Kenshi - open-ended sandbox RPG set in a desert world

[Zombra]

One criticism: Food is way too expensive. And you can buy a house for like 4 bowls of Rice.

This all makes sense to me. It's a vast world with a tiny population, so real estate is worthless. At the same time no one wants to be a farmer, they just want to roam around in huge packs of bandits, so of course food is at a premium. That's the "realism" angle. In terms of gameplay, it's good for the game to give you a huge constant money sink, to motivate you to produce. I agree that the initial hump is ridiculously desperate (I'll have a chicken salad sandwich please ... wait, how much??) but once you establish any kind of income you'll quickly get over it.

 

[Beastro]

Anyone know a good mod the enables enslavement that actually has the slaves do stuff?

I can't believe they'd make a game like this without allowing the PC to have all the options of enslaving NPCs like the major factions do.

 

[toro]

One criticism: Food is way too expensive. And you can buy a house for like 4 bowls of Rice.

This all makes sense to me. It's a vast world with a tiny population, so real estate is worthless. At the same time no one wants to be a farmer, they just want to roam around in huge packs of bandits, so of course food is at a premium. That's the "realism" angle. In terms of gameplay, it's good for the game to give you a huge constant money sink, to motivate you to produce. I agree that the initial hump is ridiculously desperate (I'll have a chicken salad sandwich please ... wait, how much??) but once you establish any kind of income you'll quickly get over it.

Fair enough but how come food is more expensive than weapons and armors!?

 

[PrettyDeadman]

One criticism: Food is way too expensive. And you can buy a house for like 4 bowls of Rice.

This all makes sense to me. It's a vast world with a tiny population, so real estate is worthless. At the same time no one wants to be a farmer, they just want to roam around in huge packs of bandits, so of course food is at a premium. That's the "realism" angle. In terms of gameplay, it's good for the game to give you a huge constant money sink, to motivate you to produce. I agree that the initial hump is ridiculously desperate (I'll have a chicken salad sandwich please ... wait, how much??) but once you establish any kind of income you'll quickly get over it.

Fair enough but how come food is more expensive than weapons and armors!?

Cheap weapon is some rusted stuff from previous age found on fields. New weapons are more expensive (but not by much).

 

[Leitz]

The game is quite fun to play for munchkism but I have to say it severely lacks content.
All cities and factions look the same and behave the same with some very minor diffirences.
Most combat encounters are either a group of wandering enemies or a group of enemies in some very small building (they feel like they were designed by a brainlet).
No dungeons. No quests. World simulation / reactivity isn't that great either...
Still, a great skeleton of a game and very enjoyable experience. I have 99 hours already and probably will have more...

Sounds like my Mount & Blade experience. Even though I always thought "why is every battle the same and every place too?, why are there no dungeons?" - I still played it a long time. I've only played a few ours of Kenshi, but it probably will end up for me the same.

 

[hivemind]

Sounds like my Mount & Blade experience. Even though I always thought "why is every battle the same and every place too?, why are there no dungeons?"

imbecile.

 

[Zombra]

Fair enough but how come food is more expensive than weapons and armors!?

Supply and demand. Weapons and armor are everywhere and they don't disappear from the economy once used, but people are getting killed all the time. Every time two gangs of hungry bandits have it out, the market shrinks and the supply increases.

 

[toro]

Uninstalled (for the moment).

Spoiler

Craft one sword: Iron Plates (135 cats) x 6 = 810 cats and I can only sell it for 983 cats which means that I'm doing 173 cats profit per sword.

Time wasted: (1) mining the Iron Ore, (2) forging the Iron Plates and (3) smiting the weapon means that you can make like max 6 swords per day.

However you need at least 5 companions to keep that rhythm (1 crafter, 2 miners and 2 forgers) and they will get hungry which means additional expenses and a meager profit at the end of the day (something like 1000 cats).

The alternative is to buy Iron Plates (175 cats/piece) and in this case the craft price is Iron Plates (175 cats) x 6 = 1050 cats which bring the final profit to a staggering -67 cats per sword (-402 cats per day).

In the second case the only time wasted is smiting the weapon and for that negative profit you save the food expenses for 4 people which can do something else ... which might actually be more profitable in the end!

Just might because it depends on what the other guys are doing besides being hungry.

Anyway, we have two things:
1) Mining is absolutely pointless. Waste of time and resources. It's better to buy materials from traders. I guess the same applies to farming.
2) You cannot really make a profit with weapons crafting unless you reach Tech 5 which is basically end game stuff (at which point it's pointless).

