Timberborn: Complete Beginner-to-Advanced Guide

How to get a beaver colony through its first droughts and badtides, grow it into a vertical lumberpunk city, and pick the right faction, with notes on what changed in Update 1.1.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 1.1 (released 3 September 2026), with experimental-branch fixes up to 22 September 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Water is life, and it runs out. Every cycle has a temperate season followed by a hazardous one (a drought or a badtide). During a drought, sources stop flowing; the only water is what you stored.
• Build water storage before you need it. A Water Pump plus tanks near the district is the first thing to secure after food. Beavers die from thirst faster than from hunger.
• Food and logs next. A Gatherer Flag near berry bushes and a Lumberjack Flag near trees get you started; plant a Forester and crops right away so supply does not run dry.
• Dam the river early. Even a simple Dam or Levee holds a reservoir that keeps fields irrigated deep into a drought.
• Research with an Inventor. Science points unlock almost everything past the basics. Get one working early and keep it staffed.
• Don't overbuild housing. Every new beaver is another mouth. Grow population only as fast as food, water and jobs allow.
• Watch the weather timer. The top of the screen shows days until the next hazardous season. Prep in the temperate days, not during the crisis.
• Badwater kills plants and sickens beavers. Keep contaminated water out of your fields and away from paths.
• Stack vertically. Space near water is precious. Platforms, stairs and multi-level buildings let you pack more into a small footprint.

Factions

Timberborn has two playable factions. Folktails are the recommended first pick.

Folktails | Iron Teeth

Identity | Expert farmers who "respect nature" | Defectors who "mastered iron and science"

Population growth | Beavers breed naturally in Lodges | Beavers come from Breeding Pods

Farming | Farmhouse, Efficient Farmhouse, Aquatic Farmhouse, Beehive | Farmhouse plus Hydroponic Garden

Signature buildings | Double and Triple Lodge, Water Wheel (stronger than the Iron Teeth variant), Wind Turbine, Gravity Battery, Zipline Station, Large Water Pump, Underground Pile | Rowhouse, Industrial Lumber Mill, Large Power Wheel, Steam Engine, Deep Water Pump, Tubeway System, Charging Station, Decontamination Pod

Unlock | Available from the start | Unlocked by reaching 15 average Well-Being with Folktails

Playstyle | Forgiving, food-rich, lower metal and power needs | Metal- and power-hungry, strong industry and automation

Crops by Faction

Folktails | Grow time (base) | Iron Teeth | Grow time

Carrot | 4 days | Kohlrabi | 3 days

Sunflower | 5 days | Cassava | 5 days

Potato | 6 days | Soybean | 8 days

Wheat | 10 days | Canola | 9 days

Cattail (aquatic) | 8 days | Corn | 10 days

Spadderdock (aquatic) | 12 days | Eggplant | 12 days

Folktails Beehives speed up nearby crop growth (for example, Carrots drop to about 2.8 days). Iron Teeth also grow Mushrooms and Algae indoors in the Hydroponic Garden, which keeps producing through droughts.

Your First Ten Days (Folktails)

• Place paths from the District Center toward water, trees and berry bushes.
• Gatherer Flag in the berry patch and Lumberjack Flag in the forest. Mark trees for cutting, but keep some standing.
• Water Pump on a spot with deep, steady water, and a tank nearby. Pumps need water under them; if the river drops, a shallow pump goes dry.
• Log storage and a warehouse so goods have somewhere to go.
• Lodges to house your starting beavers, and a Campfire for early Well-Being.
• Farmhouse plus planted fields on irrigated land (the green zone around water). Carrots are the fastest early food.
• Forester to replant trees so wood never runs out.
• Inventor to generate science.
• Dam or Levee across the river downstream of your colony to raise the water table and store a reservoir.
• Lumber Mill to turn logs into planks, then a Gear Workshop for gears, both powered by a Water Wheel or beaver-powered wheel.

For Iron Teeth the order is similar, but you also need to feed Breeding Pods and should prioritise Deep Water Pumps and hydroponics sooner.

Core Systems

Water, Droughts and Badtides

• Cycles: a temperate season, then a hazardous season. Hazards get longer as the game progresses (scaled by difficulty).
• Droughts: water sources stop. Fields dry out as irrigation fades. Your stored water in tanks and reservoirs is all you have.
• Badtides: water and badwater sources emit contaminated water. Contamination ramps up to full strength over about 12 hours, then ramps down at the end. Above 50 percent contamination, the ground kills plants quickly and irrigation shrinks.
• Contamination: beavers (not bots) get contaminated by walking or swimming in badwater. Keep paths out of badwater.

Two proven badtide strategies:

• Divert it. Use Floodgates and valves to block or redirect badwater away from your colony, treating the badtide like a drought.
• Let it flow, safely. Use Contamination Barriers (a Folktails building) and Irrigation Barriers so the river keeps flowing while your farmland stays clean.

Terraforming and Vertical Building

Timberborn's 3D water physics mean water pools, spreads and flows around anything you build. Dig canals, blast tunnels with explosives, and build aqueducts and platforms. Space near water is limited, so:

• Stack housing and workshops on platforms.
• Put storage underneath walkways.
• Use ziplines (Folktails) or tubeways (Iron Teeth) to move beavers quickly across tall or spread-out bases.

