Are you looking to build your grand designs in a place in the sun? This Nightingale guide is all about location, location, location. We set a bounty asking our budding community of Nightingale players where the best place is to lay down roots, factoring in considerations such as biome, safety, topography, proximity to points of interest and resources, and of course a cracking view. With hundreds of hours of gameplay between them, this is what they said:
Choosing the right biome
First things first: you need to select the ideal biome. Puck will ask you what your preference is towards the end of the tutorial, and that will determine the Biome Card he later gives you. Our community agrees that the Forest Biome is the safest choice, thanks to its relative lack of environmental threats and its abundance of construction materials.
For those with a fondness for the fenny, Dave notes that the swamp isn’t a bad choice either. “Both forest and swamp have ample starting resources of wood, stone, and ore to get you going. True, you need to be wary of the diseased waters in the swamp, but these can be circumvented or jumped over using the knife’s secondary attack to lunge forward.”
On the other hand, everyone agrees not to start in the Desert Biome. That is, unless you’re a glutton for the sun’s punishment. Here’s Dave again:
“Resources are more difficult to find in the desert, and you have to protect yourself from the heat nonstop, which can be frustrating.”
Topography and geography
You may be tempted to head to the top of the tallest mountain to guarantee yourself some prime alpine real estate, but you might regret it after your fifth trip hauling stone blocks up the precipitous slopes. Our Just About Nightingale community members agree that compromise is the name of the game here, at least at first.
Dave recommends looking for a “flat, open area with no wildlife”. Sure, you can clear the land of vegetation, “but these are likely to return in the future, so an empty space is preferable for a clean build”.
The flattest path isn’t always the most rewarding. Lanah Tyra grappled with decisions of practicality vs a killer view, but was pleased she’d opted for the high road:
“The game suggested that I build next to the shore, but I wanted a good view of my surroundings so I built mine on a rocky cliff near a forest. That gave me a good source of ore as well as nearby wood and deer. Sure, you’re further away from the sea, but you can always cast your lure in a river, so make sure one of the two is close to hand. I have to say, I didn’t regret it from an aesthetic standpoint either; look at this beautiful crimson sunset.”
Another reason to aim higher is the diminishing relevance of location later in the game. Sturmer has clocked the most hours of anyone in our Nightingale community and had this to say:
“Flat valleys are stylish and practical, allowing for easy movement. However, with teleportation, you can opt for a more unconventional base location, like building your fortress on the 50th floor. I did that for the spectacular views, though it might not be the most practical choice.”
Resources
As Lanah touched on, proximity to resources is very important, especially in the early game when you’ll only be harvesting in your Respite Realm. Dave set up his base on the shore, and he does like to be beside the seaside:
“Around the shore, there’s plenty of driftwood which only requires a single axe hit to provide three pieces of wood. There’s usually ample ore and rock by coastal cliffs too, which is crucial for the production of early-game tools, weapons, and crafting benches. Plus, you can usually find packs of wolves nearby for meat and bones if you’re in the Forest Biome. While these resources can be found across the entire map, around the shore they’re not only in closer proximity to one another, but they’re easier to spot due to the open sightlines.”
The reason one’s base’s proximity to resources becomes less important is because you’ll start using other realms for harvesting. Here’s Sturmer: “I’ve even set up realms specifically designed as factories, using Minor Cards to create optimal conditions for crafting and gathering.”
Proximity to other sites
As well as resources, you may want to position yourself close to other important sites in your Respite Realm. That includes the Site of Power where you’ll find your first Essence Trader. As Dave notes, nesting nearby will give your feet a rest: “While they become fairly redundant in the later game, being close to these sites early on will remove the slog of travelling long distances to complete early objectives.”
The old adage ‘what comes up must go down’ is relevant in reverse here. Remember Lanah’s clifftop base?
“From my cliff to the local trader and portal is just a short umbrella jump away, but climbing back up is… a little more time consuming.”
Sturmer advises players to build their base no more than 100 metres from their Respite Realm’s static portal, even suggesting the cool idea of incorporating that portal into their base design. The same goes for Realmic Transmutors, which are used to deploy Minor Cards.
“Minor Cards are pivotal. Initially, I recommend the Trickster card for three reasons: 1) its enhanced jumping ability allows for faster exploration, 2) fall damage is negated, which will help you master your umbrella, and 3) mixed drops let you gather meat from plants, saving you the effort of hunting.”
Sturmer goes on to recommend switching your Respite Realm Minor Card to the Settler Apogean card as you advance, “to provide an infinite supply of ingots and plants vital for base construction.”
Now while there are plenty of things you’ll want to build your base close to, there are also some things you’ll want to build your base away from. Namely, threats. Here’s Sturmer once more:
“Abeyance Realms - the Major Realmcard you’ll want to use for your homestead - are quite secure. But to avoid annoyance, know that all creatures have fixed spawn points. Ensure your base isn’t on top of a recently cleared boar or wolf spawn point. Simply moving 100 metres away should suffice to avoid pesky neighbours.”
A room with a view
You may have noticed a pattern in this Nightingale base location guide: the most important considerations in the early game become less significant as you progress. It won’t be long before you can build your own portals and portable Realmic Transmutors. Having invested nearly 100 hours into Nightingale, Sturmer says that the most important base-location consideration is aesthetics.
That alpine villa doesn’t sound like such a bad idea after all.
Some text has been amended for brevity. You can find the original wording at the bounty post. Images supplied by bounty winners, courtesy of Inflexion Games.
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