RimWorld Builders Being Dumb? Here's the Fix
Smarter Construction in RimWorld 1.3
How to Make Your Colonists Build Faster & Better
Frustrated with your builders taking ages to finish projects in RimWorld 1.3? Tired of pawns trapping themselves behind walls or hauling one brick at a time? You're not alone! In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover practical tips and mods to improve construction efficiency in RimWorld 1.3. Whether you're managing a sprawling late-game colony or just want to streamline your base building, we've got you covered.
Quick Start (TL;DR)
If you want the short version up front, here are the top tips to make your colonists construct more efficiently right away:
- Cache Materials On-Site: Before a big build, haul resources locally. Create a temporary critical stockpile at the construction area so builders aren't running across the map for each piece.
- One Project at a Time: Don't spread your construction jobs all over. Focus your builders on one task by forbidding other blueprints and using Allowed Areas to keep them nearby.
- Plan Build Order to Avoid Trapping: When constructing enclosed spaces, leave an extra door or tile open, or build in layers. Finish outer walls last so pawns don't seal themselves in.
- Use the Work Schedule: For critical building periods, set a few hours as forced "Work" with no recreation, so your builders don't wander off after placing one brick.
- Leverage Mods for Efficiency: Install Pick Up And Haul (pawns carry more items per trip) and Share The Load (multiple pawns can supply one blueprint) to eliminate hauling inefficiency. And for brain-dead build orders, Smarter Construction is a lifesaver.
Why Colonist Construction AI Can Be So "Dumb" in 1.3
RimWorld's base game AI for construction is functional but not optimized for complex bases. In version 1.3, the fundamental AI hasn't changed from earlier versions – meaning pawns still do one construction job at a time, prioritize nearest blueprints, and fetch resources only as needed. There were no sweeping AI improvements in 1.3's patch notes specific to builders. For a deeper understanding of how pawn AI works, check our AI pathfinding guide.
Classic Scenarios Players Gripe About:
- A builder pawn delivers 5 of 75 steel to a turret blueprint, then decides it's meal time, leaving the job half-done.
- Multiple builders each take a single wall section in a five-tile wall, creating a relay race of inefficiency.
- Pawns happily start constructing a closed room from the outside, trapping themselves inside with no doors.
- Mid-project, a builder runs off to play chess because the AI doesn't know you wanted that hospital finished now.
In short, the vanilla game still relies on the player to manage construction intelligently. If you leave it entirely to the AI, it will do things in a suboptimal (and sometimes head-scratchingly silly) way.
Pain Point 1: Wasted Time Hauling (Travel Efficiency)
The Problem: Your builders spend more time hauling materials and walking than actually building. A pawn goes to the stockpile, picks up 5 bricks, walks 100 tiles to place them, then walks all the way back for the next 5.
Example of efficient construction setup with staged materials and coordinated builders working on a large project
Vanilla Solutions
- Staging Stockpiles Near the Build: Create a stockpile right next to your construction site. Set it to critical priority and only include the resources needed for the project.
- Use Pack Animals or Caravans: For distant building, form a caravan with your builder and a pack muffalo loaded with materials.
- Multiple Haulers per Project: Manually force others to help by prioritizing hauling to different blueprints in the same project.
Mod Solutions
Pick Up And Haul
Lets pawns use their inventory to carry multiple stacks at once. A pawn can grab 75 steel and 10 components in one trip instead of making separate trips.
Share The Load
Allows multiple pawns to deliver resources to the same blueprint simultaneously. Multiple pawns can bring steel to a turret at once instead of waiting for one pawn to finish.
Pain Point 2: Silly Build Order & Self-Inflicted Traps
The Problem: Pawns build in illogical order and trap themselves. Classic examples include building a ring of walls and sealing themselves inside, or installing a sculpture in a niche they can't leave.
Example: A pawn starts building a room from one corner and literally builds themselves into a sealed chamber because they complete the last gap without being outside of it.
Common scenario: Builder trapped by illogical construction order - this is why planning build phases is crucial
Vanilla Solutions
- Build in Phases (Layers): For any structure that could enclose a pawn, build the exterior walls minus one tile (leave a gap as a door), then build the interior, and finally add that last piece.
- Use the Forbid Tool: Forbid specific blueprints so pawns ignore them until you're ready. Then unforbid when you're sure they can approach from the correct side.
- Leave Access Points: Include doors or create intentional access corridors in large structures.
Mod Solutions
Smarter Construction
This mod directly targets the build order AI. It prevents pawns from building a tile that will seal off others. The mod looks ahead and only allows construction of a blueprint if it won't block access to any other existing blueprint.
Widely considered a must-have for base builders – many players are shocked it isn't vanilla functionality yet.
Pain Point 3: Builders Losing Focus (Task Juggling & Priorities)
The Problem: Your colonists keep getting distracted or mis-prioritized. One minute they're working on that crucial turret, the next they're smoothing floors in the dining room, or they built one tile of your monument then wandered off.
Proper work priority and zone management interface - keeping builders focused on construction tasks
Vanilla Solutions
- Manual Work Priorities: Set your primary builder(s) to Construction = 1 and most other things = 2 or higher to ensure they do construction first.
- Limit Their Zone: Restrict your builders to a specific Area that covers the build site so they can't wander off.
- Forbid/Pause Other Projects: If you have other construction tasks queued up that aren't urgent, just forbid those blueprints.
- Use Schedules: During a crunch, set a pawn's schedule to all Work for a day or two. They'll still eat if starving but won't seek recreation.
