Guides:Settlements

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Settlements: What are they, and which is best for you?

There are many ways to enjoy life in Wurm. You can join a village, create your own deed, or build a settlement without deeding the land. Each of these ways of playing have advantages and drawbacks, and it is up to each player to find the play-style that works best for them.

Joining a village

Joining a village can be a great experience. Village life provides safety, community, and the ability to learn from others with higher skills if you are a new player. There are several ways to find a village to join. Recruitment boards that list villages that are open to taking in players can be found at starter towns. The forums can also be a good place to look. Each server has a recruitment page where you can read about villages to join, and many have detailed descriptions of each village, along with pictures. Another way to look for a village is to ask in the Freedom channel if there are villages accepting new villagers.

The benefits to joining a village are many. A sense of security, friendships, getting help with projects. Most villages do not charge a fee to live in them, or may ask that you do some work in exchange for living in them, so it can save you some silver. Some villages provide tools, food, and raw materials to their villagers, which can be a big help to newer players.

There can be drawbacks to joining a village. Villages usually have rules that must be followed, some villages have rules about what type of buildings can be built, and often you are given a plot of land that is yours, so you can be limited on what you can do with it. There can sometimes be conflicts living and working closely with other people.

Creating your own deed

Making your own deed allows you to choose what size deed you want, and exactly what you want to do with it. You can choose to live alone, or find others to live on your deed with you. Both premium and free to play characters can found a deed, but only a premium character can invite people as villagers to their deed. To found a deed, you can use a deed stake (or make one), choose a non deeded area of land, and place the deed stake. You will need a minimum of 4 silver, 21 copper in your bank to found a minimum sized deed. This will give you an 11 x 11 deed, with a five tile perimeter, and put three months upkeep in the coffers. A deed token can not be placed in a house or a mine. The deed token lets you control permissions, manage your settlement, and acts as a bank.

• Initial cost per tile of a settlement: 100 iron coins
• Upkeep cost per tile for settlement: 20 iron coins
• Initial cost per tile for a perimeter: 50 iron coins
• Upkeep cost per tile for a perimeter: 5 iron coins
• Initial cost for hiring a guard (per 1):Freedom = 2 silver / Epic = 3 silver coins
• Guard monthly salary (per 1): Freedom = 1 silver / Epic = 3 silver coins

Benefits of having a deed are many. You can set permissions on your deed to allow other players access anywhere from full to none. You can hire spirit guards to protect your land. If you have at least 30 days upkeep in your coffers, you will be protected from decay on buildings, fences, and decorative items on deed, and you will also be protected from losing items in bulk storage. If your character dies, you will be able to respawn at your deed. You can brand animals, which offers protection for them on and off deed. Branded animals can also be named, and equipment can be put on or taken off without having to tame them. Mobs will not spawn on deed, so having a deed can make play safer.

Disadvantages to owning a deed are few. You are responsible for paying the monthly upkeep on a deed.

Non deeded settlement

You can make a settlement without founding a deed by building housing and other buildings. This can be a way to start out while deciding if you want to join a village or found a deed.

A benefit of not having a deed is that you save silver by not paying deed upkeep, or the initial cost.

Not having a deed can be dangerous, as although your buildings cannot be destroyed, fences can be. Creatures can spawn on undeeded tiles, so one way to protect yourself is to have a guard tower, which will spawn up to 5 guards, depending on the quality of the tower. If the guard tower is rare, you will have 6 guards. Without a deed, you will be unable to brand your animals, so they are at risk of being taken or killed. Buildings and items that are not on a deed will take regular damage, and bulk containers will lose 5% volume per month. Without a deed, if you die, you will need to respawn at a starter village and make your way back to your settlement.