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First Steps

Welcome to Gravitas²!

Everything is different in Gravitas², largely thanks to TerraFirmaCraft (TFC). You are about to undergo a much more realistic progression. Don’t worry, this guide (and the in-game quests) are here to help you. If you ever get lost or don’t know what to do, reading through this guide and the in-game quest book (often accessible via a keybind, check your controls!) should point you in the right direction.

Crucial Early Game Tips (Read This First!)

Before you dive in, keep these critical TFC mechanics in mind, many of which are highlighted in your quest book:

  • Water is NOT unlimited: Be careful with your water sources, especially early on. Finite water sources can run dry.
  • Drink Safely: Drink Fresh Water (Right Button on a source block or from a container) from anything but Oceans. Ocean water is salty and will only make your thirst worse.
  • Health Regeneration is Slow: Avoid taking damage at all costs. Natural health regeneration is very limited without proper nutrition and rest.
  • Weight & Size Matter: Items have weight and size. Some large/heavy items (like Anvils or filled, sealed Barrels) won’t fit in Chests or even your inventory without consequence. Carrying too many Huge and Very Heavy items will make you Exhausted, draining hunger and thirst much faster. Store these items ASAP or manage your load carefully.
  • Waystones: Collect ALL Waystones you find. They are invaluable for travel.
  • Gravity Affects Blocks: Dirt, Cobblestone, Gravel, Sand, and many other blocks are affected by gravity. Don’t build with them unsupported, or your structures (and mines) might collapse!
  • Coordinates & Climate: Your location matters! Far North generally means colder temperatures. Far East often means more rain. Pay attention to your environment when choosing a base and exploring.
  • The TFC Guidebook: Your TerraFirmaCraft Guidebook (usually in your inventory or accessible via a key, like the quest book) is your best friend. Most TFC-specific information, items, and mechanics can be searched through its Entry Index. GO LOOK AT IT!

First Steps: Gathering and Basic Tools

Your initial survival hinges on gathering basic resources. It doesn’t make much sense to make wooden tools first when there are literally stones all over the ground!

Resource Collection

  • Pebbles: Pick up Pebbles you see along the ground by Right Button or breaking them. You’ll get different types of stones and even small Ore pieces depending on the geological region.
  • Twigs: You’ll need to gather Twigs from the ground. You can’t just punch trees for sticks! Twigs make great handles for tools.
  • Sticks from Twigs: Twigs can be turned into Sticks in your crafting grid.
  • Sticks from Leaves: Sticks can also be obtained by breaking tree Leaves with your fist or a Hoe.
  • Compacting Sticks:
    • Stick Bunch: Craft Sticks together for better storage.
    • Stick Bundle: Craft Stick Bunches together for even more compaction. Stick Bundles can also be used as a hot fuel source in Firepits. (Note: Used as a fuel, not as a Firepit starter)

Knapping Stone Tools

With enough Pebbles (of the same rock type) and Sticks or Twigs, you are ready to start Knapping.

  1. Initiate Knapping: Hold at least two Pebbles of the same type in your hand, then Right Button in the air. This will open up the Knapping Interface.
  2. Shaping the Tool Head: Carve out the desired shape by removing squares until you match the pattern for a tool head (check JEI or the TFC Guidebook).
  3. Assembling Tools: Combine the stone tool head with a Stick or Twig in your crafting grid to make Stone tools.

Essential Stone Tools & Their Uses

  • Stone Knife:
    • Used to harvest Straw by breaking tall Grass and other appropriate plants.
    • Basic cutting weapon.
  • Stone Axe:
    • Used to realistically cut down entire trees (logs and leaves).
    • Note: Saplings and sticks are more reliably obtained if Leaves are broken individually before felling the tree.
  • Stone Shovel:
    • Digs soil-type blocks like Dirt, Sand, Gravel, and Clay.
    • Can create Paths by using it on Dirt or Grass.
  • Stone Hoe:
    • Essential for Farming (tilling soil).
    • Can also be used to efficiently cut down Leaves and other plant matter.
  • Stone Hammer:
    • Can be used as a Crushing weapon.
    • More importantly, it’s a crucial tool for Forging metals on an Anvil and for creating your first Stone Anvil.
  • Stone Javelin:
    • A primitive Piercing weapon that can be thrown (hold Right Button to charge, release to throw) or used in melee. Useful for early hunting and fishing.

