Lower South Cave

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Lower South Cave
CaveLS.jpg

Cave in the South of the Island

Interior Map

Lower South Cave Map.jpg

Location
The Island Topographic Map.jpg
Location
85.2° Lat, 54.2° Lon
Climate
Biome
Temperature
50F
Loot
Artifact of the Hunter.png
Artifact of the Hunter
83.5° Lat, 56.0° Lon
Artifact level
40
Loot quality
Green Crate.png Green

This cave is in the south-central part of the Island, just north of the Sandy Cove, and can easily be reached on foot from the western bank of the river just west of the cove. Begin your trek at approximately (81.2, 49.5) and head east into the small ravine. Cave entrance is in the right cliff wall, a few hundred meters from the beach.

The Lower South Cave is one of the easiest caves on the island, though it is still more dangerous than anything in the nearby surface environment. It houses the Artifact of the Hunter. Multiple creatures will slow and tranquilize the survivor as they swarm to the fight, and narrow, twisty passages and sudden drop-offs into crowds of creatures.

Hazards

  • Cold, though not enough to cause  Hypothermia (50F (10C) inside the cave)
  • Looping, similar-looking paths can cause disorientation
  • Ambushes from cave creatures lurking in crevices and dropping from holes in the ceiling - watch your surroundings!
  •  Torpidity induced by  Arthropleura,  Pulmonoscorpius,  Titanoboa, and  Araneo
  •  Mega Rabies contracted from  Megalania (only on PC and consoles)
  • Slowing  Webbed attacks from  Araneo
  • Significant risk to armor from the  Arthropleura's acid attack
  • Waters full of  Sarcosuchus and  Piranha
  • Recoil damage (and durability reduction) from melee attacks to the  Arthropleura's armor
  • Easy to get encumbered if harvesting resources. Bring animals that have weight reductions on important items

Creatures

Resources

Loot Drops (Items & Blueprints)

in the section Generic Caves, Green - Level 10

Recommended Equipment

The equipment recommendations below are likely sufficient for a single trip through the cave, without carting out all of the metal, obsidian, and crystal. If you plan on looting the cave completely (or returning often), you may want to bring supplies to build a  Smithy within the cave to repair armor.

The cave contains limited quantities of plants for  Fiber and various berries, but no trees (so no Wood or Thatch). You will be able to harvest mass quantities of  Raw Meat,  Raw Prime Meat, and  Raw Fish Meat while in the cave, so a  Campfire can be handy to replenish food supplies.

Recommended creatures

  • The  Direwolf can be used by tribes with multiple players as they have great DPS and the ability to harvest large amounts of chitin.
  • The  Sabertooth can be used by solo players or tribes with high quality saddles, as they will take less damage than direwolves and are a strong alternative due to their ability to wear a saddle.
  • The  Baryonyx is a fantastic cave mount, being able to hold its own on land and packing an unstoppable stun AOE while in water. Baryonyx heal largely with fish meat, which is plentiful due to the cave's underwater sections.
  • The  Sarcosuchus is extremely fast underwater, scares away piranhas, and can deal large amounts of damage from a good range. For players without baryonyx, it provides enough amphibious utility within a cave (Use cryopod to get past tight tunnels.)
  • The  Castoroides serves a function as land combatant, water mount, and smithy all at the same time. However, it can not heal with raw meat as it is a herbivore.
  • The  Gigantopithecus is very powerful and can easily defeat all inhabitants of this cave. However, one must carry weaponry to shoot down  Arthropleura before they become an issue.

