Best Base Locations In The Forest

Key Takeaways

• Don’t rely on small islands for your base in
  The Forest
  , as they lack resources and require long trips for materials.
• Consider building your base in the Snow Biome for safety from cannibals as attacks intensify throughout the game.
• Live above the danger in a tree house for added safety, but be wary of mutants attacking if they see you enter.

The Forest is an amazingly fun horror-survival game where the player crash lands on an island, finds their son taken from them, and discovers the entire island is infested with cannibals and mutant horrors.

As if the hungry hordes of zombie-like monsters weren’t bad enough, The Forest players must also face the problems of food, water, and shelter. All of these are required to survive long enough to get Timmy back, but where is the best spot to try and put down a base that’ll last and has resources nearby?

Updated on November 2, 2024 by Rhenn Taguiam: While Sons of the Forest had released on February 22, 2024 to very positive reviews, fans of the survival horror title might want to take a step back from the sequel’s updated graphics and building system and go back to the quirky old days of The Forest – especially when it comes to trying to find ways to “break” the game using its physics engine and going wild with structures and settlements. However, for players who are just trying The Forest for the first time, they might feel as though the game is too difficult to play – especially once they’ve tried making their base and end up being bombarded with mutant attacks. Thankfully, certain areas in the Peninsula may end up being some of the best base locations in the title – like the shipping container, the location north of the Yacht, and even a location close to the sinkhole.

11 The Islands

Freedom From Cannibal Attacks

• Strengths: Attacks Are Almost Non-Existent; Defenses Are Unnecessary
• Weaknesses: Far From Many Resources; Difficult To Retrieve Wood For Building

When first trying the game, it will be tempting to run to one of the nearby small islands just off from the main one. Is this a good idea? Well, it certainly does provide an escape from the cannibals, which will be the first thought of many coming into The Forest. No cannibals will spawn on the smaller islands, and they can’t get across the stretch of ocean required to attack the base.

However, while water collectors can be placed to catch rain and gardens planted to provide some food, it won’t be enough long-term, and players will be required to go far afield for most of the materials needed to progress in the game. While the islands are safe, they are barren, and the trek back and forth to even reach the base will be painful, not to mention unnecessary, since other options provide better measures of safety as well as supplies.

10 Beached Boat Cove

Perfect Hidden Cove Free From Danger

• Strengths: Defensible Spot, Unlikely To Ever See Enemies
• Weaknesses: Lack Of Resources, Remoteness

As with any great base spot, players have to choose between having resources and being in the middle of potential enemy attacks or escaping it all and living on a remote beach. If players, particularly newer ones, are looking for the latter, then they should consider checking out this remote spot on the far south of the map in The Forest.

While this spot isn’t the most packed with resources and can be difficult to reach walking around the coast, it allows players complete freedom from attack, and will likely not need many resources for a base, since the position requires few traps or walls to defend it. The beached boat cove is a picturesque and pleasing location, for players willing to go off the beaten track enough to find it at the very most Southeast tip of the map.

9 Goose Lake

Plenty Of Resources In A Beautiful Spot

• Strengths: Good Local Water Source, Geese Food Source, Central Location For Cave System
• Weaknesses: Rocky Terrain, Easily Spotted By Cannibals

How about a calming base down by a lovely lake, where players can eat the many local geese and drink from the water? Goose Lake is a hugely popular spot for players because of the access it provides to a cave within the lake and also to others nearby. There are lookout posts on the lake, and it is a beautiful location.

But more than that, there is a cliff near the lake that is impassable for cannibals and other enemies. If a base is built up against this side, there are fewer directions that one can be attacked from. It offers safety and resources, both of which are found in a centralized location near many of the significant cave systems that players must explore to complete the game. This is a great place to start in a multiplayer server with people who haven’t played the game before.

8 The Snow Biome

Harsh Environment But Relatively Safe

• Strengths: Plenty Of Animals To Hunt, Close To Key Locations
• Weaknesses: Warm Suit Needed At All Times, Growth Of Plants Is Lacking

The Snow Biome is an almost entirely impractical place to build a base, which is part of what makes doing so ingenious. The northern part of the island, near the mountain, is covered in eternal snow, which makes it uninhabitable for any player not wearing a warm suit unless there is a lot of fire around all the time.

Nevertheless, the Snow Biome can be a smart place to try and put a base down. Normally, it’ll be easier to accomplish this later in the game, but that is precisely when players will need a place away from cannibal attacks. The attacks intensify as the game goes on, and it will be difficult at times, but if players build in the western part of the snowy biome, they will avoid a lot of cannibal presence and find an abundance of mushrooms as food to forage in the area.

7 In The Trees

Living Above The Danger

• Strengths: Very Unlikely To Be Attacked, Can Be Built Anywhere
• Weaknesses: Trees Can Be Knocked Down, Easy To Lose Base

It might initially seem like an unusual idea, but a tree house is completely possible for a build in-game and is an interesting and potentially beautiful build for a base. It should be noted that updates to The Forest made it possible for certain types of mutants to attack the tree if they see the player enter the base.

However, while this means a tree house isn’t a foolproof escape plan, it is a useful base to have. It can make dangerous but resourceful areas much safer, as long as players remember not to put a fire inside at night. This would make the base visible for an extremely large area.

