Tribe Automation Setup
The colony build. Recruit, specialize, and automate a self-running base so tribesmen handle gathering and crafting while you explore. The accelerator every run wants.
At a glance
| What it is | A base setup, not a combat style. Tribesmen do the work so you do not. |
| Why it matters | Your proficiency caps at 50, a tribesman’s at 120. A solo run hits a hard ceiling a tribe ignores. |
| Core loop | Recruit, assign to strengths, supply, expand. |
| Pairs with | Any combat build. This is the layer underneath all of them. |
Recruiting tribesmen
- Beat an enemy below 20 percent health.
- Press E to deter. They fall unconscious and start gaining recognition.
- Keep them alive with bandages or liquid food (broth) in their inventory.
- Carry them home over your shoulder; recruit once recognition is met.
Cannot be recruited: Plunderers, named silver-bordered Elites, tribe Leaders, and Scouts.
Assigning work by trait
Check the Clan tab at the bonfire for each tribesman’s proficiencies and personality traits, then assign to strengths.
| Job | Give it to | Not to |
|---|---|---|
| Logging | High logging proficiency | A weak logger who stalls |
| Mining | High mining proficiency | A crafter you need elsewhere |
| Crafting station | Matching craft proficiency | A random body |
| Combat follower | High combat traits | A fragile gatherer |
They improve with repeated work, so recheck and reassign over time.
Setting a gathering area (the common snag)
Workers idle when the job points nowhere real.
- Open the map and drop a marker directly on the resource node.
- In the Work tab, select that pinned location.
- If the marker is even slightly off the nodes, they stand idle. Place it on the resource.
Storage that workers understand
Set a whitelist on each chest so only certain categories or items go in it. It keeps your base sorted and lets NPCs find materials.
- One chest for crafting materials.
- Separate chests for food, and for weapons and gear.
- Tighten whitelists to specific items when a chain needs it.
Direct control
Repair the Mask Control Node, then place the mask on a tribesman to play as them while your own character sleeps. You use their proficiencies (which beat your caps); the EXP improves them and Awareness still flows to you.
Do this in order
- Recruit two or three tribesmen as early as possible.
- Assign each to a job that matches their best proficiency.
- Set gathering markers precisely and whitelist your chests.
- Keep the tribe fed, watered, armored, and stocked with bandages.
- Expand the base and the roster as you climb metal tiers.
Watch out for
- Assigning jobs randomly instead of by trait.
- Off-target map markers that leave workers idle.
- Starving or under-equipping the tribe, which stops the whole engine.
- Taking followers into combat without food, water, armor, and bandages; death loses their specialization.
Related: the deep tribesmen guide for traits and direct control, and the base and automation guide for production chains.