Originally posted by Suzaku:

The pick is the "shovel".

Get better at fighting. Learn to parry with a shield and then strike. Use a bow. The only threat in that raid is the brutes, and they can still be wrecked in seconds.

The only threat to you might be the brutes, but I'm not wearing platemail, and I don't know what to do about the 20-yard range of poison spray the shamans, do, either. 30-40 monsters from a biome that's a 5-minute jog from my house materializing in my front yard is a bit... excessive, especially when the only warning I received was a brief message on my screen that says "The forest is moving."

The last time I saw a message like that, it was 4 pigs, 2 lizard things, and a Greyling or two... and they trickled in one or two at a time, they didn't materialize en masse right in front of my door.