Conan Exiles Base Building Guide

Conan Exiles puts survival at the heart of its experience, and one of the most critical aspects of surviving in the harsh wilderness is building yourself a sturdy, practical base. Whether you're setting up a simple refuge to fend off the elements or planning a sprawling fortress capable of repelling raiders, understanding how to design and build effectively can greatly improve your quality of life in-game. From choosing the right location to managing resources wisely and fortifying your defenses, having a reliable and secure base makes your adventures across Conan Exiles' treacherous lands much smoother and more enjoyable. Let's take a closer look at the essentials of crafting strong, practical structures suited to your survival needs.

Picking the Right Location

Starting your Conan Exiles journey means you're going to need a place safe enough to call home. While it might seem tempting to place your base near resources or scenic spots, first consider a few important factors:

Water Access: Thirst is a constant concern, so find yourself a spot close to rivers, lakes, or streams. Not only for drinking, but water is also a necessity for farming and crafting basic items.
Resource Availability: Wood, stone, plant fiber, and iron are your lifelines in the early game. If you settle somewhere that has plenty of these within a short walk, you'll save tons of valuable time exploring later on.
Threat Level: While the wilderness is crawling with hostile wildlife, some areas are significantly more dangerous than others. Be cautious about settling near predator dens, caves, or enemy NPC camps early on. Instead, choose a spot that's relatively safe so you won't find yourself constantly fending off aggressors while trying to build.
Terrain Considerations: Look for flat even surfaces or areas that are easy to defend, with natural boundaries like cliffs or rock formations. A location that's mostly level helps make building plans simpler and less frustrating.

Gathering Your Materials

Before you drop foundations, stockpile a decent supply of basic materials. Your initial structure will primarily be sandstone, which is simple to craft and reasonably sturdy as a starting material. Here's what you're aiming for in these early stages:

Stone: Pick it off the ground or mine nodes with a pickaxe to start collecting rapidly.
Wood: Harvest trees using hatchets. Keep in mind they'll respawn, but deforestation too close to your home can leave your base exposed--so balance carefully.
Plant Fiber and Twine: Gather plant fiber by collecting bushes and plants all around. You can convert plant fiber into twine via your crafting menu; twine is needed even for basic building components.

Laying the Foundations

With materials gathered, place a few sandstone foundations down and start the basics of your structure. Here are a few practical tips to follow when placing pieces:

Size Matters: Don't overshoot and try to make your place huge at first. Smaller bases are quicker and cheaper for your first days, letting you grow as resources become easier to handle.
Elevation and Height: Consider building slightly above ground level--creating stairs or ramps leading upward. This small elevation lets you avoid creatures walking straight into your home and gives you improved sightlines to spot incoming danger.
Space for Crafting Stations: Leave interior space available for crafting benches, furnaces, and storage chests. Make sure you can move around easily and quickly access your crafted items when needed, so your base's interior remains efficient.

Structure Essentials: Walls and Roofs

To begin, sandstone is your go-to pick. Unlike more advanced materials, sandstone is quick to construct and will help you keep beasts and raiders at a safe distance for the time being.

Walls: Start with a simple perimeter outlining your chosen foundation. Walls will keep out aggressive wildlife and NPCs. Remember to leave spaces for a doorway and perhaps windows (for getting a sneak peek of visitors--friendly or not).
Roof: At first, a roof serves mainly to protect you from weather and secure your stuff. Flat roofs are simpler, requiring fewer resources. Later, expand upward or try out sloped fittings once you're more comfortable or look for more aesthetic options as you gain expertise.
Doors: Always construct a solid reinforced wooden door early. Raiders and wildlife alike will exploit any gaps. Doors constructed from heavier wood or iron should come later, once you have enough resources saved.

Early Defense Options

Though initially you're just surviving, remember that Conan Exiles is a world full of hostiles--both human and beast alike--and your defenses will eventually need to evolve. However, your very first base can rely on these modest defenses initially:

Simple Fences: These can discourage wandering animals and NPCs from casually walking in. They'll slow down intrusions, giving you time to respond.
Location-Based Defenses: Placing your base against natural barriers like cliffs, rocks, or even rivers can give attackers fewer points of access. Narrow controlled entrances can be much more easily defended, even without sophisticated weapons.
Lighting: Simple torches or braziers around your perimeter have a practical value, illuminating approaching threats at night. It won't repel enemies actively, but it gives you visibility and reduces your chances of nasty surprises.

