Welcome to the ultimate guide to managing colonists in RimWorld! Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, mastering the art of managing your colonists is crucial for the survival and prosperity of your colony. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into the essential strategies for Assigning Jobs and Priorities, ensuring everyone is contributing efficiently. We’ll explore effective ways of Managing Colonist Needs to keep morale high and productivity steady. Learn how to handle Dealing with Mental Breaks and Moods to prevent chaos from derailing your progress. Understand the importance of Health and Medical Care to maintain a healthy and robust colony. Lastly, discover invaluable Tips for Keeping Colonists Happy to create a harmonious and thriving community. Get ready to transform your colony management skills and lead your colonists to success!

RimWorld: Managing Colonists#

Assigning Jobs and Priorities#

In RimWorld, your colonists have different skills and passions that make them better suited for certain tasks. Knowing how to assign jobs and set priorities can be the key to keeping your colony running smoothly. Let’s dive into the essentials for making your colonists work like a well-oiled machine.

Understanding the Work Tab#

The Work tab is your main tool for assigning and managing jobs. You can find it at the bottom of the screen, represented by a wrench icon. When you click it, you’ll see a grid with your colonists listed on the left and various job types across the top. Each job type, like Cooking, Mining, or Doctoring, has a checkbox for every colonist. This grid lets you control who does what.

Manual Priorities vs. Simple Mode#

By default, the game is in Simple Mode, where each job has a box that you either check or leave blank. If it’s checked, the colonist will attempt that job when they have free time.

But for more control, you’ll want to enable Manual Priorities. Simply click the “Manual Priorities” checkbox at the top right of the Work tab. Now, instead of a single checkbox, each box has a number from 1 to 4. Lower numbers mean higher priority. For instance, a colonist with a 1 in Cooking will prioritize cooking above all else.

Setting Priorities#

When assigning jobs and priorities, consider the following:

1. Skills and Passions: Colonists with higher skill levels will be faster and more efficient at their jobs. You can view their skills by clicking on their profile. Also, look at the flames next to their skills:

   • No flame: No passion — they’ll get the job done, but nothing special.
   • One small flame: Interested — they’ll learn this skill faster and enjoy it.
   • Two large flames: Passionate — they’ll learn even faster and gain joy from the work.

2. Life-Or-Death Jobs: Certain jobs are crucial for survival and should be assigned accordingly.

   • Doctoring: Always keep your best doctors at a 1 priority. Healing the injured and sick is top priority.
   • Firefighter: Fires spread fast. Assign firefighting to a 1 for most colonists.

3. Basic Needs: Tasks like Cooking, Growing food, and Constructing shelters are essential for daily survival. Prioritize these but keep a balance.

   • Cooking and Growing: Ensure food is always on hand by setting these jobs to a 2 or 3 for skilled colonists.
   • Constructing: Building and repairing structures should be a high priority for those skilled in construction.

4. Specialized Labor: Some jobs can be lower priority but still important.

   • Research: Assign your most intellectual colonist to research and set it to a 3. This isn’t an urgent task but can greatly improve your colony over time.
   • Crafting and Smithing: Essential for making weapons and tools; set skilled crafters to a 3 or 4.

Automatic Work Schedules#

Don’t forget to manage work, recreation, and sleep schedules. Click the Restrict tab to set when colonists should work or take a break. Keeping a balanced schedule prevents burnout and mental breaks. Let them sleep at night, work during the day, and have some leisure time.

Tips to Optimize#

• Keep It Organized: Regularly review and adjust priorities as your colony evolves. New colonists might shift how tasks should be assigned.
• Play to Their Strengths: Focus on what each colonist does best. It might feel inefficient initially, but specializing will pay off in the long run.
• Balance Manual Higher Priorities with Lower Priorities: Avoid overloading any single colonist. Distribute critical tasks and ensure everyone has a clear focus.

Learning to effectively assign jobs and set priorities can dramatically improve the efficiency and survival of your colony in RimWorld. Experiment, observe, and refine your approach as your colony grows and faces new challenges. With practice, you’ll have a thriving, well-managed settlement in no time.

Managing Colonist Needs#

In RimWorld, making sure your colonists are happy and healthy is key to keeping your colony running smoothly. Each colonist has basic needs that, if unmet, can lead to serious consequences like mental breaks or even death. Here’s a breakdown of each need and how to manage them.

Food and Hunger#

Keeping your colonists fed is the most important thing. Make sure you have a steady supply of food by growing crops, hunting wildlife, or trading with other factions. Build a kitchen and a dining room to prepare meals. Basic meals can be cooked from raw ingredients, but higher quality meals (like fine or lavish meals) will boost mood more. Don’t forget to manage food restrictions to ensure everyone gets their fair share.

