Guides/Marsh Camp Guide



Applicable to Strange New Powers update

Thanks to Klei forum members: Spazmatic, Rabbitfist, Lexicroft,

Jbeetle, TeoSS69 and various Wikia Contributors

Marsh Camp Guide (concised version) by Jhepong 



The Marsh Biome
Also known as the Swamp, is considered the most hostile Biome, and the scariest place a new player can be. Not only it lacks raw material supplies; its inhabitants pose great threat to whoever braves its grounds. Being home to Tentacles and Merms, and teeming with Spider Nests, the Marsh proves to be a common graveyard for the unprepared.

Through all these danger and lack of natural resources, this region can easily be turned into a Haven Fort.



Advantages
These are the advantages of having your base camp in this area:
 * Food supply is plenty even at Winter season. NO Traps required.
 * how to gather FOOD???       JUST PICK THEM ON THE GROUND!!!


 * Provides immediate strategic defense from all creatures, particularly Hounds, Deerclops, Spider Queen, Treeguards, etc, even at the early days of encampment
 * The whole region can be your Silk farm, Medicine farm, Fertilizer farm, Reed farm, and even Tentacle Spike farm!!!
 * and the newest: Beard Hair farm!!!

Searching for the Right Marsh


If you look in your Map, the brown or mud-colored areas are the Marsh Biomes. They can be randomly allocated in different shapes and sizes, joined or separated by other Biomes, and may also contain narrow streaks or small islands of Forests. They may even be found scattered in different parts of your World.

Hence, what you are really looking for is a large sized Marsh. Though, the secret to finding the best Marsh is actually the one with the greatest number of Rundown Houses. These are single-door hut-like structures where Merms spawn. You can easily find and count them as they are marked in your Map as yellowish hut icons. Do not confuse them with Pig Houses, which are the brownish hut version.



Finding the Sweet Spot


Once you have found the right Marsh, you are now ready to find the sweet spot in that vast dangerous area. The first thing that you need to look for is a Road, which sometimes pass through Forest islands. Next, open your map, and analyze the positions of Rundown Houses. You want to settle at a single spot by the road and surrounded by most number of Rundown Houses.

If you landed in a pure Marsh Turf area, then that would be just fine. Just be wary of Mosquito Ponds since they spawn Mosquitoes when Dusk arrives. And also, some parts in this area may be heavily infested with Spider Nests and hidden Tentacles. If you found your perfect spot near one or many of these, then you better get rid of them or move further. But during the early days, it is better to just settle at a safe distance from them.

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Safety First
<p class="MsoNormal">Once you have laid down your basic camp structures for a Base Camp, it is now time to put yourself a bit of protective gear, which is of utmost importance for your survival in this hostile region. 'During the early days, it is better to wear head armor than chest armor; because during these stages you will mostly be gathering Natural Resources to improve your Base Camp  (such as digging for Saplings, Spiky Bushes and Grass Tufts, and collecting Pine Cones to plant Evergreens). So a Backpack gives you the most advantage.'

<p class="MsoNormal">You can acquire Pig Skins (to craft Football Helmet) in a Marsh Biome by looking for Pig Heads which usually stood along roads, near Rundown Houses, or inside a Merm Village (a group of Rundown Houses). Pig Heads can be hammered to produce two Pig Skins and two Twigs.

<p class="MsoNormal">Your most helpful equipment in this area is a Walking Cane. Its speed boost is all you’ll ever need for evasive maneuvers and faster travel.

<p class="MsoNormal">Once you’re set to gathering food and resources, your destinations are already marked on your map. These are the Rundown Houses and the Spider Nests. But before you set off, you may want to plan your route to maximize your time and area coverage. Also, some of your destinations may be further away, and bringing in necessary materials is extremely helpful for your survival and maximum efficiency.

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Things to Bring for Heavy Resource Gathering (for New Players)
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in">Optional:
 * Logs – for making Campfires, Fire Pits and extra Log Suit (in case Log Suit breaks), can be used for Fuel
 * Grass – for Campfires, Torches, and Ropes
 * Twigs – for Torches and Tools
 * Food – please Don’t Starve
 * Hammer – for hammering down Pig Heads
 * Shovel – for digging Spiky Bushes, Saplings and Grass Tufts
 * Tentacle Spike – just bring one in case of trouble
 * Bush Hat – hide yourself beside a campfire, just do it
 * Walking Cane (always equipped)
 * Football Helmet (always equipped)
 * Backpack (always equipped)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo2"> ·         Umbrella – in case it rains and you don’t want too much sanity drain

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo2"> ·         Miner’s Hat – if you want to keep on moving at Night without head armor

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo2"> ·         Top Hat – if you want to counter negative sanity while sacrificing head armor

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo2"> ·         Log Suit – in case you're really out of options, drop that Backpack and fight!!!

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo1"> ·         Flints – if you will be crafting an extra Shovel or Axe

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0level1lfo1"> ·         Rocks – for making Hammers and Fire Pits (best placed between longer routes which serve as temporary Night camps and Winter heating stations; better spent for other important Items and Structures during the early days)

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<p class="MsoNormal">For inexperienced players, please DO NOT BRING Chester with you. He may provide more inventory space, which in turn gives you a chance to wear various Armor or Clothing. However, Chester is just so good at attracting Mobs. Soon you'll find yourself constantly running, evading and getting hit. Worst, you'd be dead before sunrise.

<p class="MsoNormal">If you're having problems staying Sane, just build a Tent in your Base Camp. Tents are highly renewable, since Silk can be gathered in great quantities just loitered in this Biome.

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Food and Resource Gathering
<p class="MsoNormal">For new players, moving through this Monster infested area might easily put them to panic, and worse when they witness the events that typically occur in this Biome, which include random battles between different monsters like Merms vs Tentacles, Tentacles vs Spiders and Spiders vs Merms. And these are all natural. In fact, such day to day happening is the single most important aspect for a player’s survival in this region, because these Mobs will be the player’s main food supplier for all time. Casualties from these random battles will drop loots including Food, and there you shall come in. As effortless as it may seem, but picking those food and loots on the ground gives you an immediate danger. As you pick them up, you should always be ready for an incoming attack, commonly caused by Tentacles and your usual looting competitor, the Spiders.

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Food Structure Setup
If you plan on quickly amassing large quantities and different varieties of food, here is the set up:
 * 2 or more Farm Plots, and 1 or more Bee Boxes (quantity depends on player, but not really a need to even place one)
 * 1 Ice Box between 2 Crockpots (Ice Box position provides best efficiency)
 * or 2 Ice Box at the center of 3 Crockpots (1 Ice Box utilized for uncooked food, the other is used as storage for Crockpot ingredients and for readily consumable food)
 * Note: You may increase the number of Ice Boxes and Crockpot quantities depending on the number of

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