Planning For Expansion

As you gain experience leveling up your character, new construction items and crafting abilities gradually unlock. Keep flexibility in mind when building your initial base:

Leave room for growth: Ensure foundations and walls can accommodate further expansions, extra rooms, crafting stations, and more storage options.
Upgrade Paths: Gradually replace sandstone structures with stronger materials as higher-tier materials become available, like stonebrick or insulated wood, which withstand heavier damage.
Base Design Efficiency: Keep your crafting stations, bed, and storage chests close by to minimize wasted time. Placing your bed centrally ensures fast respawns near your supplies if raided or defeated.

With these early tips, your first Conan Exiles base will not only help you survive your first adventurous days but set a solid foundation that grows with you as your character progresses. Good luck, exile--your mighty fortress awaits!

Efficient Resource Gathering

You've got your base spot picked and your initial sandstone shack started--but how can you grab loot faster, smarter, and stay safe while you're at it? Let's walk through some practical tips that'll save you hours chipping away at rocks and chopping wood.

Tools of the Trade: The Right Equipment Matters

Early game gathering revolves around three main tools--the pickaxe, the hatchet, and your trusty skinning knife. Picking the correct tools speeds up how fast you collect raw materials and bumps up how much you get.

Pickaxe: Your starting stone pickaxe is alright to kick things off, but consider upgrading it to an iron version as soon as you unlock the feat and snag some ironstone from nodes. Iron tools reduce harvesting time dramatically and net more stone per smack.
Hatchet: Similar deal here--your hatchet for gathering wood benefits hugely from upgrading from stone to iron-tier. Higher-level hatchets grab significantly more wood per tree, cutting down how often you'll need to wander far from home.
Skinning Knife: Animals around you aren't just threats; they're mobile sources of hides and skins. A dedicated skinning knife rewards you with extra pelts and valuable hides per kill, essential when crafting heavier armor at mid-game.
Repair Early, Repair Often: Keep your tools sharp and at full durability. Carry simple materials for quick field repairs such as stone, branches, or iron bars, saving repeat trips back to home base.

Understanding Resource Nodes

All spots aren’t created equally in Conan Exiles. Nodes you harvest--whether ironstone, coal, wood, or plant fibers--vary significantly in location density and availability. Learning these patterns lets you plan efficient gathering excursions.

Stone and Iron Nodes: Stone is everywhere around starter river valleys. But Iron nodes cluster tightly around hillsides, mountain edges, and rocky plateaus. Mountaintops and higher elevations often hold thicker iron deposits, making these prime mining journeys once you're confident enough to venture out safely.
Wood Density: Forested regions near water sources typically host substantial clumps of trees. Pick forest-rich routes that let you gather big quantities quickly while circling back toward your base, minimizing downtime.
Plant Fiber and Aloe: Bushy plants with abundant fibers flourish on grassy plains and regions near water. Regions near rivers are especially effective gathering areas, allowing simultaneous fiber, wood, and food harvesting.
Map Your Routes: Notice larger patches of specific resources like iron or coal? Mark them on your map with custom markers for future quick trips. Over time, having favored "loops" down reduces wasted effort wandering aimlessly.

Encumbrance Management

It's tempting to hoard huge amounts of loot during each gathering run--until encumbrance slows your character to a pitiful crawl heading home. Manage your carrying limitations smartly from the get-go.

Dump Excess Stones: Harvesting iron usually rewards piles of unintentional stone. Keep an eye on your inventory and regularly discard excess stone if it's weighing you down during dedicated iron trips.
Pack Mule Thralls: As soon as you can safely grab a thrall (NPC companion), get yourself a "bearer" thrall. Bearers have extra storage slots, greatly improving how much loot you return with per run.
Dedicated Gathering Trips: Separate different resource-gathering outings; one focused purely on plants and fiber, another solely on wood and stone or metal ores. Single-resource runs are easier on inventory management and reduce needless encumbrance juggling.

Harvesting Efficiently with Attributes and Feats

Your character attributes also directly impact your resource-gathering efficiency. Modest investments in specific attributes can save a lot of hassle.

