new I just bought the game, what are your tips for just starting out

[neoladdTTV]

I held back on buying this game for a while, it looks pretty daunting survival and mechanic wise. I'll probably be grabbing some nice mods though, what are some tips or things you wish you knew before when starting out? I want to get a good start instead of going in blind. also on the topic of mods, I have an RTX 2070 super and an I7-7700k so should I avoid terrain changing mods that may reduce performance? or graphical mods? It's a pretty mid spec PC. I wish I had a higher spec. 

[Rainbow Fresh]

Welcome to the game and forums!

Can't say much on performance. My game runs mostly smooth, unless the expected lag when generating new terrain at slightly higher than default render distance - had that in TOBG too. And some occasional, seemingly random lag spikes. But I can't say if that is my 60 mods, the game, or my PC.

As for what to expect; yes, Vintage Story is a comparatively hard survival game. Comparative to your average vanilla Minecraft, for example. There are certainly modpacks out there that make MC much harder than Vintage Story, but so are there such mods for VS aswell. Prepare to expect falling on your ass when you underestimate challenges, don't think you can always just run in guns blazing into any encounter, take winter *very* seriously and expect to spend a fair bit longer on some things.

As for tips for starting out... I think these two threads already cover a few good things to keep in mind.

 

 

And so does this thread give you an idea or two for what mods you might want to look into:

Ultimately though, it depends on you what you want from the game. Terrain generation mods you should certainly look into beforehand, but most other things can be added later if you feel the need for it. Just always keep in mind to backup your world before meddling with the modlist, and make sure to only focus on mods that are compatible with the current major version of the game (1.22.x)

[Vratislav]

There is also quite straightforward guide that can help in first days, although following it means you will lost the appeal of trial and error. 

And don't get worried if your first worlds will not go well, just wrap it up if your are going nowhere and start again. My first long time world was like fifth or sixth attempt after being mauled by wolfs, drifters, bears and pigs, and almost froze on second of May. 

For worldgen mods, I think that increasing default world height by one or two steps does not kill the performance. I have about five years old gaming laptop (do not remember video specs, but 16G RAM) and usually play with 320 world height without issues.(I could even play higher worlds, but then the sea level rises over 150 and it is already too much to dig to the bottom for some late game ores that occur only there.)

[Sparticus247]

I'd say turn the difficulty down a bit for world 1 as well as go without any mods. This is your learning world. Allow items to stay on you after death. Give the monster spawn a couple days delay. Turn up the surface copper bits.

This gives you breathing time to get used to game mechanics, and have a MUCH better idea of what mods you really would like to improve vanilla play. Do your real world after about 15 hours, enough time to get to copper and dabble in first farms.

1 silly piece of advice I have is try to use granite, chert, or other hard stones for tools and save all your flint for later. Much more valuable for fire clay than a 30th axe.

Edited May 27 by Sparticus247
Added a few extra points

[HalfAxd]

Find water on the map... look for cattails to make your initial inventory (baskets).

Pickup flint and sticks (break branchy leaves).

If you see a trader, mark that spot.  You can use it as a hiding place on night one.

Stay out of the forests... bears and wolves want their dinner.  Avoid the area they are in... the world is very large.  Later use trenches to trap them. 

Always carry a stack of dirt.  Helps if you fall into a cave or if you see a bowtorn (make a quick pillar to hide behind)

Have fun, restart often if you don't like your start of the world you generated.

[CABLES]

Terrain changing mods can reduce performance, but for the most part I've had no issues with them, and my rig seems about on par with yours.

Generally, Vintage Story's extant systems are very well fleshed-out. I don't think there are any content mods you "have" to install from the get-go, since they tend to expand existing systems and add a lot of complexity to the game: Not very new-player-friendly. I'd recommend saving the content mods for after you've survived your first winter, unless you come across something that really, really annoys you in-game which you feel you absolutely have to fix.

That said, the only two mods I would recommend out of the gate are ChunkLOD and Fast Map. ChunkLOD lets even mid-tier systems like my own have render distances in the thousands of blocks; it's a level-of-detail renderer akin to Minecraft's Distant Horizons. It's very customizable and extremely performant. Fast Map is a tweak that keeps explored chunks saved to your hard drive to save your framerate when you're traveling around in-game. It'll bloat the hell out of your world size, but it does wonders for your FPS, especially if you like exploring.

[wurms]

The best advice I can give is to read everything. Pay attention to tooltips, the handbook, the chat log, the info box at the top of your screen, etc.

Generally speaking the game is pretty intuitive after you orient yourself to its controls and hands-off approach.

Early on, food will be your greatest struggle as you play as a hungry little fella who eats like 20 steaks a day! Securing stable food opens the game up significantly.

