One Base To Rule Them All

[RÊYTH]

♦ If you could only have ONE location to build a base, where would you pick and why? (Or: If you could rebuild anywhere after you built in not-quite-right-spot where you do it?)

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I'm considering all things -- early/mid/late game, proximity to resources of all kinds (animal, vegetable, mineral, human), pleasant environment/ scenery/ view, central location?, anything else.

I'm already outgrowing my Noob-River sand-castle and wondering, "Where to next, then?" Thinking of a spot I have dubbed 'One Tree Hill' which is NW of The Maker's Hand (is that right?), or the 3 Rivers area as I call it (NE corner of F6 to be exact.)

Also wondering, "Is this a good spot going forward?" Maybe I should press-on through less comfortable places where there might be a better spot waiting? I kinda dislike the barren desert, actually.

[The Hawke]

I always head straight for the 'Stargazer's Crest' when I start a new game. Abundance of thralls at the 'Mounds of the Dead' (guaranteed Cimmerian Berserker spawn), heaps of Iron Ore, plus the meteorites for making Star Metal later on in game. Also a smattering of Black Ice up on 'Skyfall Ridge'. You will need warming food early game.
You can learn Ymir from the Outcast camp at 'Skyfall Ridge'. There is a chest at his camp. Black Ice weapons/tools, plus usually some Black Ice/Ice as well.

On the way there I divert through the 'Unnamed City' and attune to the Obelisk there, and learn Cartography from the Library.
Just further on I learn 'Mitra' from 'Muriela's Hope'. I also knock over a couple of Rhino's from there for their hide, so I can make Heavy Armour straight away when I set up my base.

I attune to the Obelisk at the Mounds of the Dead as I'm passing.

I don't worry about thralls until I have a rough base set up. By that time I'm somewhere around levels 35-40.
My first thrall is always a Berserker. You have to lay into them continually, with out pause. If they hit you twice, you're dead. The first one is always hard yacker, but worth it.

Once I have my thrall I start adventuring. I make a couple of maps and head off. Because I've already tuned into the Obelisk at the 'Mounds of the Dead', it is only a quick trip home if needed, even if I'm dragging a knocked out NPC with me.

You have the Cimmerian camp at 'Stargazer's Crest'. A Jailor + cage, a T1 or T2 Fighter, and a crafter. The crafting type spawned is random. As the game progresses the Fighter can be a T3 or even a Berserker.
At any time (but not often) Dalinsia Snowhunter will spawn there. Dalinsia looks just like a female Jailor, so if you see two Jailors running at you, change into some brown trousers because one will be Dalinsia.
There is also chest at the camp which gives you Hardened Steel weapons/tools + good food.

On the south shore of the 'Mounds of the Dead' lake there is a small Cimmerian camp. A T2 archer, a T1 or T2 Fighter, a T1 Bearer (sometimes T4), a T1 or T2 Alchemist (usually a T1 but sometimes a T4). I always go there for my first Alchemist.
I capture the T2 Fighter as well if one spawns. They carry a Star Metal Shield and Mace. The Mace is my favourite, a good weapon for early game.

'Dragon's Mouth' isn't far away if you want to visit the Volcano.

All the other Obelisks are a bit of hike to get to, but once you are attuned to them travel is easy.

[spwade666]

Noob river near Gallamans Tomb. With Sorcery and map room everything is a teleport away

[RanDumGai]

I agree with The Hawke on this one. Stargazer Ridge is my go-to spot. I don't bother with the obelisks as I use the Waystones mod for my fast travels. Noob river near Gallman's Tomb is a good starting location as well. Plenty of critters for leather, bone and meat as well as early access to iron nodes and a few coal nodes if you want to brave the spiders.

[M]

It's a question that still causes constant arguments with myself, even after several playthroughs.

On my first (serious) save, I ended up building a medieval city-state due South of New Asagard (in the meadows on the other side of the mounds surrounding it). Primarily because there are no sandstorms or temperature extremes there, but also because there's a ton of free space, no shortage of iron nearby, a few easy-access coal nodes due south of it on top of the hills separating the meadows from the desert, and it's quite close to the center of the map too. Nothing's too far away if you haven't yet learned how to build Transportory stones, and with a map room + obelisks, you only need care about the trip back anyway.

Then I got bored of such basic vanilla stuff as 'practical sensibility' and decided to build a giant tower in the middle of the Eastern sea. It ended up about the height of the sea stacks nearby, and the only way into and out of it is via a multi-level underwater maze. I have no idea why I felt this necessary since I'm single-player and the Purge can't be triggered from it, but meh; it was fun to build nonetheless.

The latest exercise in pointless over-engineering is currently sitting just North of the Crowngrove, for many of the same reasons Stargazer's Crest is popular: it's close enough to the Cimmerians to farm for both decent thralls as well as Star Metal (which tbh I just get by dismantling weapon / shield drops from the ones I didn't want to capture). Seating yourself south of them, however, also puts you within easy reach of the Shattered Springs (Brimstone) and the Warmaker's Retreat (Black Ice), as well as there being no shortage of iron as well as a few easy-to-find coal rocks around the immediate area too. The only minor nuisance is that the whole area is on a slope, but tbh that just ended up making for a more interesting time figuring out how to build a functional base on it.

Ultimately, once you get access to Transportory stones (the only good reason, besides possibly Slow Fall, to bother with sorcery IMO), it makes surprisingly little difference where you put your base - everything's just a teleport away once you've set them up, so the only things that really matter at that point are how much flat ground you want and if you want to put up with sandstorms or harsh climates in order to get it.

[RÊYTH]

Originally posted by The Hawke:

'Stargazer's Crest'

Originally posted by spwade666:

Gallamans Tomb

Originally posted by RanDumGai:

Stargazer Ridge

Originally posted by M:

The latest exercise in pointless over-engineering is currently sitting just North of the Crowngrove

I certainly share a propensity for architectural monstrosities... I also 'prefer' a comfortable climate.

I am already trying to assess these places, which requires brave expeditions on my part. I have much to learn and accomplish yet.

Thanx for the input, greatly appreciated.

[spwade666]

lol @Reyth, Gallamans is just a rough location (easy early brimstone.) My base is built on the beach with an odd Croc for company. Thing is I can level to 30 in a few hours without fighting anything bigger than a spider

[RÊYTH]

Originally posted by spwade666:

lol @Reyth, Gallamans is just a rough location (easy early brimstone.) My base is built on the beach with an odd Croc for company. Thing is I can level to 30 in a few hours without fighting anything bigger than a spider

=)
Yeah, I know about Gallaman's. Lesser-Giant Crocodile Boss who swallowed a rock. I didn't want to snub anyone.

[M]

It's worth noting that, while the Warmaker's Retreat is arguably the best source of Black Ice in the game, it's a late-game dungeon, and the ice is buried halfway down it, past a boss enemy that does a stupid amount of damage and can easily kill an unwary adventurer (if all the other nonsense beforehand didn't already get you).

That said, Black Ice (and Star Metal too) are somewhat useless until the late game anyway - the thing you want to prioritise at least at the start is Brimstone, which is surprisingly rare given how important it is. The Shattered Springs has a ton of Brimstone nodes, but they're mostly under a noxious cloud you need a gas mask to walk around in without dying. Gallaman's Tomb has a fair amount of the stuff close to its entrance and only a few crocodiles guarding it, but the best source of easy Brimstone nodes is Sinner's Refuge, which also happens to have a large, flat area big enough for a base very close to it. ;)

[RÊYTH]

Early game led me to believe that brimstone was plentiful. I'll hafta go back and stock-up.