Encumbrance Attribute (Expertise): Every point you put here ups your carrying capacity, letting you lug heavier loads home effortlessly. Aim for milestones that grant bonuses--particularly the first perk, "Survivalist," which boosts harvesting flexibility.
Feats for Efficiency: Specific feats unlock upgraded gathering stations, benches, and more potent tools. Once available, crafting these improved benches and tools leads to bigger resource returns, saving you valuable time overall.

Smart Resource Respawns and Rotation

Conan Exiles respawn timers can seem random--but it's not. After you've harvested an area fully, it pays to understand node timers, letting you cycle through multiple rich resource areas smoothly.

Low-tier Resources Respawn Quicker: Basic materials like wood, fiber, and stone regenerate faster than iron or coal. If your base’s immediate area runs dry, expand your harvesting circles further out, returning periodically once closer nodes have refreshed.
Strategize Rotations: Have multiple resource-gathering routes you rotate between. Once you've cleared one spot of iron or coal, immediately travel briefly elsewhere for wood or plants. By the time you've looped around, your original nodes replenish nicely, streamlining harvest efficiency.
Don't Build Directly on Rich Nodes: Avoid putting structures directly over resource spots. Consider leaving valuable harvesting clusters open and unaffected by nearby buildings, ensuring continual easy access.

Taming Animals for Harvest Companions

Don't underestimate pets in Conan Exiles' early-to-mid game. Taming animals early provides extra resource carrying capacity, protection, and reduces inventory headaches considerably.

Pets as Gathering Assistants: Tamed animals like hyenas, wolves, or bears follow you, hold significant additional weight, and offer defense when you run into trouble. This partnership boosts both your gathering effectiveness and your survival prospects.
Selective Gathering with Pets: Assign your loyal pets as designated carriers, loading them up specifically with heavier materials (like metals, hides, and coal) while you keep lighter resources in your own bag.
Feed Pets Frequently: Keeping these companions fed, healed, and ready prevents wasteful returns to base after encounters or weight issues. Feeding heals them gradually--always carry extra raw meat or fiber in your pack for quick pet snacks.

Saving effort now, early in your Conan career, means you'll quickly turn your modest sandstone bunker into a well-stocked fortress without endless grinding. Mastering these efficient gathering tips sets you up advantageously for tougher foes and more rewarding territories ahead!

Advanced Construction Techniques

So you've piled up sturdy walls, laid foundations, and built yourself a safe haven from the harsh lands of Conan Exiles--now what? If you're ready to crank your building skills up a notch, it's time to put your hard-earned resources to use on advanced construction methods. Grab your hammer, your supplies, and let's get your fortress from "it'll do" to "damn impressive."

Stability and Structural Integrity: Why Your Dream Base Keeps Collapsing

Ever place that majestic ceiling, walk away proud, then promptly see half your base tumble into dust? Yeah, we've all been there. Understanding Conan Exiles' stability mechanics helps avoid these tragic (and slightly embarrassing) moments.

Every building piece in Conan has a "stability" value from 0 to 100, shown on-screen during construction if you hold your repair hammer. Foundations always start at 100 stability--completely solid. But as you add walls, ceilings, and floors moving outward horizontally or vertically, stability decreases rapidly. Once stability hits 20, you won't be able to attach further pieces without additional support.

Techniques to Improve Stability

Pillars Are Your Best Friend

Pillars keep ceilings from falling on you--but only if you use them correctly. Try running a line of pillars upward from foundations to reinforce multi-story buildings. Pillars convey foundation stability directly above, allowing you to build larger rooms without frustrating collapses. Start by putting pillars in your base planning, evenly spaced throughout larger halls.

Foundation Lattice Technique

If you're trying to construct sprawling fortresses, densely packed foundations beneath structural weak points can save massive headaches later. Instead of relying on widely spaced foundations, arrange a tighter "lattice" pattern underneath key buildings. The improved overall stability helps support heights and wide open areas above.

Ceiling and Wall Layering

Can't quite make the room size you imagined? Try layering ceiling tiles rather than single tiles at fragile, unsupported spots. Place triangular ceilings alongside squares, marrying different shapes that boost stability subtly yet meaningfully. Adding internal walls--strategically thin, hidden by decorative walls--can also secretly prop up otherwise weak floors above.