Quick Tips#

• Assign a skilled cook to avoid food poisoning.
• Set up refrigeration to keep food from spoiling.
• Use nutrient paste dispenser for colonists with low cooking skills.

Rest and Sleeping Arrangements#

Colonists need rest to function well. Without enough sleep, they’ll work slower and make more mistakes. Assign colonists individual beds in a quiet and clean room. Better quality beds (like those made from wood or steel) help improve rest efficiency. If you can afford it, add comfort items like end tables and dressers to boost their rest quality.

Quick Tips#

• Set up a sleep schedule to ensure everyone gets enough rest.
• Avoid disturbances by placing bedrooms away from noisy areas like workshops or the dining room.
• Consider giving night-owl colonists night shifts.

Recreation and Joy#

Your colonists need downtime to stay happy. There are different types of recreation: social, solitary, dexterity, and cerebral. Set up a variety of activities to cover all bases. Simple items like horseshoe pins, chess boards, and later, television sets can all help. Don’t forget to schedule time for recreation in your colonists’ daily routine.

Quick Tips#

• Variety is key: mix up activities.
• Use recreation items that align with the colonist’s likes (e.g. chess for cerebral).
• Make recreation areas appealing, clean, and comfortable.

Comfort and Environment#

Having a comfortable and pleasant environment boosts mood. Cleanliness, spaciousness, and aesthetic appeal all play a role. Build comfy furniture, keep rooms clean, and add decorations like statues or potted plants. Pay attention to room beauty stats; ugly rooms can really ruin a colonist’s day.

Quick Tips#

• Use flooring to improve room cleanliness.
• Place beauty-enhancing items in high-traffic areas.
• Repair damaged structures to maintain environmental quality.

Health and Medical Care#

A healthy colonist is a happy colonist. Monitor health regularly and set up a hospital with proper beds and medical supplies. In case of injury or disease, prioritize medical care to prevent infections or chronic conditions. Make sure you have skilled doctors and enough medicine on hand.

Quick Tips#

• Ensure access to herbal medicine, medkits, or glitterworld medicine.
• Train multiple colonists in medical skills for emergencies.
• Build sterile areas for surgeries to reduce infection risk.

Social Needs#

Colonists crave social interaction. They form relationships, which can greatly influence mood. Positive interactions boost happiness while negative ones can lead to fights and depression. Facilitate social activities by building a nice dining room where colonists can gather and chat over meals.

Quick Tips#

• Designate a social leader to boost morale with speeches and rituals.
• Monitor colonist interactions and manage conflicts.
• Encourage positive relationships by assigning compatible roommates or work partners.

By staying on top of these needs, you’ll keep your colonists content and your colony thriving. Balance is key: a well-rested, well-fed, and socially satisfied colonist is a productive one!

Dealing with Mental Breaks and Moods#

In RimWorld, every colonist is a ticking time bomb of emotions. From losing loved ones to the rampant darkness of your base, anything can tip your pawns over the edge. Let’s get down to how you can keep everyone relatively sane and handle those inevitable mental breaks.

Understanding Moods#

Moods in RimWorld are driven by a multitude of factors. Each colonist has a mood bar that fluctuates based on their experiences and environment. Happy pawns make for a happy colony, but low moods can lead to mental breaks, where they might do anything from wandering aimlessly to starting a fire. Here’s what you need to watch:

• Basic Needs: Make sure your colonists always have food, sleep, and recreation. Hungry and tired colonists quickly become unhappy.
• Environment: Nobody enjoys living in filth. Clean up dirt, blood, and trash. Ensure there’s good lighting and comfortable furniture. Ugly environments bring down moods.
• Comfort and Beauty: Create beautiful spaces. Place nice furniture, decorations, and plants. Make sure beds are cozy and rooms aren’t cramped.
• Social Interactions: Colonists crave social interactions. Let them chat and make friends. But watch out! Fights and rivalries can tank moods too.

Managing Needs and Joy#

To prevent mental breaks, attending to basic needs and providing joy activities is essential.

• Food: Keep your larder stocked. Have cooks prepare tasty meals. Simple meals can get boring, so spice it up with fine and lavish meals occasionally.
• Rest: Ensure everyone has a good bed to sleep in. Hospital beds are for the sick; healthy colonists should be in cozy rooms.
• Recreation: Include joy items like horseshoes, chess tables, and billiards. Schedule recreation time in the day so everyone can unwind.

