near steam geysers
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#(OPTIONAL) Natural defenses and structures
  
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In the picture to the right:
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*Not pictured: near the center of the map
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*Red: Nearby rich soil
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*Blue: Steam geysers somewhat nearby
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*Yelow: Natural structure to build in
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
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[[File:Fertility overlay menu.png|thumb|200px|right|Fertility overlay.]]
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*'''Location'''
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A central location will be further away from raiders. If you build near the edge on the map, then some raiders can spawn right next to you. No matter how big your walls are, some types of raiders will explicitly [[breacher|breach]] through them.
  
== At the beginning ==
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[[File:Basics fertility overlay.png|thumb|200px|right|Fertility overlay in game.<br>Dark green is rich soil.]]
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*'''Rich Soil'''
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Rich soil increases plant growth speed by 140%. Rich soil is an irreplicable advantage until you can rely entirely on [[hydroponics]]. Even then, certain crops like [[corn plant|corn]] and [[devilstrand mushroom|devilstrand]] cannot grow in hydroponics.
  
=== Starter weapons ===
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Rich soil is good to use, but not 100% ''necessary''. 14 tiles of regular soil are almost exactly equal to 10 tiles of rich soil. You will get the same yield with regular soil and take the same amount of work for that yield. However, rich soil grows faster - growing faster means the first batch of crops will be ready faster. Since you won't start off with much food, this is important. If your crops are hit by a [[cold snap]], it only takes 4 days rather than 5.5 days to regrow them. And if your climate has a winter, then rich soil lets you grow more before the frost hits.
[[File:Basics weapon assignment.png|360px|thumb|right|Assigning weapons based on character]]
 
{|class="wikitable"
 
|- align="center"
 
| width=62px height=40px | [[File:Knife.png|32px|link=Knife]]
 
| width=62px height=40px | [[File:Revolver.png|32px|link=Revolver]]
 
| width=62px height=40px | [[File:Bolt-action rifle.png|32px|link=Bolt-action rifle]]
 
|- align="center"
 
| <div><small>[[Knife]]</small></div>
 
| <div><small>[[Revolver]]</small></div>
 
| <div><small>[[Bolt-action rifle]]</small></div>
 
|}
 
  
The tutorial forces the player to assign weapons to colonists randomly without analyzing their character profiles. There are two combat skills, which are Ranged and Melee. Stronger melee weapons should be given to colonists with a high melee stat. In contrast, more accurate ranged weapons should be given to colonists with a high ranged stat.
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Rich soil is a darker shade of soil. In order to see the soil more easily, you can use the fertility overlay, in the bottom right corner of the screen.  
  
Choose the colonist with the highest melee skill and give them the knife. Then give the colonist with the highest shooting skill the bolt-action rifle. Meanwhile, the remaining colonist should be given the revolver. Give every colonist a weapon even if that means giving a brawler a ranged weapon, as they can be given a club or knife later (both can be made for cheap at a crafting spot). In conclusion, everybody should be armed. The only exception is colonists incapable of violence, who cannot equip weapons at all.
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*'''Steam geysers'''
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Steam geysers allow you to build [[geothermal generator]]s on top of them. Geothermal is one of the best power sources of the game - it gives lots of power and it constantly gives power You don't need to be right next to steam vents, but you don't want to be too far away.
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If you build a room on a steam geyser, then it will create lots of heat. This will overheat your colonists in a temperate biome. But if you're playing in a tundra, the heat of a steam geyser can help.
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[[File:Ruins construct.png|thumb|225px|right|"Reconstructing" a ruin can save time.]]
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*'''Natural defenses'''
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Throughout your map, hills and ruined structures will be placed sporadically. Consider using these structures to form the foundation of your base, at least for the first few days. It saves having to build your own walls.
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 +
You can also use existing hills, rivers, marsh, etc. to your advantage, by slowing down enemy attackers.
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
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----
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===Set up a basic stockpile===
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[[File:Basics stockpile icon.png|thumb|left|300px|Stockpile zones. (Architect Tab / Zones)]]
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[[File:Basics stockpile hauling.png|thumb|right|300px|If you haven't assigned anything else yet, colonists will haul to the stockpile zone(s).]]
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Once you've found a starting location, you'll want to create a stockpile zone. Colonists will haul items to a designated stockpile.
  
=== Making a home ===
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There are 2 types of stockpiles: the regular [[stockpile zone]], and the [[dumping stockpile zone]]. '''The only differences between the zones are their default names and default configuration'''. Stockpile zones are set to store things that generally should be inside. Dumping stockpile zones are set to store things that generally should be outside.
[[File:Improvised early home at ruins.png|300px|thumb|right|Improvised early homemade partially using ruins.]]
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In the tutorial, players are taught to build their first home at the map's center to hasten the lecture. This makes sense since the center of the map is around the area where the starting items have dropped. Building the home too far away will increase the travel distance from the resources to the blueprints. Make sure to look around where your colonists have landed, as any pre-constructed structures will shorten the setup time and make the early-game hell go by faster. Nearby ore veins, especially compacted steel/machinery, are useful as well. Make sure to fix up old ruins by filling in the gaps with wooden walls (or stone walls, if you manage to find any stone blocks from deconstructed pillars/steles/etc. from ruins), and don't forget a doorway. Later on, inside the setup process, it can be a good idea to place an animal sleeping spot indoors as well. If they sleep outdoors, they run the risk of getting attacked by a predator if the colony isn't walled off or has a lackluster military incapable of quickly getting rid of wild predators in advance. Not to mention exposure to dangerous environmental conditions. Any ruins intact [[steel tile|steel tile flooring]] are incredibly valuable to claim (and you should resist the temptation to deconstruct these floors). These tiles have a positive [[Room stats#Cleanliness|cleanliness]] value that benefits food preparation, medicine, and research.
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All the items you'll start with will be stored by a default stockpile zone. Create a stockpile ''roughly'' where you want to settle in for the time being. It's better to first bring the items to you, then start constructing your base.
{{clear}}
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When left outdoors, most items will slowly [[deteriorate]] over time. It takes months before the items are finally destroyed, so you can leave them outside for a bit while you start building your base.  Constructed buildings and structures never deteriorate. In addition, certain materials like [[steel]] and [[stone block]]s do not ever deteriorate. You can view how fast items deteriorate when selecting the item in question.
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 +
Once you've set up a basic stockpile and unpaused the game, then any colonist capable of dumb labor should being hauling. Once you have some wood available, then you can start the construction process.
 +
 
 +
==The First Day==
 +
You'll need 3 things to survive on a rimworld: '''Food''', '''Shelter''', and '''Security'''.
 +
 
 +
[[Cassandra Classic]] gives you a short grace period before enemies start appearing, so we only need to worry about the first two. With an efficient work flow, we can knock out two of the three needs by day 1 or 2.
 +
 
 +
----
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===Base construction===
 +
Building a simple base helps with colonist mood and a few other things. You can move most buildings later on. Certain items like walls, doors, and power generators cannot be moved, and must be deconstructed for a loss in resources. Therefore, it is up to player preference whether you want to plan ahead or not.
 +
 
 +
[[Tree]]s get in the way of buildings, so you'll want to assign the tree to be cut. Then prioritize your planter to cut the tree.
 +
 
 +
The following is a list of helpful buildings, in order of priority. Treat it like a checklist. You can use the handy searchbar (on the bottom of the Architect tab) to search for items you need.
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 +
[[File:Basics_base1.png|thumb|right|400px|Creation of a simple, 7x7 room.<br>[[Tree]]s get in the way of buildings, so order a planter to cut them down.<br>Buildings less important right now are forbidden. Unforbid them later.]]
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[[File:Basics building search.png|thumb|right|300px|Search bar on the bottom of the Architect tab. Searching "table" gets the actual [[table]] types in the furniture tab, as well as a few other items with "table" in their name (like [[end table]]).]]
 +
 
 +
'''Priority #1'''
 +
*{{icon small|wall|24}} / {{Icon small|Door|32}} [[Wall]]s and [[door]]s are necessary for constructing a room. Rooms are considered ''indoors''. When ''outdoors'', items will deteriorate, and workshops like the [[hand tailor bench]] will functions at 90% speed. [[Heater]]s and [[cooler]]s can only function with places considered indoors.
 +
*{{icon small|Bed|24}}  [[Bed]]s are used for sleeping. Not only do they avoid {{--|4}} ''Slept on the ground'' moodlet, but they also increase quality of rest. Compared to sleeping on the ground, a normal quality bed reduces sleep time by ~ 1 hour every day.
 +
*{{icon small|Table (1x2)|24}} [[Table]]s help avoid the {{--|3}} ''Ate without Table'' moodlet. Later on, tables also give a positive moodlet if they are in an impressive room. There are 4 types of table, the only differences being size and cost. 1x2 should do for right now. You need a seat to eat at a table.
 +
*{{icon small|Stool|24}} [[Stool]]s are the cheapest form of seating. They take much less work than a [[dining chair]] to make, and allow your colonists to eat at a table.
 +
*[[Roof]]s are free and will automatically be created after a room is created. You can order roof creation with a [[Build roof area]] and remove it with a [[remove roof area]] (both are in the Zones tab).
  
=== Work ===
+
'''Priority #2'''
 +
*{{icon small|Power conduit|24}} [[Power|Electricity]]. Used for a wide variety of appliances, essential for progress. You have 2 options:
 +
** {{icon small|Wood-fired generator|24}} Build a [[wood-fired generator]] for now. These generators produce a steady supply of power, so long as they are fueled. A temperate forest is filled with lumber, so this shouldn't be an issue. A bigger issue is ''work'' - your colonists will have to cut trees and haul the wood to the generator. Later on, wood-fired generators can be replaced.
 +
: Electric buildings, like [[standing lamp]]s, can connect to a power generator or power conduit up to 6 tiles away. You'll see a purple line if a connection will be made. [[Power conduit]]s can be used to transport electricity from a further distance. (The conduit has to connect directly to a generator).
 +
*{{icon small|End table|24}} / {{icon small|Dresser|24}} [[End table]]s and [[dresser]]s increase comfort of nearby beds, which increases colonist mood.
 +
*{{icon small|Standing lamp|24}} [[Light]]. In the dark, colonists work 80% as fast and move 80% as fast. There are no windows in the game; all roofed rooms are considered dark until lit. A [[torch lamp]] only costs 10 [[wood]] and lasts for 10 days before needing to be refueled. After you get electricity set up, you can build a [[standing lamp]], which costs a trivial amount of electricity to mantain.
  
Colonists will have default settings and will mostly busy themselves. Eventually, they run out of chores to do and begin to wander or idle. This is because there's a need for adjustments within their tasks.  
+
'''Priority #3'''
 +
*{{icon small|Electric stove|48}} The [[electric stove]] is used to cook food. Packaged meals won't last forever, and eating raw food directly gives the {{--|7}} ''Ate raw food'' moodlet. Cooking also reduces the chance for [[food poisoning]] (so long as you have a competent cook), and increases the nutrition you get for the same amount of food.
 +
*{{icon small|Stonecutter's table|48}} A [[stonecutter's table]] allows you to create [[stone blocks]]. Stone is a great material for walls, as it does not burn and is more durable than steel. As opposed to steel, stone is extremely plentiful, though it takes a long time to work with. (This table works with [[stone chunk]]s, which are ugly and take up a lot of space. It is often worth to take the -10% work speed penalty for the stonecutter's table to outside, closer to stone chunks.)
 +
*{{icon small|Simple research bench|48}} [[Simple research bench]]es allow you to [[research]], which unlocks many vital technologies. If your colonists have nothing better to do, it's good to let them research. Multiple benches can be used at the same time with no penalties.
 +
*{{icon small|Dining chair|24}} [[Dining chair]]s are seats that are more comfortable than stools, but take longer to make. Place them on tables and anywhere colonists will sit for long periods of time (like stoves, stonecutter's tables, and research benches).
 +
*{{icon small|Horseshoes pin|48}} [[Horseshoe pin]]s are a form of Recreation. Colonists will play at the pin from time to time. They can be placed both indoors and outdoors.
 +
** At the start, place your horseshoe pin outside. This helps increase the unrelated need for colonists to be [[Outdoors]].
 +
** Later on, place the pin indoors. This allows colonists to benefit from the ''Impressive recreation room'' mood buff. At the start, your rooms won't be impressive, so there isn't an impressive mood buff.
  
To improve their cooperation, open the Work tab at the bottom. Tick a Work box green on each character when possible to give them additional tasks or free them from others.  By default, colonists will prioritize from left to right, as indicated.  To further fine-tune colonists' work priorities, toggle to '''"Manual priorities"''' by clicking the red cross for the green tick.
+
----
  
[[File:Manual priorities.png]]
+
===Planting crops===
 +
[[File:Growing 5by5.png|thumb|250px|right|A 5x5 [[growing zone]] of rice, 25 tiles big.<br>3 plots are enough food to feed 3 colonists.]]
 +
Growing food is the primary and most consistent source of food in RimWorld. You start with 50 [[packaged survival meal]]s, which are enough to tide colonists over for 8 days. It's best to start growing crops before you run out of food.
  
This allows for five degrees of priority for each task: 1 (higher) - 4 (lower) + unassigned.
+
To grow crops, you'll want to go to Architect / Zones and select [[growing zone]]. Drag the growing zone around an area, preferably with rich soil. At first, you will want to grow [[rice plant]]s. Rice grows the fastest and is the most stable food crop.
  
 +
A growing zone of rice '''25 tiles''' large, a 5x5 plot, is more than enough food for ''1'' colonist when...
 +
# Cooked into [[simple meal]]s.
 +
# Harvested reasonably quickly (make sure your planter is doing their job!)
 +
# You can grow crops year-round. (If you have a winter, grow more food before hand)
 +
In rich soil, you only need 20 tiles of crop per colonist.
  
