Red Rock/Guide

This information is reliable as of patch 2.0.209.43. If this is no longer the current patch, you can help by updating it.

This information is reliable as of patch 2.0.209.43.

Welcome to Qud. Red Rock is likely to be the very first "dungeon" you will experience in Qud, and its layout matches this. The generation is deliberately very simple and lacks the organic shapes that the rest of the underground is known for. You can use these simple hallways to your advantage to create a chokepoint.

While delving in Red Rock, it is recommended to follow the Early Game Checklist. In particular, fighting any snapjaws you come across to build up AV to tank some of the harder hitters you will encounter later on.

On The Way

It is a short trek, but there are still threats on the way.

Creatures of Note (Surface)

snapjaw scavenger, snapjaw hunter - Your source of armor and weapons. As long as you can face them one on one without getting surrounded, you should be able to kill them. If you do end up swarmed, sprint and backtrack. Some will eventually slow down trying to navigate through the terrain, splitting up the group. Patience is key!

snapjaw brute - The harder version. If you have a ranged weapon from your starting layout or from snapjaw hunters, use them. These are much easier to handle once you start getting more AV.

baboon, shrewd baboon - At the surface of Red Rock, there's a chance to encounter baboons. Their weapons are thrown stones, which surprisingly do a lot of damage and are very accurate. This is such a notorious early game kill that there is an achievement for dying to them.

This is the first lesson in dealing with ranged enemies. Above all, break line of sight with them. Even trees that you can walk through break line of sight, and they will be unable to aim at you. (Note: Need confirmation) They'll be forced to walk closer, until you can melee them. If you want, you can even pick up their stones to use as your own ranged weapon.

Creatures of Note (Underground)

young ivory - Hidden by default, they will emerge out of the ground to stab your feet, causing you to bleed. This bleed is a damage over time that can be deadly at low toughness. It will go away with time, but a bandage will stop it instantly. Wait until the bleeding stops before exploring further. Once the ivory is revealed, it can no longer hurt you.

dreadroot - Harmless but annoying roots that will cause any creature to run away sometimes. This is particularly annoying next to deep water. If it scares you into the water, you will start to swim and get the movespeed penalty related to swimming. Any nearby enemies will be able to get free hits. If these get too annoying, feel free to force attack them by using Ctrl + direction. Sometimes, they even drop dreadroot tubers which are an ingredient for salve injectors.

jilted lover - Immobile sacks of xp. Seek and kill as many as you can until they give 12 xp or less. They are able to make you immobile as well, which reduces your DV to 0. When killing them, make sure that you're not being attacked by other more damaging creatures.

slumberling - They will be around for the rest of the game. Don't wake them up, and don't be near them when other creatures wake them up. Do not engage!

slugsnout - Don't bother unless you have at least 3 AV. Treat them like deadlier baboons.

The Bottom

Unlike the rest of the upper strata, the bottom floor is wide and open like regular underground generation. If it is too difficult to create a chokepoint, try going back up the stairs and force attack downwards.

By the time you reach the bottom, you should have at least 3 or 4 AV. Else, you will have issues with the waterlogged tunnel if you choose to go that route.

The lowest strata is where girshlings and a gyre wight will reside. With initial reputation, the gyre wight will be neutral towards you, but the girshlings will not be. Once you see a girshling, you can kill it, grab its corpse, and complete your quest. They are no stronger than a snapjaw brute, so as long as you do not get swarmed by them (triggering their swarmer bonus), you can dispatch one easily.

Waterlogged Tunnel

The waterlogged tunnel is an optional pathway back to Joppa that is harder than going back on the surface. However, your reward will be ancient bones, which grant a miner's helmet(hands-free light source), a cybernetic credit, a pickaxe, and canned-have-it-all. To me, the pickaxe is the most important item out of all of them since it allows you to bypass any underground screen you hate, theoretically. It can dig through any wall, but not up or down. For those who want access to the Grit Gate merchants before completing More than a Willing Spirit, you can use the pickaxe to dig around the barrier.

There will be a very wide river heading south. As long as you follow this river, you will come across the bones on the third screen (exactly one parasang down from the bottom of Red Rock).

Once finding the loot, you may go back the way you came or continue on fighting to the south end of the river, which leads back up into Joppa.

Like the bottom of Red Rock, the layout of each zone in the Waterlogged Tunnel is expansive with few narrow corridors. Use the following features to your advantage(Note: most of the following will never stop being relevant, but will be excluded in future guides to avoid repetition):

River

A very large river will be cutting through, reducing your movespeed when walking through it. Creatures are reluctant to path through it, and careful maneuvering can let you escape/outrun enemies. You can also wait in the water with no intention to move, and let creatures come to you with reduced movespeed. This has a chance of giving you an initiative.

Zone Borders

Use of zone borders is also helpful in dealing with the tunnel. When crossing a zone border, only creatures a few tiles next to the border will try to come over. This is a way to limit the number of creatures trying to attack you at once.

Faction Relationships

Even if the player is not in the same zone, adjacent zones may still have combat play out. Creatures of different factions may dislike each other, and will fight each other since they have no player to target.

For example: You are swarmed by a knollworm and an eyeless crab. You manage to get away, leaving them in the zone behind you. After waiting a few turns to heal, you return to the zone. When you come back, the crab is dead. The knollworm killed it, and is now slighly injured so you can finish it off. This is especially effective when a slumberling is on that screen.

Creatures of note (Tunnel)

In addition to the creatures already found underground:

knollworm - They can cleave your armor, reducing your AV temporarily. If you already have low AV, this will double or even triple any incoming damage to you. Ensure you fight them one on one, and play carefully when cleaved. You can also wait until the cleave effect is over.

eyeless crab - Can cause damage with their flurry, but their main threat comes with their high innate AV. If you do not have high STR, it will be difficult to damage them at all. If you have a musket or issachar rifle, eyeless crabs are what I recommend using your bullets against. However, know that knollworms and crabs will fight each other and the cleave effect from a knollworm will make them much easier to kill.

Risky Way (Starting from the crack)

Going to Red Rock is the safe method. If you're either too lazy to walk there, or have the bravery/experience, you can go down the crack in Joppa, go down the waterlogged tunnel, and then reach the bottom of Red Rock to complete the quest without touching the upper levels at all. This is risky because the level and creature generation of the waterlogged tunnel is much less unpredictable and has a chance to spawn legendary creatures. Both ways are the same distance to the ancient bones, so it really is preference.

Another point towards this way is that random village starts do not have to do What's Eating the Watervine, so getting to Red Rock isn't actually important. Going this way will give more interesting loot and will likely be easier if the player has already completed the village's random quests.

This doesn't even have to be the first dungeon. Here are viable ways to do the early game:

- Rust wells and complete Argyve's quests -> Go to Red Rock via crack

- Do upper levels of crack and return when reaching the waterlogged tunnel (for snapjaw loot) -> do Rust Wells -> Complete waterlogged tunnel

- Go to Red Rock via crack -> Rust Wells etc.

What's next?

If you already did the rust wells, you can either go to the rusted archway, Grit Gate, or the Stilt. If you want the level 12 or lower gift for completing More Than a Willing Spirit, I would head straight to Grit Gate.

If you haven't completed Argyve's quests, view Weirdwire Conduit... Eureka!/Guide for a guide for the Rust Wells.