Quick answer
Build the second Pirate Camp as a small independent settlement. Drifters cannot be dragged from the old camp; available beds and useful jobs attract them. Prepare the destination before opening too many workplaces.
Original guide diagram based on the official Pirates guidance, showing the camp, local jobs, beds, and support loop that attract Drifters.
Version and source notesUpdated 2026-08-22 · Source review due
- Updated
- 2026-08-22
- Works with
- Released PC version; early second-camp expansion
- What this guide covers
- Build order and empty-camp diagnosis
- Version notes
- Attack timing and settlement balance can change
- Update status
- Source review due
Choose the right guide
This page: Set up the second camp.
Minimum viable second camp
- Choose a site that includes the resource you are expanding for. The early walkthrough route uses a Guano deposit.
- Place the Pirate Camp and connect the local build area.
- Add a Guano Gatherer or the workplace needed for that resource.
- Add a Campfire and Galley so new residents have food and drink.
- Provide beds before expecting workers to settle there.
- Add a warehouse and a connected Pier when goods must move between camps.
- Open jobs gradually and watch food, drink, beds, sentiment, and route load.
Original guide diagram based on the official Lead Mine guidance, used to prepare the local range, services, and storage before expansion.
Why nobody moves to the new camp
Do not look for a manual transfer button. The developer FAQ says Drifters move toward jobs and beds. If the camp stays empty, confirm that it has both, then check whether food, drink, and the required workplace are reachable locally.
For the supported job-and-bed attraction approach, see how to move Drifters between camps.
If the old camp consumes every available worker, pause a nonessential job there temporarily. Do not create ten vacancies at the new camp at once; that can make the settlement look staffed while essential production remains unmanned.
Connect the two camps without a route tangle
Use a Pier-to-warehouse loop for inter-camp goods. Keep production close to the resource, store exports locally, then ship only what the other camp needs. Long cross-island colored lines are a sign to reroute through local storage.
If the new area has several producers and consumers, read the logistics tips before expanding the route network. For an idle workshop, the production chain checklist is faster than rebuilding the camp.
Prepare for an attack
New-camp attacks include some randomness, but the developer FAQ says the game generally leaves reaction time. Keep a crewed ship available while the camp is fragile, and make a manual save before committing scarce workers or materials.
What success looks like
Beds fill gradually, the local workplace receives workers, food and drink remain positive, and exported resources reach the Pier or warehouse without starving the first camp.
Original guide diagram based on the official Lead Mine guidance, highlighting the stable local and export state to verify.