Tam and Tusk drops disappearing right after MacTusk dies

[vimrich]

I set up a bunch of tooth traps around the MacTusk Igloo in summer.  I go to visit/reset after winter over and find only the blowdart and meat/rot plus a few hound teeth.  So then I go visit during winter every few days to max the kills.  I've killed 5 or 6 mactusks in these traps so far and only get the blowdart and meat. This used to work to get Tusk and Tam. 

 

So last time I visit, I get there at dawn so I can actually see him die in the traps when he comes out of his igloo and then I see it happen, the Tam 'O Shanter drops, lands in the trapped area then disappears. What's up?  I've never see the Tam or Tusk drops get eaten up in the tooth traps before.  Some new "fix" change this? Do I have to hit MacTusk myself for these drops to stick?

 

 

[Deacon_Blue]

The tam dropping is part of his death animation, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the drop. I think you're just unlucky. My pigs have gotten me several tusks.

[the truthseeker]

Confirmed.

 

The tam isn't disappearing, you are just experiencing my kind of annoying luck.

 

 

What kind of luck am i talking about?

 

I find 3 of 4 Things in eight-nine days, but I can't find the quarry until the last place on the map is looked at or day 18.

 

I left that world....but it felt sorry for me and I found a Walking Cane before I left (All the other boons were just sticks and cut stone, go figure.) 

 

True story!  

[23rd]

Confirmed.

 

The tam isn't disappearing, you are just experiencing my kind of annoying luck.

 

 

What kind of luck am i talking about?

 

I find 3 of 4 Things in eight-nine days, but I can't find the quarry until the last place on the map is looked at or day 18.

 

I left that world....but it felt sorry for me and I found a Walking Cane before I left (All the other boons were just sticks and cut stone, go figure.) 

 

True story!  

Ugh, this so much. I never seem to have enough gold for an Alchemy Machine until I find the one massive rock biome on day 8. I really need to get in the habit of skipping those insanely huge swamps. Of course the Ring Thing just loves me for some reason, and I always find it in the middle of a road on day 1.

 

On topic, I feel you vimrich. The first several times I saw that animation I got so excited for the Tam I thought I would be getting, only to have it fade away to reveal my third Walrus Tusk that Winter.

[gnarlytreeman]

just improper scouting methods, try walking interior biome lines to find the mosaic biome, i usually have 10 gold, and a stack of rocks by day 3, the other is priority change, don't prioritize chopping wood at all, takes too much time early on and trees are everywhere, pick 10 twig and 10 grass and pick up 3 flint and then scout walking biome edges, only collecting quick picks and berries(picks w/o swirly animation), by far reduces scout time, and give you something to do later while picking up beefalo poo and looking for pig king as both biomes each have mostly grass or twigs.

 

you two should know this already, rock biomes are usually tucked far away into the back of another biome, mosaics are easier to find, and base placement requires finding a cave anyway.

[vimrich]

Thanks all. Tams are rare for me, so I maybe overreacted. But usually after a couple winters, I have at least a couple tusks.  I'm up to 6 kills now with nothing but blow darts.

 

I agree with @gnarlytreeman, I dash explore in the first 8-15 days: roads, every worm hole and all biome boundaries and only a minimum of anything else. If the world was a good one, I can go back later to the best camp location or to pick up anything I need. If it was bad, better to die on day 20 trying to find at least one good thing about it, than to slog your way in tedious terrible spawn.

 

The other thing I've realized is that you can cover a LOT more ground in DS than you think you can if you stay focused on the mission - particularly if you have roads. Stopping to mess with inventory or gather that one thing lying just out of reach is what drags you down.

 

BTW, on my current world, it was after day 100 until I finally found the eyebone! I had only one blacked out area in the world left to check when I got it. 

[the truthseeker]

I agree with gnarlytreeman except on,
 

you two should know this already, rock biomes are usually tucked far away into the back of another biome, mosaics are easier to find, and base placement requires finding a cave anyway.

 
 
Absolutely NOT requiring a cave Biome. A cave is optional, and mostly for later-game players for that matter. if you place a base and there's a cave far off, you can set up another small area (also known as a "forward operating base") for easier management, but there is NO reason you must have something by the cave or even find a cave for a base.
 
(Just remember this...
 
For new players: Either do NOT open the cave plughole immediately or build your base a little bit away from the cave so you don't have to fight/run form Btatlisks every night and use their Guano drops for your farming needs.  
 
Once you have progressed, remember the Batalisks do not renew when you are down in the cave and are finite, but as long as some remain, it appears that they do come out and fly around every night. When you have weapons and armor better than the spear/log-suit, they are a mild nuisence, even in "packs" but like spiders, can swarm you and break you, so be warned.)
 
