RimWorld: Crafting and Manufacturing Guide (2024)

Welcome to our comprehensive RimWorld: Crafting and Manufacturing Guide! Whether you’re a seasoned RimWorld veteran or a newcomer looking to delve into the intricacies of crafting, this guide has everything you need to turn your colony into a thriving industrial powerhouse. We’ll cover the essentials of setting up crafting stations, the art of crafting weapons and armor, strategies for producing high-value goods, and techniques for managing crafting priorities. Plus, we’ll share expert tips for efficient manufacturing to ensure your colony runs like a well-oiled machine. Dive in and master the crafting mechanics to elevate your RimWorld experience!

Setting Up Crafting Stations in RimWorld#

So, you’ve got yourself a thriving colony in RimWorld, and your pawns are buzzing with productivity. Now it’s time to step up your game by setting up crafting stations. These stations are the backbone of your manufacturing process, turning raw materials into valuable goods. Let’s break down the essentials of getting your crafting area up and running smoothly.

The Basics#

Before diving into the nitty-gritty, here are the basic steps you need to follow:

Build the Workshop: You’ll need a designated area or room in your colony. A workshop close to your storage areas is ideal to minimize travel time.
Select the Station: Choose the crafting tables or benches based on what you want to produce.
Assign Pawns: Make sure you have skilled colonists assigned to crafting tasks.
Supply Materials: Ensure you have the necessary raw materials available nearby.

Choosing Crafting Stations#

RimWorld features several crafting stations, each specializing in different types of production. Here are some key ones you’ll definitely want to know about:

Stonecutting Table#

Purpose: Converts chunks of stone into stone blocks.
Importance: Essential for building sturdy and attractive structures.
Tip: Place this table close to where you haul stone chunks to minimize walking distances.

Smithy and Machining Table#

Smithy Purpose: Craft simple melee weapons and some useful tools.
Machining Table Purpose: Build firearms, armor, and other complex items.
Importance: Crucial for your colony’s defense and productivity.
Tip: Ensure pawns with high Crafting skills are assigned to these tables.

Tailor’s Bench#

Purpose: Creates clothing and fabric-based items.
Importance: Keeping your colonists clothed and comfortable is vital for their happiness and productivity.
Tip: Set tailoring bills based on your colony’s needs, especially preparing for seasonal changes.

Sculptor’s Table#

Purpose: Craft art pieces from various materials.
Importance: Boosts colony beauty and can improve mood, also good for trade.
Tip: Use colonists with high Artistic skill for best results.

Optimizing Your Layout#

How you arrange your crafting stations can make a big difference in efficiency.

Proximity to Storage: Keep crafting stations close to storage zones that hold raw materials. This reduces the time pawns spend hauling items back and forth.
Centralized Power: If stations require electricity, situate them near power sources like generators or solar panels. This prevents power loss and keeps your stations running smoothly.
Work Zone: Make a dedicated workshop area. This minimizes distractions and keeps your pawns focused.

Automating Production#

RimWorld lets you set up bills to automate production. Here’s how you do it:

Assigning the Right Pawns#

Your colonists have different skill levels, and you want the best at each task:

Prioritize Skills: Set higher-skilled pawns to prioritize crafting tasks. Skills can be adjusted in the Work Tab.
Assign Specialists: If possible, have dedicated crafters to keep production consistent and efficient.

Keeping Things Organized#

Organization is key! Ensure that you have:

Shelves: Use shelves to neatly store materials and finished products.
Clean Area: A clean workshop helps the mood and productivity of your colonists. Set zones and priorities for cleaning.

Final Thoughts#

Setting up crafting stations efficiently can take your RimWorld colony to the next level. Remember to place stations thoughtfully, keep resources nearby, and assign the best pawns for the job. Before long, you’ll have a thriving production line churning out everything from weapons to artwork. Happy crafting, colonists!

Crafting Weapons and Armor#

Crafting weapons and armor in RimWorld is a game-changer. It’s not just about outfitting your colonists with cool gear, but also about boosting your survival chances. Let’s break down everything you need to know to get your colony appropriately armed and armored.

