Discipline Before Dishonor Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 I have a portal which takes me very deep underground. I'm livestreaming this, just in case anybody wants to look at the current footage of today's episode on Youtube to get acquainted with my situation underground. Basically there's a bell, and the shivers are so overpowered that I can't really progress past this part of the cave. Killing the bell seems like a fool's hope, and a lone nightmare shiver is ridiculously hard to kill because it keeps entering my body to attack me, making it so I can't counter attack. I feel like shivers should have their attack range increased, so that you can at least keep hurting them while they hurt you. In the current state of the game, shivers literally enter your body and you're constantly turning around trying to hit them. What advice can you guys give me to help me with the caving process? I'm making whiskey for alcohol soaked bandages, and considering using those entity bombs you can craft. But I really have no idea how to approach this, and if you guys told me that caving wasn't balanced and couldn't be done in the current state of the game, I would totally believe you without a moment's hesitation. I'm wearing full steel armor yet still being melted by whatever the bell summons, and I'm at an impasse with the bell. I've built walls and wattle gates as improvised fighting positions, but I struggle to lure the shivers to them, and struggle to keep them there. I'm trying to farm for jonas parts because I want the base return teleporter; I'm playing on Wilderness Survival, don't have a map, and I want to go to Lazaret or whatever it's called because I've already beaten the resonance archives and Lazaret is the next step; But I don't want to get lost, so I figured a base return teleporter would be a smart investment of my time. Or so I thought. I can't figure out caving to get the jonas parts, like I said I'm at an impasse, and I need guidance on how to approach this, or I need affirmation that caving is currently impossible due to the imbalance of shivers. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
LadyWYT Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 (edited) 1 hour ago, Discipline Before Dishonor said: What advice can you guys give me to help me with the caving process? Looks like you're venturing DEEP where all the really bad stuff spawns. You do seem to have steel gear, which is ideal for this kind of fighting, however, I will note that it's still going to be nasty as nightmare enemies are no joke, especially when coupled with bells. I will note caving is not impossible, just difficult, even with good gear. Regarding gear, I would check your armor to see what type you're wearing. Steel is good, but armor type does make a difference. Plate armor is one of the best choices in this scenario since it's the most protective and you don't really need ranged/speed bonuses when fighting underground. Entity bombs...eh, they might be useful if you can trap a handful of creatures in a small area, but I think these are too situational to be of much use. In terms of healing, alcohol bandages are very strong but you also need to soak them before using, which takes a few seconds and isn't easily done when you're on the move. Honey-sulfur poultice might be a better choice here, as those heal for the same amount but don't need to be soaked and don't dry out. Regarding overall strategy, it's probably best to take some extra time and set up a "safe room" that you can retreat to whenever things get too rough. Make sure you're healing before your health gets critical too; the longer you wait to heal and/or retreat, the more likely you are to die. Blocking off corridors with fences and cheap blocks will help you control the space and prevent enemies from sneaking up on you. Lighting up the area with cheap lights(oil lamps or torches) might not stop enemy spawns, but it will help prevent them from surprising you so easily since you'll be able to see them. When it comes to the enemies themselves, always deal with the bells first. They take several hits to kill thanks to a large health pool, but the longer they stay alive the more monsters they'll summon. It make take a few tries to kill one, so don't be afraid to retreat if you need to heal. Drifters are fairly straightforward--just be careful not to let them mob you. Shivers are nasty, but since they are big monsters they need a minimum two block wide gap to move, making it easier to place obstacles(for the record, they can't climb over fences either). Bowtorn can be difficult, but you can disrupt their fire by simply approaching them, or ducking behind some cover. Locusts are the final enemy you're likely to find, and you'll need to kill the nests in order to stop them from spawning(the nests can drop Jonas parts sometimes too). The one exception is the sawblade locust--they don't spawn from nests, but have more hitpoints and attack than regular locusts. 1 hour ago, Discipline Before Dishonor said: But I don't want to get lost, so I figured a base return teleporter would be a smart investment of my time Possibly, but if it's just a concern about getting lost you might want to just mark a trail behind you. Though a slower option, it is a safer one, and it'll let you return home more easily if you need to for some reason. Piles of rocks, signs, or pillars made from an easily-noticed material are good choices; sticking a cheap light source like oil lamps to them will make them stand out in the dark. The base return teleporter isn't necessarily a bad idea; it's just expensive and dangerous to acquire the parts needed to build it. It's also a one-time use item, so if you had to use it prematurely to get yourself out of a sticky situation, you'd need to build another and walk all the way back to wherever you escaped from. EDIT: I forgot to mention this, but you'll also want to check the current rift activity before venturing underground. Calmer rift activity tends to mean fewer monsters, while higher rift activity tends to mean more monsters. Edited January 9 by LadyWYT
