Against the Storm is a roguelike city-builder where you establish settlements in a perpetually stormy fantasy world on behalf of the Scorched Queen. Each run drops you into a new procedurally generated map with different biomes, species compositions, and available buildings. You must balance the Queen's Impatience (a loss timer) against Reputation (a win condition) while managing three to four different species with conflicting needs. Between runs, the meta-progression Citadel grows with permanent upgrades. It's the game that answered the question: what if city-builders had permadeath?
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough.
Essential Tips
1. Pick blueprints that match your species composition — if you have Lizards, prioritize buildings that produce Skewers or provide warmth
Pick blueprints that match your species composition — if you have Lizards, prioritize buildings that produce Skewers or provide warmth. Mismatched blueprints waste production capacity.
2. Complete easy Orders first for quick Reputation — Orders like 'Produce 10 Planks' or 'Have 20 Villagers' give Reputation that counters rising Impatience
Complete easy Orders first for quick Reputation — Orders like 'Produce 10 Planks' or 'Have 20 Villagers' give Reputation that counters rising Impatience. Ignore expensive Orders until you have infrastructure.
3. Impatience rises with time, so don't dawdle — every minute spent optimizing your base is a minute closer to losing
Impatience rises with time, so don't dawdle — every minute spent optimizing your base is a minute closer to losing. Get production running, complete Orders, and move on. Perfect is the enemy of good in this game.
4. Trade excess goods at the Trading Post for both money and Reputation
Trade excess goods at the Trading Post for both money and Reputation. Selling 40+ of a resource you don't need converts dead stockpiles into win-condition progress.
5. Glade events can be dangerous but give powerful rewards
Glade events can be dangerous but give powerful rewards. Read the event description carefully — some require specific resources to resolve, while others spawn enemies. Prepare before interacting.
6. The Hearth is your colony's heart — upgrading it increases warmth range, Resolve bonuses, and villager capacity
The Hearth is your colony's heart — upgrading it increases warmth range, Resolve bonuses, and villager capacity. Prioritize Hearth upgrades over building new production buildings.
7. Rainwater is free
Rainwater is free. Build Rain Collectors near every production building that uses water (Cookhouse, Brewery, Farm). This eliminates the need for well-digging infrastructure.
8. Species Resolve determines if villagers stay or leave
Species Resolve determines if villagers stay or leave. Keep all species above the leaving threshold by providing at least one desired food and one service. Even one happy species earning Reputation carries a run.
9. Meta-progression in the Citadel carries between runs — spend Citadel resources on permanent upgrades that help all future settlements
Meta-progression in the Citadel carries between runs — spend Citadel resources on permanent upgrades that help all future settlements. Prioritize extra blueprint choices and starting resources.
10. On higher difficulties, focus on one or two production chains rather than trying to build everything
On higher difficulties, focus on one or two production chains rather than trying to build everything. A settlement with excellent Plank and Ale production wins faster than one trying to produce every good.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive:
For Humans (A-Tier):
- Humans are the most versatile species, working efficiently in most buildings. They desire Pie, Porridge, and access to a Temple. Human housing is standard-sized and easy to place. Their Resolve bonuses come from cooked food and religion services. Humans are the safe pick for any run.
- Core gear: Bakery (for Pie), Temple, Human Housing, Farmfield
- Stat priority: Complex food production, religion service, housing
For Beavers (S-Tier):
- Beavers have the best production bonuses — they work faster in Workshops, Lumber Mills, and engineering buildings. Their desire for Biscuits and Engineering services makes them the strongest production species. Beaver housing is larger but provides comfort bonuses.
- Core gear: Workshop, Lumber Mill, Engineering Station, Beaver Housing
- Stat priority: Industrial building access, Biscuit production, engineering
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Against the Storm's systems interact is where the real optimization lives:
roguelike city building + reputation system: Each settlement is a self-contained run lasting 30-90 minutes. Combined with reputation system, you win by earning reputation points (filling the reputation bar before impatience fills).
blueprint drafting + storm cycle: After discovering Glades (forest clearings), you choose from randomized building blueprints. When paired with storm cycle, the blightstorm periodically intensifies, causing villagers to lose resolve (happiness).