Setting Up Your Crafting Area#

First things first, you need a good crafting setup. Here’s a quick checklist to get started:

Tool Cabinets: Increase crafting speed when placed next to workbenches. Essential for efficient crafting.
Workbenches: Vital pieces of furniture where all crafting magic happens. Specifically, you need:
- Smithy, Machining Table, or Fabrication Bench: Depending on which tier of weapons and armor you’re aiming for.
Stockpile Zones: Place for storing raw materials nearby the workbenches to minimize travel time.
Lighting and Heating/Cooling: Don’t forget the ambient conditions. Colonists work better under good lighting and comfortable temperatures.

Materials Needed#

Crafting weapons and armor requires various resources. Here’s what you’ll need:

Steel: Common and essential for most basic items.
Components: Used for more sophisticated gear and machines.
Plasteel: Extra strong material for advanced armor and high-end weapons.
Fabric/Leathers: Necessary for crafting certain types of armor like flak jackets or dusters.

Don’t forget you can also recycle gear. Use the Smelter and Electric Tailoring Bench to break down old weapons and clothes into raw materials.

Unlocking the Crafting Recipes#

Before you can craft anything, you need to unlock recipes. Here’s how to ensure you’re able to craft what you want:

Research: Different weapons and armor require different research projects. For example:
- Machining: Unlocks the Machining Table, allowing crafting of guns, armor vests, helmets, etc.
- Smithing: Opens up basic melee weapons like swords and clubs.
- Fabrication: Needed for advanced gear and items.
Skill Requirements: Make sure your colonists have the necessary crafting skills. Higher skill levels lead to better quality items.

Crafting Your Gear#

Now, the exciting part - actually making stuff. Here’s a step-by-step to keep you on track:

Open the Workbench: Access the specific workbench for the gear you want.
Add Bill: Click “Add Bill” to select what you want to craft.
Choose Item And Materials: Decide on the specific weapon or piece of armor, like a sniper rifle or a flak vest. Ensure enough materials are available.
Assign Colonist: Allocate a colonist with a high crafting skill to make sure your items are top-notch quality.

Quality Matters#

Quality directly affects the effectiveness of your crafted items. Higher quality weapons do more damage and are more accurate. Better quality armor provides improved protection. Items can range from Awful to Legendary quality. Focus on leveling up your best crafters by having them practice regularly.

Pro Tips#

Specialization: Have dedicated crafters to level up their skill faster.
Prioritize: Get the most important gear first, like helmets and armor vests, especially if expecting raids.
Recycle: Break down low-quality or damaged items for resources to craft better ones.
Schedule: Set up crafting reminders to keep your colonists productive and your stockpiles full.

Crafting weapons and armor in RimWorld can mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving. By setting up efficient crafting areas, gathering materials, focusing on the right research, and honing your colonists’ skills, you’ll ensure your colony is always ready for whatever challenges come its way.

Producing High-Value Goods in RimWorld#

In RimWorld, making high-value goods is crucial to the survival and prosperity of your colony. Not only do these items fetch a high price with traders, but they also often provide significant benefits to your colonists. Here’s how you can start producing and maximizing the value of your goods.

Researching the Right Technologies#

Before diving into production, you’ll need to do some research. Prioritize these technologies to unlock high-value goods:

Microelectronics: Early on, this tech unlocks the comms console and high-tech research bench, accelerating your research speed.
Smithing and Machining: Essential for creating advanced weapons and armor.
Drug Production: Allows you to craft valuable medical and recreational drugs.
Fabrication: Unlocks the production of components and advanced weapons.

Focusing on these techs ensures that you’re equipped to produce items that are both valuable for trade and essential for survival.

Crafting Profitable Items#

Once you’ve got the needed techs, it’s time to start crafting. Here are some high-value items worth producing:

Weapons and Armor: Craft high-quality weapons like sniper rifles and assault rifles, which sell for a lot. Advanced armor not only protects your colonists but can also be a lucrative trade item.
Statues and Sculptures: Artistic colonists can create sculptures out of stone, wood, or metal. High-quality art can significantly enhance your colony’s beauty and fetch a good price with traders.
Drugs: Some notable drugs include:
- Flake and Yayo: Easy to produce and sell for a decent amount, but beware of addiction risks within your colony.
- Penoxycyline: A valuable preventive medicine that also sells for a good price.
Clothing and Apparels: High-quality clothing, especially made from rare materials like Devilstrand or Hyperweave, can be very profitable.

