We’ll assume you know how to set up a new game on RimWorld. You do know how, right? Good! Then, with that awkwardness out of the way, let us push on, so you will have a fighting chance at surviving along the rim with your first colony.
What To Do First in RimWorld
First things first, before anything else, PAUSE THE GAME. That’s right; stop playing. At least, stop playing for just a moment, because you need to take a breathe and explore your surroundings by panning the camera using your mouse or keyboard controls.
Your goal here is to find a suitable location to set up your first colony. Personally, I am a huge fan of building mountain bases, though you do contend with infestations far more often. Knowing how to beat an infestation in RimWorld is a useful skill to have, though.
Arm Your Colonists
If you chose the base starting scenario, your colonists would have a pistol, rifle, and knife laying on the ground near your landing. Find out which colonist is best with what. If they have a high shooting stat, equip the rifle. Adequate shooting stats? Give that colonist the pistol. The third and final colonist will equip the knife, for self-defense, at best.
Prioritize Workloads
Each colonist is good at something or other. If you custom-tailored your pawns to suit your playstyle, good on you. You’ll have someone good at medical, surely, and cooking, construction, mining, etc.
Visit the “Work” tab on your UI, then turn on the manual priorities option. You want Firefight, Patient, and Flick set to Priority 1 for all pawns. Next, set Doctoring, Warden, Growing, and Cooking to 1 on the pawn with the highest skill for each. Disable them for everyone else.
A good rule of thumb is to set Priority 2 on any passionate skills, then Priority 4 on everything else for your colonists.
Your First Day in RimWorld
With those few basics out of the way, let’s focus on day number one.
- Stock Up on Materials — To build, plant, and survive, you’ll require a bevy of materials found on your new homeworld. All materials, except for metals, will decay outdoors, so build a small stockroom with a roof and set the zone inside to stockpile goods.
- Food Supplies — You’ll note a number of berry bushes and fruit-bearing trees dot the landscape. While fine for a short while, you’ll need greater sustenance to support a bustling colony. It’s time to farm. If you’re near rich soil, which is darker in color, then head on over to “Architect -> Zone/Area -> Farming Zone.” When building a farm, I like my landscape aesthetically pleasing. I build columns two wide and up to ten tall. You may use any setup that works for you, but create a few and plant potatoes, corn, or rice, then another with healroot straight away.
- Construction — You’ll need a base posthaste. Whether you choose to build in a mountainside or in the open plains is completely up to you but start straight away. Some players like to utilize ruins dotting the map as a starter base. You’re free to do so, too. It’s likely you won’t have all you need to finish a base straight away anyway, so start small. You need enough room for a research table, three sleeping spots, and a table with a few chairs or stools to eat. You don’t want your colonists growing exasperated over a lack of tables.