# Tips, Tricks, and Newb Questions!

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42>\
**Category:** The Bunker\
**Created:** [January 3, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42 "2013-01-03T03:04:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 184

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3661 "2014-06-26T15:26:10Z")

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In a certain room of the mansion (it’s got pillars and stuff) there are sometimes like 4 tiles with a weapon and suit of medieval armor on them.

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3662 "2014-06-26T15:51:18Z")

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> [@IcedPee](#):
>
> In a certain room of the mansion (it’s got pillars and stuff) there are sometimes like 4 tiles with a weapon and suit of medieval armor on them.

Yeah, that’s the entrance.

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**Author:** ![userpay](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/userpay/32/1128_2.png) [@userpay](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/userpay)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3663 "2014-06-26T20:21:33Z")

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Yea found another mansion almost an hour or two after posting that. Is the armor worth wearing though? Picked up a broadsword though I think there was an awl pike there as well.

Also how common are solar panels? Trying to be on the lookout now that I finally got a hacksaw but haven’t found any yet.

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3664 "2014-06-26T20:29:56Z")

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Keep the broadsword and ditch the armor, you can’t wear it and fight well enough at the same time. And solar panels are easy enough to find, just look for the cars with the #

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3665 "2014-06-26T21:23:01Z")

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> [@Dorian](#):
>
> If you’re exploring a mine and find one of the levels with the dead miner bodies, go into those circular rock formations that are strewn about. There’ll be extra bodies in the center of the spiral (I assume this is an Uzumaki reference).

It’s a reference (dig down a level once the mine dead-ends, if it doesn’t give you the Real Reference), but there’s no guarantee that every spiral will have bodies.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3666 "2014-06-27T08:00:18Z")

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Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3667 "2014-06-27T08:05:59Z")

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> [@123456789](#):
>
> Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

Fusion Blaster aug?

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**Author:** ![Datanazush](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/datanazush/32/1055_2.png) [@Datanazush](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Datanazush)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3668 "2014-06-27T08:13:17Z")

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> [@KA101](#):
>
> [quote=“123456789, post:3666, topic:42”]Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

Fusion Blaster aug?[/quote]

For a second there I thought you meant an [AUG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_AUG) modified to fire like a Fusion Blaster. I was really happy for a second, then let down a little when I realized you just meant the CBM.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:15am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3669 "2014-06-27T08:15:31Z")

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> [@KA101](#):
>
> [quote=“123456789, post:3666, topic:42”]Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

Fusion Blaster aug?[/quote]

Wow thanks! That was it. Completely forgot I installed it. Might be a reach but is there anyway to uninstall it? Id prefer bow to this any day.

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**Author:** ![Datanazush](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/datanazush/32/1055_2.png) [@Datanazush](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Datanazush)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:17am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3670 "2014-06-27T08:17:48Z")

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> [@123456789](#):
>
> [quote=“KA101, post:3667, topic:42”][quote=“123456789, post:3666, topic:42”]Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

Fusion Blaster aug?[/quote]

Wow thanks! That was it. Completely forgot I installed it. Might be a reach but is there anyway to uninstall it? Id prefer bow to this any day.[/quote]  
If you’re in an experimental version you can cut the CBM out in the bionics menu, it needs a knife, first aid kit and deals a lot of damage even on success.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:18am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3671 "2014-06-27T08:18:12Z")

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Until last week, yeah, you could use the remove-bionic procedure. Unfortunately I special-cased the FBA recently to prevent that, since (as it’ll tell you) removing the FBA would leave you with a useless stump.

If we had better limb-handling code, sure, the stump could be handled. Right now, nope. Sorry.

> [@Datanazush](#):
>
> [quote=“KA101, post:3667, topic:42”][quote=“123456789, post:3666, topic:42”]Anyone know why my character can’t wield any bows? It keeps saying “cant’ wield with one arm.” Neither of my arms are injured, both are at full health. It worked earlier, but once I unequipped it stopped working.

Fusion Blaster aug?[/quote]

For a second there I thought you meant an [AUG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_AUG) modified to fire like a Fusion Blaster. I was really happy for a second, then let down a little when I realized you just meant the CBM.[/quote]

Why would I waste a perfectly good Armee Universal Gewehr?

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**Author:** ![FunsizeNinja123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/funsizeninja123/32/118_2.png) [@FunsizeNinja123](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/FunsizeNinja123)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3672 "2014-06-27T16:24:39Z")

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> [@KA101](#):
>
> Why would I waste a perfectly good Armee Universal Gewehr?

