RimWorld Walkthrough — Start to Endgame

RimWorld is a colony management simulator driven by an AI storyteller that generates events — raids, plagues, mental breaks, cargo drops — to create dramatic stories. Every colonist has a unique backstory, skills, traits, and relationships that affect their behavior. A pyromaniac colonist might set your food supply on fire during a mental break. A bloodlust colonist might go on a killing spree. The emergent narratives that arise from these systems make every colony unique. With three storyteller options (Cassandra Classic for steady escalation, Phoebe Chillax for relaxed play, Randy Random for chaos) and robust mod support through 10,000+ Steam Workshop mods, RimWorld offers essentially infinite replayability.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. Follow this path to avoid common traps that stall most players.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase 1: Getting Started — Temperate Forest

The recommended starting biome with year-round growing seasons (about 40/60 days), abundant wood, farmable soil, and moderate temperatures. Raids are manageable and resources are plentiful. The only challenge is winter food management if you don't prepare.

Level/Difficulty: Beginner Key Rewards: Year-round farming, abundant wood, balanced wildlife, natural choke points with hills

What to Do in Temperate Forest

1. Learn colonist management. Each colonist has skills (Shooting, Melee, Construction, Medicine, Cooking, etc. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Melee Fighter as your starting build. It's the most forgiving option.
3. Build a killbox with a single entrance, sandbags inside, and turrets covering the corridor. Funnel all raids through this chokepoint to neutralize numerical advantages.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade — Sniper Rifle or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand colonist management fundamentals
• Melee Fighter selected and functional
• Temperate Forest main content cleared
• Ready for Desert

Phase 2: Early Game — Desert

Hot biomes with limited growing soil and few trees. Requires solar/wind power since wood is scarce. Rich soil patches near rivers are prime farming locations. Heat management via air conditioning is critical. Fewer ambush predators but limited resources force early trading.

Level/Difficulty: Intermediate Key Rewards: Year-round growing (if irrigated), solar power efficiency, minimal infestation events

What to Do in Desert

1. Work on storyteller AI. The storyteller controls event frequency and severity based on your colony's wealth and population. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Sniper Rifle if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. Grow healroot as soon as possible — it makes herbal medicine (60% potency) which handles most medical needs until you can buy proper medicine from traders.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Ice Sheet.
5. Consider whether Shooter might suit your playstyle better than Melee Fighter.

Phase 2 Checklist

• storyteller AI integrated into gameplay
• Sniper Rifle acquired
• Desert fully cleared
• Ready for Ice Sheet

Phase 3: Mid Game — Ice Sheet

Extreme cold with no soil, no growing season, and temperatures reaching -60°C. One of the hardest starts — you rely entirely on hunting, trading, and hydroponics for food. Colonists need parkas and heated rooms to survive. Meat freezes naturally outside, solving food storage.

Level/Difficulty: Expert Key Rewards: Natural freezer (outdoor storage), fewer raids due to difficulty, extreme challenge satisfaction

What to Do in Ice Sheet

1. Master mood system. Colonists have a mood bar influenced by dozens of factors: food quality, room beauty, comfort, recreation, social interactions, pain, and environment. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward Charge Rifle. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. Assign bedrooms with quality beds, dressers, and end tables. A Spacious+Impressive bedroom gives +10 mood, which can prevent mental breaks during crisis events.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in research tree for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• mood system mastered
• Charge Rifle acquired or in progress
• Ice Sheet fully cleared
• Ready for Jungle

Phase 4: Late Game — Jungle

Hot, dense vegetation with year-round growing but constant disease risk. Malaria, plague, and sleeping sickness are common. Infestations from insects are more frequent. The abundance of wood and food is offset by health management challenges.

Level/Difficulty: Intermediate Key Rewards: Year-round growing, massive wood supply, abundant wildlife hunting

What to Do in Jungle

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Shooter or Melee Fighter with optimized gear.
2. Charge Rifle should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. Freeze your food in a walk-in freezer at -5°C to -10°C. A double-walled room with two coolers (for redundancy) prevents all food spoilage. This is priority one after shelter.
4. caravan system optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Sea Ice.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• Charge Rifle upgraded to max
• Jungle fully cleared
• Ready for Sea Ice

Phase 5: Endgame — Sea Ice

The hardest biome — flat ice with nothing. No soil, no wood, no stone. Everything must come from trading or raiding. Considered the ultimate challenge run. Requires immediate shelter from cold and hunting of sea animals for survival.

Level/Difficulty: Extreme Expert Key Rewards: Bragging rights, extreme survival challenge, natural outdoor freezer

What to Do in Sea Ice

1. Sea Ice tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. Colonists need recreation variety — give them horseshoes, chess, and a television. Using the same recreation type repeatedly gives diminishing returns. Four different recreation types keeps mood stable.
3. The endgame loop: run Sea Ice, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Researcher for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where caravan system mastery separates good players from great ones.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Sea Ice fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

Common Progression Mistakes

• Not building a freezer early — food poisoning from spoiled meals and starvation from rotten stockpiles kill more colonies than raids do.
• Accepting every wanderer who joins — colonists with Pyromaniac, Chemical Interest, or Incapable of Dumb Labor can destroy a colony. Check traits before accepting.
• Building inside mountains without infestations preparation — insect hives spawn in dark, warm, overhead mountain areas and can overwhelm unprepared colonies.
• Ignoring colonist mood until mental breaks happen — a colonist in a dark, ugly bedroom eating raw food will break eventually. Prevention is easier than cure.
• Selling all components and plasteel to traders — you need these for advanced buildings, bionics, and ship construction. Stockpile at least 100 of each.

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Build a killbox with a single entrance, sandbags inside, and turrets covering the corridor. Funnel all raids through this chokepoint to neutralize numerical advantages.
2. Grow healroot as soon as possible — it makes herbal medicine (60% potency) which handles most medical needs until you can buy proper medicine from traders.
3. Assign bedrooms with quality beds, dressers, and end tables. A Spacious+Impressive bedroom gives +10 mood, which can prevent mental breaks during crisis events.
4. Freeze your food in a walk-in freezer at -5°C to -10°C. A double-walled room with two coolers (for redundancy) prevents all food spoilage. This is priority one after shelter.
5. Colonists need recreation variety — give them horseshoes, chess, and a television. Using the same recreation type repeatedly gives diminishing returns. Four different recreation types keeps mood stable.

For detailed build optimization, see RimWorld builds. For quick wins, check tips & tricks.