Handling Mental Breaks#

No matter how hard you try, mental breaks will happen. Here’s how you can deal with them:

1. Rough Day? Draft Them: If someone starts wandering around sadly or going berserk, draft them and bring them back. Friendly pawns can rescue them if they collapse.
2. Arrest and Contain: For more severe breaks, arrest the affected colonist and put them in a safe room or prison. Keep an eye on their needs and release them once they calm down.
3. Peace Talks: If they’re just breaking down because of a rough day, send someone with high social skills to console them. Often, a little chat can make a big difference.

Additional Tips#

• Special Traits: Watch for traits influencing mood. Some colonists are naturally depressive, while others can shrug off almost anything.
• Outfit Management: Ensure everyone wears suitable clothing. Wearing the right gear for the weather makes a colonist much happier.
• Drugs and Therapies: Sometimes a little chemical help can salvage a mood. Just be cautious of dependencies and side effects.

Mood Boosters#

There’s a lot you can do to push moods up:

• Positive Environment: Decorate with art and flowers. Well-designed spaces make a major difference.
• Social Alliances: Marrying couples or close friends make the colony feel like a family.
• Buff’s Up: Create fine meals, brew beer, and equip them with their favorite weapons or clothing. Comfort items boost moods significantly.

Crisis Management#

Despite all precautions, there will be times where disaster strikes. Here’s how to survive the aftermath:

• Loss and Grieving: When a colonist dies, the whole colony feels it. Allow time for grieving but keep spirits from plummeting by boosting overall mood.
• Handling Injuries: Wounded colonists need medical attention and a clean, comfortable place to heal.
• Selling Comforts: In economic crunch times, keep morale up by making sure their stomachs and hearts remain full.

Final Thoughts#

Balancing moods in RimWorld is a delicate art, but with careful attention, you can keep your colonists’ spirits high. Keep an eye on their needs, provide a pleasant environment, manage their breaks wisely, and you’ll have a thriving, happy colony. Peace of mind for them means peace of mind for you.

Health and Medical Care#

Keeping your colonists healthy in RimWorld is crucial for the success of your colony. From simple scratches to severe infections, you’ll need to be prepared for all medical situations. Here’s how you can ensure your settlers stay in tip-top shape.

Basics of Colonist Health#

Each colonist has a health tab where you can check their physical status. This menu shows their injuries, illnesses, and even chronic conditions. Understanding this screen is the first step to effective medical care. If you see red text, that’s bad news - it means something’s wrong with your colonist.

Medical Beds and Facilities#

To treat your colonists effectively, you’ll need to set up a proper medical area. Start with regular beds, but aim to upgrade to medical beds as soon as possible. Medical beds increase treatment quality and reduce recovery time, which can make a big difference in a crisis.

1. Start with a Clean Room: Cleanliness is key in a medical environment. Dirty rooms can lead to infections, which complicate treatments.
2. Install Equipment: Add vitals monitors and hospital beds to even further improve treatment quality.
3. Sterile Tiles: If you can afford it, lay down sterile tiles. These help keep the room clean and further reduce the infection risk.

Treating Wounds and Illnesses#

When a colonist gets injured or sick, the first thing to do is draft your doctors. Make sure you have colonists assigned to the doctor role under the ‘work’ tab. Higher medical skills mean better care.

1. Prioritize Immediate Treatment: Open wounds and the most severe injuries should be treated first. Use the best medicine you have available for these cases.
2. Monitor for Infections: Even minor wounds can get infected. Regularly check the health tab to keep an eye on possible infections.
3. Disease Management: Some diseases can be life-threatening. Immediate and continuous care is important. Don’t skimp on medicine here.

Medicine#

Medicine quality greatly affects treatment outcomes. There are three types of medicine in RimWorld:

• Herbal Medicine: Basic but better than nothing. Requires the “Grower” job to cultivate.
• Regular Medicine: Mid-tier, often found through traders and some map discoveries.
• Glitterworld Medicine: Top-tier and very rare, often from traders from advanced civilizations.

Operating and Surgeries#

Sometimes, you’ll need to perform surgeries on your colonists, whether it’s to install bionics or remove infected limbs. Surgeries require both a high medical skill and good quality medicine. The better your facilities, the lower the risk of a botched surgery.

1. Pre-op Prep: Ensure your medical room is as clean and sterile as possible.
2. Choose a Competent Doctor: High medical skill is essential for surgeries. Never let a newbie doc handle complicated surgeries.
3. Watch for Anesthetic Effects: Post-surgery, your colonist will be under anesthetic and vulnerable. Keep them under observation.

