Best Island for “main” base?

[tonyacook]

Most survival games I play I have one area of the map that is my “main” base and then I’ll take stuff with me to the other parts of the map. Since I started on the first island, I made that my main base but now I’m thinking copper island is a better choice. I don’t want to make a second base here just to find out that the next island I go to is going to be even better. I’m thinking copper island is a good choice since there’s three other islands nearby that I’ll probably be on a while, but what do you guys think? I’m unsure about copper island because it doesn’t rain, how will that work with farming?

[Markus]

Island of Hope is the best. The traveling makes it easy enough to go everywhere and get stuff you need

[Oragepoilu]

The very first island you spawn on is perfectly fine. Build your storage(s) as close as possible to your boat so you don't have to walk much.

You will always make some trips anyway - and boat storage space goes up rather quickly so it doesn't take that long to move whatever you want from other island to your main island.


It's not a bad idea to leave some essential med/water/tools in a small outpost in spot you often go, in case something go wrong, if you play on hard.

[Casey]

I agree with Oragepoilu, I leave my last set of tools at secondary location when I upgrade my tools. and a bed and fire pit. I always carry my meds on me, never know when I will make a bone head move and almost die :)

[Tasslehoff]

Farming has almost zero water requirements to function. There is an upfront cost for the initial growth and nothing more after it's fully grown. You will bottleneck on seeds far sooner than water. Also, with region 2 unlocks the Solar water distiller which is my preferred method for water collection anyways.

As far as the best island, while you could choose based on nearby resources/atmosphere it's generally not super relevant. The important part is having water nearby for a dock as you will travel by boat a lot and once that is sorted 'nearby' resources aren't super relevant. I would still pick the island of Hope starting beach as one of the nicer places to live because of the abundance of trees and flat land. The earlier you settle down the more use you get out of it after all. This game is very lax on what is required or useful in terms of base locations so the biggest draw, at least to me, is really just atmosphere.

[aliascoyoteh]

Hope is good for most of gameplay. Late/post game I build in the main bay valley on Silver, mostly for the rainfall. Got tired of slogging salt water to distillers, Silver rains almost daily so I just set up 4 catchers on my back porch with a couple large reservoirs. Also I like that there's room to dock stormbreaker in the bay and keep my schooner docked at the cave landing nearby for hauling/mapping.

[HubertNNN]

I would say copper island is better since it has 2 resources near the water: date trees (which are the best food source in the game) and easiest way to get water (sun distiller do not evaporate water as opposed to rain collectors, so you can just fill it and forget).

Its also closer to second zone islands which makes you use less durability on the boat, which is important in early/mid game, in third zone you will already have enough resources to keep repairing the boat without worrying.

The only issue is lack of trees, though after the "trees regrow" update it might not be as big of an issue (I played that part when trees were finite and it was a little problem, but not much).

[TheGreatGooglyMoogly]

I agree with copper island. I build my base over water to avoid the spiders. Nearby islands have plenty of logs.
The main reason I like it is no rain just nice weather and of course tegu... more tegu.
Now I just need the 40 tegu carcasses to despawn.

[CrankyOldGamer]

Originally posted by TheGreatGooglyMoogly:

I agree with copper island. I build my base over water to avoid the spiders. Nearby islands have plenty of logs.
The main reason I like it is no rain just nice weather and of course tegu... more tegu.
Now I just need the 40 tegu carcasses to despawn.

That's why I set down a couple of compost bins next to my Tegu trap farm. When I am done skinning them I toss the carcass into those. All nice and tidy and ready for the next set of new guests.

[CrankyOldGamer]

Main home is on Island of Hope but more recently I developed another home on Copper Island which started out as a small tanning shack to process Tegu hides. Hope and Copper are the only two Islands I would consider spending any time on. Silver Island just is too dark most of the time either from rain storms or heavy clouds and it lacks a lot of resources.

Copper Island
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198129767718/screenshot/2423571828637352580/

[J]

I tend to build a base in each region.

Bird Region: Island of Hope - Main base right at the beach where you start.

Buffalo Region: Copper Island - Southeast side of the map near the fishing spot.

Puma Region: Iron Island - Southeast side cove, in cave with orange trees.

Snake Region: Silver Island - Northern cove, on the main beach.

I keep close to the ocean to enable easy access to my boat and salt water. Inland bases make accessing these tedious. I keep medicine, food and water on my boat, and load up on the basics required for building the various critical machines each region. I'll put down docks on each main island in the rest of the region to let me fast travel via boat to them.

