Cave Livin'

[FDru]

So there are very few food sources in the caves. The occasional cave banana tree (in my caves I've found a grand total of 7) some non-renewable carrots and mushrooms. Obviously lots of monster meat, but monster meat alone isn't a sustainable diet without abuse of blue mushrooms really (unless you like being perpetually insane) so it would seem that cooking meatballs is the best course of action. But there is the problem that only the banana trees seem to ever actually grow back so eventually I reach a critical shortage of vegetables...

 

Is there any way to live in the caves without taking a ton of food preparation down there (such as a birdcage, farms, etc)?

[don't starver2336]

yeah

[TeoSS69]

N/A

[FDru]

There's also the pond in the set piece, and farming bunny villages for meat. One could get manure from the ruins too to set up farms.

How would you farm bunnymen? They just run away when they're low and I find them unbelievably annoying to actually kill.

[TeoSS69]

N/A

[Boar Head]

How would you farm bunnymen? They just run away when they're low and I find them unbelievably annoying to actually kill.

If you have regular darts once they start running away you can switch to it really quickly and it will finish them off.

[Acet]

My character in my main game has been living in the caves full time for quite a while now. Here's what I've learned:

 

FOOD:

• Transplant berry bushes down there and plant them in the green biome. Use them for meatballs together with monster meat
• Setup some advanced farms and cultivate dragonfruits which you can use to make dragonpie (take 1 fruit + 3 twigs). Bring a bird in a cage and let it eat enough of the dragonfruits out of each harvest so that you always have enough dragonfruit seeds to replant all farms. With 4 advanced farms you get roughly an average of 1.5 fruits available (after recycling for seeds) to make pies with.
• Pick up any Guano from bats to us as fertilizer to accelerate the dragonfruit farming cycle. Don't clear all bats everywhere - leave some around for producing more Guano.
• Fish in the pools in the ruins. That provides you with eels, which are better preserved by drying them into small jerk.
• Make bacon and eggs from Monster Meat and small jerky or fish by using a caged bird to convert cooked monster meat into eggs. 1 Monster Meat + 2 eggs + 1 small jerky or fish = 1 bacon & eggs.
• You can make meatballs entirelly from monster meat by converting 3 cooked monster meat into eggs via the bird, and then cooking the eggs plus 1 monster meat. You can also mix berries and eggs plus one monster meat.
• Bunnymen are not worth the trouble as a source of meat IMHO.
• In general, you main sources of food will be dragonpie from farms and twigs and meatballs from monster meat and berries. The second source will be bacon & eggs from the occasional fishing or bunnymen drops.

SANITY:

• Bring a Tam o'Shanter and wear it as much as possible. Note that if you die in the caves it turns into rot.
• If you don't have one of those, wear a Top Hat and a Dapper Vest as much as possible.
• Once you get down to the Ruins, make a Thucelite Suit asap and use that instead of the Dapper Vest.
• Top up when needed with cooked mushrooms. Only use them exceptionally since they're not renewable in the caves.

HUNTING:

• To hunt bunnymen, just pull them after you to an area with bunch of tooth-traps. If you get it right they will die before they turn around and flee on low health.
• To hunt spiders use plain traps. Another good source of spider drops is areas where there are lots of spiders and lots of bunnymen.

SURVIVAL:

• Your main base should be in a green biome, preferably one with some natural light.
• Plant grass, twigs and trees near your base.
• Always have a firepit and a firepot. Get the fridge up and running as soon as you can. You might also want to also have a couple for drying racks for drying fish.
• The best renewable light source for cave diving is the lamp. Use slime as fuel in the caves, light bulbs from flowers in the ruins.

NEEDED SUPPLIES FROM ABOVE ON LONG TERM CAVE LIVING:

 

Since the last update there is only one thing needed from the outside for long term living in the caves: Pig Skins to make Football Helmets. Even then, that's only after you exhaust all the Thucelite from the ruins (until then you can make Thucelite Crowns).

 

Everything else which is essential can either be found or cultivated in the caves.

 

That said, two ingredients are very usefull to make life easier in the caves and they can only be sourced from the outside world:

• Teeth are needed to make Sewing Kits to repair the Tam o'Shanter, Top Hat or Dapper Vest. Also used in making Tooth Traps. If not available you can't use the Tam o'Shanter and will replace Top Hats and Dapper Vests with new ones made from materials obtained or grown in the caves.
• Living Logs are needed to make some of the items in the Ancient tab. None of those items is essential.

[TeoSS69]

N/A

[FDru]

I didn't think to use eggs for filler for meatballs, that's a good idea.

 

One other issue I have in the caves is storage of gems. How do you keep them safe from slurtles? They always raid my chests and attack chester.

[zazori]

I didn't think to use eggs for filler for meatballs, that's a good idea.

 

One other issue I have in the caves is storage of gems. How do you keep them safe from slurtles? They always raid my chests and attack chester.

Surround your chests with walls.It may not seem very effective,but I've seen them trying to walk trough  the walls.Be aware of the mastermind who will find the entrance,though.

[Cynical Cynicist]

I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but you can also cook your eggs then feed them to your bird again, giving you an infinitely lasting egg(s). Will note the alternative meatball recipe though, thanks.

[Acet]

I didn't think to use eggs for filler for meatballs, that's a good idea.

