all biomes, ranked by difficulty 1-10

[bacon]

i was bored and decided to rank the biomes using 4 categories:

a. terrain (scale 1-3) - literally how many pickaxe hits needed to remove terrain. more hits, more difficult to modify the terrain.

b. visibility (scale 1-3) - how hard it is to see and identify key targets, including enemies, terrain, and objectives.

c. environment (scale 1-3) - how much danger the environment has naturally, not including enemies. some people will argue about things like wind vents or mines as having a potential upside, but i think overall they make the map more dangerous on average. mines are a good example. everyone has a cool story about how they once solo'd a dread with just explosive plants but most of the time you just get blown up by bad pubs, accidentally or on purpose. it's a net increase in danger.

d. variants (scale 0-1) - special enemies or variants.

totaling these categories resulted in 4 difficulty levels:

easy, under 6 points
average, 6 points
above average, 8 points
hard, over 8 points

most maps (6) fall into the average category, with 6 points. if we can agree on the 4 levels, maybe for fun we can do tie-breaks for the 6 average maps.

below average: under 6 points

10. salt pits
terrain - 2
visibility - 1. clean walls. you could make the argument that, because the environment is red, that it is more difficult to see key resources like nitra and red sugar, but i dont really have a problem.
environment - 1. no special dangers.
variants - 0. some might make the argument for extra rollers as a kind of variant, and that rollers can be difficult on salvage missions (knocking you out of the radius), but i don't think it rises to the level of being worth a point.
total - 4. this is the consensus easiest biome in the game, with no special challenges in terrain, visibility, environment, or enemy variants.

average (6 tied, in no particular order): 6 points

9. crystaline caverns
terrain - 3
visibility - 1. clean, bright walls. crystal formations are not a big problem.
environment - 2. lightning traps.
variants - 0
total - 6. spending time/ammo to remove the lighting traps makes this biome a lot easier.

8. dense biozone
terrain - 2
visibility - 2. ridged, dark terrain makes visibility and exploration a bit challenging.
environment - 2. pricker plants, mines. you could also make an argument for the ridged shape mentioned in visibility. i find myself falling off ledges in this biome more than most others, because i follow a ridge without realizing the cliff is steepening and narrowing, then get chased off by enemy pressure.
variants - 0
total - 6. extremely large versions of this map can be difficult to explore, due to the shallow cliffs/lips in the walls. but overall, not one of the tougher biomes.

7. sand blasted
terrain - 1
visibility - 2. clean, bright walls but biome tends to have huge open caverns, which are more difficult to light due to sheer size and height.
environment - 2. storms, wind vents.
variants - 1. +1 for the sand shark!
total - 6. a storm at the wrong time can be a big problem, but otherwise not too tough. 1x terrain allows you flexibility that no other biome affords, including scouts making cubby holes in high walls. dont sleep on the sand shark. it can knock you off cliffs or ziplines at weird times, very disruptive. i believe it can go through shields as well, like a roller.

6. glacial
terrain - 2
visibility - 1. clean, bright walls, easy to see.
environment - 3. storms, cold vents, deep snow, ice, fissures, cold mines. not quite as bad as magma core, but one of the more challenging environments. unlike magma core, glacial does have hot springs to offset the cold.
variants - 0. +cold and -fire is offsetting depending on loadout, doesnt really require any adjustments.
total - 6. you can almost take a point off (-1) for variants because i think cold praetorians are basically harmless, both the spray and death cloud are easy to avoid. but, one of the tougher environments for sure.

5. fungus
terrain - 2
visibility - 2. fog in general and vegetation growth in narrow tunnels.
environment - 2. ambient poison vents, mines, wind vents, goo.
variants - 0
total - 6. fog, goo and vegetation combine to make this one of the harder biomes to explore. poison vents arent that dangerous but you have to waste time, ammo, or shields if you want them removed.

4. azure weald
terrain - 2
visibility - 3. this deserves a 4, like the environmental score for magma core. it is incredibly difficult to see in this biome, visually confusing.
environment - 1. environment itself is not dangerous, although you could argue that visibility problems make it more likely to fall off cliffs.
variants - 0
total - 6. this is such an incredibly well-differentiated biome, because it really isnt hard on paper, but the crazy colors and textures everywhere are very challenging.

above average (2 tied): 8 points

3. radioactive
terrain - 3
visibility - 1. clean, bright walls. easy to see.
environment - 3. radiation crystals everywhere.
variants - 1. radiation exploders and praetorians are more difficult than regular versions, with their area denial. this is a tough map for salvage.
total - 8. one of the game's signature biomes, with the very distinct variant challenge, and noticeably more difficult than average. engineer excels here, due to a possible 80% rad resistance by stacking class shield and elemental passive perk.

