Tips for Ice World?

[Cake for Mumm-Ra]

Definitely struggling to find enough wood. It just doesn't seem to be growing at all in this new seed I've started. There's certainly not enough to make wood armor for everybody, let alone build even a small wood room to prevent critters from spawning in the home. This second campaign level definitely seems to be cranking up the difficulty in terms of starting resources.

What's your starting strategy on this map? How do you get trees to grow? Do trees even grow on snow after you first harvest? Post screenshots if you've got a base building style that you think would help me out. Thanks!

[Myriad]

Trees grow the same on the Ice world as they do on the Forest world, even on the (existing) snow. Not sure about fallen snow.

When you start a new game, use all your mana for a portal to a place where there's lots of trees. Then when you gain a level, make sure you use all your mana on portals where there's lots of trees again. Levels happen very quickly early game, and you get full mana back with each one. So it's a waste if you dont carefully watch your levels and use all your mana before you gain a new one. I've had portals that last for quite a few hours using this method.

The main challenge of the Ice world is water. To get water you have to place some snow or ice underground. I believe it has to be about 4 or 6 tiles below sea level for it to melt. It's better if you use 4 snow to craft 1 ice. You get a better yield that way.

A good idea is to make a pond underground, out of stone of course. A basin if you will. And just place the Ice on the stone. I usually have stone ledges above the pond so I can put ice on those too, since I don't think you can put the ice on water. It will melt and fall into your pond.

[Alaratt]

I always struggle with wood and water on the ice world. It is my least favorite. The trees should grow though.

I would not waste precious wood on walls and such until you have access to the spell that grows them, which is mid or late game. Just try and grind through to the next tier without using wood as much as you can.

Pets do not prevent critters from spawning in the home but they should help kill them. They also help with base defense during the monster raids, so you should have as many as you can. How many you can spawn in is based on your level. At level 2 you can have one, at level 4 you can have 2, at level 20 you can have 10, which is the max.

Don't drain at least one accessible underground lake with fish already in it because making man-made lakes using snow is difficult and very time consuming. A man-made lake has to be at least 3 blocks deep of water to not drain. I use stone as the edges of the lakes because sand and dirt they will drain anyway. And you melt the snow by placing it deep enough underground that it can melt, then collect the water like normal. I think its like 5 or 6 blocks below the surface, maybe more though, I haven't played on the snow world in awhile.

Use snow as a defense, it works like sand. If you place a door with 5 or 6 snow blocks on top of that when monsters destroy the door and walk forward the snow come crashing down on them and kills them. the ones behind the snow have to chop through the snow to get inside and then can die to the next snow layer. The background layers do matter when doing this, stone works best, snow should work too, but I think dirt and anything else not considered smooth doesn't work, or at least well enough to use here. Do this in the 3rd world with sand for starter defense.

[Cake for Mumm-Ra]

These are good tips. Thanks guys.

I couldn't figure out how to set up a "sand wall" in the first world. I believe I was using stone as the background layer, but sand would not drop after the first 2 blocks fell. I also found that it was very tedious to fill up a wall of sand, mostly because I had the sand sandwiched between to stone wall layers.. There must be a better method to do it than the one I used.

[Alaratt]

hmm, it has been several updates since I made a sand wall or a snow wall, maybe they nerfed it.

[Myriad]

I would only use a sand wall if you're absolutely getting your ass handed to you. Any item drops you would have got are destroyed by the falling sand. And of course your dwarves aren't getting any experience.

Usually it's better to craft better weapons and be up there every night facing the skellies and portals. Just make sure every dwarf has at least one combat skill, or you won't get any exp. Buy the books if you have to.

You just have to know what you can face. If you have no armor and you see a big skelly with a shield, maybe it's better to retreat to the shelter when it gets close.

If you have wooden or leather armor and you see that giant skeleton dragging a mace behind it.. uhh, might want to hightail it there too.