Guide: How to artificially disable Living Settlements
A workaround until the system is refined
This will apply to any game space where Living Settlements are enabled including Officials and works both on UE4 and UE5. This guide will be for players that do not care for their thralls moving about but can be used temporarily until the Living Settlements system is refined for those who do enjoy it but are frustrated with the issues.
What is the Living Settlements system?
This feature was introduced with the Age of Heroes update on October 17, 2024. Previously, crafter/worker thralls were items that could be placed on benches which did show an animation, could be removed and placed in storage at will. They were stationary.
The feature enabled the crafter/worker thralls to “bring life” to your space. They move, open doors, mill about at campfires, sit, lay down and go station to station. They also provide their bench bonus and specializations in range of 51 foundations, no longer requiring the thrall to be at the bench. Ultimately the system is “performative” at this time; the thralls do not “need” to eat, sleep, work or rest. But they will go out to access their “needs” based placeables/benches if they’re elsewhere within your claims.
However, from Beta it was clear that there were problems: thralls going missing, turning on benches that caused temperature fluctuations, dying inexplicably, crowding, standing on furniture, glitching into mesh, letting invaders inside via opening doors to the overhaul of the building system allowing enemy and fauna inside by ignoring doors.
There have been many updates since and while small things are big in the long run (door locks), they’re not enough for some, including me, to be happy with this system. I’m also a PVPer and I need to keep the most valuable crafters safe from other players. So I make them stationary.
Essentially, the focus is the same: denial of access; it doesn’t matter if it is a new build or existing.
- This is important as your first step. Disable all your benches, placeables and doors from Thrall Use. This includes their “needs” like campfires, beds and seating. Check everything! Even torches. Make sure to do this everywhere on the map if you have multiple bases; as long as there are doors, benches and placeables they need to be disabled. If this is a new build, disable as you build and place.
- Build the thralls into a doorless space - if you do use doors make sure to Disable them. I like to place them in 1 by 1s for protection. You can bury them into your base or add them on a separate floor. Their effect is ranged so as long as they are at least 51 foundations from corresponding stations they will provide their specializations. This is possible with already placed, rescued and newly placed thralls. If you did not already complete Step 1 the thralls may start teleporting out.
- (Optional) If you like to see thralls “living” use fighters, bearers, archers or entertainers. They can still perform the animations at benches, beds and campfires by placing them at those stations. Green ghost them in and they will not move as the system is not enabled on these thrall types. This is even with Disable Thrall Use in effect.
That’s it!
*If something I wrote doesn’t make sense or I’m wrong about technical stuff, let me know, doing mah best here! I’ve seen a lot of very reasonable criticism and frustration about the LS system since its inception. This method has worked for me since Beta.