# 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:** 20

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**Author:** ![Jihelu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@Jihelu](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Jihelu)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/381 "2013-03-28T02:30:39Z")

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> [@gtaguy](#):
>
> Ahh, bears and cougars?

And triffids.

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**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/382 "2013-03-28T10:21:55Z")

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How do you people deal with animals post 0.2? Whenever I have static spawn on and I walk out of the shelter, I’m always assailed by wolves, spiders, cougars, and crows. The good thing is the NPC usually deals with then, the bad part is that they usually use guns, create a lot of noise, spray and pray, and quickly run out of ammo without killing enough.

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**Author:** ![Jack\_Slinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jack\_Slinger](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Jack_Slinger)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/383 "2013-03-28T11:17:05Z")

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Bows if I have a char set up for that, if not or if its early game I throw rocks and wooden spears at them. Works well but spiders can still fuck you over.

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**Author:** ![Tosti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@Tosti](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tosti)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/384 "2013-03-28T15:59:46Z")

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Where can you find spikes and blades? I’ve a vague feeling that you have to dismantle them from lawnmowers and knives. There’s nothing on the wiki about these items.

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**Author:** ![Freakin\_A\_Bonk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/freakin_a_bonk/32/47_2.png) [@Freakin\_A\_Bonk](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Freakin_A_Bonk)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/385 "2013-03-28T17:15:53Z")

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“OH GOD WOLVES EVERYWHERE IT’S NOT EVEN 9:30AuAUuugh…  
Game over.”

My latest adventures in 0.3 tend to consist of getting a quest, looting the basement, walking out the door and being mauled by a pack of wolves. Is there a way to avoid this?

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**Author:** ![macro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@macro](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/macro)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/386 "2013-03-28T17:23:39Z")

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I just burned down my garage with a brazier.

So how do I use braziers then? There are not instructions in the description. I dropped a few two by fours into the same tile as the brazier and lit it, walked a few paces to get my frying pan. SMASH!! oh sh\*t!, now which house did I see the fire extinguisher in? oh man! my stuff!! nooo!! etc… so what did I do wrong?

Also, I noticed that you cannot craft one using a stone hammer, but you can with a rock. And deconstructing slides in parks gives you sheet metal!

Great job devs. loving the UI clean up and the static spawn, though static tends to make it easier, so I can’t wait for the roaming hordes and some better suited NPC quests.

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**Author:** ![The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_darkling_wolf/32/828_2.png) [@The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Darkling_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/387 "2013-03-28T17:25:53Z")

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You need to (a)ctivate the brazier and choose which tile to set it up in.

> [@Tosti](#):
>
> Where can you find spikes and blades? I’ve a vague feeling that you have to dismantle them from lawnmowers and knives. There’s nothing on the wiki about these items.

Blades can be crafted from bladed weapons, or obtained via disassembling a lawnmower. Spikes can be crafted from scrap and knives I think, and obtained by disassembling a steak knife.

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**Author:** ![Tosti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@Tosti](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Tosti)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/388 "2013-03-28T19:11:35Z")

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Ok, got it.

I’m just not sure how this disassembling works, does it has it’s own menu, or how is it done?

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**Author:** ![The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_darkling_wolf/32/828_2.png) [@The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Darkling_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/389 "2013-03-28T19:14:32Z")

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Just hit the ( key and select the item you want to disassemble. The game will give you a Y/N prompt, then inform you of any tools you need.  
Usually the tools are the same as the ones required to craft the item.

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**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/390 "2013-03-28T20:55:58Z")

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Does the brazier make fires burn longer, or do they make the fires not spread to the surrounding tiles if you’re indoor?

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**Author:** ![The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_darkling_wolf/32/828_2.png) [@The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Darkling_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/391 "2013-03-28T21:09:01Z")

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It prevents them from spreading.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/392 "2013-03-28T21:21:00Z")

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Thanks.

What determines how long a fire will burn? Do logs burn longer than 2 x 4s? I shot some arrows into thw brazier and they seem to have a similar duration. Does the quantity of material affect duration at all?

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**Author:** ![The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_darkling_wolf/32/828_2.png) [@The\_Darkling\_Wolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Darkling_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/393 "2013-03-28T21:38:48Z")

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At the moment it burns until it hits a certain flashpoint, whereupon it more or less instantly devours all the fuel. If a fire is kept medium on a log it’ll burn forever. We’re working on improving it.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/cataclysmdda/original/1X/21b5d044e8473b25d0bf905d60477e25f6fbe0cf.png) [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/394 "2013-03-29T04:15:37Z")

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Hurry plz, 20 cooked meats from one tree is not good.

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**Author:** ![Flare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Flare](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Flare)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/395 "2013-03-29T04:17:18Z")

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Do berries regenerate or respawn when I’m not around?

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/cataclysmdda/original/1X/21b5d044e8473b25d0bf905d60477e25f6fbe0cf.png) [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/396 "2013-03-29T04:29:39Z")

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No…

Not that I know of.

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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:** [March 29, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/397 "2013-03-29T04:42:50Z")

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I don’t think there’s anything predictable about them, but I have encountered Hot (=Fresh, shows how old my version is) berries 3-4 days into the game. So I expect there’s some code to spawn them.

It’s entirely possible that this only happened when I was exploring new territory, though, and thus that these were “initial” spawns.

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**Author:** ![Soron](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/soron/32/885_2.png) [@Soron](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Soron)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/398 "2013-03-29T04:54:04Z")

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I know there’s a bug (I believe in 0.3, not sure about other versions) where berries will spawn rotten after a certain point, even in unexplored (freshly-generated) terrain. It looks like that’s fixed in the current version on Git, though.

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**Author:** ![slydogg9692](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@slydogg9692](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/slydogg9692)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/399 "2013-03-29T06:39:28Z")

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The berry bug seems to have been around since 0.2 based on my experience. I think the game spawns the berries as soon as you discover certain parts of the map, so it’s possible to get fresh berries if you explore undiscovered areas.

Also, it might just be me or something, but using skewers as a fuel source seems to be very efficient, since one 2x4/Heavy Stick, when cut up with a knife, makes 8 skewers + 1 splintered wood. I can cook 2 full waterskins worth of water (12 units of water) lighting up just one skewer. There’s the issue of enough fuel for lighters, but they come up so frequently that it does’t become an issue.

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**Author:** ![Iosyn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/iosyn/32/35_2.png) [@Iosyn](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Iosyn)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions/42/400 "2013-03-29T21:35:54Z")

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yeah, would be nice if we could get bottles of lighter fuel. (for the pyromaniac in you.)

or just making a lighter from 1x scrap metal 1x string – 6in and some gasoline, buuut… lighters are so common anyway, who’d ever use that lol.

As for berries… Day two, I’m wounded, being tracked by wolves and scavaging in the forest for food…

Rotten berries. Rotten berries errywhere.

oh well.

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