How to Build Your First Base in Kenshi
Pick a zone with all five resources, put a bed and a research bench down first, then work through the research in this order: farm and well, walls, training dummies, power and iron. A normal start already lets you build 11 things with no research, from a Camp Bed to a Vegetable Farm, and the first 6 research items (Gear Storage, Item Storage, Public Sales, Storage Boxes, Storage Boxes: Farming and Storage Boxes: Ore) are free.
- Free to build11with a normal start, no research
- Free research6storage first
- Zones with all five 80+3Darkfinger, Fishman Island and Fog Islands
- Wall tiers4Makeshift to Strong
Seven steps, in the order that costs least: each one uses what the last one gave you. Where a step has its own guide (farm, power, iron), the guide has the numbers and this page has the order.
On this page
The 7 steps at a glance
Work down the list. You can do steps 2 to 4 in the first hour and 5 to 7 as books and cats come in.
- Pick the zone. All five resources rated, not just one.
- Use what you start with. A bed, a bench, a farm and a well need no research.
- Run the free research. Storage first, then the cheap ones.
- Feed the base. A farm and a well, from the farming guide.
- Wall it. Four tiers, then turrets.
- Train at home. Dummies and turrets, three tiers each.
- Grow. Power, then iron plates.
Step 1: Pick the zone
A base lives on five resources: water, fertility, iron, stone and copper. A zone that is strong in one and bare in another leaves you buying the missing one forever. 10 zones have all five at 60 or more; the three with all five at 80 or more are Darkfinger, Fishman Island and Fog Islands.
The base locations page rates every zone and lists the best spots inside them; use that to choose, and then scout who lives next door on the map.
Rich is not safe
The ratings measure resources, not neighbours. A zone with every number high can still sit beside a faction that raids; check the neighbours before you commit. Our files do not rate danger.
Step 2: Use what you start with
Before any research, a normal start lets you build: Small Shack, Small Research Bench, Stone Mine, Manual Stone Processor, Torch Post, Camp Bed, Campfire, Well, Vegetable Farm L, Vegetable Farm M and Vegetable Farm S. The Low start is the same without Stone Mine and Manual Stone Processor. The shelters and beds are in the table.
| Building | Building materials | Parts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Bed | 1 | 1 Sleeping Bag | free at a normal start |
| Flat Shelter | 3 | 1 Fabrics | blueprint "Camp Shelter", 200 cats |
| Scrap Tent | 3 | 1 Animal Skin | blueprint "Scrap Tent", 200 cats |
| Mercenary Tent | 3 | 1 Fabrics | blueprint "Mercenary Tent", 300 cats |
| Small Shack | 5 | none listed | free at a normal start |
| Storm House | 16 | none listed | free with the Freedom Seekers start; research Small House (2 Book); blueprint "_start- freedom seekers", 0 cats |
- A Camp Bed costs one Sleeping Bag and 1 building material, and the Campfire costs nothing.
- A Small Research Bench (3 building materials) is the bench you research at.
- The Small Shack (5 building materials) is the first real building. A Storm House costs 16 and is free only on the Freedom Seekers start.
Step 3: Run the free research
Gear Storage, Item Storage, Public Sales, Storage Boxes, Storage Boxes: Farming and Storage Boxes: Ore cost nothing (the longest takes 4 h), so start them the moment the bench stands. After that the cheapest useful ones are a Book or two each. The table is a sensible order from the cost column; the tech tree has the whole planner.
| Research | Cost | Time | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking | 1 Book | 2 h | Cooking Stove, Cooked Vegetables and Rice Bowl |
| Iron Plates | 1 Book | 3 h | Manual Iron Refinery |
| Baking | 2 Book | 2 h | Bread Basket, Bread Oven, Flour Storage and Grain Silo |
| Makeshift Walls | 2 Book | 3 h | Makeshift Wall and Makeshift Gate |
| Simple Training Dummies | 2 Book | 2 h | Training Dummy MkI |
| Small House | 2 Book | 6 h | Storm House |
| Wind Generator Theory | 2 Book | 2 h | Wind Generator |
Where Books come from
Books are the common research item: 44 shops in 23 towns stock them (the wiki's vendor tables). Ancient Science Books and Engineering Research are in no shop's list, so plan a late chain around Engineering Research and the AI Core locations.
Step 4: Feed the base
A normal start gives you the Vegetable Farm and the Well with no research, but the Vegetable Farm grows greenfruit in green climate only, so in a desert research Wheatstraw or Cactus instead. The farming guide has every crop, farm size and zone: how to farm food. Put the farm and the well side by side, and the bed within reach of both.