Finding a Suitable Home

Choosing a good location for your base is crucial for long-term survival. Look for an area that meets the following criteria:

  • Temperature: Ideally above 10°C to avoid freezing and allow for a wider range of farming.
  • Rainfall: A decent amount of rainfall (e.g., >175mm annually) is necessary for crops and often indicates more Clay.
  • Water Access: It’s highly recommended to live near a freshwater source like a River or Lake. Proximity to a River that flows into an Ocean is even better, providing easy access to diverse biomes and travel routes.
  • Clay Indicators: As you search, look for specific plants like Athyrium Fern, Canna, Goldenrod, Pampas Grass, Perovskia, and Water Canna. These often indicate Clay deposits nearby. Kaolin Clay (a pinkish clay vital for some recipes) is often marked by Red Flowers and typically found further south in warmer (+22°C), highland biomes with decent rainfall.

Getting around can be challenging, but there are ways to make it easier.

  • Following Rivers: If you find a River, try to follow its flow (check where the water is moving) downstream. In many TFC worlds, rivers often lead to an Ocean. Traveling south is often a good general direction for warmer climates.
  • Wooden Cane: Craftable (from Sticks). Put it in your offhand to walk faster through Grass and gain step-assist.
  • Marking Your Map: Use your map (M or B) to mark important locations like Ore finds, Clay deposits, potential base spots, and Waystones. This is invaluable for later reference.
  • Prospector's Pick (ProPick): Once you have Copper, crafting a Copper ProPick is a high priority. Right Button the ground with it to get readings of nearby Ore types and their richness. This is crucial for finding larger, underground Ore veins.
  • TFC Guidebook for Ore Locations: The TFC Guidebook contains detailed information on which Ores spawn in which rock layers and biomes. USE IT!
  • Canoe (Early Boat Travel):
    • Crafting: Requires 3 Logs and other basic materials (check JEI). You’ll likely need a Saw (from Copper) to process the Logs efficiently.
    • Features: You can place a Chest in the Canoe for extra storage. Craft a Paddle to travel faster.
    • Securing: Use a Rope to tie your Canoe to a post or build a small dock to prevent it from drifting away.

Food, Water, and Nutrition

Hunger, Saturation, Nutrition

There are 5 nutrients (Fruit, Vegetables, Protein, Grain, Dairy), keep them maxed out for max health! Protein makes up a lot of your HP.

Eating 101: Kill an animal (e.g., with your Javelin) or throw your Javelin at some Fish in a River to get some early Protein.

Thirst & Water Management

As described previously. Avoid Salt Water!

  • Ceramic Jug: Knap and fire a Clay Jug to carry Fresh Water (holds 100 mB).
  • Drinking While Raining: If it’s raining, you can drink directly from the sky. Look straight up and stop moving; your thirst bar will gradually refill.
  • Ocean Temple Water (Very Risky): If desperate for fresh water at sea, the water around ocean monuments is sometimes drinkable. This is extremely dangerous due to guardians.
  • Wooden Bucket: Can carry Water but cannot place water source blocks.
  • Barrel for Water:
    • You can fill a Barrel with Water and use it to fill your Jug anywhere.
    • If carrying a filled Barrel, put it in your back slot to avoid Exhaustion.
  • Leather Flask: A much better water container (holds more than a jug), made from Leather and an animal Bladder (low chance drop when butchering animals).

Foraging Wild Edibles

Sustenance is key. While traveling, you’ll find various types of food.