2. hollow bough
terrain - 2
visibility - 3. while the native terrain itself can be lit, the amound of irregularly-shaped growth inside the biome obscures objectives and minerals on walls. the retreating vines can even spoil firing lines at the wrong time (e.g., fat boy).
environment - 3. prickers, stabber vines, etc.
variants - 0
total - 8. a transparently difficult biome, where the clutter in the map is not only physically dangerous, but interferes with exploration as well.

hard: above 8 points

1. magma core
terrain - 3
visibility - 3. magma core is dark and has ridged structures in the walls and ceilings. very difficult to see and reach minerals, including secondary objectives. ebonuts can be brutal on this map.
environment - 3. this deserves a 4, really. earthquakes, fissures, hot ground, geysers, mines. the most dangerous environment of any biome.
variants - 0.
total - 9. stands alone as the game's classic "hard" biome. the planet is angry.

do you agree with this list and the ranking approach? let me know how you see it.

[CCShad]

I’d argue Hollow Bough is the most difficult, don’t forget that stabber vines and wasp nests are technically enemies exclusive to the biome, they’re even in the bestiary so they don’t count as “environment”.

The color scheme in magma core makes it have high visibility imo, it’s not much different from Crystalline Caverns (White/grey terrain that easily bounces light around)…
While hollow bough has very dark colors and vines blocking your view everywhere.

Biomes don’t effect cold/heat damage on your weapons (You may have been confused by the ice variants of enemies which take less cold dmg and more hot)

[Nihil]

Magma core.....that's the only biome i always avoid. I hate it.

[bacon]

Originally posted by CCShad:

I’d argue Hollow Bough is the most difficult, don’t forget that stabber vines and wasp nests are technically enemies exclusive to the biome, they’re even in the bestiary so they don’t count as “environment”.

The color scheme in magma core makes it have high visibility imo, it’s not much different from Crystalline Caverns (White/grey terrain that easily bounces light around)…
While hollow bough has very dark colors and vines blocking your view everywhere.

Biomes don’t effect cold/heat damage on your weapons (You may have been confused by the ice variants of enemies which take less cold dmg and more hot)

youre right, i guess magma core doesnt have a fire/cold mod, like glacial does.

magma core visibility is tied to the ridges in the walls and ceiling. it disguises veins and other objectives.

i could move a point from environmental into variants for hollow bough. i tend to think of stationary enemies as part of the environment, since they spawn in with the map and do not replenish.

[Grizzly]

School

[Mr. Sweetchuck]

I'd argue that the sandblasted environment needs another point. It may be easy to mine but the typical size of rooms, sheer walls, and few features, can make navigation treacherous. Maybe this has been updated in the last year, but it used to be that tunnels could come out to at a place high enough for a fatal drop.

[phenir]

No mention of stalactites dropping on your head because of explosives in salt pits and glacial.
Salt pits' rollers are exclusive to it, younglings appear no where else. On the other hand, the much sturdier shellback does not appear there (or sandblasted but that has the shark). I agree though that they aren't much of a threat especially since it's common for them to get stuck in pits since they don't crawl out like the adult version. Similarly, naedocyte shockers only appear in biozone and glacial.
I think the environment rating on dense biozone should be upped. Besides the things you mentioned, it also has those plants that shoot spines out, the plant that has several spikes that jut out of the ground if you get close, as well as the swarmer eggs you sometimes find in abundance.

[Hipnox]

I think Sandblasted deserves a +1 for the high probability of falling to your death.

Due to the sheer size of the caves and with the wind vents, I think I have more environmental deaths on Sandblasted than on any other biome, including Magma Core.

[bacon]

Originally posted by phenir:

No mention of stalactites dropping on your head because of explosives in salt pits and glacial.
Salt pits' rollers are exclusive to it, younglings appear no where else. On the other hand, the much sturdier shellback does not appear there (or sandblasted but that has the shark). I agree though that they aren't much of a threat especially since it's common for them to get stuck in pits since they don't crawl out like the adult version. Similarly, naedocyte shockers only appear in biozone and glacial.
I think the environment rating on dense biozone should be upped. Besides the things you mentioned, it also has those plants that shoot spines out, the plant that has several spikes that jut out of the ground if you get close, as well as the swarmer eggs you sometimes find in abundance.

to be honest i have never been hit with a falling stalagmite but i guess that is a possibility.

i think for dense biozone i said prickers, which is meant to cover a range of things. another poster pointed out that these are actually "enemies" but i tend to think of pre-spawned, stationary things as part of the environment.

youre right about the shockers, but i dont really thing about them as biome-specific because the breeder can spawn anywhere. it's true that in glacial biome, a storm + shockers can be very difficult.

