---
title: "Kenshi: Survival Guide"
game: "Kenshi"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/kenshi"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds"]
summary: "A survival guide for Kenshi's brutal open world: choosing a start, not dying in the first hours, making money, training stats efficiently, building a squad and an outpost, and handling the factions that want you dead.…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/kenshi-survival-guide-7a5ddc6a"
published: "2026-09-27T16:59:04.544Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:59:04.544Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Kenshi: Survival Guide

A survival guide for Kenshi's brutal open world: choosing a start, not dying in the first hours, making money, training stats efficiently, building a squad and an outpost, and handling the factions that want you dead.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of Kenshi 1.0.68 (free camera mode, April 2024), still the latest patch; Lo-Fi reported 3 million copies sold in May 2026. The game is stable and complete, and Lo-Fi Games is building Kenshi 2 (Unreal Engine). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **You are nobody.** No chosen-one stats and no level scaling. Everything that starts stronger than you stays stronger until you train.
2. **Getting beaten up is how you train.** Toughness and many combat stats rise from taking hits and getting knocked out and back up. Losing isn't failure, it's XP.
3. **Save often.** Kenshi is sandbox chaos. Save before you travel, fight or steal, and keep several save files.
4. **Carry food and first aid.** Hunger and untreated wounds kill. Buy dried meat or food cubes and first aid kits early.
5. **Earn your first cats by mining.** Find copper or iron ore near a town, mine it, and sell it to a general store or bar. Boring but safe.
6. **Recruit as soon as you can afford it.** A second body lets someone carry the unconscious one to safety. Bars sell recruitable characters.
7. **Run from what you can't beat.** Starving, Hungry and Dust Bandits roam everywhere. Lead them into town guards, or just keep running.
8. **Don't build an outpost too early.** Raids scale with your base, and an undefended outpost is free loot for other factions.
9. **Pause often (Space).** Kenshi is real-time with pause. Micromanage fights, retreats and first aid while paused.

## Choosing a Start

| Start | Difficulty | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|
| **Wanderer** | Standard | Classic solo start. Good for learning |
| **Freedom Seekers** | Easier | A small group, so you have spare hands to carry the wounded |
| **The Holy Sword** | Harder | A decent sword, but in dangerous territory |
| **Rock Bottom** | Very hard | Starts injured, penniless and in trouble |
| **Slave** | Hard | Starts enslaved. Plan an escape |
| **The Nobodies** | Easier (numbers) | A large, weak group with cash for an outpost-first game |
| **Cannibal Hunters** | Moderate | A small armed band near cannibal lands |
| **Mongrel** | Hard | Starts in the town of Mongrel, surrounded by Fogmen |

This is a selection, not the full list; the game offers more starts (including race- and faction-flavoured ones), and the difficulty labels here are rough community impressions. The new-game screen shows each start's party, location, money and relations, so read it before committing.

First run: **Wanderer or Freedom Seekers**. Starting in or near **The Hub**, a small Border Zone town with ore to mine in the surrounding area, makes the early game much gentler.

## Races

| Race | Strengths | Weaknesses and social notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Greenlander** (human) | Farming and science bonuses | Average combat |
| **Scorchlander** (human) | Heat-hardy, good at smithing | Average combat |
| **Shek** | Tough, strong melee | Slower learning in some stats. Honor culture |
| **Hive** (Prince, Soldier Drone, Worker Drone) | Specialized drones | Holy Nation hostility, lower max health (varies by type) |
| **Skeleton** | No food needed, repairs in beds, strong labor | Costly repairs, hated by the Holy Nation |

The **Holy Nation** treats non-humans harshly and has strict rules about religious items and women. Scout their towns carefully with mixed squads.

## Survival Basics

- **Hunger:** characters get weaker as they get hungry. Stock one food type in a shared inventory and let them eat automatically.
- **Injuries:** each limb has its own health. A downed character bleeds out unless someone bandages them. Carry them (select an ally, then the pick-up option) to a bed.
- **Limb loss:** losing arms or legs is survivable. Prosthetic **skeleton limbs** replace them (sold by skeleton smiths, or crafted later through robotics research).
- **Beds and medics:** resting in a bed speeds healing a lot. Rent or buy beds in towns, or build them.
- **Weather:** acid rain, burning gas and similar hazards damage exposed characters. Check the region's weather before you cross.

## Making Money

| Method | Stage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Mining copper/iron** | Early | Safe near towns. Also levels Labouring and Strength |
| **Hauling loot** | Early–mid | Strip gear from beaten bandits and sell at shops |
| **Bounties** | Mid | Capture bounty targets and turn them in to the right faction (tie them up and carry them in) |
| **Crafting** | Mid–late | Armor, weapons, hashish, rum, food. Needs research and base buildings |
| **Theft** | Any | Stealing trains Thievery. Sell stolen goods to Shinobi Thieves traders |
| **Outpost economy** | Late | Automated mining, farming and production at your base |

## Training Your Stats

Kenshi stats level by doing the thing, and they level faster when you're **outclassed**:

| Stat | Fastest way to train |
|---|---|
| **Toughness** | Getting knocked out and recovering. Fighting stronger enemies and losing without dying |
| **Strength** | Carrying heavy loads while overencumbered |
| **Athletics** | Running, especially while encumbered |
| **Dexterity / Melee Attack** | Fighting (attacking) with weapons |
| **Melee Defence / Dodge** | Blocking and dodging in fights against stronger enemies |
| **Martial Arts** | Unarmed fighting (use proper martial arts gear later) |
| **Stealth** | Sneaking, especially near enemies or in towns |
| **Lockpicking** | Picking locks (practice on lower-level locks first) |
| **Thievery** | Stealing items from shops and people |
| **Assassination** | Knocking out targets from stealth |
| **Labouring, Farming, Science, Engineering, Smithing** | Doing those jobs at your outpost |

**Training dummies** train melee attack and defence, but only up to a cap. Past that, you have to fight real enemies.

**Classic early loop:** mine ore near a town while bandits wander in. Fight them with the town guards' help, heal in a bed, and repeat. Toughness, attack and defence all climb together.

