List of Great Mining Base Locations - Kenshi
On this page you'll find a list of all the base locations that I consider to be great bases for mining and mining related tradeskills. All of the locations on this page will have an abundance of Iron Deposits and Copper Deposits for all of your crafting needs. Having a Robotics tradeskiller along with an Armor Smith & Weapon Smith will require a lot of Iron supply to upkeep the costs of all these professions - these base locations will all have more than enough.
Complete list of Kenshi Base Locations
Shem - Mining Outpost/Base
Base Rating: 8/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 10%
Enemy Attacks: Frequent; Dust Bandits most common
Resources: 2 Copper and 1 Iron Deposit (or more depending on size and location of base)
Other: N/A
Despite seeming like a rather inhospitable place - Shem is actually a great zone to build a base in. In the southern portion of this zone you'll find lots of Copper and Iron deposits scattered between the small lakes which is the place you'll want to build your base around. If you build your base right in Shem you can force all enemy units that raid your base to swim through the water in order to reach your front gate effectively giving you a killbox/choke point to take all of them out with wall mounted turrets.
Fog Island - Mega Base
Base Rating: 10/10
Environment: 70% Green, 75% Arid
Enemy Attacks: Often but low level
Resources: Iron, Copper, Stone, Water
Other: Close proximity to Mongrel which has good armor and skeleton limb vendors for [Masterwork] and [Specialist] gear
Out of all the locations I talk about on this page, this is probably my favorite -- if not definitely in my top 3. In the northeastern portion of Fog Islands you'll find a plateau that has more Iron than you can ever use and more space than you'll ever need for building a giant base. You'll also find 1 Copper node near the northern end of this location (mixed in with about 5 Iron Nodes) along with 2 more Copper nodes a tad bit south of our base in the fog.
The only thing that is lacking with this location is Water but you can easily make some wells in the foggy area just south of your base near the 2 Copper Nodes which has 100% water.
Fog Island Base Location Youtube Video
The Great Desert - Mining Outpost
Base Rating: 4/10
Environment: 100% Arid
Enemy Attacks: Sand Ninja, Slave Raiders, United Heroes League
Resources: 2 Copper, 1 Iron
Other: Trader's Guild Taxes and United Cities Taxes must be paid here
I searched around a lot in The Great Desert and this is probably the best location there is for making a base. There is a ton of Iron in the surrounding area and more than enough Copper for everything we need but the Fertility and Water is going to be extremely low to the point of being nonexistent. For this reason I typically only recommend this base as a mining outpost of sorts. What I did when I was here is make a ton of Skeleton Repair Kits and sold them in the nearby towns.
Another downside of being here is that you will constantly be harassed by almost everyone. Sand Ninjas will show up at your doorstep as well as Slave Raiders and the United Heroes League. The United Heroes League will only attack you if you fail to pay the Trader's Guild fees but once they start attacking they're pretty relentless. You'll also have to deal with The Traders Guild and United Cities bugging you weekly for taxes at this location.
To end on a good note, the Wind power that you get at this location is extremely consistent and will rarely ever diminish. In my experience once or twice a day at most the wind slows for like 30min-1hr (ingame time) then it picks back up and blows at full force. Overall, power was never an issue here.
The Great Desert Base Location Youtube Video
Vain Lots of Copper Base
Base Rating: 8/10
Environment: Arid 50%, Green 50% and Swamp 20%
Enemy Attacks: N/A
Resources: An abundance of literally everything
Other: Great location for a big base that is almost never attacked
Most people pass over Vain because of the extremely annoying red rain in this zone which is actually just regular rain, despite what you read online. There are lots of websites out there that say the rain in Vain is acid but it's actually just normal ol' rain. All of the water here is definitely acid though so keep that in mind!
This spot in Vain is one of the best base locations I have probably found due to the nice Environmental spread combined with the abundance of every single resource. You're able to grow every single crop in the game at this base and you'll have enough Copper and Iron to build whatever you want and produce whatever you want. Not only that but you'll receive no enemy attacks at this location in my experience.
Vain 'Lots of Copper' Base Location Youtube Video
The Border Zone Base Location
Base Rating: 7/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 10%
Enemy Attacks: Dust Bandits, Black Dragon Ninjas
Resources: Lots of Iron, Some Copper
Other: The best base for new players
In my opinion this is the best location possible for new players to start a base at. The Border Zone is one of the primary "noob" zones of this game and the base attacks you get while being here will all be Dust Bandits and Hungry Bandits along with the Black Dragon Ninjas (if you didn't wipe out their settlement). At the location I chose you'll have 2 Iron Deposits for you to gather ore from along with 1 Copper Deposit; this will give you enough resources to do Robotics, an Electrical Workbench and other crafting stations.
Farming won't be too plentiful in this zone as it's primarily Arid but it does have 10% Green too which will allow you to grow Wheatstraw or Hemp along with your Cactus' if you'd like. If you plan to do farming at this base I would recommend planting Cactus and making Cactus Rum for money and also planting some Wheatstraw too so that you can make Bread along with Dustwichs for food.
- Holy Nation will bug you here with Prayer Day if you're unlucky. Sometimes they don't show up though, chalk it up to Kenshi bugs
The Border Zone 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
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
Sonorous Dark Base Location
Base Rating: 8/10
Environment: Dead
Enemy Attacks: Reavers, Skin Bandits
Resources: 5 Iron, 3 Copper
Other: No wind here and Acid Raid 24/7
This location is one of the deadliest ones in my entire list since it's right in the heart of Sonorous Dark. When I am planning to take on Cat-Lon in Ashlands this is typically where I would make my "rest stop" base to heal up in between beatings. For those who do not know, this zone is infested with Skin Bandits which are Skeleton enemies that wear human skin and kidnap anyone who gets knocked unconscious. Unlike most enemies in the game -- when you are brought back to the Skin Bandit camp you're thrown into a Peeler Machine and your limbs get ripped off until you eventually die. (Brutal)
For the aforementioned reason, you'll want to make sure you are prepared before trying to setup a base here. There is no wind so you'll need a Generator for power and there is 24/7 Acid Rain which means you'll need acid protection for your characters as well. Sonorous Dark has a 'Dead' Environment which means you won't be able to grow anything here without Hydroponics, that shouldn't be too much of an issue for people since this is an end game base and by the time you're strong enough to build here you should have this researched.
A tip for you is to build your Hydroponic Gardens ontop of the roof; when it rains (despite being Acid Raid) it will still water your crops. Iron and Copper Deposits in this region are abundant and have very high quality, higher than the rest of the world. Last but not least, as far as base raids go here you should expect Skin Bandits and Reavers.
Sonorous Dark Base Location Youtube Video