List of Great Farming Base Locations - Kenshi
This page includes a list of all the different base locations that I consider to be great for farming. Locations that have good Environmental values as well as solid Fertility and Water are the primary ones that have made the list on this page. I did not include any Arid Environment locations on this page since all you can really grow there is Cactus and they're not used for much. Also, most of Kenshi is Arid anyway and there are already many on this page.
Complete list of Kenshi Base Locations
South Wetlands - Farm
Base Rating: 6/10
Environment: Swamp 100%
Enemy Attacks: Slave Raids and Swamp Raptors if you grow crops
Resources: Farmland - no mines
Other: This spot is good for a small farm unit for making food
If all you care about is building up a farm for food and you'd like a safe location to do it - one of my favorite locations to make a farm base is in the South Wetlands. This location is completely devoid of Copper and there's only a single Iron deposit nearby but it's a short swim across some water.
What makes this location so good (imo) is the safety of it. The only two events that will bother you are the UC Tax Man (asks for some Cats each week) and slave raids. In my personal experience these events have a very hard time reaching your base due to the fact that your base is pretty much on an island and around many hostile patrols of enemies.
South Wetlands Base Location Youtube Video
Howler's Maze Base Location
Base Rating: 7/10
Environment: Green 100% and Arid 50%
Enemy Attacks: Slave Traders, Crab Raiders, Reavers
Resources: Lots of Iron, 4 Copper
Other: Decent out of the way base that typically doesn't see many base attacks
Howler's Maze is a pretty out of the way zone that doesn't experience many base attacks or enemy attacks. The location I chose for my base has 4+ Iron Nodes and 4 Copper Nodes along with decent fertility. You'll be able to grow any plants that do well in a Green Environment here as well as some Arid Environment crops at lower yields.
One of the biggest draw backs to this zone is it will have periodic acid rain throughout the day; this is only really an issue when you first start a base here though -- assuming that you have no acid protection. Items like Iron Hats, White Plate Jacket, Armoured Hood, Dustcoat, Black Plate Jacket and more will give you protection against Acid and are extra useful in this zone.
The acid rain can also be useful to you against incoming base attacks. In my experience if you're away from your base with another Squad then the acid rain will not damage any enemy units (or your own). Basically, if the game doesn't have the environment around your base loaded then there will be no acid rain. However if you're 'at' your base as the enemy raid approaches they'll take damage from acid rain.
Howler's Maze Base Location Youtube Video
Stobe's Garden/Greenbeach Megabase Location
Base Rating: 8.5/10
Environment: Green 100% and Arid 50% (Greenbeach) and Arid 100% Stobe's Garden
Enemy Attacks: Crab Raiders, Reavers, Skin Bandits
Resources: 5 Iron, 1 Copper
Other: N/A
This area is actually the border of 2 zones, Stobe's Garden and Greenbeach. Depending on where you build your base it's possible to have both the Greenbeach and Stobe's Garden Environment characteristics allowing you to grow more than just Arid crops here. Also, depending on where you build your base you may have more or less Iron and Copper nodes within your walls than I did. In this area you will also find a terrace which has an Iron deposit on top and only a single entrance to the terrace making it an amazing location in terms of natural defenses.
I would only recommend this location to people who have a full Squad of 20+ characters with all characters having stats in the 40s - 50s. This zone is what I would consider an end game zone and will be very difficult if you're under prepared. The native enemies in this area are Reavers and Land Bats; you only really need to worry about the Reavers since they have high stats (40 - 50+) and will kidnap you after you fall unconcious. Skin Bandits in my experience won't bother you until you visit their nest to the south but then they'll send invasions.
Out of all the locations mentioned on this page I feel this one has the best natural defenses; even if you don't build your base on the plateau I am talking about you can still encorporate it into your base design. What I mean is, you can build your base below the plateau where the majority of the resources are and when you're attacked by enemies fall back to the top of the plateau and guard it with turrets and defenses.