Tips

  • Using  Bug Repellant will make it easier to avoid Araneo and Arthropluera. However, they are usually palling around with Titanoboa, so you may have to carefully draw the snakes away to ensure invisibility.
  •  Cryopods are a necessity for bringing out tames from/into tighter sections of the cave.
  • A good mount is necessary to preserve resources and minimize risks.
  • Set mounts on "Disable resource harvesting" to conserve weight.
  • If cave navigation is a concern, place  Standing Torch on the left side of cave paths as you descend; when exiting, keep the torches on your right to be sure you are heading in the correct direction.
  • You can speed-run to the Artifact and back by going left at the first T, then left in the first large room and dropping off the cliff (into a nest of creatures, beware!). Escape back up the cliff using a  Grappling Hook or by riding a  Beelzebufo.
  • The lakes have only small "beach" areas where you can safely exit the water; do not jump into a lake without knowing where the "beach" is!
  • Non-flying tames following you on Neutral or Aggressive will launch themselves off cliffs to defend you and may occasionally stumble down a cliff even if not aggro'd; tell them to Stop well back from any cliff before you walk up to it.
  • Since one can farm a lot of  Chitin and  Hide (not to mention Experience) from the creatures in the cave, it's a good idea to wear  Chitin Armor while farming. If Arthroplueras break your armor, all you need is fiber (available from plants within the cave) and a nearby  Smithy or  Castoroides to repair it.
  • A full looting of the cave (including lakes) will net several stacks of  Metal and  Crystal and a few stacks of  Obsidian (most of this is in the lakes)
  • There are several Crystal nodes (but no Metal or Obsidian) which can be encountered before you reach points where creatures spawn
  • Of the eight cavedrop/loot crate locations shown on the map, only two will be active at a time. Don't forget to check the lakes: three of the potential drop locations are underwater!
  • There is a cul-de-sac at the bottom of a spiraling ramp near the entrance to the cave where creatures can be led and trapped and shot at from above. This area is very safe for taming, being far away from the areas where creatures begin to spawn, yet deep enough into the cave that a battle with surface predators or enemy tribe members at the entrance to the cave likely won't disturb a tame.
  • Allosaurus is the largest creature that can enter the Lower South Cave, which means you can ride an Allosaurus into the cave and cave creatures will ignore you if you don’t attack them.
  • Take caution, as  Megalania will deal  Mega Rabies, leaving most players below 300HP to die a slow and annoying death. Bring healing items!
  • As with any dangerous location, parts of the cave may be safe and devoid of predators while on rare occasions other parts are swarming.

Compatible Tamed Creatures

This table is incomplete.
You can help us by adding the tamed creatures you know can enter the cave. If the creature can't enter, please exclude it.

Accessibility Ratings:

