Base location tier list: best rooms by sector and what to look for

What makes a room a good base

Five criteria, in order of importance:

Sector-by-sector recommendations

Office Sector (early game)

Strong choices:

• Rooms adjacent to the cafeteria on Level 1 — close to the starting area, defensible geometry, and early power access
• Any room with a single door entry on Level 2 — the Data Farm area has several

Avoid:

• Large open rooms on Level 1 (Homeworld Room, Server Room) — too many approach vectors for Assault Events
• Rooms that require passing through enemy-heavy corridors to reach consistently

Manufacturing West (midgame)

Strong choices:

• Rooms near the Blacksmith that have been cleared of enemies — good geometry and progression-relevant proximity
• Staged forward bases near key locked doors — useful as expedition staging points rather than permanent bases

Avoid:

• The main garage floor — too exposed, too large

When to move your base

Move when:

• Your current location requires defending more than two chokepoints simultaneously
• You've progressed to a new sector and your return route to the base is longer than two sectors
• You've unlocked a faster travel option (tram) that makes a better-positioned base viable

Moving your base means: pick up the Crafting Bench (note that this may deactivate connected teleporters), re-establish power at the new location, and verify the new location passes all five criteria before committing.

Evaluating a room before committing

Walk through this checklist before placing your Crafting Bench in a new location:

1. Count the entry points. Stand in the room and identify every door, vent, or opening an enemy could enter through. More than two is a defense problem.
2. Find the nearest wall socket. The bench must be powered. If there's no socket within plug strip range, the room doesn't work without power infrastructure changes.
3. Trace the return route. Can you describe the path from the nearest dangerous area back to this room in one sentence? If not, the route is too complex.
4. Locate the nearest water source. Water Coolers and Tainted Water pools are the candidates. Note how far away the nearest one is.
5. Check floor space. Place a bed mentally. Place a bench mentally. Place two storage crates mentally. Is there still clear path to the door?

If all five pass, the room is a candidate. If two or more fail, move on.

Why not to optimize too early

Spending significant time fortifying an early-game base location that you'll outgrow in two hours is a common inefficiency. The early-game base only needs to survive until you reach Manufacturing West. After that, re-evaluate.

The base location decision matters most at the Manufacturing West stage and beyond, when Assault Events are harder and your crafting infrastructure is larger and more expensive to move.

Lighting and visibility as a selection criterion

A well-positioned room that cannot be properly lit is a weaker base than a slightly less convenient room that can be. When evaluating a candidate room, consider:

• Is the room geometry compact enough that a few lamps cover it completely?
• Are the entry corridors narrow enough that corridor lamps eliminate all dark segments?
• Is there enough wall space to mount Sconce Lamps at even intervals?

Rooms with irregular geometry, multiple alcoves, or very high ceilings are harder to light effectively. Prioritize rectangular or L-shaped rooms with standard ceiling height when all other criteria are equal. A well-lit base with one entry point is more defensible than a poorly-lit room with ideal sector placement.

See Also

• Assault Event Defense Guide
• Office Sector Route
• Manufacturing West Route