Follow the Day 1–5 build order: Woodcutter's Camp + Forager's Hut → Communal Kitchen + 4 Basic Beds → Subterranean Mushroom Plots → Expedition Tent (placed, not deployed) → Palisade Walls. After Day 5 send a four-person party of Shieldbearer, Herbalist, and two Rangers into Floor 1–2 only.
More context
The opening loop is gather, sleep, eat, craft, research, farm, store, prepare. Each day of the plan solves one recurring failure: starvation, debuff, food scaling, party formation, defense. The plan assumes Normal difficulty, where active-skill energy costs are reduced by 25%.
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Day 1–5 build order
Day 1 — Woodcutter's Camp + Forager's Hut (50 Wood, 10 Stone)
Loot the Support Wagon for free rations, tools, and starter materials. Produce a baseline of wood and berries without starving anyone.
Day 2 — Communal Kitchen + 4 Basic Beds (80 Wood, 20 Stone)
Removes the Slept on Ground debuff (-20% work speed) and prevents early starvation. Place the Communal Kitchen within 3 grid tiles of primary food storage for ~15% efficiency.
Day 3 — Subterranean Mushroom Plots (15 Wood, 5 Spores)
25 mushrooms every 36 hours; outperforms surface foraging within five in-game days. Stop relying on Forager's Hut berries as the main food by Day 5.
Day 4 — Expedition Tent, do not deploy (100 Wood, 50 Stone)
Place it but leave the entrance empty. No leveled gear, no Antidotes, and no stabilized food surplus yet. Use spare wood to pre-build a second Basic Workstation.
Day 5 — Palisade Walls and first dungeon dip (120 Wood)
Wall food storage, then send the first party into Floors 1–2 only. Keep total bed count matched to population; over-building before Day 10 invites bandit raids.
First party loadout
| Slot | Role | Setup |
|---|---|---|
1× Shieldbearer | Tank | — |
1× Herbalist | Healer | — |
2× Rangers | Ranged DPS | — |
Survival rules during your first runs
Pause constantly — press Spacebar before dangerous enemy actions; there are no turn or round limits. Pull melee back from enemies with a flashing red health bar; most enemies deliver an AoE on death. Do not push past Floor 3 until food surplus is stabilized and Antidotes are stockpiled. Maintain roughly a 3-to-1 surface-to-expedition ratio: three settlers gathering, farming, cooking and crafting per one explorer keeps production alive while a party is down.
What to read next
For the recurring failures and resource-priority checklist, see Beginner Mistakes and Early Resources. For what to research first, see Research Order. For the in-dungeon survival loop, see Survival Needs.
FAQ
Which dungeon regions are in Early Access?
Early Access launched on September 4, 2026 and covers two playable regions: Veil of Silence (5 floors, boss Giant Stone Golem) and Festering Burrow (5 floors, boss Chain Knight Sentinel). The full release envisions six regions.
What is the party size cap in Dungeon Settlers?
Default party size is 4 members, scaled to 6 at Rank 2 and 8 at Rank 3 by patch v0.4.23. Permadeath applies inside dungeons.