Colony Phases
The arc from crash-landing to endgame exit, and the wealth-to-raid relationship that drives it. One cheatsheet.
At a glance
RimWorld has no linear tech gate and no boss ladder. The AI storyteller reads your colony and spends “raid points” to buy attackers. The more you own, the harder it hits. Progress is a race: grow your ability to defend faster than your wealth grows, then choose an ending.
| What sets the pace | Colony wealth first, colonist count second. Both feed raid points. |
| The trap | Overbuilding and hoarding. Excess value summons raids you cannot beat yet. |
| The exit | You pick an ending. Each triggers its own scripted mega-threat. |
| You can stop when | Never forced. Play indefinitely, or leave on your terms. |
The phases
| Phase | Rough timing | Threat driver | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crash-landing / start | Days 0 to ~10 | Tiny raids, single manhunters, weather. Starting factor keeps it light. | Food security, basic shelter, first defenses. |
| Establishment | Days ~10 to 40 | Small raids grow past the starting-factor grace period. | Reliable food, a chokepoint, temperature control, medicine. |
| Growth | Seasons 2 to 4 | Mid-size raids, sieges, mech clusters, first serious diseases. | Killbox or mountain defense, wealth control, better gear. |
| Wealth spike | Wealth past ~400,000 | Large raids, drop pods, sappers, breachers, toxic fallout, infestations. | Manage wealth on purpose, harden defenses, power armor and charge weapons. |
| Endgame | Your choice | The chosen exit spawns its own mega-threats. | Build and defend the ending: ship, gravship, Royal Ascent, Archonexus, or void. |
How wealth becomes raid size
Confirmed for the 1.x line (RimWorld Wiki):
- Formula: Raid Points = (Wealth Points + Pawn Points) x Difficulty x Starting Factor x Adaption Factor.
- Storyteller wealth = item wealth + creature wealth + (building wealth x 0.5). Buildings count at half.
- Wealth points curve: 0 at 14,000 wealth or below, 2,400 at 400,000, 3,600 at 700,000, 4,200 at 1,000,000. Above 1,000,000, wealth stops adding points.
- Pawn points: each free colonist is worth 15 at very low wealth, up to 140 at 400,000 and 200 at 1,000,000. Slaves count at 75 percent, cryptosleeping pawns at 30 percent, babies at 0.
- Difficulty multiplier: Peaceful 0.10, Community builder 0.30, Adventure story 0.60, Strive to survive 1.00, Blood and dust 1.55, Losing is fun 2.20.
- Starting factor: 0.7 at day 10 and earlier, ramping to 1.0 by day 40.
- Adaption factor: a safety net, not a ramp. It lowers raid size after colonists are downed or killed, then returns toward normal.
- Bounds: minimum 35 points, maximum 10,000. Randy Random additionally multiplies raid size by 50 to 150 percent after the cap.
Do this in order
- Land, secure food, and put up a quick shelter. The starting factor gives you a grace window, so use it.
- Raise real walls, one controlled entrance, and firing lanes. Get a doctor, medicine, and a freezer running.
- Build production and power. Start a killbox or plan a mountain base before mid-size raids arrive.
- Watch effective wealth. Keep value in weapons, armor, and defenses, not idle hoards and decor.
- Field power armor, charge weapons, and anti-siege tools before the wealth spike stacks large raids on you.
- Pick an ending, build it, and survive its scripted finale.
Watch out for
- Hoarding raw materials. Stored resources count at full wealth. Large silver and steel piles inflate raids fast.
- Losing pawns as a strategy. The adaption factor softens raids after a death, but a dead colonist is still a serious setback.
- Ignoring the wealth spike. Raid points keep climbing to a cap at 1,000,000 wealth. Match defense growth to wealth growth.
Related
- Starting scenario cheatsheet for the choices that open the run.
- Raids and events deep guide for how each threat behaves and scales.
- Research and the economy deep guide for the wealth system in full.