Example behavior:
+
This amount of crop can sustain a colonist on Losing is Fun, the hardest difficulty. On any easier difficulty, 25 tiles of crop provides a healthy stockpile of food. So if a [[blight]] happens to destroy your harvest, you'll have plenty of extra food remaining.
* Samantha will proceed by: Patient, Doctor, Bed rest, Warden, Cook, Research.  If none of these tasks are available, Samantha will do Construct and Grow and Smith, Tailor, Craft, and finally Hunt. This means that if the player sees Samantha growing crops and more blueprints are laid, but at the same time, there's a cooking bill, she will cook first before constructing. To further this, if there are an ongoing research project and an available research bench, Samantha will never build or grow without being instructed to do so.
 
  
This is because all tasks are weighted left to right, even while marking everything with 1. Assign these tasks with different values to break this priority. A colonist will look at all level 1 tasks, left to right, to see if they need to be accomplished. If the colonist cannot find a level 1 task that needs accomplishing, he/she will move onto any level 2 tasks, then 3, then 4. They will never work on any task that is unnumbered.
+
Since you start with 3 colonists, make a growing zone 75 tiles (regular soil) or 60 tiles (rich soil) big, set it to rice, and have your grower sow. Well... building a shelter is more important. So have your grower cut the trees in the way of your shelter, ''then'' have them sow.
  
There are two visual cues to determine the colonist's suitability for a particular task:
+
You will also have to feed your [[animal]]. Grazers like [[yak]]s and [[horse]]s can eat grass. But a [[husky]] or [[yorkshire terrier]] will eat your meals if they have nothing left. For simplicities' sake, release your starting animal if they can't graze. Otherwise you can forage from [[berry bush]]es or hunt animals to give food.
  
* The first is the box outline itself, for the number becomes brighter the more proficient a colonist is at the task.
+
<small>In specific, each colonist will consume 2 [[simple meal]]s per day. 2 simple meals are worth 20 units of raw food. So, for 3 colonists, 6 meals / 60 raw food is a day's worth of food. Note that cooking "creates" food. When you eat food uncooked, each colonist needs 32 units of raw food per day. [[Pemmican]] is also a "small" ingredient; 32 units of pemmican will feed 1 colonist for 1 day. A colonist can survive just under 3 full days without food, however going without food incurs a massive [[mood]] penalty.</small>
* The second cue is the small fire marks in the bottom corner of a task box, which denote the colonist's passion for the task, or how quickly they will learn it. A colonist with no passion learns at 33%, with a single passion at 100%, and with a double passion at 150%. Consider making colonists with low skill but high passions work their preferred task as they will skill up quickly and get a mood boost for doing work they enjoy.
+
----
  
=== Stockpiles ===
+
===Crop choice===
[[File:Main material Storage.png|400px|thumb|right|Building a materials storage]]
 
There are two types of stockpiles, the Common Stockpile and the Dumping Stockpile. They work similarly but have different uses, one for wanted goods and the other is for unwanted junk.
 
  
Since we are starting from the ground, a common stockpile for materials like wood will help build your colony faster as the needed resources are already stored in one place instead of scattered around the map. While laying down the blueprints, it's faster if, at the same time, all trees and bushes are assigned to be chopped, harvested, and cut to clear the ground for easier construction while leaving all the wood close by. To ensure this last step, designate already the same space for the common stockpile. Keep in mind that roofs can extend up to 6 tiles away from a wall (7 including the wall roof itself); any area larger than that will need columns to sustain an extensive roof.
+
There are 4 food crops in RimWorld. Rice is suggested at first, since it is the fastest growing food crop, and you don't have any food beyond your packaged meals right now.
  
Valuable items left out in the open will deteriorate due to exposure, so you need to haul them in as soon as possible. Use the Storage Settings tab of the stockpile to determine where an item will be stored. Repeat this same process later on to build other storage areas exclusive for weapons and armor, raw materials, trade goods, etc. Rename each stockpile area by clicking the highlight on the ground so you can readily identify where a colonist is hauling.
+
After your first harvest, you can grow a number of crops...
  
The dumping stockpile is not crucial initially, and it's better to spend the first days dealing with more pressing matters.
+
*{{icon small|Rice|24}} [[Rice]] is the fastest growing crop. But it gives the least food per harvest. Since you need to harvest it multiple times, it requires the most colonist work to grow.
{{clear}}
 
  
=== Harvest and Plantation ===
+
:However, rice has the advantage of ''stability''. A [[blight]] will not impact a rice harvest as much as it does with other crops. There are other uses for its fast grow speed. If winter is fast approaching, you can grow rice as a "last harvest". It trains the Plants skill the fastest.
[[File:Freezer Kitchen Dinning room and Plantations.png|400px|thumb|right|Freezer, Kitchen, Dining room and Plantations]]
 
After settling in a temporary home, the next concern is food. A successful kitchen space requires cooled and roofed storage space, as well as the raw food itself. Early on, we will settle for roofed storage only. To begin harvesting berries, navigate to the Orders tab and select harvest. Drag the mouse to assign an area for search, and the game will automatically task grown bushes with fruits to collect their berries. This is just to ensure easy access to nutrition. Now create an area to store the gatherings. Place frequently accessed storage areas in the heart of a colony to reduce hauling distance and speed.
 
  
The food storage may need expansion later on, so leave one of its side areas free for the future. Ideally, it is convenient if the storage is attached to the future kitchen, so building the next room for the [[fueled stove]] and [[butcher table]] is wise. Consider a furnished dining room as the following adjacent structure.
+
*{{icon small|Corn|24}} [[Corn]] is the opposite of rice. It grows slowly, but gives the most per harvest. Snice it needs to be harvested much less frequently, it takes the least colonist work to grow corn. However, your corn harvest will be impacted more by disasters like blight and fire.
 +
*{{icon small|Potatoes|24}} [[Potatoes]] are the "inbetween" crop, growing at a medium pace and giving a medium yield/harvest. A more important fact is that potatoes are the least impacted by soil. They benefit the least from rich soil, but are hindered the least by poor/stony soil. So don't grow potatoes on rich soil.
 +
*{{icon small|Berries|24}} [[Strawberry plant]]s' main niche is that [[berries]] can be eaten raw without the {{--|7}} ''Ate raw food'' mood penalty. They aren't as stable as rice, but give much less yield per harvest than the other two crops. Since you'll want to cook food into meals to avoid [[food poisoning]] anyways, berries aren't a great choice.
  
With the storage free of space and a kitchen ready to cook, now is an excellent time to start building farms. There are three basic foods available to sow: rice, potatoes, and corn. Rice grows quickly but is nutrient weak; corn grows slowly but is nutrient-dense; potatoes are the middle ground. Cotton is available for clothing, and skilled growers with skill at 8 or above can also start growing healroot. It is the early variant of medicine that colonists can use to heal each other.
+
Rice, corn, and potatoes give about the same yield per day. Rice grows the fastest and gives the least per harvest, and the opposite for corn. Thus, the main difference is the colonist work : stability ratio of these three crops. Strawberries give less yield per day, so they are an inferior crop to the other 3.
  
To limit colonists' travel time, consider the proximity to the food storage when selecting locations to build farms.  
+
Ultimately, the amount of growing work isn't ''that'' big, even when using rice. You can go the entire game just growing rice and be entirely fine.
  
 +
==Technical Things==
 +
With the first day sorted out, now we can get into the nitty-gritty of colonist settings.
  
=== Building a Freezer ===
+
Colonists have some default work settings and will mostly busy themselves. Eventually, they run out of chores to do and begin to wander or idle. This is because there's a need for adjustments within their tasks.
  
Most foods will quickly rot away in storage unless they are refrigerated. To prevent this food waste, the colony will need access to [[power]] to produce electricity and build [[cooler]]s. There are a variety of original ideas when designing power grid planning. Constructing these devices require [[components]] that can be mined, traded, manufactured, and salvaged from [[ship chunk]]s. In the early game, colonists have limited supplies, so treat them as delicate devices. Components are not easily replaceable and should be guarded with care.
+
We can adjust how colonists work, using 2 tabs on the bottom of the screen:
 +
* '''[[#Work|Work]]''' - What jobs colonists will do when they are assigned to work
 +
* '''[[#Schedule|Schedule]]''' - How long colonists will work, sleep, etc.
  
The power source, be it a fueled generator, solar generator, or wind turbine, all possess their pros and cons. Nonetheless, they all must be connected via power conduits to the coolers themselves. The coolers are bi-directional; blue indicates cold and red means heat, so make sure to rotate blue towards the inside. Once constructed and powered on, the device is set up and operating automatically.
+
This guide will explain, in detail, how both of these tabs function. You don't need to optimize these tabs, but if you're wondering "why is my colonist doing X and not Y", you may want to check these sections out.
  
The default temperature is always {{Temperature|21}}, but that won't help, so use the buttons to adjust. The cooler will attempt to reach the designated value, but it all depends on leaving unroofed areas and the room's size. Often one cooler alone is not enough. Check the tooltips by hovering the mouse over to detect if the desired temperature has been achieved. The seasons will dictate the amount of cooling or heat that is necessary for a given room.  Check with colonists to determine what adjustments are required.  
+
----
 +
===Work===
 +
Click the Work tab. Colonists will do assigned tasks from left to right. For further control, most players will activate "Manual priorities", by clicking the red cross at the top left of the tab.  
  
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="center" mode="nolines">
+
[[File:Simple priorities.png|1000px|left]]
File:Food has rotted away in storage.png|'''Notification: Food has rotted away in storage'''
 
File:Cooler settings.png|'''Cooler settings'''
 
</gallery>
 
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
 +
*'''How priorities work'''
 +
Jobs are checked from 1 to 4 (if manual priority is on), then from left to right. For the ''first'' job with an available task, a colonist will do ''every'' possible task related to that job. Then, they will do every possible task in the next column of work. For the most part, colonists do not care about efficiency; they'll do as they're told.
 +
 +
Let's take Bild as an example:
 +
#Bild will first check for any possible task of Firefight. The "Firefight" task will only check for fires in the home area. If there are any fires in the [[home area]], then Bild will try to put them out. (If she's busy doing another task, then it might take some time to update.)
 +
#Then, Bild will check for Patient, Bed rest, Basic, and Warden tasks, in this exact order. If she is sick or injured, then she will heal in bed as "Work" instead of working, due to both Patient and Bed rest being very high priority.
 +
#Afterwards, Bild will check for Grow and Plant Cut, in that order. Bild will sow a field in 1 area, then sow a field halfway across the map, before cutting down a tree right next to the original field.
 +
#Despite Mine being left of Plant Cut, because it is '''2''', it will be done only after all Grow, Plant Cut, and Hauling tasks are done.
 +
#If Bild has nothing better to do, then she will research at an available [[research bench]]. If there are no available places to research, she will become idle.
 +
To optimize work time, you'll want to minimize work time. Setting work priorities in a smart way can help do so. You can always force-prioritize a colonist to do a specific task. Select the colonist, and right click an important task, like getting your [[bed]]s built.
 +
 +
Only one colonist can work at 1 specific thing at any specific time. Only 1 doctor can operate on a patient, but 2 doctors can operate 2 patients at the same time. 2 growers cannot sow crops at the same tile, but they can sow 2 separate tiles together (even in the same [[growing zone]]).
 +
 +
*'''Job titles are not always descriptive'''
 +
{{Main|Work#Work types}}
 +
The job titles are not a full indication of what the job actually covers.
 +
*The "Craft" job contains 4 tasks that do not rely on Crafting skill. If you are not using a [[crafting spot]], then ''no'' tasks use the Crafting skill.
 +
*The "Doctor" job, in addition to rescuing and tending pawns, includes feeding patients and visiting sick patients for Recreation.
 +
*The "Haul" job contains many other dumb tasks, like rearming [[turret]]s and burying corpses in [[grave]]s.
 +
You can see every available task within a column by hovering over the job in question. Tasks are done from top to bottom, just like how work is done from left to right. But unlike work jobs, these cannot be adjusted. A colonist assigned to Construction will always build and remove [[roof]]s before deconstructing a wall, for instance.
  
=== Recreation ===
+
*'''Work and skill'''
{{main|Recreation}}
+
In the Work tab, there are two visual cues to determine the colonist's suitability for a particular task:
 +
* The first is the box outline itself, for the number becomes brighter the more proficient a colonist is at the task.
 +
* The second cue is the small fire marks in the bottom corner of a task box, which denote the colonist's passion for the task, or how quickly they will learn it. A colonist with no passion learns at 33%, with a single passion at 100%, and with a double passion at 150%. Consider making colonists with low skill but high passions work their preferred task. They will skill up quickly, and get a mood boost for doing work they enjoy.
  
If you are coming from the Tutorial, you will already have your [[Horseshoes pin|horseshoe pin]]; if not, build one. That will clear the notification list on the right. Recreation counters stress. As you progress through the rise of your colony, continue upgrading their entertainment by adding other items such as [[chess table]] (with dining chairs) and [[billiards table]]. Note that recreation is also performed by other actions that do not require you to construct anything. See [[recreation#Activities|activities]].
+
This is nothing you can't see in their Bio tab, but looking at the work tab can be useful as a quick comparison.
  
When you construct a horseshoes pin, place it somewhere you can keep watch to avoid a surprise attack. Later on, with more colonists and resources, you can move it inside to make a rec room.
+
*'''What does this all mean? - General guidelines'''
 +
# Firefight, Patient, Bed rest, and Basic should be set to 1 for everybody. The former three can be extremely important to handle immediately. You want your colonists fighting fires all the time, so that your rice fields won't burn to ashes. You want colonists resting constantly when they get the [[plague]]. If a colonist is resting just because of a single bruise, then you can lower the priority of rest for a while. Just make sure to turn it back on soon.
 +
# Set things you want first... higher priority. Your grower should be growing at the highest priority. At the very start of the game, set Hauling to 1 so that you can move everything to your base.
 +
# Even if a colonist is not great at Intellectual, set Research at priority 4. You cannot fail research, and research is better than being idle. Multiple pawns can research at the same time, at no penalty, if you have multiple [[research bench]]es.
 +
:*The same principle applies to Craft and the Crafting skill. Stonecutting is valuable work that can be done by (almost) anyone. It's better to have an otherwise idle colonist cut stone, than a colonist with other work to do.
 +
Priorities are relative. Some player like to have every task set to 2 or lower, only raising something to 1 when it needs to happen ''immediately''.
  
