Stress Management & Morale — Oxygen Not Included Guide

Master stress management and morale in Oxygen Not Included with this guide. Learn essential tips for keeping your dupes happy and productive, from base building to food and room management.

This guide provides essential tips for managing stress and morale in Oxygen Not Included, focusing on early-game base building strategies.

Starting your base:

Utilize overlays for efficient base design. Pay close attention to temperature, as it significantly impacts dupe comfort and plant growth. Use materials like granite for decor bonuses and igneous rock or abyssalite for temperature-sensitive areas like greenhouses. Keep heat-generating structures away from your base's core.

Food:

Start with Mealwood for early-game sustenance, but transition to Bristle Berries (cooked into Gristle Berries) for better food quality and calories as your colony grows. Ensure greenhouses are filled with CO2 to prevent food spoilage, or store food in ice biomes or CO2-filled ration boxes.

Dupes:

Limit your dupe count to a manageable number (ideally 3-6) to avoid resource strain. Build specialized rooms like barracks for stamina regeneration and latrines to reduce stress. Managing dupe stress is crucial for colony efficiency.