marmarmar34 Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 I had a similar situation with one of my transporters, but it's been nothing but a boon in terms of loot. What I've done is cordon off segments of the cave tunnels with dirt/cobble and a fence gates. I've also made an abundance of oil lamps to keep as much of the tunnels lit for future delving. With how I have it now, I can selectively pick off lone nightmare drifters and get deeper and deeper. I've been using bronze tier armor and weaponry, so they still take a considerable amount of hits to kill. The bells are the biggest challenge, they seem to have a near bottomless reserve of health. So far, I've just got around dealing with them by leaving and coming back at a later time. 2
Discipline Before Dishonor Posted January 9 Author Report Posted January 9 16 minutes ago, LadyWYT said: Looks like you're venturing DEEP where all the really bad stuff spawns. You do seem to have steel gear, which is ideal for this kind of fighting, however, I will note that it's still going to be nasty as nightmare enemies are no joke, especially when coupled with bells. I will note caving is not impossible, just difficult, even with good gear. Regarding gear, I would check your armor to see what type you're wearing. Steel is good, but armor type does make a difference. Plate armor is one of the best choices in this scenario since it's the most protective and you don't really need ranged/speed bonuses when fighting underground. Entity bombs...eh, they might be useful if you can trap a handful of creatures in a small area, but I think these are too situational to be of much use. In terms of healing, alcohol bandages are very strong but you also need to soak them before using, which takes a few seconds and isn't easily done when you're on the move. Honey-sulfur poultice might be a better choice here, as those heal for the same amount but don't need to be soaked and don't dry out. Regarding overall strategy, it's probably best to take some extra time and set up a "safe room" that you can retreat to whenever things get too rough. Make sure you're healing before your health gets critical too; the longer you wait to heal and/or retreat, the more likely you are to die. Blocking off corridors with fences and cheap blocks will help you control the space and prevent enemies from sneaking up on you. Lighting up the area with cheap lights(oil lamps or torches) might not stop enemy spawns, but it will help prevent them from surprising you so easily since you'll be able to see them. When it comes to the enemies themselves, always deal with the bells first. They take several hits to kill thanks to a large health pool, but the longer they stay alive the more monsters they'll summon. It make take a few tries to kill one, so don't be afraid to retreat if you need to heal. Drifters are fairly straightforward--just be careful not to let them mob you. Shivers are nasty, but since they are big monsters they need a minimum two block wide gap to move, making it easier to place obstacles(for the record, they can't climb over fences either). Bowtorn can be difficult, but you can disrupt their fire by simply approaching them, or ducking behind some cover. Locusts are the final enemy you're likely to find, and you'll need to kill the nests in order to stop them from spawning(the nests can drop Jonas parts sometimes too). The one exception is the sawblade locust--they don't spawn from nests, but have more hitpoints and attack than regular locusts. Possibly, but if it's just a concern about getting lost you might want to just mark a trail behind you. Though a slower option, it is a safer one, and it'll let you return home more easily if you need to for some reason. Piles of rocks, signs, or pillars made from an easily-noticed material are good choices; sticking a cheap light source like oil lamps to them will make them stand out in the dark. The base return teleporter isn't necessarily a bad idea; it's just expensive and dangerous to acquire the parts needed to build it. It's also a one-time use item, so if you had to use it prematurely to get yourself out of a sticky situation, you'd need to build another and walk all the way back to wherever you escaped from. EDIT: I forgot to mention this, but you'll also want to check the current rift activity before venturing underground. Calmer rift activity tends to mean fewer monsters, while higher rift activity tends to mean more monsters. I'm in steel plate but I must specify, I'm on wilderness survival so every enemy does 50% more damage. I'm still taking 6+ damage to nightmare creatures
LadyWYT Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 1 minute ago, Discipline Before Dishonor said: I'm in steel plate but I must specify, I'm on wilderness survival so every enemy does 50% more damage. I'm still taking 6+ damage to nightmare creatures That damage seems about right for nightmare creatures in Wilderness Survival, even with steel plate. The key is to take things slow and do plenty of planning before jumping into battle, especially if you're playing a class that will struggle in close-quarters combat, like Hunter or Malefactor. Better to retreat early and live, than take a chance and die.
williams_482 Posted January 9 Report Posted January 9 (edited) Regarding bells, I won't say I'm super experienced in cave fighting and I definitely don't play on wilderness survival, but I've had some luck using this approach against bells who spawn in largeish caves: 0. Build some kind of safe room or prepared defense, out of the bell's alert radius. Could be as simple as a small two block high wall of fences or dirt blocks with a narrow entrance to block off shivers and limit how many enemies can get to you at once. 1. charge the bell with a stack of torches and place a few of them as fast as possible, then turn and run away. 2. Once you've run far enough that the bell isn't ringing, turn and deal with whatever monsters are chasing you. 3. Once melee enemies are dealt with, shoot the nicely illuminated bell with arrows from outside it's agro range until it dies. If there are Bowtorn around it you can kill them first, as the bell can't spawn more until you get closer. Edited January 9 by williams_482 1
Discipline Before Dishonor Posted January 9 Author Report Posted January 9 The fences are working! Thanks so much. I'm pushing a line toward the bells using fences and gates, whereas I was using blocks before. Fences are key 2
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