I'm looking for a pre-existing hut or a village - this requres much less gathering mat's. Also vilagges can contain cultivated berry bushes, which is pretty helpful in early game

The more you delay construction and improvements, until the very final currently available boss (and even then, with nightly spawns), you will benefit from the increased range of materials and tools available to you, but also take the risk of invasion events bringing more and more powerful enemies.

It's a matter of pacing... The first time you begin to struggle with an invasion, you should sit down and start thinking about defenses, even rudimentary ones. It's not fun to reorganize your food stores and other things just because one greydwarf brute or draugr managed to sneak in.

My favorite building blocks are core wood (especially the 4m beams), stone and tar. The former two are available after the first boss. Stone walls can later be upgraded with other materials. Stakewall will also retain its usefulness due to its durability for cost of materials, and easily adjustable height.

Sharpened stakes may seem appealing and in some cases they can be useful, especially if you don't mind the maintenance, but if they break, you will lose all the material used in their construction.

Like @knighttemplar1960, club being first, except that I rather repair a nearby abandonned shack.

square peg in round hole-question.

I know i already chimed in, but you legit don't need to build a base at all until you are collecting Copper and tin to make bronze. While the first set of equipment upgrades can be useful, the fact of the matter is, naked vikings armed with sticks and burned meat can kill the first boss.

You also generally want to choose your first major base location carefully. You want it near the ocean, in close proximity (But not too close) to black forest. You'll want the coastal water to be deep enough so a longship won't bottom out (So avoid shoals), and you'll want the land itself to be relatively flat, but too high is better than too low, as raising land is more expensive than flattening and lowering.

This base will see you through half the game, from the Meadows to the Mountains. Some people elect to stay longer, but I personally like making a second base in the plains, somewhere close to where Mistlands begin spawning.

Woah. Thanks for all the advice, guys! Man, I love this game's community.

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

Run around, gather materials and build basic necessary things while exploring. Either I repair an abandoned house I find, or build a temporary shed, until I've found a decent location for the first main house.

Oh, I had no idea you could fix up abandoned houses. Thanks.

Originally posted by Seno:

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

Run around, gather materials and build basic necessary things while exploring. Either I repair an abandoned house I find, or build a temporary shed, until I've found a decent location for the first main house.

Oh, I had no idea you could fix up abandoned houses. Thanks.

Yup, you just need the repair/building hammer and the materials in your inventory

I gather what I can find in the start area. Build tools and weapons available. Then build a basic cabin. 4 walls, a roof with a smoke hole, a camp fire, a work bench, a couple storage chests, and a bed. I sleep after that and then start exploring and hunting after that.

I built a little house right next to the stone ring where you hang trophies. Doesn't make sense to not set up 'something, somewhere' to get you a quick rested bonus and I figured that is a location that will be re-visited multiple times, so it's a good spot that early in the game.

As for what I set up, pretty much the same as what @knighttemplar1960 just mentioned. And later, once they were unlocked, I expended the location to add a portal.

What i do:
- Get to campfire asap to get rested buff
- First "base" in a derelict shed to craft stuff or sleep night if needed, no hoarding except flint and hides. (you need at least two stacks of flint, which is only found on meadow shores)
- Kill first boss with no real base. Stack him on the stones.
- Go black forest and make first base somewhere close to tin, cooper and boars (from runestone).

Its not bad making first base early but you unlock many interesting building pieces AFTER getting to bronze (next biome after first boss), so i would advise not going all out too early.

Also dont build too close to black forest if you dont want to be flooded with enemies whenever a tree falls.

Find an old shack, make a fire and get rested bonus.

Being carried by a bird for 6 hours.

But seriously, I tend to build something spacious - even if it takes two in-game weeks, and even if I never use it for much.

Originally posted by JDaremo Fireheart:

Originally posted by Seno:

Oh, I had no idea you could fix up abandoned houses. Thanks.

Yup, you just need the repair/building hammer and the materials in your inventory

And build a workbench.

Run around, gather materials and build basic necessary things while exploring. Either I repair an abandoned house I find, or build a temporary shed, until I've found a decent location for the first main house.