How to recruit tribesmen in Soulmask and raise the tribesman limit

Knock a barbarian, outcast or enemy tribesman below 20% health, press E to deter them, and keep the unconscious body alive until its Recognition reaches 500; then recruit. On default settings each player can hold 3 tribesmen at first and 18 after the three Connection Enhancement mask nodes, and the whole tribe is capped at 50. Server owners and single-player saves can raise both.

Recruiting step by step

1. Pick the target. Use the mask’s Quality Assessment (hold Q) to read quality first. The free Golden Legend mask goes further: in Mimicry its Life Perception shows quality and titles of everyone detected, and its nodes reveal proficiencies and talents.
2. Bring them low. Deterring works when the target is under 20% HP by default. Blunt hits and bows from range are safer than finishing blows, which kill.
3. Deter. Press E. The target falls unconscious and begins gaining Recognition.
4. Keep them alive. Put a bandage in their inventory and use it to heal, or a liquid food such as Broth to feed them. Broth gives +40 satiety and +40 hydration.
5. Move them if needed. Unconscious targets can be carried on your shoulder or on a llama’s extended seat, away from their camp.
6. Recruit at 500 Recognition. The Recognition rate is a server setting (barbarian taming speed, default 1).

Who cannot be recruited

• Scouts: interacting with a downed scout interrogates them and marks nearby map points instead. They stay hostile.
• Plunderers and tribe leaders: listed as non-deterrable in the Early Access rules. No 1.0 note changes this.

Faster Recognition

Mask node	Effect
Deter Enhance (3 levels)	Lower deter cost; Recognition of an unconscious target +15%, +30%, +50%
Sync Enhancement (2 levels)	Recognition speed +50%, +100%

These node values come from the Early Access wiki and were not re-tested for 1.0.

Tribesman limit

Stage	Personal limit (default)
Control node repaired	3
Connection Enhancement I	9 (+6)
Connection Enhancement II	13 (+10 total)
Connection Enhancement III	18 (+15 total)

Connection Enhancement sits in the second row at the top of the mask screen (Y) and costs Green Crystals. A tribe as a whole is capped at 50 tribesmen by default, so a group of players shares that number.

Raising the limit beyond 18

• Single player or co-op host: open the save’s advanced settings, General tab, and raise the tribe recruitment limit. The dedicated server exposes the same values as Connection Enhancement I/II/III bonuses (defaults 6, 10, 15; the third goes up to 1,000) and the tribe tribesman cap (default 50, up to 1,000).
• Casual Mode: tribesman, animal and ship caps are much higher by default.
• PVP Mode: population caps are greatly reduced.

A Russian guide claims 53 tribesmen after the full upgrade; the defaults in the server files give 18 per player, so treat 53 as a modified server.

Where to find good recruits

• Higher-level camps produce higher starting proficiency. A level 40+ smith of high status can start at 55–65 crafting proficiency.
• Weapon Master title holders turn up from the early game; the title gives +10% damage and attack speed with any weapon.
• Tribe Mode defences: repeatedly beating invasions attracts talented tribesmen to your settlement.
• Titles: since patch 10 (14 May), high-quality barbarians are more likely to carry titles.

How to judge a recruit’s quality, profession and talents is covered in tribesman quality and talents. Which professions to recruit first and which titles and tribe talents to keep are in best tribesmen.

Possessing a tribesman

After the Control node is repaired you can put the mask on any tribesman. Your own body sleeps (in 1.0 it sits in a nearby Chieftain’s Chair). You fight and craft with the tribesman’s proficiencies; experience goes to that tribesman’s body, weapon and crafting levels, while Awareness experience goes to you.