## Combat Basics

- **Weapons have types:** Sabres, Hackers, Heavy weapons, Blunt, Polearms, Katanas and Crossbows. Each scales with Dexterity and/or Strength differently.
- **Armor has trade-offs:** heavy armor slows attacks and dodges and hurts Stealth, but it saves lives early.
- **Numbers beat skill early.** Fight with the whole squad and gang up on the strongest enemy.
- **Crossbows** hit hard, but their users need cover. Put crossbow units behind melee and walls.
- **Retreat early.** A character dropping below half health should run toward town guards.
- **Knockouts:** unconscious characters get looted or enslaved, or (with cannibals) eaten. Keep a healthy squadmate close.

## Factions to Know

| Faction | Attitude | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Holy Nation** | Zealous humans | Hostile to non-humans. Strict inspections |
| **United Cities** | Noble empire | Slavery is legal. Big cities and strong samurai |
| **Shek Kingdom** | Warrior culture | Respects strength |
| **Tech Hunters** | Explorers | Buy artifacts and research items |
| **Traders Guild** | Merchants | Controls trade and slaver markets |
| **Shinobi Thieves** | Criminals | Safehouses sell to and buy from thieves |
| **Anti-Slavers** | Rebels | Fight slavers |
| **Flotsam Ninjas** | Rebels | Fight the Holy Nation |
| **Cannibals, Fogmen, Beak Things, Leviathans** | Hostile/wildlife | Avoid until you're strong |
| **Dust / Hungry / Starving Bandits** | Hostile | Early threats. Good training fodder |

**World states change.** Killing or capturing major faction leaders can permanently change towns, factions and the map. Kenshi's world reacts to what you do.

## Outposts and Research

1. **Pick a site** with good groundwater, ore and fertility, and ideally away from Holy Nation or cannibal paths.
2. **Build in this order:** storage, research bench, walls and gate, beds, food production (wells and farms), then turrets.
3. **Research** unlocks buildings and crafting. Higher tiers need **books** and later **AI cores**, which you buy from Tech Hunters or find in ruins.
4. **Raids** get bigger as your outpost grows and as faction relations change. Plan defenses before expanding.
5. **Automation:** assign characters to jobs (mining, farming, crafting) in the jobs menu, and let them work while you're away.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **One save file.** A single bad fight can lock you into disaster. Rotate saves.
- **Building an outpost on day one.** You'll be raided before you can defend it.
- **Walking into the Holy Nation with non-humans** or without the right attitude.
- **Leaving unconscious squadmates behind.** Carry them out, and use first aid while paused.
- **Starving your squad.** Food spoils over time. Stock enough, and eat the old food first.
- **Fighting Beak Things, Leviathans or Cannibals early.** They'll wipe a young squad.
- **Stealing in plain sight.** Guards will chase you, and a sentence can end with slavery.
- **Ignoring encumbrance.** Overloaded characters are slow, which is deadly in the wrong place (though great for training Strength).

## Advanced Tips

- **Skeleton limbs:** some players deliberately use prosthetic limbs for their bonuses. Weigh their stats against organic limbs.
- **Weight training:** filling a character's backpack with ore or iron plates while they travel trains Strength and Athletics together.
- **Stealth assassination** plus carrying lets you quietly capture bounty targets.
- **Crossbow wall:** a walled outpost with crossbow and harpoon turrets handles most raids.
- **Recruitable characters are unique.** Many special recruits exist around the world. Look for dialogue opportunities in bars and prisons.
- **Mods:** Kenshi has a huge Steam Workshop. Quality-of-life, UI, recruitment and animation mods are popular. Load order matters, so read each mod's notes.
- **Free camera (1.0.68):** toggle it with the ";" key for screenshots and videos.

## FAQ

**Is Kenshi still updated?**
It's complete and stable. The latest patch notes (1.0.68) added free camera mode, and Lo-Fi is focused on Kenshi 2.

**What's the easiest start?**
Wanderer or Freedom Seekers are the usual recommendations; check the new-game screen for each start's location and party.

**How do I train Toughness?**
Get knocked out and recover over and over. Fight stronger enemies near friendly guards or with a squad ready to pick you up.

**How do I get prosthetic limbs?**
Buy skeleton limbs from skeleton limb smiths, or research robotics to craft your own.

**Where can I sell stolen items?**
Shinobi Thieves traders at their safehouses buy stolen goods.

**Is Kenshi 2 coming?**
Yes. It was announced in March 2019, is being built in Unreal Engine, and is set 1,000 years before the first game. As of September 2026 there's no release date.

**How big is the map?**
About 870 square kilometers of seamless world, with no level scaling.

## Sources

- [Kenshi on Steam (store and announcements)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/233860/Kenshi/)
- [Kenshi 1.0.68 patch notes (Steam, April 2024)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/233860)
- [Kenshi — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenshi_(video_game))
- [Lo-Fi Games community update: 3 million copies sold (May 2026)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/233860)
- [Lo-Fi Games official site](https://lofigames.com/)