How to recover from being destroyed by the Lava Cave

[adnnaiel]

So I went to my first ever cave mainly for fun and Chitin. I was stupid and only brought a primitive crossbow and the primitive Longneck I just made. I found nothing for 5 minutes and then immediately got swarmed by Dilos and Pulmoscorpius. I got pushed onto a ledge and shredded by 4-5 Onyx before I had time to even think of a way to escape. Is this a normal Ark experience and how do I recover my confidence from this? Thanks all!

[Stewbawl]

ooof..  harsh beans man.   i've been there.  

Ark is an unforgiving experience when attempting something for the first time or when unprepared.  you have to be able to learn from your experience and use it to grow.  try going back with a dino tame that fit in the cave and help you.  i highly recommend one that can jump.  i'm a big fan of direwolves, although this time around i'm using a baryonix as my cave dino.  i would aim to tame something you have a good saddle for.

try it that way and see if you have a better experience.

good luck!  keep your spirits up!  it's the only way we survive!

[adnnaiel]

Ye I have a Baryonix but I have low difficulty due to being relatively new, I'm going to change it to at least 1 soon. I didn't wanna bring the Baryonix as I kind of subconsciously knew that something would mess up and anyway it's only a level 40 something so it wouldn't survive long, maybe an Anky could work? Anyway thanks for the tips 

Edit-Should I try to recover my gear?

Edited November 8, 2023 by adnnaiel

[GrumpyBear]

Lots of people make this sort of mistake in caves on Ark.  Its a dino tame game, you went in missing your greatest assets in caves.  Dinos.

 

There is 1 cave on The Island that requires you to go on foot only.   The rest, we use tames.  If you can't fit a tame in the door, we breed and raise them inside.

Edited November 8, 2023 by GrumpyBear

[Stewbawl]

17 minutes ago, adnnaiel said:

 maybe an Anky could work? Anyway thanks for the tips 

Anky has a nice AoE tail swipe, but they're kind of slow and they can't jump.  many caves have spots you have to jump.  the lava cave certainly does.

raptors, direwolves, thylas, baryonix, sabertooths all have jumps and can deal some damage to help you with cave creatures.  heck even the terror bird can work ok.  

it really boils down to personal preference. you can take whatever you'd like as long as it will fit in the cave.

[CervantesMor]

1 hour ago, adnnaiel said:

Ye I have a Baryonix but I have low difficulty due to being relatively new, I'm going to change it to at least 1 soon. I didn't wanna bring the Baryonix as I kind of subconsciously knew that something would mess up and anyway it's only a level 40 something so it wouldn't survive long, maybe an Anky could work? Anyway thanks for the tips

Hi, for you who don't know the difficulty of the caves I would advise you to go gradually, trying to learn your potential and especially that of the dinos in those places. The first step could certainly be: build a foundation with a bed and a box out of the cave (if you are in single player you can later take back every structure and object you have placed), leave your objects in the box and enter the cave naked, if you die you will not you lose nothing and you are reborn out there and if you pick up the bed and then put it back you will have reset its respawn timer (do it again every time you die), enter carefully and start learning the path and positions of the dinos, just be careful not bring the dinos towards the entrance so as not to create further difficulties, if on the street you find a dino alone try taking binoculars to check its level and then with a crossbow see if you are capable of attracting it towards you alone and if you are able to kill it but remember that if you attract too many DO NOT take them towards the entrance but rather run towards the inside even if you die, all this will make you become familiar with the place but keep in mind that to cross the caves well you must also be well equipped and even better if accompanied by a good mount in health and damage (an alternative is to always enter naked and run dodging everything and trying to understand which is the right path, and then return better equipped).

However, never underestimate the caves because the dinos have levels higher than normal and are hidden in every corner, moreover they often have very dangerous paths (the advice of a dino who can jump is very valid, the Anky in that cave could not reach bottom precisely because in some points you will need to jump).

PS: a camouflage suit can help to reduce your detection from dinos, a flak reduces damage but be careful as Arthopleura demolishes armor immediately, Onyx can inflict the deadly disease on you, Araneo will slow you down a lot with his web, Megalania it can be hidden on the roof or on the walls, Dillo will obscure your vision, the waters of the caves are full of Piranhas and Sarco, in some you will hear a very disturbing roar at night....it's called Megalosaurus. (and let's not talk about underwater caves....). Don't be scared...it's just the beginning of the fun!!!

Edited November 8, 2023 by CervantesMor

[Pipinghot]

4 hours ago, adnnaiel said:

So I went to my first ever cave mainly for fun and Chitin. I was stupid and only brought a primitive crossbow and the primitive Longneck I just made. I found nothing for 5 minutes and then immediately got swarmed by Dilos and Pulmoscorpius. I got pushed onto a ledge and shredded by 4-5 Onyx before I had time to even think of a way to escape. Is this a normal Ark experience and how do I recover my confidence from this? Thanks all!

Short answer: Caves are hard, bring tames.

