Which is better to settle at?

[Triss]

obviously my goal as a low player is quality improvement beyond just basics. I have some time before I can do much about it so can explore... I don't mind wandering to forage.

So some of you are saying a clay node is the most valuable thing to settle on? Seems everyone has their own take rather than one solid opinion on what would help maximize my gains. I was thinking soil due to farming and raising quality trees, but of course I can just find soil and haul it away.

Sooo my discovered choices so far are 57q soil or 27q acre clay (both are near bodies of water, though the clay is near beach/sand.

Or should I keep searching for better quality clay nodes? I'm only looking at mudflats since settling right on a river would be bad.

[Triss]

Oh and of course I expect FINDING better quality in mudflats is going to be difficult if not almost impossible, it doesn't take but a few minutes to determine what's in an entire mudflat, so I expect they're mostly all claimed.

[Potjeh]

Maybe yxou don't mind walkig now, but in a couple of months you'll regret not settling between a mountain and a swamp.

[Triss]

So your take is forget worrying about soil, water, clay, other resources...etc, and just settle near a mountain and swamp and then walk to whatever resource I need and haul it?

[Potjeh]

You need to go get those resources a lot less often than you need to forage.

Also, it's standard practice to drop alt villages on resource nodes and set up crossroads so you can just teleport to them.

[Sitting_Bill]

It is useful to be quite close to some low q clay, for brickwall purposes. But yeah, in the long run a mountain and a swamp are crucial

[Horatius]

The most important thing when settling somewhere is *not* to settle next to a river or a lake which is connected ro a river - for hermits that is. It doesn't matter what kind of resources you have at the spot or even whether you have a brickall. If you settle next to a river the place will eventually be raided. That's just the way it is. If you want access to the waterways you can build an idol near a river and connect your village with a crossroad there. Until you can do that walking to a river with your boat will be a pain in the butt though.

As for the resources, that's entirely up to you. You have to make a decision between several factors. Personally I feel that a high q water source (preferably a well inside the walls for that added feeling of safety :p) can be a very convenient thing to have, especially for cooking and foraging trips. Barrels tend to get empty really quick. Your Q 12 water however is *not* decent quality water (go for q 30 at least). But you may also want to make more wells in that area. There is obviously a water node below, that q 12 well is probably just not very close to the centre.

Soil is the least important resource in my opinion. It helps you grow better crops until said crops reach the soil quality. But you may want to buy high q crops from traders later simply because those will be much better. Apart from that soil quality plays a role in planting your own good trees which is definitely a nice thing. Since you won't dig up soil so very often the spot doesn't have to be too close to your village though. However, since you have a nice spot right there, I'd say don't give up on it and settle somewhere in that area. Also claim it and make a wall around it.

A clay spot also has its advantages. As it has already been mentioned, your brickwall will be ready much faster if the spot is close to your village. You will also continually want clay to improve the quality of your facilities (ovens, smelters, finery forges, steel crucibles) but for that end you would probably also be better off to buy some high q clay / bricks elsewhere. Finding an unclaimed good clay spot is virtually impossible at this point in the game. So, I'd say just stick to some crappy q 30 clay nodes in the area. They don't have to be very close to your home either, although it certainly would be a bonus. You will really hate making the brickwall later if they are too far away. But that's a one time project for most people. Once you have everything you need (and at a decent quality) your demand for clay will greatly decrease.

For foraging trips you will also want swamps and a mountain in your area. Edelweiss is a very nice curio and is also used up relatively quickly. So you'll also spend quite some time climbing that mountain if you want to have good curios in your study at all times. Edelweiss is also a good curio for trading. However, you can just make an alt for gathering and park his HF on a mountain that is not so close to your camp. That's actually even safer for your main character because it's possible to run into mean people on a mountain.
A cave would also be nice to have, but is not necessary and also unlikely to find at this point in the game.

[Wipeout]

Clay node is most important. You get good q kiln which gets good bricks so smelter oven you can make brick wall easy good q pottery.

[bitza]

i'll contend that safety and stealth is the most important. put your primary production away from rivers and set up dummy villages at any resources worth claiming (clay, mines, etc). if you're active and advanced enough in curio collection (eidelwebs, enthroned toads, good q strawdoll shewbread tea leaves bronze steeds and such), or have a trusted friend or 2 playing with you, it's not a huge deal to keep 2 or 3 village idols running.

[Procne]

eidelwebs

You mean Itsy Bitsy's web or Edelweiss?