Welcome to Against the Storm – Gameplay + Blueprints + Food and Building Guide.

An overview guide containing gameplay tips for new players and selecting the best blueprints to use in the game.

Intro

Are you new to the game? It can be difficult to get started. There are many production chains and building options, but you can only choose 3 blueprints when you start a new map. The map’s resources and population will also impact what can and should be built. To increase the number of starting points, you can unlock new buildings and embark bonuses after building multiple cities.  I offer general starting advice that is accessible to all levels of players but especially to new players.

How do I select blueprints?

Year 2. Year 2. You can find more information in the timing section.

0 – Forget everything that isn’t relevant

Each production building has three production recipes. However, I am only beginning to consider a few things. Wine production is pointless, pottery doesn’t really matter, and packs of trade goods are far away. For now, ignore them. I want to concentrate on what will immediately get the city off its feet.

1 – Building Materials (Planks, Fabric, Bricks)

Every city needs huge amounts of bricks, fabric, and massive mountains of planks. Although a crude workshop can produce all three of these essential resources, it has the worst recipe. Even a 1-star recipe is a significant improvement. It requires less resources to produce the same amount of product. A single 1-star recipe will increase throughput in the crude workshop by reducing its manufacturing responsibility. Although it is a good idea to choose a production facility that improves a building materials recipe, it is not always the best.

Any prospective building with stars in building materials is worth considering–improvements to planks are the most valuable. Planks are used in construction, and many recipes that call for wood can be substituted for planks at a lower rate. If I choose 1-star planks in the first selection, but the next round has 2-star plank recipes, I will choose another.

2 – Fuel (Coal).

Wood is the most efficient fuel for the hearth. Coal can be made from wood and burns longer. It can also be substituted for wood in some crafting recipes. It is useful for certain events. Oil is an interesting option, but I am usually biased against it, as the inputs (plant fibers, wheat, and meat) often have better uses elsewhere (eg fabric or ranching, jerky).

Coal is great for conserving wood, especially for small plank production buildings. But I’d be happy to start with a pair of production buildings for both planks and coal any day.

3 – Fertile soil usage

Nearly all maps have fertile soil. Double-check your map settings if in doubt. Fertile soil is the most common renewable resource in the game. However, it only works if there are buildings that can use it. Although much has been written about which building is the best, I believe any building is better than none. One might be left empty-handed if they give up the small farm in hopes of converting it into a plantation.

This is a priority if my starting glade is rich in fertile soil. I give priority to fertile soil if it is abundant. Unless fertile land is scarce or low in quantity, I will make one of the three buildings a fertile-soil user.

4 – Ranch

The ranch is a powerful building. To get off the ground, it needs to have a steady supply plant fiber, wheat, or reed. It performs a similar function to cooking, putting in more materials (food/leather), than the initial inputs. It can handle a changing workforce better than a farm.

Because ranches require raw materials, I tend to favor farms over ranches. Most biomes will be able to rely on trees. In rare cases, they may not. In these cases, however, the trees will provide a limited supply of fiber. This allows for food and leather to be made. Although the chickens will produce eggs, this is still a mixed blessing. Before starting your ranch, I recommend you check the biome trees and inspect the area for suitable inputs. Remember to prioritize production and to set the appropriate inputs.

5 – Complex Food (Jerky, Skewers)

Complex food makes people happier, and recipes always produce more than the raw materials needed.

Jerky requires only meat or insects (and fuel), making them the easiest complex food recipe. Even though meat is rare, insects seem to be everywhere. Skewers are slightly more difficult as they require two foodstuffs instead of one. Skewers can be great if you have both the requisite food types.

6 – Eh?

Everything else is just window dressing after the top five priorities. Rarely a starting selection does not include upgrades for building materials or coal, farming, ranching and jerky, among other things.

These are some options that are reasonable but are more dependent on the map and might not be worth considering. However, sometimes conditions are different.

• Flour production is worthwhile if there is a reliable wheat/roots/mushroom source.
• Pack of Provisions can be a helpful recipe in a 1-star and 2-star building (unless it is prohibited to trade).
• Coats can be useful if there are beavers+humans in the area or for storms. They are easy to make from fabric, but they are not worth selling.
• It is always desirable to produce tools, but it is especially easy in the coral forest. I often have to pause because of the pre-requisite smelting.
• It is worth setting up if there are several small or large nodes close to the camp. Camps are more attractive if they have Marshland bonuses.

Remember Rule 0: Don’t ignore anything that isn’t relevant.

I don’t spend too much time thinking about the initial selection. Some maps are better suited to setting up production chains, and some populations benefit more from those production chains. These differences can be significant at higher prestige levels, but that is not the only guide.

Timing is everything

I will survey the glades at the beginning of a new map to determine what is in my starting glade, and then decide which glades I want to open (now/next years/in the unforeseeable future). I’ll review the first batch of blueprints to see if there’s a clear winner (like 3* planks). But it isn’t often, and I won’t pick anything now.

There are many reasons to delay choosing a plan:

• I would like to see the contents of the surrounding glades first. After the first set has been issued, small glades may be opened immediately.
• Some dangerous glade events require coal/oil/etc. Waiting to see the event’s requirements might allow for a rushed production chain. Sometimes, the trader can also help.
• Dangerous Glades often contain large resource deposits that require a large camp to harvest.
• The greatest impact on a city is made by the year 1 and 2 cornerstones, as they are in effect, the longest. Picking cornerstones can help clarify building selection by adding incentives/disincentives for certain choices.
• It is unlikely that I will be able to get the buildings up and running before year 2.
• Amber can be used to re-roll the building selection depending on the circumstances. It could be advantageous to delay making a poor choice until you have amber to reroll it.
• There is only one choice, and it is the best.

Here are some reasons to act quickly:

• You can’t put off making a decision. The first selection might not be interesting, but the second might contain the building I want right now.
• Certain orders from Queen Victoria require specific buildings. Knowing that I have the building required makes it easier to select the matching order.
• Production chains won’t be able to sort everything by themselves. (Biscuits and pies require flour, which is almost useless without biscuits and pies. However, one blueprint cannot be chosen without the other.
• I will receive more blueprint rewards over the course of the settlement than what I actually “need”. There will be extras. Some of the choices might prove suboptimal some might be super useful but start out useless.

 

Hope you enjoy the Guide about Against the Storm – Gameplay + Blueprints + Food and Building, if you think we should add extra information or forget something, please let us know via comment below, and we will do our best to fix or update as soon as possible!