where do I stand? and following that, where to settle?

[Geargrinder]

I'm wondering if where I'm at in the game is still considered early-game or is already at mid-game. And I'm wondering where to settle next for a good combat experience.

I have 10 people with stats in the 50-80 range and combat skills in the 40-70 range.
4 people in the 20-40 range, both in stats and combat skills
4 gunners with 70+ turret skill, on mark 1 harpoons
and 4 non-combat skilled labourers and a 90+ armor smith, gonna start weapon smithing next when I find a cool recruit to do it. Hoping to find another schorchlander.

i'm at tech level 5 being bottlenecked by ancient research books and engineering blabla's
all characters wear self crafted specialist or masterwork armor and mkII or higher with some edge weapons in the mix.

So where do I stand gamewise?
And what is a good place to settle for some rewarding combat? Fertility and hazardous environment don't matter.

As I understand it, the end-game content is mostly in the south-eastern part of the map, so I was thinking I might settle on the border somewhere like stormgap coast? I might also want to ♥♥♥♥ around with the HN and/or the UC but I can't gauge yet how strong I need to be to take them on.

[Shidan]

Stat wise you're in mid to late game, depending on if your characters are weighted more towards those lower stat estimates or the higher ones.

You should be able to handle almost any challenge, with really only a few specific fights being too much trouble.

Base location wise, not really my forte. I tend to try to find places with less action, or look nice, or have resources I want. I find base raids more of an annoyance than anything useful.

[Geargrinder]

base raids are free combat training near beds ;)
But you raise a good point. I have explored nothing yet besides towns/cities and that would mean that I have to train enough new people to defend the base while the main party is out... which I don't feel like doing atm.

Maybe a peaceful base isn't such a bad idea... what are some nice peaceful spots?

[Bandy]

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

... I have explored nothing yet besides towns/cities and that would mean that I have to train enough new people to defend the base while the main party is out...

Or, just take everyone with you, right? No one 'home' = no base raid...

But play the way you want, that is the kenshi way. Many play thrus do not bother building a base at all, they just enjoy freedom to explore and 'live' out of the storage in the pack animal. It is rather liberating.

Do not get me wrong, base is fun to plan and build, but don't let it become an anchor to your enjoyment.

[Cop Unit 12]

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

base raids are free combat training near beds ;)
But you raise a good point. I have explored nothing yet besides towns/cities and that would mean that I have to train enough new people to defend the base while the main party is out... which I don't feel like doing atm.

Maybe a peaceful base isn't such a bad idea... what are some nice peaceful spots?

If you can mange them, Raptor island is one of the better places to have a home. You'll get some cannibal raids but with moderate 5 person team you'll never have any real problem. Cannibals will also attack the Raptors which is amusing watching a (lvl 40 monster) fight like 15 (lvl 10 cannibals) and come out almost unsaved. Those raptors also make great training practice as they are scavengers and as long as most of your people are on passive you can stand next to one of them getting into a fight and they will move on if they win lol.

They do like to eat crops though. So if your growing food really put up a ton of defensive structures and turrets around your crop fields. They also become somewhat aggressive but just keep some distance and they will ignore you.

[Bomb Bloke]

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

So where do I stand gamewise?

Mid-game, I guess.

Your characters are currently strong enough to challenge most factions on the map. There are a handful of fights which might still give you a bloody nose, but by the time you find those I'm sure you'll be ok.

However, most of Kenshi's gameplay consists of figuring out how to play Kenshi. Once you have a sufficient understanding, you can obtain overwhelming power within a few hours of starting a new game.

So I suggest you explore the whole map for yourself - spoilers detract heavily from the experience. Go find some NPCs you enjoy fighting and settle down next to them.

One spoiler I will offer you, though - no matter how much training and research you put in, your weapons will never be labelled higher than Edge II. Crafted weapons are also weaker than their found/looted/bought equivalents, so even your Edge II weapons will have stats more like MK III. Crafting is still nice for outfitting large groups, and armour smithing doesn't have this problem at all, but without mods your weapon smiths will never match the stuff that randomly spawns on vendor NPCs.[/quote]

[Vali]

I can really recommend this Guide. He shows different bases like farm bases, mining outpost and possible big cities for everyone with all pros and cons.

The mentioned Raptor Island base inclusive with enviroment, ressources etc..

https://www.almarsguides.com/computer/games/kenshi/misc/baselocations/

[bunny de fluff]

If you want the most happening base raids in the game, build it somewhere between skin bandits and the reavers, and go capture the southern hivers queen to lock her up in your base.

[Mokona]

If you want hell mode, go settle in the laser of death location. Get blasted every day

[Geargrinder]

There's a lot of interesting suggestions. Enough to think about! Thanks fellas

[Ghin]

If you look on the map of Holy Nation territory, there's a small triangle of farms in the river area that is perfect for putting a base right in the center of. Those bastards will send thousands of troops at you just for looking at them wrong.

The problem I had settling there was that I couldn't remove the bodies fast enough.

[Geargrinder]

I just got my base 'wiped' by a shek revenge party. Guess I need to train up my weaker guys up more first. Especially the 4 martial artists.
It was the numbers combined with big ass weapons that got me.

[Bandy]

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

... It was the numbers combined with big ass weapons that got me.

And, they were Shek, right?

[Geargrinder]

Originally posted by Bandy:

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

... It was the numbers combined with big ass weapons that got me.

And, they were Shek, right?

Yes. Is that significant?

[Bandy]

Originally posted by Geargrinder:

Originally posted by Bandy:

And, they were Shek, right?

Yes. Is that significant?

If you have to ask, yes!

[crtaylor1]

Settle anywhere. It will be a challenge to build and survive anywhere on Kenshi.