SteamWorld Build – How To Satisfy Citizen And Worker Needs

SteamWorld Build citizen needs mechanics are all about making sure that everyone is happy. This requires you to be mindful of various goods and services, which your people clamor for. Eventually, this leads to new tiers that further add to the number of functions and materials that you can unlock. Our guide discusses how to satisfy citizen and worker needs in SteamWorld Build, so you can attain certain milestones early in the game.

How to satisfy the needs of worker units and citizens SteamWorld Build

You can satisfy citizen needs in SteamWorld Build by taking note of the services and goods that affect each type of citizen tier. Once you’ve met certain requirements, you may then upgrade to a higher tier.

Service buildings

Generally speaking, the buildings in the game fall into two classifications: services and production. Service buildings can function independently once constructed. Just make sure that they’re connected by road and are relatively close to the types of citizen residences that they should affect.

For instance, Worker residences need to have a nearby General Store to satisfy this particular need. You can click on a Service building to see if it affects all relevant types of housing.

Production buildings

Production buildings have several requirements before they can function properly, such as being connected by road to a Warehouse, as that’s where finished goods are sent. You must also have certain resources. The Moonshiner building is a good example since it requires the following:

• Cactus Farm – Produces Cactus Water.
• Sand Sifting Factory – Placed on a sandy area; collects Sand.
• Glassblower – Turns Sand into Glass.
• All of these buildings should be fairly close to each other, and you want to have a Warehouse nearby. The Moonshiner building will then process Cactus Water and Glass to create Moonshine, which satisfies the need of Engineers.

Later, some buildings will also need additional materials from the mines before they can manufacture a finished good. You can learn more in our Workshops and Extractors guide.

How to check the needs of citizens

You can check the citizen needs in SteamWorld Build by clicking on a type of residential complex. Here’s a quick summary:

• When a type of residence is first constructed, you’ll see only a few needs, as well as the maximum capacity of that building. For instance, a Worker Residential would initially have a maximum occupancy of five Workers and a couple of needs (i.e. General Store and Service Shop).
• As you construct more residential complexes and achieve new milestones, you’ll unlock new service and production buildings. That means that citizen type will have additional needs (i.e. Workers wanting Cactus Water and Charcoal).
• By satisfying more needs, you increase the maximum occupancy of the building, thus gaining more citizens of that type. Likewise, this increases the money that they generate.
• Later, once you have 100% satisfaction for a certain citizen type, you can upgrade them to a higher tier.

What are the needs of Workers?

These are the Worker Residential needs in SteamWorld Build:

• Road connection to Train Station.
• Service: General Store – Requires 200 Money.
• Service: Service Shop – Requires 400 Money and 3 Boards.
• Production: Cactus Farm – Requires 600 Money and 5 Boards.
• Production: Charcoal – Must have a Forester and Charcoal Kiln.

What are the needs of Engineers?

These are the Engineer Residential needs in SteamWorld Build:

• Road connection to Train Station.
• Service: General Store – Requires 200 Money.
• Service: Saloon – Requires 2,000 Money and 12 Boards.
• Service: Surveyor Office – Requires 2,400 Money, 5 Tools, and 4 Boards.
• Service: Wash Service Shop – Requires 7,000 Money, 8 Tools, 24 Boards, and 12 Sheet Metals.
• Production: Charcoal – Must have a Forester and Charcoal Kiln.
• Production: Moonshine – Must have Moonshiner, Cactus Farm, Sand Sifting Factory, and Glassblower.
• Production: Spare Parts – Must have Spare Parts Maker, Scrap Extractor, and Ironium Extractor.
• Production: Water – Must have Water Purifier and Dirty Water Extractor.
• Production: Robo Burger – Must have Robo Meister, Cattle Farm, Ironium Extractor, Forester, and Charcoal Kiln.

When to upgrade to higher citizen tiers

When considering the happiness and satisfying citizen needs in SteamWorld Build, you have to reach a 100% satisfaction rating for a certain residential type. This allows you to upgrade that building to a higher tier. Think of this mechanic as somewhat akin to other management sim games, such as Anno 1800. Here are a couple of examples:

• Workers to Engineers – Requires 300 Money, 3 Boards, and 3 Tools.
• Engineers to Aristobots – Requires 7,500 Money, 6 Boards, 4 Sheet Metals, and 3 Plastics.

However, it’s worth noting that various farms and factories still need a number of citizens of a particular type to continue to function. For instance, if you upgrade all your Workers into Engineers, there will be no one left to plow the fields or cut down trees. The same can be said if you upgrade all Engineers into Aristobots, since there will be no one left to man the factories. You also won’t be able to downgrade residential complexes as well, so you’ll have to construct a few more just to fill in any gaps.

In any case, that does it for our guide on how to satisfy citizen needs in SteamWorld Build. You might be wondering how to progress further in your playthrough. For those mechanics, you can check out our guides on how to access underground mineshafts/doors and how to find Old Tech/Rocket Parts.