Fruit Cave needs a serious buff.

[maestro]

When I was reading the 1.6 update notes, and saw that he added a dehydrator to the mushroom cave, I was thinking to myself "no buff for fruit cave?"

There have been multiple tests done by different youtubers that show that the value of the mushroom cave greatly exceeds the value of the fruit cave by a rather significant margin during the course of one year, and the margin is large enough to easily buy an apple and a pomegranate tree which will then out-produce the bat cave in its entirety, IIRC.

Now, this is even moreso with the inclusion of the dehydrator (said videos were done way before 1.6).

I tried a fruit cave on my previous save before this one, and silly me had forgotten to plant an apple and pomegranate tree during year 1. Needless to say, my CC was not completed until Fall of Year 2.

How many Pomegranates did the Fruit Bats give me in almost two full years? None.
How many Pomegranates appeared on the Travelling Merchant? None.
How many Apples did the Fruit Bats give me in almost two full years? One.
How many Apples appeared on the Travelling Merchant? None.

And in general, I would go sometimes entire weeks without a single piece of fruit, and when I did get fruit, a good 50% of the time, it was 1-2 berries with the occasional apricot.

The Bat Cave really needs to be more consistent with its rewards, I would say at minimum, 1 piece should be generated daily as you get 6 mushrooms every other day with the mushroom cave, and a single purple mushroom can out-value the Bat Cave for an entire season, and that's to say nothing about all those dried common mushrooms you'll be selling for 400 a pop, which you will likely have at least 10 of during a season.

[ULTRA]

"Uh but ackshually you can turn all the fruit into wine and barrel age them for two seasons, what's that? You haven't maxed out your house yet in summer 1? Sounds like a skill issue to me"

[maestro]

Originally posted by ULTRA:

"Uh but ackshually you can turn all the fruit into wine and barrel age them for two seasons, what's that? You haven't maxed out your house yet in summer 1? Sounds like a skill issue to me"

You know it, lol.

[Anzaman]

The newly added Mushroom Log quickly made the cave near pointless for me. For my current save, easily completed the CC by winter day #1 with Fruit Bats alone.

Only actual benefit of getting free early Dehydrator.

[maestro]

Originally posted by Anzaman:

The newly added Mushroom Log quickly made the cave near pointless for me. For my current save, easily completed the CC by winter day #1 with Fruit Bats alone.

Only actual benefit of getting free early Dehydrator.

The fruit bats are highly RNG, though. I wouldn't rely on them for anything. And the early free Dehydrator can make some decent money early when money is needed.

[Anzaman]

It's a bit of balancing act and how you use them.

Quite large amount of the random fruit can be used as gifts around the town, improving the standing by small amounts now and then. Where as mushrooms have quite short list of people (3), or (5) if you manage to find the rare Purple Mushroom.

Each mushroom box getting 1 random every two days. Potentially taking quite a while before you get your hands on eg. 5 purples for dehydrator. Meanwhile you can craft quite many Mushroom Logs, place them next to couple trees and they'll easily produce max 5 from each placed log every four days.

Overall, both caves are quite minor side-aspects that doesn't really make or break the run. With the machine really being the biggest saving aspect, as you can get one without spending 10,000 on the recipe.

[maestro]

Originally posted by Anzaman:

It's a bit of balancing act and how you use them.

Quite large amount of the random fruit can be used as gifts around the town, improving the standing by small amounts now and then. Where as mushrooms have quite short list of people (3), or (5) if you manage to find the rare Purple Mushroom.

Each mushroom box getting 1 random every two days. Potentially taking quite a while before you get your hands on eg. 5 purples for dehydrator. Meanwhile you can craft quite many Mushroom Logs, place them next to couple trees and they'll easily produce max 5 from each placed log every four days.

Overall, both caves are quite minor side-aspects that doesn't really make or break the run. With the machine really being the biggest saving aspect, as you can get one without spending 10,000 on the recipe.

obviously, towards the end of the year, both caves are going to be forgotten. It's that early-game every other day you're getting at least 300-400G passively, compared to (maybe) getting 100 a week or a gift. Maybe. If you're lucky.

If not, you'll see a berry or two by the end of the week.

I'd much rather get 1200G (assuming worst luck ever) than maybe 100 in a week. /shrug Especially during the first few weeks of the game.

Best luck? A 2, sometimes 3-4 reds/purples in a week is a few thousand which can get you a tool upgrade or something.

And yeah you can build the logs, sure. But why not do both?

Oh, and more mushrooms = more life potions. Life potions are always awesome once you don't need the money anymore.

[BirbNotBird]

I will choose fruit cave over mushroom one cause I can decorate it later.

But you are right, fruits are just worse income compared to mushroom.

[Volfogg]

Fruit bat cave of mine actually helped me with CC and I had greenhouse near end of Fall Year 1... but then I mis-remembered details of tree-growing in the greenhouse and had CC restored in 3 last days of Summer Year 2 (storm, storm, sunny) Would be early Spring otherwise.
Most of the time I simply forget to go to check on cave or have no time to spare to go there. Crops and animals are more important to me.

[Útost Alronbem]

*sigh*
You can visit the fruit cave once a week and be alright. Wiki sez fruits can keep spawning until floor is full.
You MUST visit mushroom cave each two days or you'll lose income.
And you're asking for fruit cave buff, really?

[Sileka]

If you want the fruit cave, get it. If you are concerned about maximizing profit (or like the mushroom cave), get the mushroom cave.

The fact that you feel the need to get 100% by the end of year one is a you problem. Or perhaps a 'me' problem, as I do not tend to stress trying to get 100% by the end of year 1.

Though I'm not sure if you want the fruit cave RNG to be tweaked to be more reliable, or if you want it tweaked to make as much as the mushroom cave. You complain about both aspects.

[TamanduaGirl]

I've always gotten all the fruits needed from the cave. Sounds like really bad luck. I know min-maxers like the mushroom cave better but I like fruit cave just fine. I wouldn't shun a buff, It does seem a bit unfair to buff the mushroom cave over the fruit cave. But I'll probably still do fruit cave when I get there on new save. It's more enjoyable.

[Psycho]

the fruit cave is really cool if you let it fill up all the way. i think it takes a full in-game year or something.. but like 50 fruits will be on the floor

so if you want to forget about the cave and just check it once a year to get TONS of foragables and foragable XP at once, fruit cave is the best

[IamMokume]

Sounds like Team 'Shroom is for optimization, Team Fruit is favored by more freeform players.
I've always gone for bats, since the logic of 'they're called fruit bats because that's what they produce' always makes me chuckle. Also my gaming style is to produce what's needed as much as possible. Just buying things seems less satisfying to me, but to those who roll that way, good on ya.

[IronHide]

Fruitbat cave makes doing the artisan bundle a.lot less hassle.

[Jingseng]

People here are talking primarily about money, but there is another aspect that's not being considered.

Mushrooms, overall, have been difficult for me to find. Period. Especially morels and chantrelles. This becomes an issue when doing cooking and the like. Fruits, you can buy the saplings and plant them and get them reliably. Finding the fruits never becomes an issue.

The more reliable option for mushrooms then, is to:
1. Gain access to ginger island (no small task itself)
2. find walnuts to do initial unlocks
3. find walnuts to unlock the archaeologist cave
4. check that cave every few days (far more time consuming than farm cave)

Compared to:
1. Buy saplings
2. wait a season