=== Basic Defense ===
+
----
 +
===Schedule===
 +
Next to the Work tab is the Schedule tab.
  
The game will prompt the notification of "Need defenses" early on, probably at the same time you are still building the basic rooms (storage, kitchen, dining room, quarters) while still haven't started cutting stones. So you would be counting on wood and steel mainly. If you just want to turn off the message, setting up [[sandbags]] will do. Pause the game and take a sizeable complete view of the entire map. It will be unlikely to have enemies arrive through mountains or sea, and large forest areas abundant with trees will slow down an intruder. Watch taking into account your colony's rooms plan to find vulnerable areas and construct your first sandbags. You don't need to make a 25 tiles line; steel doesn't come as easily as wood.
+
[[File:Restrict_menu.png|thumb|center|600px]]
  
There are two other cheap alternatives for the early game stage: walls and an imitation of a wall made of chunks placed next to each other by designing a dumping stockpile with the shape of base defense. Must set the priority to at least Preferred; this way, designated chunks will be hauled to your defenses first before placed into your general dumping stockpile zone. It's easier to build walls between mountains as they serve as chokepoints.
+
It contains 4 different settings:
 +
* '''Anything:''' If tired, go sleep. If bored, go recreate (relax). Otherwise work.
 +
* '''Recreation:''' If tired, go sleep. Then recreate. Once recreation meter is full, work.
 +
* '''Work:''' Work. Ignore all needs (except food).
 +
* '''Sleep:''' Sleep. If not tired, go work.
 +
The most important takeaway is that '''the default schedule is perfectly fine!''' When assigned to "Anything", colonists will work, and automatically take care of their needs when needed. Mood is very important in RimWorld, so let your colonists recreate. And they'll sleep at night. Colonists get a penalty for working in the darkness, so avoid working at night whenever possible.
  
<gallery style="background:Cornsilk; border:1px solid " widths="250px" heights="250px" class="center">
+
If a colonist is sleeping, they will continue to sleep even if they are assigned to "Anything" or "Recreation" at the current time (i.e., assigning Recreation won't wake colonists up). "Work" immediately wakes colonists up.
File:Base defense of chuncks.png|Primitive base defense of chunks
 
</gallery>
 
  
Place [[spike trap]]s in locations where hostiles would most likely come by intentionally creating bottleneck corridors as well.
+
==Combat==
 +
Sooner or later, your colony will be attacked by enemies. With Cassandra Classic / Phoebe Chillax, your very first enemy will be a small, [[manhunter]] animal.
 +
===Combat basics===
 +
[[File:Button_-_Draft.png|79px|thumb|right|Draft gizmo.]]
 +
'''1. General'''
 +
* [[Draft]] your colonists to enter combat mode. Select the colonist, hit the "Draft" gizmo or the {{key|R}} key, and they will enter the drafted state.
 +
* Select a drafted colonist, and right click a tile to move them. You can select multiple colonists and order them to move to 1 place.
 +
* Use the gizmos on the bottom of the screen to order your colonists to do other things.
 +
* Colonists cannot be directed to stand on the same tile. However, colonists can pass through other colonists, if ordered to move past each other.
 +
* Colonists cannot pass through enemies under usual circumstances. Enemies cannot pass through colonists under usual circumstances.
  
* In the future, if you do happen to get attacked, it's best if you don't kill the hostile so that you can make him/her a prisoner for sale as a slave or recruit for your colony. Once the enemy has been weakened sufficiently, continue your self-defense with fists or blunt weapons only to maximize the chance of downing rather than killing.
+
'''2. Melee'''
 +
* Select a colonist and right click an enemy to order a melee attack. You can also use the "Melee attack" gizmo on the bottom of the screen.
 +
* Pawns are in "melee range" if they are directly adjacent to each other.
 +
** Enemies cannot fire their ranged weapon at all if they are engaged in melee. You cannot fire a ranged weapon at an enemy in melee range.
 +
** Note that your colonists can fire at ''other'' enemies that aren't in melee range, even if they are being attacked in melee.
  
 +
[[File:Friendly_fire_radii2.png|thumb|right|325px|If a colonist is in the white area, they cannot be hit by friendly fire by the middle colonist.]]
 +
'''3. Ranged'''
 +
* Pawns with a ranged weapon will automatically fire it, if there's an enemy in range (and if they aren't in melee combat).
 +
* Pawns cannot fire through [[wall]]s or other impassible objects. These objects block "[[line of sight]]".
 +
* If a pawn is directly adjacent to [[cover]], like [[sandbag]]s, or [[barricade]]s, they will use said cover. You ''can'' fire over sandbags and the like. Cover blocks ranged attacks (it's useless in a melee fight.)
 +
* [[Friendly fire]] can occur, ONLY IF a friendly colonist is more than 5 tiles away AND if they are in line of fire. The picture in the right shows the area in which colonists are "immune" to friendly fire. So long as pawns are in the 5-tile radius, friendly fire will not happen.
  
=== Research ===
+
===Defensive structures===
{{main|Research}}
+
{{Main|Defense structures}}
* If coming from the Tutorial, you already have a Research bench placed within the barracks and next to the Fueled stove.
+
If you're fighting a single manhunting [[rat]], then 3 colonists should just clobber it, no matter how you fight it. But later on, you'll have to fight more and more enemies.
  
*If you skipped the Tutorial and started right away, it's best if you can place beds, build the kitchen, and the research lab, all three in different rooms. Beds can be reinstalled elsewhere but not the fueled stove or the desk.
+
The trick with RimWorld's combat is defensive positioning. You are almost always the defender, so you can make enemies conform to you. For both melee and ranged combat, a good defensive setup can go a long way.
  
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="center" mode="nolines">
+
[[File:Basics cover0.png|thumb|250px|right|Alternate between [[wall]]s and [[barricade]]s for the best cover. Gaps of barricades req'd to actually shoot out.]]
File:Tutorial ending.png|'''Tutorial ending'''
+
'''Ranged'''
File:Research facility.png|'''Research lab'''
 
</gallery>
 
{{clear}}
 
  
=== Raids ===
+
For ranged combat, you'll want the best possible cover, and want enemies to have the least possible cover.
  
* If coming from the Tutorial, you already faced this threat.
+
* The best possible cover is the [[wall]] (75% cover). However, pawns cannot shoot through walls. What happens is that a pawn "leans out" of a wall to fire from it. This limits the angle in which colonists can shoot (though it also limits the angle which enemies can shoot, too).
* If playing without the Tutorial...
+
* [[Barricade]]s and [[sandbag]]s are the next best cover (55% cover), and they allow pawns to fire through just fine. Both items are identical other than the materials used to make them.
  
It will not take long for your first raid. Typically it is a single individual armed with a melee weapon. The raider may or may not immediately attack. Draft your men behind cover, be it chunks, trees, walls, or sandbags, and make sure they are next to each other by positioning them with multi-selection. (see: Friendly fire safe in the in-game help)
+
Thus, the best possible cover is a combination of walls and sandbags/barricades. Walls are your main source of cover. Gaps are necessary to allow colonists to shoot through, and you might as well fill them with other forms of cover.  
  
[[File:Tutorial continuation.png|thumb|right|Downed but not dead enemy can be captured for later recruitment]]
+
Since colonists have to lean out of the wall to fire, angled shots can partially bypass the wall's cover. In this case, the barricade/sandbag will block some shots. If you don't ever fight enemies at an angle, then the barricades can technically be foregone. If you want a wider angle to fire at, then include larger barricade gaps between each wall segment.
  
As it was mentioned earlier in the above section, you're lucky if you downed the hostile without killing them as you can make a prisoner and recruit, sell, or harvest organs if you are willing to. If they are still alive, quickly convert your barrack or other spare rooms, if available, to a Prison and choose Capture on the intruder. If needed, immediately heal wounds by prioritizing a doctor.
+
<gallery widths="225px" heights="225px" class="left" mode="nolines">
 +
File:Basics cover1.png|'''Colonists "lean out" of a wall whenever they'd fire.'''
 +
File:Basics cover2.png|'''The barricades in-between walls can block shots at an angle.'''
 +
</gallery>
  
If the hostile died, either:
 
* Bury in a grave by making a cemetery.
 
* Place in a dumping stockpile (away from your base to prevent mood debuffs from seeing corpses).
 
* [[Electric crematorium|Cremate them]].
 
* Burn them if [[molotov cocktail|incendiary weapons]] are available.
 
* Use them for animal feed as whole corpse.
 
* Butcher them (will give a mood debuff to non-psychopath non-bloodlust non-cannibal pawns). The meat can then be eaten, fed to animals more efficiently than the whole corpse, or [[biofuel refinery|refined]] into [[chemfuel]]. The leather can be used to tailor new clothes (clothes made of such leather will give a mood buff to bloodlust pawns if worn). See [[Human Resources]] for more information.
 
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
 +
[[File:Quickstart combat 3.png|thumb|325px|right|A "melee block" - i.e., using chokepoints found in any doorway. Don't stand ''on'' the door, but just behind it.]]
 +
'''Melee'''
  
=== Doctoring ===
+
For melee combat, you'll want to use walls and positioning to give the best advantage to your colonists.
{{main|Doctoring}}
+
* '''The [[melee block]]''' (pictured right). Basically, a hallway. 3 melee fighters hit 1 melee enemy in a choked point. Your ranged fighters can shoot behind melee fighters. Melee block tactics are extremely effective against groups of melee enemies.
 +
* '''Use structures to your advantage'''. The main disadvantage of melee is that you have to approach enemies. So why not have enemies approach you? Use walls to prevent enemy fire, and they'll walk right into you. The picture below demonstrates an example of an "ambush" - force enemies through corners, and force them into melee.
  
If a colonist is injured or sick, doctors will treat them.
+
[[File:Basics melee ambush.png|thumb|350px|center|Luring ranged enemies into your melee squad, using a corner.]]
 +
{{clear}}
  
On the patient's Health tab Overview, you can choose which type of medical care will be provided; there are 5 options: No Care, Doctor Care, Herbal Medicine, Normal Medicine, or Best Quality.
+
'''Putting it together'''
  
If possible, when the need to combat comes, try not to take the most skillful doctor to battle as you may end up with no one able to treat the wounded afterward.
+
Here is an '''example''' of how you can use both melee and ranged structures to your advantage. This is by no means the only way to defend your colony. If you want more options, check out the [[defense structures]] article.
 +
<gallery widths="325px" heights="325px" class="left" mode="nolines">
 +
File:Basics melee ambush.png|'''The same "ambush" picture as the above.<br>Can also be used as a melee block.'''
 +
File:Basics melee ambush2.png|'''Now give your ranged pawns the best cover.<br>This also gives ranged enemies, cover, too;<br> melee them down.'''
 +
File:Basics melee ambush3.png|'''[[Barricade]]s prevent enemies from standing on them, which prevents them using the wall as cover.<br>This is the foundation of a proper "killbox".'''
 +
</gallery>
 +
----
  
=== Spare Room ===
+
===Tending===
 +
No matter how good your tactics are, your colonists will eventually get injured and need to rest.
  
[[File:Hospital Prison Pharmacy.png|thumb|right|Hospital - Prison - Pharmacy all in one]]
+
A doctor will "tend" to a pawn when they are injured or sick. Tending makes injuries heal faster, stop wounds from bleeding, and slows the progression of a disease. [[Medicine]] does not heal injuries or disease on its own. Medicine just increases the quality of the tend, which makes the tend more effective (faster healing, etc.).
* If coming from the Tutorial like written just above, you had to convert your barracks into an improvised infirmary. You can now choose to build private rooms for each colonist or only a single room to turn into Prison or Hospital for the recently captured/rescued.
 
  
* If playing a normal new game, the timing of your first incoming raid will vary, and you may as well get an [[Events#Escape Pod|Escape pod]] event beforehand.
+
[[File:Quickstart combat 2.png|thumb|325px|right|If your colonists are bleeding out quickly, you may need to tend to them on the field.]]
 +
'''How / when to tend'''
 +
# Tend on the field. [[Draft]] your doctor (if they aren't drafted already). Select the doctor, right click a pawn, and click "Tend" or "Tend (without medicine)". Tending on the field is less effective than in a bed. But if a colonist is rapidly bleeding out, it doesn't matter how effective the tend is. <br>If you want your doctors to be able to tend on the field ''with'' medicine, go to the [[Assign]] tab, and adjust the medicine selection on the right. (Medicine has the advantage of healing multiple bleeding wounds at a time).
 +
# Tend in a bed. If your colonists are assigned to "Bed rest" in the Work tab, they will automatically rest in bed. Then, a doctor will tend to them as a work task. You do not need a bed set to "Medical" for colonists to rest in it. You can force colonists to rest by selecting the colonist, and right clicking the bed (for this purpose, the bed must be set to medical).
 +
# Rescue the colonist, and then tend to them. If a colonist is [[downed]], then to tend in bend, you'll need to rescue them first. Select your doctor, right click a downed colonist, and click "Rescue". Afterwards, they can be tended normally.
  
Many occurrences can threaten your colony, be it accidents, [[illness]]es, manhunter packs, etc. And by the time an adverse incident occurs, it might be too late to start building up an emergency room. So it's wise to construct a spare room with beds which can be switched to either Hospital or Prison. If time and resources allow, having medical supplies nearby may mean the patient's difference between life and death. If possible, ensure the surrounding area has a clear free path towards the room without many obstacles in the way. As mentioned earlier, this facility located at the heart of the colony may be a good choice too. Incidents can occur at map corners, and rushing across the entire land while bleeding may prove fatal.
+
'''Using medicine'''
  
 +
Correct resource allocation is key. Using your best medicine for a few bruises is a waste.
  
=== New colony members ===
+
[[File:Mainmenu assign.png|thumb|450px|right|Adjust medicine icons to adjust medical settings.]]
[[File:Recruiting.png|thumb|right|Take a look at Prisoner tab.]]
 
Your character roster can be increased in many ways.
 