Each of these items requires specific resources and skills, so plan accordingly.

Managing Resources#

High-value goods often need rare resources and skilled labor. Here are some tips on managing them:

Mining and Trading: Secure rare materials like plasteel, gold, and jade through mining or by trading with exotic goods traders.
Skill Development: Assign colonists with high crafting, artistic, or medical skills to appropriate tasks. Use the work tab to ensure your best colonists are focused on high-value production.
Efficiency: Keep workbenches close to resource stockpiles and ensure your production area is well-lit and clean to prevent slowdowns and failures.

Selling and Trading#

Once you’ve got your goods, it’s time to sell them. Here’s how to get the best deals:

Trade Caravans: Send caravans to faction bases to sell your goods in bulk. This can be risky but often more profitable than waiting for traders to come to you.
Orbital Trade Beacons: Place these in your storage areas to easily sell items to orbital traders. Having comms consoles nearby ensures you never miss a trading opportunity.
Better Deals: Build positive relationships with other factions to get better deals. Host their visitors well, complete trade requests, and consider sending peace talks to enemies if necessary.

Choosing Projects Wisely#

Remember, not every high-value item is worth producing right away:

Balance Needs: Weigh the immediate needs of your colony versus the time and resources needed to produce high-value goods.
Production Chain: Some items might require a lengthy production chain. Ensure you can sustain this without crippling your other colony functions.

Producing high-value goods in RimWorld can make your colony rich and powerful. Just remember to plan your resources, develop your skills, and always be on the lookout for opportunities to trade profitably. Keep these tips in mind, and your colony will thrive in no time!

Managing Crafting Priorities#

In RimWorld, crafting is one of the key activities that can mean the difference between a thriving colony and one struggling to survive. Managing crafting priorities is crucial to ensure that your colony has the weapons, apparel, and goods it needs. Let’s dive into how to best manage these priorities to keep everything running smoothly.

Setting Up Crafting Workbenches#

First things first, you’ll need the right workbenches for the jobs you want done. Here are the basic ones:

Hand-tailoring Bench: Used for making clothes.
Fueled/Electric Smithy: For melee weapons and basic tools.
Fueled/Electric Smelter: Turns chunks and slag into usable materials.
Stonecutter’s Table: For making stone blocks.
Machining Table: For advanced weapons and components.
Drug Lab: For producing medicine and recreational drugs.

Place these benches in a room, preferably well-lit and clean, to keep your crafters happy and efficient.

Assigning Priorities in the Work Tab#

Next, head over to the Work tab, where you can assign priorities to your colonists. Here’s a simple rundown on how to set this up:

Open the Work Tab: You’ll see a grid with skills and job headings.
Tick the Boxes: Checkboxes along the rows assign a colonist to a job. For example, tick “Smithing” for someone good with metal.
Use Numbers for Priorities: Each box has numbers from 1 to 4. 1 is the highest priority, and 4 is the lowest.

Your best bet is to assign your top craftsmen with higher priority numbers in their strongest areas. For instance, if Sally is a master smith, set her smithing to 1. If she’s also decent at tailoring, maybe set that to 2 or 3.

Specialized Roles#

Create special roles based on your colonists’ skills. For example:

Joe the Builder: Set Joe to prioritize Construction (1) and then Smithing (2). He’ll build first, then craft weapons if he has time.
Anna the Tailor: Have Anna focus on Tailoring (1) and Crafting (2). She’ll make clothes primarily but will help out with other crafting tasks if needed.

Leveraging Bills#

Bills are the orders you give at each workbench, telling your colonists what to craft. To manage this effectively:

Add Bill: Click the workbench and select “Add Bill.”
Choose Item: Pick what you need, like a pair of pants or a new weapon.
Set Details: Customize the bill by setting the “Do Until You Have X” option. This ensures your colonists will only make items when stock falls below a certain number.

Keep an eye on the details like quality thresholds and ingredient restrictions. This ensures you don’t end up using precious resources for low-quality items.

Skill Matching#

Make sure the right person is doing the right job by matching the bill to a colonist’s skill level. If you have a task that requires high-level crafting, set that in the bill’s “minimum skill level” setting. This prevents less skilled colonists from wasting time and materials on critical jobs.

