Welcome, gamers! Are you ready to embark on the Journey to Volcalidus DLC in Hydroneer? Look no further, as we have compiled a Mega Guide with help from Roboticaust, Stefanda, and Hybridsteel during the Closed Beta Test. This guide will be regularly updated with new info and changes, thanks to the early access to Ore Drop Rates provided by Community Manager ItchyBeard. Let’s dive in and conquer this DLC together!
New Locations: Digsites, Towns, Stock Markets, and Abandoned Miners
- Dawn Rest – Starter claim, has lava flow nearby, and torch, shovel, bucket, pan and second map leaning on sign (sign has no buy bucket)
- Scoria Chamber – buyable claim, has underground lava pools similar to Mildews Aquifer. Price is c5000
- Shattered Breach – buyable claim, near Shattered Outpost on ice flow, has Lavaduct that ends in a lava pool. Price is c5000
- Waterside – buyable claim, between New Glade and Burrville, has lava pond in back. Price is c5000
- Cinder Footing – buyable claim, between Dawn Rest and the Shattered Outpost, near the base of Mt. Volcalidus, has a small lava flow nearby. Price is c5000
- Lumberton Bluff – buyable claim, on top of the Iceberg southeast of Lumberton Harbour, has a lava pool along the north and east. Price is c5000
Towns:
- Lumberton Harbor – Starter town, has Jeweler, Basic tools shop, King’s Quest (with free Lava Truck and Map), Boat to Bastion
- New Glade – has Museum, Basic tools shop, Traveling Merchant, Craftable shops (T1, 2, 3, Jeweler, and Ticket Office), and empty (filled with logs) plot of land for the Mod Shop
- Burville – has Conveyor Store, Scrapyard, and 99% empty store with an “Extended Tool Rack” in it.
- Shattered Outpost – has Forge Mark Refiner, Hobson’s Powerworks, Vehicle store, (Lava Truck), Conveyor Store (with Sled Cart), Building parts store (all 4 styles)
- The Barrens Harbor – Boat to Mot’s Island (costs Tickets)
- Mot’s Island – Vehicle Store (Lava Hauler, Lavabike, Lava Roller, Lava Thaw), Time Trial race track, Boat back to Volcalidus
Stock Markets
- Iron – New Glade (all in New Glade are to the left of the Museum)
- Gold – Shattered Outpost
- Gems – New Glade
- Weapons – Lumberton Harbour
- Jewelry – New Glade
There are 3 Abandoned Miners on Volcalidus. They appear as faint squares on the in-game map.
- One in the Barrens, and two more north of the Ice Shelves (1 each side)
New Mechanics: Scout Guild Tokens, Fossils and Relics, Forge Marks, and Construction
- These are similar to the Farming/Prospecting Guild Tokens from Bastion. They are blue with a snowflake icon on them and can be earned through completing various Quests/Scrolls from NPCs.
- They can be spent at various shops on the Islands and are required to purchase boat tickets to Mot’s Island.
Fossils and Relics:
- Fossils are all randomly generated by a set amount of locations.
- There are 36 fossils total to find, which get placed randomly at a set of 65 possible spawn locations.
- Only 2 spawns in The Barrens (both are by “locations”)
- The Museum Dweller has a series of Quests for 1, 12, 24, 36 Bones turned in at the Museum’s Collection Box. Once the required number is delivered (you can track the number still needed on the bottom of the scroll), return the Scroll to the Museum Curator for a reward. Rewards for the individual milestones are:
- 1 Bone, 100 Scout Guild Tokens
- 12 Bones, 1000 Scout Guild Tokens
- 24 Bones, 3000 Scout Guild Tokens
- 36 Bones, 5000 Scout Guild Tokens
- Each plot has 1 relic. Relics cannot be destroyed by explosives. All the Relics can be turned into the museum for an additional reward, The Ice Wand. This reward doesn’t need the Hydrosaur to be complete to be earned.
Forge Marks:
- No Forge Marks spawn in the Barrens
- Unrefined Forge Marks can only be picked up by the Lava Hauler (they are giant ice blocks)
- When a Forge Mark gets picked up, another new one spawns.
- There are only ever 2 in the ground at the same time, but you can pick up as many as you want with the Hauler.
- There is only 1 refiner, located in Shattered Outpost.
- More than 1 Forge Mark can be Refined at a time (but it is finicky to get more than one on the platform) The Refinement time is 3:20.
- Forge Marks are used by dropping one into the Crucible at the Masterwork Forge as an optional ingredient for the currently chosen Masterwork Design on the pedestal.
- Forge Marks will give random buffs/debuffs to Forged Items. Buffs show as a ⭐ (up to 3 stars), “Defects” show as 3 red 💀 skulls. An un-buffed item will have no Stars or Skulls.
