While passing time waiting for stable- a query, how many of you delay monsters and for how long?

[Moltrey]

I was curious, how many folks make use of the option to delay monster appearance.

Personally, I tend to choose 3 days (but not always). I like that as a newb; it gives me a bit of time to duck into caves here and there along the way and perhaps discover a ruin with a bit of loot. I have found it just enough time where I don't feel it is OP; your very limited time and inventory sees to that. Not to mention a full itinerary those first three days.

What say you? 

[LadyWYT]

When I first started playing, I delayed the full ten days, and started shortening it a bit as I got more experience with the game. Nowadays, I don't set any delay at all and just take whatever comes. Sometimes that means having nothing but high rift activity the first few nights, and sometimes it means having a full week or so of calm before calamity strikes.

[Krougal]

2 days is what I recommend.

As you said, too long and it makes things too easy.

Shameless self-plug

Guide is a constant WIP, I am editing it frequently as I play.

Like LadyWYT, I did 10 days when I first started (after I got my ass handed to me on default survival) and I felt like it was a joke by the time they started spawning.

Calm or low are no problem, and you should go out and do things on those nights but It really sucks getting high or apocalyptic activity on the first day or even medium really.

Granted the bowtorn and shivers have really been toned down since they were introduced. They were insane originally. Many of us modded them away.

I feel they are finally well balanced now.

Edited August 9, 2025 by Krougal

[Facethief]

The nefarious lore disabled user:

[FlareUKCS]

3 days here as I am slow to select my 'home' , I like water and a view... I am getting better so may drop the delay, but it will be hard to break the habit of a nice temp habitat, one must have standards after all or one is simply not human...err seraphin, or does it count if you are seraphin, is it a human thing ?

Nah 3 days for me, the bois are too noisy so I want something between me and them.

[Zane Mordien]

I started off with 5 days without monsters in my first playthrough. Now that I know what I'm doing I don't worry about it anymore. Just build a dirt shack and your set anyway.

[Mrozak]

I always delay Monsters by 10 days.
It became a habit after the first time i did it.

What made me do it the first time, you ask?
Well... when i got the game, i quickly realized how great it is, but i wanted to play it with my friends.
I got the family pack with another 4 keys and gave them to some of my friends who used to play that other block game.
Then things went terribly wrong...

My plan was to ease my friends into the game on my server, to curate their first experience.
But they didn't waste any time and before i gave away the last key, two of them already had their own server running.
I spent some time solving connection issues, while two of them were already punching trees and scratching their heads, and BURNING THE DAYLIGHT AWAY.
When i finally joined their server, it was just about to get dark.
Friends kept wasting daylight, trying to do what they knew from that other block game, while i kept explaining stuff.
Of course i tried to explain that there are things we MUST do before the night comes.
And then the night came.
It was pitch black, and everyone was surprised that they can't see anything.
I was frantically blind-building a quick mud hut to hide in, while hearing my friends shout things like "What the...?", "Ouch!", "What?!", "Why is my health down?", accompanied by a cacophony of flying rocks and grunting of Drifters.
Then somebody yelled "WHY IS THE FLOOR BLOOD???" (no idea what the heck was that about) and a few second after we were all dead.

And that was the end.
I tried to explain that the game is great once you start playing instead of punching trees like a moron... that it is highly customizable and we can set things exactly the way we want them to be... but nobody listened and the game was deemed unworthy of their time.

Few weeks later i managed to pull back in one friend.
And THAT was the first time i set the 10 day delay for Monsters, to have the time to gently explain things without us dying every 10 seconds.
We kept playing for a few months (real time) and it was great, but sadly, others never came around.

[Krougal]

@Mrozak

ROFLMFAO!

I'm sorry, but that reminded me of my first experience with the game, except I was by myself.

I thought it was just another MC clone, until the game kicked me in the head. Repeatedly.

It's too bad your friends won't give it another chance.

 

[Mrozak]

12 minutes ago, Krougal said:

too bad your friends won't give it another chance

I haven't gave up on them yet. After some more time (and more patches) i will try to bring it up again.

[Never Jhonsen]

It sure is a nice world creation feature, huh?  