Use the tools the game gives you to your advantage. Mark everything you find on the mini-map, and use the handbook if you are unsure how to do something or what to do next.

Try not to let your guard down unless you are in an area you know is safe. Playing absent-mindedly can be very dangerous, especially early. Stay alert out there!

Take your time and be methodical early on, as it is the hardest and most unforgiving/punishing point in a playthrough. Its okay to barely get by for your first few days, you are trying to survive starting with nothing after all.

In terms of getting a good start, there is a lot of RNG involved and honestly don't worry too much about your world spawn. Travel and exploration is a core part of the game and regardless of how nice your spawn is you will have to travel to find some resource or another at some point. It's always okay to restart and use newly acquired knowledge to do better next time! This game becomes easier the more you learn about it!

For your first base, just try to get a roof over your head to protect from the elements and other dangers. For choosing a permanent place to settle, any location with a relatively flat area with access to fresh water and wood not too far away is a good choice. But if you find an area you really like that differs in some way you can ignore any or all of those criteria. Do what sounds fun!

Note that on default settings, some areas are temporally unstable (they make your gear next to your health bar turn counterclockwise) and will slowly make you go insane by being there. If you dislike this I think there is a way to disable it but I don't remember exactly how.

Remember the basics of survival: Shelter, Fire, Food, Water! (you don't need to drink in vanilla but water is still necessary for progression).

Welcome to Peak Story and have fun!

[neoladdTTV]

4 hours ago, CABLES said:

Terrain changing mods can reduce performance, but for the most part I've had no issues with them, and my rig seems about on par with yours.

Generally, Vintage Story's extant systems are very well fleshed-out. I don't think there are any content mods you "have" to install from the get-go, since they tend to expand existing systems and add a lot of complexity to the game: Not very new-player-friendly. I'd recommend saving the content mods for after you've survived your first winter, unless you come across something that really, really annoys you in-game which you feel you absolutely have to fix.

That said, the only two mods I would recommend out of the gate are ChunkLOD and Fast Map. ChunkLOD lets even mid-tier systems like my own have render distances in the thousands of blocks; it's a level-of-detail renderer akin to Minecraft's Distant Horizons. It's very customizable and extremely performant. Fast Map is a tweak that keeps explored chunks saved to your hard drive to save your framerate when you're traveling around in-game. It'll bloat the hell out of your world size, but it does wonders for your FPS, especially if you like exploring.

https://mods.vintagestory.at/thedungeon you happen to know if this works on 7.2.2

[CABLES]

18 hours ago, neoladdTTV said:

https://mods.vintagestory.at/thedungeon you happen to know if this works on 7.2.2

Not sure. Not sure it's necessary, either, because procedurally generated dungeons are now a vanilla feature as of the most current game version.

[Guimoute]

> what are your tips for just starting out

None! Enjoy big new to the game and clueless. It doesn't last. 

[hstone32]

Here's a concept that new players seem to frequently miss:

The perceived scarcity of materials depends a lot on your ability to travel. When you first start, hunger, cold, weakness, and other factors prevent you from traveling very far from your home, and so you end up finding fewer resources. Your goal in the early stages should be to find ways to increase your ability to travel. Crafting armor, warm clothing, improving food production/preservation, etc. As you cover a larger area, important materials become more and more common.

Edit: Oh and on that note, whenever you go exploring, always bring a prospecting pick with you. Sample every square kilometer or so.

Edited Thursday at 09:22 PM by hstone32

[neoladdTTV]

5 hours ago, CABLES said:

Not sure. Not sure it's necessary, either, because procedurally generated dungeons are now a vanilla feature as of the most current game version.

that explains alot 

[neoladdTTV]

4 hours ago, hstone32 said:

Here's a concept that new players seem to frequently miss:

The perceived scarcity of materials depends a lot on your ability to travel. When you first start, hunger, cold, weakness, and other factors prevent you from traveling very far from your home, and so you end up finding fewer resources. Your goal in the early stages should be to find ways to increase your ability to travel. Crafting armor, warm clothing, improving food production/preservation, etc. As you cover a larger area, important materials become more and more common.

Edit: Oh and on that note, whenever you go exploring, always bring a prospecting pick with you. Sample every square kilometer or so.

prospecting pick, got it 

[Maelstrom]

My tips for new players...

First and foremost - EVERYTHING is a resource.  Not just the items you collect.  Your inventory, time, even that green hunger bar.   Use them wisely. 
If food is scarce, walk don't run and don't hold anything in your off-hand unless absolutely necessary.   
Don't pick up every item that you find use for, pick up only the ones you need right now and mark the map for other items. 
Don't sleep at night, it only consumes hunger; instead do things from the safety of your cave or clay hobbit hole.  Do things like knap tool heads and form clay items for firing.

