Worldgen and Exploration Questions

[clickrush]

Intro

Since I started playing again only recently since a long hiatus I have a bit of trouble with getting used to exploration. The Worldgen has changed quite considerably it seems and I use this opportunity to also find out details that I never quite figured out anyways.

Also feel free to add any hints, clues and so on that help during exploration, bonus points if you have deeper knowledge of the worldgen mechanics or can point to them.

So again, the purpose of this is making exploration and finding stuff more efficient and reliable. And secondarily to kind of being able to assess the worldgen as in "this configuration is exceptional/valuable/unlucky" etc.

I'll be listing them roughly, not strictly, in order of exploration and add a few sentences to indicate what I roughly know.

Mosaic

Easy access to gold and general resrouces as well as gems/gears/trinkets from graves. Players typically seek this out early.

Luckily this biome is almost always (or strictly always?) close to the Florid Postern, so after making a tight circle while getting those 2x flint and other starting resources it is usually found during the first day.

Haunted Forest

To quickly get alchemy engine resources and pig skins for helmets as well as some meat and silk. Sometimes there is a clearing, where a bunch of Mandrakes spawn. Also this is where Totally Normal Trees are found, typically surrounded by a few evil flowers. The Moonstone also seems to spawn in these.

This is typically easy to find as there are several of these biomes.

Pig King Decidious Forest

Great early game foods, good way to get alchemy engine and helmet materials, Pan Flute for bosses and Glommer for farming. Later on you visit this after stacking up trinkets or Frazzled Wires.

Easy to find since it is always connected to a cobblestone road.

Marshes

These provide several important and useful static resources. Getting a couple of Reeds early on is recommended so one can quickly craft a Bird Cage.

I typically avoid mapping them out too much early on and just look if they are connected to biomes that are otherwise not accessible, which seems to be the case very often! Is this confirmation bias? To explain: It seems like there are often biomes branching out from a Marsh biome, sometimes even several.

Chester

I really like Chester, since it saves a ton of time during exploration and other long trips.

It's either found at the end of a cobblestone road or apparently around the Marshes. This one is sometimes frustrating to find if you look specifically for it. Any additional tips are appreciated.

Oasis Desert

For me this is one of the most important ones ever since I started to play Warly, since he wants easy access to Volt Goats, free static foods in general and because he tends to want to expand the base with farming and a bit of ranching. It's just nice to be able to ignore smoldering during summer for these kinds of bases, especially since summer is a high yield season for crops that are benefitial for Warly specifically, so you don't necessarily want to stay in the caves for the full duration.

Unfortunately I didn't figure out how to find this one reliably without uncovering most of the map. It seems to me that it is very often hidden/attached behind another biome. I even had a run where I only found it after 12 or so days, which felt incredibly slow.

Bee Queen

Easy honey access early on. Certain Characters can effciently rush the boss as well.

I basically have no idea if there are any spawning rules here. I once thought that killer bee hives are an indication to find this but that doesn't seem the case 100% or am I mistaken? The only half assed indication I have is that if I find a green biome that isn't too close to the Florid Postern, then I should look for Bee Queen.

Dragonfly Desert

One of the best locations for small utility bases (as opposed to Oasis Desert for example), especially if you can kill her during the first autumn.

Similar to the Oasis Desert I find this unreliable to find and no of no other indication other than the random Tumbleweed leaving the area.

Ruins

Some of the best materials and items in the game can be found and crafted here. A trip during the first year is usually recommended and certain characters want to find them after a couple of days.

This one irks me the most, because I often seem to take too much time to find them. One of the indicators is muddy turf, glow berries and lichen. But these can also lead to the Toadstool set piece, which seems to be able to spawn disattached from the Ruins Wild biome if I'm not mistaken. Any additional help/information here is appreciated.

Lunar Grotto & Ancient Archives

Great access to some powerful mobs and materials as well as sanity manipulation. For example you can apparently jump start Living Log gathering there very quickly.

I didn't find time to explore and exploit these yet. But they apparently are connected to the blue Mushtree Forest reliably.

Pearl Island

Great place for a small base, quest line access.

Haven't had the time to do Ocean content yet. Still figuring out other stuff that has been added.

Lunar Island

Plenty of resources that are otherwise hard to get or rare as well as powerful lategame content.

See above.

[Tuesday Pidgeon]

On the topic of chester, I've noticed that if the eyebone isn't in the swamp, the end of the road it spawns by is typically near the stage hand and a bunch of moleworm dens or ponds.