150+ Hrs in, Building First Base, But Stuck on What To Do Next

[Just Another Jinx Main]

Hey guys! Like the title says I have about 150 hours in the game and I've done a little research on certain parts of the game, but I feel like I still barely understand it lol.

I have only ever played with the idea of a base in mind, and I'm finally almost done building the walls of my base and then I can set it up. The problem is, I'm having trouble getting through the building phase (it's rather dull) because I have no idea what to do next.

I was thinking of having some of my people stay at the base (to keep it self-sustaining as well as profitable) and sending out a squad (or two) to travel and visit other towns. I'm sure that will be fun, but I don't know what else I can do. I feel sort of stuck on a linear path, but I think it's because I'm overwhelmed by the possibilities.

Anyway, what sort of options do I have once I've completed my base? What could I do that might be fun? Have I basically reached end-game, or is there more to do?

TL;DR: 150 hrs in, still feel I don't know what I can/want to do. Just building my first base (almost done with walls) and I feel demotivated b/c I don't know what to do next. Any ideas? What are some possibilities? Thanks!

[Oragepoilu]

Well kenshi doesn't help you when it come to goals, so yeah if you play too much and aren't into what I could call "roleplay" it can become dull.

A few goal you could try ...
-Visit main spot of the biomes (like main canibal city). feel free to build small outpost here and here to heal yourself, if you don't come here after they won't send squad at the outpost
-Take down the hive(s) and see what happen
-Take down major faction (with the help of another or not) and see what happen
-Check the different biome fauna (try to kill some leviathan ...)
-Hunt the special bounty & special npc (like bugmaster, catlon ...)
-Get some crab in your squad
-Remove some limbs with a peeler (find the blueprint), replace with better options (F holy nation though)
-Find the special recruit, if you have some space left
-Get a break of the game and try a playtrough with mods (or import). Like genesis.

[Fryskar]

I'd say if you build a base your immediat goal should be making sure it can take a bandit assault with the chars at the base, best with a pretty good margin. Like beeing able to take down ~20 dust bandits with low/no losses, or whatever local "bandit" factions you have. Unless you want to pay them.

There is a lot to do in kenshi yet nothing at the same time. The list above might help you to form some goals.

[Oubley]

Where and how big did you build the first base? My first few bases told me I needed to move out cause everyone and their brother came knocking on my door step.

edit: I tried visiting other zones, which told me so not ready for those other zones.
tried freeing slaves which just ended up with me having to free more slaves....
recently Visited the burnt forest which reminded me why i thought it can burn in hell with all that's in it...
still only seen parts of the cannibals lands....
still haven't seen the mad guy in the ashlands in person....
my current play through playing as sheks and going to take on the holy nation zealots with the goal of forming a riveralands kingdom. then will conquer the north.
still coming across weird stuff never seen before and been playing like 400 hours.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Just Another Jinx Main:

...
Anyway, what sort of options do I have once I've completed my base? What could I do that might be fun? Have I basically reached end-game, or is there more to do?
...

Your base may experience Raids, depending on where you've set it up. Who/what raids it is also dependent on location. Make sure you've got good defenses and turrets to help.

With a Base, you've got nice crafting and supply options as well as a place to store all your stuff. But, it's also something of a liability since it's going to be Raided. (IF you're in a place that will occur. That's most of the map, btw.) So, to continue exploring and playing with other game elements, you'll want a Team of characters that goes out and does this as well as a Team that stays home, defends it, works the fields, makes stuffs... etc.

IMO, while you can certainly start a base with as few as 10 decent combat characters, it'll be rough going until you get 20 or so. Thirty would probably be ideal and any more than that tends to be difficult to manage.

What would you do?

Going after Faction Leaders you don't like is a good start. :) Selling them to their rival factions or killing them, outright, can trigger World State changes.

See here: https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/World_States

If you're already familiar with that, or have done it, send out a Team to "explore" the world and bring back needed research items. Or, maybe just a very long shopping trip that visits some very well-stocked shops? There are a large number of places to visit and experience, too.

It's possible to pick-up and move, too, if you get bored there or want to build somewhere else. I don't do it, but you can remove/deconstruct everything and then find a new place to build a base if you wish. (Kind of a pita and likely better just to start a new play.) Having multiple bases that are "live" can cause issues, IIRC. ? (Honestly, can't remember as I never had multiple player-bases. I did/do use Towns to base out of, but they're not "Player Bases.")

How many characters do you have atm? That'd help.

Also, if you're not using the 256 Character mod, i'd suggest it to help flesh out your base-play and easily allow you enough character/team slots to create groups you can "adventure" with and also take care of things like having a "Caravan Group" that sells off your crafted gear/items to the nearest Town/buyer.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=705119823

I would never recommend having many more characters than 30-35 or so, maybe 40 at the max if you've got a Base and fields for them to work/crafting/etc. Micromanaging a ton of characters isn't something that's easy at all to do in Kenshi. But, having a few over the vanilla 30 limit will help you flush out your needs for a well protected Base and still having plenty of options for other play.

[Morkonan]

I just happened to come across this video and I was pleasantly surprised. I think there's a lot of good, general, info for "wat do?" for a Kenshi player, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZioyoHku0Ps

I really liked it and I liked the overall approach. The creator "Charlaton Wonder" isn't someone I can remember having ever watched, either. So, it's not a "plug" for a favorite channel. I saw it in the side-bar while I was watching one of my more watched channels. :)

The scope? It's really an overview of a typical, somewhat full, Kenshi experience. It doesn't cover everything and doesn't pretend to. But, it covers enough that there's surely something in it, somewhere, for just about everyone. Good stuff. :)

[Mr Robert House]

When I settle I make it self sustaining asap, you can do it quickly if you plan ahead and do the research in a town.

You need building materials, iron plates and crops to plant, I set up food production and beds first then weapon and armor smithing, then turrets, finally I set up building material and iron production for future expansion. Once it's self sustaining I ignore it and go explore, hauling books and ai cores back to do research on occasion and hiring mercs before raids.