Looking for help with the early game

[FerretFitz]

So I tend to take breaks from better than wolves due to the frustration of death. Mind you I am not complaining because it is a great addition to the game and I just have a short fuse :). I recently made another attempt at starting a new world and I’ve made it the furthest I ever had with the new early game mechanics (all the way to iron pick axe). I was mining with basically everything I had on me and I was blown up by a creeper. I respawned in a desert with basically no way of picking myself back up. Now I know all my stuff is gone and I’m going to have to begin from the beginning again. I’m just wondering as of ways to avoid such a devastating death and Atleast have something to return to.

[ko_teknik]

Each times you die you progress ! Each new respawn be a new beautifull adventure until you get some technoligie in the original spawn point !

No tilt and have fun !
I think it's impossible to avoid some death ... but try to give the best of each time :)

[dawnraider]

For avoiding death, you need to be really cautious while caving. Barricade areas you haven't explored yet, be mindful of holes in the ceiling, leave markers so you don't get lost. Also, I find it helpful to use a signal torch. The first torch I light goes onto my hotbar, then I light all other torches using that torch. This gives me a timer to always know exactly when my torches are about to start extinguishing, and I make sure I get out before then. Wool armor, even as little as it does, can sometimes make a small impact that will save your life, using materials you'll likely already have on you from hunting. Once you get a sword, use it to block. It WILL save your life.

Also, place all of your tools you aren't actively using as blocks, and use wicker baskets or hampers as early game storage to keep things if you lose your inventory.

[Taleric]

I second Dawnraider.

Get everything you can placed in the world, shafts, bricks, tools, camp fires with food, ovens, baskets, iron pieces, half slabs, unlit torches.

You are going to die to chance encounters or workplace accidents without fail.

Once you do die take a few days till the bug hits you again, don't jump right back in.

Part of the magic of BTW is happening upon your forgotten efforts. It is as close to another remembered life after reincarnation as a person can get.

[karnak sam]

I make my early game all about nomading and raiding temples/structures to get diamonds, dig down to Redstone, compass to zero point and then start a farm. If you find pumpkins, they can keep you alive while grinding your way up to mechanical power, via hemp. Past that, a whole new adventure awaits.

There's no right way to play but plenty of wrong ways. Best advice you'll get is BE EFFING PATIENT!

This game is a, slow, painful and delicious burn. Much like life itself.

[orangeweaver]

Hey all, returning player here. BTW has always been my favorite Minecraft mod to the point where playing Minecraft any oher way feels off. I played years ago and got busy, returning after some time and the new hardcore elements have been throwing me through the ringer, I can’t seem to get out of early game and was looking for some tips on prioritization or maybe some perspective on what I may be doing wrong.

Currently I’ve been stuck in a loop of spawning into a new world, getting my first sharp stick, immediately getting 6-8 sharp stone, then doing one of three things 1) get some chicken or pork 2) getting enough wood for a campfire, plough and sharp stick to cook with 3) starting to make a hideout hole and continue to get more sharp stone.

The issue I’m running into is that by the time my first chicken or pork chop finishes (usually around dawn of my second morning or later that afternoon) I’m already very hungry and the food I’m able to cook isn’t replenishing very much putting me on the back foot. Sometimes I make an axe if I’m lucky enough to get string, so that I may be able to get more food going but each day that passes I’m feeling more and more behind. Just barely making it and eventually dying.

I welcome the challenge but am starting to feel like I’m going to be unable to advance and am really looking forward to getting some basic sustainability going as the automation in BTW is the most satisfying Minecraft gameplay I’ve ever participated in.

Also a final note I’ve watched some of Dawnrider’s videos and Storpey which is great but it definitely seems like they have a way better handle and are getting more resources.

Thanks all,
A starving man in the woods.

[Niyu]

Maybe you are just jumping too much.

[Sandrew]

It seems like you're trying to take too much too early, and as a result are expending too much energy collecting resources you don't need yet. Consider that you can realistically cook at most two food items on your first night, so there is no real point to chasing down more animals or collecting more wood. Also keep in mind that on your second day you will need enough stone to gather some string, craft an axe, and be left with some durability to gather more stones.

From my experience you only really need to gather about 4-5 sharp stones worth of combustible material on your first day. Saplings and flowers can be pretty time-efficient substitutes to gathering sticks and saw dust, and cooked food is more valuable than feathers and wool during the first few days. On your second day you will need 3-5 stones depending on what tools you're trying to obtain. If you can get your 'build order' down it is possible to get your first brick furnace on day three, depending on how lucky you are with the weather and finding clay.

[jackatthekilns]

I think Sandrew has some really solid advice here. I will only add some minor points. Think about which animal you want to try and kill if you have options where you spawn. Pigs are harder to kill, but have the potential for providing you all the food you can cook(at a higher hunger value at that) in a night. I can definitely see an argument for trying to kill 1 pig and then moving on. Chickens only take 2 hits from a wooden club and they are usually numerous. I find that I am often run into the problem you are seeming to have when I use chicken on the first night, unless I am very, very careful with my hunger. Sheep are a good option also, there is the chance of getting 2 shanks in 1 go and as Sandrew mentioned, some potential fuel as well. Another thing to consider is if you feel like you may not make it through the day, for whatever reason, try to leave behind tools or sticks stuck in the ground or wood. One day you may spawn there again and that could give you the advantage you need to get a good start. This is not a substitute for developing your basic survival skills, but leaving behind supplies for yourself is also an essential part of the mod.

[orangeweaver]

Awesome. Appreciate you all. I’m at work currently but read through everything. Seems like I’m trying to gather too much too quick based on feedback. I’ll keep working on it and limit my jumping. Hopefully I’ll be able to report back with progress soon.

[t0rrent]

Here is my strategy for getting started.

First day and night are pretty standard, the next day you should look for string and make and axe. Now pick a direction and start heading that way. If you ever run into an ocean, pick a new direction, just try and get as far away from spawn as you can. Use the axe to chop trees, make fireplace stuff and kill animals you come across. A general rule of thumb: 3 logs = 1 fireplace = 2 food.

Spend as much time as you can travelling and collecting food. Also collect iron dust from surface caves and sugarcane roots. When you have enough iron to make a chisel, get clay and make furnace or two. You should have plenty of food by this point so staying static for a few days should be fine.

When you have a chisel, use it only to make crafting stumps. Use the crafting stumps to make pickaxes and to convert ore chunks into blocks. Keep heading away from spawn and collecting food and iron. It would be good to have about 2 stacks of iron ore blocks before settling down.

Eventually you should run into a village with wheat, collect the wheat. Now you are ready to settle down provided you have enough food and iron. My strategy is to find a place near a deep cave such as a ravine or a deep cave that is also near a desert and a forest.

Hopefully you have enough food last you while you reach sustainability. You should have enough to take things easy and play safely.