  • Tools for Foraging: Most wild crops and food items can be collected using a Stone Knife or Stone Hoe.
  • Fruit Trees: If you find a fruit tree:
    1. First, harvest fruit from branches (often by breaking the leaf blocks or branches themselves). This also gives a chance for saplings.
    2. Then, you can cut down the trunk with an Axe.
    3. Important: DO NOT USE A SAW on fruit trees if you want saplings and fruit. Use an Axe.
  • Bushes: Collect berry bushes and other edible plants. You can replant these later at your base.

Early Food Preservation Techniques

While more advanced methods come later, some early steps can help:

  • Vessels: Sealing food in Large Ceramic Vessels (or keeping it in Small Ceramic Vessels) applies the “Preserved” status, doubling its remaining lifetime.
  • Cooking: Cooking Meats makes them last longer than raw. Using a Firepit or Grill can provide a slight preservation buff compared to hotter devices like a Forge.
  • Drying (Basic):
    • Drying Mat: Crafted from Fruit Leaves (obtained from breaking leaves of Fruit Trees).
    • Place the Drying Mat in direct sunlight and Right Button to add an item (e.g., Fruit).
    • It takes about half a day to dry. Rain will reset the process. Dried foods often last longer.
  • Smoking (Basic Setup):
    • Wool String or Plant Fiber String: Can be placed ( Right Button ) to hang items for smoking.
    • Hang Meat (must be Brined first - see advanced food chapter) or Cheese on the string above an active Firepit (within 4 blocks directly underneath).
    • The Firepit must only be fueled with Logs. Using impure fuels like Peat will ruin the food.
    • Takes about 8 in-game hours. Smoked foods have significantly extended shelf life.

Agriculture: Planting Crops and Beekeeping

Securing a renewable food source is vital.

Farming Basics

  1. Prepare Farmland: Use a Hoe on grass or dirt to create farmland.
  2. Soil Information: Once the soil is tilled, you can Shift + Right Button with an empty hand to check its nutrient levels, hydration, and temperature.
  3. Planting: Different Crops have different requirements. Plant seeds appropriate for your environment.

Farming - Bare Necessities

Farming in TFC has similarities to vanilla Minecraft but with added complexities.

  • Hydration: Plants still need water. However, different plants need different levels of hydration; they can be under-watered or over-watered.
    • Hydration Levels: Farmland hydration is shown on the top of the screen (if a compatible HUD mod is present) or can be inferred. Levels decrease the farther away farmland is from a water source block (in squares).
      • 1st square (adjacent to water): ~100-91%
      • 2nd square: ~90-71%
      • 3rd square: ~70-51%
      • 4th square: ~50-31% (often the base hydration without adjacent water).
  • Temperature: This is unique to TFC and crucial for plant survival. If it’s too warm or too cold for a specific crop, it can die.
    • Check the TFC Guidebook for the required temperature range for each plant.
    • You can roughly check area temperature with F3, or by observing if newly planted crops die instantly.
    • Factors affecting temperature:
      • Season and Time of Day: Warmest in Summer and at Noon; coldest in Winter and at Midnight. Spring/Autumn are transitional.
      • Y-Level: Temperature generally decreases as you go higher above Y-Level 63. Below Y=63, it’s relatively stable.
      • Climate: The TFC Climate (separate from biomes) is a major factor, affecting wild crop/animal spawns and local temperature.
  • No Trampling: You can’t break crops by jumping on them.
  • Initial Crops: Look for wild versions of crops like Wheat, Barley, Maize, Potato, Tomato, etc. Break them (often with a Knife or Hoe) to get seeds and sometimes the food item.

Moving Water with Aqueducts (Early Irrigation)

Why be stuck farming only next to rivers? You can move water with Aqueducts.

  • Usage: Place Aqueducts at the same Y-level as a water source block (like a river or stream).
  • The Aqueduct can then bring water horizontally to your farm plots. It cannot move water upwards without more advanced technology.
  • You can fill Buckets (once you have them) by interacting with a water-filled Aqueduct.