 

One other issue I have in the caves is storage of gems. How do you keep them safe from slurtles? They always raid my chests and attack chester.

 

I usually just relocate any earthquake drops around my base to some are a bit further out. That keeps most slurtles from coming and poking.

 

The really persistent slurtles I kill.

 

Edit: replaced "farter" with "further". Not quite the same meaning ...

[lunchb0x]

For Fighting Bunnymen I made a post a while back that still holds true on finding the right combination of hits to kill them easily.

 

They usually allow two hits in a row after you dodge their attack so you need to find the right combination of hits so they are still pursuing you but your last flurry finishes them. This can be done with any character (I think, I haven't tried anyone with reduced melee damage) It seems as though they run after taking 150 damage then take another 75 to kill. 

 

For x1.0 damage characters I recommend using a spear and a tentacle spike/DarkSword. After landing 4 spear hits they are still agressive since I haven't dealt 150 damage yet, then you need something stronger to land the last two blows and the spear can't finish the job, so tentacle spike or Darksword. You also need to get as close to the bunnyman as possible on your last two strikes to make sure both hits land as they start to run. It's definitely easier as Wolfgang but not too hard to get the hang of and makes cave surviving much easier since bunnymen respawn everyday.

[Anelyn]

Depends a lot on the layout you get on your cave. I was lucky (damn lucky I'd say) to find nearby entrance in my 2nd cave (different sinkhole not 1st cave with regen option) a sweet minibase containing: 1 ice box, 1 chest, 1 science machine, 2 improved farms and 1 pond (normal surface pond, frogs spawn during day time period) all those in a grass biome with couple trees / grass / twigs. Nevermind the built tech stuff or the farms, but that pond alone can sustain you infinitely as you will have no problem grabbing silks from the multitude of spider dens in the caves (obv if you don't beeline to shut them off forever), so as far as food goes am set for life, having the ice box is just a bonus as I can keep fish on ice

 

Carrots don't regrow sadly, same with mushroom trees (and you can't plant mushrooms either). Banana trees are very few in caves, but more of them in ruins, and it takes several days for them to grow fruits again. As long as you have a filler for crock pot monster meat will serve you well.

[Crown_king]

Don't starve

[FDru]

Don't starve

Have you ever considered posting anything that isn't totally useless? Your comment doesn't even make sense in the context of anything in this thread.

[xSadoro]

I dont even want to go down there. I once tried to get a lantern, but then I noticed that you need to constantly recharge it with light bulbs or snurtle slime...

 

So I guess the only point in going down there are the ruins, and the thelucite armor crown , and the other items you can make...

And bunnymen ofc.

 

Isnt it easier to go down, and get back up rather than living there?

 

I mean once surface and underground have the same time, it might be useful to survive winter...

[the truthseeker]

Surround your chests with walls.It may not seem very effective,but I've seen them trying to walk trough  the walls.Be aware of the mastermind who will find the entrance,though.

 

 

Dumb question coming, but why not pen the Slurtle/snurtle groups then? You also have your renewable slime farm now. 

[TeoSS69]

N/A

[Acet]

I dont even want to go down there. I once tried to get a lantern, but then I noticed that you need to constantly recharge it with light bulbs or snurtle slime...

 

So I guess the only point in going down there are the ruins, and the thelucite armor crown , and the other items you can make...

And bunnymen ofc.

 

Isnt it easier to go down, and get back up rather than living there?

 

I mean once surface and underground have the same time, it might be useful to survive winter...

Living in the caves for long periods is useful to:

1. Gather huge reserves of rocks, flint, gold and the basic gems (red, blue).
2. Flexibility and time saving in tackling the Ruins. Not just because any clearing up you need to do of the ruins entrance can be done faster if you can quickly go back to your cave base to rest/top-up, but also because you can go down on short quick single-objective expeditions.
3. Once you get used to all the quirks of dealing with lighting in caves, then going to the ruins is far, far easier.

 

Additionally, living there permanently is a bit like being in a separate game.

 

 

As for the lantern, after you've been in a new cave for a couple of earthquakes there will be far more snurtle slime around, eventually more than you can use. Also it's a good idea to just in case carry a Miner Hat at all times and use it if you run out of fuel for the lantern or have been cut off from were you dropped your lantern by too many mobs.

 

Bring or make a net and you can catch fireflies in the cave for when the Miner Hat runs out. A Miner Hat that runs out leaves a Straw Hat, so all you need is 1x firefly + 1x gold (easy to find in caves) to make a new Miner Hat.

 

 

In the beginning it's very natural to be overwelmed (I was) in the caves, especially as you try to deal with the constant lack of light (and learn to overcome the natural aversion to darkness one gains living the outside world). I suggest you do expeditions down to the caves, clear up the area inside around the entrance and start building a base there, bit by bit. Eventually it will feel almost comfortable, which will make going on to the Ruins far easier.

[Ridley]

If you want to kill a rabbit village, give one rabbit one carrot.

 

Tell him to attack a different rabbit, and watch as the entire village helps your rabbit do so.

 

Then keep giving orders to kill other rabbits.

[Crown_king]

Have you ever considered posting anything that isn't totally useless? Your comment doesn't even make sense in the context of anything in this thread.

Sorry what was that mother? Oh sorry your not my mother i am just the pointless troll of this forum.

Also not starving is quite important to cave living.