4Game

Hey all, I recently tested a new base perimeter defense structure for a Plains base. It consists of two layers of stone wall tiles placed around the perimeter wall on the outside, thus:

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The defensive platform

My thinking was that this is an economical way to bolster base defenses from a single tile thickness (the high wall) to three tiles. It doesn't matter that the extra two layers are only one tile high. Monsters are welded to the ground and cannot jump or get over obstacles. So whether the extra layers are one tile high or fifty tiles high, they still need to break through the tile that is on the ground before they can pass.

In that sense, the base works well. My further rationale was that the extra two layers provide a 1m high platform which allows me to run around the base sniping at nearby foes with my bow. Traditionally, people have built high archer towers for this purpose. The problem for me is that the monsters don't like being that far away from me and go into evasion mode, scuttling to and fro constantly. I had bases with high archer towers and eventually abandoned them because my hit rate was abysmal. I don't have good framerate anyway on my potato PC. Being high atop a tower, with monsters constantly moving and changing direction far below me, made it almost impossible to lead them accurately. I'd fire 30 or 40 arrows and get maybe six hits.

Being on this low platform changes the ball game entirely. Melee monsters now stand stock still plumb in front of me, it's impossible to miss them. Because I'm only just out of their range, rather than high up in a tower, they don't go into evasion mode. Instead they seem intent on trying to get to me. Some will hack away at the stone of the platform, others just stand dumbly near or in front of me. Either way, they're toast.

Archers and other ranged foes can still target me. But it's a simple matter to kite them first and when they're down, switch to the melee monsters. Most raids are roughly 2/3 melee monsters and 1/3 ranged. Being able to functionally ignore the melee guys and focus on the ranged makes it much easier to handle even massed raids. Swamp raids are really fun now. I have a huge mob of melee Draugr and Skellies right in front of me, close enough that I can smell their breath. And they can't do a thing to me as I fire over their heads at the archers in the background.

However, it's the offensive capability of this platform that I like the most, and which came as a surprise to me. I need a lot of Black Metal in Plains. All my characters have a fully upgraded Blackmetal Atgeir, which costs 120 Black Metal on its own. Its special 360-degree attack makes it the only weapon which allows me to kill Squitoes, and at least stun/damage Fulings and Wolves while running away from them. Then there's the fully upgraded Blackmetal Axe (for Abominations) and the Black Metal Chests, and so on. I can get large quantities by clearing out Fuling villages but with each one I clear, I have to travel further and further from my base. I also have no sanctuary, I can get encumbered, run out of arrows or whatever. There had to be an easier way.

And then it struck me: night hunting. During the day, the Plains is pretty empty with only single or paired Fulings spawning. At night, they spawn in groups of four, and starred Fulings who drop more Black Metal are more common. And, unlike a village, clearing them out has no effect. The next night, they spawn again.

So now I do Fuling night hunts around my base. I head out with 100 Frost arrows and just run around until I find a group. If I see a spear guy in the group, I try to take him out from distance with the Sneak bonus. Hit or miss, that first shot aggros the entire mob. Then I jog back to the base with the mob in pursuit. As soon as I hop onto the platform, the melee guys are incapacitated. They either stand dumbly right in front of me while I shoot them, or they hack away fruitlessly at the stone platform while I shoot them.

The spear guys do attack but there are two factors in my favour here:

1. The new Root chestpiece with its Pierce resistance. It greatly reduces the threat of spear Fulings.
2. The elevation. I've noticed that spear Fulings become very inaccurate the moment I'm on a different elevation. The game in general struggles with weapon hit-boxes and elevation changes, as anybody who has fought Wolves on a mountain slope can attest. Even if I don't kite atop the platform, the spear Fulings often miss. Even that teeny 1m elevation throws off their aim.

With these advantages, I'm more than happy to tank a 1-star spear Fuling while on the platform and just take whatever hits it manages to land. I haven't found a 2-star to test on yet but they're very rare anyway.

The other benefit is that I'm near my base at all times. So I can flee to sanctuary inside the high walls if things get too dangerous. I can also drop off Black Metal, craft more arrows or do minor repairs before rejoining the fray.

On a bad night, I'll get 10-12 Black Metal, with 20 or more on a good night. Often, after clearing out a mob that spawned in one particular spot, I'll pass that spot again and a new mob has already spawned. And every night the whole area spawns afresh. It's an inexhaustible resource that I don't have to travel for. Plus it gives me something to do at night, so what's not to like?