Beekeeping (Early Start)

Bees are incredibly useful for pollinating your crops (which can increase yields) and providing valuable resources. The primary early-game resources you’ll want are Honey (a food source and sugar substitute) and Honeycomb/Beeswax (crucial for making Treated Lumber, important for Create mod progression).

1. Setup Your Apiary:

  • Craft Beehive Frames: These are essential components for your hives. (Check JEI for the recipe, likely involves Sticks and perhaps String or Lumber).
  • Craft Wooden Beehive: Requires Beehive Frames and Lumber (which you get from Logs using a Saw).
  • Place Your Beehive: Find a suitable spot for your Wooden Beehive. Beehives can share flowers if placed relatively close to each other.

2. Attracting Bees:

  • Frames are Key: Bees need Beehive Frames inside the hive to live. Having 4 empty Beehive Frames in a hive greatly increases the chances of a wild swarm moving in.
  • Flower Power: A hive needs at least 10 Flowers planted within a 5-block radius for a chance to attract a Queen Bee to an empty frame. More flowers can help (up to a point, benefits diminish after ~60 flowers for a single hive). You might see bee particles around the hive when it’s actively trying to attract a queen.
  • Patience (and Queens): Bees have a chance to move into an empty, properly prepared hive with each passing day. If you happen to find a wild Queen Bee item, placing it in a frame within the hive can significantly speed up colonization.

3. Harvesting Resources Safely:

  • WARNING: DO NOT INTERACT WITH ACTIVE BEEHIVES DURING DAYTIME. Bees are active and will attack if you disturb them (e.g., by removing frames).
  • Safe Harvesting Times/Methods:
    • Night: Interact with hives at night when bees are sleeping.
    • Smoke ‘Em Out: Placing an active Firepit (burning Logs) directly underneath the Beehive can pacify the bees, allowing for safer daytime harvesting.
  • Collecting Honey: When a hive visibly has honey (often shown by dripping particles or a texture change on the frames inside), Right Button the hive with an Empty Jar to collect a Honey Jar. Opening the Honey Jar gives you Raw Honey.
  • Collecting Honeycomb / Beeswax:
    • Filled frames will appear different. You can remove these frames from the hive (safely, as described above).
    • To get Beeswax from a filled Honeycomb Frame, Right Button the frame in your inventory (or possibly in-world, check tooltips) with a Knife.
    • Important: Using a Knife on a filled frame in this manner typically kills the queen residing in that specific frame, so be mindful of this, especially with your first few colonies. You’ll want to ensure you have other queens or ongoing queen attraction.
    • Beeswax is the key ingredient from bees needed for Treated Lumber.

4. Bee Tips:

  • Crop Pollination: Bees can help fertilize nearby crops and planters, potentially increasing yields.
  • Bee Repellent (Water): Being wet (e.g., standing in water or during rain) can sometimes prevent bees from attacking you if you accidentally anger them.
  • Sacrificing Queens: Remember that scraping a frame for beeswax sacrifices that frame’s queen. Plan accordingly to maintain your bee population.

Early Crafting Stations & Building

Workbench / Crafting Table

  • The TFC Workbench acts like a standard crafting table but is required for some TFC recipes. You’ll need a Saw (made from metal like Copper) to make Lumber for it.

Building Your First Shelter

Once you’ve found a place to settle, you’ll need a house.