  
* Recruiting captured [[prisoner]]s: As mentioned, if you already performed the first steps, capturing alone does not mean that person will join you right away after they have healed. You will have to recruit that pawn. To accomplish that, you will need to send someone to talk to that person and convince him/her to join; it may take several attempts. It will be easier if the wanted pawn receives proper medical care, is fed, feels as comfortable and happy as possible, and you use your best wardens to recruit them.
+
In the colonist's Assign tab, you can assign what medicine a doctor will use on them. (See left)
** You can also try to take downed friendlies, but this will cause the faction to turn hostile. If you care about relations, you should rescue them instead; this gives +15 relations boost for every rescued person.
+
* [[File:Doctor care but no medicine.png|16px]] '''Doctor care, no medicine''' - You don't need any medicine for bruises, small cuts, and even large cuts. And you may need to tend w/o medicine in emergencies, where grabbing medicine from storage would take too long.
 +
* {{icon small|herbal medicine}} '''[[Herbal medicine]]''' (or worse) - Herbal medicine is worse than regular medicine, but the advantage is that you can grow herbal medicine on your own. [[Healroot]] can be sown as soon as you have a colonist with Plants 8 or higher. Herbal medicine can be used against diseases. If you have enough, you can use herbal medicine for general injuries to reduce the risk of [[infection]].
 +
* {{icon small|medicine}} '''[[Medicine|Industrial medicine]]''' (or worse) - Industrial medicine (or just "medicine", the blue one) is a high quality medicine. As mentioned above, using regular medicine is a waste for regular injuries, unless a colonist is rapidly bleeding out. Use medicine against diseases and surgeries. Diseases can be fatal if untreated. Surgeries are likely to fail without great medicine.
 +
* {{icon small|glitterworld medicine}} '''[[Glitterworld medicine|Best quality medicine]]''' - Glitterworld medicine is the best medicine in the game. The most expensive medicine, glitterworld should be used like industrial medicine, i.e. for disease and surgery.
 +
You can also choose whenever to use medicine or not, if you draft your doctor. Doctors can only draft-tend with medicine if they were already carrying it (to set doctors to carry, also see the Assign tab).
  
* Slave purchase: Slaves are easier as you won't need to recruit them; they will join you immediately after purchase from pirate merchants, which ain't cheap...  Their price depends on their skills and health.
+
Set your colonists to either "doctor care, no medicine" OR "herbal medicine" for now. If a disease pops up, set relevant colonists back to industrial medicine.
  
* Wanderer joins: This one is the luckiest you can get. A stranger will just join without the need to recruit or purchase.
+
==The Next Few Days==
  
* Chased refugee: A refugee being chased asks for asylum. Like the Wanderer Joins event, colonists joining this way immediately become available to the colony. However, very soon after the new colonist arrives, a raid will follow. You will have to fight off the incoming raid, possibly putting more colonists at risk but simultaneously capturing more prisoners. You can see the kind of person they are (i.e., adult backstory, or child if under 20), and reject the offer if you know the colonist is not much use or you can't risk a raid.
+
===Cooking with the bill system===
 +
If you've played the tutorial, you've likely been introduced to the [[bill]] system already. If not, then cooking is a good start. Your [[rice]] will be ready to harvest soon, and you'll need to cook it.
  
* Escape pod survivor: As mentioned, this one will mean that you have to rush someone for rescue. The main difference between crash-landed characters like yours and escape pod survivors is that you arrived intact. In this case, the pawn will arrive unconscious and critically hurt. If you aren't quick enough and their injuries aren't severe, they might be able to recover and walk off the map.
+
Select the stove, and click "Add Bill" on the top of the menu. Then, select a meal you want. [[Simple meal]]s are the fastest to cook and use the least food.
 +
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="left" mode="nolines">
 +
File:Basics cooking1.png|Do 'X' times means do <10> times, then stop forever. Not automated.
 +
</gallery>
  
<gallery mode="packed-hover">
+
Click on the "Do 'X' Times" button in order to change the bill. There are 2 more options - "Do until you have X", and "Do Forever".
File:Crashlanded Survivor Basics.jpg|1: Notification window.
+
 
File:Capture Basics.jpg|2: Rush to Capture.
+
Since each colonist eats ~2 meals per day, you will want to set a bill that cooks 2 meals per colonist. Select "Do until you have X", and then you can change the number of meals to 6 (or whatever number you need). You may want to make a few more meals than needed, as a "buffer" in case your cook is injured.
File:Prison Room Basics.jpg|3: Urgently assign another pawn to build a bed (room not a must)
+
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="left" mode="nolines">
File:Prison Bed Basics.jpg|4: Turn bed into Prison bed.
+
File:Cooking bill.png|Do until you have 'X' means cook <10> meals, then stop, then start when there's less than 10.<br>'''This setting only checks for items inside stockpile zones.'''
File:Prisoner Basics.jpg|5: Heal the wounds so it survives
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
''The gallery above was edited so text can be read as you hover your mouse pointer over the pictures.''
 
  
Basically, the main difference between a raid capture and an escape pod survivor is that the later one falls elsewhere. At the same time, the raider comes towards you, "healthy" at first. Note that in this example, instead of building a whole new room, if you happen to have a mountain nearby, caving in saves work to do.
+
If you actually set this in game, you might notice a few inefficiencies. Lets say you have 10 meals already. If a colonist eats 1, your meal count is now 9, which is obviously below 10. Your cook will run all the way back to the stove, cook the meal, then go back to what they were doing. They will walk back and forth each time a colonist eats a single meal.
  
Be careful when you assign a rusher to get the escape pod survivor as selecting "Rescue" has a chance that the survivor '''does not''' join. In these cases, they leave the map once their injuries are healed. This is more likely to happen when you have more colonists. If they join, however, they do so immediately without needing to go through recruitment.
+
It'd be better if they waited until there were only a few meals left, then cook all of them at once. Thankfully, there is a setting for this! Go into "Details" button, and you'll get this screen.
If the pawn is not of your liking, just let go. But if you intend to keep them, then you must Capture, which means double the work for you to do that could have been simplified if Captured at first action.
+
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" class="left" mode="nolines">
 +
File:Basics cooking2.png|All the details. "Pause Until Satisfied" is the relevant setting here.
 +
</gallery>
 +
[[File:Basics_cooking3.png|thumb|right|200px|Food put right next to a stove.]]
 +
You can set the "pause until satisfied" meals to whatever number you want. Start cooking before you hit 0 meals, so that colonists won't eat raw food.
 +
----
 +
The most efficient cooking set-ups have their food near their stove. Otherwise, your cook will have to walk back and forth between each meal. Your cook will only haul the exact amount required to cook 1 meal, which is doubly inefficient. Ideally, we want food directly next to the stove. So you should do that. (See right)
 +
 
 +
But under the current bill settings, your cook still hauls each meal to the "best" stockpile zone, then go back to the stove. We want to eliminate this too. There is another setting. Click "Take to best stockpile ", and change it to "Drop on floor". '''Note that "Do until X" only counts stockpile zones.''' So place a stockpile under the cook's feet, as seen in the picture to the right. (To do this, make a stockpile, go to stockpile zone settings, turn off all items but raw food, and set the "priority" to Preferred or higher)
 +
 
 +
With all these settings in place, your cook will stand in place, cook all their meals at once, then leave until you've run out of meals. Cooking is now efficiently automated. There are many other items that use the bill system. With a little adjustment, you can get colonists to do roughly what you want.
 +
----
  
Capturing also has the advantage of allowing wardens to practice social. If you don't want them to recruit the survivor, simply set Interaction to 'Friendly chat,' and let them go when you are satisfied with the results.
+
===Stonecutting===
{{clear}}
+
Right now, your base is using [[wood]]en walls. Wood burns. Steel also burns in this game (as a wall. Steel floor and steel items don't burn). So you will want to create stone - specifically, [[stone block]]s - relatively quickly. Stone takes a long time to make, but it is worth starting when your colonists have nothing better to do.
  
=== Animals ===
+
To make workable stone blocks, you'll need a [[stonecutter's table]]. The stonecutter's table uses the same bill system as the stoves. See the above subsection for details on all that. Each stone chunk produces 20 stone blocks. The specific type of stone is mostly irrelevant at this stage of the game, so you can use any stone if you'd wish.
{{main|Animals}}
 
[[File:Tutorial animal.png|thumb|300px|right|Animals]]
 
Either from the Tutorial or a new game in Crashlanded, you will be starting with an already tamed animal. In the main Animal tab, you can see their training selection, who interacts with them, and their allowed zones. You need to turn the red crosses into green ticks so that the characters assigned to Handle will teach them valuable skills such as Rescue and Haul. Then the zones you assign them to wander around are important. Depending on the type of animal you get, some can handle themselves in the wild while others are better taken care of at home.
 
  
You can keep expanding your roster by taming more species or trading with Bulk Goods Traders; they come in with already tamed and ready to train animals.
+
Stone is best for walls, as it is more durable than both wood and steel. Stone is ''not'' good for [[door]]s. This is because stone doors open slowly. When you have a wood door surrounded by stone walls, the fire risk is minimal. In this situation, only 1 tile can be set on fire, which is not a problem. Stone can also be used for furniture, though stone [[bed]]s in particular get a penalty when made out of stone.
  
Predators may be roaming nearby. These mid-large size carnivorous animals will not pose any immediate threat, and it's best just to let them be unless, of course, you or your pets get attacked. So always keep watch of your surroundings and their proximity range. Their "Needs" tab will show a Food meter, and if you see them getting empty, that's when they will be likely to go for prey.
+
'''Note:''' When replacing your wood walls, watch out for [[roof]] collapses! Roof will collapse if there isn't a wall within 6 tiles in it. With this in mind, replace your walls in small sections at a time. You can also use a [[remove roof area]] to remove the roof, destroy your walls, then rebuild the roof (with a [[build roof area]]).
 +
----
  
==== Taming ====
+
===Freezer===
To tame an animal, simply select the animal, then click Tame. Your colonists will automatically go and tame the animal using food to attract them into joining your colony. Thus it's not recommended to tame any animals until you have a stable food supply.
+
A freezer is a room brought below {{Temperature|0}}, using [[cooler]]s. It is often recommended to build one. But you don't always ''need'' it. After all, [[Scenario system#Lost Tribe|Lost Tribes]] don't start with cooling technology at all. Let's go over all the reasons to (not) build a freezer, then show how to build one anyways.
  
There are a wide variety of animals you can tame. Some animals can be trained into ferocious attack beasts or beasts of burden, while others can be farmed to produce milk or wool.  
+
Food, specifically, vegetable food, lasts for a surprisingly long time.
 +
* You can rely entirely on vegetarian food for the entire game. (See [[#Planting crops|Planting crops]])
 +
* [[Rice]], when indoors, lasts for 40 days. [[Corn]] lasts for 60 days. [[Potatoes]] last for 30 days.
 +
** In a year-round growing biome, you can harvest 5 batches of rice by the time the first one rots. You can harvest 3 batches of corn by the time the first one rots.
 +
** In a biome with winter, you can let nature refrigerate for you. If you have a 40/60 growing season, rice lasts for 60 days (40 days spoiling, 20 days frozen). Unless you're in a [[tundra]], you should get ''at least'' 1 harvest a season.
 +
* If you let rice rot after 5 full harvests, then you still have 4 harvests of rice in reserve. You didn't need any of that spoiled rice in the first place. Even if one of your harvests is ruined by [[blight]], you have 3 full harvests of surplus.
 +
* You didn't need any of that spoiled rice in the first place. ''It's ok to let it rot.''
  
If you plan on taming them, you might want to check their Information for their Wildness, which determines how hard it is for that animal to be tamed. Some of them, while being attractive in stats, are very hard to tame. You should also check their diet; herbivorous animals can graze, meaning you won't need to feed them much (though training still needs food), while carnivores will need to be fed or hunt on their own.
+
[[Meal]]s rot in ~4 days. But, there's a simple solution. Don't cook them yet. You only ''need'' to cook 1-2 days worth of food at a time. Minor [[mental break]]s only last for a day or so, and injuries heal in a few days.
  
[[Muffalo]] is a good starter animal to tame. They produce [[muffalo wool]], hit quite hard, and are relatively easy to tame with a wildness of only 50%. Later on, they will also be instrumental in caravans, but you needn't worry about that now. [[Husky|Huskies]] and [[labrador retriever]]s are a decent choice if you need expendable battle animals; they do middling damage and aren't particularly fast nor slow breeders, but they are easy to train, quick and agile, eat nearly anything, and can be trained into hauling animals which is important between battles.
+
=== Building a Freezer ===
{{clear}}
+
Most foods will quickly rot away in storage unless they are refrigerated. To prevent this food waste, the colony will need access to [[power]] to produce electricity and build [[cooler]]s. There are a variety of original ideas when designing power grid planning. Constructing these devices require [[components]] that can be mined, traded, manufactured, and salvaged from [[ship chunk]]s. In the early game, colonists have limited supplies, so treat them as delicate devices. Components are not easily replaceable and should be guarded with care.
  
=== Trading ===
+
Coolers are considered a wall tile. They are bi-directional; blue indicates cold and red means heat, so make sure to rotate blue towards the room you want cooled. Once constructed and powered on, the device is set up and operating automatically. The room must be enclosed completely and [[roof]]ed in order to actually be cooled.
{{main|Trade}}
 
  
Soon you will be visited by other Factions. Once they arrive at your colony, pick the colonist with the highest Social skill you have among your members and send him/her to open a trade by right-clicking the one with the '?' sign above their head.
+
The default temperature is always {{Temperature|21}}, but that won't help, so use the buttons to adjust. The cooler will attempt to reach the designated value, but it all depends on leaving unroofed areas and the room's size. Often one cooler alone is not enough. Check the tooltips by hovering the mouse over to detect if the desired temperature has been achieved. The seasons will dictate the amount of cooling or heat that is necessary for a given room. Check with colonists to determine what adjustments are required.  
  
