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

• You are nobody. No chosen-one stats and no level scaling. Everything that starts stronger than you stays stronger until you train.
• 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.
• Save often. Kenshi is sandbox chaos. Save before you travel, fight or steal, and keep several save files.
• Carry food and first aid. Hunger and untreated wounds kill. Buy dried meat or food cubes and first aid kits early.
• 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.
• Recruit as soon as you can afford it. A second body lets someone carry the unconscious one to safety. Bars sell recruitable characters.
• Run from what you can't beat. Starving, Hungry and Dust Bandits roam everywhere. Lead them into town guards, or just keep running.
• Don't build an outpost too early. Raids scale with your base, and an undefended outpost is free loot for other factions.
• 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

• Pick a site with good groundwater, ore and fertility, and ideally away from Holy Nation or cannibal paths.
• Build in this order: storage, research bench, walls and gate, beds, food production (wells and farms), then turrets.
• Research unlocks buildings and crafting. Higher tiers need books and later AI cores, which you buy from Tech Hunters or find in ruins.
• Raids get bigger as your outpost grows and as faction relations change. Plan defenses before expanding.
• 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)
• Kenshi 1.0.68 patch notes (Steam, April 2024)
• Kenshi — Wikipedia
• Lo-Fi Games community update: 3 million copies sold (May 2026)
• Lo-Fi Games official site