Long distance overland travel tips?

[jpinard]

Which pack animals, food, goods & products do you all suggest? I'd like to go on a longer trip, maybe hit some tribes/factions I haven't met yet. Trade or fight them. The food/weight issue is always a problem, as well as what goods are most valuable to bring for trade based on weight.

Thanks!

[Morkonan]

Muffalows make good pack animals (llamas don't suck too bad). Make sure to only travel during growing season when the pack animals can forage. If you can't travel during growing season, you'll have to haul food for your pack animals. (Hay, sometimes Kibble, only meat if you're using Wargs.) I can't remember the amount of Hay per day for a full-grown Muffalo. It's enough of a pain in the butt that I don't even bother caravaning outside of growing season.

Bring two Packaged Survival Meals per day, per pawn. For the first two days, you want your pawns eating regular meals, so ALSO pack four regular meals per pawn and they will eat those the first two days, saving four Packaged Survival Meals for any extended stay in a tile/emgergency. Do not forget that anyone you rescue or capture has to eat, too, and if you're planning on that, you'll need extra food.

Bring enough Medicine so that each traveller could have two doses. Give everyone a dose of penoxycycline before you order them to start the Caravan. It will last five days and if your journey is longer than that, you may as well bring some extra, just in case you encounter disease on the way.

You'll want at least one sleeping roll per pawn with an extra or two for anyone you rescue.

Bring enough wood to make a campfire and a butcher table, just in case you need to get some meat production going quickly. At the very least, bring enough for a campfire, since it can keep them warm and provides some small amount of Joy activity, IIRC. Also, think about bringing enough wood for one door, in case you encounter some useable ruins. ie: Enough wood for a campfire and a door or a campfire and a butcher table.

Pack a sniper rifle, even if it's not currently equipped on a pawn and even if you don't have a highly qualified Shooter. You WILL want to have that range when you NEED it.

Packing a grenade may be prudent, too, if you have the space for it.

Weapons should be a decent spread. Don't bother with pistols, though. Depending on how many pawns you have going on the journey, have them equip a selection of Rifle, Assualt Rife and Charge Rifle. Plasteel Longsword for your melees. BTW, "Bows" are not completely out of consideration, but firearms would probably be preferred.

If you're planning on fighting a colony, bring along a mortar and be prepared to defend it while you're setting it up. Don't forget the ammo.... And, be prepared to cart away the loot, too. To take out enemy turrets, use a Sniper to destroy the wires leading to them. (I think that can still work in 1.0, if that's the version you're playing, but not sure on that.)

Pay attention to the season and clothing requirements. Don't use Parkas unless you're traveling in very cold conditions as it will slow them down too much. Have them wear Armor, of course, and helmets. If you wish, and have some, bring along a suit of powered armor. All melee pawns should have Shield Beltsl, too. (Why all this stuff? 'Cause Rimworld, that's why. :))

Prepare to launch a rescue mission with Cargo Pods if necessary.

For trade: Art probably has the best density in weight/value. Check the Faction List to find out what tech level the factions near you are at and plan trade good accordingly.

But, it may be "drugs" if that's your thing. Yayo, Flake, Beer are all good sellers. A reddit thread on that: https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/5jz90d/best_trading_goods_for_a_caravan/

(I will make/sell beer, but don't usually make/sell drugs with the exception of Smokeleaf. You'll have to judge for yourself what the best value is among those.)

[Nightmyre]

Honestly, I think you're kinda overthinking it Morkonan. I just pack a pile of pemmican, and go to my destination, stopping at towns along the way if need be. Made it half way across the map with this.

But yes - muffalos are key for transporting all that pemmican. And having people with good growing skills to forage along the way helps too.

And for weapons - short-range weapons are much more useful than long-range ones here. I would just focus on those - LMG's, Shotguns, SMG's, Assault Rifles if you can get a hold of them. Stay behind a wall untli they close into melee range, then unload on them.

[Myriad]

I think Morkonan made a very good checklist. Especially up to, and including, the sniper rifle. Everything after that is useful, but harder to aquire, such as power armor.

