Tips for finding shelter?

[Crystal]

Want to enjoy this game, but every time I follow the orange signs for shelter it stops helping and I have no way of knowing where it wants me to go next. I've just killed an hour going for a really long journey, each run me getting fully fed (somehow) and then desperate for finding shelter in what feels like the next area.

I'm near the beginning of the game and I'm in the shelter near the two towers with giant birds that patrol. I believe I need to go right/down, and I get to a section that looks like the sewers. I'm really bad at fighting with the spear so mostly a lot of running around and taking detours, but I always find myself following the advice of the orange helper trying to signal shelter.

When the thing shows the shelter symbol, does it mean it's actually close? Is it trying to tell me to go to a shelter I've missed, or the nearest one? It really feels like random chance whether I find shelter and I'm a little exhausted. Will try again tomorrow.

Are there any tips you could give me for how to decide which way to go to get shelter? It seems like they can be practically anywhere and they dont' show up on the map if you're 'nearby' so they seem really easy to miss. The levels I'm at now are very crazy (although probably nowhere near as crazy as what you'll have experienced).

Trying to love this game and I do love the concept, but I would have preferred just a little bit more sign posting for shelter as it feels like I'm wasting time getting really far (about 20 screens away) and missing shelters each time. Unless the area I'm in is deliberately sparse?

Thank you :) I'm hoping I can get the same feeling of wonder from this as I did from outer wilds :)

[Lochlann]

Death ultimately doesn't really mean anything unless you want to move from one area to the next, if you want to (and if the yellow overseer is doing nothing, as per-usual in my case) you can just ignore food and explore. Whether you find shelter or not, it'll fill in your map a bit more (the map is a bit confusing at times though since it has layers)

Some regions can be a bit sparce with shelters, I think on average there's probably like 4 shelters in an entire region, although Downpour sometimes adds 1 or 2 more since it expands upon some of the regions

[Crystal]

Yeah I died too many times after I got through the first gate, just thankful I already progressed past the first zone before I died so much. I guess I'll do some suicide runs to find the next shelter

[Redlegoguy1]

The overseer points to what it thinks is the nearest shelter, though sometimes the route it picks is maybe not the most logical one. Aside from that, the shelter icon can show up on the map a little bit before you’ve actually reached it, so double checking the map every once in a while can help you see if you’ve passed one that was maybe only a small room away from somewhere you already explored.

[Crystal]

I didn't know they appeared on the map, hopefully I manage to make progress tomorrow :)

[Jevmen]

use the map and check new routes to avoid walking in circles, open regions often have more shelters to avoid missing them, more linear ones have less

[MadArtillery]

You should also keep an eye out for scavenger graffiti . Sometimes they leave signs like shelter or warnings about enemies, lore spots sometimes too. Often hidden shelters that are just off screen has graffiti marks. Sometimes they can be hard to see though, I've missed marked shelters before.

[Jevmen]

Originally posted by MadArtillery:

You should also keep an eye out for scavenger graffiti . Sometimes they leave signs like shelter or warnings about enemies, lore spots sometimes too. Often hidden shelters that are just off screen has graffiti marks. Sometimes they can be hard to see though, I've missed marked shelters before.

not really, there are just 2 of those in the whole game hinting for shelters, and one of them was so hidden they changed it in a future update

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by Jevmen:

Originally posted by MadArtillery:

You should also keep an eye out for scavenger graffiti . Sometimes they leave signs like shelter or warnings about enemies, lore spots sometimes too. Often hidden shelters that are just off screen has graffiti marks. Sometimes they can be hard to see though, I've missed marked shelters before.

not really, there are just 2 of those in the whole game hinting for shelters, and one of them was so hidden they changed it in a future update

Did they change the metropolis one? Guess it was hard to see.

[Crystal]

I don't think I know what a scavenger is, are they those hunchback gremlins with spears? I've only just met them if so, so maybe that gives you an idea of where I am? I'm also meeting invisible lizards in this area

[Douknodefox]

Originally posted by Crystal:

I don't think I know what a scavenger is, are they those hunchback gremlins with spears? I've only just met them if so, so maybe that gives you an idea of where I am? I'm also meeting invisible lizards in this area

Yes they are! Their face looks like this -->

[Spirit]

there is a detailed map here on steam under guides (its not updated to downpour yet) that show you where the shelters are

[Crystal]

I feel like not knowing the map is important for the experience, but yeah thanks for telling me about it. If I get truly desperate I'll try it :)

[Jevmen]

i wouldnt look up any map, ruins the exploration and discovery

[Crystal]

I found shelter! Its along a long walkway before a gate to somewhere out of the industrial zone. It was so scary as I was on the walkway and the orange guy pointed the nearby shelter being BACKWARDS. It started to rain (screen shaking and going blurry) and I was panicking. Since so many runs have been killed by being led astray by the thing, in a last ditch attempt I ignored it and continued going right. And lone behold.. I found shelter. I guess that's that.

My next issue now is to do with the karma system.. as I said I'm holed up right next to the gate and I have zero karma.. I'm a little bit soft locked since I have to go to the left to get back to where the food is. I don't know how I'm going to go out, eat 4 food and come back without dying on my streak.

I kind of wished karma was more of a currency that you spend to go through the gate, like it just requires you to survive x cycles, not necessarily in a row, and then resets when you pass the gate? Although I guess when you're better at the game that would become a hinderance..

I just don't know how to farm karma effectively, the streak nature of it makes exploration all the more punishing. I don't mind dying and learning from mistakes like I did when trying to find shelter, but putting me in a situation where my mistakes make the game harder is a little annoying

Maybe I should play monk :D I want to experience the difficulty and get the intended feeling but yeah karma isn't a system I particularly enjoy. It feels miraculous when I do finish a cycle and with the win being stolen in nearly seconds its rough!

[Crystal]

I made it to the shaded citadel! it's pitch black but there's no enemies from where I've been at least. I've been using my map to see the outlines but its a little tough! Wish me luck, I'm going to understand why people love this game even if it kills me