Stobe's Garden/Greenbeach Mega Base Location Youtube Video
Swamp Base
Base Rating: 8/10
Environment: 100% Swamp
Enemy Attacks: Frequent; Stone Rats and Red Sabre Raids
Resources: Copper, Iron and constant Water
Other: N/A
I like this location the most in the swamp due to its close proximity to Shark, Mud Town and the Grayflayer Village. Though one word of warning is the Shopkeeper in Grayflayer will likely die from frequent attacks at that settlement. I lost both vendors there and had to Import Game to get them back.
At this location there are also 2 Copper Mines and 4 Iron Mines which is quite a few for the swamp. Since we're in the swamp we can grow lots of Hemp to turn into Hash as well as Fabrics and Biofuel. Riceweed is also a good crop to grow here since we can turn it into Rice Bowls to feed our characters and Sake for some extra money. All in all, in my opinion this is one of the better midgame bases that you can make. I like to setup shop here and make a ton of Fabric with Hemp followed by tons of Hash if I have the crafting station unlocked.
Hash requires a bit of investment in the researching tree to unlock - if you don't yet have it then I recommend you make Sake instead since that is easier to unlock. Last but not least if you plan to make a base in the swamp I recommend you read into the Hash/Sake/Skeleton Repair Kit Trading Route which we can take full advantage of considering our base's location.
Swamp Base Location Youtube Video
Stormgap Coast Base Location
Base Rating: 7/10
Environment: Green 100% and Arid 50%
Enemy Attacks: Reavers, Crab Raiders
Resources: 3 Iron, 2 Copper
Other: N/A
In my opinion this location is the best spot for a base in all of Stormgap Coast since it has good quantities of everything we need. 3 Iron Deposits are in this area as well as 2 Copper which will cover all of your metal crafting needs for the majority of the game. Water, Fertility, Stone and Wind are also plentiful at this location.
Stormgap Coast has an environment that is 100% Green and 50% Arid which means we'll be able to grow every crop here except Riceweed. As for the down sides of this location, the biggest ones are the base raids that you will get here. Reavers and Crab Raiders will both attack you at this location and depending on the stats of your characters these raids could be insanely difficult for you to take out.
Reavers will enslave you if they wipe out your team and Crab Raiders will steal all of your food. If you find the base raids too difficult or too annoying in this area you can always turn them off in the options.
Stormgap Coast Base Location Youtube Video
Okran's Pride Base Location
Base Rating: 6/10
Environment: Green 100%
Enemy Attacks: Dust Bandits, Black Dragon Ninjas, Holy Nation
Resources: 3 Iron
Other: Every week Prayer Day will arrive at your base. Speak with them using a Human Male only and make sure you have The Holy Flame in your inventory
If you're doing the start of your game in Holy Nation Territory there is arguably no better location for you to make your first base than in Okran's Pride. This area is extremely fertile and rich in water. You can grow Cotton, Greenfruit and Wheatstraw here easily - technically you can grow Hemp too but it's illegal in this region and you will draw the Holy Nation ire.
The biggest down side of this base is there are no Copper nodes that we can incorporate into it. Okran's Pride is almost devoid of Copper and the only places that have Copper are lacking in other resources or are too close to a town to build a base near. Just south of our base you'll find a Holy Farm which has a Copper node nearby which you can mine when you need Copper... Alternatively you can go north to Blister Hill too and mine the copper that's found along the northern path when you need it.
As far as base raids go at this location you're going to be bothered by Dust Bandits and Black Dragon Ninjas frequently and you will probably also have to deal with the Holy Nation sometimes attacking you too. If you have a lot of women in your base or Shek/Hivers then the Holy Nation will demand to speak with someone in charge as they walk by. Failure to speak with them will result in a raid being sent to your base in the very near future and you will get one more chance to talk them out of attacking. A good rule of thumb is to always have a Human Male with The Holy Flame in their inventory.
Okran's Pride Base Location Youtube Video
Leviathan Coast Base Location
Base Rating: 9/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 50%
Enemy Attacks: Cannibals
Resources: 10+ Iron, 5 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up as well
Leviathan Coast is one of the first end game zones of Kenshi (if you can consider it that) and one of the best locations IMO to build a giant base. The area in this zone I picked for the base is rich in both Iron and Copper and it also comes with high Water, Ferility and Wind making it a fantastic location for a base.
