Banished Survival Guide: Thrive In A Harsh World

Banished, the challenging city-building strategy game, throws you into a harsh, unforgiving wilderness with a group of exiled villagers. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to guide them to not just survive, but to thrive. This isn't just about keeping people alive; it's about building a sustainable, flourishing community that can weather the storms – both literal and figurative. Surviving in Banished demands a deep understanding of the game's mechanics, resource management, and the delicate balance of keeping your villagers happy, healthy, and employed. Get ready, because this guide will walk you through every step of the way, from the initial struggles to building a prosperous and resilient settlement.

Understanding the Basics: Your First Steps in Banished

Initial Setup and Resource Gathering

When you first start a game of Banished, you're faced with a small group of individuals, a few basic supplies, and a vast, untamed landscape. The very first thing you should do is establish a sustainable food source. This is absolutely critical. Without food, your villagers will starve, leading to a rapid decline in your population. Start by designating a location for a hunter's cabin and a gatherer's hut. The hunter's cabin will provide meat from wildlife, while the gatherer's hut can collect berries, herbs, and other wild resources. It's a good idea to build these structures near forested areas and bodies of water for optimal efficiency. Don't forget to immediately designate a forester's lodge. This is where your villagers will plant and harvest trees, which are essential for constructing buildings and creating firewood to heat homes, as well as for building tools. Immediately build a small number of houses close to your food sources. This way you can be sure that your villagers can travel to the food source and back to their homes with little to no time wasted, allowing them to eat and rest.

Next, you'll need to secure a source of firewood. Without firewood, your villagers will freeze to death in the winter. Build a woodcutter's cabin near a forested area. They'll chop down trees and produce firewood, which you can then store in a stockpile. Firewood is also crucial for heating homes, ensuring your villagers stay warm during the frigid winters. It is advisable to start with a modest amount of housing and slowly expand your settlement as your population grows. Remember to place these initial buildings strategically. Consider proximity to resources, such as forests and water, as well as the overall layout of your town. A well-planned settlement is a more efficient and sustainable settlement. You may also want to consider having a stockpile or barn nearby to collect the food, firewood, and other essential resources. Don't forget to include the school, so that your children can have an education. The graveyard and church are other important buildings for the happiness of your villagers, and is also a great way to boost your population by having a good amount of children.

Managing Your Population and Labor Force

Banished is all about people. Every villager has needs, skills, and limitations. It's your job to assign them to jobs, ensuring you have a balanced workforce. Initially, you'll want to have a good mix of hunters, gatherers, woodcutters, and builders. Builders are especially important in the early stages, as they're responsible for constructing essential buildings and expanding your settlement. As your population grows, you can diversify your workforce, adding farmers, blacksmiths, tailors, and other specialized workers. Pay close attention to your villagers' age, health, and happiness. Unhappy villagers are less productive and more likely to get sick. Sick villagers will also be less productive, and are prone to death, and may spread diseases. Make sure to build a clinic, so that your villagers can receive treatment. The well being of your villagers is just as important as the food production, because if your villagers are not happy, then they won't be as productive, and will leave the town.

One of the biggest challenges in Banished is maintaining a healthy birth rate and avoiding population decline. Young adults will get married and have children, but it's up to you to ensure you have adequate housing and resources to support them. A growing population can be a blessing, but it can also strain your resources if you're not prepared. Always monitor the ratio of adults to children and adjust your resource allocation accordingly. It's really important to have a balanced workforce, because if you don't, then your community will surely die. If you do not have enough farmers, you'll starve, if you do not have enough builders, then you won't be able to advance and grow, and if you do not have enough woodcutters, then you'll freeze to death. Your villagers are your most important resources.

Strategic Resource Management: The Lifeblood of Your Village

Food Production and Storage: Avoiding Starvation

Food security is paramount in Banished. You need to establish a sustainable food supply that can withstand seasonal variations and unexpected events like blights or harsh winters. Farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering are your primary food sources. Farming is the most reliable long-term food source, especially as your population grows. Build farms in fertile soil and rotate crops to avoid soil depletion. Diversify your crops to mitigate the risk of a single crop failure. Hunters can provide a decent amount of meat, but their efficiency can vary depending on the availability of wildlife. Gatherers can collect berries, herbs, and other wild plants, providing a supplementary food source, especially in the early game. Fishing is another valuable source of food, particularly if you have a lake or river nearby. Build a fishing dock to take advantage of this resource.

Storage is just as important as production. Build barns and storage yards to keep food safe from the elements and available when needed. Make sure your storage capacity is sufficient to handle seasonal surpluses. As you advance, you can start constructing root cellars and other specialized storage facilities to preserve food for longer periods. Always monitor your food reserves and adjust your production and storage strategies accordingly. It's better to have a surplus than to face a famine. Remember that building too many houses can lead to massive hunger. If you are getting to the point of hunger, slow down the housing builds and increase the food production.

