Four Map Types
Map type determines how the terrain is generated — the density and placement of mountains, rivers, lakes, forest, and mineral deposits. It is chosen on the New Game screen alongside map size and climate. The four types are independent of climate: a Highlands map can be Mild or Harsh, a Valley can be played on any difficulty.
| Map type | Character | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Default | Rolling hills, scattered peaks, mixed terrain | Any playstyle — a good all-rounder |
| Valley | Flat farmland ringed by mountains, few interior peaks | Beginners and farming-focused players |
| Riverlands | Lush lowlands criss-crossed by winding rivers | Fishing, foraging, and dense forest play |
| Highlands | Rugged interior terrain with many peaks | Challenge runs and stone-heavy builds |
Default
A balanced map with rolling hills, scattered mountain clusters spread through the interior, three rivers, and a couple of lakes. Stone and iron deposits are both present in reasonable quantities. The forest is neither especially dense nor sparse. No single resource is abundant, but nothing is particularly scarce either.
If you're not sure what to pick, Default is the right choice. It plays well across all strategies and doesn't ask anything specific of your production chain.
Valley
Broad, flat valleys ringed by a mountain border with only a handful of interior peaks. The terrain is the gentlest of any map type — low hills, wide open farmland, and two rivers with a few lakes. Your starting area is the largest of any map type, giving you the most room to plant fields before you run into elevation.
What Valley does well
- Farming: The flattest terrain means uninterrupted fields, easy road networks, and no awkward hill-shaped holes in your farm footprints.
- Settlement layout: Flat ground makes it easy to arrange buildings in an orderly way. Roads are cheap and straight.
What Valley lacks
- Stone: Fewer rocky outcroppings and stone-geology areas compared to the other map types. You can still mine stone, but plan your quarry placement early.
- Iron: Also less common than on Default or Highlands. Worth scouting deposits before committing to a metalworking chain.
Riverlands
Lush lowland terrain with six winding rivers (wider and more meandering than other map types), three lakes, and very few interior mountain clusters. The forest is dense — trees grow across a wider range of moisture conditions, so woodland fills in more of the map. A Riverlands map feels alive with water: rivers cross your territory repeatedly, lakes break up the landscape, and fishing huts have no shortage of waterways.
What Riverlands does well
- Fishing: More rivers and lakes means more fishing hut locations with consistent yield. Fish is an easy early food source here.
- Foraging: Dense forest supports a large wild plant population. Berries, herbs, and mushrooms spawn across a wide area. Foragers thrive.
- Hunting: More forest means more wildlife habitat. Animal populations are well-supported.
What Riverlands demands
- Road planning: Rivers fragment the map. Roads that seem direct on other maps require detours around waterways here. Plan your routes before building spreads.
- Iron: The least iron-rich map type. Metalworking chains require careful prospecting. Consider exploring the whole map before placing your smelter.
Highlands
Rugged terrain with a thick mountain border and fifty interior peak clusters spread across the map. Two rivers and no lakes. The landscape is broken and dramatic — flat buildable land comes in pockets between crags rather than in open expanses. Your starting area is the smallest of any map type.
What Highlands does well
- Stone: By far the most stone-rich map type. Quarrying is easy and stone is effectively unlimited with a mid-sized operation. Stone houses, brick buildings, and extensive road networks are all cheaper to build here in the long run.
- Iron: More iron-geology areas than Default or Valley. Metal production chains can scale up without constantly prospecting new deposits.
- Forest: Moderate forest coverage — trees grow even in drier areas, so the forest fills in despite the mountainous terrain.
What Highlands demands
- Farming: Steep and broken terrain limits where you can place farms. Field footprints are awkward; expect irregular polygon shapes and smaller plots than on Valley or Default.
- Water: No lakes and only two rivers means fishing is limited and settlements need to route carefully to freshwater.
- Logistics: Mountain clusters force circuitous road routes. Getting goods from one side of the settlement to the other can take real time.