Ruins

"A relic of an ancient civilization long dead the ravages of time."

- Wickerbottom

The Ruins are the last remnants of a forgotten civilization located on a level below Caves. They are generated as a new world upon entering them, just like caves. Ruins have their own theme, terrain, and biomes. Various unique creatures, plants, and other objects reside within.

Exploration
The entrance to this second level exists in the form of Plugged Sinkholes made out of Thulecite found in the Caves level. Upon mining the plug, a hole will appear with a rope that leads down into the Ruins, just like the sinkhole on the surface leads into caves. Time in the Ruins is considered as always Night, with no natural shafts of light from above. This means that without a source of light players will be vulnerable to attacks by Charlie and Sanity will slowly decrease over time. Time continues to pass in the caves and the surface world though. Unlike Batilisks, no Ruins Creatures will dwell in the caves level after the Thulecite Plug is mined.



Each Ruins world begins with the player falling into small area surrounded by massive pillars, with a rope hanging from above, which the player can use to return the the first level. There is no natural shaft to greet the player this time, so it's recommended to equip a light emitting item before going in the Ruins, like a Miner Hat or a Lantern. As the Ruins are explored the map will show new icons and terrain specific to the Ruins as pictured on the right.

Additionally Earthquakes will happen in the Ruins, dropping the same minerals as in the caves. WIthout mineral eating mobs like Rock Lobsters and Slurtles to eat them though, the rocks will ammass over time, potentially causing a lag if there are too many around.

Nightmare Cycle
The Ruins exist in a state of flux called the Nightmare Cycle, which can be measured by the Thulecite Medallion. As the magical state becomes more intense, the likelihood of earthquakes increases. Its current state will affect the state of objects within it. Nightmare Lights will begin to open up, the runic turf will glow red, and Ancient Statues will have a horrified look while Nightmare Fuel drips from their mouths and eyes. Shadow Creatures can attack the player regardless of their sanity level during the most intense stage. This is a great way to collect Nightmare Fuel, but is a bit overwhelming at an early stage in the game. The runes on the ground do not provide a light source despite glowing brightly.

Creatures
In addition to Depth Worms (which are more frequent here) and Shadow Creatures, the following creatures reside only in the ruins : Friendly damaged Clockwork Monsters can also follow the player in the other levels if the player decides to leave the Ruins while they're following.
 * Slurper
 * Splumonkey
 * Dangling Depth Dweller
 * Damaged Bishop
 * Damaged Knight
 * Damaged Rook
 * Ancient Guardian

Features
Some of the ground and pillars in the Ruins are made out of a special material that starts to glow when light is shined upon it during the Nightmare Phase. The Military and Sacred biomes are mostly covered in this material. Also somewhere in the ruins there's a labyrinth, filled with Dangling Depth Dwellers, Ornate Chests and dead ends. At the center of this labyrinth resides the Ancient Guardian, who most players will challenge to get its rare Horn.

Unlike Caves, surface plants like Evergreens, Saplings etc are not found in Ruins. The only plants growing in the ruins are Light Flowers, Cave Banna Trees, Ferns and Lichen, which is only found in this level.

Objects found in the Ruins include Relics, Ancient Statues, Nightmare Lights and the Ancient Pseudoscience Station. Relics can be attacked and destroyed for various loot while Ancient Statues can be mined to yield Thulecite and various Gems. Nightmare Lights can emiit light and spawn Shadow Creatures deppending on the Nightmare Cycle, while the Ancient Station will be used to craft some of the best items in the game, found in the Ancient Tab. Also in the wilds, there are Splumonkey Pods and special Ponds. The ponds can be fished in to get Eels.

Within the entrance of the Ruins, corpses of the Chess Monsters can be found. When destroyed, they yield 1 Frazzled Wires, as well as potentially Gears and other trinkets.

Trivia

 * The Ruins were introduced in The Stuff of Nightmares.
 * Since the release of the Ruins had to be pushed back, the Slurper was made able to spawn in regular caves until the Stuff of Nightmares update, which made the Slurper a ruins-only creature, as intended.
 * According to Maxwell, the over-use of fuel from Nightmare Lights led to the downfall of the civilization that once lived in the Ruins.