Revision as of 15:28, 25 March 2016

Skull Cavern Entrance

The Skull Cavern resides in a cave in the northwest corner of the Calico Desert. It is initially locked and requires the Skull Key to gain access.

After entering the Cavern for the first time, the following day a letter is received from Mr. Qi giving a quest called "Qi's Challenge." The quest is completed for reach level 25 of the Cavern, for which the player is awarded 10,000G.

Every ten levels the chance to find Iridium Ore increases significantly and reaches maximum concentration at level 100. The monsters in the Cavern can also drop ore and Iridium Bars.

If the player runs out of health while exploring Skull Cavern, the player blacks out, wakes up later in the same day in Harvey's Clinic, and is charged 1000g for emergency surgery. Some items may be lost.

The plaques that can be occasionally found on the walls contain enciphered messages.

Going Deeper

Like The Mines, the player advances to new floors by finding a ladder by mining rocks or defeating monsters. Additionally, instead of a ladder, the player can find a hole and is offered a choice of whether or not to jump down. Jumping down causes a small amount of damage and skips a random number of floors.

Unlike the Mines, the Cavern offers no elevator and has no limits to its depth. Each visit must start again from the first level.

Strategy

Always Go Down

Since the frequency of Iridium Ore increases for every 10 levels descended into the Cavern, rapid descent is often more efficient for acquiring ore than thorough exploration.

Lucky Day

As with many other things, high Luck increases the frequency of ore veins, item drops, and the appearance of ladders/holes. Coming to the Cavern on a lucky day can increase success.

Items and Equipment

Food

Useful foods for spelunking in the Skull Cavern:

Luck: Lucky Lunch (+3), Pumpkin Soup (+2), Spicy Eel (+1), Fried Eel (+1)
Speed: Spicy Eel (+1), Coffee (+1)
Defense: Pumpkin Soup (+2), Autumn's Bounty (+2)

Note that Spicy Eel is sometimes dropped by the Serpent monsters that are common in the Cavern.

Warp Totems

A Warp Totem can be used to make a quick exit if supplies are running low or the day is almost over.

Explosives

Bombs make quick work of densely-clustered stones and ore veins. They're also necessary for permanently defeating Mummies.

Buy Cherry Bombs from the Dwarf for 300g or craft with 4 Copper Ore and 1 Coal.
Buy Bombs from the Dwarf for 600g or craft with 4 Iron Ore and 1 Coal.
Buy Mega Bombs from the Dwarf for 1000g or craft with 4 Gold Ore, 1 Solar Essence, and 1 Void Essence.

Rings

Magnet Rings

The increased attraction radius of the Small Magnet Ring, Magnet Ring, or Iridium Band can be useful, especially when using explosives to mine clusters of stone or ore.

Burglar's Ring

The Burglar's Ring, acquired by fulfilling Gil's goal of slaying 500 Dust Sprites, can be valuable for getting larger amounts of useful drops from enemies. Serpents can drop Bombs and Spicy Eel while Purple Slimes can drop Iridium Ore.

Staircase

Staircases can be used for rapid descent or skipping troublesome levels. Since staircases do not stack, it can be more space-efficient to bring plenty of Stone and craft the staircases as needed.

Monsters

Image	Monster	HP	Damage	Notes
File:Armoured Bug Anim.gif	Armored Bug		8	Cannot be killed by any currently known means.
	Big Slime	60	5	Splits into smaller Slimes when killed. Big Slimes in the Skull Cavern are always purple.
	Purple Slime	410	28	Can drop Iridium Ore
	Lava Bat	80	15	Appears rarely; flies.
	Mummy	260	30	Needs to be finished with a Bomb of any type after being knocked out with other weapons. If a bomb does enough damage to knock the Mummy out, it will also destroy it.
	Serpent	150	23	Moves quickly; default flying enemy.