I did not want to rob the traders because that's like cheating imho (often it trivializes the entire experience in RPGs) therefore I decided to try the farming/crafting paths. Farming did not work because the area around Hub is a desert therefore mining/weapon crafting seemed like a good idea. At first I did not pay attention because I had some cats from some fights (baited some bandits to fight into the Bar) but after a couple of hours I've realized that I'm almost broke. Well, I've optimized my sword production process I've put some torches and lights so that my guys could work night and day but still ... no profit. My only escape from bankruptcy were some raids. Next step was to acquire blueprints and check for the most profitable one. Well, the same shit. Then I walked half of the map but the prices seemed to be the same in every location. And then I had to stop and face the reality: the crafting in this game is pointless because the game economy is rigged. Instead of simulating locals market, the game implements stupid price tables (or something similar) which make sure that mining/crafting is time consuming and the resulting profit is meager.

In other words: the developer is a moron who managed to implement systems which punish completely legit play-styles while at the same time the most exploitative/retarded approaches are fine: (1) rob the traders and (2) bait guards into killing bandits/animals.

Fuck this game. On one hand it got potential but on the other hand there are some really shitty mechanics in it.

 

[toro]

looks like complete garbage

why does this even have a codex thread

because it's for people with autism

I guess you are unto something.

For me the most efficient way to train strength was:
1. Buy large backpack (when you have money)
2. Fill it with ore (enough to get 25% strength xp)
3. Remove it from equip slot and put in inventory (most efficient way to increase your encumbrance)
4. Go to Quinn or any big town (for long safe walks)
5. Grab a dead body (strength XP will be doubled = 50%)
6. Turn on sneak (You'll have to click less when your party moves slower and it't basically free training, strength and athletics raise based on time, not walked distance)
7. Move your party around town at fastest time rate (try to find a place where you can click way points without moving camera)
Watch out for food shortage - your people will have 150% hunger rate while doing it.
I am a new player so I didn't start looking into training other stats, just wanted strength first so my squad could at least wear some armor without penalties

 

[Zombra]

fwiw, I think it is lame to do degenerate metagame stuff to train stats. Don't be that guy who reads a walkthrough before trying the damn game. I just played the game and I never had any problem with characters not being able to lift anything. Sure armor slows you down at first but you adapt to it.

 

[Ranarama]

I know it's single player, but I still think there's a case for it to be moved to the MMO subforum.

 

[ortucis]

I've had this game since 2017 and haven't played it at all. It looks like it still needs work.

I'll just wait for more updates since I am a patient man.

 

[Beastro]

Managed to find a way to get the slave start working. Just started dicking around unlocking all the slaves and attacking the timid ones that would go back into their cages to make them run so the guards would beat them up. Got the thievery skills up good and in no time there were a bunch fo slaves crawling around with crippled limbs cus of me.

Odd thing was I started gathering a pack with my main guy. I assumed they were enemies I'd made when I worked up assassination KOing guys over and over, but no, they'd attack the guards I'd attack, even the one cripple dragging himself behind the rest. Eventually kidnapped a guard, stuffed him in a cage and took his gear to saunter out of the prison leaving everyone else in my team behind. Only my newly acquired groupies followed too and joined the team once I was out of the prison.

I wanna do a solo play so I just ordered them back into the prison and ran for the Hub to get some food before I starved to death.

I must say I haven't had as good a laugh in a long awhile as when I hopped in and out of the cages doing shit to piss the guards off, who'd then in a blink mend up the damage they'd just done to me before running off to beat up a guy dragging himself out of the building on his stomach trying to escape and stuff him in back in a cage only for the guy to start trying to lockpick his way back out again.

Made me feel more like I was in an retirement home with senile old folks unable to walk trying constantly getting out of their beds than a slave camp.

 

[Talby]

Had a funny encounter in the Hub where a group of starving bandits attacked the bar and got their asses kicked, right before a group of slavers rolled through town and enslaved them all while they were wounded and unconscious.

Does slavery have an actual economy in the game? If one guy is enslaved in the Hub, will that individual find themselves breaking rocks in some colony somewhere? Or do NPCs just despawn when they leave the immediate area.

 

[Zanzoken]

I think at this point she probably has the skills to begin exploring ruins in search of Ancient Science Books, Engineering Research, and other rare items.

So as anticipated, I decided it was time for Grey to take leave of the Foglands and begin a career as a tech hunter. I bought a shack in World's End to store loot, then headed for a ruin I had passed on my initial escape from Rebirth back in the day, which seemed like a logical place to get started. The ruin turns out to be a Lost Library containing maps to other ancient locations, and even though it is guarded by a nest of Blood Spiders who could cut me to ribbons in an instant, I manage to sneak in and gather the maps without incident.