Since the environment in this zone is 100% Arid and 50% Green it means that you'll be able to grow everything except Riceweed. Cactus will grow with lesser yields since it is Arid only but we do not really need to grow Cactus anyway so it's not that big of a deal. As far as base raids go at this location you should expect Cannibals to show up fairly regularly but aside from them I was never bothered by any other faction.
Leviathan Coast Base Location Youtube Video
Fishman Island Base Location
Base Rating: 9/10
Environment: Green 100% and Swamp 50%
Enemy Attacks: I had none
Resources: 3 Iron, 1 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up
Fishman Island is a small zone to the south of Bonefields that has a great environment for growing crops and is relatively safe from enemy raids. Not only is this place great for growing crops but it's got good Stone, Iron and Copper - every thing you need for a solid base. You can also make this island almost completely safe from enemies by taking out King Gurgler at the Island Lab along the southern coast.
In all of the time I spent here I never got any base invasions except for scripted ones from Reputations. United Cities attacked me because I raided their towns, Berserkers attacked me because I took out the Bugmaster - things like that. Maybe I was bugged (I did Import Game to check) but I never got a base invasion except those.
This base is one of my favorite locations in the game is I am doing early game Hashish trading with Flats Lagoon. You can learn more about this in my Hashish Money Making Guide.
Fishman Island Base Location Youtube Video
Gut Base Location
Base Rating: 7/10
Environment: Arid 50% and Green 100%
Enemy Attacks: Slave Traders, Reavers
Resources: 2 Iron, 2 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up from the Hiver Faction and Trader's Guild
Gut is actually a fantastic location for you to make a base if you want a location that is not peaceful and constantly under attack by Beak Things. This is the main 'charm' of the location if you will and its greatest benefit as well as greatest weakness. When you first arrive in Gut it'll be pretty challenging until you get some walls up and some buildings with some beds -- once you get these basic things though the true greatness of Gut will shine.
If you build some Storage containers for Meat and Skins then set a character to "Forage Animals" as a Job ((Shift right click a monster's body)) then this character will automatically collect the meat and skins off the corpse. Not only will this instantly kill the Beak Thing and prevent it from bothering our Squad again but it'll also automatically collect valuable resources for us and store them. Beak Things will constantly be attacking you at this location so you will get a near infinite supply of Skins and Meat without you having to lift a finger.
Another great benefit of the constant attacks is the Toughness and combat skill ups you will get as a result. Most of my characters had Toughness in the 20s-30s prior to making my base in Gut; after a full day here with the game on turbo speed and me AFKing everyone now has 50+ Toughness and combat skills. The cost of this was I lost 4 characters in total (RIP Ruka and Kang) and about 20 limbs. Overall I consider that to be a net benefit, I can just Import Game and recruit Ruka and Kang if I wanted to since they are unique companions that I enjoy.
Resources at this location are quite good too. Iron and Copper is plentiful and there is excellent Fertility and Water for all our crop growing needs. The only thing I would complain about here is the Wind. It's very inconsistent and more often than not doesn't provide you with enough power.
Gut Base Location Youtube Video
Darkfinger Base Location
Base Rating: 8/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 50%
Enemy Attacks: Cannibal Swarms, Cannibal Raid
Resources: 3 Iron, 2 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up from the Hiver Faction and Trader's Guild. Nomad Caravans will show up here too
In my opinion this is one of the better locations for you to make your final base. The environment in this area is rich in everything, Fertility, Water, Stone, Iron, Copper and Wind along with being 100% Arid and 50% Green. Hemp, Wheat and Cactus can all be grown here with almost 100% crop yields; Greenfruit and Cotton can be grown here with about 50% crop yield. Since this isn't a Swamp the only thing you can't grow here is Riceweed.
There are 3 Iron Deposits and 2 Copper Deposits in the surrounding area which is more than enough even for an end game base. As far as wind goes in my experience you'll always have 25 - 50% or higher wind, I do not believe I have ever had it stop while I was here. Base raids are common but thankfully the only thing that will ever attack you here is Cannibals. They'll always come in mass numbers but they have no armor and low stats. You'll get a unique cannibal raid here with one of the Cannibal Leaders, Mighty Canhead.
Darkfinger Base Location Youtube Video