I tend to avoid changing regions back and forth, unless it's to gather more ingots. If I'm ready to move to Buffalo, I'll make sure I've mined all the obsidian on Bird. If I'm ready to move to Puma, I'll mine all the copper on Buffalo. If I'm ready to move to Snake, I'll mine all the iron on Puma. Loading these onto my boat before I leave avoids doubling back for unique region specific resources.

The most critical equipment to bring is a stockpile of tools, particularly axes and saws. Making these in advance saves storage room and crafting time, and avoids getting caught without access to an appropriate workbench. Chopping and sawing wood for base materials is the typical first week's work for a new region. Once I've got a basic hut with a workbench, carpentry workbench, and hearth with a pot, it's on to whatever region specific clothing is available, then gathering a stockpile of resources and building out the rest of the base.

I do deconstruct some items before leaving a base, usually if they contain rare or difficult to produce resources. Getting back the copper tank and ingots from the excellent tanner workbench is important, for example. It's also necessary to carry those strong branches when leaving Buffalo region if you want to reconstruct this machine at the next region.

Of course, I play on Very Hard with no respawns, so preparation and planning are vital to survival in my case.

[aliascoyoteh]

Originally posted by J:

I tend to build a base in each region.

Bird Region: Island of Hope - Main base right at the beach where you start.

Buffalo Region: Copper Island - Southeast side of the map near the fishing spot.

Puma Region: Iron Island - Southeast side cove, in cave with orange trees.

Snake Region: Silver Island - Northern cove, on the main beach.

Those are really good spots. I usually start in the cave the first week to stockpile then build on the north side of hope near the Spyglass, more wood and I can farm birds/dogs/snakes fast and close for Compost/Saltpeter.
I really like that spot on Iron though, thank you for reminding me. I think that will be my next build.

[J]

Originally posted by aliascoyoteh:

Those are really good spots. I usually start in the cave the first week to stockpile then build on the north side of hope near the Spyglass, more wood and I can farm birds/dogs/snakes fast and close for Compost/Saltpeter.
I really like that spot on Iron though, thank you for reminding me. I think that will be my next build.

Spyglass Hill vs. Capitan's Cove has a few comparative differences that made me decide on the location.

First, the starter beach is very close to a variety of resources. Obsidian, liana vine, long sticks, and big branches are all within a short walk. This speeds up tool and machine construction.

Second, there's a variety of food sources. The orange trees, feijoa bushes, banana trees, icaco bushes, platonia trees and breadfruit plants can offer a good source of early game hydration before setting up water collection and purification.

Third, hunting is plentiful. There's heaps of long-eared dogs for meat when you build your first stone spear, and when you have better gear, boar hunting for food and hide. I also like setting a trap to catch peccary for passive bone, hide and meat, and you can check it visually each morning from the comfort of your front door.

Because of how the perk system works, unlocking Learning 2 is vital before building any survival tasks to ensure you don't miss out on free perks later. On Very Hard, this means you need 3 perk points from Chronicles before building a coconut rain water collector.

My usual starting strategy is to build the most basic of camps on the starter beach, and once I've managed to fill up my thirst and hunger, I'll follow the beach to grab the chronicle at the south end of the island, then grab the chronicle in the temple near the spyglass. After that, head west across the inland, grab the final chronicle from the giant stone head, and end up back at the starter beach with the 3 perk points needed.

From there it's fairly easy to unlock the first level perks for food and water with survival tasks, which are essential for Very Hard difficulty. Then, build a cart and hit the summit for clay, make a water distiller, and finish off the rest of the island.

[themany]

I prefer a canoe and lots of clay flasks. I love jackal hunting grounds. Tegus and jackals is the most fun part of the game.

Later animals are too easy. I think iron weapons such as crossbow and sabre are overpowered. Wild life becomes plain and boring.

I kind of want Pumas to be exciting. But actually Jaguars are a better challenge as you progress naturally.

Crocodiles are cool, but birds potion is your only way around them on very hard. They become too easy with it.

[CrazyMom]

Main base Hope Island, takes up most of the bottom part of the inlet before it narrows again going out
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3216884931

Copper Island West Side Fishing spot
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3184066517
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3184067325

Iron Region, Scrap of Land
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3217664135
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3217664031

Silver Island
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3217665972
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3217665821

[themany]

Originally posted by CrazyMom:

Main base Hope Island, takes up most of the bottom part of the inlet before it

This is amazing.