Can you feel it? There’s something special about RimWorld that draws players in from the moment they set eyes on their first screenshot of the game. Is it the fully realized colony sim gameplay? What about the chaotic nature of its storytellers? When you’re getting started in RimWorld, start your journey right here with us!
RimWorld is not a simple or easy game. Even after hundreds of hours, we have yet to master certain complexities along the rim. And seeing as we all began fresh-faced and naïve once, it behooves us to help newcomers. So, without further ado, we welcome you to our RimWorld beginner’s guide!
Choosing Your RimWorld Pawns
Unless you’re using a mod, like EdB Prepare Carefully, then selecting your starting pawns is your first major decision. One could argue that it is more important than your starting location or AI Storyteller.
So, how do you choose your starting pawns in RimWorld? Well, we like to focus on a few essential skills; namely:
- Medicine
- Shooting
- Growing
- Cooking
- Research
For each of these skills, aim for > 6. If the pawn is passionate, you may get away with one or two ticks lower. For instance, a pawn with a passion for the medicine skill may only require > 5 to be useful to your colony.
As you learn the game, you’ll stumble across a few pawn traits to avoid. These include volatile, pyromaniac, and slowpoke, for instance. A pyromaniac does precisely what it says on the tin. They’ll set fire to your colony for fun. A volatile pawn will pick fights with everyone and become a general nuisance to your settlement. It’s not worth the hassle.
Look out for these traits: industrious, hard worker, and fast walker. While not required, they’re useful to have on your side.
Lastly, when it comes down to combat, we recommend at least one melee expert in your colony. The first chance you get, buy them a personal shield from a passing trader. You’ll find yourself with one stalwart vanguard on the battlefield.
Choosing the Right RimWorld Biome
Early on, while first getting started in RimWorld, you’ll choose a biome to settle your first colony. You’re greeted by a planet-sized map, with a continent spanning from the north to the south pole, if they were to exist on this planet. Who knows?!
Each biome contains unique terrain, climate, flora, fauna, diseases, and complex challenges to face. You will probably walk away with a favorite, but don’t grow complacent. Try to challenge yourself with, say, an Ice Sheet Challenge in time.
The biomes in RimWorld are broken up into three distinct categories: Warm, Hot, and Cold.
Warm:
- Temperate Forest
- Temperate Swamp
- Tropical Rainforest
- Tropical Swamp
Hot:
- Arid Shrubland
- Desert
- Extreme Desert
Cold:
- Boreal Forest
- Cold Bog
- Tundra
- Ice Sheet
- Sea Ice
For new players, we recommend beginning with a Temperate Forest colony. It is the easiest biome to learn and master, due to its relatively mild climate and easily huntable fauna. The downside is, and depending on your chosen storyteller, and this is big, the disease rate is elevated. Your colonists are at risk of Flu, Plague, Gut Worms, Muscle Parasites, and even Fibrous Mechanites.
For more information on RimWorld Diseases, check out our complete guide!
Choosing a Storyteller
Another critical feature to select when starting a new colony on the rim is the storyteller. The AI Storyteller is in charge of crafting events, including resource drops and manhunter attacks, for your settlement. Their carefully crafted choices affect your story, colony, and pawns drastically.
- Cassandra Classic — The default storyteller, Cassandra, enjoys the slow burn. Her events start simple, with an occasional manhunter or a single raider, but ultimately spiral out of control as your entire colony burns from within. Her defining trait, however, is the recovery time in between each event. It’s forgiving for new players.
- Phoebe Chillax — If you’re keen on a relaxing colony sim focused more so on the building aspect and less on surviving cannibalistic raiders, then Phoebe Chillax is your girl. Ms. Chillax offers extended breaks between events, providing enough time for recovery, rest, and relaxation. The downside is, such long breaks pose resource and equipment concerns for your pawns.
- Randy Random — Randy is a favorite among veteran RimWorld players. As his name would suggest, Randy Random is chaos incarnate. On day one of your brand-new colony, you may endure the plague. On day two, perhaps 30 mechanoids assault your compound with weaponry your tribal pawns only dream of carrying. The fun stems from the challenge, though.
If you’re brand new, maybe don’t throw yourself into the deep end just yet. Give it a few failed colonies before you try your hand at Randy Random and all his glory.
Hopefully, with our guiding hand, you’re a bit better getting started in RimWorld!
Before long, you’ll need to know How to Fight Infestations in RimWorld!