Building blocks

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Vintage Story has a great number of different building blocks, which are accessible at different stages of the player's technological progress. Different types of building materials can be used to create useful structures, while maintaining a balance between what looks good and what works well or is the most available in an area.

The player can trade with various NPC traders around the world for building blocks regardless of their current technical progress, however the following lists will focus only on the blocks the player can directly find or craft at their applicable progression stage. Some other blocks like bookshelves, wallpapers or ancient ruin blocks can theoretically be acquired at any point of the game, but require the player to venture into ruins below ground. The same applies to aged wood, which can be found in various crafted versions in ruins.

These lists will also disregard containers and various decorative items like paintings and flowerpots, as well as miscellaneous items like armor stands, rugs or useable structures and tools like bloomeries, clay molds or light sources.

Requires no tools or stone tools

When starting the game, the player only has access to resources they can scavenge by hand or with basic stone tools. Luckily, this still allows for a variety of building materials and even essentials like doors and fences.

The following list is further divided in early and later game, as some blocks are theoretically obtainable from the very start of the game, but may not be "worth" the time and resources the player would have to invest while simultaneously trying to survive. Later game building blocks also tend to require specialized tools and specific materials that players may need to explore the game world to find.

Early game

Blocks that can be obtained with minimal effort and time investment, and are therefore optimal for starter buildings.

Soil based blocks

Blocks that can be crafted with soil of any fertility as part of the recipe, together with sand, clay or dry grass. Most soil-based blocks are classified by the game as dirt-type blocks, and therefore grant a bonus to cellar effectiveness.

Keep in mind that building with soil itself may not work if gravity is enabled for soil on world creation.

  • Soil blocks can be picked up by hand, although terra preta should be kept for farming instead of building.
  • Gravel blocks can be picked up by hand. In the standard and wilderness survival world presets, gravel is affected by gravity unless customized.
  • Sand blocks can be picked up by hand. In the standard and wilderness survival world presets, sand is affected by gravity unless customized.
  • Bony soil can be picked up by hand. It can be scavenged from existing ruins in the world. It can be used as a building block or for panning.
  • Cob can be crafted from dry grass and soil. Grass can spread on this block similar to regular soil blocks.
  • Packed dirt can be crafted from soil. There is a lighter colored "arid" version which substitutes sand for parts of the recipe.
  • Strewn straw can be crafted from soil and dry grass.
  • Mud brick blocks and slabs can be crafted with dry grass, clay, and soil for dark mud brick. Light mud brick is created with the addition of sand.

Wood based blocks

These blocks can be created out of logs, or created out of other resources that also come from trees such as sticks. These early-game wooden blocks include utility blocks such as crude doors, ladders, and fences and fence gates.

All recipes in this section require the possession of an axe, except for the ones that only use sticks.

Stone based blocks

Blocks that can be crafted with any kind of loose stone as part of the recipe, sometimes together with clay or soil. Stone blocks give cellars a boost to effectiveness.

Loose stones can be simply acquired by picking them off the ground, and can be obtained in large quantities as a by-product of mining.

Other blocks

Some other building blocks require different main ingredients like dry grass, quartz or clay. All these can be acquired without the use of tools.

Later game

Blocks that require considerable investment of time or resources, or require the player to have specific climates or stone types around them which otherwise would require time to search for. It is possible to acquire these blocks, but the player should weight the effort taken.

Requires basic metal tools

Once the player has found their first copper bits and ventured into casting metal into tools, they can access existing resources more efficiently and quickly, and also access new crafting methods and blocks.

A metal pickaxe finally allows players to mine ores and minerals as well as loose and whole rocks. Crafting a chisel allows for some advanced crafting recipes, but mainly opens the possibility for complete design freedom, as almost every building block can be chiseled into different forms or even combined with different materials.

Requires an anvil and saw

With enough metal the player can cast their first anvil, unlocking new tools like the saw, and recipes like metal plates. The saw significantly expands the types of craftable blocks available to players, since the ability to produce boards enables the player to create buckets and barrels for liquid storage. Boards are also used as a key crafting ingredient for a large number of wooden blocks and furniture.

Wood based blocks

With a saw, the player can create boards, a key requirement for all advanced wooden recipes.

Brick based blocks

With access to a barrel, the player can start making mortar, an ingredient required to craft clay, stone and refractory brick blocks. Clay (ceramic) and stone brick blocks boost cellar effectiveness. Stone bricks are created by crafting a whole stone block (obtained via relieving) with a chisel.

Metal based blocks

With a steady supply of metal and advanced processing methods on an anvil, the player can create whole metal blocks and other metal based building parts.

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