Essential Resources: Wood, Stone, and Iron

Beyond food, you'll need to manage other essential resources like wood, stone, and iron. Wood is needed for construction, firewood, and tools. Build woodcutter's cabins near forests and ensure you have enough wood to meet your community's needs. Stone is also crucial for construction, especially as you build more advanced structures. Build a quarry to extract stone. Iron is needed for tools, and later, for trade. Build a mine to extract iron ore, and then a blacksmith to turn it into tools. Trade is an important part of the game, especially when you can't make what you need. You can trade certain items for things that you are running low on.

Ensure a steady supply of each of these resources. Inadequate supplies can cripple your construction efforts, limit your production capabilities, and hinder your overall progress. Build mines, quarries, and woodcutter's cabins strategically, considering the availability of resources and the efficiency of your transportation networks. Consider the need of these resources for your villagers, especially as the game advances.

Building a Sustainable Economy: Beyond Basic Survival

Crafting and Production: Diversifying Your Economy

Once you've established a stable food supply and secured essential resources, you can start diversifying your economy. This involves crafting tools, clothing, and other goods that can improve your villagers' lives and provide a surplus for trade. Build blacksmiths, tailors, and other workshops to produce these goods. Blacksmiths produce tools, which increase the efficiency of your workers. Tailors produce clothing, which helps keep your villagers warm in the winter. Diversifying your economy not only makes your settlement more resilient, but also provides you with additional options for trade.

As you progress, you can add more advanced industries, such as the production of alcohol (to keep your villagers happy), education, and healthcare. This will further increase the quality of life for your villagers and make them more productive. Diversifying is a very important part of ensuring a sustainable economy.

Trade and Diplomacy: Connecting with the Outside World

Trade is essential for acquiring resources you can't produce yourself, or for offloading surpluses. Build a trading post and establish trade routes with visiting merchants. Barter for essential goods, such as seeds, livestock, tools, and even laborers. Trade can be a lifesaver, especially when you face shortages or unexpected events. Always be aware of the fluctuating prices of goods, and trade wisely to maximize your profits. Your villagers can also provide labor to others and can be traded.

As your settlement grows, you may encounter other settlements. Diplomacy can be a valuable tool for securing alliances and preventing conflicts. You can also learn new things by trading. Trading is important to keep your community alive, and it can be the best way to obtain seeds, livestock, and other essential items.

Surviving Disasters and Challenges: Weathering the Storms

Harsh Winters and Extreme Weather

Winter is your deadliest enemy in Banished. Your villagers will need shelter, firewood, and warm clothing to survive the cold. Make sure you have enough firewood stockpiled before winter arrives. Build warm clothing from the tailor's shop. Upgrade houses to more efficient, warmer houses to provide better shelter from the elements. During the winter months, outdoor work will be severely limited, so ensure you have enough food and resources to last until the spring thaw. Extreme weather events, such as blizzards, can further cripple your community. Plan ahead and prepare for these challenges.

Diseases, Famine, and Other Catastrophes

Disease can quickly spread through your community, especially in unsanitary conditions. Build a clinic and provide your villagers with access to healthcare. Make sure your villagers are happy and healthy. Famine can strike if your food production is insufficient or if crops fail. Build more farms, diversify your crops, and maintain a sufficient food reserve. Other catastrophes, such as fires or landslides, can also devastate your settlement. Build a well and place it near your buildings to fight fire. Have a plan in place to rebuild and recover from these events. Building a clinic and school will drastically increase your villagers health and happiness.

Long-Term Planning and Expansion: Building a Legacy

Population Growth and Housing

As your population grows, you'll need to expand your settlement and provide housing for everyone. Build new houses, but be mindful of your resource availability. A rapidly growing population can strain your resources if you're not prepared. Create a well-planned layout for your town, considering factors such as resource access, work efficiency, and aesthetics.

Infrastructure and City Planning

Infrastructure is key to a thriving settlement. Build roads to connect your buildings, making it easier for villagers to transport goods and travel to work. Plan ahead. Build wells to provide water to your villagers. Build bridges to cross rivers and other geographical features. Consider the overall layout of your town and how it will evolve over time. A well-planned settlement is a more efficient and sustainable settlement. Build a town hall to manage your settlement.

Specialization and Advanced Structures

As you advance, you can specialize your industries and build more advanced structures. This includes hospitals, schools, churches, and other buildings that provide additional benefits to your villagers. Hospitals improve the health and productivity of your villagers. Schools improve your villagers' education and can create jobs. Churches improve your villagers' happiness. Experiment with different combinations of industries and structures to optimize your settlement.

Conclusion: The Art of Banished

Surviving and thriving in Banished is a complex and rewarding challenge. It requires careful planning, resource management, and a willingness to adapt to unexpected events. By mastering the basics, strategically managing your resources, building a sustainable economy, and preparing for disasters, you can guide your villagers to create a prosperous and resilient community. Remember to be patient, learn from your mistakes, and never give up. Banished is a game about perseverance, and the satisfaction of watching your settlement grow and flourish is truly unmatched.

So, get out there, build your town, and conquer the wilderness!