Building blocks

Vintage Story has a great number of different building blocks, which are accessible at different stages of the player's technological progress.

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 decor items like paintings and flowerpots, as well as misc items like armor stands, rugs or useable constructs like bloomerys, clay molds or light sources.

Requirement: None/ 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 off building materials and even essentials like doors and fences.
The following list is further divided in lower and higher effort, 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.

Low Effort

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

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

• 

  Any type of soil can be picked up by hand; although terra preta should be kept for farming instead of building.

• 

  Any type of gravel can be picked up by hand. In the standard & wilderness survival world presets, gravel is affected by gravity unless customized.

• 

  Any type of soil can be picked up by hand. In the standard & 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
  crafted from dry grass and soil. Grass can spread on this block similar to regular soil blocks.

• 

  Packed dirt
  crafted from soil. There's an alternative lighter "arid" version which substitutes sand for parts of the recipe.

• 

  Strewn straw
  crafted from soil and dry grass

• 

  Mud brick
  a block or slab version can be crafted with dry grass, clay, soil and sand - or alternatively leave the sand out for a darker version.

Wood based blocks

Blocks that can be obtained directly from trees - like logs - or crafted from the by-products of felling them - like sticks. This also includes utility blocks like ladders, fences, gates and doors.
All recipes in this section require the possession of an axe - except for the ones that only use sticks.

• 

  Any type of log obtained by felling a tree. Remember to first remove all leave blocks to obtain the maximum amount of seeds and sticks.

• 

  Rough hewn fence
  crafted with sticks, logs and an axe.

• 

  Rough hewn gate
  crafted with sticks, logs and an axe.

• 

  Rough wooden door
  crafted with sticks, logs and an axe. As a temporary first solution, this door may randomly break upon usage.

• 

  Layer of sticks
  crafted with a full grid of sticks. This is a solid block for walking and keeping things in/out; it let's rain through but keeps firepits from going out.

• 

  Ladder
  can be crafted with sticks. An alternative recipe substitutes most of the sticks with boards, which are only accessible after gaining a saw in the Anvil Age.

• 

  Rope Ladder
  can be crafted with rope and 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.
Loose stones can be simply acquired by picking them off the ground, but will later also be a by-product of mining.

• 

  Different types of Cobblestone can either be crafted with one type of loose stone and clay, or scavenged by hand from existing ruins in the world.

• 

  Cobble skull
  can only be scavenged by hand from existing ruins in the world.

• 

  Different parts of Slate Roofs - slanted, corner, ridge and tip - can be crafted with loose slate stones and blue clay. The effort to obtain these blocks depends on whether or not the player finds slate rock.

• 

  Different types of Dry stone fence can be crafted with one type of loose stone. A version with mixed stone types is only accessible after gaining a saw.

• 

  Stone path
  can be crafted as a block, stair or slab version with loose stones and soil.

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.

• 

  Hay
  can be crafted with dry grass. It is used as a building block and in a number of recipes, for instance for the various thatch roof pieces.

• 

  Different parts of Thatch Roofs - slanted, corner, ridge and tip - can be crafted with hay.

• 

  Quartz Glass
  can be crafted from sticks and clear quartz bits specifically - if found on the ground.

• 

  Two kinds of Hardened Clay can be crafted by simply baking 8 pieces of blue or fire clay in a firepit. The red and brown clay versions exist in the game, but can only be acquired through traders.

Higher Effort

Blocks that require considerable investment of time and/ 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.

• 

  Glass
  can be obtained once the player has a bloomery, charcoal and quartz chunks. These requirements can be fulfilled without basic metal tools, but it will be comparatively harder.

• 

  Stacked bamboo
  crafted with bamboo stakes. This block is only viable in warmer climates, which should be to the south of spawn on a normal world setting.

• 

  Different parts of Bamboo Roofs - slanted, corner, ridge and tip - can be crafted with bamboo stakes.

• 

  Different parts of Clay Roofs - slanted, corner, ridge and tip - can be crafted with clay shingles of all colours - although brown and red can only be acquired through traders. Crafting shingles requires a lot of time, clay and fuel.

• 

  Glacier Ice
  can be found in colder climates, which should be to the north of spawn on a normal world setting. Unlike lake ice, glacier ice will not melt even under higher temperatures.

Requirement: Anvil & Saw

{{{title}}}