Choosing a Settlement

[Yuvs]

Just got to chapter 2. How do you choose where to place a settlement? Does it matter? Whats the difference between the different nodes you can place them in?

[quite_gone_jim]

besides convenience - proximity to some locations you might want to revisit, the only difference is the layout - either a 3x3 +1 block or a more dispersed version, if you put it near a river; if the settlement has water access you'll get extra building slots for a pier and lighthouse (if you upgrade it to town)
this guide has some pics, showing the difference:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1580642020

[Jaggid Edje]

The layout seems to vary for the various sites. And what you choose can limit which buildings you can construct; if it isn't beside water you cannot build a pier.

Here's a page that shows various layouts that exist: https://pathfinderkingmaker.fandom.com/wiki/Settlements

The biggest decision basically boils down to "do I want a pier or not" and exactly where you place it such that it's in a convenient location (think ahead to when you will have teleportation circles in the settlements).

[Yuvs]

Oh boy, How do I know if the node has a river or not? Seems like having a pier is always a good decision?

And is there a way to tell where the node is exactly in the map? Like I see a bunch of flags, but Im not sure how close/far they are from Olegs right now.

[Jaggid Edje]

It shows the rivers on the map, and the lakes. You get a pier if the settlement is alongside either.

I'm not sure what you mean by that last question. You're on a map, you should be able to see how far it is from Oleg's based on where Oleg's is.

[Mork]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2475088912

[razvedchiki]

best locations are along rivers so you can build piers than contribute to your economy stat.
else you should calculate where you will be traveling back and forth the most, so you should build a town ( and the teleportation circle) near there
for example the travel to the endless dungeon location takes about 1 day, by building a town near there you wont have to spent those days travelling back and forth.