Core Keeper NPC Housing Guide and Base Building Ideas

In Core Keeper, NPCs can sell valuable items to help with survival and progression. However, frequently going to each NPC’s location can waste valuable time and resources. Instead, players can build NPC housing to ensure these important characters are a little more accessible near your base. Here's a Core Keeper NPC Housing Guide, along with some base-building ideas from the game's community, to help you come up with the ideal headquarters for all those pesky traders.

Core Keeper NPC Housing Requirements

NPC Housing in Core Keeper must have certain elements to ensure the characters move into your base. These necessities are the following:

• A fully enclosed room made with walls of any type of block.
• The NPC’s summoning item
• At least one empty tile
• A bed (can be claimed by the player)
• A minimum floor space of 4 square tiles and a maximum of 63 tiles

Additionally, the NPC must be away from the player's current location so they can move into the desired room or base. In particular, the NPC's location must not be on the minimap when you’re in that specific area. Other things that may enhance an NPC house or room's aesthetics and functionality but aren't required are the following:

• Door
• Light source
• Specific floor or wall types
• Enemies and enemy-spawning items

Note that different NPCs can share one room. However, the number of beds should coincide with the number of beds sharing the same living space.

NPC Summoning Items

Currently, five merchant NPC summoning items exist in Core Keeper. Each item summons a specific NPC and has unique locations or sources to get it.

• Slime Idol: Dropped from killing Glurch the Abominous Mass and summons the Bearded Merchant.
• Mysterious Idol: Dropped from killing Ghorm the Devourer and summons the Cloaked Merchant.
• Pile of Chum Idol: Dropped from killing Awakened Azeos or Azeos the Sky Titan and summons the Fishing Merchant.
• Seasonal Calendar: Craft using 5x Wood and 8x Fiber at the Carpenter’s Table and summons the Seasonal Merchant.
• Nuclear Battery Idol: Open an Alien Tech Chest in the Shimmering Frontier and summons the Brave Merchant (introduced in The Shimmering Frontier Update).

Note that each merchant NPC sells unique items, making it ideal for players to have these sellers in their bases. For instance, the Bearded Merchant sells the Pouch Workbench, a crafting station introduced in the recent Bags & Blasts Update, and is used to make small and medium pouches.

Base Building Ideas

The Core Keeper community is rife with unique NPC housing designs and base builds to help incorporate these traders into your home. Below are some examples to help you build the best base in Core Keeper:

Focusing on the Fundamentals

Reddit user Anxious_Astronaut153 showcased his Core Keeper base after playing for about ten worlds at the time he uploaded his video. His base focused on core elements, including gardens, animal pens, ponds for fishing, and NPC merchant houses. Nonetheless, the user added some flair to his base by decorating a star pattern for the lights at the center.

Underground Castle

YouTuber FuryForged made a visually striking base with his teammate, Powerhouse, for the Core Keeper Battle of the Bases competition in 2022. This headquarters is reminiscent of an underground kingdom as soon as you enter it. Enter, and you’re greeted with a bridge over dark water that highlights the game’s beautifully pixelated reflections and lighting. Move forward, and you’ll see the essential rooms, including the crafting area, core room, dining room, and kitchen. This subterranean castle also has a moat, stone walls, and even a graveyard.

Progression Paradise

Some players create their bases once they reach certain points in the game, but that may not seem to be the case for YouTuber Ukiyox. The user’s base showcases a design that allows for growth through progression. At the core of the base is a resource-gathering hub, which includes materials like Scarlet Ore. Doing so allows the user to gather the necessary items to expand the base when allowed. The base’s circular design also promotes accessibility, with different functional rooms in various wings. Here, you’ll find an animal sanctuary, kitchen, dining area, library, pier, slime farm, and hospital. As for its aesthetics, the base has plenty of it, such as an area within the base with a wide and textured street reminiscent of Tokyo's pavements.