Small cave — 60%
Six out of ten new caves are small. They contain a compact room to explore, resources, an exit and dark areas to light.
GUIDE 13
A finite, dark and dangerous underground world where prepared survivors can find iron.
A SEPARATE WORLD
A cave can only be reached through a visible entrance on the surface. Walking through the normal world cannot reveal its interior: find the entrance and interact with it to enter.
Inside, the floor is stone and solid walls close the area. The black boundaries are impassable. A cave is finite, not infinite, and it cannot contain another cave. It has an entrance and an exit so you can return to the surface.
Older saves remain compatible. An already saved cave keeps its layout and progress. New caves use the formats described below.
TWO FORMATS
Six out of ten new caves are small. They contain a compact room to explore, resources, an exit and dark areas to light.
Four out of ten new caves are medium. They keep the main room and add small branches leading to one large room.
Both are finite, wall-enclosed spaces with a stone floor, an entrance/exit, ore and wolves. Resources do not create an infinite mine.
The format is selected when the cave is created and is saved with the world. The percentages do not mean the cave changes shape on each visit.
RESOURCES
Caves mainly contain stone and iron ore. Iron is no longer a surface mountain resource: find a cave entrance, bring a pickaxe and mine the ore inside.
Bring the iron back to camp and process it in a forge to make ingots and progress toward iron tools. The cave is therefore an exploration and progression step, not only scenery.
LIGHT AND COLD
A cave is dark even when it is daytime on the surface. Visibility is better around the player but remains limited, so the whole room is not visible at once. Torches are portable and can be placed to light the route.
Prepare several before entering. Place them near the entrance, at branches, around ore and along the way back. One torch is not always enough for a safe expedition.
The temperature is about 4 °C colder inside a cave. It does not rain inside, even when it rains outside. During a storm, thunder can still be heard, but the flashes are weaker.
DANGERS
Caves contain normal wolves. The Werewolf does not transform or appear inside caves at this time.
2 wolves are present at the start, with a maximum of 4 wolves in the cave.
3 wolves are present at the start, with a maximum of 6 wolves in the cave.
Additional wolves can appear after a while in areas that remain dark. Torches reduce dangerous dark areas nearby.
Light your route first and keep distance while fighting. A visited room is not necessarily fully safe if large areas are still black.
PREPARE
Remember: caves provide iron, but they require preparation for light, temperature, combat and the return route.