There are many sources of food in RimWorld, even if it might sometimes feel like there aren’t. When your pawns are in dire need of food, you have to do your best to provide them with something.
The nutrient paste dispenser is a great way to get your pawns food fast and fulfill their needs without worrying too much.
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However, ever since you’ve built one, none of your colonists have ever touched it. And you can’t seem to force any of them to actually get to work making some meals. How do you use this machine?
Well, the answer is relatively simple. Here is how you can use the nutrient paste dispenser in RimWorld.
Table of contents
- What is Nutrient Paste in RimWorld
- How to Make and Place the Nutrient Paste Dispenser in RimWorld
- How to Use the Nutrient Paste Dispenser in RimWorld
What is Nutrient Paste in RimWorld
Nutrient paste is a special food resource that turns raw food into a meal. Though this meal is universally disliked by pawns, it increases the overall nutrition of your raw food, and it is very easy to make.
There is no risk of food poisoning or any other problems you might have with any other food type, and it is extremely efficient resource-wise.
Luckily, there are a few ways to make your pawns avoid the -4 mood debuff from nutrient paste, and you can do it using your ideology.
If you have the Transhumanist meme, then you will automatically get the “Don’t mind” nutrient paste precept. This removes the mood debuff and removes the need for the Cooking skill for your colony.
Ascetic pawns also don’t care if they eat nutrient paste, which is a great bonus. You can make nutrient paste from raw resources such as rice, meat, corpses, and so on.
How to Make and Place the Nutrient Paste Dispenser in RimWorld
To unlock and build the nutrient paste dispenser in RimWorld, where nutrient paste is made, you will first need to research the Nutrient paste project that becomes available after Electricity.
To build a nutrient paste dispenser, you will need 125 steel and 3 components. You will also have to build at least one hopper attached to the dispenser.
In the hoppers, you will have to place raw food that will be synthesized into nutrient paste. A strategy to make sure that the food in the hoppers doesn’t spoil is to build the nutrient paste dispenser in a wall.
Place the part where pawns will have to interact (the white circle) outside of the freezer and use the body of the dispenser as a wall.
Place the hoppers inside the freezer, attached to the dispenser. You will now keep the food frozen or refrigerated while allowing the dispenser to be easily used by pawns.
You can also see an example of how to place the nutrient paste dispenser in the image above.
How to Use the Nutrient Paste Dispenser in RimWorld
Pawns in RimWorld will automatically haul food to the hoppers surrounding the nutrient paste dispenser. The hoppers will work relatively the same as a stockpile zone.
You won’t need a cook or anything to actually make the nutrient paste. When pawns are hungry, they will just approach the nutrient paste dispenser from the front and instantly get a meal from the machine.
Players don’t have to do anything. It does not work as normal meals, where a cook needs to make them.
When it comes to priority, pawns will eat almost anything before nutrient paste. If you also have a lot of meals, then they will never use the nutrient paste dispenser.
If you want to force your pawns to use the nutrient paste dispenser in RimWorld, you just have to set their food restriction to “Paste” from the Assign options.
One huge disadvantage that you get from relying on a nutrient paste dispenser is the fact that you don’t have deposited food that your pawns can carry with them.
If you want to make your pawns manually use the nutrient paste dispenser to make more than one nutrient paste meal, then here is a trick you can use:
- When a pawn is hungry and goes to make some nutrient paste, follow them and draft them once they finish getting a meal from the dispenser.
- The meal will fall on the floor. Click it and set it to be restricted (press the “Allow” button and let it show an X).
- Now, undraft the pawn and they will make another meal since they are hungry.
- Repeat the process until you have as many nutrient paste meals as you want.
- Allow the meals that are on the floor.
That’s everything you need to know about how to use the nutrient paste dispenser in RimWorld!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.