  • Non-Gravity Building Blocks:
    • Thatch: Craft Straw into Thatch blocks. Lightweight, not affected by gravity, but players/mobs can pass through it.
    • Mud Bricks: Craft Mud and Straw into Wet Mud Bricks. Place Wet Mud Bricks on the ground in a dry location (not raining). They will harden into Dried Mud Bricks after about a day. Dried Mud Bricks can be crafted into Mud Brick Blocks, Stairs, Slabs, or Walls.
    • Wattle and Daub: A versatile early building option.
      1. Place vertical Log posts.
      2. Right Button the Logs with Sticks to create the wattle framework. You can arrange sticks in different patterns.
      3. Right Button the framework with Daub to make it solid.
      4. Wattle can also be dyed for decoration.
    • Planks: Once you have a Saw (from metal like Copper), you can make Lumber from Logs, then Planks from Lumber. Planks have No Gravity, making them excellent for building a proper, sturdy shelter.
  • Gravity Blocks to Avoid (for main structures): Be wary of using Dirt, Cobblestone, Gravel, and Sand for structural components as they are affected by gravity and can collapse.

Mastering Fire

Important: Keep your fire AWAY from wood based constructions, or they will burn.

Creating Fire: The Firestarter

  1. Crafting: With two Sticks, make a Firestarter.
  2. Usage: Hold Right Button (or Shift + Right Button, try both if one doesn’t work) on a flammable block (like the top of a Firepit or Pit Kiln pile). It may take a few tries.

The Firepit: Your First Cooking Station

  1. Gather Materials:
    • 1 Log x1 (Note: Needs to be a Log not a Stick Buncle)
    • 3 Sticks x3
    • 5 Straw x5
  2. Construction: Throw (default Q) all items onto the same block on the ground. Then, use the Firestarter on the block with the items floating above it.

Firepit Uses & Mechanics

  • Torches: Heating Sticks in a Firepit produces two Torches. They Burn Out and need re-lighting with a Firestarter or another lit Torch.
  • Cooking: Cook raw Meats and Doughs in the Firepit to make them edible and extend their shelf life.
  • Interface: Fuel on left, heating slot on right, temperature gauge.
  • Extinguishing: Use a Shovel on a lit Firepit to extinguish it.
  • Upgrades:
    • Grill: Use a Wrought Iron Grill on the Firepit to convert it into a Grill.
    • Pot: Use a Ceramic Pot on the Firepit to cook with a pot.
    • To remove these upgrades, Shift + Right Button with an empty hand. (Be careful if they are hot!)

Firepit and Pot (Early Cooking Device)

  • A Ceramic Pot (knapped from Clay and fired in a Pit Kiln) can be added to a Firepit.
  • Interface: Has 5 item slots and holds 1000mB of fluid.
  • Usage: Add fluid (e.g., Water from a Jug or Bucket) and ingredients, then light the Firepit.
  • Soup: A common early recipe. Made from 3-5 Fruits, Vegetables, or Meats in a pot of Water. When done, the water turns red. Right Button with a Bowl to retrieve Soup. Combines multiple nutrients.
  • Other Recipes: Can be used for simple recipes like making Lye from Ash and Water.

Firepit and Grill (Early Cooking Device)

  • A Wrought Iron Grill (worked from Wrought Iron Double Sheets on an Anvil - a copper-era item) can be added to a Firepit.
  • Cooks up to 5 items at once and can give the “Wood Grilled” trait, improving food preservation slightly.

The Pit Kiln & Charcoal Production

The Pit Kiln: Firing Pottery & Melting Ores

A Pit Kiln is an early-game method for high-temperature heating. It’s used to fire Clay items into Ceramic and to melt your first Ores. A Pit Kiln burns for about 8 in-game hours, slowly heating its contents up to 1400 °C (Yellow White heat).

Building a Pit Kiln:

  1. Dig a 1x1 hole in the ground.
  2. Place up to four items you want to fire into the hole (use V key by default, or Right Button). Can hold up to 4 small items (like Molds) or one large item (like a Vessel for ore melting).
  3. Use eight Straw on the hole, clicking until the items are covered.
  4. Use eight Logs on the straw-covered hole, clicking until it forms a full pile.
  5. Light the top of the Pit Kiln pile on fire with your Firestarter or Torch.

Charcoal Production

Charcoal is a more efficient fuel than Logs for many processes.

