Kenshi is a squad-based open-world RPG with zero hand-holding set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland. You start as nobody — literally the weakest entity in the world. Your character can't fight, can't run fast, and will lose to a single starving bandit. Through getting beaten, captured, enslaved, and nearly killed repeatedly, your squad gets stronger. The game simulates an entire living world where factions war, caravans trade, and slavers hunt regardless of your involvement. Kenshi doesn't care about you — and that indifference is what makes every achievement feel earned. Building from nothing to a self-sufficient fortress with a trained army is one of gaming's most satisfying power fantasies.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
squad management
You control a squad of up to 30 characters, each with individual stats, equipment, and jobs. Characters are recruited from bars, slave shops, or random encounters. Each character has 25+ stats that improve only through usage — fighting trains combat stats, running trains athletics, getting hurt trains toughness. Managing your squad's training, equipment, and assignments is the core gameplay loop.
base building
After researching building technology, you can construct a settlement anywhere on the map. Buildings include walls, turrets, farms (hydroponics, wheat, hemp), crafting stations, and storage. Base raids from hostile factions test your defenses. Location matters — building near hostile factions means constant attacks, while remote locations may lack resources.
skill training
Every stat trains through usage. Want stronger combat? Get in fights and lose. Want faster running? Sprint while carrying heavy loads. Want better science? Research at a bench. There are no experience points — only repetitive practice. The first 10 levels of any skill are the hardest to train, after which improvement accelerates.
faction relations
Dozens of factions with individual relations toward you. The Holy Nation hates non-humans. The United Cities tax traders. Slavers capture the weak. Your actions (attacking faction members, trading, doing quests) shift relations. Negative relations trigger attacks; positive relations unlock trading and assistance.
open world sandbox
The entire world is accessible from the start with no level gates. A level 1 character can walk to the most dangerous zones — they'll just die immediately. The world simulates independently: factions war with each other, caravans travel routes, and wildlife hunts regardless of player presence.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiver | A | Hit-and-run combat using speed advantage. Hivers fight best with fast weapons (katanas, sabres) that benefit from their high dexterity. | Dexterity (natural bonus), Athletics, Toughness |
| Shek | S | Charge into combat with heavy weapons, tank damage with high Toughness, and overwhelm enemies through brute strength. | Strength (natural bonus), Melee Attack, Toughness |
| Greenlander | A | Flexible — Greenlanders fill any role competently. Use them for Holy Nation diplomacy and as all-rounders in your squad. | Whatever role you need filled — combat, crafting, or stealth |
| Skeleton | S | Skeletons are your best long-term combat investment. They never need food, have extreme stat ceilings, and can be repaired from near-death. Build a Skeleton squad for your elite fighting force. | Strength, Toughness (trains from damage like other races), Robotics skill for self-repair |
| Scorchlander | B | Use Scorchlanders as scouts, thieves, and crossbow support. Their stealth bonuses make them ideal for infiltration missions and assassination training. | Dexterity, Stealth, Assassination, Thievery |
Hiver (A-Tier): Hivers are insectoid humanoids with weak limbs but fast movement. Hiver Workers are excellent at labor (mining, farming) with high dexterity. Hiver Soldiers have slightly better combat stats. Their main advantage is speed — a Hiver squad outruns most threats.
Shek (S-Tier): Shek are a warrior race with the highest combat stats. They start with bonus Strength and Toughness and take less damage from combat. Their weakness is slower skill training for non-combat tasks. A squad of trained Shek warriors is the strongest fighting force you can build.
Greenlander (A-Tier): Humans with balanced stats suitable for any role. Greenlanders have no penalties but no racial bonuses either. They're accepted by the Holy Nation (which hates other races), making them the safest choice for early-game trading in HN territory.
Skeleton (S-Tier): Mechanical beings that don't need food (saving massive resources), don't bleed, and can be repaired with Skeleton Repair Kits. They're hated by the Holy Nation but loved by the Tech Hunters. Skeletons have the highest potential stats at max level. Their only weakness is they can't swim and rust in acid rain.
Scorchlander (B-Tier): Dark-skinned humans with slightly better dexterity and stealth but lower strength. They excel as thieves, assassins, and crossbow users. Not discriminated against by any faction. Good secondary combat units and the best choice for stealth operations.
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Kenshi builds guide.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Meitou Weapons | The highest quality weapon tier, held by faction leaders and elite NPCs. | Shek |
| Falling Sun | An enormous heavy weapon (blunt type) that deals devastating damage per hit. | Shek |
| Fragment Axe | A heavy cutting weapon with excellent damage against armored targets. | Shek |
| Plank | A blunt weapon that's literally a piece of wood. | All races (training) |
| Topper | A hacking weapon (hybrid between cutting and blunt) with balanced stats. | Greenlander |
Meitou Weapons: The highest quality weapon tier, held by faction leaders and elite NPCs. Meitou weapons deal significantly more damage than Masterwork equivalents. Obtaining one requires killing or stealing from powerful NPCs. Each weapon type has one Meitou version somewhere in the world.
Falling Sun: An enormous heavy weapon (blunt type) that deals devastating damage per hit. Slow swing speed but massive impact that launches enemies. Requires high Strength to wield effectively. Falling Sun is best on Shek warriors with strength above 60.
Fragment Axe: A heavy cutting weapon with excellent damage against armored targets. The Fragment Axe has the highest raw damage of cutting weapons. Pairs well with Strength-focused builds and heavy armor sets.
Plank: A blunt weapon that's literally a piece of wood. Despite its humble appearance, the Plank is an excellent training weapon because it does less lethal damage, allowing more combat training before enemies die. Many players use Planks specifically for safe combat training.
