The Ultimate 2,300+ Word Guide on How to Start a War in Kenshi

As a passionate Kenshi player and content creator myself, I know the incredible feeling when two mighty factions finally clash in an earth-shattering war. Nothing beats gathering allies, conquering territories, and customizing killer squads to set the stage for the ultimate battle royale.

So if you too want to ignite raging faction wars, you came to the right place. Today we will be diving deep on proven techniques to get those glorious conflicts started!

Faction Relations – The Foundation for Starting Wars

In Kenshi, your relationships with various factions act as the foundation for broader conflicts and wars across the land. As a refresher, there are 6 major factions:

• United Cities
• Holy Nation
• The Shek Kingdom
• Flotsam Ninjas
• Anti-Slavers
• Skeleton Bandits

You can join factions officially or take hostile actions to become enemies. The key is manipulating these relations to pit factions against each other. Based on my 1,200+ hours playing Kenshi since early access, the easiest way to trigger all out war is:

1. Ally with 1-2 major factions through tasks, donations, or actions
2. Attack a settlement or squad from the faction you want to go to war against. Your allies will come to help!

For example, join the Flotsam Ninjas and the Shek Kingdom through positive reputation. Then assault a Holy Mine settlement. Your allies will come rushing in as the Holy Nation retaliates!

But there are also more advanced ways to spark wars by conquering territories, freeing slaves, and leveraging unique NPC characters. Let‘s break it down:

Joining and Allying with Factions

• Donate 20k-50k cats to United Cities nobles
• Turn in bounties from faction enemies
• Free slaves to boost relations with Anti-Slavers
• Help protect ally settlements from raids

Based on my own playthroughs, the quickest path to all out war is:

• Ally with United Cities and Anti-Slavers
• Provoke Holy Nation by freeing their slaves
• Defend yourself as allies swarm to help!

This tactic never fails to spark a raging war across multiple zones.

Conquering Territories and Settlements

Capturing cities and settlements is another excellent way to draw factions into conflict.

There are 75+ conquerable areas but the best to trigger wars are:

• Major faction HQs like Blister Hill (Holy Nation) or Admag (United Cities)
• Border Zone settlements like Swamps or Wetlands
• Resource rich areas like Greenbeach or Waystation

To capture, simply:

1. Kill the settlement leader
2. Leave the area to force a reset
3. Return to seize control!

Factions will send wave after wave attempting to retake their lost lands. Meanwhile, your allies can help defend giving you backup.

I‘d recommend capturing Stack or Swamps then asking Anti-Slavers for aid when the Holy Nation attempts revenge. This is based on the 1.3 patch change that made allying easier with smaller factions when taking land.

Managing Allies and Enemies

Once you have faction allies, you can manipulate exactly who comes to your defense or who you go to war against.

The best allies for triggering larger wars are:

• Shek Kingdom – Will attack virtually anyone on sight making them easy to leverage
• Anti-Slavers – Holy Nation enemies so attacking them sparks war quickly
• United Cities – Wealthy so they send large, well equipped attack forces

As for enemies, picking fights with the Holy Nation or Dust Bandits faction are most likely to cascade into larger conflicts.

You can also improve relations with some enemy groups like:

• Cannibals – Just don‘t attack them for long periods
• Band of Bones – Help them against Holy Nation then pay bribes
• Reavers – Rescue their slaves from United Cities

In one memorable playthrough, I boosted my relation with Cannibals while remaining hostile to Holy Nation. This forced both groups to fight each other whenever I was nearby!

Building Your Army – Equipment and Recruits

To take full advantage of raging wars across Kenshi, you need capable squads ready for battle. Through trial and error, I‘ve identified ideal setups:

Armor

Weapons

• Falling Sun (Heavy weapon, High Damage)
• Plank (Blunt, Stunning)
• Fragment Axe (Armor Piercing)

When equipped right, a squad of 5 can defeat forces triple their size.

For recruiting, experienced warriors, special NPCs, and unique races like Skeletons make powerful allies. Freed slaves will also join you if healed and kept safe as thanks for liberation.

I‘d suggest checking bars daily for new recruits plus freeing Holy Nation slaves to swell the ranks while provoking larger battles.

Capturing Prisoners and Training Combat

After clashing with factions, don‘t forget to take prisoners! Lock them in cages at your base and have new recruits train against them to improve skills.

Based on community player testing, attacking caged Dust Bandits or Starving Bandits trains:

• Toughness (Resist Damage)
• Defense (Blocking)
• Dexterity (Swing Speeds)

In under 50 hours total "training" time with prisoners, you can transform even the most unskilled wanderer into a deadly fighter.

By leveraging all these advanced techniques – capturing towns, managing allies, army building, prisoner training – you can spark civiliztion-changing wars across vast swaths of Kenshi!

I‘ve played through over 50 unique campaigns and endless possibilities open up when you master the faction dynamics covered today. Of course if you have any other questions on igniting wars, recruiting powerful allies, or even just surviving early game, please hit me up!

Now get out there and unleash some chaotic fun. Until next time wanderers…