Elevation Tricks: Going Vertical without Hassles

Eventually your base grows outward enough--you run out of horizontal real estate and start eyeing the sky. Going vertical can save valuable ground space and provide strategic defense positions. Here's how to pull it off painlessly:

Stair Placement and Spiral Designs

Forget clunky straight stairs eating valuable floor area. Spiraling staircases let you climb safely, occupying minimal horizontal room. Spiral stairs stack comfortably while minimizing wasted space, so use them to connect tall towers, sniper posts, or upper storage rooms without sacrificing other structures.

Elevator Implementation

Conan Exiles offers elevators as feats you can unlock. While slower, elevators can stretch much higher and handle greater vertical climbs. They're a must-have for cliff bases, towers, or mountain complexes. Give elevators a dedicated shaft to protect from attacks or theft attempts by enemy players--and remember, you can position guards or pets menacingly near their endpoints for surprise greetings.

Defensive Architecture: Protect Your Stuff from Raids and Wild Life

All bases face threats--whether it's beasts knocking down your doors or players hungry for your loot. Beyond simply stacking heavier building blocks, smartly designed defensive structures will deter attackers and reduce damage if breaches occur.

Honeycomb Walls

No, this isn't a tasty treat. Honeycombing is placing small, maze-like internal wall clusters between your key rooms and exterior walls. Even if enemies blast through outer wall layers, they're forced to chew through additional walls inside, frustrating raiding attempts and wasting enemy explosives.

Foundations-On-End as Extra Walling

Reinforced foundations turned 90 degrees upright are thicker and stronger than typical walls. They look imposing and effectively stop explosives and heavily armored threats. Line critical storage rooms or key entry points with these vertically stacked foundations for dramatically increased defense potential.

Gatehouses and Airlocks

Create double-door entries--also called "airlocks"--to slow down intruders. If attackers breach one door, they're still stuck helplessly in a narrow kill zone. Place thrall archers, traps, or animals in these bottlenecks for maximum effectiveness. Similarly, gatehouses compartmentalize your base. If one falls, attackers stay contained outside the main living space.

Decorative Designs for Boss-Level Flair

Sure, you've nailed down safety and stability--but don't discount style. Conan Exiles can support imagination; combining decorations and unconventional construction yields unique aesthetics. These methods require patience but offer huge visual payoffs.

Creative Roofs

Mix square and triangular roof tiles to create sloping shapes, repetitive patterns, or imposing silhouettes. "Stepped" roofs can give your buildings Nordic-style flair or fortress looks. Experiment freely to match surrounding environments or faction themes you've adopted.

Courtyards and Hanging Gardens

Use foundations and pillars to create raised outdoor courtyards and upper-level exterior spaces. Adding climbing vines, incense braziers, pots, benches, or small trees transforms these elevated platforms into lush retreats. They give your stronghold extra character beyond basic practicality.

Bridge Construction Hacks

If building near cliffs, rivers, or rock formations, bridging gaps between terrain features gives your base infrastructural purpose. Use ceilings connected by pillars from multiple sides--reinforce underneath as described earlier for long distances--to create safe passages spanning harsh terrain.

Stretching Ambitions into the Sky and Across the Land

Mastering Conan's advanced construction tricks doesn't just impress your neighbors; it'll help you thrive against tougher opponents in endgame territories. Incorporating strategies like defensive honeycombing, stylish vertical structures, and cleverly reinforced stability makes a gargantuan difference between flimsy huts and powerful strongholds.

Your "modest survival shelter" is now well on its way to becoming the envy (and terror) of all who dare approach.

Building Defense Structures: Keeping Raiders and Beasts Out (and Your Loot Safe)

Building a beautiful fortress is half the fun in Conan Exiles, but all your hard-earned progress can vanish instantly if you neglect your defenses. Luckily, defensive building in Conan Exiles involves plenty of techniques beyond simply circling your fortress in basic walls. Thoughtful planning and smart design separate a raider-proof fortress from a crumbling ruin.

Here's how to make your base a hard target through strategic defense structures, careful placement, clever layering, and tactical architecture.

Foundations: Your Strongest First Layer of Defense

Foundation Spamming (With Moderation!)

Placing extra foundations around key structures creates a buffer against explosive attacks. Spread these foundations out beneath and around your outer walls. More foundations mean attackers need additional explosives. But don’t go overboard--too much clutter outside gives raiders cover and interferes with your line of sight.