- Known buffs:
- Hand Tools (Icepick/Shovel): Speed Bonus, Dig Size Bonus
- Drills: Speed Bonus, Output Size Bonus
- Harvesters: Vein Bonus, Output Size Bonus
Construction:
- Shops can be built in New Glade (Crates purchased from traveling merchant, can be dropped in any open plot in new Glade. Cannot be unbuilt once dropped on a plot or)
- T1 (c50): 20 Hardstone Block, 30 Iron Bar
- T2 (c760): 700 Hardstone Block, 800 Iron Bar, 40 Cloutium Bar
- T3 (c2400): 5400 Hardstone, 400 Corestone, 300 Cloutium Bar
- Jeweler (c210): 40 Hardstone Block, 50 Iron Bar
- Ticket Office (c320):180 Hardstone Block, 200 Iron Bar, 10 Cloutium Bar
- The Abandoned Miners can be repaired:
- East Shelf: 800 Hardstone Block, 1200 Iron Bar
- West Shelf: 2300 Hardstone Block, 1400 Iron Bar, 30 Cloutium Bar
- The Barrens: 9800 Hardstone Block, 900 Corestone Bar, 400 Cloutium Bar
New Glade Constructible Shops
- T1: Once Built, this shop has the following items for sale:
- Smelter – c1320
- Dull Ice Shovel – c22 (Has No 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Dull Icepick – c122 (Has 3 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Dull Ice Rake – c124
- Tier 1 Logic TNT – c120
- Lava Drill – c430 (Has 1 ⭐ in Speed Bonus)
- Dull Shovel Masterwork – c230 = 80 Iron
- Dull Icepick Masterwork – c230 = 80 Iron
- Lava Harvester Masterwork – c215 = 400 Iron, 80 Cloutium
- Lava Drill Masterwork – c240 = 500 Iron, 100 Cloutium
- T2: Once Built, this shop has the following items for sale:
- Extended Tool Rack – t280
- Common Ice Shovel – t694 (Has 3 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Common Icepick – t742 (Has 3 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Common Ice Rake – t245
- Lava Thaw Booster – t180
- Tier 2 Logic TNT – t360
- Lava Drill – t430 (Has 1 ⭐ each in Speed Bonus and Output Size Bonus)
- Common Shovel Masterwork – t320 = 620 Iron, 540 gold
- Common Icepick Masterwork – t320 = 620 Iron, 540 gold
- Lava Intake Booster Masterwork – t1400 = 300 Cloutium, 800 Corestone
- Heavy Lava Harvester Masterwork – t2020 = 300 Cloutium, 600 Corestone
- Heavy Lava Drill Masterwork – t2100 = 400 Cloutium, 700 Corestone
- T3: Once Built, this shop has the following items for sale:
- Advanced Ice Shovel – t2350 (Has 3 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Advanced Icepick – t1240 (Has 3 💀 in Speed and Dig Size Bonus)
- Advanced Ice Rake – t280
- Extended Tool Rack – t280
- Lava Thaw Booster – t180
- Tier 3 Logic TNT – t450
- Logic Mini Nuke t1800
- Lava Drill – t430 (has 1 ⭐ in Speed Bonus, 2 ⭐in Output Size Bonus)
- Advanced Ice Shovel Masterwork – t480 = 120 Cloutium, 370 Corestone
- Advanced Pickaxe Masterwork – t480 = 120 Cloutium, 370 Corestone
- Prospecting Helmet – t430
- Jeweler: Once Built, this shop has no items for sale, but buys items like other Jewelers. No trip to Lumberton required anymore.
- Ticket Office: Once Built, this shop has the following items for sale:
- Boat Ticket to Mot’s Island – t200
New Mechanics (Cont.): Abandoned Miners, Ice, and Vehicles
- Abandoned Miners are tall Oil Rig looking structures that can be found around the island that produce one of two ores (player choice) at a set rate up to a maximum weight before needing to be emptied.
- East Shelf: Produces Iron or Gold up to 300wt
- Produces at a rate of 1wt per 10 seconds
- West Shelf: Produces Hardstone or Shard up to 500wt
- Produces at a rate of 15wt per 10 seconds
- The Barrens: Produces Corestone or Cloutium up to 100wt
- Produces at a rate of 1wt per 10 seconds
Ice Mechanics:
- Ice spawns more frequently the higher you are in a digsite.
- The top level and above will always give Ice.
- Shoveling will only ever yield Ice, never Frost Rock.
- Drills produce more Ice on the surface, and more Frost Rock when deeper.
- Ice can be put into an Ice Melter to make water, which in turn can be used for Pipe water pressure for Conveyor Belts (Outputs at 250 Pressure).
- Only Ice can be put into the Melter, not Frost Rock (It’ll just bounce out)
- 1wt ice = 1 water in melter. 1 water = 2 seconds of pressure.
