Originally posted by Jeemoo11:

So I just beat the first boss. I have a flint spear, a wooden shield, a crude bow and leather armour all at level one (bow at 2). I cant seem to handle the skeles. I also dont have the dmg output to take out any nests. Any advice? Am I undergeared for the forest?

You are not undergeared you just need to get better at parry and dodgeroll. The other comments are good for closing the skill gap and making mistakes less punishing but the core of the issue isnt gear its ability. Later on in the game gear gets more important for certain buffs yes, but they mean little if you dont master the fighting mechanics. I for example just use lvl 1 gear ( maaaaaybe lvl 2 if I have extra mats ) and comfortably steamroll most of the enemies. One thing that will certainly help you If you are stuck and want to push trough is the classic Bow cheeze since you outwalk/outrun your enemies

Originally posted by Jeemoo11:

Thanks for all the responses. I utilised all the info and have a smelter now! By the power of Odin! I know where the next boss is too (across the sea). My base is taking shape and I've crafted a piece of Troll armour having taken down my first troll. Such a brilliant game.

Make sure you have the Cauldron made, with this, carrot soup, onion soup and soon to be other eatables will help in your quests with health and stamina boosts. Once you get Turnips you will open up the better options and upgrades of the Cauldron.

In the meantime level up your shield blocking ability by toying with greydwarfs and greylings, also decide which hand held weapon you want to stick with and level it up as well.

I myself use the Captain America approach, fist and shield from the start of my new character, By the time I get to the next boss, I use it allot when possible.

Originally posted by electricdawn:

I think it really doesn't matter at this level, but yes, a club is the best weapon against skellies. I personally used an upgraded flint axe. Worked very nicely in combination with the wooden shield.

It absolutely does matter. Skeletons resist piercing damage and are weak to blunt damage. They have other resistances, weaknesses, and immunities as well. Many other enemies have immunities, resistances, and/or weaknesses. You'll notice different colours on the damage you're doing. White means normal damage, yellow means the enemy is weak to that damage type so you're doing extra damage, and gray means they resist that type so you're doing less.

@Macdallan, I concurr, it does matter, but not so much at this level. Later on? Oh, you better use the right tool for the job. In the Black Forest? Nah, good enough is good enough.

Torch is handy as it counts as a club and sets them on fire for the DOT.

Keep wood and resin in stock....

Thanks for all the responses. I utilised all the info and have a smelter now! By the power of Odin! I know where the next boss is too (across the sea). My base is taking shape and I've crafted a piece of Troll armour having taken down my first troll. Such a brilliant game.

Before you press on to the next section... from Meadows to Dark Forest to Swamp to Mountain.. you should have the best gear currently available to you, upgraded fully. If you don't, you're going to struggle each time.

Anything that's too tough for you, just keep running and using the bow. Even the burial chambers, if the skeletons are giving you trouble, you can stand on the step inside the burial chambers near the doorway & they can't hit you. Archer skeletons can hit you though, but they're easy to avoid, just step left & right to avoid their arrows while shooting them.

Originally posted by Jeemoo11:

So I just beat the first boss. I have a flint spear, a wooden shield, a crude bow and leather armour all at level one (bow at 2). I cant seem to handle the skeles. I also dont have the dmg output to take out any nests. Any advice? Am I undergeared for the forest?

I will probably get conflicting replies to this comment but oh well....

The way the game is set up is that you want to play only one biome at a time, so for example you are starting in the meadows biome.... You will want to capitalize on every type of resource that biome has to offer, from wood to foods etc.... unlock every new recipe possible, build and upgrade all the various work stations possible and upgrade all your gear before taking on the boss for that biome, which usually gives you an item that you will need / can aide you in the next biome.... Advance to the next biome (Black Forest) and repeat.

You will notice that when you start a new biome you will be JUST geared enough to maybe survive a bit, but the more you play and upgrade, the easier the biome becomes.

This pattern of progression becomes increasingly more important, the farther into the game you go, because each "advancement" (jumping to next biome) ramps up in difficulty by quite a lot.