Raised Foundations

Is your land swarming with hostile wildlife or angry neighbors? Raising your structure onto an elevated foundation makes it harder for creatures and players alike to breach entrances. Keep stairs narrow and funnel attackers through easily defendable doorways or gatehouses lined with thralls armed to the teeth.

Walls and Battlements: Stronger, Smarter, and Multi-layered

Staggered Wall Layers

A single wall won't do--seasoned raiders laugh at lone layers. Instead, stagger multiple wall rings around your core structures. Leave just enough space between walls to create kill-corridors where attackers lose stamina and patience. Thrall archers perched inside your walls will appreciate clear shots down these tight lanes.

Reinforced Outer Walls

Invest in upgrading your outer walls to reinforced stone or black ice--materials stronger and more resistant to explosives. They may be costly and (slightly) more difficult to construct, but this upgrade provides added strength and durability against siege damage. It's worth the effort.

Battlements and Archer Posts

Place archers and lookout thralls atop battlements, towers, and outcroppings around your perimeter. Give them elevated, protected vantage points overlooking the land toward vulnerable directions or suspected attacker routes. Archer thralls with clear lines of sight strongly deter attackers from approaching too closely.

Traps and Defending Gates & Entrances

Gate Placement

Don't put gates facing obvious routes--move them off-center or partially obstructed to limit attackers' visibility and prevent easy straight-line explosive attacks. When attackers zig-zag around rocks and defensive terrain to reach the gate, your thralls and hidden traps enjoy better positions for ambushes.

Traps and Palisades

Line your exterior with palisades, spikes, and cleverly placed bear traps concealed by tall grasses or decorative plants. Palisade walls placed strategically around weak points or near blind corners force attackers to slow down, giving your defensive crew precious extra seconds to fire away.

Defensive Towers: Vertical Advantage and Territory Control

Watchtowers for Increased Visibility

Construct towers at strategic intervals along the outskirts of your base, each manned by thralls ready to engage attackers early. The elevated view grants extended enemy spotting range and lets defenders shoot from positions enemies can scarcely return fire upon effectively.

Sniper and Archer Towers

Tall sniper towers provide platforms for skilled ranger thralls wielding bows or javelins. Place them slightly inward, protected behind outer walls. Attackers trying to scale or breach outer sections become easy marks as your archers rain damage on them from above.

Defending Against Siege Weapons (Trebuchets and Orbs)

Buffer Structures and Barricades

Build inexpensive "dummy" buffer walls or barricades at maximum trebuchet firing range. Designed to force attackers to waste siege ammo and give you time to muster defenses, these disposable barriers frustrate bombardments and protect primary wall structures further inward.

Roof and Wall Reinforcement

Use layered ceilings and angled roof pieces over important interior rooms to minimize damage from explosive jars and orb attacks lobbed over walls. Slanted rooftops help deflect splash damage outward instead of downward into your crucial storage and crafting areas.

Defensive Thrall Placement: Your Personal Army

Efficient Thrall Patrol Routes

Set thralls to patrol defined routes near base perimeters, entrances, and choke points. Regular patrols catch attackers off-guard, making it harder for them to sneak craftily behind cover. In addition, consistent patrols draw enemy attention away from targeted structures and force attackers into open positions.

Mounted Thralls Near Gates and Airlocks

Thralls equipped in heavy armor with strong melee weapons placed inside gatehouses slow and stop unwelcome guests, forcing attackers into exhausting close-quarter fights or frantic escape attempts under heavy ranged fire. Combining these thrall guards with airlock strategies mentioned earlier creates good, layered interior defenses.

Final Thoughts: Making Your Base a Tough Nut to Crack

Thoughtful defense design turns your Conan Exiles home from a promising bandit target to an intimidating fortress raiders would rather pass by for easier prey. Simple strategic measures--foundational positioning, reinforced walls, patrols, tower vantage points, clever gate placements, and hidden traps--go a long way toward securing your loot, resources, and clanmates.

Implement some or all of these defensive building strategies to frustrate would-be raiders and defend proudly against attackers. Now, your formidable Conan Exiles castle stands fearlessly awaiting challengers.

Understanding the Conan Exiles Decay System

In Conan Exiles, survival entails not just defeating savage beasts and rival clans but also fending off the relentless decay of your base itself. The decay system is important--it's part game mechanic, part cleanup measure, designed to keep inactive structures from cluttering the game world.