 
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="center" mode="nolines">
 
<gallery widths="300px" heights="300px" class="center" mode="nolines">
File:Visitors.png|'''Interact with the one with (?)  to open the trade window.'''
+
File:Food has rotted away in storage.png|'''Notification: Food has rotted away in storage'''
File:First interaction with others.png|'''First interaction with others.'''
+
File:Cooler settings.png|'''Cooler settings'''
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
  
=== Power ===
+
===Research===
{{main|Power}}
+
After your colonists have finished all their "establishing" tasks (construction, planting, etc.), they will be idle. What better way to pass the time than to research? If research is set to a priority in the Work tab, and if you have selected a project to research, then pawns will research.  
[[File:Power.png|700px|thumb|center|Power lines connecting Fueled generator, Solar Panel and Wind turbine plus Battery to Coolers circuit. And a Steam geyser to the West.]]
 
 
 
Since we already start with knowledge of Electricity, access to power is available so long as there's an abundance in materials required, steel and components.
 
 
 
* [[Wood-fired generator]] requires wood and refuelling regularly.
 
* [[Solar panel]] produces energy with sunlight.
 
* [[Wind turbine]] provides energy so long as there's wind blowing. Requires adequate clear space to run properly. No trees, walls, mountains, heaters , etc., in their way. They can go over solar panels and fields, though, so you can tightly pack three solar panels under a wind turbine if you chose.
 
* [[Geothermal generator]], available later in-game, generates power from steam and must be placed on a steam geyser.
 
* [[Watermill generator]], can be researched relatively early, although it limits your starting location as they must be built near a river. Gives 1100W of continuous energy and does not require fuel of any sort.
 
* [[Battery|Batteries]] store energy when there is extra power (make sure to roof). Batteries run malfunction danger due to short circuits unless isolated by a [[power switch]]. Note: the [[Events#Zzztt...|short circuit]] event will become increasingly dangerous the more battery you construct.
 
* Both Wind Turbines and Solar Panels require batteries to give colonies power 100% of the time.
 
 
 
All these devices must be connected through [[power conduit]]s to the electronics you wish to run.
 
{{clear}}
 
  
=== Personal Quarters ===
+
Which research can depend a lot on playstyle and biome. Rough suggestions:
Barracks can give your colonists a heavy mood debuff. A barracks, by default, gives a -5 mood difference when compared with personal bedrooms of the same quality. They also get the Disturbed Sleep debuff very easily, which stacks up to 4 times to give a -6 penalty. Thus, if you have a good colony up and running and take care of everything else, you should think about giving your colonist their own bedroom.
 
  
Even an awful bedroom is better than all but the most deluxe barracks and makes it harder for your colonists' sleep to be interrupted. For starters, even a basic room with a bed will do. Upgrading it should be a later task done after you've got a proper colony up and running.
+
* '''A(nother) source of power.''' Your current sources of power work, but they aren't 100% ideal. Wind turbines aren't consistent power. Wood-fired generators require constant fueling.
 +
** Solar Panels (600pts) + Batteries (400pts) - [[Solar generator]]s are much more consistent than wind turbines; they work in the day, but not in night. [[Batteries]] allow you to store daytime power and use it during the night.
 +
** Watermill generator (700pts) - [[Watermill generator]]s provide constant power, and are cheaper than solar generators. However, they ''require a river or creek to function''. Don't research this if you haven't settled on a river/creek tile. Ocean doesn't count.
 +
** Geothermal Generator (3200pts) - [[Geothermal generator]]s offer a lot of power, and it's 100% consistent. However, this research project takes a very long time to complete, so it isn't recommended for newcomers.
  
=== Cleaning ===
+
* '''Machining and Weaponsmithing.''' Allows you to create your own weapons, armor, and more.
[[File:Cleaning.png|400px|thumb|center|Housekeeping with environment display toggled]]
+
** Smithing (700pts) -> Machining (1000pts): Smithing allows you to create melee weapons, and is required in order to research Machining. Machining allows you to create all sorts of advanced items.
In time, [[Filth|dirt]] will build up based on the frequency a room is accessed. This will cause your colonists a mood debuff. Hospital rooms that became dirty by the time surgery took place will likely result in fail operations.
+
** Gunsmithing (500pts) -> Blowback Operation (500pts) -> Gas Operation (1000pts): The gunmaking tree, unlocked after Smithing. Guns are guns, they help defend. You can loot guns from raiders, but they will often be poor quality. The guns from Gas Operation are generally an upgrade from previous guns, so it is recommended to wait until you get to Gas Operation.
  
To clean an area, toggle the environmental display at the bottom right of the screen, wherever your cursor points will generate a radius display. Negative values in red indicate dirt on that tile and make it easy to point to specific locations for your colonist to be assigned the task. A window will inform the nature and origin of the dirt plus stack values when piled up.
+
* '''Microelectronics (3000pts).''' Microelectronics is required to unlock more advanced technology. However, it is a very long project, so you should research other (more useful) projects first.
  
 
== Intermediate Early Stage ==
 
== Intermediate Early Stage ==

Revision as of 05:20, 1 May 2023

Basics Menus Game Creation Gameplay Pawns Plants Resources Gear Mods
Basics Menu Controls User Interface Save File Modding Version history

This is the guide covering the gameplay Basics of RimWorld in detail. If you want a quick guide to the game, check out the quickstart guide.

Brand new players are encouraged to play the Tutorial first, if they haven't already. The tutorial will guide you through the RimWorld UI, help them set up a starter base, and defend against your first raid. Once you've completed the tutorial, you can set your storyteller and continue the game. The learning helper can also be a useful tool.

This guide is intended for players that are using the original Crashlanded scenario, and without any mods or DLC enabled. With DLC, things shouldn't be too different. Note that, for the Ideology DLC in particular, you'll want to use the "Ideology system inactive" option.

Colony Setup

  • Scenario: Pick the standard Crashlanded scenario. This starts you off with 3 colonists, some decent weapons, and Electricity. Most tutorials, here and elsewhere, are geared towards this scenario.
  • Storyteller: Select Cassandra Classic or Phoebe Chillax on any desired difficulty. The game's suggestions are fairly accurate; if you have trouble picking, then Adventure Story is a good start.
  • World set-up: The default settings are just fine for gameplay purposes. Just select generate and continue on.
  • Starting site: This consists of multiple factors.
    • Biome: Pick Temperature Forest for now. It's not too hot, not too cold, has plenty of wood, wildlife, and buildable land, but less disease than a rainforest.
    • Climate: You'll want a "year-round" growing period. This (almost) removes the pressures of winter.
    • Terrain: Flat, Small Hills, or Large Hills will do. It doesn't really matter. The larger the hills, the more ores you'll have, but the less open space for building. Larger hills can also be used for natural defense.

Colonists

The Crashlanded scenario starts with three colonists. You can randomize them as much as you want, but you can't fully customize them without mods or dev tools. RimWorld is designed around a motely crew - you will not start with perfect colonists, nor should you try. But there are a few aspects worth taking into consideration.

Example colonist selection.
Skills: Good at Plants and Intellectual, great at Mining and Social.
Traits: Undergrounder means that they like staying indoors. They'll dislike growing crops outdoors, but this isn't a dealbreaker - still a good planter.
Fast walker is an all-round good trait.
Health: Nothing bad right now, though on the older side. They may get detrimental conditions as they age. Again, not important right now, but a consideration.
Skills:

Skills and passions in a skill are both important to colony wellbeing. Skill level determines proficiency in that skill. Passion determines how fast the skill is learned. Passionate pawns will also be happier when doing a job of that passion.

The most important skills for survival are Shooting, Construction, Plants, and Medical. Any 1 colony should have a colonist with both a minimum of 5 skill points and 1 "flame" of passion each skill. The other skills are useful - each skill will be covered in detail below.

  • Shooting - Defense against raiders and other threats to your colony. Also helps with hunting. Increasing shooting skill increases accuracy, especially at long ranges.
  • Melee - Defense against enemies up close. In RimWorld, you cannot fire any ranged weapon at an enemy in melee range (directly adjacent). This applies to both colonists and enemies. Increasing melee skill will increase the chance to hit and dodge... in melee.
  • Construction - Creating structures, like walls, tables, and beds. A minimum construction (4-6) is required to build spike traps and electrical equipment. Increasing construction skill will increase its speed, the quality of furniture, and reduce the chance of construction failure ("botched" construction).
  • Mining - Breaking rock and harvesting ore. Increasing mining skill will increase mining speed and ore yield.
  • Cooking - Creating meals from raw food. Increasing cooking skill will increase cooking speed and decrease the food poisoning chance.
  • Plants - Growing crops to eat and sell. Plants 8 lets you grow healroot, a source of medicine, right away. Increasing plants skill will increase planting speed and harvest yield.
  • Animals - Taming and training animals. Many animals have a minimum skill to train them. Increasing animals skill will increase the chance of animal tame/train success. Also reduces the manhunter chance when hunting.
  • Crafting - Smithing armor and weapons, and tailoring apparel. Higher crafting skill will increase quality of crafted items. Does not increase the speed of crafting.
    Note that the work types in the "Craft" tab, such as stonecutting, smelting, and drug synthesis, do not use the crafting skill. Stonecutting is unrelated to any skill and can be done by any colonist capable of Skilled Labor.
  • Artistic - Creating sculptures. Increasing art skill will quality of sculptures, but not their speed of creation.
  • Medical - Tending to injured and sick colonists. Increasing medical skill will increase tend quality, making injuries heal faster and diseases less deadly. Also increases success for surgery.
  • Social - Trade, recruitment, etc. Increasing social skill will improve trade prices (both buy and sell) and make prisoners easier to recruit. Higher social also increases the impact of the daily chats your colonists will have.
  • Intellectual - Research and drug synthesis. Increasing intellectual skill will make research faster, as well as drug production.
A balanced team skills selection.

Of these skills, Animals and Artistic are easily the least important to start with. Crafting isn't needed for immediate survival, but can be very handy later on. That leaves 9 skills that are important to be at least competent at (4+ skill). Thankfully, the "Team Skills" area at the bottom shows every important skill, except Social.

  • You can forgo melee for the entire game. However, melee can be very helpful, and one of your 3 weapons will be a knife, a melee weapon.
  • Cooking can be ignored if you plan to use a nutrient paste dispenser.

Don't worry too much about starting skill levels, as characters will get more skilled with time (they are not fixed values) when they do relevant work. And other colonists will be joining soon! Being good in a few important skills and competent in others is all you need for now.


Brawlers are great melee colonists, but pyromaniac is inherently a downside. If you're willing to handle that downside, then Zach would make a good constructor and fighter.
Traits:

Some traits can be very bad...

  • Pyromaniacs are liable to cause a fire starting spree at any time. This can be an issue if they're around especially flammable objects.
  • Chemical interest and chemical fascination pawns will ignore the player's drug policy in order to get their fix. However, they no longer go on random drug binges.
  • Depressive and Volatile pawns are more vulnerable to mental breaks. During a mental break, a pawn won't do work, and may cause damage to their surroundings or others.

Others can be very good...

  • Industrious is +35% work speed, forever, for almost any task. Industrious (and hard worker) are one of the few ways to increase the speed of unskilled tasks, like stonecutting.
  • Tough is 50% damage taken, for all damage. This is effectively x2 health forever. No longer will a short bow instantly kill your colonists. Great for both melee AND ranged fighters.
  • Bloodlust gets an immense mood boost for witnessing a kill, and another one for doing the killing. They also don't mind war crimes. More likely to start social fights, however.

Others can be in the middle.

  • Very Neurotic is essentially Industrious and Volatile at the same time. Stacks with both Industrious and Volatile. Neurotic is a less intense version, as the name suggests.
  • Brawler improves many aspects of melee combat. However, a brawler hates ranged weapons. A brawler is more upset with holding a ranged weapon than having both of their parents die.

The main takeaway is that very bad traits are very bad and should generally be avoided, but you don't need very good traits in order to have a successful colony. If you have a pawn with a great set of traits, keep them. If a pawn has good and bad traits, then they can still be worth it.


Don't take this colonist, regardless of how many good skills or traits they have. They'll move 60% slower and do any type of work 30% slower. Oh, and constant pain, too.
Health conditions:

A health condition can be tolerated if a colonist is great in other fields. For example, an Industrious Crafter + Researcher is still worth taking despite a peg leg; a researcher won't need to move often, anyways. Otherwise, try to avoid any negative condition as much as possible.

Work (in)capabilities:
  • Colonists who are incapable of violence will not be able to fight incoming threats.
  • Colonists who are incapable of dumb labor cannot haul or clean, which are especially important early-game jobs.
  • Colonists who are incapable of firefighting will not be able to extinguish fires, which

At a bare minimum, you'll want 2 colonists capable of any work task. Being capable and being good are 2 separate things. But a colonist can't be any more skilled at Hauling, for instance.

TO DO

DELETE LATER

A. Base planning - Before you unpause

1. Weapons (possibly armor too?)
2. Where to set up
3. Stockpile zones

B. Colony planning - Essentials (Food, Shelter, Security)

5. Base building
6. Growing Zones + plant info

C. Technical details

7. Work + work priorities
8. Schedule

D. After the first day

9. Research
10. Combat

The Very Beginning

Weapons

You start with 3 weapons:

  • Bolt-action rifle Bolt-action rifle - A gun with amazing range. Of all the weapons in RimWorld, it has the second best range - only beaten by the sniper rifle. However, it isn't much stronger than a pistol up close. Because Shooting skill is more important when shooting from far away, have the colonist best at Shooting wield the bolt-action rifle.
  • Knife Plasteel knife - A melee weapon. Knives are one of the weakest melee weapons, but it is made of plasteel, the strongest material in the game. The plasteel knife is roughly equivalent to a steel longsword or mace of normal quality. Have your best melee fighter wield the knife, unless they're also your best shooter.
  • Revolver Revolver - A pistol, good up close. Better than the bolt-action at close range, though most other firearms are stronger. Remember that you can't fire any ranged weapon in melee. Have your remaining colonist wield the revolver.

To summarize: best shooter should get the rifle, then best melee gets the knife, and then the other colonist (if capable of violence) gets the pistol. To equip a weapon, select a colonist and right click a weapon on the ground. To drop a weapon, go to the Gear tab and click the down arrow.

The tutorial forces you to pick weapons without being able to pick your character bios. If you are continuing play after the tutorial, just re-equip them in the desired order.

You don't have to worry about enemies just yet, since Cassandra gives you a few days to prepare. Enemies shouldn't arrive until you get the "Need Defenses" pop-up on the bottom-right. But since your colonists start near their weapons, you might as well pick them up, right?