Mental Health#

Physical health isn’t the only concern. Colonists are at risk for mental breaks when their needs aren’t met. Make sure they have:

• Talented Social Interactions: Colonists with good social skills can calm others.
• Recreation: Enough activities and items to keep them happy, like chess tables and TV.
• Comfortable Living Conditions: Decent sleeping quarters, leisure time, and good food.

Summary#

Prioritizing care, using proper facilities, and ensuring the best available medicine are all critical steps to managing your colonists’ health. Keeping a close eye on their mental and physical health will ensure your colony not only survives but thrives in the harsh world of RimWorld. Happy healing!

Further Tips#

• Check Health Regularly: Make it a habit to regularly check the health tab of your colonists.
• Assign Backup Doctors: Always have one or two backup doctors in case your primary is injured.
• Stockpile Medicine: Keep a decent stockpile of all three types of medicine for emergencies.

Now that you know how to keep your colonists healthy, you’re one step closer to a thriving colony. Keep those medical beds ready, and may your doctors always have a steady hand!

Tips for Keeping Colonists Happy#

RimWorld can be a brutally challenging game, especially when trying to keep your colonists happy and productive. If you’re struggling to keep morale up in your colony, we’ve got some essential tips to help you manage those mood swings and keep your settlers smiling.

Ensure Basic Needs Are Met#

At the core of happiness is fulfilling basic needs. Just like in real life, your colonists need food, shelter, and safety to stay content. Here’s a quick checklist:

• Food: Ensure a steady supply of varied meals. Simple meals are okay at the start, but aim for fine or lavish meals as your resources grow. Avoid raw food or nutrient paste, as they make colonists unhappy.
• Shelter: Provide personal bedrooms with comfy beds. No one wants to sleep on the floor. Add some decor like plants or sculptures to boost the mood.
• Safety: Keep threats like raids and wild animals at bay. Adequate defenses and regular patrols help colonists feel safe, reducing stress.

Optimize the Work Schedule#

Overworking your colonists can tank their moods. Balance is key!

• Joy Time: Schedule at least a few hours each day for leisure activities. Whether it’s horseshoes, chess, or just taking a walk, a break from work is essential.
• Sleep: Make sure colonists get enough sleep. Six to eight hours is usually good. Sleep deprivation leads to grumpiness and poor performance.

Keep the Environment Clean#

A clean environment goes a long way!

• Cleanliness: Regularly clean communal areas, bedrooms, and kitchen. Blood, dirt, and clutter can significantly lower mood.
• Lighting: Nobody likes working in the dark. Well-lit workspaces and bedrooms help boost morale and productivity.

Manage Social Interactions#

Colonists are social creatures, and interpersonal relationships can greatly impact their happiness.

• Social Time: Schedule some time for social interactions. Chatting over dinner or relaxing together can improve relationships.
• Marriages and Romances: Celebrate weddings and anniversaries! They bring a huge mood boost. However, be cautious with breakups as they can lead to severe depression.

Handle Mental Breaks Wisely#

Mental breaks are sometimes inevitable. Here’s how to manage them:

• Intervention: If a colonist is on the brink of a mental break, prioritize their needs. Reduce their workload and give them some personal space.
• Immediate Action: During a mental break, keep other colonists safe and intervene quickly if violence occurs. Post-break, let them rest and recuperate to stabilize their mood.

Utilize Recreation and Luxuries#

Investing in recreation and a little luxury can pay off in happiness dividends:

• Recreational Activities: Build recreation rooms with pool tables, TVs, and musical instruments. Regularly rotate activities to keep things interesting.
• Luxuries: Once you can afford it, add some luxuries like fine chairs, grand sculptures, and high-quality furniture. These items boost mood just by being nearby.

Regularly Check Mood Buffs and Debuffs#

Stay informed about what’s affecting your colonists:

• Inspect Needs Tab: Regularly check the ‘Needs’ tab to see what’s contributing to each colonist’s mood. Address debuffs like ugly environments or poor health immediately.
• Mood Enhancers: Use mood-enhancing drugs sparingly. Smokeleaf and beer can be effective but come with risks of addiction and negative behaviors.

Conclusion#

Managing colonist happiness in RimWorld involves balancing basic needs, work schedules, social interactions, and environmental factors. Regularly check in on your colonists’ needs and moods to preempt problems before they escalate. Keep your colony clean, safe, and filled with joy-time activities.

Remember, a happy colonist is a productive colonist. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to building a thriving, happy colony. May your RimWorld adventures be pleasant and prosperous!