Managing Time and Resources#

Schedule Work Hours: Customize your colonists’ schedules in the Restrict tab. Allocating specific times for work can boost productivity.

Resource Management: Keep an eye on your supplies. Don’t have your colonists work on items that need materials you’re low on. Setting reasonable amounts in your work bills can avoid depleting valuable resources.

Automation with Assignments#

Use zones and storage assignments to automate workflow. For instance:

Stockpile Zones: Place stockpile zones near workbenches. This reduces the time crafters spend fetching materials.
Dedicated Storage: Have storage for specific materials close to the corresponding bench: textiles near the tailoring bench, metal near the smithy, etc.

Wrapping Up#

Managing crafting priorities in RimWorld can seem daunting at first, but it becomes second nature with practice. Remember to keep a balance between different tasks, use your colonists’ strengths, and automate whenever possible. With these tips, your colony will be a well-oiled crafting machine in no time. Happy crafting!

Tips for Efficient Manufacturing#

In RimWorld, crafting and manufacturing are the backbones of your colony’s survival and growth. Whether you’re making clothes, weapons, or advanced components, efficient production can save time, resources, and keep your colonists happier. Let’s dive into some tips to optimize your manufacturing processes.

1. Organize Your Workbenches#

Place Workbenches Strategically: Position related workstations close to each other. For example, put your tailoring bench near your storeroom of textiles. This reduces travel time and speeds up the crafting process.
Add Tool Cabinets: Tool cabinets boost the efficiency of workbenches. Each workbench can benefit from up to two tool cabinets, so make sure to place them within range.

2. Set Up Stockpiles Smartly#

Localized Stockpiles: Keep small stockpiles of necessary materials right next to your workstations. For a smithy, create a stockpile for steel nearby. This prevents your colonists from wasting time fetching items from across the map.
Limit Storage Sizes: Don’t make your stockpiles too big. This can lead to clutter and inefficiency. It’s better to have multiple smaller, focused stockpiles near each crafting area.

3. Assign Work Priorities Wisely#

Specialize Your Colonists: Assign specific colonists with higher skill levels to particular crafting tasks. High skill levels boost production speed and item quality.
Balance Priorities: Make sure your best crafters aren’t bogged down with too many different tasks. If a colonist can craft fine weapons but spends most of their time hauling, adjust their work priorities to maximize their crafting time.

4. Use Bills and Crafting Queues#

Automate with Bills: Set up bills on your workbenches to automate the crafting process. Tailor them to keep a certain number of items in stock rather than crafting non-stop, which can lead to wasted resources.
Allow Ingredient Radius: Adjust the ingredient search radius in the bills to make sure colonists aren’t traveling too far for materials. The shorter the radius, the quicker they get to work.

5. Temperature Matters#

Comfortable Workshop: Keep your workshop at a comfortable temperature. Extreme heat or cold can slow down your colonists or even disable them. Heaters, coolers, and vents are key to maintaining a cozy work environment.
Good Lighting: Ensure your workbenches are well-lit. Dark workspaces can decrease working speed and lead to unhappy workers. Place standing lamps or sun lamps around your crafting areas.

6. Monitor Your Resources#

Resource Management: Keep an eye on your resource levels. Set up alerts for when certain supplies are running low so you can gather or trade for more before halting production.
Efficiency Over Quantity: Focus on making fewer high-quality items to save resources rather than mass-producing lower-quality ones. It’s often better to have fewer durable items than many fragile ones.

7. Plan for Growth#

Expand Wisely: As your colony grows, so should your manufacturing areas. Plan your base layout with extra room for additional workbenches and stockpiles.
Tech Upgrades: Research technology upgrades for your benches. Microelectronics and multi-analyzer research unlocks more advanced workstations and faster production speeds.

8. Utilize Skilled Labor#

Best Colonists for the Job: Use your most skilled colonists for the most critical manufacturing jobs, ensuring the highest quality products and efficiency.
Training and Learning: Encourage skill improvement by rotating less experienced colonists into crafting roles during downtime under supervision.

By implementing these tips, your manufacturing operations in RimWorld can become sleek, efficient, and highly productive. Stay organized, focus on priorities, and your colony will thrive with an endless supply of much-needed gear and goods.

Good luck, and happy crafting!