Unpause the game, have your colonists equip their gear, and re-pause. There's still things to set up.


Base location

Good starter location circled in yellow.

In the tutorial, players are taught to build their first home at the map's center to hasten the lecture. This makes sense, as it's where your colonists start off at.

When creating your base, there are a few things to consider, in rough order of importance:

  1. Location - somewhat near the center of the map
  2. Near rich soil
  3. Somewhat near steam geysers
  4. (OPTIONAL) Natural defenses and structures

In the picture to the right:

  • Not pictured: near the center of the map
  • Red: Nearby rich soil
  • Blue: Steam geysers somewhat nearby
  • Yelow: Natural structure to build in
Fertility overlay.
  • Location

A central location will be further away from raiders. If you build near the edge on the map, then some raiders can spawn right next to you. No matter how big your walls are, some types of raiders will explicitly breach through them.

Fertility overlay in game.
Dark green is rich soil.
  • Rich Soil

Rich soil increases plant growth speed by 140%. Rich soil is an irreplicable advantage until you can rely entirely on hydroponics. Even then, certain crops like corn and devilstrand cannot grow in hydroponics.

Rich soil is good to use, but not 100% necessary. 14 tiles of regular soil are almost exactly equal to 10 tiles of rich soil. You will get the same yield with regular soil and take the same amount of work for that yield. However, rich soil grows faster - growing faster means the first batch of crops will be ready faster. Since you won't start off with much food, this is important. If your crops are hit by a cold snap, it only takes 4 days rather than 5.5 days to regrow them. And if your climate has a winter, then rich soil lets you grow more before the frost hits.

Rich soil is a darker shade of soil. In order to see the soil more easily, you can use the fertility overlay, in the bottom right corner of the screen.

  • Steam geysers

Steam geysers allow you to build geothermal generators on top of them. Geothermal is one of the best power sources of the game - it gives lots of power and it constantly gives power You don't need to be right next to steam vents, but you don't want to be too far away.

If you build a room on a steam geyser, then it will create lots of heat. This will overheat your colonists in a temperate biome. But if you're playing in a tundra, the heat of a steam geyser can help.

"Reconstructing" a ruin can save time.
  • Natural defenses

Throughout your map, hills and ruined structures will be placed sporadically. Consider using these structures to form the foundation of your base, at least for the first few days. It saves having to build your own walls.

You can also use existing hills, rivers, marsh, etc. to your advantage, by slowing down enemy attackers.


Set up a basic stockpile

Stockpile zones. (Architect Tab / Zones)
If you haven't assigned anything else yet, colonists will haul to the stockpile zone(s).

Once you've found a starting location, you'll want to create a stockpile zone. Colonists will haul items to a designated stockpile.

There are 2 types of stockpiles: the regular stockpile zone, and the dumping stockpile zone. The only differences between the zones are their default names and default configuration. Stockpile zones are set to store things that generally should be inside. Dumping stockpile zones are set to store things that generally should be outside.

All the items you'll start with will be stored by a default stockpile zone. Create a stockpile roughly where you want to settle in for the time being. It's better to first bring the items to you, then start constructing your base.

When left outdoors, most items will slowly deteriorate over time. It takes months before the items are finally destroyed, so you can leave them outside for a bit while you start building your base. Constructed buildings and structures never deteriorate. In addition, certain materials like steel and stone blocks do not ever deteriorate. You can view how fast items deteriorate when selecting the item in question.

Once you've set up a basic stockpile and unpaused the game, then any colonist capable of dumb labor should being hauling. Once you have some wood available, then you can start the construction process.

The First Day

You'll need 3 things to survive on a rimworld: Food, Shelter, and Security.

Cassandra Classic gives you a short grace period before enemies start appearing, so we only need to worry about the first two. With an efficient work flow, we can knock out two of the three needs by day 1 or 2.


Base construction

Building a simple base helps with colonist mood and a few other things. You can move most buildings later on. Certain items like walls, doors, and power generators cannot be moved, and must be deconstructed for a loss in resources. Therefore, it is up to player preference whether you want to plan ahead or not.

Trees get in the way of buildings, so you'll want to assign the tree to be cut. Then prioritize your planter to cut the tree.

The following is a list of helpful buildings, in order of priority. Treat it like a checklist. You can use the handy searchbar (on the bottom of the Architect tab) to search for items you need.

Creation of a simple, 7x7 room.
Trees get in the way of buildings, so order a planter to cut them down.
Buildings less important right now are forbidden. Unforbid them later.
Search bar on the bottom of the Architect tab. Searching "table" gets the actual table types in the furniture tab, as well as a few other items with "table" in their name (like end table).

Priority #1

  • Wall / Door Walls and doors are necessary for constructing a room. Rooms are considered indoors. When outdoors, items will deteriorate, and workshops like the hand tailor bench will functions at 90% speed. Heaters and coolers can only function with places considered indoors.
  • Bed Beds are used for sleeping. Not only do they avoid −4 Slept on the ground moodlet, but they also increase quality of rest. Compared to sleeping on the ground, a normal quality bed reduces sleep time by ~ 1 hour every day.
  • Table (1x2) Tables help avoid the −3 Ate without Table moodlet. Later on, tables also give a positive moodlet if they are in an impressive room. There are 4 types of table, the only differences being size and cost. 1x2 should do for right now. You need a seat to eat at a table.
  • Stool Stools are the cheapest form of seating. They take much less work than a dining chair to make, and allow your colonists to eat at a table.
  • Roofs are free and will automatically be created after a room is created. You can order roof creation with a Build roof area and remove it with a remove roof area (both are in the Zones tab).

Priority #2

  • Power conduit Electricity. Used for a wide variety of appliances, essential for progress. You have 2 options:
    • Wood-fired generator Build a wood-fired generator for now. These generators produce a steady supply of power, so long as they are fueled. A temperate forest is filled with lumber, so this shouldn't be an issue. A bigger issue is work - your colonists will have to cut trees and haul the wood to the generator. Later on, wood-fired generators can be replaced.
Electric buildings, like standing lamps, can connect to a power generator or power conduit up to 6 tiles away. You'll see a purple line if a connection will be made. Power conduits can be used to transport electricity from a further distance. (The conduit has to connect directly to a generator).
  • End table / Dresser End tables and dressers increase comfort of nearby beds, which increases colonist mood.
  • Standing lamp Light. In the dark, colonists work 80% as fast and move 80% as fast. There are no windows in the game; all roofed rooms are considered dark until lit. A torch lamp only costs 10 wood and lasts for 10 days before needing to be refueled. After you get electricity set up, you can build a standing lamp, which costs a trivial amount of electricity to mantain.

Priority #3

  • Electric stove The electric stove is used to cook food. Packaged meals won't last forever, and eating raw food directly gives the −7 Ate raw food moodlet. Cooking also reduces the chance for food poisoning (so long as you have a competent cook), and increases the nutrition you get for the same amount of food.
  • Stonecutter's table A stonecutter's table allows you to create stone blocks. Stone is a great material for walls, as it does not burn and is more durable than steel. As opposed to steel, stone is extremely plentiful, though it takes a long time to work with. (This table works with stone chunks, which are ugly and take up a lot of space. It is often worth to take the -10% work speed penalty for the stonecutter's table to outside, closer to stone chunks.)
  • Simple research bench Simple research benches allow you to research, which unlocks many vital technologies. If your colonists have nothing better to do, it's good to let them research. Multiple benches can be used at the same time with no penalties.
  • Dining chair Dining chairs are seats that are more comfortable than stools, but take longer to make. Place them on tables and anywhere colonists will sit for long periods of time (like stoves, stonecutter's tables, and research benches).
  • Horseshoes pin Horseshoe pins are a form of Recreation. Colonists will play at the pin from time to time. They can be placed both indoors and outdoors.
    • At the start, place your horseshoe pin outside. This helps increase the unrelated need for colonists to be Outdoors.
    • Later on, place the pin indoors. This allows colonists to benefit from the Impressive recreation room mood buff. At the start, your rooms won't be impressive, so there isn't an impressive mood buff.

Planting crops

A 5x5 growing zone of rice, 25 tiles big.
3 plots are enough food to feed 3 colonists.

Growing food is the primary and most consistent source of food in RimWorld. You start with 50 packaged survival meals, which are enough to tide colonists over for 8 days. It's best to start growing crops before you run out of food.

To grow crops, you'll want to go to Architect / Zones and select growing zone. Drag the growing zone around an area, preferably with rich soil. At first, you will want to grow rice plants. Rice grows the fastest and is the most stable food crop.

A growing zone of rice 25 tiles large, a 5x5 plot, is more than enough food for 1 colonist when...

  1. Cooked into simple meals.
  2. Harvested reasonably quickly (make sure your planter is doing their job!)
  3. You can grow crops year-round. (If you have a winter, grow more food before hand)

In rich soil, you only need 20 tiles of crop per colonist.

This amount of crop can sustain a colonist on Losing is Fun, the hardest difficulty. On any easier difficulty, 25 tiles of crop provides a healthy stockpile of food. So if a blight happens to destroy your harvest, you'll have plenty of extra food remaining.

Since you start with 3 colonists, make a growing zone 75 tiles (regular soil) or 60 tiles (rich soil) big, set it to rice, and have your grower sow. Well... building a shelter is more important. So have your grower cut the trees in the way of your shelter, then have them sow.

You will also have to feed your animal. Grazers like yaks and horses can eat grass. But a husky or yorkshire terrier will eat your meals if they have nothing left. For simplicities' sake, release your starting animal if they can't graze. Otherwise you can forage from berry bushes or hunt animals to give food.

In specific, each colonist will consume 2 simple meals per day. 2 simple meals are worth 20 units of raw food. So, for 3 colonists, 6 meals / 60 raw food is a day's worth of food. Note that cooking "creates" food. When you eat food uncooked, each colonist needs 32 units of raw food per day. Pemmican is also a "small" ingredient; 32 units of pemmican will feed 1 colonist for 1 day. A colonist can survive just under 3 full days without food, however going without food incurs a massive mood penalty.


Crop choice

There are 4 food crops in RimWorld. Rice is suggested at first, since it is the fastest growing food crop, and you don't have any food beyond your packaged meals right now.

After your first harvest, you can grow a number of crops...

  • Rice Rice is the fastest growing crop. But it gives the least food per harvest. Since you need to harvest it multiple times, it requires the most colonist work to grow.
However, rice has the advantage of stability. A blight will not impact a rice harvest as much as it does with other crops. There are other uses for its fast grow speed. If winter is fast approaching, you can grow rice as a "last harvest". It trains the Plants skill the fastest.
  • Corn Corn is the opposite of rice. It grows slowly, but gives the most per harvest. Snice it needs to be harvested much less frequently, it takes the least colonist work to grow corn. However, your corn harvest will be impacted more by disasters like blight and fire.
  • Potatoes Potatoes are the "inbetween" crop, growing at a medium pace and giving a medium yield/harvest. A more important fact is that potatoes are the least impacted by soil. They benefit the least from rich soil, but are hindered the least by poor/stony soil. So don't grow potatoes on rich soil.
  • Berries Strawberry plants' main niche is that berries can be eaten raw without the −7 Ate raw food mood penalty. They aren't as stable as rice, but give much less yield per harvest than the other two crops. Since you'll want to cook food into meals to avoid food poisoning anyways, berries aren't a great choice.

Rice, corn, and potatoes give about the same yield per day. Rice grows the fastest and gives the least per harvest, and the opposite for corn. Thus, the main difference is the colonist work : stability ratio of these three crops. Strawberries give less yield per day, so they are an inferior crop to the other 3.

Ultimately, the amount of growing work isn't that big, even when using rice. You can go the entire game just growing rice and be entirely fine.

Technical Things

With the first day sorted out, now we can get into the nitty-gritty of colonist settings.

Colonists have some default work settings and will mostly busy themselves. Eventually, they run out of chores to do and begin to wander or idle. This is because there's a need for adjustments within their tasks.

We can adjust how colonists work, using 2 tabs on the bottom of the screen:

  • Work - What jobs colonists will do when they are assigned to work
  • Schedule - How long colonists will work, sleep, etc.

This guide will explain, in detail, how both of these tabs function. You don't need to optimize these tabs, but if you're wondering "why is my colonist doing X and not Y", you may want to check these sections out.


Work

Click the Work tab. Colonists will do assigned tasks from left to right. For further control, most players will activate "Manual priorities", by clicking the red cross at the top left of the tab.

Simple priorities.png
  • How priorities work

Jobs are checked from 1 to 4 (if manual priority is on), then from left to right. For the first job with an available task, a colonist will do every possible task related to that job. Then, they will do every possible task in the next column of work. For the most part, colonists do not care about efficiency; they'll do as they're told.

Let's take Bild as an example:

  1. Bild will first check for any possible task of Firefight. The "Firefight" task will only check for fires in the home area. If there are any fires in the home area, then Bild will try to put them out. (If she's busy doing another task, then it might take some time to update.)
  2. Then, Bild will check for Patient, Bed rest, Basic, and Warden tasks, in this exact order. If she is sick or injured, then she will heal in bed as "Work" instead of working, due to both Patient and Bed rest being very high priority.
  3. Afterwards, Bild will check for Grow and Plant Cut, in that order. Bild will sow a field in 1 area, then sow a field halfway across the map, before cutting down a tree right next to the original field.
  4. Despite Mine being left of Plant Cut, because it is 2, it will be done only after all Grow, Plant Cut, and Hauling tasks are done.
  5. If Bild has nothing better to do, then she will research at an available research bench. If there are no available places to research, she will become idle.

To optimize work time, you'll want to minimize work time. Setting work priorities in a smart way can help do so. You can always force-prioritize a colonist to do a specific task. Select the colonist, and right click an important task, like getting your beds built.

Only one colonist can work at 1 specific thing at any specific time. Only 1 doctor can operate on a patient, but 2 doctors can operate 2 patients at the same time. 2 growers cannot sow crops at the same tile, but they can sow 2 separate tiles together (even in the same growing zone).