Caravan trips are grueling and can go terribly wrong if you're not prepared. If you're forced to settle to aquire resources to make the trip back home, you'll be subject to raids and mental breaks and a whole lot of time and trouble associated with building a decent temporary home with your colony separated.

You have to get everything on the go at once, and you'll run out of medicine, clothing, etc, and probably lose pawns to breaks and infection and mad animals.

Sure you can do it with less, but it's good to keep in mind that the situation could turn out badly.

[jpinard]

That's an awesome set of posts. I didn't even realize the plant ability affected their foraging skills. That's cool!

What do you think of miniguns and chain shotguns? Are Assault Rifles, LMG's and normal shotguns better?

[Myriad]

I usually sell any miniguns I aquire, unless they're masterwork quality. They're a hit or miss weapon, usually miss. They have a very long range, but they're a short ranged weapon. And you have to unload the entire clip everytime you fire before you can move again.. not good if you're being surrounded and need to move.

At close to mid range you could unload the entire clip and hit a few enemies, or unload the entire clip and not hit a thing. I'm sure a highly skilled shooter with a masterwork quality minigun could do better.

Pump shotguns are solid close range weapons. Chain shotguns shoot faster but are less accurate.

Assault rifles are good all around.

[jpinard]

Originally posted by Myriad:

I usually sell any miniguns I aquire, unless they're masterwork quality. They're a hit or miss weapon, usually miss. They have a very long range, but they're a short ranged weapon. And you have to unload the entire clip everytime you fire before you can move again.. not good if you're being surrounded and need to move.

At close to mid range you could unload the entire clip and hit a few enemies, or unload the entire clip and not hit a thing. I'm sure a highly skilled shooter with a masterwork quality minigun could do better.

Pump shotguns are solid close range weapons. Chain shotguns shoot faster but are less accurate.

Assault rifles are good all around.

So if you have 10 people, what would your loadout look like for those 10?

[ambi]

If you can't produce pemmican or survival meals, berries and milk are good alternatives. They last for 14 days unrefigerated.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Nightmyre:

Honestly, I think you're kinda overthinking it Morkonan. I just pack a pile of pemmican, and go to my destination, stopping at towns along the way if need be. Made it half way across the map with this.

You can certainly make it half-way across the map with that.

But, then again, this is Rimworld where the unprepared colony goes to cough up blood and die because a single squirrel got mad at them... Caravans have a lot of opportunities for danger and risk, so I always go "overprepared."

And for weapons - short-range weapons are much more useful than long-range ones here. I would just focus on those - LMG's, Shotguns, SMG's, Assault Rifles if you can get a hold of them. Stay behind a wall untli they close into melee range, then unload on them.

It really depends on the skills of people being sent and what you think you're likely to encounter. You will not get to determine what the map the encouter occurs on looks like or what sorts of engagement ranges you can control. Of course, you'll enter from an edge and most enemies will be located near the center, but what's in-between them and you and how they react to your presence isn't up to you to determine. You can, likely, constrol who goes and what Shooting skills are available to the group. Rapid fire medium/short weapons are good for unskilled pawns.

Originally posted by jpinard:

...What do you think of miniguns and chain shotguns? Are Assault Rifles, LMG's and normal shotguns better?

Miniguns are the go-to solution for unskilled Shooters prior to B19 or 1.0, whenever the "force fire" mechanic was taken out. In earlier patches, you could force-fire a minigun at a specific location without an enemy target and literally bathe the area in bullets no matter the skill of the Shooter. Now? I dunno. They'd only be situationally useful if you can restrict the field of fire to a narrow area so the minigun can saturate it. In an open-field-of-fire situation, you'd need a very skilled Pawn, I would think. (Inherent miss chance is high)

Chain shotguns - I probably wouldn't favor those on a caravan since they're best as close-range weapons, I would think. I favor having a good spread of firepower so I can react effectively no matter what's presented. Of course, that means that there won't be an absolute strongest tactic for me to exploit, but since those always rely on terrain advantage and that can't be counted upon, I don't worry about those too much.

But, the best thing you can do is go with the best that you have if you can't afford to wait for better. So, if that's the best you have, that's what you go with!