Kids these day's have it so easy, back in my day that wasn't even a setting

But of course, neither were the rifts . .. nor the Bowtorn . .. nor the .. *shivers*  Shivers

[Scorpixel]

One day so that i can spend the first night working on home(less) tasks while having spent the whole daylight hours gathering. Agressive animals don't spawn that early either so this just makes a long first day for the initial setup.

[Krougal]

2 minutes ago, Scorpixel said:

One day so that i can spend the first night working on home(less) tasks while having spent the whole daylight hours gathering. Agressive animals don't spawn that early either so this just makes a long first day for the initial setup.

Huh? There are still wolves on day 1, the game at least doesn't spawn you right next to them anymore, but they are there. Bears too.

 

[Zane Mordien]

22 hours ago, Scorpixel said:

One day so that i can spend the first night working on home(less) tasks while having spent the whole daylight hours gathering. Agressive animals don't spawn that early either so this just makes a long first day for the initial setup.

I still build a dirt shack even if I don't have monsters spawning because the bears... oh the bears. 

[Krougal]

Just now, Zane Mordien said:

I still build a dirt shack even if I don't have monsters spawning because the bears... oh the bears. 

Yeah, it's probably a good idea, especially if you die in the middle of the night when it is pitch black.

Stash some torches, food and spears in a reed chest.

[Maelstrom]

1 day is useless.   At midnight oh one, May 2 drifters can start spawning.  So it's more like 0.25 days instead of 1.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I find a clay deposit to hobbit hole inside while I find my forever home.   Benefit of squatting in a clay deposit is time during the day to dig dirt, build dirt bunker and dig clay for the first night of crafting.  Instead I'm busy finding copious amounts of flint, grass, sticks and food.  If'n I'm doing well enough a stack or two of logs to start charcoaling.

[Krougal]

5 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

1 day is useless.   At midnight oh one, May 2 drifters can start spawning.  So it's more like 0.25 days instead of 1.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I find a clay deposit to hobbit hole inside while I find my forever home.   Benefit of squatting in a clay deposit is time during the day to dig dirt, build dirt bunker and dig clay for the first night of crafting.  Instead I'm busy finding copious amounts of flint, grass, sticks and food.  If'n I'm doing well enough a stack or two of logs to start charcoaling.

Yup, that's why I changed my recommended setting from 1 day to 2.

The rest of this is also solid advice.

[CastIronFabric]

On 8/9/2025 at 3:27 PM, Moltrey said:

I was curious, how many folks make use of the option to delay monster appearance.

Personally, I tend to choose 3 days (but not always). I like that as a newb; it gives me a bit of time to duck into caves here and there along the way and perhaps discover a ruin with a bit of loot. I have found it just enough time where I don't feel it is OP; your very limited time and inventory sees to that. Not to mention a full itinerary those first three days.

What say you? 

I play in explorer mode. I have had enough stress in real life over my lifespan I do not have time for constant video game pressure anymore.

Edited August 12, 2025 by CastIronFabric

[Krougal]

25 minutes ago, CastIronFabric said:

I play in explorer mode. I have had enough stress in real life over my lifespan I do not have time for constant video game pressure anymore.

No shame in that. I had to quit playing Rust and other highly competitive team games because after a while all they did was stress me out.

[CastIronFabric]

9 minutes ago, Krougal said:

No shame in that. I had to quit playing Rust and other highly competitive team games because after a while all they did was stress me out.

sometimes I feel like there is a video game cabal and they all get together to figure out ways to keep all players in a state of distraction, stress and increased ADHD.

 

No I actually do not think that but good god after a few decades of it...

[Thorfinn]

Wilderness defaults, which, I think, is no delay.

[Krougal]

2 minutes ago, CastIronFabric said:

sometimes I feel like there is a video game cabal and they all get together to figure out ways to keep all players in a state of distraction, stress and increased ADHD.

 

No I actually do not think that but good god after a few decades of it...

Bread and circuses, been that way for thousands of years...

[MCDungeoneer]

0 days. just personally tho.

I find that having monsters on day one gives it a more realistic "the world isn't waiting for you to be ready" feeling. I feel more vulnerable, and when I overcome everything, I feel a huge surge of pride!