  • Job titles are not always descriptive

The job titles are not a full indication of what the job actually covers.

  • The "Craft" job contains 4 tasks that do not rely on Crafting skill. If you are not using a crafting spot, then no tasks use the Crafting skill.
  • The "Doctor" job, in addition to rescuing and tending pawns, includes feeding patients and visiting sick patients for Recreation.
  • The "Haul" job contains many other dumb tasks, like rearming turrets and burying corpses in graves.

You can see every available task within a column by hovering over the job in question. Tasks are done from top to bottom, just like how work is done from left to right. But unlike work jobs, these cannot be adjusted. A colonist assigned to Construction will always build and remove roofs before deconstructing a wall, for instance.

  • Work and skill

In the Work tab, there are two visual cues to determine the colonist's suitability for a particular task:

  • The first is the box outline itself, for the number becomes brighter the more proficient a colonist is at the task.
  • The second cue is the small fire marks in the bottom corner of a task box, which denote the colonist's passion for the task, or how quickly they will learn it. A colonist with no passion learns at 33%, with a single passion at 100%, and with a double passion at 150%. Consider making colonists with low skill but high passions work their preferred task. They will skill up quickly, and get a mood boost for doing work they enjoy.

This is nothing you can't see in their Bio tab, but looking at the work tab can be useful as a quick comparison.

  • What does this all mean? - General guidelines
  1. Firefight, Patient, Bed rest, and Basic should be set to 1 for everybody. The former three can be extremely important to handle immediately. You want your colonists fighting fires all the time, so that your rice fields won't burn to ashes. You want colonists resting constantly when they get the plague. If a colonist is resting just because of a single bruise, then you can lower the priority of rest for a while. Just make sure to turn it back on soon.
  2. Set things you want first... higher priority. Your grower should be growing at the highest priority. At the very start of the game, set Hauling to 1 so that you can move everything to your base.
  3. Even if a colonist is not great at Intellectual, set Research at priority 4. You cannot fail research, and research is better than being idle. Multiple pawns can research at the same time, at no penalty, if you have multiple research benches.
  • The same principle applies to Craft and the Crafting skill. Stonecutting is valuable work that can be done by (almost) anyone. It's better to have an otherwise idle colonist cut stone, than a colonist with other work to do.

Priorities are relative. Some player like to have every task set to 2 or lower, only raising something to 1 when it needs to happen immediately.


Schedule

Next to the Work tab is the Schedule tab.

Restrict menu.png

It contains 4 different settings:

  • Anything: If tired, go sleep. If bored, go recreate (relax). Otherwise work.
  • Recreation: If tired, go sleep. Then recreate. Once recreation meter is full, work.
  • Work: Work. Ignore all needs (except food).
  • Sleep: Sleep. If not tired, go work.

The most important takeaway is that the default schedule is perfectly fine! When assigned to "Anything", colonists will work, and automatically take care of their needs when needed. Mood is very important in RimWorld, so let your colonists recreate. And they'll sleep at night. Colonists get a penalty for working in the darkness, so avoid working at night whenever possible.

If a colonist is sleeping, they will continue to sleep even if they are assigned to "Anything" or "Recreation" at the current time (i.e., assigning Recreation won't wake colonists up). "Work" immediately wakes colonists up.

Combat

Sooner or later, your colony will be attacked by enemies. With Cassandra Classic / Phoebe Chillax, your very first enemy will be a small, manhunter animal.

Combat basics

Draft gizmo.

1. General

  • Draft your colonists to enter combat mode. Select the colonist, hit the "Draft" gizmo or the R key, and they will enter the drafted state.
  • Select a drafted colonist, and right click a tile to move them. You can select multiple colonists and order them to move to 1 place.
  • Use the gizmos on the bottom of the screen to order your colonists to do other things.
  • Colonists cannot be directed to stand on the same tile. However, colonists can pass through other colonists, if ordered to move past each other.
  • Colonists cannot pass through enemies under usual circumstances. Enemies cannot pass through colonists under usual circumstances.

2. Melee

  • Select a colonist and right click an enemy to order a melee attack. You can also use the "Melee attack" gizmo on the bottom of the screen.
  • Pawns are in "melee range" if they are directly adjacent to each other.
    • Enemies cannot fire their ranged weapon at all if they are engaged in melee. You cannot fire a ranged weapon at an enemy in melee range.
    • Note that your colonists can fire at other enemies that aren't in melee range, even if they are being attacked in melee.
If a colonist is in the white area, they cannot be hit by friendly fire by the middle colonist.

3. Ranged

  • Pawns with a ranged weapon will automatically fire it, if there's an enemy in range (and if they aren't in melee combat).
  • Pawns cannot fire through walls or other impassible objects. These objects block "line of sight".
  • If a pawn is directly adjacent to cover, like sandbags, or barricades, they will use said cover. You can fire over sandbags and the like. Cover blocks ranged attacks (it's useless in a melee fight.)
  • Friendly fire can occur, ONLY IF a friendly colonist is more than 5 tiles away AND if they are in line of fire. The picture in the right shows the area in which colonists are "immune" to friendly fire. So long as pawns are in the 5-tile radius, friendly fire will not happen.

Defensive structures

If you're fighting a single manhunting rat, then 3 colonists should just clobber it, no matter how you fight it. But later on, you'll have to fight more and more enemies.

The trick with RimWorld's combat is defensive positioning. You are almost always the defender, so you can make enemies conform to you. For both melee and ranged combat, a good defensive setup can go a long way.

Alternate between walls and barricades for the best cover. Gaps of barricades req'd to actually shoot out.

Ranged

For ranged combat, you'll want the best possible cover, and want enemies to have the least possible cover.

  • The best possible cover is the wall (75% cover). However, pawns cannot shoot through walls. What happens is that a pawn "leans out" of a wall to fire from it. This limits the angle in which colonists can shoot (though it also limits the angle which enemies can shoot, too).
  • Barricades and sandbags are the next best cover (55% cover), and they allow pawns to fire through just fine. Both items are identical other than the materials used to make them.

Thus, the best possible cover is a combination of walls and sandbags/barricades. Walls are your main source of cover. Gaps are necessary to allow colonists to shoot through, and you might as well fill them with other forms of cover.

Since colonists have to lean out of the wall to fire, angled shots can partially bypass the wall's cover. In this case, the barricade/sandbag will block some shots. If you don't ever fight enemies at an angle, then the barricades can technically be foregone. If you want a wider angle to fire at, then include larger barricade gaps between each wall segment.


A "melee block" - i.e., using chokepoints found in any doorway. Don't stand on the door, but just behind it.

Melee

For melee combat, you'll want to use walls and positioning to give the best advantage to your colonists.

  • The melee block (pictured right). Basically, a hallway. 3 melee fighters hit 1 melee enemy in a choked point. Your ranged fighters can shoot behind melee fighters. Melee block tactics are extremely effective against groups of melee enemies.
  • Use structures to your advantage. The main disadvantage of melee is that you have to approach enemies. So why not have enemies approach you? Use walls to prevent enemy fire, and they'll walk right into you. The picture below demonstrates an example of an "ambush" - force enemies through corners, and force them into melee.
Luring ranged enemies into your melee squad, using a corner.

Putting it together

Here is an example of how you can use both melee and ranged structures to your advantage. This is by no means the only way to defend your colony. If you want more options, check out the defense structures article.


Tending

No matter how good your tactics are, your colonists will eventually get injured and need to rest.

A doctor will "tend" to a pawn when they are injured or sick. Tending makes injuries heal faster, stop wounds from bleeding, and slows the progression of a disease. Medicine does not heal injuries or disease on its own. Medicine just increases the quality of the tend, which makes the tend more effective (faster healing, etc.).

If your colonists are bleeding out quickly, you may need to tend to them on the field.

How / when to tend

  1. Tend on the field. Draft your doctor (if they aren't drafted already). Select the doctor, right click a pawn, and click "Tend" or "Tend (without medicine)". Tending on the field is less effective than in a bed. But if a colonist is rapidly bleeding out, it doesn't matter how effective the tend is.
    If you want your doctors to be able to tend on the field with medicine, go to the Assign tab, and adjust the medicine selection on the right. (Medicine has the advantage of healing multiple bleeding wounds at a time).
  2. Tend in a bed. If your colonists are assigned to "Bed rest" in the Work tab, they will automatically rest in bed. Then, a doctor will tend to them as a work task. You do not need a bed set to "Medical" for colonists to rest in it. You can force colonists to rest by selecting the colonist, and right clicking the bed (for this purpose, the bed must be set to medical).
  3. Rescue the colonist, and then tend to them. If a colonist is downed, then to tend in bend, you'll need to rescue them first. Select your doctor, right click a downed colonist, and click "Rescue". Afterwards, they can be tended normally.

Using medicine

Correct resource allocation is key. Using your best medicine for a few bruises is a waste.

Adjust medicine icons to adjust medical settings.

In the colonist's Assign tab, you can assign what medicine a doctor will use on them. (See left)

  • Doctor care but no medicine.png Doctor care, no medicine - You don't need any medicine for bruises, small cuts, and even large cuts. And you may need to tend w/o medicine in emergencies, where grabbing medicine from storage would take too long.
  • Herbal medicine Herbal medicine (or worse) - Herbal medicine is worse than regular medicine, but the advantage is that you can grow herbal medicine on your own. Healroot can be sown as soon as you have a colonist with Plants 8 or higher. Herbal medicine can be used against diseases. If you have enough, you can use herbal medicine for general injuries to reduce the risk of infection.
  • Medicine Industrial medicine (or worse) - Industrial medicine (or just "medicine", the blue one) is a high quality medicine. As mentioned above, using regular medicine is a waste for regular injuries, unless a colonist is rapidly bleeding out. Use medicine against diseases and surgeries. Diseases can be fatal if untreated. Surgeries are likely to fail without great medicine.
  • Glitterworld medicine Best quality medicine - Glitterworld medicine is the best medicine in the game. The most expensive medicine, glitterworld should be used like industrial medicine, i.e. for disease and surgery.

You can also choose whenever to use medicine or not, if you draft your doctor. Doctors can only draft-tend with medicine if they were already carrying it (to set doctors to carry, also see the Assign tab).

Set your colonists to either "doctor care, no medicine" OR "herbal medicine" for now. If a disease pops up, set relevant colonists back to industrial medicine.

The Next Few Days

Cooking with the bill system

If you've played the tutorial, you've likely been introduced to the bill system already. If not, then cooking is a good start. Your rice will be ready to harvest soon, and you'll need to cook it.

Select the stove, and click "Add Bill" on the top of the menu. Then, select a meal you want. Simple meals are the fastest to cook and use the least food.

Click on the "Do 'X' Times" button in order to change the bill. There are 2 more options - "Do until you have X", and "Do Forever".

Since each colonist eats ~2 meals per day, you will want to set a bill that cooks 2 meals per colonist. Select "Do until you have X", and then you can change the number of meals to 6 (or whatever number you need). You may want to make a few more meals than needed, as a "buffer" in case your cook is injured.

If you actually set this in game, you might notice a few inefficiencies. Lets say you have 10 meals already. If a colonist eats 1, your meal count is now 9, which is obviously below 10. Your cook will run all the way back to the stove, cook the meal, then go back to what they were doing. They will walk back and forth each time a colonist eats a single meal.

It'd be better if they waited until there were only a few meals left, then cook all of them at once. Thankfully, there is a setting for this! Go into "Details" button, and you'll get this screen.

Food put right next to a stove.

You can set the "pause until satisfied" meals to whatever number you want. Start cooking before you hit 0 meals, so that colonists won't eat raw food.


The most efficient cooking set-ups have their food near their stove. Otherwise, your cook will have to walk back and forth between each meal. Your cook will only haul the exact amount required to cook 1 meal, which is doubly inefficient. Ideally, we want food directly next to the stove. So you should do that. (See right)

But under the current bill settings, your cook still hauls each meal to the "best" stockpile zone, then go back to the stove. We want to eliminate this too. There is another setting. Click "Take to best stockpile ", and change it to "Drop on floor". Note that "Do until X" only counts stockpile zones. So place a stockpile under the cook's feet, as seen in the picture to the right. (To do this, make a stockpile, go to stockpile zone settings, turn off all items but raw food, and set the "priority" to Preferred or higher)

With all these settings in place, your cook will stand in place, cook all their meals at once, then leave until you've run out of meals. Cooking is now efficiently automated. There are many other items that use the bill system. With a little adjustment, you can get colonists to do roughly what you want.


Stonecutting

Right now, your base is using wooden walls. Wood burns. Steel also burns in this game (as a wall. Steel floor and steel items don't burn). So you will want to create stone - specifically, stone blocks - relatively quickly. Stone takes a long time to make, but it is worth starting when your colonists have nothing better to do.

To make workable stone blocks, you'll need a stonecutter's table. The stonecutter's table uses the same bill system as the stoves. See the above subsection for details on all that. Each stone chunk produces 20 stone blocks. The specific type of stone is mostly irrelevant at this stage of the game, so you can use any stone if you'd wish.

Stone is best for walls, as it is more durable than both wood and steel. Stone is not good for doors. This is because stone doors open slowly. When you have a wood door surrounded by stone walls, the fire risk is minimal. In this situation, only 1 tile can be set on fire, which is not a problem. Stone can also be used for furniture, though stone beds in particular get a penalty when made out of stone.

Note: When replacing your wood walls, watch out for roof collapses! Roof will collapse if there isn't a wall within 6 tiles in it. With this in mind, replace your walls in small sections at a time. You can also use a remove roof area to remove the roof, destroy your walls, then rebuild the roof (with a build roof area).


Freezer

A freezer is a room brought below 0 °C (32 °F), using coolers. It is often recommended to build one. But you don't always need it. After all, Lost Tribes don't start with cooling technology at all. Let's go over all the reasons to (not) build a freezer, then show how to build one anyways.

Food, specifically, vegetable food, lasts for a surprisingly long time.

