There are plenty of places where you can build a good base in RuneScape Dragonwilds 1.0, but I don't think the biggest or prettiest patch of flat land is automatically the best one. Your base is somewhere you'll return to constantly, so small inconveniences like distant water, poor resource access, or an awkward travel route eventually matter far more than they seem when you first put down a building.

For that reason, I prefer locations that eliminate repeated trips rather than simply sitting beside one valuable resource. Water, fishing, useful materials, safe building space, and access to the wider map all matter, while the importance of being physically close to every progression resource drops once your travel options improve.

Jump To Section:
Best Overall Base Location
Best Starting Base Location
Best Safe Base Location
Best Mid-Game Base Location
Best Endgame Base Location
What Makes a Base Location Good

Best Overall Base Location in RuneScape Dragonwilds 1.0

My pick for the best overall base location in RuneScape Dragonwilds 1.0 is the water-side building area in Witch Willow Range. I wouldn't rush there immediately on a new character, but once your progression can comfortably support the region, it has one of the strongest combinations of resources, transportation, safety, and building space I've seen.

The actual building area sits beside a small pond with no enemies immediately around it. You get usable water, two net fishing spots, a standard fishing location, nearby runes, berries, trees, coal, and a large area of relatively flat ground. Iron and additional coal can also be found in the nearby cave system, while another Nether cave is only a short trip away with even more resources.

The feature that pushes Witch Willow Range over several otherwise excellent locations for me is the nearby Kebbit Burrow. Once both ends are opened, burrows effectively give you another long-distance travel route without spending the runes you would normally consume through other forms of fast travel. That makes the location more valuable the longer you play rather than less valuable as individual nearby resources become obsolete.

There is a tradeoff. Witch Willow Range is a more challenging region, which means you need to account for more dangerous raids than you would at an early-game base. I still think that's a worthwhile exchange for a permanent base once you're equipped to handle it. The immediate building area itself is unusually peaceful, while the things you actually want to fight or farm remain close enough to reach when you choose to.

Best Starting Base Location

Early in the game, I would stay much closer to Temple Woods and build along the water near the border of the starting regions rather than dropping a base beside the Wizard just because that's where you happen to be when building becomes relevant.

The distinction sounds minor until you start farming. Water is used often enough that putting even a short run between your base and the nearest source turns into dozens of pointless trips. A water-side starting base gives you immediate access for farming alongside fishing, nearby resources, and enough room to expand without requiring you to push deep into a more dangerous region before you're ready.

More importantly, this location makes sense before you've developed your transportation network. Early-game bases should optimize for what you physically have to walk to. Later bases can optimize around rarer resources and transportation connections because crossing the map is no longer the same commitment.

I wouldn't treat this as your forever base. Think of it as a cheap first headquarters that solves your immediate problems without creating new ones. Build enough infrastructure to progress comfortably, then decide whether moving your important crafting and storage setup is worth it once the rest of Ashenfall starts opening up.

Best Safe Base Location

If you want something you can keep for much longer without accepting the tougher raids of a higher-level region, the lake just north of the church in Temple Woods is arguably the easiest permanent base location to recommend.

There's considerably more flat building space here, a large source of water, multiple fishing opportunities, nearby oak trees and a small collection of lava runes. Those lava runes are particularly useful because fast travel gives them continuing value even after many early resources around a base have stopped mattering.

The other advantage is one you don't really notice until you've built somewhere more dangerous: the region keeps base defense relatively manageable. A resource-rich base isn't automatically efficient if every raid turns into a major repair job, so remaining in an easier region can be completely reasonable even after you've progressed far beyond it.

This would be my pick for anyone who hates relocating. It isn't the absolute best at every individual category, but it gives you the important everyday conveniences without attaching much friction to them.

Best Mid-Game Base Location

The Fractured Plains becomes much more appealing if you want your base to sit closer to mid-game progression instead of remaining in the relative comfort of Temple Woods.

One of the better locations is a raised plateau with water and several fishing opportunities, flat building space, natural bridges that can be incorporated into the base, and a vault essentially on your doorstep. The terrain itself also helps define where enemies can approach from rather than leaving you with an exposed base in every direction.

There are Garou nearby, so this isn't as effortless as the Temple Woods locations. However, the natural layout means you can wall off the relevant approaches and reduce how often those enemies wander into your living space.

That's why I prefer this style of Fractured Plains base over simply chasing the closest ore deposit. Copper, tin, and other resources are valuable, but eventually you either stop needing them in the same quantities or gain faster ways to travel. Terrain, water, usable space, and controlled approaches continue affecting your base every time you return to it.

Best Endgame Base Location in 1.0

There are two more interesting late-game choices in 1.0, depending on whether you're building primarily for function or simply want somewhere impressive to settle permanently.

The Library Courtyard offers an enormous amount of usable building space surrounded by existing architecture, with no enemies spawning or normally roaming through the courtyard itself. Its water is usable, there are four net fishing locations around the area, and a chest can be repeatedly accessed just outside the base. A few dangerous enemies exist nearby, but they generally aren't wandering directly through the courtyard unless disturbed.

For a large endgame project, that's an unusually convenient foundation. You aren't fighting the terrain for every expansion, and the existing architecture gives the area far more character than another empty field.

Single-player worlds also have a more unusual option near the entrance leading toward 1.0's new area. The ruined area around the gate has a huge amount of flat space, no enemies in the immediate interior, and one of the more dramatic locations for a late-game build. The major drawback is water: the nearby water isn't usable, so I wouldn't consider moving there until you can comfortably supply fresh water through systems such as rain collection.

I'd treat that second location as a luxury base rather than the objectively strongest functional base. Once you're deep enough into progression that water and resource logistics have largely been solved, you can afford to choose a home because the location itself is interesting.

What Makes a Good Base Location in Dragonwilds?

The biggest mistake I would avoid is choosing a base according to whatever resource feels scarce at that exact point in your progression. Individual resources change in value. The route between your bed, storage, crafting stations, farm, water, and transportation does not.

Water deserves especially high priority for an early or mid-game base because farming can turn a poorly placed home into a constant bucket-running simulator. After that, I would prioritize safe usable space and transportation, followed by resources that remain useful for a long time rather than something you'll outgrow after the next equipment tier.

Kebbit Burrows are particularly valuable under that logic because they reduce the cost of moving around the world, while lava runes remain relevant because of their connection to fast travel. Once movement itself becomes easier, you also have much more freedom to build somewhere because you actually like it.

That includes mounts. If you've unlocked another option but can't figure out how to equip it, our RuneScape Dragonwilds mount and mount skin guide explains where the surprisingly hidden mount menu is located.

For a fresh 1.0 playthrough, then, I wouldn't obsess over finding one perfect location and forcing it to work for the entire game. Start beside the water in the Temple Woods area, use the lake north of the church if you want a safe long-term home, and move toward Witch Willow Range once you're ready for a base that combines resources, water, fishing, space, and long-distance transportation in one location.

Of those choices, Witch Willow Range is the one I'd build around if the goal were a single permanent base for the bulk of a 1.0 playthrough.

Guides