Originally posted by John:

Access to the open ocean, Meadows preferred.

The way I roll after 545 hours

Because of gates it dosnt really matter where you build your base, My suggestion would be to build your first close to access to the ocean close by the spawn point.

As you explore you will start setting up a gate network to be able to quickly go anywhere on the map so it dosnt realy matter much where your main base actually is so dont worry all that much about it.

Just build a starter base at spawn and wait untill you come upon that special place that speaks to you "BUILD HERE!"

As for biomes, I would suggest you build in the medows or the mountains, not so much for itrs resources or stuff like that but for the lighting.
Medows has a very nice light, it never gets gloomy and even at its worst it has a nice feel to it.
The mountains has the same type of lighting, you have to deal with the cold tho so it probably wont be your first base but its really pretty and you usually have a real good view from it. Blizards are a hassle, especially if you dont have a powerfull computer but its still nice to be there.

So why not the other biomes, the black forest is very gloomy, its anoyingly dark at night, very gloomy at dawn and dusk.
The swamp is wet, dark and gloomy at the best of times, you are going to spend enough time there farming for foodstuffs anyways.
Plains is too bright and if you dont cheese it with dirt walls random spawns of fulingar will chew through your base in no time.

Thus my advice, set ut close to spawn and keep a lookout for a nice medows spot that calls to you : )

My first base is a hut right by the spawn in. That will also be your default spawn in if you die without a bed. You may also want a little room you can fence off for crops or raising animals or both.

That said though you should be scouting for your next base right away. Look for resources on the edge of meadows/ black forest near water.

Also, consider placing your second base on a different continent in the meadows and making it your main base. There's a much greater chance of finding a two star boar on a different continent, and mobs and loot in general will be slightly better. After I finished building my second base I tore down the first one and replaced it with a teleporter hub so I always have easy access to the power shrines.

@Dave@ has the right idea for the very beginning of the game. A tiny base near the sacrificial stones.

All the considerations mentioned in the other responses are important but a suitable location for one's permanent main base may take some time to find. In the meanwhile, a location where one can rest, cook meat, build and repair items, and store things is almost essential.

I try to build bases with at least one additional biome nearby. So for example, my latest base is in a Meadow on the coast, but a Black Forest (with a mountain in it to boot!) is nearby. It saves on travel time and I know when I need to move to the next biome it won't be far away.

I do try to avoid being to close to Plains though, there are enemies there that like to wander out and start trouble.

Originally posted by LittleBlueDuneBuggy:

Black Forest.

Definitely not the Black Forest if you want a quiet, safe spot. After plenty of hours in the game I tend to build in the Black Forest, Swamp, and Plains because I don't want it to be quiet and 100% safe. I like it when the resources come to me...

Originally posted by John:

Access to the open ocean, Meadows preferred.

This is probably best for your first base. The meadows are safer. You'll eventually need to travel by boat so being near or directly beside the sea is a good idea.

Still fairly new, but my 2 cents.

Would never consider a starting camp except in the meadows and near the water.

I started my camp by resurrecting a couple of abandoned farm buildings. Works out really well. Since then, I've been spreading out repairing selected buildings and placing workbenches in them so I'm never far from one. In the forest, I snazz up a ruined tower the same way.

Still hunting for a site for serious build after I get through the storyline.

Unless they have changed it , i have a tiny base where you mount the sacrifices , a bigger base by a large amount of copper nodes near the shore , and 1 by the swamp . In the mount the sacrifices base because i dont go there often i plant , grow make honey and brew , In the black forest with copper nodes i wall it because a lot of time you will be mining and smelting ,making armour ,weapons , I also wall the swamp same again smelting armour weapons ect ,
the reason is you get attacked at times and the forest raises up against you so as you get higher lvl so do the monsters that attack you , pigs and small tree monsters , higher bigger tree monsters and healers with big brutes , higher trolls skellys ect , a troll will smash through would easily .
You could dig a moat , you could use walls , you will at some point get stone walls ect , but its a balance you don t wana spend all the time making walls ect for a base your never in.
As a start just a hut with a fire and bench to fix your tools with a bed would be fine .
Getting a raft and just following the coast lines would help you find the black forest and swamp areas fast ish , its a big big map ,
at some point you will get portals and you can like your important bases together , keeping a port is good for recon and sea moster bashing later on .
Thats what i think similar to everyone else i think ,
have fun its a great game just to meddle and explore .

Originally posted by @Dave@:

Unless they have changed it , i have a tiny base where you mount the sacrifices , a bigger base by a large amount of copper nodes near the shore , and 1 by the swamp . In the mount the sacrifices base because i dont go there often i plant , grow make honey and brew , In the black forest with copper nodes i wall it because a lot of time you will be mining and smelting ,making armour ,weapons , I also wall the swamp same again smelting armour weapons ect ,
the reason is you get attacked at times and the forest raises up against you so as you get higher lvl so do the monsters that attack you , pigs and small tree monsters , higher bigger tree monsters and healers with big brutes , higher trolls skellys ect , a troll will smash through would easily .
You could dig a moat , you could use walls , you will at some point get stone walls ect , but its a balance you don t wana spend all the time making walls ect for a base your never in.
As a start just a hut with a fire and bench to fix your tools with a bed would be fine .
Getting a raft and just following the coast lines would help you find the black forest and swamp areas fast ish , its a big big map ,
at some point you will get portals and you can like your important bases together , keeping a port is good for recon and sea moster bashing later on .
Thats what i think similar to everyone else i think ,
have fun its a great game just to meddle and explore .

Now that you've told him about 95% of the game, why not finish the last 5%?

A clearing in the meadows close to the shore. The further from the original tree line the better as it lessens the chance of attracting angry groots. The ocean to one side limits attack angles and how much defense you'll need to set up as well as easy boat access. Just make sure you build above the storm surge level.

Geography: I tend to go for islands or peninsulas that are close to a bigger island so I can build an easily defensible base and a bridge to the big island so I can transfer ores easily. Always on the coast (no reason why you shouldn't build on the coast).

Biomes: Either Meadows or Black Forest. I do tend to make sure there are mountain, swamp and plains biomes nearby (preferably on the same island) so I can gather all late-game resources and bring them to this one base. Otherwise you'll be building many bases and struggling to transfer resources.

Black Forest.

Access to the open ocean, Meadows preferred.

Wherever you find an area you like. If you're starting out though I would suggest somewhere in the Meadows. Doesn't have to be next to water but it helps for later exploration.