How to get more colonists in RimWorld (2023)

Settlers are one of the essential aspects of RimWorld. They grow food, trade with other parties, research advanced technologies, and hoard resources to prosper their communities. Since they are so influential, you need to increase your numbers, but how do you do that?

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get more RimWorld colonists, from changing settings to completing events. Let's see what each method consists of.

How to get more colonists in RimWorld

The number of colonists available is primarily determined by the storyteller you choose when creating your game. Units are not capped, but your storyteller affects your colony's population based on three variables: minimum population, maximum population, and critical population.

For example, the critical population for Cassandra Classic and Phoebe Chillax is capped at 18, while Randy Random sets the default at 50. However, try not to hit these caps, as the game will trigger various events to decrease the number of colonists.

With that in mind, here are some ways to recruit more colonists in RimWorld:

change settings

Before starting a new game, you can change RimWorld's default number of colonists:

1. Select "New Game" from the menu.
   
2. Choose your starting scenario.
   
3. Click "Scenario Editor" at the bottom of the screen to access the settings.
   
4. Activate "Edit Mode" in the left panel of the screen.
   
5. Go to the "Initial Persons" tab and enter the desired number.
   
6. Exit the menu and start your game.
   

Buy Settlers from a Slave Trader

RimWorld is full of trading caravans. One of the most valuable is the slave trade. It works the same as buying or selling any other item:

1. Find a slave trader with a question mark over his head.
2. Start trading and buy a colonist. The price depends on your skills and health, but is usually between 2000 and 3000 silver. Settlers with bionics are more expensive due to their higher handling and overall health.
   

Colonists provided by the Slave Trade do not take soul damage. They will be in a happy mood for a period of time, as they have been released from bondage.

Turn prisoners into settlers

Enemy attacks are a rich source for colonists, as long as you can deal with them properly. More specifically, invaders can be captured if you take them down without killing them.

When you're ready to convert enemies to population growth, here's how:

1. Place a bed or other sleeping space in an area surrounded by a door and walls.
   
2. Choose the sleeping object and turn it into a prison bed.
   
3. After defeating your enemy, select a colonist, assign him the role of Guardian and right-click on the invader.
   
4. Select the "Capture" option.
   
5. The settler now takes the attacker into the previously built prison area. Each prisoner needs a separate bed.
   
6. Select a prisoner and go to the prisoners section of the interface.
   
7. The Warden will occasionally speak with the prisoner to reduce resistance and build trust. After several sessions, you will finally be able to convert them. However, your chances of success largely depend on how difficult the unit is to recruit.
   

Keep in mind that converting prisoners into colonists takes time. The greater the prisoner's stamina, the longer it will take your guards to break him. Fortunately, there are several ways to speed up the process. In addition to feeding prisoners, you can also improve your colonists' social skills:

relaxing activities

Relaxing activities go a long way toward improving your Guardians' social skills. Set up pool tables, chess boards, TV rooms, and other social gathering spots so they can relax. However, you cannot make your colonists participate in these activities, so they can be difficult to use.

dealing with prisoners

Prisoner chats also help improve your guardians' social skills. The more conversations they have, the more persuasive your persuasion tactics will be, resulting in a higher conversion rate.

Manage Neurotrainer Mech Sera

The fastest way to improve all skills, including social skills, is to give your Colonists a Mechanic Neurotrainer Serum. He is constantly improving his skills, but the method is unpredictable. It can be powerful and raise your skill level by eight, but it can also be underpowered and raise it by just one point. Furthermore, the item is expensive and can be difficult to obtain.

Convert a pawn from cryo sleep

Each RimWorld map contains areas known to be ancient hazards. These regions can be pre-generated closed buildings or areas within mountains. Whenever a colonist approaches the area, a pop-up will appear on the screen indicating that he senses an unpleasant presence nearby. This "loathsome presence" is due to the fact that powerful enemies such as insects and ancient mechanoids live here.

After dealing with these threats, you can find a Cryo Pod in the area. They can house frozen pawns for hundreds of years. To wake them up, select your settlers and open the Farmer's Chest. Although they can become hostile, try to subdue and capture them the same way you would capture a prisoner.

tame wild people

Sometimes the game may warn that a wild person has arrived on the map. These early humans never communicated with other humans, and taming them works the same way as taming an animal:

1. Approach a wildling with your colonist.
   
2. Select them and press "tame".
   

To facilitate your taming attempts, you should use food in your colony.

The success of this endeavor also depends on the colonist's animal skills. If the settler is not very good at taming animals, there is a high risk that the person will attack him. In this case, defeat the savage, capture it and convert it.

complete events

If slave trading and other options mentioned above aren't your forte, you can always complete in-game events to gain more colonists:

help random people

At the start of the game, there are mostly random people available who need help. If you help a stranger with his activities, he can join your colony and fill your population limit.

Save the runaway bums

Another great way to recruit settlers is to help out wanderers who are being hunted by someone else. If you rescue them, they will immediately join your community.

Examination of escape pods

Be sure to check out any crashing escape pods in your area. If you save the person inside, there's a high chance they'll become a member of your colony. However, try to catch them instead of rescuing them to increase the chances of a successful recruitment.

friendly visitor prison

Deterring friendly traders and visitors is a practical but morally questionable way to get more settlers. If you don't mind this recruitment tactic, approach a friendly visitor with your colonist and choose the "arrest attempt" option.

Note that the person can resist, which annoys his teammates and the rest of the faction.

Get the man in black

The last event is not very widespread, but it is worth noting. This random event is triggered under certain conditions.

Specifically, if all of your pawns have been disabled, RimWorld can spawn a Man in Black. That person will immediately join your colony and potentially give you another chance to save others. Even if he manages to save all of his settlers, the Man in Black will still be a permanent member of the community.

Additional FAQ

Can colonists have babies on Rimworld?

Although the game doesn't allow your colonists to have babies, you can install a mod calledChildren, school and learning🇧🇷 He allows his colonists to have children, provide them with an education, and teach them all the skills they need to become productive members of the community.

Keep your colony population under control

While increasing the number of settlers is a great way to grow your community, try not to overdo it. Whether you're capturing prisoners, helping random people, or taming wild people, stay within the range recommended by your storyteller. This helps you avoid weird scenarios that can hinder your progress and make it difficult to succeed in this immersive world.

How many settlers does your community consist of? What was the number at the beginning of the game? What is your preferred method of acquiring new settlers? Let us know in the comments section.