Cornerstones are in-game augments in Against the Storm that provide players some advantage as they manage and guide their settlers to set up a sizable and thriving settlement amid an ominous Blightstorm that is set to ravage anything in its way. These give the player and their workers different buffs to ensure they survive outside the Smoldering City.
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Given that each Cornerstone a player will encounter during their runs will be different, picking the best one often means planning ahead, or making sure to adapt to the current stage they are playing in. Here are some of the best ones that will greatly aid those to weather the storm and come out the other side victorious.
10 Survivor Bonding
+10% Villager Speed, +1 Global Resolve
Each time a villager experiences a negative stage effect like a bad storm, their respective Resolve decreases. When their Resolve gets too low, they run the risk of leaving the settlement and rendering the player with fewer villagers to work with.
This is when picking Survivor Bonding is a good Cornerstone. Each run will have players managing their villagers’ Resolve. Choosing this Cornerstone gives players some cushion as they progress through the level and try to get Reputation. The additional villager speed also makes completing tasks that need them to carry their resources to the warehouse faster, which means more resources to create structures.
9 Over-Diligent Woodworkers
Gain 3 Barrels For Every 10 Planks Produced
Once players have a steady supply of wood, upgrading them to planks is the next step to let them place advanced structures in their settlements. Producing planks usually takes a bit longer than wood, and making the most out of such resources means the difference between a successful or a failed run, especially during the latter stages.
Over-Diligent Woodworkers maximizes plank production by yielding additional barrels after 10 planks have been produced. Having barrels is a great tradable resource once players have their Trading Post since they can be traded for a decent amount for other supplies their camp needs.
8 Zhorg's Secret Ingredient
Gain 10 Skewers For Every 10 Pickled Goods Produced
Apart from maintaining a steady amount of raw materials to be processed, having stable food items for villagers is paramount to keep them happy and continue developing the players’ settlements.
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Skewers are hard to come by, especially if the Cookhouse or Butcher isn’t available yet. This is why getting Zhorg’s Secret Ingredient is an excellent Cornerstone to get if players already have access to Pickled Goods. Supplementing this with Lizard or Fox villagers increases their resolve and makes them less likely to leave once storms batter the settlement.
7 Rich Glades
Newly Discovered Deposits Have +5 charges, And Newly Discovered Large Deposits Have +20
Given that one of the main mechanics in Against the Storm is discovering new glades, making their resources plentiful is always a welcome sight once players have hacked their way into one. This is where the Rich Glades Cornerstone comes in: when picking this augment, it makes glades and their corresponding resource deposits have more supply.
Whether it’s a small clump of berries, a large clay or stone deposit, or anything in between, once Rich Glades is active, resource deposits that are discovered will yield more resources, making them invaluable as players embark through a stage and develop their respective settlements.
6 Ancient Pact
You Can See The Content Of Undiscovered Glades, But Discovering Dangerous Or Forbidden Glades Kills 1 Villager
Speaking of glades, larger ones are often a coin toss whether they are dangerous or not. For those who want to be on the safer side during their runs, getting Ancient Pact is a good overall Cornerstone.
Once acquired, players can check what kind of resources any glade has within its perimeter by hovering over the “?” symbol. This also works for larger glades: determining what kind of hazard it contains, and if they can manage it, or look for a less dangerous place as they expand their settlement and gather vital resources. Even losing a villager when discovering dangerous glades is a necessary tradeoff, since they can get new villagers as they progress through the level.
5 Blood Price Contract
Gain 10 Amber Every Time A Villager Dies Or Leaves
Amber is a precious item in Against the Storm. It is mainly used to purchase different power-ups in the Trading Post whenever a trader comes to the settlement. Outside of sending caches back to the Citadel or completing dangerous glade events, getting Amber is hard.
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This is why Blood Price Contract is a great way to gain Amber. Players can actively look for dangerous glades and try to fulfill events: if their villager dies as a result, they get 10 Amber, if they succeed in the quest, then that’s more resources and new ground to develop.
4 Grain Bags
Grain Production Increases By +1 Every 25 Times It's Produced
Food is an essential resource that players need to have in their respective settlements. Once players have access to the Small Farm and have fertile soil to till they can have a steady source of food there via Grains and Vegetables that can easily be processed by other structures.
Getting Grain Bags once the Small Farm is up and running will give an excellent food source production for settlements. Fertile soil provides the most consistent resource for food, and ramping up its production ensures villagers won’t go hungry as players’ run goes into the mid to later stages.
3 Farming Tools
+50% To Amount Of Goods Produced In The Small Farm
Given that Small Farms are one of the better food-producing structures in the game, maximizing their yield is essential so that villagers continue to be well-fed. Getting Farming Tools further enhances the crop yield of Small Farms: this allows for more food items that can feed villagers as well as resources for trading or completing tasks.
For players who aren’t sure what Cornerstone to pick after they last the storm, if Farming Tools appears and no other Cornerstone seems useful, it’s best to get it as a later investment for food production.
2 Woodcutter's Song
For Every 20 Felled Trees, Global Resolve Is Increased By 3 For 120 Seconds
Wood is both the most important resource and a hindrance during runs in Against the Storm. This is especially true when players are looking for the win condition within the map: trees become thick blockades that stifle players’ progress toward their objective.
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To get around this, Woodcutter’s Song is an excellent Cornerstone to acquire. Each time villagers clear 20 trees, their Global Resolve increases for a short amount. This is essential in some quests where villager resolve is needed, on top of ensuring villagers don’t leave during the later stages where storms can quickly bring down their resolve.
1 Reinforced Axes
Woodcutters' Camp Production Is 40% Quicker
Having wood and planks is essential when building structures since they are usually part of the crafting materials for the majority of buildings. On top of that, some essential items and side quests sometimes need either wood or planks. This is why getting Reinforced Axes is arguably the best Cornerstone in Against the Storm.
Having Reinforced Axes at any point during a player’s run significantly improves the production of wood resources, which in turn, allows them to build structures without worrying about resources. They can also use the surplus lumber for trading, once they have a Trading Post set up.
Against the Storm
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- December 8, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Eremite Games
- Genre(s)
- Strategy , City Builder , Simulation