  1. Log Piles to Charcoal:
    • Shift + Right Button with Logs on the ground to place down Log Piles (each holds 16 logs).
    • Dig a 1-block deep hole (any size).
    • Fill it with Log Piles.
    • Light one Log Pile on fire.
    • Quickly cover everything (the hole and burning piles) with Dirt or other non-flammable blocks (like Cobblestone).
    • In a few minutes (listen for the process to complete), the Log Piles will turn into Charcoal.

Fire & Smelting Progression Paths

Understanding the different fire sources and their upgrades is key to technological advancement:

  • Food Preparation:
    1. Campfire / Fire Pit (Basic cooking)
    2. Fire Pit + Ceramic Pot (Soups, boiling)
    3. Grill (Fire Pit Upgrade) / Oven (e.g., Firmalife Oven - Fire Pit Upgrade)
    4. Create Smoking / Smoker (Food preservation, later game)
  • Charcoal & Other Materials:
    1. Pit Kiln (Firing Clay, first Charcoal)
    2. Charcoal Pit (Improved Charcoal from Log Piles as described above)
    3. Coke Oven (Produces Coke and Creosote Oil, an upgrade to Charcoal Pit later)
  • Ore Smelting:
    1. Pit Kiln + Small Ceramic Vessel (Melting first Copper Ores)
    2. Charcoal Forge (Requires Charcoal or Coke; search TFC Guidebook. Needed for working metal beyond basic casting)
    3. Charcoal Forge + Bellows (Increases temperature for higher-tier metals)
    4. Crucible (Forge Upgrade / Ceramic Crucible in a high-temp fire source for alloys)

Introduction to Pottery

Clay is an incredibly useful material. Requires five Clay Balls in your hand to knap. If you make a mistake, close the interface to get your clay back and try again.

Basic Pottery Items (Unfired)

  • Small Vessel (Unfired): Useful for early storage and later for melting small amounts of ore.
  • Jug (Unfired): Can be used to pick up, carry, and drink fluids like Fresh Water.
  • Ingot Mold (Unfired): Essential for casting Ingots from molten metal.
  • Key Tool Molds (Unfired): Pickaxe Head Mold, Axe Head Mold, Saw Blade Mold, Hammer Head Mold. These are important for your first proper metal tools.

All unfired clay items must be fired in a Pit Kiln to turn them into usable Ceramic items.

Prospecting & Your First Metal: Copper

Copper is the first metal for proper tools.

Finding Copper

  • Look for small Copper Ore pieces on the surface (Native Copper, Malachite, Tetrahedrite are sources of Copper).
  • Mark Your Finds: It’s crucial to mark the location of these surface ores on your map. Even if you don’t collect the small pieces immediately, they indicate a larger ore vein nearby. You’re going to need a lot of ore!
  • Tip: Copper can be a pain to find. Wander until you find Light Surface Rocks; these areas are more likely to spawn Malachite, which smelts into Copper.
  • You’ll need about 9-10 small Copper Ore pieces (yielding 100 mB of metal total) to fill one tool mold. Shift while hovering over Pebbles/Ores often tells you how much metal they yield.

Casting Your First Copper Tools (e.g., Pickaxe)

  1. Collect Ores & Prepare Vessel: Gather enough Copper Ores and place them inside an unfired Small Clay Vessel.
  2. Fire Mold: Separately, knap and fire a Clay Pickaxe Head Mold (and ideally a Prospector's Pick Mold too!) in a Pit Kiln.
  3. Melt Ores: Place the Small Clay Vessel containing the Copper Ores into a Pit Kiln and fire it. The Ores will melt, and the Clay Vessel will become a Ceramic Vessel containing molten Copper.
  4. Cast the Tool Head:
    • Once the Pit Kiln is done and the Ceramic Vessel with molten Copper is retrieved, Right Button with it in hand to open the Casting Interface.
    • Place your fired Ceramic Pickaxe Head Mold into the center slot. The molten Copper will pour into the mold.
    • The contents can solidify if you take too long. If so, reheat the vessel in another Pit Kiln.
  5. Cool and Extract: Remove the filled mold and let it cool down. Once cool, ++sneak++ + Right Button the mold (or place it in a crafting grid) to extract your Copper Pickaxe Head and (usually) retrieve the mold.
  6. Craft Pickaxe: Combine the Copper Pickaxe Head with a Stick to craft your Copper Pickaxe!

