How to start a settlement properly

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How to start a settlement properly

Post by Historical Archives »

Hunbaba
Jan 7th 2011 edited

As there are frequent questions about settlements, here is a very basic and quick way how to set one up properly.

Temporary buildings (needed only for upgrades). If possible try finding players that already have them and borrow for a few days. This will cut down expenses a bit.

3x Settlement Housing Unit 1
Cygnus Power Generator V1
Cygnus Power Generator V2

Permanent buildings which will have to be bought.

2x Settlement Housing Unit 4
3x Cygnus Power Generator V4
3x Advanced Research Center
Settlement Repair System Ver1
High Speed Seeker

Also 35 staff will have to be hired. Any type, but higher their SPS value, better. One among them must be Type 12 though to man defenses.

Settlement license is purchased, all settlement hubs are available in ships store and you landed on a planet license was purchased for. Place settlement around 19:00 GT (game time). Placing Advanced Research Centers must be done before 20:07 (research tick) or else SRPs for that day are lost. This will give you enough time to fiddle around in case of having some problems with finding correct screens.

When settlement is placed on a planet, it comes with 5,000 of available energy and 5 housing capacity. Time to get busy :).

Place Cygnus Power Generator V1. (+15k energy)
Place 2x Settlement Housing Unit 1. (+2x10 housing capacity)
Add 20 staff to settlement.
Advance settlement to level 2. (requires 20 staff)

At this point it might be good to pause a bit and explore settlement screens a bit more thoroughly. For instance learning where are slots for placing settlement defenses or where to conduct research (spend SRPs) or how to add staff. While at level 2, there is no threat of pirate attack thus upgrading to level 3 can be postponed for a day to get more familiar with all new screens. Just keep in mind advancing to level 3 should be close to research tick to minimize chance of pirate attack while no settlement HP is available.

Place Cygnus Power Generator V2. (+30k energy)
Place Settlement Housing Unit 1. (+10 housing capacity)
Add 15 more staff. There should be 35 in total.
Advance settlement to level 3. (requires 35 staff)
Place Cygnus Power Generator V4. (+85k energy)
Place 2x Advanced Research Center. (+1,150 SRPs per day)
Place High Speed Seeker in settlement defense slot.

Wait for research tick to roll over, then research Settlement Defense 1 (costs 1000 SRPs). This will give your settlement 10,000 HP. Combined with High Speed Seeker it should be enough to fend off first pirate attack.
Before moving on with replacing buildings, a 12 hrs settlement lockout must pass. Wait it out or come back when over.

Remove both Advanced Research Centers.
Remove Cygnus Power Generator V1.
Remove Cygnus Power Generator V2.
Place 2x Cygnus Power Generator V4.
Place 3x Advanced Research Center.
Place Settlement Housing Unit 4.
Place Settlement Repair System Ver1.

This will cause another lockout. When over, continue taking out Housings 1 and replace them with Housing 4.
What if something goes wrong?

If buildings were placed in wrong order or some were removed, triggering early lockout, don't despair. If not at level 3, there is no fear of pirate attack thus can fix mistake in peace and try again next day. If already at level 3 but unable to research settlement defense to get 10,000 HP (missing research tick or only one research center deployed), you might suffer pirate attack before able to fix it. It is no tragedy should that happen. 10% morale is lost but can be regained later. If problems are more severe, borrow a small shield (any) and make sure it is equipped along with High Speed Seeker missile. This will buy some more time to set things right, but shouldn't delay regardless as 5% daily morale penalty will still come from unhappy staff for the lack of settlement HP.

Cost of all equipment, hubs, license, aren't cheap, but they will bring your settlement up to level 3 with adequate defenses to fend off pirate attacks. This means acquiring loot that if sold will bring in nice profits from start that can be used to pay settlement maintenance and future upgrades.

In case above costs are too high, i would advise to save for a bit longer, postponing placement when funds are adequate.

Should you feel uneasy or not confident to make things right, there is always a safe way. Meaning defenses are all taken care off at level 2 (10k HP is researched and High Speed Seeker active before advancing to level 3). Lesser research facilities will have to be bought and later replaced by better thus wasting some credits unless they can be borrowed from someone too.
Dana Dawson
Data Recovery Tech
Historical Archives Division
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