Until you have advanced gear and weapons made from good blueprints, or a lot of experience, going into caves solo is mostly an exercise in frustration. It's important to remember that on a map with caves the basic sequence looks like this:  Start>Level>Build>Tame>Build & Tame more>Maybe do some breeding>Start working caves.

A single player can do the "easy" cave (which actually means "less difficult" cave) on The Island while riding a good saber cat with a good saddle, but it's much safer to take at least 2 or 3 sabers into the cave with you on follow.

Tames are your major force multipliers in this game. Trying to do too much on foot is basically setting yourself up for frustration until you have experience and advanced gear. If you're still learning the game, focus on doing a lot of taming and getting practice with how each of the different animals can be the most useful to you.

[Cymas]

First rule of Ark: never go anywhere with anything you can't afford to lose. Caves can be done on foot--if you're very familiar with the layout and know what to expect (and have lots of grapples) but for the average newbie, this is definitely not a beginner strat. How you recover from it is more or less how you learn to play the game as Ark has never been particularly forgiving of mistakes.

What I would recommend doing personally, is to wait. Leave your gear, that's lost. You can make it again. Before you go in again, I recommend finding a mate for your baryonyx and breeding them. Raise the baby. Make a spare saddle. Then try again. The important part is that it's bred, not because a low level with an imprint is going to be strong, but because bred tames are disposable. Sad but that's Ark for you. And don't enter the cave with anything you consider valuable. That way if you/the bary dies you aren't really losing anything except some time.

Side note, I also highly recommend doing this for birds and aquatic tames, too. Get one, then get a mate and bred them. Use the baby, not the parents. This way when one inevitably gets lost or killed, you aren't set back so much by such a loss. Basically you need to go into everything in this game with the attitude that you and/or your dinos will die and adjust accordingly.

[adnnaiel]

3 hours ago, Cymas said:

Before you go in again, I recommend finding a mate for your baryonyx and breeding them. Raise the baby. Make a spare saddle. Then try again. The important part is that it's bred, not because a low level with an imprint is going to be strong, but because bred tames are disposable. Sad but that's Ark for you. And don't enter the cave with anything you consider valuable. That way if you/the bary dies you aren't really losing anything except some time.

That's a great idea, thanks. Does anyone know where there are a lot of Baryonix spawns on the island, as I think I got lucky finding mine? Also should I immediately use the baby or should I breed until I have a decent level?

[Qwertymine]

23 minutes ago, adnnaiel said:

Does anyone know where there are a lot of Baryonix spawns on the island, as I think I got lucky finding mine? Also should I immediately use the baby or should I breed until I have a decent level?

Swamps are the most dangerous place for Baryonyx but that's where you'll find them most often, otherwise just check rivers. If you see a Spino, kill it as it might free up a spawn spot for a Bary. 

As for the baby, it depends. If it's a lower level, don't bother with mutations. The imprint bonus will be all you need if you're fighting low level cave creatures. If you have two high level parents though, you could make a really good Caving Bary line, that way you not only get strong Barys, but you can also make replacements should one die. 

Even if you do take tames, I'd recommend upgrading yourself a little. Make some Mindwipe Tonics (If you don't have a Mindwipe limit on) and pump the stats you think will help (Health, Stam, Fortitude, Melee if you have close range weapons, and Speed if you're still on ASE). Collect some drops and get blueprints for better weapons, like Fabricated Shotgun, as well as Armor like Ascendent Flak. During this time you might also get a good saddle for a Bary or other helpful cave creature, so make a wishlist and keep your eyes pealed. Certain colored crates have different loot tables, I suggest checking them out on the Wiki if you're looking for something specific, this will help you avoid drops that won't carry that item. An extra crossbow for Grapple Hooks would be nice, especially in the Lava Cave.  

I think the biggest danger in caves is being overwhelmed mentally. They can be intimidating, so just keep your cool, remember to retreat if you have to, and take is slowly if it starts out rough. After a few runs you'll be a natural guaranteed, and then you'll just have to worry about bad luck, or getting Ark'd. 

[Noricha]

You can also use a Megatherium, they are the best for gathering Chitin, but might not fit in tight areas of the cave.  A high level frog is good too, since it’ll help you jump and automatically makes cementing paste from the bugs.

[adnnaiel]

Guys, I gathered the courage to play Ark again after this and it sent me back to like 15 minutes before I even went in the cave??? What on earth? I mean I got my stuff back so I'm happy but what just happened?

[Moonie1]

On 11/9/2023 at 9:37 AM, Noricha said:

You can also use a Megatherium, they are the best for gathering Chitin, but might not fit in tight areas of the cave.  A high level frog is good too, since it’ll help you jump and automatically makes cementing paste from the bugs.

Public Service Announcement: Megatherium no longer fits in the cave on Carno Island in ASA. It gets stuck before the water.

[alex1234]

Were u born on 2020 ?

[Noricha]

Another reason for needing cryopods in ASA, just so you can cryo your Megatherium and switch to a different Dino when in tight areas of a cave.