The more prepared you are, the easier the game is (which is still going to be brutal a lot of the time)

Long story short.... Play each biome to i's fullest before attempting to take on the boss of that biome, then move on to the next... Good Luck

I think it really doesn't matter at this level, but yes, a club is the best weapon against skellies. I personally used an upgraded flint axe. Worked very nicely in combination with the wooden shield.

How can I get the res too upgrade my armour? It seems to need bones

Originally posted by Jeemoo11:

So I just beat the first boss. I have a flint spear, a wooden shield, a crude bow and leather armour all at level one (bow at 2). I cant seem to handle the skeles. I also dont have the dmg output to take out any nests. Any advice? Am I undergeared for the forest?

A bit of a spoiler in terms of content, read at your discretion
The best weapon for the Black Forest, specially against skellies in dungeons, is the Stagbreaker. Craft it asap by getting core wood from pines in the Black Forest and gather the rest of the materials that you can find in the Meadows. With it you can kill skellies in dungeons through the walls and doors. Just hit them blindly when you find a door and the area effect will kill them. When you bast the ground with it and you don't see damage numbers the room is clear. This is obviously a bit of a cheese tactic and can make you develop bad combat habits but if skellies are giving you trouble it's very effective to get some easy cores.

For the skellies outside you just wind up the hit when they're about to get close (don't wait for them to be close enough to attack, they'll have higher attack speed). If there are skellie archers just hide behind trees and they'll come after you, then you bash the floor with the Stagbreaker as usual.

You can find bones in the Meadows if you look for ceremonial stones (those stone structures that look like small huts or something). They usually have some laying around. You can go for the troll armour instead by crafting plenty of fire arrows but I personally decided to never harm trolls again.

You will be ready for the crypts when your armor is at 10, not level 10, but 10 total points or higher. Look to the number at the right side of your inventory. That will be upgraded deer armor, or a few pieces of troll armor. After that you have a decent chance.

The club is the best weapon to use against skellies (other than the stagbreaker, which is also blunt). If you're under armored, you can lead greydwarves to the ones you find standing around towers and outside crypts. They will fight each other and then you can pick up the loot or finish off the winners. Figure out the timing of how long they go between attacks and dodge, block or step back. Instead of tanking, try not to get hit as much.

Trolls seem impossible at first, but they can't cross ditches, and they have to walk the long way around fallen trees. You can keep shooting at them while making sure they don't catch up to you. It's not easy, but it can be done. If you've dug a ditch with vertical sides around your base near the black forest, you can handle the trolls when you lead them back there. Or you could dig a troll trap that gives you a protected place to stand and lead them back there. Watch out for flying boulders. The entrance to some of the crypts have a sheltered area in front where you can hide from troll attacks too.

Don't go after the pink nests until you are properly geared. Avoid them for now. You will need them later.

Yes.

Upgrade your armor to at least lvl 3. Upgrade the shield to lvl 3. Then you can start taking on burial sites.

Kill trolls while kiting them around with your bow. Get at least one troll gear (chest or leggings), that should make you fit for the rest of the Black Forest.

Don't use a spear against skeletons. ;-)
Either use a sword, you a club or the axe. A shield comes in handy too.
If you're still too weak stay away from them till your character leveled up.

sleep by night.

Use a small/round shield. Block and parry. Shields are very powerfull in this game.

Keep a torch in your off hand. Greylings won't close with you. Black Forest solved.

Originally posted by FoxGod:

Hey guys. So i'm getting my butt handed to me in the black forest. Its my first time there. Any useful tips on how I can stay alive? My equipment is at a level 2 for most things like my flint axe and club. Should these be leveled up a lot more before going there? Currently I have just the leather armor.