Safety First: Mining

  • Cave-ins are real! Mining is dangerous as caves can collapse and kill you.
  • Support Beams: To prevent cave-ins, use Support Beams (made from Lumber once you have a Saw).
    • They must be placed correctly (often in a frame structure, not just single vertical beams). Place them on solid, non-gravity blocks like Planks or sturdy stone.
    • Shift + Right Button with Support Beams can place 1 instead of 3 if you need finer control (or vice-versa, depending on the pack’s TFC tweak). Refer to the quest book image for an example setup.

Crafting Your First Anvil (Stone)

The Anvil is crucial for metalworking beyond basic casting. It’s how you progress through TFC.

  1. Find Suitable Rock: You need a block of Raw Rock that is Igneous Extrusive (Rhyolite, Basalt, Andesite, Dacite) or Igneous Intrusive (Granite, Diorite, Gabbro).
  2. Obtain Raw Rock Block: To pick up the raw rock block itself (highly recommended), you must mine all six blocks directly adjacent to it (above, below, and all four sides). Once it’s surrounded by air, it will pop off as an item. Leave the block below it to be the last one you break to secure it.
  3. Create Anvil: Place the Raw Stone block you’ve obtained and simply Right Button its top face with any Hammer (e.g., Stone Hammer). The block will transform into a Stone Anvil. * This Stone Anvil is Tier 0, the lowest tier. It can only be used to Weld Tier I ingots (like Copper). Check “Primitive Anvils” in the TFC Guidebook for more info.

Beyond Casting: Working Metal & Alloys

  • Using the Stone Anvil: The anvil is used to make much better tools than molds can. It’s for Working metal Ingots into tool heads and other components by heating them and hammering them into shape. Using it is not easy; consult the TFC Guidebook (or search for a video, as the quest book suggests!). If you mess up an ingot, you can usually melt it down in a mold and restart.
  • Copper Anvil: Your first metal Anvil (Tier 1) is crafted from 14 Copper Ingots (double ingots usually, so 7x2). This allows working with higher tier metals.
  • Upgrading to Bronze: Your first alloy, significantly better than Copper. Common bronze is made by combining Copper with Tin (usually 88-92% Copper, 8-12% Tin). Other variants include Bismuth Bronze and Black Bronze. Alloys are made by melting the constituent metals together in the correct proportions in a Crucible or a Ceramic Vessel in a high-temp fire.

Storage and Inventory Management

Item Size and Weight & Overburdening

As described previously. Remember: Huge + Very Heavy items = Exhaustion! Store them ASAP or wear appropriate gear (like a Large Vessel on your back).

Log Piles

  • Shift + Right Button with Logs on the ground to place down a Log Pile.
  • Can hold 16 Logs. Used for storage or to make Charcoal.

Vessels - They’re OP!

  • Small Ceramic Vessel: After firing, these can store Small or smaller items (e.g., Pebbles, Ores, Food items). Essential for exploration and early ore melting.
  • Large Ceramic Vessel: Knap Clay into a Large Vessel and fire it.
    • Stores Normal or smaller items (up to 9 stacks according to quests, and can hold other Vessels).
    • Wear it on your back slot! It’s heavy otherwise and will make you Exhausted.
    • Food Preservation: Sealing food inside (Shift + Right Button with an empty hand) significantly slows down decay.
    • Cooking Hack: If you put raw Meat in an unfired Clay Vessel and then fire the Vessel in a Pit Kiln, it will cook everything inside!

