Locations of KenshiReport

English：Locations of Kenshi　·　Locations

Kenshi's surface is stitched together from about 70 "zones" spanning roughly 870 square kilometres. This page breaks the map down by compass direction — regional belts, spheres of influence and city distribution — and says where a new player should and should not go.

Kenshi has no levels and no gates barring your way. The entire map is open from the first second: you can walk into the Ashlands three minutes into a new game and be disassembled by the Skeleton Legion two minutes later. The map itself is the difficulty curve, and that curve is not printed anywhere in the UI.

What a zone is

The game cuts the surface into roughly 70 "zones". A zone is more than a change of texture: each one carries its own soil, water and fertility, mineral density, seasonal weather, and a complete enemy spawn table. "What you meet here" is hard-coded into the zone data and does not scale with the player's strength — running into a pack of Beak Things in the Bonefields is not because you got stronger; it is because the Bonefields belong to the Beak Things.

Broken down by direction

Northwest: the corner that eats people

Leviathan Coast, The Iron Trail, Cannibal Plains, Purple Sands, Berserker Country, The Shrieking Forest, Floodlands, Hidden Forest.

One of the densest concentrations of hostility on the map. Cannibals spill out of the Cannibal Plains, Shrieking Bandits and Berserkers brawl over the same ground, single encounters of 40-plus are routine, and going down means being carried back to a camp and eaten. The Floodlands add an endless drizzle and Iron Spiders; its giant structures were the First Empire's Skeleton production facilities.

The north and the Holy Nation's frontier

Northern Coast, Darkfinger, Okran's Valley, Arm of Okran, Wend, Rebirth, Bast.

The northern half of the Holy Nation. The western peak of the Arm of Okran holds World's End, capital of the Tech Hunters and home of the University of Machinists; the eastern peak is a Holy Nation military strongpoint. The Rebirth area is the Holy Nation's largest slave-labour mine. Bast is the de facto front line between the Holy Nation and the United Cities — the Holy Nation once punched through the border defences, executed the local nobles and burned the whole region flat, and the standoff has lasted at least 15 years since.

Northeast: the heart of the United Cities

The Great Desert, Sinkuun, Spine Canyon, Skimsands, Heng, Howler Maze, Gut, The Eye.

The capital Heft plus Stoat, Sho-Battai and Bark are scattered across the Great Desert, and Heng to the south is the Traders Guild's stronghold. The threat here is not animals but people: Slave Hunters, Manhunters, Sand Ninjas, mercenaries who will rob a stranger. Going down here usually ends with being sold, not eaten.

The centre: no man's land and the polluted belt

Okran's Pride, Okran's Gulf, Border Zone, Skinner's Roam, Iron Valleys, Deadlands, The Black Desert, Grey Desert.

Okran's Pride holds the Holy Nation capital Blister Hill; it is the most densely populated and most heavily patrolled region, and therefore the safest — at the cost of non-human races being dealt with on the spot. One step southeast is the Border Zone: the no-man's-land between the Holy Nation and the Shek Kingdom, covered in high-quality iron and copper, and simultaneously the hunting ground of the Dust Bandits and Starving Bandits. Most game starts begin here.

Further east lies the most toxic stretch in the game: Deadlands, Iron Valleys, The Black Desert — permanent acid rain, acid ground and gas clouds. The Skeleton city Black Desert City sits right in the middle of the Deadlands, using pollution as a moat to keep the Holy Nation out.

The west: Hivers and fog

Dreg, Vain, Fog Islands, Obedience, Raptor Island.

Vain is the homeland of the Western Hive; the red acid river running through its centre is lethal to humans and the Shek but mere scenery to the acid-immune Hivers. Copper quality is 100%, but Beak Things roam the surface. The Fog Islands are ruled by the Fogmen, with the free city of Mongrel — the only town belonging to no empire — at the centre, and Obedience at the northern end.

Southwest: Shek, spiders and empty ground

Stenn Desert, Spider Plains, Arach, Watcher's Rim, The Crater, South Wetlands, The Hook and others.

The Stenn Desert holds the Shek capital Admag, and is crowded with two breakaway tribes at once: Kral's Chosen and the Band of Bones. To the southwest, the Spider Plains and Arach are one continuous Skin Spider territory with the Bugmaster sitting deep inside. The Hook is a southern United Cities enclave.

The south: swamp and bonefields

The Swamp, Shem, Burning Forest, High Bonefields, Bonefields, Flats Lagoon, Fishman Island.

The Swamp is a gang economy: the Hounds control the city of Shark through the hemp and hashish trade, with four more gangs splitting the surrounding villages. Fertility is 100% and copper and iron are plentiful, making it a good growth region for a squad above 30 combat stats — provided you can handle Blood Spiders and Swamp Raptors. Flats Lagoon is a fortress city the Tech Hunters built out of abandoned offshore platforms, and the last resupply point going south.

Southeast: the so-called "Forbidden Zone"

Stormgap Coast, The Outlands, The Unwanted Zone, Venge, Stobe's Gamble, The Crags, The Pits, The Pits East, Greyshelf, Royal Valley, Sniper Valley, Sonorous Dark, Ashlands and others.

The Shek call this whole stretch the "Forbidden Zone", and they are not exaggerating: Venge is swept by orbital weapon beams during the day, The Unwanted Zone is a double nest of Beak Things and crabs, the Reavers of The Outlands will enslave and strip you, the Skin Bandits of Sonorous Dark will skin you alive, and the deepest point is the Ashlands. The exceptions are the Tech Hunters' Black Scratch (home of the Great Library) and the Anti-Slavers' capital Spring — the two footholds deep in the southeast.

Where a new player should go

Most game starts drop you at The Hub in the Border Zone. From there, the routes least likely to end a run are:

1. The inner Border Zone ring: The Hub ↔ Squin ↔ the Tech Hunter Waystation. Three trading points close together, 100%-quality iron and copper on the way, and dust storms as the only weather.
2. North to Stack in Okran's Gulf: weak local enemies, good for training, suited to trading and thieving routes; recommended only for all-human squads.
3. Southeast into the Swamp: wait until the squad has 30 combat stats.

Three things explicitly not recommended for beginners: heading west to mine copper in Vain (Beak Things are too fast to escape; the wiki suggests at least 40 combat stats), going south into the Fog Islands looking for Mongrel (Fogmen prioritise tearing off limbs; if you must go, run, do not fight), and entering any "ancient ruins" type location (Security Spiders kill characters outright rather than knocking them out).

City list (by faction)

Related pages

The Map of Kenshi, Zone Danger Tiers, Ashlands, The World of Kenshi, Factions, Creatures