Quick round up of my current situation is probably a good way to start off:
I’m a solo player on an unofficial Server, official rates, no mods. Currently level 33 and in the process of upgrading to T2 (a little late maybe, but it’s not that hostile on the server atm).
I have some Thralls for the Crafting Stations, but not all and no good ones - the best is a T2 Alchemist and a T2 Tanner…
I’m soon moving out of my T1 Base to a new location with T2 stuff and I need some advice on what the “meta” for Base Defense is. I know that the higher you build, the better, but other then that, I have some specific questions and maybe you guys can give me some general advice.
Now for my questions:
How good are Archers? Are they worth it and how many resources should I pour into equipping them?
1.1. If they are useful, should I just place them on my wall directly, in the house/courtyard or maybe build smaller towers on the outside with windows facing my main wall so they shoot climbers in the back?
Are Palisades worth it? I read an old reddit post that they can be destroyed by Arrows pretty easily.
2.1. If they are a useful addition, where do I place them? I know that they’re not that useful on the ground outside the base, but what about on top of the Wall? Or just on the edge of water where people still swim so they can’t move up (was thinking about a Base on an Island or a small Peninsula maybe).
Concerning Fighter Thralls, just go for mass - aka a lot of T2, maybe some T1 - or Quality, like only T3 and above?
Are outer/perimiter-walls useful? Or should I just focus on one big building with Foundation /Fence Foundation / Wall Combo?
Maybe a stuid one, but the Siege Cauldron only works when I activate them, right? Can’t just place them and hey automatically attack other players?
These are my specific questions. Some are kinda nooby, I know, but I haven’t played for long and the only PvP was me breaking into another noobys base cuz he stole my stuff through a Window (I know, noob mistake…).
I’m glad and thankful for any adivce you guys can give me
the only advise i can give is, focus on gettign 60 instead of building a “safe” base.
make a very hidden super smal T1 base on a mountain or something for base necessitiys and focus on your journey steps and exploring for exp.
after you are 60 you can specc whatever you want quickly and gather resources super fast to build a proper base.
specc vit 30, maybe agi 20 as next goal and just run around.
regardign base, if yomeone wants in they just do, active players/clans have several hundreds of dragonpowder waiting to be used.
thralls seem to be useless since you can just snipe them with arrows or 3hit them in mele. not sure if several dozen archers would pose a real threat to an attacker but they help with purges.
never considered T1 materials as a defense. palisades in water sound good to me.
if you make a base you can try to hide your stuff in hidden rooms (T1 no intended door to it) and fake lootables for the raiders to find at least something (maybe a days farmed mats).
cauldrons you have to activate manually = useless (except for the journey step!)
also you walls need to be 2 high otherwise people just jump over them.
Try to build your base against a wall or in a cave so you don’t have to use as many resources building walls for a defence and it means you focus your defence at 1 or 2 sides rather than 4.
Build multiple layers of walls and doors so the attackers have no idea how many bombs they need to bring and probably won’t bring enough so they will have to come back another day.
As has been mentioned build hidden rooms with your loot stashed in them. Either under the foundations of your base or against the natural wall side of your base then just wall that side up so they can’t tell when your base ends and leave loot boxes with crap loot in obvious locations so they at least feel like they have stolen something if they do manage to get in.
If you have thralls defending then have them hidden inside your base so the attacker has no idea how many you have or what type you have. If you have archers then build a tower or ledge inside your base facing the door so if they do break in there will be a choke point with arrows raining down on them.
When building your front door have it high up off the ground so you have to climb up to it. Means bombs can’t be placed next to your door.
When building walls build a layer of fences that have spikes on them as it damages people climbing and means your walls can’t be scaled.
Be cautious when placing torches in your base as it will light up like a Christmas tree at night if that light escapes to the outside.
Building near resources can be good and bad as it means there will be an increase of players traveling through that area and more of a chance to spot your base.
Building a base in a location that’s only accessible by climbing in a zone that damages you when climbing limits the players that can get near to your base unless they have the proper weather resistant gear on.
Be careful when you build and not have weak points where I can blow up a foundation or a piller and half you wall or floor will collapse.
Thanks you two.
And I know that no base is unraidable - I played Ark
The server I’m on is not that hostile so the defenses are mainly for show. Basically the effort has to be too great to be worth it.
But I’ll consider the suggestions and will act accordingly.
On a related note: any good spots in the desert/savanna area I could consider?
I would tell you but then they wouldn’t be good places any more would they .
There are a few YouTube videos that show you some nice locations just be aware though that other people will be checking them too. So maybe watch a few videos then try and find your own hidden corner of the map.
If you’re 33, you need to make the leap to the Highlands at least. Your XP goes up considerably fighting or even breaking rocks there. Let ore dictate your next move. Find endless fields of it so that your furnaces are full to the brim.
If your server is a raiding one, build a distraction. A small, relatively interesting tower in T2 should divert enough fire (and interest) for a while so that you can seek another, more permanent and hardened base. If I were you, my next base after an ore tower would be one in the Highlands near Shattered Springs so that you can jump into steel ASAP. Don’t forget everything you craft is great XP – and don’t be worried about lost mats. My 8-story distraction tower was all but destroyed, but when I went to reclaim it, I got back almost 60 shaped wood, 50 sticky wood, 20 steelforcement and a lot of iron. So it’s like a distracting piggy bank.
Finally, if you want to know the instant you’re being raided, always leave at least one “canary stone” near every major attack point. I like to leave the tiniest portion of a sandstone ceiling or wedge under the soil near my attack points. When it goes, I get back to that base ASAP.
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