RimWorld: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Beating the Game

This guide offers a clear, practical step-by-step structure for building a stable colony and successfully finishing the game via the classic spaceship ending. The focus is on a standard game with a Crashlanded start and medium difficulty.

Phase 1 – Start (Day 1–3): Securing Survival

Hit pause and analyze the map
Identify fertile soil, geysers, choke points, cover and good build areas.

Pick a location
Close to fertile soil, geysers and natural defenses.

Assign colonist roles
Sensibly assign medicine, construction, cooking, farming and research.

Build the first shelter
Barracks, base camp, simple kitchen. Store everything under a roof.

Secure food
Gather berries, hunt, cook simple meals.

Build a cold room
Small room, cooler at −2°C, store food and medicine.

First defenses
Choke point, sandbags, hand out starting weapons.

Phase 2 – Early Colony (Day 3–15): Stabilization

Expand farming
Rice (fast), corn (stockpile), potatoes (poor soil).

Optimize mood
Private bedrooms, dining area, recreation room.

Start researching
Solar Panels, Batteries, Stonecutting, Microelectronics.

Secure power
Solar + wind + later geothermal. Batteries in a separate room.

Organize storage
Central storage room, refrigerated food, dump zones outside.

Improve your defensive structure
Kill zone with traps, cover and clear attack paths.

Phase 3 – Mid Colony (Day 15–60): Economy & Tech

Set up Stonecutting
Stone walls as a fireproof foundation.

Optimize production chains
Kitchen, tailoring, smithy/fabrication.

Medical infrastructure
Clean hospital, medicine in the cold room.

Colonist management
Only sensible recruits, mood rules, good clothing.

Establish trade
Comms Console, Trade Beacon, sell surplus goods.

Research toward the ship
Unlock Multi-analyzer and ship tech.

Phase 4 – Late Colony (Day 60+): Spaceship Construction

Research all ship techs
Computer core, Sensors, Engines, Reactor, Caskets.

Decide on the ship's location
A stable area with good cover and a defensive zone.

Build the ship components
Connect everything together.

Secure materials
Steel, Plasteel, Uranium, Components, Advanced Components.
Use Deep Drills + Scanner.

Phase 5 – Endgame: Reactor Startup and Survival

Activate the reactor
Start the countdown, expect massive raid waves.

Set up final defenses
Reinforce the kill zone, autoturrets, firefoam, fallback rooms.

Plan cryptosleep
Put colonists into the caskets only at the last minute.

Survive the final days
Focus on repairs, medicine, defense, no outside missions.

Launch and escape
Timer's up, everyone in the ship: lift off and finish the game.

Common Mistakes and Key Ground Rules

Avoid the usual mistakes

Open bases without choke points

No stable food chain

Ignored mood problems

Too much expansion without a foundation

Practical ground rules

Ignore bad recruits

Only take sensible quests

Don't waste resources

Accept restarts if necessary