Tired of swinging a pickaxe at copper for hours and getting nowhere? Feel like the only thing Kenshi offers is bandits and beatdowns? You’re not alone—and you’re not wrong. Kenshi doesn’t hand out victories; you earn every step.
But with the right approach, you can turn that pain into power. This Kenshi Beginner Guide covers everything a new player needs to know—from surviving hunger and making your first money, to building toughness and choosing weapons, to recovering from lost limbs and even gaining powerful faction allies.
Kenshi Beginner Guide 2025
Choosing Your Start
Stick with the Wanderer start if you’re new. It’s the most forgiving option and gives you a clear path forward.
Which Race Should You Pick?
If you’re planning to play solo, race choice matters more.
If you’re building a squad, the effects balance out over time. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Human (Greenlander) – Balanced and beginner-friendly.
- Shek – Tough and strong. Great for melee builds.
- Skeleton – Immune to hunger, but costly to repair and hard to manage early. Better for second playthroughs.
- Hiver – Fragile limbs and weird anatomy. Challenging first pick.
Note: Race and gender affect how NPCs treat you. Kenshi is unapologetically harsh, both in gameplay and world design.
How to Survive Early Hunger
You’ll start with 1,000 cats. That’s not enough to live on, so you’ll need more food—fast.
Step 1: Copper Mining
- Head to The Hub.
- Find the nearby copper nodes just outside town.
- Mine enough to buy 10 dried meats.
If bandits show up, run back to town and let the guards handle them. You can loot unconscious bandits (especially leaders) and sell their gear for quick cash.
Pro Tip:
- Drop copper/iron before fleeing to run faster. Hit [Space] to pause and drop it.
- Hit [Alt] to see dropped items later.
Making Money in Kenshi
Option 1: The Risky Way – Stealing and Shoplifting
- Travel to Squin.
- Sneak to the second floor of the bar.
- Repeatedly pick up and drop items while sneaking to train Thievery to 75–80.
- Once you’re there, you can steal from containers and fence items safely (unless selling to the same faction you stole from).
Sneak Tips:
- Blue Eye: Hidden
- Yellow Eye: Maybe seen
- Red Eye: Spotted
- Sneak behind bandits or townsfolk to level up sneak.
- Use Ninja Rags or Assassin Rags to improve stealth.
Option 2: The Safe Way – Copper Mining & Body Luring
- Recruit Ruka (a Shek in Squin who joins for free).
- Mine copper until you can afford 2 Large Backpacks.
- Assign roles:
- One character mines copper nonstop.
- The other lures Dust Bandits to town guards for loot.
Why this works:
Dust Bandits are slow due to heavy gear. You don’t need high Athletics to outrun them.
Sell bandit loot or hand in bounties for extra cash (500–1,000 cats). Use bars or portable bedrolls to heal injured characters. Don’t forget a torch near your mining node to avoid penalties at night.
Building Toughness (Safely and Effectively)
Toughness determines your ability to survive fights. You gain toughness by taking hits and recovering from them—but not dying.
Here’s the Setup:
- Ruka becomes your fighter.
- The second character holds food, medkits, and a bedroll, and stays nearby to revive and heal.
The Process:
- Find Starving Bandits.
- Enable Block Mode and send Ruka in.
- Let her get beat up while she blocks.
- Once she’s down, heal her and let her rest.
- Repeat until Toughness 17.
Key Trick:
When a downed character is playing dead, manually force them to stand up. This gives a massive toughness boost (4–5 levels).
Important:
- Keep guards out of the equation.
- Hoard food on your support character—bandits will steal it if it’s on Ruka.
What Comes Next?
Once Ruka hits 30 Toughness and 30 Block, she’s strong enough for solo fights in the Border Zone. You can go further (50–60+) but that’s optional for now.
Combat Tips
- Hire mercenaries from bars if needed.
- Choose weapons based on your stats.
Weapon Guide for Beginners
Weapon stats matter. You can’t just pick the biggest sword and hope for the best.
Quick Breakdown:
- Weapon Weight × 2 = STR needed to wield it efficiently.
- Dexterity = attack speed
- Strength = raw damage and carry weight
- Weapon Skill = how effective you are with that weapon type
Weapon Types:
- Cutting Damage (Katanas, Sabres): Level Dexterity
- Blunt Damage (Planks, Heavy Weapons): Level Strength
- Hybrids: Level both
Starter Weapons to Try:
- Falling Sun (brutal damage)
- Desert Sabre (fast and efficient)
- Naginata / Nodachi (stylish, decent balance)
- Crossbows (strong in squad play)
Lost a Limb? Don’t Panic
In Kenshi, losing a limb can actually make your character stronger—if you replace it well.
Where to Get Robotic Limbs:
- Best Quality: Mongrel (dangerous location, wait till you have good Athletics).
- Budget Option: Hive Village north of Squin. Cheap robotic limbs with stat penalties, but still better than missing a leg.
Note: Watch out for Beak Things on the way. They are deadly, but Hiver territory spawns weaker versions.
How to Repair Limbs:
You’ll need:
- Repair Kits (expensive)
- Robotics skill (level it by repairing often)
How to Ally with Factions (Shek Example)
There are multiple ways to gain faction allies:
- Complete a quest for them
- Pay them (10k cats)
- Turn in enemy faction leaders
Shek Kingdom Trick (Exploit-Based)
- Fill Squin’s cages with bandits.
- Carry two captured enemies with Shek bounties.
- Hand one over to the police chief.
- With the second on your back, speak to the chief again.
- If all cages are full, he accepts the body multiple times, giving faction rep each time.
Result: Rapid Shek faction reputation boost without money.
Base Building – Should You Do It Yet?
Short answer: No.
Building a base too early is a recipe for disaster. You’ll constantly get raided and won’t be strong enough to defend yourself.
Minimum Stats Before You Build:
- 70 Melee Attack
- 70 Melee Defense
- 70 Toughness
- 40–60 Strength
- 40–60 Dexterity
- 70 Martial Arts & 80 Dodge (for unarmed builds)
Or distribute these stats among 3–4 strong characters.
Until then, roam, level up, and loot your way across the map.
Kenshi doesn’t care if you’re new. The game’s world is brutal, unbalanced, and full of pain—and that’s what makes it incredible.
