Kenshi
Lo-Fi Games released Kenshi for Windows PC in December of 2018. Kenshi is a hybrid of RTS and cRPG set in an open, post-apocalyptic setting. Designed and programmed by Chris Hunt, Kenshi was built on the OGRE engine.
Kenshi Strength
Best Strength Training: Strength XP Rate Combat, Strength XP Rate Walking
Kenshi strength is best trained through Strength XP Rate Combat and Strength XP rate Walking. The maximum Strength XP Rate Combat achievable is 100% whereas the maximum Strength XP rate Walking achievable is 50%.
Kenshi Strength XP Rate Combat
To increase Strength in combat wield heavy weapons while unencumbered (total weight = weightless).
Don't start off wielding Edge Type 3 Fragmented Axes (2.88 blunt damage, 57 kgs) because the weapon alone will encumber you.
Kenshi Strength XP Rate Walking
To increase Strength out of combat (max +50%) lug around iron ore in a trader's backpack or wooden backpack (+25%) AND pick up and carry a body (+25%).
Martial Arts skill aside, don't fight while encumbered as it significantly reduces Strength XP Rate Combat (all the way down to 0% at overloaded).
To a degree, training Strength via combat or walking can be automated. For combat, seek out self-replenishing hordes (Fogmen). For walking, follow Nomads or auto-haul items (e.g., iron ore, iron plate and steel bar infrastructure operations). In this case, the backpack stuffed with iron ore must occupy actual inventory slots, not the backpack slot (or it will be auto-added to iron ore storage, which is most annoying).
At around Strength 60, Strength XP rate walking drops off: we need to slay horde after horde in order to train Strength. Estimating conservatively, and assuming distractions and max mobs, it can take about 32 hours of play to get a five-person squad to 70 Strength (which is nothing to veteran gamers, just saying).
Kenshi Masterwork Industrial Lifter Arms
Note that we gain a Robotics-based 53% bonus to our Strength score by virtue of 2x Masterwork Industrial Lifter Arms (right and left).
By rights we should only receive +46, but I tested this on various combat units; the outcome was always a 53% bonus.
Kenshi Game Starts
There are 13 Game Starts in Kenshi. Game Starts are beginnings that influence various starting variables such as play style, difficulty, squad size and cash, but game starts are only suggestive of how Kenshi can be approached: they do not close off other modes of play.
For example, starting off as a Wandering Trader does not mean we are locked in to playing Kenshi as a trading sim: it only gives us an initial focus as a trader, which we can either build upon or override.
Kenshi Best Game Start
In terms of power-gaming, the best game starts in Kenshi are the Nobodies or Freedom Seekers game starts. Veterans of cRPGs are going to be attracted to such game starts since they allow for 6- and 5- member (skeleton) squads straight off the bat. However, such beginnings make Kenshi too easy in that they reduce the uphill battle of survival in the early game.
As its description makes clear, the Wanderer game start is how Kenshi is intended to be played, and it is therefore the best start for beginners who want to get a feel for Kenshi's core design.
Wanderer
The Wanderer starts off in the Hub of the Border Zone. The Hub is one of the best starter towns since it is a good place to build a base, the surrounding area isn't too dangerous, and Squin is not far away and is easy to get to. In addition, there are many copper and iron nodes around the Hub and Squin, ironworks can be set up in the area without too much hassle, and we also gain access to the Thieves' Guild and their services in the Hub.
You are just a lone wanderer with nothing but a few coins, a pair of pants and a rusty sword, ready to venture out into the world. This is the way the game is intended to be played.
The Wandering Trader
Wandering Traders most notably start the game off with a Pack Bull loaded with a Bull backpack. In addition, traders start with a Trader's Wooden Backpack and 75 relations with the Trader's Guild. We begin at Trader's Edge, north east of Heng.
Seeking to make your fortune, you spent the last of your savings on a backpack full of trade goods and a pack animal, and are about to start a new life as a trader.