Make a shield and a spear and use the block and roll mechanics and make sure when your blocking your facing the enemy and try to block right before they attack to parry them this will allow you to get a critical hit allowing you to do much more damage also don't go out at night until you get bronze tools

thanks for all the help. I just found a burial chamber and i'm looking for surtling cores. feel free to add me anyone. once i do my first playthrough i'd love to do some crafting and boss runs with people

For mining copper dig around and under the copper deposit. This makes sure you get it all, plus once you've dug down enough it makes it hard for any greydwarfs attracted to actually reach you and the copper deposit above your head acts as shelter. You can set up a temporary campfire and workbench under it for repairs and relaxing. Also after seperating the entire copper deposit from the surrounding dirt, at some point mining it will cause the entire thing to shatter saving you a bunch of work.
I'd advise not being in the Black Forest at night, cold plus increased mobs is not fun.
DO NOT waste copper and tin on bronze armor. It's barely better than troll armor (6pts) and slows you down. Also Bronze is the most labor intensive metal in the game by far, so its better served going towards tools and weapons.
Get a finewood bow after you have a bronze axe. Makes a huge difference in combat. Kite Trolls, collect troll skin, wear troll skin like a serial killer, profit.

Originally posted by FoxGod:

thanks for all the help. I just found a burial chamber and i'm looking for surtling cores. feel free to add me anyone. once i do my first playthrough i'd love to do some crafting and boss runs with people

Sent you a request if you'd like to play together.

i tried building a makeshift shelter by mining out a large boulder into a cave. since it faces the shore it seems to be keeping enemies from reaching me. Will let you know how it goes =D

Ahh, great. Good luck :)

Hey FoxGod here is my advice:

- always be aware of your surroundings in any biome
- do not be in a hurry to progress fast in the game
- gather resources and always prepare, prepare, prepare! preperation is key
= there are many youtube guides etc that will answer questions about armor, weapons and other parts of the game
- HAVE FUN!!!
- also feel free to reach out to me in steam if you have any questions. i am on day 990 in the game and have done quite a bit

OK it sounds like you have beaten the first boss.

Get the best foods you can, probably neck tail and cooked meat. Honey if you found a bee hive.

Scout for carrot seeds. You need to make a cultivator to plant them. But in order to refine metal you need cores from black forest crypts.

Finding black forest crypts for cores is probably your first needed tasks.
You can make a fire inside a crypt. Also the crypt entry inside cannot be attacked. So you can hang out by the exit and kill what comes up and back off to heal when you need to.

Once you have 5 cores you can start to make charcoal ... build up a supply of charcoal then break down the kiln and make the smelter to refine the metal.
6 copper needed for forge
10 tin needed for cook pot
Make bronze for cultivator so you can plant better food.
With the cook pot you can use raspberry and blueberry to make queens jam. A decent early food for going into more crypts for cores. Also make an ax for cutting fine wood, so you can build portals and get around easier.

Leather armor is fine if you are careful. Normally I will scout out areas and get cores from crypts before beating the first boss.

I'd suggest upgrading your wood shield before you find any copper/tin/able to make bronze for better equipment & armour. You can also make a torch, grey dwarves won't come near you, they hate fire. Use your antler pick to gather tin & copper, find surtling cores in the burial chambers & should unlock smelter & kiln, (you need 5 cores for smelter or kiln, so recommend finding 10, to build both) you need these to process tin & copper to unlock your forge, and craft bronze, etc. Also try to do your mining during the day to avoid being overrun by dwarves at night, but look out for trolls, too. Also stock up on a fair bit of food before you venture out, and get the rested buff as often as possible before you do.

Find copper, make a small base where you can hide and recover after attacks
Make sure there is a fire in your base because you heal faster and your rest period lasts longer
Get yourself a bow as it's nice to give the enemies a shot before they are close enough for melee
Once you have enough bronze you can update weapons and armor and life becomes a bit easier

- Stay out of the black forest at night until you can handle it. Greydwarfs spawn non-stop at night.
- Build a base during the day in which you'll be safe inside the black forest at night
- Make sure you're ALWAYS rested. Either update your base comfort as high as you can and return regularly to rest, or build campfires out in the wild and Press X to sit next to it to rest.
- Keep your stamina high. It's easy to outrun most things in the black forest. Eat high stamina foods.