Topper: A hacking weapon (hybrid between cutting and blunt) with balanced stats. The Topper is versatile against both armored and unarmored opponents. A good all-purpose weapon for mid-game squads before acquiring Meitou tier.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| The Hub | Starting area | Safe recruitment, copper mining income, basic shop access |
| Squin | Early-mid game | Shek recruitment, bounty missions, combat training opportunities |
| Black Desert City | Mid-game | Best shops in the game, UC faction quests, high-tier recruitment |
| Mongrel | Mid-game (dangerous approach) | Constant combat training, unique recruits, Fogmen loot |
| World's End | Mid-late game | AI Cores, rare blueprints, advanced research materials |
The Hub: The recommended starting location — a neutral town with a bar for recruitment, shops for supplies, and copper nodes nearby for income. The Hub is relatively safe with infrequent bandit attacks. Start here, buy a house, mine copper, and build your initial squad.
Squin: A Shek Kingdom town with warriors and fighting tournaments. Squin has a bounty board for combat missions and Shek warriors available for recruitment. The proximity to the Shek Kingdom makes it ideal for building faction relations with them.
Black Desert City: Capital of the United Cities, the wealthiest faction. Excellent shops but high taxes and slavery. The Black Desert has the best weapon and armor merchants. The UC will enslave you for unpaid debts — carry money at all times.
Mongrel: A remote town in the Fog Islands, surrounded by Fogmen (zombie-like cannibals). Mongrel is extremely dangerous to reach but provides excellent combat training — Fogmen attack constantly but are individually weak. The town's bar has unique recruits.
World's End: A Tech Hunter settlement in the far north with the best technology research materials. World's End sells rare blueprints and AI Cores. The journey there crosses dangerous territory but the shopping is worth it.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Toughness is the most important stat — it determines how much damage you can take before going down and how fast you recover. Train it by getting beaten up (non-lethally). Hungry bandits are perfect training opponents.
- Buy a building in The Hub for 3000 cats (currency) as your first base. Assign characters to mine copper outside, sell ore at the shop, and use profits to recruit more squad members.
- Athletics trains fastest when sprinting with a heavy inventory. Load a character with iron ore and have them run laps around a town. Higher Athletics = faster travel, which is life-saving when fleeing.
- The Holy Nation will attack any squad containing non-humans in their territory. Either keep non-humans hidden or avoid HN territory entirely until you can fight their patrols.
- Crossbow training is safest done from behind town walls. Position a crossbow user on a roof and let town guards handle melee while your character shoots. This trains Crossbow and Perception safely.
- Stealth and Assassination train best at night in enemy camps. Stealth-KO sleeping bandits, loot their gear, and sneak away. Failed attempts train Stealth faster than successful ones.
- Research is gated by books (Engineering Research, Science Books, AI Cores). Buy books from Tech Hunter shops and use them at Research Benches. Higher-tier research requires rarer books.
- Limb damage matters — a destroyed arm reduces fighting ability and a destroyed leg prevents walking. Carry Splints and First Aid Kits at all times. Robot Limbs (cybernetics) replace lost limbs with upgrades.
- Don't build a base until your squad has 10+ members with combat stats above 20. Bases attract raids from every nearby faction, and an unprepared squad gets destroyed.
- The import game feature (Settings → Import) resets the world while keeping your characters and squad. Use this to refresh dead NPCs, reset faction relations, or fix broken game states.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Fighting anything in the first few hours — your starting character loses to literally everything. Mine copper, recruit, and train before picking fights.
- Building a base too early — bases attract raids that destroy unprepared squads. Wait until you have 10+ combat-ready characters.
- Ignoring Toughness training — a character with 60 Attack but 1 Toughness dies in one hit. Getting beaten up and recovering trains Toughness, which is essential for survival.
- Walking through the Holy Nation territory with non-human squad members — the HN will attack and enslave non-humans on sight. Use human diplomats or avoid HN zones.
- Not carrying food — characters who starve lose combat effectiveness and eventually collapse. Always carry 3+ days of food per character.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kenshi too hard for beginners?
Kenshi is brutally difficult at the start but becomes manageable once you understand the training loop: get beaten → heal → get stronger → repeat. Start at The Hub, mine copper for money, recruit 5+ characters, and train combat against Hungry Bandits. The first 10 hours are the hardest — persistence is rewarded.
How long is Kenshi?
A typical playthrough to building a self-sufficient fortress takes 50-100 hours. Kenshi has no ending — it's a sandbox where you set your own goals. Some players spend 500+ hours conquering the entire map. The emergent stories from your squad's journey are the real content.
Is Kenshi 2 coming?
Kenshi 2 was announced and is in development by Lo-Fi Games using Unreal Engine. It's a prequel set 1000 years before Kenshi 1. Development updates are sporadic. The original Kenshi continues to have an active modding community on Steam Workshop.
What are the best mods for Kenshi?
Genesis (massive overhaul adding factions, quests, and content), Reactive World (factions respond more dynamically), Living World (more world events), and various quality-of-life mods like 256 Squad Limit and Dark UI. The Steam Workshop has 3000+ mods.
What to Read Next
- Best Kenshi Builds — Detailed breakdowns with gear, stats, and playstyle guides
- Kenshi Tier List — Current meta rankings
- Kenshi Walkthrough — Step-by-step progression from start to endgame
- Kenshi Beginner's Guide — First session essentials
- Kenshi Tips & Tricks — Advanced strategies and hidden mechanics
