H1Z1 Base Building Tips and Crafting Recipes

For players that have spent any amount of time playing H1Z1 it will come as no surprise that building a base is a popular thing to do. Unfortunately, most of them are placed in high traffic areas and are poorly designed, meaning it takes other survivors about one minute to break in and steal all the gear. What the server is left with is not unlike a favela, with shacks and shanty’s lining the roads and water’s edge for as far as the eye can see.

Quite frankly, it gets just a little bit ridiculous, which is why we’re going to pass along some of our base building knowledge on this fine day. Not only have we never had our base broken into, we’re not entirely sure that it’s been found, aside from the odd wandering zombie or bear. Not to brag, but we kind of know what we’re doing here, so for players that keep losing all their gear, listen up.

Choosing a Location

There are some general rules that people want to follow when choosing the best location to build a base, and the first one is to avoid any areas that stand even a reasonable chance of discovery. This means avoiding areas like wells, roads, rivers and lakes, as well as any place that contains any type of loot that might show up on an external map. In fact, avoid the middle of the map entirely since there is a good chance someone will stumble across even a well hidden base if it sits between two points of interest. For example, there are secluded areas between Cranberry and Pleasant Valley, but people make that trip all the time, and any base in between will be discovered. When choosing the best location it’s advised to stick to the outer areas of the map.

Securing the Base

Due to the fact that walls and doors can no longer be destroyed, players on PvE servers have it easy. This means that putting important items in a structure with a roof, door and four walls will guarantee their safety. People can still break into the outer walls of the base by placing items next to it and jumping over, but they can’t do much once they’re inside. Just make sure that any items of value are locked away behind a door that requires an access code.

For players that are on PvP servers things are not quite as simple, since doors and walls can still be knocked down if the attacker has the right tool for the job. This means that just about any amount of work that players do can be undone, and often will be even when they aren’t logged in. This makes location extremely important, but even then there is significant risk. That’s the point though, right?

What is Needed to Craft a Base?

The short answer is that survivors will need a lot of different materials to craft a base, but the focus should be on Scrap Metal, and lots of it. That is the origin of almost every other metal item that a player will craft when it comes to creating a fortress. In fact, Scrap Metal is even a part of the recipe to build a Makeshift Hatchet, which can then be used to cut down trees for the required wood materials. It’s by far the most valuable resource in the base building process.

Here are a few items that players will need to build a base, and what materials are required to craft them. Keep in mind that due to frequent updates and game balancing, these recipes could change at any time, but we’ll do our best to update them frequently. Also note that some metal items need to be crafted in a Furnace, but this should be indicated in the recipe once it’s learned.