Farthest Frontier: How to Build Off Grid

Start with the gridless placement mode

The released April 9 v1.1.0 update enables gridless build mode by default. This guide follows that released feature, rather than the later v1.2 preview. [1]

During placement, holding the left mouse button lets you set an off-grid building orientation. This is the control named in the official patch notes; it gives you a way to align a building with a chosen layout instead of the old grid. [1]

Steps

1. In gridless mode, hold the left mouse button during building placement to choose its orientation. [1]

Allow for the gridless footprint rules

Gridless placement permits some overlap between building footprints. The wording is limited to some allowance, so it should not be read as permission to overlap every structure without restriction. [1]

Switch back when exact grid alignment is useful

The classic grid remains available and can be toggled at any time with its hotkey. The patch notes do not specify a universal key binding, so use the binding shown by your game. [1]

Steps

1. Toggle Classic Grid with its configured hotkey when you want grid-aligned placement. [1]

Keep bridges, crop fields and walls on the grid

The first gridless implementation retains grid placement for bridges, crop fields and walls because of the pathing system. Their grid restriction is an explicit limitation of the feature. [1]

Copy settings after placing matching buildings

For repeated structures, the Copy/Paste Settings buttons transfer settings to another instance of that same structure. This helps carry the setup across a newly arranged settlement without treating different building types as interchangeable. [1]

Steps

1. Use Copy/Paste Settings on supported buildings to transfer settings to another instance of the same structure. [1]