What is the 'best' way to get to the charcoal kiln and its ilk for charcoal?

[redxlaser15]

Just as it says on the tin.
Sure, I made the charcoal kiln and can constantly produce it now, but it took so long and I wonder if there is better and faster way for it.

[DeWolf]

As far as I know you can choose between portability and shear volume unless there is something in a mod that allows otherwise.

[redxlaser15]

I do actually know that, portability is, well, portable, and the stationary is more efficient and can hold more BUT is, obviously, stationary. But is there faster way to GETTING to the various kilns?

[kuros]

If you’ve got a metal cutting tool, then scavenging 4 60L tanks from vehicles is pretty quick for a Metal Charcoal Kiln. Chainsaws can cut metal when turned on, which was surprising for me to figure out when I turned it on. Installing a battery compartment mod lets you power it long enough to actually cut through them all.

[proxiehunter]

If you’re making a stone one burn down a house. You’ll need a shovel to clear the rubble but you’ll get tons of rocks.

[redxlaser15]

As a side question, what’s the best way to get other tools like the crucible and the anvil. I see the recipe and that it is needed for lots of higher tier stuff, but for lots of the things I’m just like: “Wut? How does me get dat?” Espceially since it seems like you sometimes need the tool to make the tool almost.

[Zanos]

You can make a crucible with just the forge + materials, and then use the crucible to make the anvil. You can then use the anvil to make tongs.

[mlangsdorf]

If I have access to a river, I usually prefer to make a clay kiln and clay crucible. It’s usually a little faster and raises Fabrication.

[psyxypher]

Burning down houses is a really inefficient way to get stone (I know because I did so multiple times today). Break the walls with a Jackhammer or Sonic Resonator.

Burning down houses gets you lots of Nails, though. Thousands. Literally, thousands.

[proxiehunter]

If you have a jackhammer or sonic resonator you’re probably not still working on getting your charcoal kiln up. Unless you got really lucky with an early find of both a jackhammer and enough fuel you don’t need for something else.

[mark]

The gasoline isn’t a real concern if you actually have a jackhammer. You usually just don’t have one.

[redxlaser15]

Well the river thing is kinda annoying, since by total chance every time I create a character the rivers are so far away the only way I could get there in a reasonable time is with a car, which takes super long to get to.
Well, the nails will be at least somewhat useful since I somehow need a super large amount all the time.
Also, gasoline you’ll never run out of with a city nearby

[DeWolf]

Depending on the size and whether or not the zoms decide to party or not.

[redxlaser15]

I usually like bigger cities due to the extra challenge of massive hordes (especially with wander spawns), so while it’s not uncommon that cars are destroyed from zombie teeth, in the end there is almost always hundreds of gallons of gasoline. Despite the big cities I usually still up the amount of loot, BUT I also up the amount of zombies too. GOTTA PUNCH EM’ ALL!

[mark]

It really does not matter because the jackhammer consumes 10 mL of gas to smash one tile. That’s nothing. If you run out of gas because you used your jackhammer, you were going to run out of gas no matter what you did.

Also, I don’t recall how this works offhand but I suspect that destroying a house by burning it down will yield the same randomized results as smashing all the walls. It’s just less convenient because only the rubble that used to be walls yields rocks, and you have to remember which stretches of rubble used to be walls.