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-{{stub|Needs revision to remove second person viewpoint, mass amount of opinion}}
 [[File:skullkeyentrance.jpg|thumb|right|alt= |Skull Cavern Entrance]]
 The '''{{PAGENAME}}''' resides in a cave in the northwest corner of the [[Calico Desert]]. It is initially locked and requires the [[Skull Key]] to gain access.
-After entering the Cavern for the first time, the following day a letter is received from [[Mr. Qi]] giving a quest to reach Level 25. The reward for completing this quest is 10,000g.
+After entering the Cavern for the first time, the following day a letter is received from [[Mr. Qi]] giving a [[Quests|quest]] called "Qi's Challenge." The quest is completed for reach level 25 of the Cavern, for which the player is awarded 10,000G.
-Every ten levels the chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases significantly.
+Every ten levels the chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases significantly and reaches maximum concentration at level 100. The monsters in the Cavern can also drop ore and [[Iridium Bar|Iridium Bars]].
-If [[The Player|the player]] runs out of health while exploring Skull Cavern, the player blacks out, wakes up later in the same day in [[Harvey's Clinic]], and is charged 1000g for emergency surgery.
+If [[The Player|the player]] runs out of health while exploring Skull Cavern, the player blacks out, wakes up later in the same day in [[Harvey's Clinic]], and is charged 1000g for emergency surgery.  Some items may be lost.
 The plaques that can be occasionally found on the walls contain [[Secrets#Skull Cavern Plaques|enciphered messages]].
-= Tips For Going Deeper =
+= Going Deeper =
-Like [[The Mines]], the player advances to new floors by finding a ladder either dropped by a foe or under a rock.
+Like [[The Mines]], the player advances to new floors by finding a ladder by mining rocks or defeating monsters.  Additionally, instead of a ladder, the player can find a hole and is offered a choice of whether or not to jump down.  Jumping down causes a small amount of damage and skips a random number of floors.
 Unlike the Mines, the Cavern offers no elevator and has no limits to its depth. Each visit must start again from the first level.
-== Food ==
+= Strategy =
-Don't just bring any food, but bring food to help stay alive and buff stats. '''Health''' is a must since the enemies are harder and more plentiful here and you may take some damage from using explosives. '''Luck''' is necessary to increase the chances of you finding a ladder, hole, and better drops. '''Speed''' is a good alternative to luck since you are trying to move quickly and cannot resume a floor using an elevator like you can in the mines. '''Defense''' can be helpful for staying alive. '''Energy''' may be necessary to keep going well into the night.
+== Always Go Down ==
-Here is some food you might want to bring and what it will help you with most. [[Spicy Eel]] is also occasionally dropped by Serpent. Note that food buffs will not stack. Bringing more than one is because buffs will wear off in the course of a day.
+Since the frequency of [[Iridium Ore]] increases for every 10 levels descended into the Cavern, rapid descent is often more efficient for acquiring ore than thorough exploration.
-*'''[[Luck]]''': [[Lucky Lunch]] (+3), [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+2), [[Spicy Eel]] (+1), [[Fried Eel]] (+1)
+== Lucky Day ==
-*'''[[Speed]]''': [[Spicy Eel]] (+1), [[Coffee]] (+1)
-*'''[[Defense]]''': [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+2), [[Autumn's Bounty]] (+2)
-*'''[[Health]]''': [[Autumn's Bounty]] (+88), [[Spicy Eel]] (+46), [[Salad]] (+45), [[Lucky Lunch]] (+40), [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+30), [[Fried Eel]] (+30)
-*'''[[Energy]]''': [[Autumn's Bounty]] (+220), [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+200), [[Salad]] (+113), [[Spicy Eel]] (+115), [[Lucky Lunch]] (+100), [[Fried Eel]] (+75)
-== Holes and Warp Totems ==
+As with many other things, high [[Luck]] increases the frequency of ore veins, item drops, and the appearance of ladders/holes.  Coming to the Cavern on a lucky day can increase success.
-Holes can be found that allow the player to jump multiple levels at a time. You will take damage depending on the amount of levels jumped down, but it will never knock you out. There is no way to tell how much levels are skipped until after jumping, so watch out!
+== Items and Equipment ==
+=== Food ===
-Jumps do not automatically start near an exit ladder, meaning the player may potentially have a hard time exiting if it's towards the end of the day. For this reason, bringing a [[Warp Totem]] or a stack of them may be a good idea.
