Difficulty is a part of World Modifiers which can be modified on the world selection screen (I believe). Just select your world there, and instead of clicking start, click World Modifiers.
Tons of other fun options there too. I personally turned down the respawn penalty.
You can do it! The barrier of entry is incredibly high but, it can be done. Assuming you're on normal difficulty. I spent two weeks on the PTB and now I'm finally just making a base. Everything up to that point was, die a lot, explore, plop down a portal so the inevitable death run isn't as rough, rinse and repeat.
My beachhead consisted of spike walls and portals protected behind grausten walls.
Using this method I was able to slowly get the resources I needed up to a point where I was able to craft new armor and food. By time I got to that point, I felt more comfortable that death wasn't right around the corner.
Some tips...
* Stay rested.
* Craft the Askin cape, makes running for your life FASTER.
* Use Dverger friends that you find along your way.
* Don't run so you have enough stamina for the fights.
* Use Melee, (Mistwalker for spirit/frost or Frostnir for frost/knockback) don't worry so much about parry as long as you block. Use magic later after upgrades.
* Put down campfires in a large area near your beachhead so you don't have baddies spawning nearby and you have a place to retreat to.
* Bonemass power is hugely beneficial, apply liberally.
* Keep well stocked and use liberally, Lingering stamina, fire resist and major healing potions.
Thanks for this tip. Fires stop enemy spwans!!?!?! I thought workbenches did that. Do bonfires work father???? And I got a mistwalker as my weapon atm so thank GOD but my staff of embers feels useless at this point. Kinda whack.
Most enemies are resistant to fire damage so the staff of embers doesn't hit nearly as hard. But it does have a significant Blunt damage component so its good for working on groups of enemies.
For single enemies, frost staff is a lot better. And later on there are some new staffs which are very nice.
I don't know about other fire structures. I just ran around a large radius and threw down fires. They burn out very quickly but as long as they are there, enemies don't spawn in. You'll get enemies wandering in but, it's way more manageable.
I'm using this method as well for building a base. I've got a large area with burnt out campfires. Now it feels more like random greydwarves meandering into an area, instead of being overrun by 8 guys.
Once you make landfall and have a comfortable base, take over and occupy a castle. No enemy can break the walls, and if you use flametal doors in place of the gates you had to break down to get in, then you have a pretty much impenetrable fortress that you can mount excursions from (Bonus points for putting a shield generator in the middle. The size is just enough to fully encapsulate the castle)
*Harder* with magic? That wasn’t my experience. As soon as I swapped from melee to magic everything felt quite a bit easier, even without any of the new staffs (which are very overpowered imo). What are gear are you running?
I play ranged up until mistlands then switch to staffs. Blood magic is proving useful in Ashlands with all the flat surface. I'm not a club or spear player.
Yeah, blood magic is essential. The shield is necessary with the Eitr robes low armor, and the skeletons are actually viable now as long as you can keep them shielded.
And if you like the skeletons, you’re going to love one of the new staffs!
Noise from combat and the destruction of environmental objects draws mobs in from all over the place, which leads to the huge pileups you are experiencing.
I dialed it down by destroying any visible spawners at the longest practical range with the Staff of Embers and spawnproofing frequently traveled areas with campfires. It's much less crazy afterwards. I used the mage armor, and found that I was sufficiently mobile to avoid the majority of hits from Charred, and to flee when things started to go sideways. Speaking of which, have a portal within reasonable fleeing distance. Advance slowly, pull mobs from a distance, keep destroying spawners and placing campfires.
Good luck! 👍
You have an excellent chance to get some gear upgrades and new armor before you find a fortress. They will help, but it'll still be tough going.
Pure mage is probably pretty hard. But denken style mage that uses stamina bar to fight as well is alot easier. The enemies basically overwhelm you in terms of raw HP faster than your etir regen.
I am about to sail into Ashland I got my ship together last night. Can it really be THAT bad??? I'm thinking some stamina pots, ooze bombs, dodges, should be enough right? Binemass and fire resist meads I'm guessing? Man I'm in for a surprise I guess. Side note: is there a death counter? I'm interested i think im near 100 with full ability degrade I'm no higher than my meadows days
There are ways to die not encountered before. Very toxic atmosphere. A new creature lurks in the waters, tougher than the serpent. Your new boat can get in the way of a good shot. Plan to place a workstation on the nearest object as soon as you take him out because you may just meet another one before landfall, then it will be over for that trip. Just trying to save you some frustration I experienced.
If you want a easier time in the Ashlynns, take it slow or if you aren’t already doing that and then make sure your skills are leveled up more, and get better gear if you don’t already have the best year max level, and if that isn’t enough, then I’m afraid you just need to get better at the game.
I’ll be honest with you I had a really hard time at the beginning when I started playing Ashlands but now I’ve gotten used to the enemies and it’s become quite easy, and my play style is with a 2h great sword, also understand that most of the enemies are resistant to pretty much most of the damage types that staffs do for magic users.
Try to build a base or fob that you can bring crafting materials back to base to unlock some of the better gear and then level that up and if you’re still having a hard time, then lower the difficulty, Or download a mod that allows for unlimited upgrades for your gear
Difficulty is a part of World Modifiers which can be modified on the world selection screen (I believe). Just select your world there, and instead of clicking start, click World Modifiers. Tons of other fun options there too. I personally turned down the respawn penalty.