  • Excellent: Full-Cave Access (Entrance-to-Artifact)
  • Limited: Can Access Portions of the Cave Safely
  • Not Recommended: Can Get Stuck/Unable to Leave Cave
Creature Accessibility Rideable Notes
 Allosaurus Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter the final room, sometimes, during leaving the cave, you have to mine crystal in order to access.  Cryopod needed to enter the rest of the cave.
 Archaeopteryx Excellent No
  •  Can be carried in and out by player.
 Argentavis Limited Unofficial/
Single-Player
  •  Can explore most of the cave, but can become stuck near the artifact and unable to leave.
 Arthropluera Not Recommended Yes
  •  Will be unable to leave cave.
 Baryonyx Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter the artifact room.
 Beelzebufo Excellent Yes
  •  Finicky to get it through the smaller artifact chamber opening; recommend leaving it outside or going long way around to the taller opening. (Verified Xbox v790.19)
 Carbonemys Excellent Yes
 Carnotaurus Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter final room.
 Castoroides Excellent Yes
  •  Can be used to repair armor and weapons.
 Chalicotherium Excellent Yes
  •  Can explore majority of the cave and is effective against enemies.
 Coelacanth Limited No
  •  Can be brought in using a  Fish Basket. But can only be released in into the water in the cave.
 Compy Excellent No
  •  Can keep one on shoulder or bring a whole pack.
 Daeodon Excellent Yes
 Dilophosaur Excellent No
  •  Can bring one in or bring a whole pack.
 Dimetrodon Excellent No
 Dimorphodon Excellent No
  •  Can keep one on shoulder or bring a whole flock.
 Diplocaulus Excellent Yes
 Dire Bear Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter artifact room. Mining of crystal deposits near entrance is sometimes necessary to exit smoothly.
 Direwolf Excellent Yes
  •  Can mount and ride one or bring a whole pack.
 Doedicurus Excellent Yes
 Dodo Excellent No
  •  Can be carried in and out by player.
 Dung Beetle Excellent No
  •  Can be carried in and out by player.
 Enforcer Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter the artifact chamber.
 Equus Excellent Yes
 Gallimimus Excellent Yes
 Gigantopithecus Excellent Yes
  •  Can travel and repel enemies with ease, and is also a decent swimmer if you land in the water.
 Hesperornis Excellent No
  •  Can be carried on shoulder or bring a whole flock.
 Hyaenodon Excellent No
  •  Can bring one in or bring a whole pack.
 Ichthyornis Excellent No
  •  Can be carried on shoulder.
 Iguanodon Limited Yes
  •  Can not enter artifact room.
 Jerboa Excellent No
  •  Can be carried by player.
 Kaprosuchus Excellent Yes
 Kairuku Excellent No
  •  Can be carried in and out by player.
 Kentrosaurus Excellent No
 Lystrosaurus Excellent No
 Maewing Limited Yes
  •  Cannot enter the artifact room. Gets stuck on one of the crystals on the way back, but breaks it using jump. 
  •  Unable to glide in cave, however can use its charged jump which is effective for the shortcut path without the use of  Grappling Hook.
 Megaloceros Not Recommended Yes
  •  Can enter but will hit an 'invisible wall' further in that prevents entry.
 Megalosaurus Limited Yes
  •  Can reach all rooms but the artifact chamber. Can get stuck in lakes if not ridden out.
 Megatherium Limited Yes
  •  Can not enter artifact room. Ideal  Chitin harvester.
 Mesopithecus Excellent No
  •  Can keep on shoulder or can bring a whole troop.
 Microraptor Excellent No
  •  Can keep on shoulder or bring a whole flock.
 Moschops Excellent Yes
  •  Really good for killing Araneos.
 Onyc Excellent No
 Otter Excellent No
  •  Can be carried on shoulder.
 Oviraptor Excellent No
 Ovis Excellent Yes
 Pachy Excellent Yes
 Pachyrhinosaurus Excellent Yes
 Parasaur Excellent Yes
 Pelagornis Excellent Unofficial/
Single-Player
 Pegomastax Excellent No
  •  Can be carried on shoulder.
 Phiomia Excellent Yes
 Piranha Limited No
  •  Can be brought in using a  Fish Basket. But can only be released into the water in the cave
 Procoptodon Excellent Yes
 Pteranodon Excellent Unofficial/
Single-Player
  •  Official Servers: Cannot mount in cave. 
  •  Unofficial/Single-Player: Requires server setting -ForceAllowCaveFlyers to mount.
 Purlovia Excellent No
 Raptor Excellent Yes
  •  Can mount and ride one in or bring a pack.
 Ravager Excellent Yes
 Sabertooth Salmon Limited No
  •  Can be brought in using a  Fish Basket. But can only be released into the water in the cave.
 Sabertooth Excellent Yes
  •  Got changed, invisible wall is gone.
 Sarco Limited Yes
  •  Can't make it down the first narrow path
 Sinomacrops Excellent
  •  Scares off  Megalania with its Scream ability. 
  •  Helpful in getting up the cliff when going the short path without the use of  Grappling Hook
  •  Can be used to fly up the spots the cave creatures cannot reach to shoot them safely.
 Scorpion Excellent Yes
  •  Can leave cave, tested 257.48
 Spider Excellent Yes
 Stegosaurus Not Recommended Yes
  •  Can only enter using  Cryopod limited in a few areas of the cave.
 Terror Bird Excellent Yes
  •  Can mount and ride one in or bring a flock.
 Therizinosaur Not Recommended Yes
  •  Can not enter it's head also get stuck in the ceiling at the entrance of the cave.  Cryopod needed to enter the cave.
 Thorny Dragon Excellent Yes
 Thylacoleo Limited Yes
  •  You will have to do some jumping to get in and out and it can't get in the artifact room.
 Titanoboa Excellent
 Triceratops Not Recommended Yes
  •  Can get in, but gets stuck. Charge into first area, then reverse.  Cryopod needed to enter the rest of the cave.
 Troodon Excellent No
  •  Can bring one in or bring whole a pack.
 Vulture Excellent No
  •  Can keep on shoulder or bring a whole flock.

Notes

  • Considered one of the easiest caves, very good for farming experience. The green area where the tunnel forks in a "T" leading down to the areas with the Explorer Notes and the area with the Artifact of the Hunter marks the start of where creatures begin to spawn, but beware: they may chase players to areas closer towards the entrance!
  • As of version 242.x, there is still a bug just inside the entrance to the cave at approximately 82.3 52.9 that will teleport you to the surface or fall through the world. Try to attempt one or more of the following as a workaround:
    • Run and jump through the teleportation point.
    • Crawl (prone) through the teleportation point.
    • Walk along the left wall (without touching the wall).
    • Remove any items from your hands (or hotbar).
  • There are three dossier notes in this location; one for  Kaprosuchus, one for  Titanoboa, and one for  Leech
  • Apparently, Allosaurus is the largest creature that can fit this cave.

Gallery