annoying underground enemy spawns

[anthwony]

hey, I've got to the point where I'm starting to explore caves and venturing deeper and found that the enemy spawns can be quite frustrating, I had torches, bandages and what not but still found it too difficult and tedious, there was already be up to 4 drifters once I enter, after killing them going around the next corner there's more again especially when there's multiple veins in the cave they just keep coming, which I think is fine, its more so the continuous spawning of drifters that's annoying, after finally killing off all the first ones it seems like they just respawn from around the corner almost seeming like an endless loop. Only to die, go back and find they've all respawned. I personally feel like there should be some adjustment to the spawn rate, or maybe a grace period once you've killed them they cant spawn in that area for an amount of time. I think the drifters rock throwing mechanic can be quite annoying also, usually its fine with small amounts but in this instance when there was so many I almost died just from the rocks alone which seems unavoidable comparing to luring them around and dodging their attacks, I'm not sure if the rocks can be dodged but it seems like they are almost lock on most the time. I also haven't needed use many torches up until this but I think there should be a way to light the stack up instead of each individual torch. I enjoy that the game is challenging but I found these things to be more frustrating and annoying. Thank you for reading, been having a lot of fun with this game.

[LadyWYT]

Hello, and welcome to the forums! Lighting up caves that you intend to make a few trips into can cut down on the mob spawns quite a bit. Torches are cheap and have a decent light radius, though they will burn out after a couple of days unless you place them in a torch holder(which are fairly expensive). Oil lamps are a decent alternative to torches if you have the fat and clay to spare, as they don't need relighting. They are a bit dimmer than torches though, so you may need a few extra to properly light everything. The best lighting though, provided you have the resources for them, are lanterns. They have the biggest light radius(you can line them for a bit extra but it's not necessary), and never run out of fuel, but they will take lots of beeswax, metal plates, and clear quartz to craft.

Another important thing to consider is the current rift activity when you go caving. If the rift activity is high, underground spawns will be higher. If the rift activity is low/calm, there will be fewer spawns to deal with. Also keep in mind that rift activity can change quite drastically, so if you are caving you'll want to keep an eye on it and consider heading back to the surface should it get too high(assuming that you haven't lit up the cave system).

Last but not least, upgrading your equipment(if you're using lower tier weapons/armor) will help you deal more efficiently with the monsters that do spawn, and don't forget that you can always seal off smaller passages until you're ready to explore them, in order to stop any enemies from coming through.

1 hour ago, anthwony said:

I'm not sure if the rocks can be dodged but it seems like they are almost lock on most the time.

They can be dodged, but it does take quite a bit of practice to do so. The easier way to dodge drifter attacks(in my opinion) is to get up close to trigger their melee attacks, and step back out of range right before they swing. This also takes practice though, and works much better against one or two drifters than it does larger groups.

The more effective way to counter the rocks is to use a shield. However, shields are a bit difficult to use when caving, as they're typically carried in the off-hand slot so you can use your weapons. Given that a light source is also typically carried in the off-hand slot when caving...you'll either need to light up the cave as you explore, or settle for plunking down the light source before drawing your weapons, as you'll need to be able to see in order to fight.