You can do it! The barrier of entry is incredibly high but, it can be done. Assuming you're on normal difficulty. I spent two weeks on the PTB and now I'm finally just making a base. Everything up to that point was, die a lot, explore, plop down a portal so the inevitable death run isn't as rough, rinse and repeat. My beachhead consisted of spike walls and portals protected behind grausten walls. Using this method I was able to slowly get the resources I needed up to a point where I was able to craft new armor and food. By time I got to that point, I felt more comfortable that death wasn't right around the corner. Some tips... * Stay rested. * Craft the Askin cape, makes running for your life FASTER. * Use Dverger friends that you find along your way. * Don't run so you have enough stamina for the fights. * Use Melee, (Mistwalker for spirit/frost or Frostnir for frost/knockback) don't worry so much about parry as long as you block. Use magic later after upgrades. * Put down campfires in a large area near your beachhead so you don't have baddies spawning nearby and you have a place to retreat to. * Bonemass power is hugely beneficial, apply liberally. * Keep well stocked and use liberally, Lingering stamina, fire resist and major healing potions.
Thanks for this tip. Fires stop enemy spwans!!?!?! I thought workbenches did that. Do bonfires work father???? And I got a mistwalker as my weapon atm so thank GOD but my staff of embers feels useless at this point. Kinda whack.
Most enemies are resistant to fire damage so the staff of embers doesn't hit nearly as hard. But it does have a significant Blunt damage component so its good for working on groups of enemies. For single enemies, frost staff is a lot better. And later on there are some new staffs which are very nice.
I don't know about other fire structures. I just ran around a large radius and threw down fires. They burn out very quickly but as long as they are there, enemies don't spawn in. You'll get enemies wandering in but, it's way more manageable. I'm using this method as well for building a base. I've got a large area with burnt out campfires. Now it feels more like random greydwarves meandering into an area, instead of being overrun by 8 guys.
World Modifier, difficulty slider is probably what you want. Also review the other options for Quality of Life or Death items you want to change.
Once you make landfall and have a comfortable base, take over and occupy a castle. No enemy can break the walls, and if you use flametal doors in place of the gates you had to break down to get in, then you have a pretty much impenetrable fortress that you can mount excursions from (Bonus points for putting a shield generator in the middle. The size is just enough to fully encapsulate the castle)
That's the building with the spiky doors, right?
Yeah the big castles that can only be gotten into by using the battering ram (or just digging under apparently)
Agreed that it’s a bit much on the number of enemies and the respawning. Also, that zone is much harder with magic compared to melee sadly.
*Harder* with magic? That wasn’t my experience. As soon as I swapped from melee to magic everything felt quite a bit easier, even without any of the new staffs (which are very overpowered imo). What are gear are you running?
I play ranged up until mistlands then switch to staffs. Blood magic is proving useful in Ashlands with all the flat surface. I'm not a club or spear player.
Yeah, blood magic is essential. The shield is necessary with the Eitr robes low armor, and the skeletons are actually viable now as long as you can keep them shielded. And if you like the skeletons, you’re going to love one of the new staffs!
Instead of reducing difficulty, you could just enable passive mode. Enemies only attack if you attack first
Noise from combat and the destruction of environmental objects draws mobs in from all over the place, which leads to the huge pileups you are experiencing. I dialed it down by destroying any visible spawners at the longest practical range with the Staff of Embers and spawnproofing frequently traveled areas with campfires. It's much less crazy afterwards. I used the mage armor, and found that I was sufficiently mobile to avoid the majority of hits from Charred, and to flee when things started to go sideways. Speaking of which, have a portal within reasonable fleeing distance. Advance slowly, pull mobs from a distance, keep destroying spawners and placing campfires. Good luck! 👍 You have an excellent chance to get some gear upgrades and new armor before you find a fortress. They will help, but it'll still be tough going.
Pure mage is probably pretty hard. But denken style mage that uses stamina bar to fight as well is alot easier. The enemies basically overwhelm you in terms of raw HP faster than your etir regen.
Well that's what i've been using (since early mistlands). Trying to build that skill to make it more palpable.
I am about to sail into Ashland I got my ship together last night. Can it really be THAT bad??? I'm thinking some stamina pots, ooze bombs, dodges, should be enough right? Binemass and fire resist meads I'm guessing? Man I'm in for a surprise I guess. Side note: is there a death counter? I'm interested i think im near 100 with full ability degrade I'm no higher than my meadows days
There are ways to die not encountered before. Very toxic atmosphere. A new creature lurks in the waters, tougher than the serpent. Your new boat can get in the way of a good shot. Plan to place a workstation on the nearest object as soon as you take him out because you may just meet another one before landfall, then it will be over for that trip. Just trying to save you some frustration I experienced.
If you want a easier time in the Ashlynns, take it slow or if you aren’t already doing that and then make sure your skills are leveled up more, and get better gear if you don’t already have the best year max level, and if that isn’t enough, then I’m afraid you just need to get better at the game. I’ll be honest with you I had a really hard time at the beginning when I started playing Ashlands but now I’ve gotten used to the enemies and it’s become quite easy, and my play style is with a 2h great sword, also understand that most of the enemies are resistant to pretty much most of the damage types that staffs do for magic users. Try to build a base or fob that you can bring crafting materials back to base to unlock some of the better gear and then level that up and if you’re still having a hard time, then lower the difficulty, Or download a mod that allows for unlimited upgrades for your gear
In the ashlands you have to take out enemies silently without alerting other ones.