The Holy Sword
The Holy Sword game start places us in a random town as a wanted criminal with a 20,000 cat bounty on our head from both the Holy Nation and United Cities. We start off wearing Ninja Rags and wielding an Edge Tye 3 Nodachi.
A down and out and wanted criminal, scavenging a battlefield you find something interesting. A legendary sword said to be the work of the gods themselves. Someone's going to be missing this, that's for sure. But who cares? It's YOUR legendary sword now.
The Cannibal Hunters
The Cannibal Hunters game start kicks off with us being mobbed by a horde of cannibals somewhere on the Cannibal Plains. It is possible to get into the nearby cannibal cages, pick the locks and then escape by sneaking.
"I seriously regret coming into cannibal territory. This was a stupid idea." WARNING: You will be attacked immediately upon game start. Not recommended for a first time play.
The Hive Exile
With nothing to our name, we start off as Hive race in a Hive Village in Vain -- a very dangerous biome.
You have been exiled from your hive for not loving the queen enough, sent out into the wilds with no food or equipment. If you don't die from pheremone withdrawl or beak things, you'll be faced with finding your place among the insane human civilisations.
Son of a Captain
The Son of a Captain starts off in the Hub of the Border Zone, in favor with the United Cities but hated by the Holy Empire. We start off wielding a Catun No. 3 katana.
Your father was a respected Captain in the United Cities army. He was killed in action, and after burning through your meagre savings looking for work, you find yourself penniless and hungry, with nothing left but your father's trusty katana and the shirt on your back. The United Cities are still your allies, but you will need them if you run into any troops from the Holy Empire. Those guys really hate you.
The Slaves
We start off as a couple slaves in Rebirth. It is best to get into the cages around the barracks before we get beaten up by Holy Sentinels. After that, we can plan our escape.
You are just another slave, working in the Holy Rebirth pits to build a pointless statue. You dream of the rumored free lands to the south, and hear tales of rebels to the north. HINT: Get into a cage straight away to avoid a beating.
Rock Bottom
Missing an arm and with nothing to our name, the Rock Bottom game start has us starting off in the Great Desert between Heft, Bark and Sho-Battai.
You've hit absolute rock bottom. You are alone, unarmed, naked and hungry, lost in the middle of a harsh desert teeming with slavers, and you just lost an arm. Good luck.
Empire Citizen
In the Empire Citizen game start, we start off in Sho-Battai of the Great Desert with 750 cats.
A simple citizen of the United Cities, you lost your job and your house at the whim of a noble lord. Faced with poverty and starvation, which is a crime in this place, you decide to head out of town and find some form of self-employment before you starve to death.
Holy Nation Citizen
Holy Nation Citizen game start places us at Bad Teeth of Okran's Pride or Stack of Okran's Gulf. We have 200 cats and 15 relations with the Holy Nation.
A simple citizen of the Holy Nation, you live in relative safety as long as you show obeisance to Okran and his priests. The world outside is said to be barbaric and violent and full of monstrosities, but you decide to venture out and decide for yourself.
Guy with a Dog
In the Guy with a Dog game start, we start with a Bonedog companion in Bast, surrounded by ravaged hamlets.
A homeless and hungry drifter rescues an abandoned puppy. It seems pretty useless. Maybe he will just eat it.
The Freedom Seekers
In the Freedom Seekers game start, we start off in a random waystation as a squad of six with 4,000 cats. At the beginning, only the Old Soldier squad member has any ability. This squad also begins with research progress. If we are lucky enough to begin at the waystation southeast of the Hub, that is probably the most advantageous game start possible.
Fed up with stifled city life and taxes, you gather a band to head out and found your own home base. You have assembled a group of 5 other like-minded people, and you've gathered a good supply of building materials to get started with.
Nobodies
Nobodies are a squad of five clean-slate characters that are best started in the Hub of the Border Zone. If we begin in Stobe's Garden or Venge, the beginning can be difficult. Check the above Wanderer section for the advantages of starting in and settling down in and around the Hub.
A group of five nobodies, with nothing to their name, ready to go out and do something about it.
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