Here's an example of what my first few days look like:
My first day I focus on picking up every piece of loose flint and sticks, 64 reeds (40 for inventory baskets and 24 for a reed basket), food and then up to a stack of 16 logs.  I finish the day by finding a clay deposit and dig in for the night when I form 1 clay vessel, 1 bowl, 1 crucible and 2 cook pots and get them firing in pit kilns (be careful to dig out enough space so you don't set yourself ablaze).  While the clay items are firing I knap 4 axe, knife and shovel tool heads (flint tool heads stack to 4) but I don't finish crafting them into tools and take them with me on the next day's adventures.  During that first day I mark everything I'll be needing in the future; copper nuggets, resin, bees, all the crops and any berries that I'll want to collect later.  And sometimes that later is almost the end of the summer.

Since farming and animal husbandry take quite a while, you'll be foraging/hunting for most likely 2 months or longer.  Make those calories last as long as you can, which means cooking meals in the cook pot; this is why I fire cook pots and the bowl the first night.  I only eat raw food the first day.  Once I have my cook pots, I cook meals to increase the satiation from the food a hunt/gather. Day 2 I start looking for the place I'm going to make my permanent home, marking resources as I find them and only picking up sticks, flint, food and enough logs or peat to cook meals.

After I find my "forever" home, I build a dirt hut and begin moving my worldly possessions, which are purposefully kept meager because of the known move.  Once I've moved then I begin digging up the copper I marked, dig up some medium fertility soil and start a farm in a lake/pond so that I can have a reliable source of food and collect a few stacks of logs to convert into charcoal for the upcoming copper smelting.

All of that is optimized initial game play from a few years of playing, the early game stresses me out a bit so I like to get to a self-sufficient state where I have my own production for meat, veggies, and bees before I get to winter rather than hunting and gathering (coz I suck at hunting).  Find a pace that is fun for you.  I've seen utoobers or streamers that take their time and don't even begin prospecting for ores until the second summer. 

I hope this helps.   Sorry for the wall o' words.

[BurgerDaddy]

On 5/27/2026 at 1:46 PM, CABLES said:

Fast Map is a tweak that keeps explored chunks saved to your hard drive to save your framerate when you're traveling around in-game. It'll bloat the hell out of your world size, but it does wonders for your FPS, especially if you like exploring.

Are you sure you referenced the correct mod here? I was interested in both of these, have not tried them yet, but the description on the page for FastMap seems different than what you describe here, and less what I’m interested in.

[neoladdTTV]

fast map seems to whole in all your loaded chunks in memory, which can be problematic. seems like you would just run out of memory and crash 

[CastIronFabric]

8 hours ago, BurgerDaddy said:

Are you sure you referenced the correct mod here? I was interested in both of these, have not tried them yet, but the description on the page for FastMap seems different than what you describe here, and less what I’m interested in.

 

4 hours ago, neoladdTTV said:

fast map seems to whole in all your loaded chunks in memory, which can be problematic. seems like you would just run out of memory and crash 

 

Vintage Story Vanilla creates map files in VintagestoryData\Maps folder and those files grow as you move around and can get rather large. Additionally those files do not delete if you delete the world the map is on, you have to do that manually.

I think this is how they solved the slow map loading problem when in full color. How is that different from what you are describing as 'fast maps' I do not know., it seems like the same thing.

Side Note: If you delete those files you still keep your markers but the 'fog of war' disappears.

 

 

[CastIronFabric]

On 5/27/2026 at 12:30 AM, neoladdTTV said:

I held back on buying this game for a while, it looks pretty daunting survival and mechanic wise. I'll probably be grabbing some nice mods though, what are some tips or things you wish you knew before when starting out? I want to get a good start instead of going in blind. also on the topic of mods, I have an RTX 2070 super and an I7-7700k so should I avoid terrain changing mods that may reduce performance? or graphical mods? It's a pretty mid spec PC. I wish I had a higher spec. 

My advise:

In my personal opinion,

1. I would start with no mods, as a new player it can get overwhelming to start adding mods right off the bat with no game play experience. The game is already rather overwhelming as it is not to mention if you start adding terrain changing mods you are not going to have a point of reference as to if the game naturally looks that way or not and you are not going to know if the performance is being impacted because you do not have a baseline yet.

2. I would 'down regulate' the game play  setting instead of 'up regulating' the settings as a baseline start. In other words, I would make your first play easy rather than hard right off the bat. Some of the game mechanics takes awhile to learn and get used to, there is not really a compelling reason I can think of to be concerned about other factors like monsters, aggressive, hunger while you are also trying to figure out how to Smith for example. Once you are proficient at Smithing (for example) then it makes sense to up regulate your difficulty.

 

Edited Saturday at 12:09 PM by CastIronFabric