Build a Calm Year 1 Start
In Against the Storm, your starting caravan gives you your opening villagers and core goods, while embark bonuses are the extra picks you buy with embarkation points before the run starts. You may also see these called embarkation bonuses; it means the same set of pre-run picks. A steady opener matters because if Resolve drops below 1, villagers can begin to leave, and every villager who leaves also raises the Queen's Impatience.
When you compare caravans, pick for stability first. The best opener is usually the one that gives you workers you can use immediately, enough food to cover the early game, and enough materials to get your first buildings online. If two caravans look close, use the biome preview and nearby map modifiers as the tiebreaker. Choose the one that patches your most likely early shortage so you have more room to survive the first Storm, awkward blueprints, or a risky early glade.
Reliable Embark Bonus Priorities
- Take one food bonus if your caravan starts light on food or the biome preview suggests awkward early gathering.
- Take one bundle of basic materials like planks, bricks, or fabric so your first buildings and production chain are less cramped.
- Consider extra villagers if you are short on labor, and consider extra parts if you expect to spend parts quickly on camps or utility buildings.
- Use any remaining points on fuel, amber, or another buffer that fits the biome preview and map modifiers.
Biome adjustment rule: if the preview shows weak food access or rough early modifiers, lean harder into food or fuel. If the map looks rich in resources but your caravan is light on workers, extra villagers are usually safer than luxury picks that do very little in Year 1.
Simple tiebreaker: if you are not sure which is the best embarkation bonus choice, take the option that solves your first obvious problem. No food means food. No starting materials means planks, bricks, or fabric. Not enough hands to run camps and crude workstations means villagers. If you expect to burn through parts early, parts can cover that gap instead.
Tip: if your first year starts to spiral, stop opening new glades for a season, move workers back onto food and fuel, and use trading to patch the missing resource when you can. That reset is often enough to steady the settlement.