Chests

  • Once you have metal tools (like a Saw for Lumber), you can craft Chests.
  • They have one less row than a vanilla Minecraft chest but are vital storage.
  • Can hold up to Medium sized items.
  • Can be placed next to each other for a double chest.

Tool Racks

  • Craftable from Lumber. Allows you to store your tools on a wall, freeing up inventory.

Textiles: Wool, Cloth, and Your First Real Bed

Obtaining Hides & Wool

  • Raw Hide: Dropped by all kinds of animals when butchered with a Knife. Used for Leather.
  • Sheepskin Hides: Dropped by animals with fur (like Sheep).

Processing Wool

  1. Raw Wool from Sheepskin: Combine Sheepskin with a Knife in your crafting grid to obtain Raw Wool (and also some Raw Hide).
  2. Spindle: Craft a Spindle. Used to turn Raw Wool into Wool Yarn.
  3. Loom: Craft a Loom.
    • Place the Loom down.
    • Right Button it with Wool Yarn (or String) to load it. (16 Wool Yarn for Wool Cloth, 24 String for Silk Cloth).
    • Once it has enough, hold Right Button on the Loom to work it.
    • When finished, Right Button to get your Wool Cloth or Silk Cloth.
  4. White Bed: Craft Wool Cloth and Planks into a White Bed for some well-deserved (and night-skipping) sleep! This also sets your spawn point.
    • Alternatively, a Thatch Bed can be made by placing two Thatch blocks adjacent and right-clicking with a Large Raw Hide. It sets spawn but doesn’t let you sleep through the night.

Leatherworking: A Multi-Step Process

Leather is vital for many items like Bellows (important for Forges), Backpacks, Saddles, etc.

  1. Gather Raw Hide: Hunt animals and butcher them with a Knife.
  2. Craft Flux: Place Dolomite, Marble, Limestone, or Chalk Pebbles/Rocks in your crafting grid with a Hammer to crush them into Flux.
  3. Make Limewater:
    • Craft a Barrel (requires Lumber and a Saw).
    • Fill the Barrel with Fresh Water.
    • Add Flux to the water-filled Barrel to create Limewater.
  4. Soak Hide (Limewater): Place Raw Hide into the Limewater Barrel, seal it (Shift + Right Button with an empty hand), and wait for it to process into Soaked Hide.
  5. Scrape Hide:
    • Place the Soaked Hide on top of a Log (place the log horizontally or on the ground).
    • Use a Knife to Right Button the Soaked Hide on the Log to scrape off the outer layer (limewater residue).
    • Break the Scraped Hide from the log by breaking the hide item itself (not the log).
  6. Rinse Hide (Water): Place the Scraped Hide into a Barrel filled with fresh Water. Seal it and wait for it to become Prepared Hide.
  7. Make Tannin:
    • Fill another Barrel with Fresh Water.
    • Add Logs (especially Oak, Birch, Chestnut, Douglas Fir, Hickory, or Maple are good tannin sources) to the water. Seal it and wait for the water to turn into Tannin.
  8. Tan Hide: Place the Prepared Hide into the Tannin Barrel. Seal it and wait a long time. This is the final step to get Leather!

Leather Goods

  • Backpack: Craftable from Leather. Provides extra inventory slots and goes into a Curio slot (doesn’t take your chestplate slot).
  • Bellows: Made with Leather. Used to boost your Charcoal Forge temperature. Check the Charcoal Forge tab in the TFC Guidebook.
  • Saddle: For taming Horses. Taming is different: feed a horse Wheat or Apples every day until it likes you.

A Word of Warning: Dragons

Stay away from the dragons. Really. Stay away. They are not early-game friendly and will destroy you and your surroundings.

This guide is based on TerraFirmaCraft mechanics and information from the Gravitas² quest book. Specifics can vary. Always check JEI for recipes and consult your in-game TFC Guidebook!

All The Mods - Gravitas² | CurseForge | GitHub