6 The South Beach

Good Visibility & Resources

• Strengths: Tent Ready Made For Sleeping With Resources Littered Around, Much Local Food
• Weaknesses: Close To Trees, Likely To Be Attacked

Another space with natural defenses on multiple fronts is the south beach up against the ocean, where players can run if they are surrounded. It is also near an early-game cave with resources, the yacht is close at hand, and a camp is left behind. This, combined with plenty of nearby trees with the space between to see attackers coming, makes for a strong defensive position that’s easy to hold later in the game with stronger weapons.

While dead sharks on the beach don’t make for the best company, the site is extremely useful and easy to mark and remember on the map. Seagulls are the only useable animals around for food, but there are blueberries nearby and plenty of other materials between the camp and caves.

5 Shipping Containers

Create An Open, Defensible Fortress

• Strengths: Open area provides decent visibility
• Weaknesses: Lack of sustainable resources means having to explore the rest of the Peninsula for materials

Aside from the Airplane, it’s the Shipping Containers located west of the peninsula that provides players with the closest resemblance to the outside world beyond the mutant-riddled land of The Forest. This area is located just north of the yacht and is located a bit to the west of Goose Lake. The location is easily recognizable for the cluster of shipping containers scattered on the shore, with an abundance of interactive suitcases, but with a lack of trees all around.

The closest sources of clean water and food that players can get after establishing a base in the Shipping Containers would be along the other directions as they are already located on the western edge of the map. Despite the lack of immediate resources, this locations relative proximity to manageable mutant villages and the rest of the peninsula beyond its shores make it a manageable location. The flatness of the area makes it easy to build structures and defenses, while also making it easy to spot mutants from afar.

4 North Of The Yacht

Enjoy The Beach, Resource Access

• Strengths: Open area gives a lot of view of potential threats, vicinity to resources means players don’t have to stick to areas where there can be immediate danger
• Weaknesses: Beach doesn’t have a lot of immediate resources, relative open area is more accessible to threats

While the Beach is a relatively popular choice due to its relative proximity to the Yacht to the south and the rest of the peninsula to the north, the North of the Yacht – just before the small cliff that divides the forest and the Beach – makes for an attractive base location.

Compared to the Beach, this northern area places players smack dab in the middle of some of the game’s most vital locations: the Yacht to the south, as well as Goose Lake and the Sinkhole to the north. While the location does have a cluster if mutant villages along its northwestern and eastern edges, the area has more than enough resources to fortify a base for adequate defenses.

3 East Of The Sinkhole

Get As Close To The Plot As Possible

• Strengths: Sinkhole proximity provides access to major plot points, view from the Sinkhole can help spot threats from afar, position from the overall Map means the rest of the game is more accessible
• Weaknesses: No immediate sustainable resources, may need some travel time to gather resources, a wrong move can send players plummeting to their demise

The Sinkhole is among the most dangerous locations in The Forest gameplay, especially when one wrong click is enough to spiral players into their demise in the caves below. Moreover, the relatively open nature of the Sinkhole left slight plains around the area that leave players visible to mutants. However, the plains directly East of the Sinkhole may be the location players need for a base.

At its core, the relative openness of the area makes it fitting for cliffside bases that players can easily locate wherever they are. The base makes for a decent resupply station between cave expeditions, while the lack of resources is easily compensated by traversing the nearby landmarks like Goose Lake and even the river that divides the southern half of the peninsula to the north which has the snowy mountain ranges.

2 West Of The Valley (#2)

Proximity From The Game Makes It Relatively Safe

• Strengths: General proximity to significant landmarks in the game, easy access to resources
• Weaknesses: Placement in the map means players are confined to an area, would have to build transportation methods to access further locations especially opposite their position

The Valley remains one of the most pristine locations for a base in The Forest gameplay due to its proximity to the eastern edge of the map. The lack of activity in the region means players have all the time to spend foraging and creating their base, while most mutant activities are relegated to the far south. However, players who want a more decent alternative starting area for their base might want to head West of the Valley instead. Although this location only takes a light walk to reach, its general proximity to the rest of the game makes it a practical area to build a base out of.

For starters, the presence of the river in between makes a natural barrier against most mutants. However, compared to the Valley proper, going west gives players a lot of flexibility in terms of transport. For starters, the location allows players to make a zipline that can traverse much closer to the southern half of the map. It’s also much closer to the small creek that leads to a cave entrance and cluster of mutant villages to the north. Resource-wise, this part of the map is made largely of plains, allowing players to create farms and a more accessible shelter. Being much closer to the middle of the main river can give players a better view of their surroundings from the riverside compared to the limiting Valley.

1 The Valley

Resources On All Sides

• Strengths: Plenty Of Wood, Easy To Defend
• Weaknesses: Difficult To Escape, Lack Of Local Food

This area doesn’t have as firm a name as some other well-known base spots on the map in The Forest. However, it is distinct and easily found because there is a cliff on either side of this beach area. This not only makes it incredibly easy to defend but gives it an appealing look to boot.

Players can gather materials, build a single wall on one side to keep away the local patrols of cannibals and get it all in a lovely location. The Valley is also a central, excellent location on the map and provides a lot of resources, so players building here will never have any difficulty gathering or defending, a difficult thing to find for such a brutal game. While all of these choices make for interesting gameplay, The Valley may be the best choice of them all for a gamer’s next run-through of The Forest.