Caves Of Qud: 12 Beginner's Tips

Starting up Caves of Qud for the first time can be an intimidating experience. With its minimalist pixel graphics, cryptic dialogue, and little to no guidance as to what to do or where to go, a few tips to keep in mind on your journey can make a huge difference in easing the steep learning curve.

This will by no means answer every question you have when you first enter the world of Qud, but at the very least, keeping these things in mind should allow you to feel confident enough to keep exploring and not get discouraged by the seemingly infinite possibilities the world offers. So, let's begin your journey, water-sib.

Updated December 6, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: At long last, the 1.0 version of Caves of Qud has finally launched. We've updated this guide with a few more tips to help you make your way through the harsh land. Surviving can be hard, so this tips will help you gather your bearings a bit easier.

Start In Joppa

First and foremost, when it comes time to choose your starting location, choose Joppa. Almost everything in Caves of Qud is procedurally generated, and choosing any of the other starting locations will drop you into a random settlement within the selected biome, meaning you'll never know what you're going to have access to when you start.

In Joppa however, the layout and NPCs you encounter will always remain the same, giving you a solid foundation from which to start your journey. By speaking to the village's various residents, you can also learn a bit about how the world works, take on your first quests, and maybe do a bit of trade to get you set for your first outing.

Once you are a bit more familiar with Caves of Qud, you can make a new character and start from a random location.

Talk To Important NPCs

In Caves of Qud, a key tip is to be extroverted. If you see someone who is not hostile, talk to them! This includes the Leader (Mayor/King/Queen/Elder, etc., whoever's in charge), the Warden (the security enforcer who protects the village), the Dromad (the local trader), and anyone else who stands out.

Key NPCs will usually be more boldly colored than the standard villagers, and legendary NPCs will have their names displayed in purple. You'll be able to initiate a Water Ritual with these NPCs, which is highly recommended.

Eat From Ovens

Almost every settlement will have an oven tucked away somewhere. This is an infinite source of food, so always eat your fill when you find one (you can eat up to three times in a row as long as your character is still hungry).

Just be aware of any effects bestowed on you by the local meals as each settlement's oven will offer the favored dish of the local people. If you want to learn how to cook the meal yourself, you can ask a legendary NPC in a settlement during the Water Ritual.

Take Note of Local Artifacts

By examining statues, monuments, and engraved or painted objects (the word "engraved" on these objects will have blue and white lettering, the word "painted" will have a rainbow of colors), you can potentially find notable information on history and world events which can occasionally also point you in the direction of legendary items, and quest locations.

When auto-exploring, your character will automatically stop to read all important objects.

Barter With NPCs

Nothing is more valuable than fresh water. Not only do you need it to slake your own thirst, but in Qud, it also acts as the universal currency. You'll have a much harder time trying to go without trade and friendships, so paying close attention to your water supply will be integral to your survival in more ways than one.

Knowing how to avoid overspending is the first invaluable skill. Your character's ego stat, along with their reputation with the faction you're trying to trade with are a few of a number of possible factors that affect the prices a trader will offer. Meaning, it will be much more expensive for you to trade if you have a bad reputation with the locals, and no charm to talk them down.

If you didn't build a character with particularly high Ego, this can be supplemented in a number of ways through equipped items and certain consumables.

The main traders of Qud are the Dromads, creatures cloaked in brown or white who can be found in most settlements as well as randomly throughout the world. However, you can also attempt to trade items with any sentient creature in the game, so don't feel like you have to reach a settlement or a Dromad caravan to be able to offload your items.

Increase Faction Reputation

Your reputation with the various factions of the game will play a key part in your journey, and the main way to improve this reputation is through Water Rituals. This process can only be undertaken with a legendary creature, but the ritual may or may not be accessible depending on your current reputation with the respective faction.

During the ritual, you can offer information you've gathered on your travels in exchange for an increase in reputation. Relevant information is found by examining engraved and painted objects, reading statues, or discovering important sites like ruins and lairs.

If you have enough reputation, you can also cash it back in for favors with any creature from that faction in the future. Favors include asking for a secret, having them teach you a skill or recipe, or joining you as a follower.