Step 5: Wall it
Walls come in four tiers, each its own research, and each wall tier has a matching gate. The cheapest wall is 1 building material a piece and the Strong Defensive Wall 4. The top two tiers need Engineering Research, so most early bases stop at the second.
| Tier | Wall (materials) | Gate (materials) | Research | Cost | Tech level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makeshift | Makeshift Wall (1) | Makeshift Gate (5) | Makeshift Walls | 2 Book | 1 |
| Defensive | Defensive Wall II (2) | Defensive Gate II (10) | Defensive Walls | 6 Book | 2 |
| Large Defensive | Defensive Wall III (3) | Defensive Gate III (15) | Large Defensive Walls | 3 Engineering Research | 5 |
| Strong Defensive | Defensive Wall IV (4) | Defensive Gate IV (20) | Strong Defensive Walls | 4 Engineering Research | 6 |
| Turret | Parts | Power | Research | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mounted Crossbow | 6 Iron Plates | 0 | Mounted Crossbows | 4 Book |
| Mounted Crossbow mkII | 8 Iron Plates | 0 | Mounted Crossbows II | 1 Ancient Science Book |
| Harpoon Turret | 3 Steel bars, 7 Iron Plates, 3 Copper | -3 | Prototype Harpoon Turrets | 1 Ancient Science Book |
What is not in the files
Our records give what each wall and turret costs, not how much damage it stops or deals. Put a turret down, watch it in a fight, and judge it by what gets through.
Step 6: Train at home
Once the base is up, training buildings turn idle time into skill. The melee dummy has three tiers, Training Dummy MkI to MkIII, each its own research (12 Books for all three). The training rate in the file is 6, 11 and 16 for the three, so each tier trains faster than the last.
| Building | Parts | Rate in the file | Research | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training Dummy MkI | 4 Iron Plates | 6 | Simple Training Dummies | 2 Book |
| Training Dummy MkII | 3 Iron Plates, 1 Steel bars | 11 | Better Training Dummies | 4 Book |
| Training Dummy MkIII | 3 Iron Plates, 1 Electrical Components, 1 Steel bars | 16 | Advance Training Dummies | 6 Book |
- Other training buildings have three tiers too: the Training Turret (Turret Training, 2 Book), the Locksmith Training Box (Lockpick Training, 3 Book) and the Thief Training Boxes (Thievery Training, 2 Book).
- Our files do not give the skill points a tier gives per hour, so compare tiers by the rate column and by how long your squad stands at the dummy.
Step 7: Grow
With food, walls and a place to train, the base needs two things to grow: power and plates. Power runs the bigger benches and the refineries, and plates build nearly everything. Read how to power your base, then how to make iron plates, and when you need building materials for repairs and walls, where to buy them. If you would rather buy a roof than build one, how to buy a house covers that.
Common mistakes
- Building before you research. The first research items are free; start them as soon as the bench stands.
- Choosing a zone for one number. A zone with great iron and no water makes you buy food for ever.
- Planning the late walls early. The top two tiers cost Engineering Research, which is scarce.
- Skipping the well. A farm with no water feeds no one.
FAQ
How do you build a base in Kenshi?
Pick a zone with water, fertility, iron, stone and copper all rated, build a Camp Bed and a Small Research Bench, add a farm and a well, then research walls and training dummies, and later power and iron.
What can I build at the start of Kenshi?
With a normal start: Small Shack, Small Research Bench, Stone Mine, Manual Stone Processor, Torch Post, Camp Bed, Campfire, Well, Vegetable Farm L, Vegetable Farm M and Vegetable Farm S.
What should I research first in Kenshi?
The free ones (Gear Storage, Item Storage, Public Sales, Storage Boxes, Storage Boxes: Farming and Storage Boxes: Ore), then Cooking and Iron Plates (one Book each) and Wind Generator Theory (2 Book).
What is the best place for a base?
Darkfinger, Fishman Island and Fog Islands are the only zones with every resource rated 80 or more. The base locations page compares the rest.
How do I defend a base?
Walls in four tiers and turrets from the Mounted Crossbow up; our files give their costs but not their damage.
How do I train my squad at home?
Build Training Dummies (three tiers, 12 Books to research all three) or the other training boxes.
Pages to keep open
Related pages
Sources
- Kenshi game files 1.0.68: building records and zone data (via the Kenshi Interactive Map extract)
- Kenshi Wiki, Tech tree (CC BY-SA 4.0), dump of 2026-10-13
- Kenshi Wiki, Base building
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