 
So (for new players) make your base suggested in Savannah near Beefalo and/or rabbits or make it in Grasslands nearby the before-mentioned, but DON'T hold off making a new base if you haven't found a cave. You will, and can always plan accordingly then when you are resource rich to do so.

[23rd]

For new players: Either do NOT open the cave plughole immediately or build your base a little bit away from the cave so you don't have to fight/run form Btatlisks every night and use their Guano drops for your farming needs.

I made the mistake of building my base too close to a cave without proper precautions once.

 

Once.

 

Seriously new players, heed this advice. As long as you always have a spear there's not much risk of the things killing you, but needing to fight off swarms of anything in the radius of your fire pit is a pain in the ass, especially when you have to do it night after night.

[gnarlytreeman]

goes w/o saying neither of you aren't new players. and it is fairly necessary to know where the cave is. in my opinion more important than the pig king.(i always have enough gold w/o him) i didn't say the base had to be on top of it... that would be stupid

 

personally having a cave within short running distance of the tooth trap field is well worth it, that is why i prioritize it, cause being close does matter, but w/e. of course this is balanced with other conveniences pond for example, or mc tusk, or a pig guardian setpiece(removes the need for tooth traps until day 100) as these places can be turned into free meat farms for less grinding.

 

@ the two base idea or mini base near the cave, this is more of a hassle than anything else, it's by far better to have your major resources close to hand, most people leave caves with low sanity/health frequently, or resurface to come get minions, this is a large traffic place later in the game, not that the mini base doesn't work, it's just not as beneficial as it sounds.

[the truthseeker]

goes w/o saying neither of you aren't new players. and it is fairly necessary to know where the cave is. in my opinion more important than the pig king.(i always have enough gold w/o him) i didn't say the base had to be on top of it... that would be stupid

 

personally having a cave within short running distance of the tooth trap field is well worth it, that is why i prioritize it, cause being close does matter, but w/e. of course this is balanced with other conveniences pond for example, or mc tusk, or a pig guardian setpiece(removes the need for tooth traps until day 100) as these places can be turned into free meat farms for less grinding.

 

@ the two base idea or mini base near the cave, this is more of a hassle than anything else, it's by far better to have your major resources close to hand, most people leave caves with low sanity/health frequently, or resurface to come get minions, this is a large traffic place later in the game, not that the mini base doesn't work, it's just not as beneficial as it sounds.

 

 

I just don't want players who are new and reading this thinking as day 11+ happens (in my research, the latest you can set up a base and be fully prepared for winter as a neophite player at least,) they can't settle a base because they didn't find a plughole and/or opening up immediately and making a base there at the daytime....

[gnarlytreeman]

mmm yeah don't coddle them too much, it stunts growth

[vimrich]

Well, I'm just sayin...

 

I go there again. He dies again with no drops - 7th one now. So I come back a few days later and this time, I first hit MacTusk with a blow dart and then he dies the in traps coming over towards me. That time, I get BOTH the tusk and tam drop.

 

Could it be you have to inflict at least some damage directly to get the drops?  I know XP credit works like that in some other games.

[Deacon_Blue]

Well, I'm just sayin...

 

I go there again. He dies again with no drops - 7th one now. So I come back a few days later and this time, I first hit MacTusk with a blow dart and then he dies the in traps coming over towards me. That time, I get BOTH the tusk and tam drop.

 

Could it be you have to inflict at least some damage directly to get the drops?  I know XP credit works like that in some other games.

 

Neither tusks nor Tams require this. As proof, here's a screenshot of my Walrus thing. I haven't opened the grass wall to get in since winter started. You can see three tusks and a tam on the ground. I stop by every third day or so.

 

[aredshroom]

Could it be you have to inflict at least some damage directly to get the drops?  I know XP credit works like that in some other games.

You don't have to. It's just bad luck on your drops. x'D 

SetSharedLootTable( 'walrus',{    {'meat',            1.00},    {'blowdart_pipe',   1.00},    {'walrushat',       0.25},    {'walrus_tusk',     0.50},})

[vimrich]

Neither tusks nor Tams require this. As proof, here's a screenshot of my Walrus thing. I haven't opened the grass wall to get in since winter started. You can see three tusks and a tam on the ground. I stop by every third day or so.

 

 

Thanks for the proof. In another save, I had a farm like that and did the same. After 4 winters and no drops, I was starting to wonder if Klei felt that was nerfing MacTusk and "fixed" it.