Getting the Shovel was a truly Miserable Experience

[Baumi]

Took me literal hours. Had to get the rebreather first, which was in a cave very far from my base. Of course with a lot of mutants and super dark tunnels to traverse.

Scoured every cave near that snowy mountain for that stupid shovel, and of course it was the very last one I checked. Tons of mutants to fight through, long dives, lots of running. Literal hours of work just to get a damn shovel. Something you can craft IRL from wood with a bunch of sharp stones if need be.

All of that just so I can spend more hours circling back and finding all the excavation spots where I can use the bloody thing. FML

[K.1.N.G #RS]

I don't think it's a fault of the developers that YOU decided to take the specific cave at the last.
Lol.

[Handsomest]

Originally posted by Captain WARLORD:

Took me literal hours. Had to get the rebreather first, which was in a cave very far from my base. Of course with a lot of mutants and super dark tunnels to traverse.

Scoured every cave near that snowy mountain for that stupid shovel, and of course it was the very last one I checked. Tons of mutants to fight through, long dives, lots of running. Literal hours of work just to get a damn shovel. Something you can craft IRL from wood with a bunch of sharp stones if need be.

All of that just so I can spend more hours circling back and finding all the excavation spots where I can use the bloody thing. FML

TBH i understand the "quest" that developer intented to let you experience the difficulties of obtaining something, but like you say making of a shovel isn't hard and it's kinda weird we can't dig with handmade hoe or something.

[Ivraas]

Isn't a ropegun necessary thing to get the shovel? And to get the ropegun you need rebreather, something like that...

[Chillum]

Originally posted by Ivraas:

Isn't a ropegun necessary thing to get the shovel? And to get the ropegun you need rebreather, something like that...

You also need the rebreather to get the shovel. So the devs did design it so the shovel is one of the last items you get.

I love the game, but that does seem like a really wierd decision. Maybe because you need the shovel for a certain other weapon but.... Couldve put that other weapon somewhere else? possibly where the shovel is currently?

[Frankie]

While you need to have a few things to get the shovel I am not on the side of the OP here. The shovel is basically THE gate item like many other items in other games are and it functions exactly the way it does in other games. The normal shovel prompts you got on graves aren't worth it anyway.

[M4S0N13]

I like the challenge it brings, making the game more fun. Have been at the site where the GPS marker and the shotgun is located, just to realize we need the shovel.
Off to new adventures!

[BarryTGash]

I think the problem lies in the linear nature of the development of the 'story'. To some people it just grates. And to lock things behind something so mundane as a shovel is just ridiculous - one could fashion a rudimentary shovel with scrap metal from the helicopter crash in a pinch to scrape away topsoil.

Suspension of disbelief only goes so far, and for some people it doesn't go as far as others.

If Endnight need to lock things because lore discovery needs to be done in a certain order then it should probably be done through expanding the bunker system and add more locked doors and associated keycards.

[Baumi]

Originally posted by K.1.N.G #RS:

I don't think it's a fault of the developers that YOU decided to take the specific cave at the last.
Lol.

I'm sorry. Is there a map or something in the game that tells you exactly where it is? /s

I did cave in and googled it at some point, but the exact location of the cave wasn't very clear from the image. It said "central area of the snowy mountain", and funnily enough, I got the shovel by entering the cave from a different area than what was pictured. I stumbled upon the shovel when I went deeper into the cave, got lost, and then tried to find my way out, reaching a dead end with a shovel.

[M4S0N13]

Originally posted by Captain WARLORD:

Originally posted by K.1.N.G #RS:

I don't think it's a fault of the developers that YOU decided to take the specific cave at the last.
Lol.

I'm sorry. Is there a map or something in the game that tells you exactly where it is? /s

I found this interactive map, it's pretty good.

https://mapgenie.io/sons-of-the-forest/maps/world

[Axxelive]

People don't accept difficuly know. i like to come back to other caves to discover new way with the new item i hardly found. It's like other game that you have to come back with specify power on first zones to discover new ways , i like it

[LILI]

@Captain WARLORD
I think you should watch the youtuber FARKET (very well known, and a very experienced The Forest player):
https://youtu.be/szv0DCKW2cU
He had the same experience as you describe, and he is the one who knows very well the game(s)...
This shovel cave IS the mother-of-all-caves, at the moment.
Rather than being a bit tired, you should be very happy, and proud, to have done it!!

It is a game. And done for making you miserable in caves, especially in caves. And you are lucky: it will be much tougher later on... so just enjoy positively your well-earned reward (I know, a shovel is not a crown..).
So then congratulations, and keep it positive. You did it.

[Wedge]

Yea it's kinda weird haha, they could afford to change the way things are gated which they might at some point. I could use a stick or just my hands to dig. This is not the first game to do a odd gate and won't be the last. A digging stick is actually really useful in Rl for foraging less likely to cut tubers and roots js

[DanteBrane]

I kind of had the same issue of going to check out caves that were on the other side of the mountain instead of the ones near the helicopter crash. That was kind of my own fault though. But the shovel cave does have a ton of enemies, it was a battle to get there.

Maybe too many especially for single player. I don't think any cave in the first game had that many enemies guarding something. This game gives you a lot of tools and weapons though. I made sure that I was prepared for war first.

[Gerry_M]

Originally posted by Captain WARLORD:

Took me literal hours. Had to get the rebreather first, which was in a cave very far from my base. Of course with a lot of mutants and super dark tunnels to traverse.

Scoured every cave near that snowy mountain for that stupid shovel, and of course it was the very last one I checked. Tons of mutants to fight through, long dives, lots of running. Literal hours of work just to get a damn shovel. Something you can craft IRL from wood with a bunch of sharp stones if need be.

All of that just so I can spend more hours circling back and finding all the excavation spots where I can use the bloody thing. FML

Cool story

[BRS]

I agree. It is difficult to find a shovel and the grave is shallow.
If it's real, it won't be a problem if you dig it out by hand.