Which is harder: Desert or Tundra?

[Ceunon]

First of all, huge thanks to FC for the awesome release. I'm sleep-deprived, yet I can't stop playing. So much goodness to play with.

So, let's get into business. I want the hardest biome possible to start a new world, and I'm torn between picking desert or tundra. I've made a quick list of the "perks" each of them has:

Desert:
-Sand everywhere. I'd have to build my own roads and pathways, otherwise I'd go insane simply by trying to get anywhere out of my base.
-No food sources. At all. I'd have to bring animals and seeds from outside, and those trips would be a pain in the ass because of HCM (I love you, FC).
-No wood, though one could argue that the tundra's few trees wouldn't be enough for anything.
-No dirt for farming. Also, no grass.

Tundra:
-Snow. God, this one is nasty, I'll explain why, for those who don't know:
-HCM. Interestingly, it works in a different manner than on the desert. I wouldn't have to build roads or tracks (though I would be doing so eventually), but I'd be forced to clean those every time it snowed. Either that or placing torches everywhere. Damned torches;
-Impossible to build a reliable hemp farm before I get to the Light Block;
-Windmills requiring attention.
-Aside from all the snow, we have the water source blocks freezing, although that is easily manageable;
-No squidward villages.

I'm *kinda* leaning more towards the Tundra, but I'm not sure yet. So, I want you guys' opinion, experiences and traumas.

[wirer]

i vote tundra. windmills don't require attention if you keep them off while not in usage. having lived near a desert before, i think the sand is a bigger obstacle to torching the tundra. for the best of both worlds, you can try building a base on the border. keep the windmill in the desert side, and pave the area around your house.

[FlowerChild]

i vote tundra. windmills don't require attention if you keep them off while not in usage. having lived near a desert before, i think the sand is a bigger obstacle to torching the tundra. for the best of both worlds, you can try building a base on the border. keep the windmill in the desert side, and pave the area around your house.

He's looking for the greatest challenge, not the easier option ;)

[BlackCat]

No trees or animals or snow generators in desert.

I'd say desert.

[xou816]

I'd say Tundra. Snow everywhere, similar effects to rain, no villages. Deserts on the other hand are really useful if using windmills and you have a small chance to find a village nearby. Plus, there are no trees to block your view, thus it is easier to defend (I think). The major drawback of deserts are ressources, mainly dirt and trees which will require you to live close to the frontier between your desert and another biome. But still, I do not have much experience with both of these since I always play in swamplands :)

[Blazara]

Monster spawns are always pretty darn high in deserts mind, damn that sandy flatness.

[Lars]

I'd go tundra. If you choose desert, you will have to go to another biome to get started, since trees are kinda essential ;) From what I gather from what you're saying, traveling to different biomes kinda defeats the purpose of what you're trying to do. Also, deserts are great for windmills, because you never have to power them off. This means maximum grinding efficiency, which you don't want.
Tundra basically has everything you need, so you won't have to move to other biomes. Creating paths are usefull in the desert, but they have no use in tundra's because of the snow, unless you would indeed place lots of torches or cover all your roads with roofs if you're really a masochist. Also, there is no ice in deserts, so farming is kinda easy too, which isn't the case in a tundra where you'd have to cover up all your farms. Also, use large biomes for maximum difficulty. It'll make travelling to other biomes a huge bitch! As a result, finding a village will become even more difficult and bothersome.

[Locke]

Tundra is the hardest if you are looking for actually playing the game. Desert is a bitch and attempting to survive in one alone is negligible.

That said, I usually set up a base outside of a desert and move in when I get a windmill and food.

[ion]

tundra biome is the hardest. snow fall, snow removal low amount of trees and if you spawn in the middle of it most of the other biomes are a day trek.

[Mud]

No Animals or Trees will always be more challenging than few Animals or Trees.

My money is on desert.

[DaveYanakov]

Tundra is definitely more of a challenge but also far more rewarding to me as the snow covering everything you build now is beautiful. Having to roof over your pathways means they take about five times as much effort to build and you cannot simply grow any flavor of tree that you want by placing a dirt block down and calling it done. Snow will now prevent the growth of anything but spruce.

