A Small, and Certainly Incomplete, FAQ about Lair Building

[Tantalyr]

Just a few helpful hints that I've discovered whilst playing around with lair building on Blight. BIG caveat--all this is subject to the bugs (and hopefully fixes) that have popped up on Blight, and will pop up once the lair auctions end . . . .

Is Lair Planning Just Like Plot Planning?

Not even close! First off, unlike the neat, rectangular shapes of biped plot structures, lair chambers are irregular in shape. They do not fit neatly into corners or edges of the lair or adjacent to other lair structures.

Moreover, chambers and corridors each have specific "connection points," unlike biped plot structures. If you want to be able to enter/exit a chamber/corridor, you'd better have some chamber/corridor attached with a connection point and an exit point for that chamber/corridor.

Finally, you must be aware at all times of the height of lair structures. For example, a Tier IV lair will take up four levels of your lair. This means that if you plan that lair at level 4 of your lair, it will take up the same footprint not only at level 4, but levels 1, 2 and 3 as well. So you must plan around that structure at other levels. As a rule of thumb, each hall/lair requires one level per tier.

How Do I Create Ways To Go Down A Level?

Three ways--build a Slope, build a Covered Spiral, or build an Open Spiral. Of the three, the last is far and away the best. Slopes take a ton of room on a level, and Covered Spirals are dizzying (to put it charitably). Open Spirals take just a bit more room than Tier I storage silos, the smallest chamber available.

One huge caveat: Open Spirals reverse their connection points on the next lower level. So, never build an Open Spiral so that 180 degrees from its connection point will be a wall or other non-escapable point. Your best bet is to place Open Spirals somewhere near the center of a lair level.

Can I Build An Entire Lair Plan At One Time?

No. Youcan build only one chamber/corridor at a time. Let me clarify . . . . If you plan all levels of your lair and click the "Build" button, you will not be able to put anything in the Build window unless the structure you have highlighted is connected to some chamber/corridor you already have under construction. In other words, you must "Build" one chamber/corridor at a time, and then only if that structure/corridor is connected to a chamber/corridor already under construction. Once you can access any built chamber/corridor, you can contribute resources to any chamber/corridor connected to it.

Bottom Line: Unlike biped plots, you can only contribute resources to unbuilt structures connected to already built chambers/corridors.

How Can I Best Gain Lairshaping Experience?

There are two ways to gain Lairshaping experience--making end construction units, and applying them. According to posts by the devs, Lairshaping experience is devoted 20% to making end construction units, and 80% is devoted to actually applying those units to lair chambers/corridors.


That's all I have for now. Please feel free to add to (or detract from) what I've posted here . . . .

[dorrin]

Finally, you must be aware at all times of the height of lair structures. For example, a Tier IV lair will take up four levels of your lair. This means that if you plan that lair at level 4 of your lair, it will take up the same footprint not only at level 4, but levels 1, 2 and 3 as well. So you must plan around that structure at other levels. As a rule of thumb, each hall/lair requires one level per tier.

hm... actually, that's not true. most structures with the exceptions of silos and libraries are the same exact size from t1 to t2, t3 to t4 and t5 to t6. the main difference between t1 and t2 (for example) is that the t2 version has more exits. at the very least i can say for certain that this is the case for halls, lairs and machine rooms.

t1 hall is already 2 x 2 x 2 .. _not_ only one level. a t1 lair is 2 x 2 x 1.
i forget the exact dimensions of the rest, but i think t3/4 hall is 3 x 3 x 2 and t5/6 is 3 x 3 x 3.
t3/4 lair is 3 x 2 x 2, i remember that much...
anyway, as for machine rooms, they start out at 2 x 1 x 1 at t1/2, then 2 x 2 x 1 at t3/4 and finally 2 x 2 x 2 (if memory serves) for t5/6

How Do I Create Ways To Go Down A Level?

Three ways--build a Slope, build a Covered Spiral, or build an Open Spiral. Of the three, the last is far and away the best. Slopes take a ton of room on a level, and Covered Spirals are dizzying (to put it charitably). Open Spirals take just a bit more room than Tier I storage silos, the smallest chamber available.

halls and lairs can also be used to get from one level to another, though that's not really their primary function.
slopes take up twice the room that spirals do. unless you want them for the way they look, i highly discourage their use.

One huge caveat: Open Spirals reverse their connection points on the next lower level. So, never build an Open Spiral so that 180 degrees from its connection point will be a wall or other non-escapable point. Your best bet is to place Open Spirals somewhere near the center of a lair level.

i don't know why i find the wording of that terribly confusing...
another way to put it is that.... the way you're facing on the level above in a spiral is the same way you'll be facing when you come out of it on the level below, just like a slope. so you can't put a spiral up against a wall, you need to pull it back one space then use a bend or a 3-way on the next level.

[Illi]

I've got an addition to the ways of getting to another lvl. For those building T3 and higher machines, some of those structures have two entrance points and sometimes they're on different lvls.

[JorgNep]

I've got an addition to the ways of getting to another lvl. For those building T3 and higher machines, some of those structures have two entrance points and sometimes they're on different lvls.

I could be working from older info, but I believe only T5 and T6 machines (all of them) use a second lair level.

[Tantalyr]

Another question and answer (from some discussion in another thread) . . .

What Are The Most Efficient Silos To Build?

Unlike biped silos, lair silo (called "Storage" in the planning window) footprints increase exponentially with tiers. A Tier IV lair silo, for example, is at least 3 times the size of a Tier I silo (perhaps even larger). A Tier IV lair silo will hold one stack of 56,000 bulk. Three Tier I silos will hold a total of 3 stacks and 60,000 bulk. So unless your lair has a ton of empty space to spare, Tier I and II silos are the most efficient storage chambers to build.

On a related note, storage chambers have only one connection point, so it is best to place them in corners and along the edges of lair levels.