Against the Storm Hearth Upgrade: Why Encampment Is Not Counting

Inspect the count before spending more wood

A Hearth defines the local hub boundary; the referenced community Wiki says housing and decorations must be fully within it to count. Open the Hearth panel and compare the housed-villager count and Comfort decoration count with the displayed first-level requirements. A house outline crossing the boundary, an uncompleted building or an empty shelter may leave the counter short. Do not assume that a decoration called attractive is in the Comfort category: inspect its tooltip.

The 2022 developer announcement identifies the original housing and decoration thresholds but is not a current balance guarantee. The newer community reference lists a +1 global Resolve benefit at Encampment, whereas the old announcement lists a different amount. Use the installed panel for the actual bonus rather than treating either source as proof of your version.

1. Select the intended Hearth and display its radius and upgrade requirements.
2. Write down the current housed-villager and Comfort counters before placing another structure.
3. Inspect completed housing in the radius: compare actual residents with its capacity and available settlement population.
4. Inspect each decoration's category and position; place or complete only the missing Comfort items inside the boundary.
5. Reopen the Hearth panel and verify both counters and the displayed upgrade. If either remains short, recheck that building's completion, boundary and category before changing another variable.

References: Against the Storm Official Wiki: Hearths · Eremite Games: Hubs Update

A housing capacity budget is not an occupancy result

The publisher-hosted community Housing Need page lists three Shelter spaces and a base cost of ten Wood, rising to fifteen Wood at Prestige 6. For this hypothetical example only, assume eight unhoused villagers eligible for Basic Housing, no applicable free housing, base Shelter costs and enough room inside one Hearth radius. Three Shelters provide 3 × 3 = 9 spaces and cost 3 × 10 = 30 Wood; two provide only six spaces. This leaves one spare space, not a ninth resident. Frogs require species-specific Frog Housing instead, so this Shelter-only budget does not cover them.

If two eligible Shelters already house six people, and two additional eligible villagers are available, a third listed Shelter adds three spaces at a base cost of ten Wood. At the cited Prestige 6 cost, three cost 45 Wood and a third costs 15 Wood instead, before other modifiers. The Hearth still needs four eligible Comfort decorations and actual housing assignments; their costs, construction time and firewood are separate. Confirm the displayed requirements and stock before committing Wood needed to keep the Hearth lit.

References: Against the Storm Official Wiki: List of Buildings · Against the Storm Official Wiki: Housing Need · Against the Storm Official Wiki: Hearths

If the hub remains below the target

Treat the hub panel as the authoritative result. A town can have eight people overall while fewer than eight are counted as housed at this particular Hearth. The community reference states that a hub upgrades automatically after all requirements are met; this guide has not tested how quickly occupancy or interface counters update.

Do not move or destroy populated buildings as a first reaction: inspect the local housing and assignment information available in your build. Capacity, resident count and decoration category are separate checks. On a multi-Hearth settlement, inspect the intended hub rather than assuming another hub's houses contribute to it.

Installed build / modifiers:
Target Hearth and displayed level:
Housed residents / eligible capacity / population:
Comfort count / unfinished or out-of-radius items:
Wood on hand / shelter and decoration cost / fuel reserve:
One change / panel result observed:

References: Against the Storm Official Wiki: Hearths · Against the Storm Official Wiki: List of Buildings

Keep local and settlement-wide counts separate

Suppose the settlement has twelve villagers, but the selected Hearth panel reports six housed locally. The population total is not the number needed in the upgrade calculation: on the cited eight-person threshold, the local counter remains two short. Find where the remaining villagers actually live and whether they can use the available house type before spending resources.

A second Hearth has its own radius and its own requirements. Its presence does not itself prove that the first Hearth's local housing count has risen. Check each panel independently and keep the first Hearth fueled while you inspect. This is a hypothetical counter comparison, not an observed settlement.

References: Against the Storm Official Wiki: Hearths · Against the Storm Official Wiki: Housing Need

Before you play

• Inspect the selected Hearth's actual requirements and radius.
• Count residents rather than treating empty spaces as residents.
• Confirm that decorations are completed and marked Comfort.
• Keep shelter, decoration and ongoing fuel budgets separate.
• Verify the upgrade in the panel after each change.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & revision notes

Editorial revision: October 29, 2026; not a gameplay test date. The reference notes identify source limits and version differences.

1. Against the Storm Official Wiki: Hearths (Community)

   Publisher-hosted community reference read October 29, 2026. Its banner says updated for 1.9.8 and lists game 1.11.2; installed requirements and bonus may differ.

2. Against the Storm Official Wiki: List of Buildings (Community)

   Publisher-hosted community building list consulted October 29, 2026 for Shelter's three spaces and 10 Wood. Check the installed tooltip and modifiers.

3. Against the Storm Official Wiki: Housing Need (Community)

   Community page reviewed October 29, 2026; its banner says updated for 1.8.13 while listing 1.11.2. Describes Frog Housing, basic Shelter capacity and Prestige 6 costs; verify the installed panel.

4. Eremite Games: Hubs Update (Official)

   Developer's July 2022 historical announcement explains radius and original requirements. Its original bonus differs from the later community page; not evidence of current values.