Okay, I think, that wasn't so bad. These areas are dangerous, but Grey is stealthy and fast -- so we should be fine, right? I head back to World's End to drop off the cores, but when I open the maps they all show locations that are halfway across the world. Instead I decide to go explore Darkfinger and Sinkuun, which are closer but I expect will also have a few ruins to discover. Knowing that we'll have to deal with cannibals while traversing these regions, I pick up some tech hunter mercenaries to join me on the trip.

We head up the Darkfinger coast for a while, then start to encounter cannibal parties. The Oldworld crossbow mutilates the fuckers in a most satisfying way, just like the fogmen. However we soon find ourselves pretty far from civilization, with no sign of anything valuable, and the injuries are starting to pile up. I make the decision to press on a while longer, but things take a dramatic turn when a pack of bonedogs catches us by surprise and Grey takes severe damage to her left leg. She is not completely crippled, but a leg injury in this part of the world is no joke, so it's time to turn back.

Then shit really hits the fan when a horde of cannibals comes streaming over the hill. We can't outrun them so there is no choice but to fight. It ends with all of our party incapacitated except one, but by some miracle this last wounded merc managed to win a 6v1 fight and save the day.

We're out of immediate danger but the situation is dire. The cannibals kidnapped two of the mercs and carried them off for a feast, and the three of us remaining were beaten half to death. Grey's bad leg had gone from damaged to fucked, and she could barely walk. Although I hated leaving the two kidnapped mercs to their fate, I determined the nearest place we could go for safety was the Bastion, stronghold of the Cannibal Hunters, which was still pretty far away.

Every moment was now pins and needles, but Grey's leg was slowly healing and we were making progress. Then suddenly -- in true Kenshi fashion -- more fucking cannibals. The two remaining mercs turned around to fight, but recognizing that there was no chance of winning, I escaped and made it to Bastion later that day.

So it was a complete failure of an expedition, and sincerest apologies to the mercs I left behind to be eaten alive. Now that I've almost gotten my main character killed on two occasions, I think I am going to add another person or two to the party as backup.
Playing solo it's hard to stay out of tough spots when you fuck up as often as me.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Does slavery have an actual economy in the game? If one guy is enslaved in the Hub, will that individual find themselves breaking rocks in some colony somewhere? Or do NPCs just despawn when they leave the immediate area.

Slaves can be sold to the stone prison in the United Cities. You can sell basically anyone you beat up.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

I think at this point she probably has the skills to begin exploring ruins in search of Ancient Science Books, Engineering Research, and other rare items.

So as anticipated, I decided it was time for Grey to take leave of the Foglands and begin a career as a tech hunter.

Every moment was now pins and needles, but Grey's leg was slowly healing and we were making progress.

So it was a complete failure of an expedition, and sincerest apologies to the mercs I left behind to be eaten alive.

Lesson learned, heh?

That's how anyone should play this game: trying new things, exploring the world and taking risks. You suffer like hell, but you enjoy every minute of it, because it's so intense. The athletics adds its own dimension to the gameplay, because it's both a means of transportion and escape. The important thing is that every single time you suffer, you learn important lessons.

People should never, ever play the game like toro, though. He insists on pigeonholing his characters doing repetitive stuff without planning in a bare zone. I mean, the dude it's the only one in this thread who doesn't even know how to obtain food.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Playing solo it's hard to stay out of tough spots when you fuck up as often as me.

Not really, no. You suffer all the same with a team if you take risks. I almost died because I got stuck with a wounded party near deadlands. I was trying to cross the land to get home, but that was a huge mistake. No life in sight, with the occasional acid rain that drains your health. All that, surrounded by dust bandits, the holy nation, and spiders.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Playing solo it's hard to stay out of tough spots when you fuck up as often as me.

Not really, no. You suffer all the same with a team if you take risks. I almost died because I got stuck with a wounded party near deadlands. I was trying to cross the land to get home, but that was a huge mistake. No life in sight, with the occasional acid rain that drains your health. All that, surrounded by dust bandits, the holy nation, and spiders.

Playing at least duo has huge advantage over solo. You can distract enemy, cary your team member away, first aid while they are at critical condition, carry more loot and etc.

