Renown Base Building: From Twig Shack to Stone Fortress

In Renown, a base is more than a roof over your loot. It is the line between long term survival and watching your stash disappear into a stranger's inventory. This guide walks through the full setup, from your first mallet swing to the upgrades that keep raiders out.

Crafting the Stone Mallet

Everything in Renown Early Access starts with the Stone Mallet. Open the Inventory screen, switch to the Crafting tab, and assemble one using 10 Stone and 10 Lumber. It is cheap, fast, and the only way to lay down structures, so prioritize it before anything else.

With the mallet equipped, hold the right mouse button to enter build mode. A left click opens a radial menu with foundations, walls, and the rest of the basic kit.

Placing Your First Pieces

Pick a part from the ring menu with left click. A blue ghost of the structure follows your cursor. Another left click confirms placement, assuming you have the materials. If you do not, the game tells you what is missing.

Resist the urge to spam walls in the first minute. Start with a wooden foundation and lay out a footprint you can actually defend. Tight rectangles beat sprawling shapes when raid time comes.

Every part you place initially appears as a flimsy frame of branches and twigs. Left alone, that frame decays. Quickly. Upgrade it before the timer eats your progress.

Upgrading Frames into Real Walls

Walk close to any placed frame and press G to upgrade it. A standard wooden foundation or wall costs 100 Lumber per piece, so bring your Stone Axe and stock up before you start a serious build session. Running back to a tree after every wall is a great way to waste daylight.

Once the perimeter is solid, claim the plot officially.

Planting the Banner

A Banner costs 100 Lumber at the Crafting tab and serves two roles. First, it marks the area as yours, giving you and your allies authority over the base. Second, it doubles as a storage container, which is handy for stashing upkeep materials.

Keep in mind that upkeep still applies. Even a fully upgraded base decays over time when the Banner runs dry, just at a much slower rate than raw frames.

Tips for Surviving the Long Game

Building on a Renown server is not just about stacking blocks. Other players will absolutely scout your home, and a sloppy layout is an open invitation. A few habits that pay off:

• Sketch the layout first. Place a few markers or walk the perimeter before committing materials. Replacing a misaligned foundation is more painful than slowing down for thirty seconds.
• Build away from towns, close to resources. Forests and quarries are friends. Busy villages are not. Distance from foot traffic keeps your base off most raid lists.
• Hide the Banner. If a rival destroys it, your authority vanishes and the base becomes contested ground. Bury it inside walls, behind doors, or under a roof.
• Keep upgrading. Higher tier materials drastically improve resistance to weapons and tools. A stone wall buys you minutes against a raider. A reinforced one buys you hours.

Stick to those habits, feed the Banner regularly, and your Renown base stops being a target and starts being a problem for anyone who tries to take it.