+Useful foods for spelunking in the Skull Cavern:
-== Lucky Day ==
+*'''[[Luck]]''': [[Lucky Lunch]] (+3), [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+2), [[Spicy Eel]] (+1), [[Fried Eel]] (+1)
+*'''[[Speed]]''': [[Spicy Eel]] (+1), [[Coffee]] (+1)
-Since luck plays a big role in how you'll do, it's best if you check the TV in the morning and see if the spirits are on your side. If they aren't, it's probably best to use your day for something else.
+*'''[[Defense]]''': [[Pumpkin Soup]] (+2), [[Autumn's Bounty]] (+2)
-== Explosives ==
-One of the first thing's you'll notice going into Skull Cavern is that you literally cannot beat the Mummies without a [[Bomb]]. This is one reason you'll need explosives, the other is to collect drops and find more ladders and holes quickly.
+Note that Spicy Eel is sometimes dropped by the [[Serpent]] monsters that are common in the Cavern.
-Buy [[Cherry Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 300g or craft with 4 [[Copper Ore]] and 1 Coal.
+=== Warp Totems ===
-Buy [[Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 600g or craft with 4 [[Iron Ore]] and 1 [[Coal]].
+A [[Warp Totem]] can be used to make a quick exit if supplies are running low or the day is almost over.
-Buy [[Mega Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 1000g or craft with 4 [[Gold Ore]], 1 [[Solar Essence]], and 1 [[Void Essence]].
+=== Explosives ===
-It can be difficult to outrun the damage of a Bomb, so be prepared to run away and heal using food.
+[[Bomb|Bombs]] make quick work of densely-clustered stones and ore veins.  They're also necessary for permanently defeating [[Mummy|Mummies]].
-Smaller bombs have lower radius, but more safe, think smart about the choice of bombs you use.
-== Magnet Ring ==
+* Buy [[Cherry Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 300g or craft with 4 [[Copper Ore]] and 1 [[Coal]].
+* Buy [[Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 600g or craft with 4 [[Iron Ore]] and 1 [[Coal]].
+* Buy [[Mega Bomb]]s from the [[Dwarf]] for 1000g or craft with 4 [[Gold Ore]], 1 [[Solar Essence]], and 1 [[Void Essence]].
-The key to bombing an area, picking up stuff quickly, and avoiding most enemies without having to fight them is having a magnet ring equipped. This will make it so you do not have to go very close to anything to pick it up once you've used a bomb.
+=== Rings ===
-== Stone Staircase ==
+==== Magnet Rings ====
-If you start exploding rocks in one direction but do not find a ladder or hole, do not backtrack. Instead, use stone to craft [[staircase]].
+The increased attraction radius of the [[Small Magnet Ring]], [[Magnet Ring]], or [[Iridium Band]] can be useful, especially when using explosives to mine clusters of stone or ore.
-Stairs do not stack, so bring large stack(s) of [[stone]] and craft them on the fly. It takes 99 stone to craft one staircase. Thankfully, your stone stacks will replenish from using bombs in the cavern.
+==== Burglar's Ring ====
-== Always Go Down ==
+The [[Burglar's Ring]], acquired by fulfilling [[Gil]]'s [[Adventurer's Guild#Monster_Eradication_Goals|goal]] of slaying 500 [[Dust Sprite]]s, can be valuable for getting larger amounts of useful drops from enemies.  [[Serpent]]s can drop [[Bomb]]s and [[Spicy Eel]] while [[Purple Slime]]s can drop [[Iridium Ore]].
-It can be tempting to stick around and explore a level, but in reality it is always better to go down as soon as you see a ladder or hole (after collecting and visible rare drops you need like [[Iridium Ore]]).
+=== Staircase ===
-The reason for this is that we're trying to reach the lowest level possible. We're trying to reach the lowest level possible because chance to find Iridium Ore increases significantly every ten levels.
+[[Staircase]]s can be used for rapid descent or skipping troublesome levels.  Since staircases do not stack, it can be more space-efficient to bring plenty of [[Stone]] and craft the staircases as needed.
-Fighting enemies is not worth your time (unless you're trying to get your kills up for a particular monster). Even though they may drop Iridium Ore, you'll get more by getting down to lower levels and mining it.
 = Monsters=
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 |[[File:Armoured_Bug_Anim.gif|center]]
 |[[Armored Bug]]
-|?
+|
 |8
 |Cannot be killed by any currently known means.
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 |60
 |5
-|Splits into smaller [[Slimes]] when killed.
+|Splits into smaller [[Slimes]] when killed.  Big Slimes in the Skull Cavern are always purple.
 |-
 |[[File:Purple Slime.png|center]]
@@ Line 96: / Line 89: @@
 |410
 |28
-|
+|Can drop [[Iridium Ore]]
 |-
 |[[File:Lava Bat.png|center]]

Difference between revisions of "Skull Cavern"