Against the Storm Beginner Guide

If you’re a newcomer to the world of Against the Storm then you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed right about now. What’s all this talk about ‘Rainpunk’ mean? How are you supposed to keep everyone, including your Queen, as happy as possible while still surviving in the hostile environment of the dark forest? Perhaps most importantly: What’s a Viceroy? All, or at least some, of these questions, will be answers in this, our Against the Storm beginner guide.

Getting Started with the Against the Storm Beginner Guide

The first thing you’ll need to do is familiarize yourself with a few different terms to become comfortable in the world of beavers and rain. First up is Rainpunk. You may notice that beavers like to work with rainpunk technology, so you’ll probably want to know what that is. When you’re constructing a new building, if it seems like it’s being powered by a waterwheel despite not being next to a river, then that’s a rainpunk building that your beavers will enjoy working in. Problem solved. 

For your first few games, don’t try to focus on everything at once. Against the Storm has a very well-thought-out tutorial section that walks you through the basic mechanics of the game with lowered difficulty. As you play through your first two settlements, more elements will be introduced until everything gets fully dialed up at your third. So just take your time, read everything very carefully, and you should be able to get to terms with it all without too much issue. 

The main focus of Against the Storm is on successfully completing your goals in a settlement and moving on. Don’t get too attached to a place because remaining behind to work on it will not net you any progress at all. This philosophy of not wasting time should also extend to the fast-forward mechanic. Unless you have literally nothing to do, avoid using this mechanic too often. Not only does it make the Queen angry with you much quicker, but it also means the forest around you becomes hostile much more quickly as well. 

Surviving After the Against The Storm Tutorial 

There are some important tips to take into account after you first finish the two tutorial scenarios. Firstly, don’t immediately redeem any quests that you complete. Handing in these quests gives you resources, and also reduces the Queen’s impatience with you. As long as you don’t need the resources straight away for something important, it can be worth waiting for the opportune moment to claim your reward. Allow the Queen’s impatience to build up a bit first so you have a way of reducing it. You don’t want to be caught up on the final really difficult quest as that impatience bar gets close to the top. 

You should also not be afraid of unassigning workers or moving around your buildings. The move button is completely free, and you should be using it pretty often in almost every game. Remember, nothing is permanent here, especially since you’ll be moving onto a new village shortly, so don’t spend ages placing everything correctly. If you have no need for advanced building products, unassign workers from your workshops. If your stonediggers have run out of resources, immediately move the camp somewhere else to keep it working. Against the Storm is all about utilizing every opportunity and resource that you have. 

Against the Storm - General Tips and Tricks

Below are a few tips and tricks that we think will help you to make your way in the world of Against the Storm. These could save your bacon in a worst-case scenario, so make sure you’ve got them memorized when you play.

Look for Yellow Squares

When you’re placing a new camp, the resources that it needs to function will be highlighted in yellow squares. If you don’t see any yellow squares, then there’s no point building that camp yet. Clear some more trees and reach some more glades first. 

Woodcutters Need to be Close to their Target

If you keep setting targets for your woodcutters, but they’re not getting to them, double-check them closely. If they seem greyed out this means that there’s no woodcutter camp close enough to actually cut down those trees. Try relocating one of your camps closer to your target. 

You Don’t Need to Spend all Your Points

Between settlements, the game will warn you if you haven’t spent all of your upgrade points before you start your next village. However, the game will keep warning you even if you don’t have enough points to actually buy anything, so don’t worry too much about those warnings if you’ve bought everything you think will be useful. 

Read Through Events Carefully

As you play the game, you’ll eventually be greeted with events, either emissary from the Queen to bring you special resources, new settlers, or even special events from dangerous clearings. Make sure that you take your time and read through these as carefully as possible. They can often contain a small print that has a dramatic effect on your success, and can really make or break your village, especially in later years.