Just be sure that you do all you can, if you face enemies, to work towards the strengths you have present in the group. Don't try to engage targets who have long-range weapons at long-range when you don't have weapons that are good at long-ranges...

One thing to remember - Enemy pawns often have weapons that are mismatched/unsuitable for their skillset. (Not included animals/bugs/mechanoids, obviously) That means that if you see a guy with a sniper rifle, he's probably not very good with it. CHECK him to be sure, though. That doesn't mean that you won't get an arm blown off if you get hit by hit, but it does mean that if you spread out, he's not highly likely to hit one of your pawns with it at any one moment. (Over time though, say if you have to cross a lot of ground to get within range of him with your own weapons, he's more likely to score a hit. A hit with a decent sniper rifle is a very damaging wound.)

Assault Rifles are outstanding weapons and always have a place in the order-of-battle. Even if I have everyone with Charge Rifles, I'll likely keep one or two with a high-quality Assault Rifle. It has better range and very good dps in the hands of a skilled pawn.

LMGs are second to the Assault Rifle, IMO, and decent options for medium/close combat and good choices for unskilled/semi-skilled pawns standing on the firing line, in range, or behind protection. If you have an unskilled pawn, giving them an LMG is not a mistake, IMO. And, it may be better to give them that than an Assault Rifle.

Shotguns are close-combat weapons, so they're like a "You shall not pass" last-chance weapon. The guy with the shotgun stands back and waits for face-contact before pulling the trigger. Great for indoors, in bunkers when the enemies reach you, but really dangerous in situations where they're in an unskilled pawn's hands that is mixed up with friendlies and lots of enemy targets.

Note: I have not played B19 or 1.0, so the new close-combat-crap that they have, now, where pawns are forced to melee when in close-quarters is something I have yet to experience... and I don't plan on experiencing it because it's a dumb mechanic for the game. Only if handguns and shotguns were exempt would I ever consider thinking kindly about it. But, then again, despite any tweaks, I think pawns are more likely to shoot nearby friendlies than the enemy beating on them. When I reach 1.0, I'll be modding out that close-quarters-melee-only mechanic if it still exists.

Dated, but likely still relevant in general:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFG-N2bpyo

The whole "Rimworld Science" series is great!

[Jaasrg]

Keep the pack animals in the caravan as male only so you don't get any surprise pregnancies that crawl it to a halt.

[Myriad]

Originally posted by jpinard:

Originally posted by Myriad:

I usually sell any miniguns I aquire, unless they're masterwork quality. They're a hit or miss weapon, usually miss. They have a very long range, but they're a short ranged weapon. And you have to unload the entire clip everytime you fire before you can move again.. not good if you're being surrounded and need to move.

At close to mid range you could unload the entire clip and hit a few enemies, or unload the entire clip and not hit a thing. I'm sure a highly skilled shooter with a masterwork quality minigun could do better.

Pump shotguns are solid close range weapons. Chain shotguns shoot faster but are less accurate.

Assault rifles are good all around.

So if you have 10 people, what would your loadout look like for those 10?

All would have Advanced Helmets and Armor Vests. They wear out so you should work on a steady flow of steel and components.

For 10 people? Let's say 2 Snipers, to get those long ranged hits, and so you won't be pinned down without a way to fire back.

6 Assault Rifles for decent all around damage, and 2 Pump Shotguns waiting around a corner for melee pawns to come close enough.

That's assuming I have 10 shooters. Any melee pawns would have the best quality Longsword I could make, usually plasteel when I can afford it.

Edit: Shield Belts for melee pawns are important, otherwise all their missing limbs will be from your own shooters.

[jpinard]

Thank you so much for the in-depth help. I go into an indecisive panic when it comes to outfitting my troops when I have so much to choose from and their stats are all so different.

Also, is "Good" or better Devilstrand clothing better than any of the armor you can get like flak pants? I have troubel discerning the values.

[Boink]

Make excellent+ bedrolls, uninstall them then just add them as you would a trade good - the game auto-uses them as you travel rather than having to manually camp & gives benefits.

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Plasteel Longsword for your melees.

The only good melee weapon is a thrumbo horn.

[jpinard]

Whoa! You can use a thrumbo horn as a weapon! Dang I want mine back!