species management scaling: Four species (Humans, Beavers, Lizards, Harpies, and Foxes in DLC) have different housing preferences, food desires, and service needs. Humans want pies and religion, Beavers want biscuits and engineering, Lizards want jerky and warmth, Harpies want crystalized dew and open spaces. Satisfying species needs provides Reputation bonuses.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Post | Foxes provide trade bonuses, but all species benefit from trade infrastructure | The Trading Post allows you to buy and sell goods with visiting traders. |
| Cookhouse | All species — produces food varieties that satisfy multiple species desires | One of the most versatile food buildings, the Cookhouse produces multiple recipe types including Skewers, Biscuits, and Porridge depending on available ingredients. |
| Brewery | Humans and Beavers both benefit from Ale as a Leisure service | Produces Ale from grain or berries, satisfying the Leisure need for multiple species. |
| Workshop | Beavers for production efficiency, essential for any settlement's industry | Produces Planks, Fabric, and other processed goods from raw materials. |
| Rain Collector | All builds — free water input for cooking and brewing production chains | Collects rainwater during storms, providing a free water source that can be used for cooking, brewing, and farming. |
Location Efficiency
Royal Woodlands (Difficulty 1-3 (beginner)): The starter biome with balanced resources, moderate weather, and standard Glade difficulty. Dense forest provides abundant wood, and wildlife is manageable. The Royal Woodlands teach core mechanics without extreme challenges. Most new player runs should start here.
Coral Forest (Difficulty 3-5 (intermediate)): A wetter biome with more rain (better Rain Collector output) but also more flooding risk. Coral formations provide unique trade goods. The damp environment means crops grow faster but wood rots if stored improperly. Moderate difficulty with unique resource opportunities.
Marshlands (Difficulty 4-7 (intermediate-advanced)): A swampy biome with limited dry building space and poisonous miasma from certain Glades. Resources are spread across more Glades, forcing aggressive exploration. The Marshlands test your ability to manage disease and limited building area. Bring species with disease resistance.
Scarlet Orchard (Difficulty 5-8 (advanced)): A biome with aggressive wildlife and burned-out ruins containing valuable salvage. The Scarlet Orchard has the best potential loot from ruins but the most dangerous Glade events. Opening Glades can spawn enemies or environmental hazards. High risk, high reward.
Sealed Forest (Difficulty 7-10 (expert)): The hardest standard biome with extreme storm intensity, limited resources, and the most dangerous Glade events. Sealed Glades can contain curses that affect the entire settlement. Only experienced players with strong meta-upgrades should attempt Sealed Forest on high difficulty.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Ignoring Impatience until it's too late — the red Impatience bar fills with time and negative events. Once it fills, you lose the run. Always monitor Impatience and prioritize Reputation-earning actions.
- Opening too many Glades at once — each opened Glade can spawn events that consume resources or time. Open Glades one at a time and resolve their events before exploring further.
- Neglecting species-specific needs — unhappy species lose Resolve and leave. Even if you don't like managing multiple species, providing basic food and housing for each prevents population collapse.
- Hoarding resources instead of trading — stockpiles of 100+ Planks or Fabric sitting in storage earn nothing. Trade excess resources for Reputation and money at the Trading Post.
- Choosing blueprint buildings you don't have ingredients for — a Bakery is useless without flour, which requires wheat, which requires a Farm. Check production chains before drafting blueprints.
Efficiency Quick Reference
| Aspect | Optimal Choice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Humans | A-tier, best overall |
| Starter | Beavers | Most forgiving for learning |
| Equipment | Trading Post | Best resource-to-power ratio |
| First area | Royal Woodlands | Abundant wood, standard resource distribution, balanced species composition |
| Priority mechanic | roguelike city building | Everything else builds on this |
Pro Quick Tips
- Pick blueprints that match your species composition — if you have Lizards, prioritize buildings that produce Skewers or provide warmth. Mismatched blueprints waste production capacity.
- Complete easy Orders first for quick Reputation — Orders like 'Produce 10 Planks' or 'Have 20 Villagers' give Reputation that counters rising Impatience. Ignore expensive Orders until you have infrastructure.
- Impatience rises with time, so don't dawdle — every minute spent optimizing your base is a minute closer to losing. Get production running, complete Orders, and move on. Perfect is the enemy of good in this game.
- Start with Beavers, switch to Humans when ready
- Invest in Trading Post above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Royal Woodlands → Coral Forest → Marshlands → Scarlet Orchard → Sealed Forest
- roguelike city building + reputation system together are stronger than either alone
For full build details, check builds. For progression path, see the walkthrough.