- Lava Drill output of Ice (in Output Size Bonus): 3 skulls – 0.8wt, no stars – 1wt, 1 star – 1.15wt, 2 stars – 1.3wt, 3 stars – 1.5wt
- Heavy Lava Drill output of Ice (in Output Size Bonus): 3 skulls – 2.4wt, no stars – 3wt, 1 star – 3.45wt, 2 stars – 3.9wt, 3 stars – 4.5wt
- Shovel output of Ice (in Output Size Bonus): 3 skulls – 0.5wt, no stars – 1wt, 1 star – 2wt, 2 stars 3wt, 3 stars – 4wt
- Ice can also be put through a Harvester to be turned into ores.
- The Heavy Harvester turns ice into water as well as harvesting resources from it. (Outputs at 350 Pressure)
- The same conversion and duration of run time is applied.
Vehicles:
- Lava Truck
- One can be gotten for free by the King’s Boat
- Available at both Shattered Outpost for c550 and Mot’s Island for c550
- Lava Thaw
- Available on Mot’s Island for t6800
- Upgrades to dig in Perma Frost (T2 and T3 Snow) available in T2/T3 Stores for t180 each.
- Lava Hauler
- Available on Mot’s Island for t4200
- Lava Bike
- Available on Mot’s Island for t640
- Lava Roller
- Available on Mot’s Island for c2460
Misc. New Mechanics: Terminology, Hand Panning, and Lava Pipes
- Snow: Diggable terrain (Dirt)
- Ice / Frost Rock: Unharvested Resources (Dirt Chunks). Ice can also be turned into water for Pipes.
- Perma Frost: Tier 2 and 3 Snow (Dirt), undiggable with T1 tools, can’t be melted by dripping lava. (Texture looks more like Pure Glacial Ice (translucent blue) than white snow. (Itchy and Max hate this term, but too bad :P)
Hand Panning works slightly differently on Volcalidus than it does in the base game:
- Snow (Dirt) can be shoveled into a bucket or directly into the pan.
- When shoveled, Snow becomes Ice
- Dump the bucket of Ice into the pan, then either drop the pan into lava or fill the bucket with lava and dump into the pan of Ice. (Dripping lava from Pipes works too.)
- Resources will appear as the Lava melts the Snow/Ice, no brushing required.
- OR A pan sitting in lava will automatically spawn resources as Snow/Ice is shoveled into it, one scoop at a time.
- Leaving the pan in lava too long will fill it with lava, but removing it from the lava source and adding new Snow/Ice to it will spawn new resources and the lava will get used up.
- Dropping a Bucket full of Snow/Ice into lava will “wash out” the Snow/Ice
Dripping Lava Pipes (and pouring lava from a bucket/pan) will gradually melt holes into the snow.
- These holes can be raked to easily clear snow from claims.
- Dripping lava won’t melt Perma Frost (Tier 2 and 3 Snow (Dirt)).
Lava Intake pipe is 250% pressure. Each intake booster is 30% for a total of 370% pressure, putting it on par with T2 water pressure on Bastion.
Lava Pipes do need filters or else the machines will break. It’s the same setup as in the base game, 5 filters for fully clean Lava.
New Ores and Resources
- Frost Rock: Similar to Dirt Chunks from base game, can be harvested for resources. Cannot be obtained with shovels, only drills.
- Worth 1 per wt.
- Ice: Similar to Dirt Chunks from the Base game, can be melted to make water for pipes or harvested for resources. Spawns more frequently at higher depth. Can be obtained with either shovels or drills.
- 1 Basic shovelful is 1wt of Ice. (Buffed Shovels dig more Ice)
- Worth 1 per wt.
- Hardstone: Can not be smelted, must be Refined using a Hardstone refiner
- Worth 8per wt.
- Diamond: A gem, less rare than Onyx.
- Worth 250 per wt.
Below is the Drop Rates for Ores on Volcalidus:
It is very similar to the base game, but just has Hardstone and Diamond added.
As with in the base game, Cloutium only spawns 2 blocks below the surface and Corestone only spawns in Perma Frost (T2 Snow) and below unless you are hand panning.
Final Notes
- There is no Farming or Fishing on Volcalidus.
- When you first arrive, the King has a quest that will have you deliver goods around the island to get your bearings, but it won’t send you through the Barrens, to Mot’s Island or up to the Masterwork Forge at the caldera of the Mt. Volcalidus (the volcano).
- Guides for locations of Fossils, Relics, and Forge Marks are coming, this guide will be edited once those are made.
And that wraps up our share on Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC Mega Guide. If you have any additional insights or tips to contribute, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. For a more in-depth read, you can refer to the original article here by CherryC0p, who deserves all the credit. Happy gaming!