 

[Saduj]

Anyone have experience with Skeletons? Is it worth it to have one in a small party early game if you're just exploring and trying to develop combat skills? Repair kits are so expensive. Do their attributes gain with physical activity or do you have to buy new parts for them? I took one into my party because he was free but I don't know what I'm going to do with him since I don't need laborers and it doesn't seem worth it to try to develop his combat skills.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Anyone have experience with Skeletons? Is it worth it to have one in a small party early game if you're just exploring and trying to develop combat skills? Repair kits are so expensive. Do their attributes gain with physical activity or do you have to buy new parts for them? I took one into my party because he was free but I don't know what I'm going to do with him since I don't need laborers and it doesn't seem worth it to try to develop his combat skills.

They are perfect. They need no food and evolve so fast—you don’t need to buy parts, they evolve with use like other creatures do. The repair parts are indeed expensive, but last forever. They are not like first-aid kits. I have one skeleton in my team and he is very dependable. I use him to scout or buy stuff in remote areas. I wish I had a whole team of skeletons. I heard it’s a deadly combination.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Anyone have experience with Skeletons? Is it worth it to have one in a small party early game if you're just exploring and trying to develop combat skills? Repair kits are so expensive. Do their attributes gain with physical activity or do you have to buy new parts for them? I took one into my party because he was free but I don't know what I'm going to do with him since I don't need laborers and it doesn't seem worth it to try to develop his combat skills.

They gain atrributes just like everyone else.
For basic combat I'd recommend someone else, because they are much easier to maintain. But you can play skeletons inside town, grinding the craft to gain money that way (making repair kits and skeleton bads affordable).
It's much faster to gain money by stealing though...

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

For basic combat I'd recommend someone else, because they are much easier to maintain. But you can play skeletons inside town, grinding the craft to gain money that way (making repair kits and skeleton bads affordable). It's much faster to gain money by stealing though...

Skeletons have 200 HP for each limb, do not bleed, are imune to wether effects, don't eat. It's as if they all started with a natural heavy armour because they can endure a ton of punishment and increase the thoughness without surprises. For a comparison, shek, that are viewed as a warriors race, has 125 for each limb. There is no comparison. The fact that they have bonus damage with fists makes them fearsome martial artists. I repaired my skeleton a few times by now, and every time I used the same kit. I can't tell how many times I had to buy new medkits in the meantime. I also had a prothestic leg transplanted in one of my characters (260HP) and it was a huge improvement, because she can absorve so much damage and I don't need to worry about bleeding.

 

[ortucis]

For basic combat I'd recommend someone else, because they are much easier to maintain. But you can play skeletons inside town, grinding the craft to gain money that way (making repair kits and skeleton bads affordable). It's much faster to gain money by stealing though...

Skeletons have 200 HP for each limb, do not bleed, are imune to wether effects, don't eat. It's as if they all started with a natural heavy armour because they can endure a ton of punishment and increase the thoughness without surprises. For a comparison, shek, that are viewed as a warriors race, has 125 for each limb. There is no comparison. The fact that they have bonus damage with fists makes them fearsome martial artists. I repaired my skeleton a few times by now, and every time I used the same kit. I can't tell how many times I had to buy new medkits in the meantime. I also had a prothestic leg transplanted in one of my characters (260HP) and it was a huge improvement, because she can absorve so much damage and I don't need to worry about bleeding.

Sounds OP.

I hope developer hears your cries and nerfs them ASAP!

 

[PrettyDeadman]

For basic combat I'd recommend someone else, because they are much easier to maintain. But you can play skeletons inside town, grinding the craft to gain money that way (making repair kits and skeleton bads affordable). It's much faster to gain money by stealing though...

Skeletons have 200 HP for each limb, do not bleed, are imune to wether effects, don't eat. It's as if they all started with a natural heavy armour because they can endure a ton of punishment and increase the thoughness without surprises. For a comparison, shek, that are viewed as a warriors race, has 125 for each limb. There is no comparison. The fact that they have bonus damage with fists makes them fearsome martial artists. I repaired my skeleton a few times by now, and every time I used the same kit. I can't tell how many times I had to buy new medkits in the meantime. I also had a prothestic leg transplanted in one of my characters (260HP) and it was a huge improvement, because she can absorve so much damage and I don't need to worry about bleeding.

Sounds OP.

I hope developer hears your cries and nerfs them ASAP!

You can install robotic limbs on any race which will have more hp. They usually have malus to athletics/stealth/thieving, but some other bonuses too. Bleeding isn't a huge problem with decent armor and toughness
Skeletons can't wear any headgear, shirt or boots. Late game enemies can do close to 200 damage per hit. High end armors will have 70-80% damage reduction. So without armor they will probably have less effective hp than sheks...