Well it would shoot lasers, so there’s that. I have like three AUGs in my base. _Throws Ka an AUG_

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**Author:** ![Dorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/35a633/32.png) [@Dorian](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Dorian)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3673 "2014-06-27T17:09:59Z")

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Lore-related question: Is there a generally-agreed-upon canonical date for the Cataclysm, or is it just the mid-21st century?

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3674 "2014-06-27T17:18:45Z")

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> [@Dorian](#):
>
> Lore-related question: Is there a generally-agreed-upon canonical date for the Cataclysm, or is it just the mid-21st century?

It’s at least 2044, there are a couple of books with references to year of publication.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3675 "2014-06-27T22:31:22Z")

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> [@Dorian](#):
>
> Lore-related question: Is there a generally-agreed-upon canonical date for the Cataclysm, or is it just the mid-21st century?

204X. I’ve seen an exact year floating around but never managed to nail down a copy of wherever it was stated, so linkage would be appreciated.

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**Author:** ![IcedPee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/icedpee/32/259_2.png) [@IcedPee](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/IcedPee)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3676 "2014-06-28T00:16:23Z")

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Tip: Bindles are great for early-game storage, as they only encumber your hands. Hand encumbrance only affects reloading times and throwing accuracy, so if those aren’t priorities to you there’s no drawback to wearing 2 bindles for good storage without needing a backpack or other torso-encumbering storage items.

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**Author:** ![blazing\_glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@blazing\_glory](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/blazing_glory)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3677 "2014-06-28T01:38:09Z")

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Is there a way to upgrade my vehicle’s handbrake? My vehicle is really sturdy but it’s still annoying to crash into some other vehicle littered on the road just because my handbrake can’t handle any speeds above 19.

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**Author:** ![123456789](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/bcef8e/32.png) [@123456789](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/123456789)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3678 "2014-06-28T10:02:30Z")

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How do I move into late game? I always make it pretty long if my character survives the first 2-3 days, but afterwards I never seem to move towards easier living. I hear of people with bases and cars and food storages, meanwhile I usually just put all my stuff in the backseat of a car or a shopping cart and live in my car or in some random house at the outskirts of a town. Where do I go from here? I’m trying to get all my stats up, but it goes so slow since I spend 90% of my time hunting and gathering more water.

Also i’m moving towards the beast path in mutation. Is that a good choice or are there better ones? With as few spoilers as possible which mutation path do you guys prefer? Also will I be able to eat raw meat?

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**Author:** ![shpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@shpider](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/shpider)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 11:09am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3679 "2014-06-28T11:09:10Z")

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I’m still pretty new to Cataclysm. I’m not completely sure what is and what is not in the game, so I thought I’d post here about what just happened.

This is entirety of what I just did.

1. I explored downstairs in the evac shelter. Found a first aid book and a couple of other things.

2. I read the first aid book three times, so it’s now day two, and I’m very hungry and very thirsty.

3. I left the shelter and went to pick up some blackberries.

4. And then accidentally found a stockpile of more explosives than I’ve seen in all the times I’ve played Cataclysm combined. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWdF\_WboQg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWdF_WboQg)

Is that a bug? I’m playing on the development branch, so it could be. I’m not sure what I’m gonna do with it all yet, but it’s probably gonna be loud xD

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**Author:** ![Weyrling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7bcc69/32.png) [@Weyrling](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Weyrling)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/3680 "2014-06-28T11:24:56Z")

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[quote=“123456789, post:3678, topic:42”]How do I move into late game? I always make it pretty long if my character survives the first 2-3 days, but afterwards I never seem to move towards easier living. I hear of people with bases and cars and food storages, meanwhile I usually just put all my stuff in the backseat of a car or a shopping cart and live in my car or in some random house at the outskirts of a town. Where do I go from here? I’m trying to get all my stats up, but it goes so slow since I spend 90% of my time hunting and gathering more water.

Also i’m moving towards the beast path in mutation. Is that a good choice or are there better ones? With as few spoilers as possible which mutation path do you guys prefer? Also will I be able to eat raw meat?[/quote]  
When it comes to late game food my goal is usually to get a charcoal kiln and smoker, make a decent stockpile of charcoal, and then go fishing and make a (literal) ton of smoked fish. Water is a bit more of an issue because boiling it takes a good chunk of time, finding or making a water purifier is an early goal of mine.

Usually I go the cybernetic route, I know I’m in late game when I find a Recycler Unit or an Aero-Evaporator and successfully install one of them.  
I haven’t gone much into mutations since they had the big overhaul, so I can’t help you out there.

Regarding giant stockpiles of explosives, I have to ask: What is your world’s Item spawn scaling factor set to? Finding a pile of explosives is certainly possible, but I’ve never seen such a huge amount in a single tile before.

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