List of Great Noob Zone Base Locations - Kenshi
This page includes a list of base locations that I consider to be 'Noob Zone' bases. In Kenshi what I consider a noob zone is a zone that contains enemies with stats 10 - 20, a few good examples of zones like these are Okran's Pride, Okran's Gulf, The Border Zone and Heng.
Some exceptions are made for certain zones, The Great Desert is technically a noob zone as well but it has enemies with stats in their 30s (Skimmers) as well as humanoids that could be potentially hostile to you as well. Due to the fact that many different Game Starts begin in The Great Desert this zone is considered a noob zone by me.
Complete list of Kenshi Base Locations
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
Raptor Island Base - Farm/Mega Base Location
Base Rating: 6/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 10%
Enemy Attacks: Cannibals & Swamp Raptors
Resources: Lots of Iron and Water
Other: Great location for leveling up combat stats and Toughness
This base is good if you want to be left alone from constant enemy raids and if you'd like to fight a bunch of Swamp Raptors to raise your combat skills/Toughness. At this location there is only one type of raid will ever bother you at this base and that is Cannibal Swarms which typically run from Dreg to your base. However, if you decide to grow crops at this base you can make Swamp Raptors constantly attack you as they come to eat your crops -- which is how you'll be able to exploit their AI for easy Toughness/Combat Skill ups.
Raptor Island 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
Heng Base Location
Base Rating: 6/10
Environment: Arid 100%
Enemy Attacks: Slave Raids, Desert Ninjas
Resources: 1 Iron, 2 Copper
Other: Both UC and Trader's Guild will request you pay taxes
This location has pretty good resources, low Fertility and Water but it has great Stone and also good Wind. In the location I chose for this base you'll find 1 Iron Deposit and 2 Copper Deposits which is plenty for the first half of the game. As you can see from the map above we're also in close proximity to 3 of the primary Empire cities.
Heng is what I would consider a teens zone in the Empire controlled portion of the world. Most enemies that roam around this base will have stats ranging from 10 - 30; Outlaw Farmers are the lowest with stats in the low teens and Skimmers are the highest with stats in the low 30s. As far as base raids go, you'll be fighting some enemies (like the Slavers) with stats in their 30s and they will enslave you if they down all of your characters when they attack.
Heng 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
Okran's Gulf Base Location
Base Rating: 5/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 10%
Enemy Attacks: Dust Bandits, Holy Nation if you do anything they dislike
Resources: 2 Iron, 2 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up
Okran's Gulf is part of Holy Nation Territory but it's enough on the outskirts that you seldom get bothered by them. Prayer Day will show up at your Outpost once a week but the amount of Holy Nation patrols you see walking through the area is far and few between. Hungry Bandits and Holy Nation Outlaws will be the most common patrols you see followed by Wild Bulls.
The location I have chosen for my base rests in a crater with numerous Iron and Copper deposits around that you can incorporate into the layout depending on how large you want to make it. You'll have more than enough Copper and Iron for making all the items you need for early game. Farming here is a little less than optimal considering it's only 10% Green and the amount of water here is not 100%. Thankfully Fertility here is very good and the less than optimal water is a problem we can easily solve with more Wells.
As far as Wind power goes in my experience it's very reliable in this area; I had nearly constant power from wind my entire time here with the output almost never dropping.
Okran's Gulf Base Location Youtube Video
Sinkuun Base Location
Base Rating: 6/10
Environment: Arid 100% and Green 10%
Enemy Attacks: Cannibal Swarms, Cannibal Raid
Resources: 1 Iron, 4 Copper
Other: Trade Caravans will occasionally show up from the Hiver Faction and Trader's Guild. Nomad Caravans will show up here too
Sinkuun is a zone located in the far northeastern portion of the world to the north of The Great Desert and most of the United Cities towns. The main types of enemies that you will be facing in this area are Cannibals which will only pose a threat to you for the first part of this game. Once you've geared up in mediocre gear and you've got a team with stats 40+ Cannibals are nothing more than fodder. Cannibals are also the only base raid you'll see in this area.
The Environment of Sinkuun is 100% Arid and 10% Green which is pretty typical for Kenshi. Despite it only being 10% Green you can still grow Wheatstraw and Hemp here just with less yields than you could in a 100% Green environment. Hemp will have a 47% Crop Yield and Wheat a 54% Crop Yield which ain't too shabby for a 10% Green Environment.
As far as Iron and Copper go, we have 4 Copper Deposits inside of our base and a single Iron Deposit. One Iron Deposit isn't enough for what we need so you'll have to supplement the lack of Iron in this area by using Ore Drills which are some of the mid to late game technology unlocked with AI Cores and Ancient Science Books.
Sinkuun 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