Recruitment, how does it work?

[baronjutter]

So it's been a while since I've really sunk into rimworld.  The old paradigm of wounding people, locking them up, then brainwashing them until they get Stockholm syndrome and join you doesn't seem as reliable as before.  Some people I recruit quite quickly,  others can sit being fed and cared for for years while constantly having a 0% chance of recruitment.  I see prisoners have a recruitment difficulty stat now.  How does the system all work out though?  Is there any way to eventually recruit these high difficulty prisoners?  Are the number fixed or does it lower over time or with good treatment? 

Basically how does the system work, and what are some good ways to really build your population?  I'd love to simply offer a good quality of life and have other survivors on the planet willingly join due to the base's reputation for stability and safety.  It feels so evil to essentially enslave people, but it's either brainwash prisoners or literally just buy slaves. 

[christhekiller]

It depends on the people. There's nothing you can do to change the recruitment difficulty. But colonists with a higher social skill will be more likely to recruit them. And if you beautiful their cells and give them good meals they'll be happier and more likely to join. But that 99 recruitment difficulty tribal will always be a 99 difficulty and to my knowledge there's nothing you can do but recruit them, release them, or kill them.

[Louist]

I'm not actually sure what affect their mood has on recruitment chances. I've had some prisoners who were the same recruitment chance regardless of their current mood, and it remained the same even as they developed cabin fever, and severe cabin fever.

[baronjutter]

So I captured 2 tribals,  one had a difficulty of 67 and the other 97.  After getting them in the same cell they are both at 97.  I should try giving them individual cells, perhaps there's a sort of group loyalty thing going on?

[ZestyLemons]

I'm not actually sure what affect their mood has on recruitment chances. I've had some prisoners who were the same recruitment chance regardless of their current mood, and it remained the same even as they developed cabin fever, and severe cabin fever.

Prisoners have a recruitment threshold, and their mood needs to be able that threshold for you to recruit them.

e.g. If a prisoner's recruitment threshold is 40, they need at least 40% mood before you can recruit them. I think every % of mood after that is a bonus to you recruiting them, but I'm not totally sure about that.

The game caps most difficulty checks to a minimum of 1%. Sometimes a DC can be 0% (in case of medical treatment I'm pretty sure).