Summary

Core Keeperisan indie game that dares to dream. It has many different aspects, each done to perfection in its own way. Whether it’s fighting unique enemies with different weapons, exploring the varied biomes of the roofed world, customizing the perfect base, or making the optimum farm, players won’t be disappointed with any of the mechanics.

One of the best things is thatCore Keeperdoesn’t hold the player back at all, and throws them out into the world with no objectives. It’s not quiteas open as a sandbox game, but it comes fairly close. Knowing a little about the game before starting the adventure won’t affect most of the player experience, only prepare them for the upcoming trials and tribulations.

The player in an animal farm in Core Keeper

Updated on May 30, 2025, by Huzaifa Haq:As players get used to the 1.0 version of Core Keeper, it’s important to remember the basics of the game and stick to the principles that ensure that players can have a good time playing the game. The developers of the game have kept rolling out timely hotfixes and updates that bring in more community-requested features, letting the player base know that they do, in fact, care. Five more tips have been added to this list to help beginners get a head start at the earlier stages of the game.

15Make Animal Farms

Add Variety to Your Diet

Animals are one ofthe best sources of food inCore Keeper. They periodically provide the player with certain consumables that can be combined with other ingredients to create some truly wonderful concoctions.

Whenever the player comes across a ranch, they should capture all the animals and bring them back to their base. If they don’t have the resources to do so, they should close off the area so that enemies don’t wander in and kill the animals while the player is off exploring other parts of the map.

The player riding a railway track in Core Keeper

14Create Railway Tracks

Infrastructure is the Backbone of Any Civilization

It might seem cumbersome and annoying to do so, but having a clean rail track is extremely useful for moving around the map. The ancient waypoints are quite nice, but they only appear in select locations, leaving the rest of the map empty of transport infrastructure.

Building these tracks will let players go back and forth between their base and their current mining operation extremely quickly. The beauty of ancient waypoints is that players won’t need to build everything back to their main base, they can build tracks to different ancient waypoints, and then use them to get back to their base.

Trading with NPCs in Core Keeper

13Invite NPC Traders

The Economy Mustn’t Stop Growing

NPC traders are a powerful resource in and of themselves that the players should get as soon as they can. They aren’t very difficult to summon, only requiring a closed room of a certain size, the summoning item, and a bed.

Once within the hands of the player, these NPCs provide useful services and can be traded for the goods that the player needs. The summoning item of NPCs can beobtained by defeating bosses in the game.

The player standing in an organized base in Core Keeper

12Clean Up Your Surroundings

Neat Environment Equals Neat Mind

Having a central base is extremely important, and to make a cohesive base, players need a lot of land. To obtain land, they’ll need toclear out as much of their surroundings as they can. Don’t be stingy when creating the base. There are no downsides to having more space.

Once the land is free, designate different areas for different functions, e.g., farming, animal handling, crafting, storage, etc. An organized base will save the player from a lot of headaches down the line.

the player making a wood farm in core keeper

11Cultivate Wood

Never Forget the Basics

Wood is one of the most important resources in the game, and it can become quite difficult to find as the player progresses through different biomes. It isn’t exactly a rare material, but it gets used in everything, making it easy to run out of it when the need strikes.

Therefore, it’s prudent to section off a part of the base for the sake of cultivating wood. Players only need to plant the root seed once. As long as they don’t break the original block of wood, the one with leaves growing out of it, they won’t need to plant it again. Keep cutting it off periodically to obtain the amount you need and watch it grow back like magic.

exploration is name of the game, Core Keeper tips for beginners

10Exploration is the Name of the Game

It might seem like a redundant tip, but exploration is a very important part ofCore Keeper. Staying in one place, or even in the same biome, is not conducive to progressing in the game. While it’s important to build a solid base and progress the crafting system, it’s much more important to explore the world and get familiar with the different biomes.

Players should periodically get ready and start long expeditions into the wilds of the world. This will let thembuild up their material horde, such that they’ll always have the materials they need when it comes to crafting. Additionally, it will keep the game fresh and exciting, since there are quite a lot of biomes and enemies.

crafting menu for iron table in core keeper

9Craft Gear And Progress Your Tech

A Knight is Better than a Peasant

An important part of a game like this is progressing the tech tree. Players have a few different ways to increase their power. They caninvest skill points, unlock perks, they can craft good gear, and they can make powerful bases with complex electrical grids to power useful structures.

Players don’t need to sacrifice one to gain the other, all of them can be advanced together without much difficulty. They should keep advancingfurther and further ahead in the technology tree, which will raise the level of their relevant skills, letting them gain cool perks, and craft better gear.

the player standing on an ancient waypoint in core keeper

8Find Ancient Waypoints Early On

The Earliest Reliable Method of Teleportation

Many of the bosses in the game come alongside an ancient waypoint, structures that let players fast travel between one another.Core Keeperalso has a building, the portal, that the players can build to teleport between, but they are quite expensive and can only be built with an octarine workbench, a late-game crafting table.

Ancient waypoints are the easiest, and earliest, method of teleportation available to players, and it’s completely free. If the player hashigh enough mining damage, they can even pick up the ancient waypoint and place it wherever they like.

player sleeping in a bed in their base in core keeper

7Create Multiple Beds

Respawn Where Your Heart Desires

Beds act as respawn points when the player dies, letting them choose where to come back to life rather than always respawning at the start of the game. This mechanic is quite useful, letting players create multiple bases around the world and use the beds as a means of transportation.

Players can die when they need to change locations, dropping most of their inventory but keeping the hot bar items. Though not efficient in terms of goods, it can save players a lot of time running back and forth, letting them explore further and further ahead without worrying about the journey back home.

player harvesting the crops in core keeper

6Obtain a Reliable Source of Food

Gotta Keep the Stomach Happy

Having a food source is a cornerstone to exploration, and it is quite useful if you don’t want to die every couple of minutes. Thehunger meter inCore Keeperis omnipresent, never letting the player forget the mortal need for sustenance.

There are two good sources of food: fishing and farming. Fishing gives players better quality food overall, though it can be quite boring. On the other hand, farming usually doesn’t give high-quality food items but is easy to perform on a large scaleonce the player has enough seeds.