[Grizzly]

but in magma core you can build the best Bunker
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655942501
xD

[Chris!!]

I would rate Salt Pits and Crystaline Caverns above Sand Pits and Azure Weald, purely because Salt Pits keeps throwing these Shellback younglings to ♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥ up constantly, then Crystaline Caverns puts up a ton of huge crystals that blocks visibility and lets enemies get close to you without you being able to see them, and the terrain being 3 hits.

Azure Weald is the easiest biome ever, the worst it ever throws at you is caves that are hard to see in the dark, and that's literally it, one scout flare and you've neutralized the worst Azure Weald has to offer. Sand Pits is also the easiest cave, only being harder than Azure Weald because of sand storms, but they are far and few between, and the plus sides massively outweigh the negatives (oh yeah I guess they got sandsharks, but they are no more threatening than a single shellback youngling).

[Insano-Man]

The Abyss Bar.

Getting sober means drinking 'till you drop. Drinking 'till you drop puts your life in the hands of your team. Putting your life in the hands of your team on the space rig is a gamble that they aren't all AFK or stuck in the floor.

And God save the team if somebody ever orders a Leaf Lover's.

[Teddy Leonhardt]

I notice you haven't addressed the Salt Pits large pointy salt formations that can be damaged into falling to the ground dealing heavy damage to whatever has the misfortune of getting struck, similar to the green ice spikes that can fall down in Glacial Strata. I guess not worth an additional point on either biomes? I've rarily been hit by them but maybe that's because I just love to shoot them. It's like popping bubble wrap.

9. Crystalline Caverns
...
Environment: 2 | Lightning traps.
...
Total: 6 | Spending time/ammo to remove the lightning traps makes this biome a lot easier.

I find it the fastest as Driller or with a Driller in the team that can quickly throw three axes at any lightning crystal to remove it, without actually spending those axes as they can be picked right back up.

7. Sandblasted Corridors
...
Visibility: 2 | Clean, bright walls but biome tends to have huge open caverns, which are more difficult to light due to sheer size and height.

One of the very few points I slightly disagree with. I always found flares shining brighter than average in this zone. Even the biggest of rooms seem to be well lit with a single scout flare.
The exact opposite I feel is true for Hollow Bough where flares for some reason seem to shine less. I haven't taken the time to confirm this but I have read other users say the same.

6. Glacial Strata
...
Total: 6 | You can almost take a point off for variants because I thin Frost Praetorians are basically harmless, both the spray and death cloud are easy to avoid.

Nothing funnier than seeing a Frost Praet approach Doretta and spray her with literal nothing.

5. Fungus Bogs
...
Total: 6 | Fog, goo and vegetation combine to make this one of the harder biomes to explore. Poison vents aren't that dangerous but you have to waste time and ammo, or shields if you want them removed.

I assume with poison vents you mean those poison cloud releasing plants? I suppose they take some time and some ammo to deal with, unless you go around double pickaxing them, but I would never waste a shield for them?
Also another tip against these is, again, Driller's axes.
Hold the throw and make sure the preview arc hits as many as possible. They simply vanish against good ol' axes. They can then be picked up again too.
Poison still releases one final time, though.

1. Magma Core
...

I've certainly always felt way more stressed than usual playing in this zone but never spent the time to think about why.

https://i.imgur.com/ObPu6p5.jpg

[Khloros]

Honestly i tthink sand blasted is the easiest, the caverns in sand blasted are always super well layed out and easy to navigate, you get a clear line of sight with nothing in the gave blocking your view. Even in teh massive chambers you basically can see the whole thing. The rocks break really easy, the color pallet of the cave makes it light up really well.

[Insubordination]

My favorite is the radioactive zone since the bugs don't care if they irradiate themselves to death? Great AI. The worst one? Azure Weald because grass everywhere and it hides resources and just large fauna/too much grass.

[Ninja Zyborg]

top 3
1. hollow bough (stupid stabby plants)
2. magma core (why do the ravines open underneath me)
3. fungus bogs (goop EVERYWHERE and why am I always being poisoned by gas)