Left unmonitored, decay can quickly dismantle your hard-earned fortress, leaving mere rubble and memories behind. But don't panic--keeping your buildings pristine and your structures standing strong isn't complicated once you grasp the basics.

Here's how to tame the Conan Exiles decay system and keep your hard work safe.

How the Decay Timer Actually Works

Whenever you place a new building piece--a wall, foundation, roof, or crafting station--it immediately activates a hidden decay timer.

This decay timer counts down slowly when you're offline or away from your base. After placing structures, you'll have one week (168 hours) by default on official servers before decay sets in. Private servers or single-player worlds might have differing timers, so always check server settings.

If you're actively playing and near your buildings, these decay timers regularly reset, giving you the maximum amount of protected time. If you travel far away or quit playing frequently, you risk hitting that countdown and watching your fortress crumble away.

To monitor this timer yourself, equip a repair hammer from your inventory. Simply hovering the hammer icon over a structure reveals exactly how long you have left and if decay has started.

How To Reset The Timer Easily (And What Counts As Activity)

Keeping decay at bay isn't difficult, so long as you frequently return to your base and interact with it. The game registers certain activity patterns clearly:

What Resets The Timer

Simply standing near your structure for a short time.
Adding a new building piece or repairing existing structures.
Using or opening crafting benches, storage containers, doors, or other base items.

Interestingly, it doesn't matter how extensively you interact--just walking around and interacting briefly suffices to refresh your decay timer back to max.

Linking Structures Together to Share Decay Timers

One especially easy method for streamlining decay management comes with connected buildings. Conan Exiles groups connected foundation elements as a single unified entity. This unified structure shares one combined decay timer, meaning you only need to reset it in one location to extend the timer for everything connected to it.

It's practical strategy to connect distant buildings via carefully placed foundations or fence foundations, linking smaller outposts or crafting stations to your main fortress. With this connection in place, a quick interaction at your home resets decay timers for structures even hundreds of meters away.

Be warned, however: buildings that don't share any connecting structures each have their own separate decay timer. Forget to refresh even one isolated shack, and decay will set in swiftly there specifically.

Decay States and Abandonment

Failing to refresh your structure timer within its countdown results in structures entering "abandoned" state. Immediately afterward, the building materials degrade rapidly and lose stability.

An abandoned structure won't vanish instantly, but it becomes vulnerable to other players dismantling or destroying the pieces directly. Notably, anyone can demolish abandoned structures by interacting directly with them--no explosives required. After an abandoned building remains untouched for some time (typically hours, not days), Conan Exiles will automatically delete its pieces entirely, removing clutter from the world.

Never let decay sneak up on you--it's preventable, so don't lose weeks of effort by accidentally forgetting to refresh your buildings occasionally.

Decay Management Tips and Tricks

Here are some straightforward tactics to easily maintain your base while managing the decay system effectively:

Login Regularly

Even short sessions help reset decay timers. If you're temporarily busy, a quick login every few days can save your hard-earned fortress from disappearing.

Consolidate Your Structure

Large scattered bases mean more timers to manage. Keep structures interconnected and streamlined to simplify decay resets.

Recruit Clanmates and Friends

Having fellow players living or playing at your base helps naturally reset timers if you're unable to log in regularly. It's teamwork at its finest!

Outposts and Travel Bases

If you build multiple small outposts, ensure they're connected to your central location by foundations to share the decay timer. Alternatively, manage smaller bases closely sprinkled around the world, and regularly check their timers to stay ahead of decay.

Adjusting Decay Settings (Single-Player & Admin Control)

Single-player games or server administrators can directly adjust decay settings to match preferred gameplay styles.

In Server Settings, available to admins and single-player owners, you can easily adapt:

Decay Timer Multiplier: Decreases or increases overall decay time.
Abandonment Disabled: Turning off decay completely, so no unwanted destruction removes player bases.

Experiment with these settings until decay time balances your personal gameplay style and progression speed.

Final Thoughts: Keep Your Buildings Safe & Sound

Managing the decay system in Conan Exiles is about consistency, awareness, and just a touch of smart planning. Now you know the essentials: stay active, connect your structures, and refresh decay easily with a quick visit to your home base.

With these simple tips, you'll maintain a lasting, hassle-free fortress that endures barbarian assaults and natural decay alike.