  • You can rely entirely on vegetarian food for the entire game. (See Planting crops)
  • Rice, when indoors, lasts for 40 days. Corn lasts for 60 days. Potatoes last for 30 days.
    • In a year-round growing biome, you can harvest 5 batches of rice by the time the first one rots. You can harvest 3 batches of corn by the time the first one rots.
    • In a biome with winter, you can let nature refrigerate for you. If you have a 40/60 growing season, rice lasts for 60 days (40 days spoiling, 20 days frozen). Unless you're in a tundra, you should get at least 1 harvest a season.
  • If you let rice rot after 5 full harvests, then you still have 4 harvests of rice in reserve. You didn't need any of that spoiled rice in the first place. Even if one of your harvests is ruined by blight, you have 3 full harvests of surplus.
  • You didn't need any of that spoiled rice in the first place. It's ok to let it rot.

Meals rot in ~4 days. But, there's a simple solution. Don't cook them yet. You only need to cook 1-2 days worth of food at a time. Minor mental breaks only last for a day or so, and injuries heal in a few days.

Building a Freezer

Most foods will quickly rot away in storage unless they are refrigerated. To prevent this food waste, the colony will need access to power to produce electricity and build coolers. There are a variety of original ideas when designing power grid planning. Constructing these devices require components that can be mined, traded, manufactured, and salvaged from ship chunks. In the early game, colonists have limited supplies, so treat them as delicate devices. Components are not easily replaceable and should be guarded with care.

Coolers are considered a wall tile. They are bi-directional; blue indicates cold and red means heat, so make sure to rotate blue towards the room you want cooled. Once constructed and powered on, the device is set up and operating automatically. The room must be enclosed completely and roofed in order to actually be cooled.

The default temperature is always 21 °C (69.8 °F), but that won't help, so use the buttons to adjust. The cooler will attempt to reach the designated value, but it all depends on leaving unroofed areas and the room's size. Often one cooler alone is not enough. Check the tooltips by hovering the mouse over to detect if the desired temperature has been achieved. The seasons will dictate the amount of cooling or heat that is necessary for a given room. Check with colonists to determine what adjustments are required.

Research

After your colonists have finished all their "establishing" tasks (construction, planting, etc.), they will be idle. What better way to pass the time than to research? If research is set to a priority in the Work tab, and if you have selected a project to research, then pawns will research.

Which research can depend a lot on playstyle and biome. Rough suggestions:

  • A(nother) source of power. Your current sources of power work, but they aren't 100% ideal. Wind turbines aren't consistent power. Wood-fired generators require constant fueling.
    • Solar Panels (600pts) + Batteries (400pts) - Solar generators are much more consistent than wind turbines; they work in the day, but not in night. Batteries allow you to store daytime power and use it during the night.
    • Watermill generator (700pts) - Watermill generators provide constant power, and are cheaper than solar generators. However, they require a river or creek to function. Don't research this if you haven't settled on a river/creek tile. Ocean doesn't count.
    • Geothermal Generator (3200pts) - Geothermal generators offer a lot of power, and it's 100% consistent. However, this research project takes a very long time to complete, so it isn't recommended for newcomers.
  • Machining and Weaponsmithing. Allows you to create your own weapons, armor, and more.
    • Smithing (700pts) -> Machining (1000pts): Smithing allows you to create melee weapons, and is required in order to research Machining. Machining allows you to create all sorts of advanced items.
    • Gunsmithing (500pts) -> Blowback Operation (500pts) -> Gas Operation (1000pts): The gunmaking tree, unlocked after Smithing. Guns are guns, they help defend. You can loot guns from raiders, but they will often be poor quality. The guns from Gas Operation are generally an upgrade from previous guns, so it is recommended to wait until you get to Gas Operation.
  • Microelectronics (3000pts). Microelectronics is required to unlock more advanced technology. However, it is a very long project, so you should research other (more useful) projects first.

Intermediate Early Stage

This means that by now you have:

  • Food stored to at least feed your colonist during winter when crops do not grow.
  • Each colonist has their own room.
  • You built a kitchen with a dining room (tables and chairs).
  • You got to a point where life threat is external rather internal.

Basic Defense

For a more in-depth guide see Defense structures.
For strategies on defeating the enemy, see Defense tactics.

Always consider your defenses BEFORE you need them. Nothing is instant in Rimworld, so trying to scramble something last minute will be difficult if you aren't dead already from lack of preparation.

Simple Wall

In the easiest difficulties games, such as Peaceful, raids will be mostly single enemies attacking your colony. To the point that they do not become a considerable threat. For instance, predators attacks are more dangerous than raiders because the first have the "surprise" element while incoming rival factions come to invade with "announcement" (you get a red envelope message to the right of the screen), so you have some minimal time to prepare yourself, at least positioning.

What needs to be understood about Defenses is that enemies will not bust open your doors but infiltrate from wall openings. So it's easy to trick the hostile AI pawns by laying spike traps where areas walls are not built (either because it wasn't worth it or you just can't rise them over water).

Wall with doors for friendlies and several spike traps for hostiles to be filled with chunks to slow them down.

It's easier to build walls by filling in the gaps between mountain and old ruins. Walls will be of better use to protect your plantations from herbivorous animals and any other locations where your pawns tend to walk around the limits of your colony to avoid said predator attacks.

Make sure you clear your Home zone (the blue one) so that pawns do not go beyond the wall by selecting Architect > Zone/Area > Clear allowed area > Home.

Training your fighters

While engaging hostile targets grants combat skills much faster, you may still want to practice defense and combat skills a bit with something else.

Hopefully, you didn't need to survive winter by hunting only due to a lack of berries or crops. Assuming you already manage to settle somehow, by now, you should be with your first three starter characters and maybe some more who joined you along the course of time; still, most likely, your colony will be rather a militia than an army.

If you didn't realize yet, characters can progress their skills except for those incapable of at certain categories. It's best if those who Hunt, can be trained to reach at least level 10, same for melee fighters as well. What counts towards their learning is "practice", which means to let your pawns to shoot many times or swing their weapons many times. For shooters, the smaller the target, the harder to hit. Which is wise and convenient, since your colony is still small, untrained, and maybe you leave someone good in Doctoring behind to tend the wounded later, it would be too dangerous to risk your men against large animals that could leave your people with permanent health problems.

As taught at the "learning helper" on the top right of the screen, Friendly fire safety tactic is a good start. Basically, your ranged characters will be shooting over their melee friends' shoulders, who will be guarding them when hostiles reach their position. But of course, melee characters don't need to wait until enraged animals get close. After shooters have downed a target, instead of making the shooters keep firing, just order the melee to finish them and practice more swinging. Remember to tell the shooters to stop firing.

Don't waste your practiced target (unforbid their corpses), and deliver them to your butcher to take as much as possible meat and fur from them.

Shooting skill leveling

You can make your characters improve their shooting ability by making them practice at rocks or walls as if they were dummies.[Verification] Draft your shooter to a location that doesn't have a frequent passage of others or is close enough to the target that the shooter will fire over passersby, and fire at rocks or walls by clicking "B", a red circle with your weapon icon will select the chosen target to fire at.

This grants Shooting XP gain at the same rate as shooting non-hostile animals but requires constant attention while hunting doesn't. For faster XP gain, choose a fast-firing weapon such as your starter revolver.

Constructed walls can be shot at, and this gives the benefit of allowing constructors to repair the walls for construction XP gain.

Shooting practice at rocks.png

Hunting

You may need meat for food or fur for apparel. Consider your current situation and pick a target accordingly. Don't go against a Thrumbo with just 3 poorly equipped dudes. Of course, the smaller the target, the lesser the gain, but it's still best to play it safe.

When you select animals to be hunted, the game will assign one pawn to go after it, and considering your character may be unskilled, it's best if more than one can go hunt for the needed items. Instead of just assigning targets to hunt, use the alternative method of drafting multiple characters and then right-click, the red cross equals the hunting task. This also allows you to use melee weapons, which have a much better chance at hitting and killing smaller animals (though more of a death wish against large ones).

Once you have hunted your prey, you will need a butcher table to process the corpse into edible meat and leather as well. Make sure to get the prey back home, as leaving it there too long may cause it to deteriorate and start rotting (at which point it's wasted) or be eaten by opportunistic predators.

On the other hand, predators like bears, for example, feed on deer. Since the body mass is large, it's often left without getting completely eaten, you can pick the leftovers for yourself without risking manhunter revenge.

Picking up left overs

Meat can be cooked into fine meals in conjunction with plant-based foods. They are slightly more nourishing than a simple meal and provide a +5 mood which is good for lifting colonists' spirits, even well into the mid-game.

Leather provides better protection than cloth and almost the same as synthread, making it a decent replacement for your Synthread starter clothes, which can only be obtained through trading.


Apparel

Tailor bench nearby the materials store and the wardrobe, with a cotton plantation surrounding it.

Either Tutorial or Crash-landed scenarios start with characters wearing Synthread gear which is resistant enough to last a year before deteriorating, so it's not a high priority. For a pawn assigned to Tailor work swiftly, it's convenient if both the fabric storage is somewhat close and with a next room designated to store finished wear. Characters react faster to available clothing if the product is listed in the items column instead of just lying by the bench.

Fire Handling

Fire can cause severe damage to your colony, especially if built mainly of wood, it can quickly spread through your base. Be watchful when Dry thunderstorms or flashstorms start to hit the ground. Rainy thunderstorms are less dangerous as the fires quickly get put out by the rain.

  • One way to prevent a major catastrophe is by cutting the grass surrounding your structures. Note that this will take some time and you will have to redo it. You can also install stone floors if you want to prevent plant growth.
  • Lightning strikes will continue as long as the storm lasts, and the first fires may hit far from home but not all of them, and since they will be hitting several spots. Regardless of how far they may be, it's still best to take care of them all as fire tends to expand very fast and by the time you realize, it may be very close already and so expansive that it may be harder to deal with than when it started small. Contain the fire, by fighting the other fire extensions and aim to close towards the center rather than just putting it out from one side. As you combat this hazard, always keep watch at the rest of the map, it could very well be that another area was lit and it's more threatening than your current spot. Rain may or not come afterward, if it does, it will handle the rest for you but don't rely on luck, keep taking care of fire anyways. While fire fighting-assigned colonists will try to do their tasks, the AI isn't wise enough to handle it and you will have to draft your pawns and manually assign their place. Do not wait until they wake up, interrupt their sleep or it will be too late.


Mining

Mining can be ignored at the very beginning of the game. However, it's still wise to pause the game at the start to take a careful look around the map by checking the borders of each mountain. Metals like Gold, Silver, Steel and Plasteel will turn very useful as well as Jade. While you need just wood to build most of your beginning improvisations, these materials are valuable enough to let you buy items that cannot be crafted by players and are only available from traders such as Medicine. You won't have much currency at first, so these materials can come in very handy. Compacted machinery provide components when mined out.

Click on the ores and then press on Mine.


Temperature control

Only rooms that are both enclosed by walls and have more than 75% of the un-walled, internal tiles roofed can be temperature controlled.

Campfires provide heat as long as they are lit and can be used as an early or emergency heat source. Electrical heater from will be your primary heating method once a consistent supply of electricity is available. Additionally, several other objects, including torch lamps, generators, and electric smelters also put out heat but these can typically only provide supplementary heating.

You can use coolers to keep cool in hot biomes and for your freezer (blue side faces in). Remember to set the target temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) for freezers. Before electricity or in rooms where the temperature need to be lowered but have no easy access to unroofed tiles to vent heat, such as under a mountain, you can use the passive cooler. Although not as powerful as the Cooler and unable to cool rooms below 20 °C (68 °F), it does not require power nor components to maintain.

Performing an operation

Normally you won't need to operate on someone that early in-game, but you should always get prepared in case you do.

You will need a healthy high-skill surgeon, a clean room for your surgeons to operate, and decent-quality medicine. Herbal medicine won't do any kind of surgery except if your surgeon has received mid-late game bionic enhancement.

Stonecutting

To cut stone blocks, you need a stonecutter's table and a craftsman. Each chunk provides 20 blocks, enough for 4 walls.

Stone blocks are fireproof, thus it becomes a favorite material to build external walls. It's safer to consider any colonist with the pyromaniac trait and prioritize building its most frequented locations with stone rather than wood to reduce fire spread within the colony. For example, if you assigned your pyromaniac as a chef, then make the kitchen from stone and wherever he/she goes on a binge, then it won't be such a threat.

Building stone structures is a key part of upgrading your base to becoming more durable. It is not essential to survival however and is best done mid-game. Stone also has its shortcomings; stone structures take ages to build, and stone furniture is less comfortable. Unless you really need your beds or other furniture to be fireproof, build them out of wood instead.

Depending on your situation you may or not need stone blocks, however cutting stones can prove worthwhile if you start this practice from early days as later in-game, you may need a craftsman to make components, a material needed in abundance to build your spaceship and the only character with crafting skill 10 or above can do so, and cutting stones can improve your craftsmen's crafting skill (albeit slowly). Having more than one person able to work at the fabrication bench 24/7 will considerably halve the time needed to complete the enterprise.

Quality Furniture

Royal bed example. Note that it's best to leave royal beds to the mid-late game.

While finished furniture provides their intended purpose, colonists take into consideration its beauty, which affects their mood. Once your characters achieve a high construction skill level, consider building better quality samples of the same item and replacing them based on their beauty superiority. Used furniture can be deconstructed to salvage materials or even sold through trade. Colonists rest faster in better beds.

Decoration

A feature that targets aesthetically the mood of your colonists. Some can be more demanding and may specify their desire in their needs tab. There are three different categories which improve based on the material used:

  • Furniture: Plant pots, can be placed anywhere and requires a gardener to fill the pot, who may enter rooms without care if occupants are sleeping, interrupting their rest.
  • Flooring: can be laid on any ground except water. Gives a movement bonus and most are non-flammable (except wood floors and carpets). Requires a considerable amount of material, except when smoothing rough stone areas. A player can access carpets after researching carpet making and harvesting cotton, which demands plantation wait. There's also stone flooring by using bricks cut at the stonecutter's table meaning a prior step and hauling pick-ups.
  • Sculptures crafted at a art bench. The artist's crafting skill will determine the resulting outcome of beauty, not always providing a positive effect, the used material will also factor in. Since sculptures attract viewers, they are convenient when installed in public spaces rather than bedrooms.

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