Industry and Power

• Logs become planks at the Lumber Mill; planks and power make gears at the Gear Workshop.
• Treated planks come from a wood-treatment workshop and are needed for advanced construction.
• Metal comes from the ruins of the old world: send scavengers to the ruins, then smelt what they bring back into metal blocks.
• Power travels through shafts. Water wheels spin on flowing water, so a drought can also cut your power. Folktails can bridge the gap with Wind Turbines and Gravity Batteries; Iron Teeth use the Large Power Wheel and Steam Engine.

Well-Being

Well-Being boosts work speed, lifespan and more. Sources include a varied diet (several food types), water, shelter, decoration, and attractions. Update 1.1 added more faction attractions:

• Folktails: Sauna and Domed Garden
• Iron Teeth: Massager and Dance Pit

Update 1.1 also increased how long the benefit of six attractions lasts, reduced the Carousel's unlock cost, and raised the Wind Tunnel's construction and unlock costs. The Observatory now produces 12 science points per hour.

Bots

Late-game you can build mechanized beavers. Bots work around the clock, ignore contamination, and do not eat, but they need power (charging for Iron Teeth) and maintenance. They are perfect for hazardous jobs near badwater.

Automation

Sensors, relays, counters and other logic parts let you build self-controlling floodgates, pumps and factories. In Update 1.1, relays accept more than two inputs, so multi-condition setups (for example, "open floodgate only if reservoir is low and no badtide is active") are much simpler.

Monuments

End-game monuments help restore the Earth and give big Well-Being boosts. Update 1.1 added Tier 4 monuments: the Hall of Abundance (Folktails) and the Arch of Progress (Iron Teeth).

What's New in Update 1.1

• Statistics for goods and population with adjustable time ranges and global or per-district views (it tracks from when you install 1.1, not retroactively).
• Watertight buildings: Airlock, Impermeable Power Shaft, Compact Mechanical Pump, and the Iron Teeth-only Impermeable Tubeway. The Compact Water Pump can push water through player-built pipes.
• Succulent: a desert plant that grows only on dry land and dies if overwatered. It stores water that lumberjacks can harvest (with some injury risk). As of 1.1 it yields 2 water per 65 days, and it has been added to all built-in maps.
• New unconventional maps: Nomads (256x256, with shifting water flow) and Pillars (192x192, a fractured upper level above a hostile lower area).
• New beaver workwear and more faction attractions.

The developers suggest starting a new game on 1.1 rather than continuing a 1.0 save, even though saves are compatible.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Putting the Water Pump in shallow water. When the river drops, the pump goes dry. Pick a deep spot or dig one.
• Too many beavers too soon. Population booms cause famine and thirst a few days later.
• Only one food type. A single crop leaves you exposed and hurts Well-Being. Diversify early.
• No reservoir before the first long drought. A dam is cheap insurance.
• Letting badwater into fields. One badtide can wipe out a harvest.
• Cutting down every tree. Keep a Forester running and leave young trees to mature.
• Forgetting storage. Full warehouses stop production chains; build storage for every good you produce.
• Relying only on water wheels. Droughts stop rivers, and your power goes with them.

Advanced Tips

• Build a buffer, not a stockpile. Aim for roughly as much stored water and food as the next hazardous season will consume, then expand storage as seasons lengthen.
• Use floodgates as a valve. Keep your reservoir full, then open floodgates gradually during a drought to keep fields irrigated longer.
• Separate aquatic farms. Folktails' Cattail and Spadderdock need shallow standing water; isolate those ponds so badwater can't reach them.
• Split into districts once the colony spreads out; each district has its own workforce and storage, which cuts travel time.
• Automate the boring parts. A sensor-controlled floodgate that closes during a badtide saves a lot of micromanagement.
• Watertight builds (1.1): Airlocks and impermeable shafts let you build under or through water, which opens new layouts on cramped maps.
• Mods: Timberborn has official mod support and a built-in map editor. Popular quality-of-life mods exist, and the new goods statistics screen was built by the author of the well-known Goods Statistics mod.

FAQ

Which faction should I start with? Folktails. They are more forgiving, and Iron Teeth unlock after you reach 15 average Well-Being with Folktails.

How do I survive the first drought? Store water in tanks, dam the river to hold a reservoir, and stockpile food. Keep fields near the reservoir so irrigation lasts longer.

What is a badtide? A hazardous season where water sources emit contaminated badwater. It kills plants and contaminates beavers who walk through it. Divert it with floodgates or contain it with barriers.

How do I get metal? Send scavengers to ruins on the map, then smelt what they gather into metal blocks.

Can I keep my 1.0 save in Update 1.1? Saves are compatible, but the developers recommend a new game to get the most out of the new content.

Is Timberborn out of Early Access? Yes. The 1.0 release came out on 12 March 2026, and Update 1.1 followed on 3 September 2026.

Does it have mods and a map editor? Yes, both are officially supported.

Sources

• Steam store page
• Steam news: Update 1.1 and experimental patch notes
• Timberborn Wiki: Folktails
• Timberborn Wiki: Iron Teeth
• Timberborn Wiki: Crops
• Timberborn Wiki: Badtide