Mod Solutions
Better Work Tab
Expands the work priority system, allowing you to set more granular priorities (1-9) and schedule different work modes.
Better Pawn Control
Lets you create policies for work and area that you can switch with one click, like "Construction Mode" where builders are restricted to a site.
Pain Point 4: Tedious Remodeling (Upgrading Structures)
The Problem: Upgrading or changing existing structures (e.g., replacing wooden walls with stone) is inefficient. You get temporary holes, lose resources, and rooms become unusable during renovation.
Vanilla Solutions
- Piece by Piece: Only deconstruct a small section at a time that you can quickly rebuild. Do 2-3 wall tiles at once, not the whole wall.
- Maintain Room Integrity: For freezers or bedrooms, do replacements when impacts are minimal (during cold weather or when pawns are awake).
- Temporary Structures: Build temporary walls or doors elsewhere to avoid mood debuffs during renovation.
Mod Solutions
Replace Stuff
This mod is a game-changer for remodeling. It allows you to build new structures directly on top of old ones. Want to upgrade a wood wall to granite? Just select granite wall and drag over the wooden wall – it queues a "replace" job.
The mod ensures the wooden wall is removed only at the last moment as the granite is built - meaning the wall is effectively never missing. Rooms stay intact, temperature is maintained, and security isn't compromised.
Pain Point 5: Large-Scale Projects & Planning Efficiency
The Problem: Handling big construction projects efficiently is a challenge. Without planning, you might build in the wrong spot or waste time with pawns working inefficiently on huge blueprint blobs.
RimWorld Starship Construction
🚀 STARSHIP CONSTRUCTION PROJECT 🚀
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SHIP REACTOR ║
║ [⚡] ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SHIP COMPUTER CORE ║
║ [💻] ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SHIP ENGINE ║
║ [🔥🔥🔥] ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ CRYPTOSLEEP CASKETS ║
║ [😴][😴][😴] ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SHIP SENSORS ║
║ [📡] ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
📦 Material Stockpiles: 🔧 Builders:
Steel: ████████████ 👷 Builder 1
Plasteel: ████████ 👷 Builder 2
Components: ██████ 👷 Builder 3
Adv. Comp.: ████ 👷 Builder 4
A fully constructed starship in RimWorld – a late-game mega-project. Efficient building practices (stockpiling materials on-site, keeping builders focused, etc.) are crucial to completing such projects in a timely manner.
Vanilla Solutions
- Use the Planning Tool: Sketch out large designs before committing resources. This helps catch design mistakes early and lets you sequence the build. For comprehensive base design principles, see our optimal colony layout guide.
- Break Projects into Sections: Divide construction into logical sections and complete them one at a time. For a big perimeter wall, build one quadrant at a time.
- Parallelize with Caution: Have multiple builders work on different parts of a large project as long as those parts won't interfere.
- Build Infrastructure for Building: Put down temporary flooring to speed up movement or set up lighting if they'll work at night.
Mod Solutions
Blueprints
This mod is the holy grail for planning and repeating designs. It allows you to create a blueprint from any existing set of buildings and then stamp it down elsewhere.
For example, if you design an optimal bedroom layout, Blueprints lets you copy that and place ten of them in one go rather than redesigning each. Great for hydroponics setups, defensive bunkers, farms, etc.
Advanced large-scale construction project demonstrating efficient building techniques and mod integration for complex base designs
RimWorld 1.3 Construction Patch Notes
Version 1.3 didn't drastically overhaul construction AI, but it did bring some changes worth noting:
Fences & Pens (1.3)
Added fence and gate building types for managing animals. Colonists had new fence-building jobs for corrals. (Be mindful to leave a gate or your builder might fence themselves in with the muffalos!)
Ideology Structures (July 2021)
Introduced new buildings like ritual altars and ideogram sculptures, often with high build times. Also added the Production Specialist role which grants +50% Global Work Speed for construction (and other work).
Construction Priority Unchanged
No core changes to how pawns choose construction tasks were made in 1.3. Long-standing behaviors (one job at a time, nearest-first) remained the same. This is why mods like Smarter Construction continued to be relevant.
"Auto-Rebuild" Feature
When turned on, destroyed buildings automatically spawn a blueprint to rebuild in the same spot. 1.3 fixed some bugs with it (e.g., auto-rebuild now works on bridge floors).
Biotech 1.4 Note
Although outside 1.3, it's worth noting that the next update (1.4) added Constructoid mechanoids that somewhat alleviate construction woes by adding autonomous builders. But if you're sticking to 1.3, the mods and strategies above remain your best bet.
Wrapping Up: Build Smarter, Not Harder
By now, it should be clear that RimWorld 1.3's construction system, while a bit primitive on its own, can be vastly improved with the right tactics and mods. Mid- and late-game colonies don't have to suffer endless construction delays or pawns derping out.
With a little planning and the help of community mods:
- Your haulers keep your builders supplied efficiently
- Your builders work in a logical order without trapping themselves
- They stay on task until the job is done
- Upgrading your base is a one-click breeze instead of a multi-day ordeal
- Large projects get done with assembly-line precision
Implementing even a few of these suggestions will noticeably speed up your base development. Many players report that once they use mods like Smarter Construction, Replace Stuff, and Pick Up And Haul, they "can't go back" – the game just feels so much smoother when your pawns use a bit of common sense.
Remember, a happy builder is a busy builder – keep them fed, rested, and free of distractions, and they'll raise your colony from a few shacks to a sprawling fortress before you know it.
Now go forth and build that mega-base with confidence! 🔧🏗️