[Rianaru]

Not even considering the difficulty, I would say desert. Just the fact that you have to think about logistics(importing wood, dirt, etc) and have to build paths to wherever you want to go is a big plus for me because it gives my base a sense of completeness that I, for some reason, don't get nearly as often when I build outside of a desert. Not having to pay attention to your windmill is also a big plus, and I feel like building in a desert really shows the strengths of HCB over building in any other biome, plus I love building infrastructure(aqueducts, roads, rail lines, etc). Your play style and preferences may well be different from mine though, I'm just trying to detail what I think the strengths of the desert biome are ^.^

[Ceunon]

Heh, it seems the answers are divided between both. Dave brought up a fair point, though: Player satisfaction. Though I suppose building a massive village made entirely out of sandstone would be equally satisfying.

I do plan to be able to experience BTW fully, so I would obviously have to go out of either biome. I'm just looking for a place to settle down and build my main base.

And, guys: Tundra=/=Taiga. It seems like a few people here are mixing them up. Here's a picture of a tundra:

Spoiler

Show

Keep the suggestions coming. I'm still thinking about it. I'll be playing on my old world for the while.

[Benanov]

Well, I did a desert-only server...so do Tundra, it's less plumbed out.

Desert is actually pretty easy once you conquer it.

[MrPlatypus]

My home is in a desert and I find it more convenient than challenging. I love the fact that it does not rain and it made it easier to get ender pearls. If you can build paths and acquire an abundance of dirt, you are set. I would say that the tundra would be more challenging assuming you are not doing large biomes.

[TheGatesofLogic]

I'm gonna have to say desert might actually be impossible to survive with HCH now a thing. Speaking of massive sandstone villages... Massive sandstone villages and covered walkways are fierce competitor in my opinion, but I AM slightly partial to my Sandstone village, particularly because it happened to spawn mostly in a plains biome (the well spawned on the edge of a desert but 90% of the village is in a plains biome so it's kinda unique in its own respect)

[MoRmEnGiL]

I love deserts.. All that lovely lovely sand and sandstone.. plus no weather.

I do think tundra might be a little more challenging, as everything is there but also stuff is harder to do.

[milkmandan]

Initially, with HCH, deserts will be by far the more difficult: no food, no trees, no dirt other than under a lot of sand... not that you'd have any seeds/trees to plant on that dirt. I'd seriously wager it as impossible to do without lucking into a village or leaving the desert for initial materials.

[Ceunon]

Well, damn. So I had finally decided for the tundra. I started a new world, got myself some food and a boat and decided to explore the oceans. Things were going all nice and dandy, until I find a Mushroom biome. For the first time ever.

What do?

Edit: Nevermind, I was gangbanged by some zombies and a spider and died. Oh, well.

[MoRmEnGiL]

Actually, taking HCH into consideration, yeah, deserts do seem harder, but keep in mind that deserts offer a better chance to find a village, due to both desert villages and better visibility (flatter terrain, no trees). At the same time, you have a small chance to stumble upon a temple, which is potentially huge early game.

All these are offset by the scarcity of food (you could try eating cacti :P) and the slow walking speed.

Really though, this debate is a whole different animal now with HCH.

[DaveYanakov]

It going to come down to long vs short term challenge. Deserts are a massive early challenge due to lack of food, no starting trees and slow sand everywhere. Once you get a couple paths laid out and a farm going, those issues disappear forever and you get to reap the advantages of constant power from a windmill. Starting in a tundra is a much smoother difficulty gradiant in that you have food and wood to start with but the snow fall will shut down your windmill, cause your nicely laid roads to slow you unless completely roofed and prevent any tree other than spruce from growing back.

[Yhetti]

I say tundra. Normally the first thing that I look for when I start is a desert, I don't live in it, just near it. They have so much stuff to easily loot: Spawners, Villages, Pyramids, and I seem to find them all the time. Plus windmills work 100% of the time there. Plus if you're really lucky, you can find a single block of floating sand in a desert, where you can build a shrine around. So I think tundra would be much harder.