Outbound \u2014 Best Starting Location
Where to park your van first, when to move, and the single best long-term base in the game.
Hour 0\u20133 \u2014 default spawn
The default Starting Area spawn is intentionally placed near Lumber, Fibre, Water and a Scrap Metal cluster. Do not drive yet \u2014 Biofuel is scarce until you reach Canyons. Build your first base where you wake up.
Hour 3\u20138 \u2014 first relocation: riverbank meadow
Roughly 150m north of the introduction beacon there is a flat meadow on the river bend. Free Water spawn, larger flat patch, easy line-of-sight to the introduction beacon. Drive here once Chapter 1 is wrapped up.
Hour 8\u201320 \u2014 Canyons river west bank
When you push to Canyons, set up your forward base on the river west bank, near the Canyons Relay tower. Free Water + Coal cluster + Common Minerals within walking range. Workshop T2 craft loop centres here.
Hour 20+ \u2014 Coast western lighthouse
The endgame base. Flat parking, low-tide Salt access, Coastline trader on foot, storm-fed Wind, tide-fed Tidal Capacitor. Every veteran ends up here. You can comfortably run a Schoolie parked-base at this location while taking the Pathmaker out for Mountains runs.
Common starting-location questions
What is the best starting location in Outbound?
The default spawn in the Starting Area is fine for hours 0–3. The first relocation should be the riverbank meadow ~150m north of the introduction beacon — free Water + Lumber + Fibre + flat parking for any chassis.
When should I move my base?
Three relocation moments: (1) end of Chapter 1 — move to Canyons river west bank for Workshop T2 progression; (2) mid Chapter 3 — move to Coast western lighthouse for trader access; (3) Chapter 4 — set up Mountains forward camp on the southern Approach plateau.
Is there a single best base location?
For the full game: the western Coast lighthouse plateau. It has flat parking, low-tide Salt access, the Coastline trader on foot, and storm-fed Wind plus tide-fed Tidal Capacitor. Every veteran build returns here.