Vain

“

... Great. Vain.

I wouldn't buy a loaf of bread from a bug merchant if I was starving to death.

Scamming bastards.

... Scamming adorable bastards.

”

Vain is a zone that occupies the west coast and red river of the middle section of Kenshi. It displays incredible biodiversity and what looks like refuge to the naive eye, but is in reality one of the most dangerous locations to start off. It is the homeland of the Western Hive, who will not trade with Hive Player Characters due to them being "Hiveless." This location is known for being inhabited by Beak Things. The Hive will not help the player if they are attempting to escape an attack from Beak Things unless you bring them directly in front of the hive guards.

Inhabitants

There are no Major Towns in Vain. This zone does not spawn Camps.

Minor Outposts

These locations are typically small towns, villages, or faction bases.

Hive Village x5
Western Hive

Ancient Locations

These are places which do not have competent inhabitants. Ancient Locations are usually lost outposts or ruins. Beware: sometimes these locations contain territorial protectors such as Security Spiders.

Nests

Nests are temporary locations which can spawn randomly and typically belong to Animals.

Nest of Beak Things

These nests can potentially spawn in this zone if certain World States have been reached.

Fog Deathyard (invasion) - If The Queen is dead.

Homeless Spawns

These are squads which spawn without being tied to a location, camp, or nest. This list is in order of likelihood.

These squads can potentially spawn in this zone if certain World States have been reached.

Southern Hive if West Hive Queen is dead and South Hive Queen is alive.

Environment

Vain

These are the modifiers which are linked to this zone on FCS.
Water	100%	Fertility	75%

Environment		Resources

Arid	50%	Stone	0.8
Green	50%	Iron	1
Swamp	20%	Copper	1

Before building an outpost, players should find information about specific areas through Prospecting.

The water is acidic and the terrain in Vain has a red hue, which makes it very ominous and "bloody". Despite this, there appears to be no adverse side effects on non-hiver characters or farming. Vain is a very promising location for crops like cotton and vegetables, and is located right beside a desert which can cultivate wheatstraw, hemp, and cactus. The ground type that can be found here is Green/Arid, on the border of the arid neighboring desert.

Beak Things are very strong and very dangerous creatures which eat their prey alive. They are incredibly fast, and even a character with very high athletics will find it near impossible to outrun them. Vain is host to another creature, the Gorillo, which is often seen traveling alone or in pairs.

Weather

This zone has the 'Vain' season. Seasons may cause harmful Weather Effects or be purely aesthetic.

Kenshi_red_rain
Clear nothing

Gallery

Tips

Vain is also one of the best places on the map to get copper and make money. Copper deposits are abundant in Vain, and always 100% quality. Some daring players will start off by going to vain and mining for a living, slowly making money through trade with the Hive.

If you are interested in making cats by selling animal skins, Vain is a good place to do it. Beak Things, Gorillos and Garru all wander the area, and all drop a fair amount of skins and raw meats which can be sold to Hive vendors.

Establishing towns is much better on the outskirts alongside the desert, where iron, stone, and other crops can be exploited with the same benefits of Vain and copper.

Trivia

Given that this region has an acid river flowing in the middle, and that several Hive Traders sell Thinfish, Grand fish and Dried Fish, it's possible that the river contains a notable amount and a variety of Fish. (though essentially only 2 varieties exist in Kenshi anyway)