If you kill a creature you have been bonded with, you will immediately lose a significant amount of reputation with all factions. (If you aren't sure whether you are bonded to a creature or not, examine them and their profile will say "You are water-bonded with [NPC name]".)

Not all creatures will accept water as the catalyst for their water ritual. For example, robots will need oil, and cannibals will require blood.

Other ways to alter your reputation with a faction include killing legendary creatures, completing quests, equipping or using certain items, or any number of other actions that appeal to or oppose a particular faction.

Keep Your Bearings

Making good use of the world map can be a lifesaver. You can see every location you’ve visited or learned in your journal, and can check your Quest menu to see which quests are associated with each location. Above all though, the most important feature of the world map is fast travel.

Fast travel is simply moving your character on the world map. This means that you don't have any encounters with enemies, and move one parasang per step. Your character will also automatically drink when they are thirsty while fast traveling, so keep that in mind if you don't have a lot of fresh water to spare.

You can theoretically go as far as you'd like while fast traveling, but every tile you move has a chance of your character getting lost. Becoming lost will drop you into the center of whatever tile you're currently on, and will prevent you from re-opening the world map until you regain your bearings.

You can do this by revisiting a familiar location, speaking to a sentient creature that can give you directions, or by walking from screen to screen until your character regains their bearings naturally. You'll also be able to invest in skills to prevent yourself from getting lost.

Keep in mind that you cannot view your map while you are underground. However, traveling underground may be a viable option if there is a dangerous biome on the overworld you would rather avoid.

Make Camp While Exploring

In order to stay full in the overworld, you'll need to use campfires. You can build campfires for no cost, and they do not disappear over time. There can only be one campfire per screen, so a pre-existing campfire in the area will prevent you from setting your own.

Campfires are beneficial because they allow you to cook meals and preserve food (preserved food weighs less than raw food), and if you use "Whip up a meal", it costs you no resources, so there is no downside to using camps as frequently as you can.

Manage Your Inventory

It doesn't take long to amass hundreds, or even thousands, of miscellaneous trinkets and baubles in Qud, but you can only haul as much as your carrying capacity dictates. When it's time to leave something behind, you should always prioritize items you need for survival and keep the ratio of weight to value in mind.

Items with a yellow dollar sign have a standardized value that will not fluctuate no matter who you are trading with, so they are invaluable to keep on hand. These items include copper, silver, and gold nuggets, along with gemstones.

You can also freely trade items with recruited followers, but be aware that followers will possibly equip weapons and armour that you give them, preventing you from reclaiming the object unless they unequip it themselves, or you use the dominate ability on them.

You can also store items in chests and on tables if you are carrying too much stuff.

Assess Your Surroundings

When you enter a new screen, the creatures there will not acknowledge you as long as you haven't moved yet. This means that if you walk into a room that's full of enemies, you can backpedal with no risk of them following you, or strategically take the first shot at them to give you the upper hand.

This is especially important when dealing with legendary creatures as they can have any number of unexpected mutations. Identifying their abilities before entering combat can keep you from being caught off guard.

Don't Underestimate Plants

Qud has many varieties of abnormal and hostile plant life, and paying attention to them can save you a lot of hassle, and potentially your life. If you encounter a new plant that you aren't sure about, examine it before you approach it. Caution is especially important with fungal entities like mushrooms and puffs, which you should never approach if you aren't prepared.

Certain types of fungi in the game can release spores into the surrounding air which, if caught in the cloud, you or your followers could contract one or multiple kinds of infections. These infections won't appear right away, but if you watch your message log you will sometimes see the message "Your skin itches".

Once that message has begun to appear, you will have approximately two in-game days to clear the infection before it fully develops. If left untreated, some fungal infections have the potential to devastate your character's stats, and should not be taken lightly.

Don't Be Afraid To Die

Death is inevitable. If you started Caves of Qud with the tutorial, then you may die shortly after completing it. Don't worry though, it happens to all of us. If you are worried about starting over, you can choose a game mode that puts you back in the last settlement before death.

Overall though, just know that death is common in Caves of Qud. When it happens, take it as a learning experience. once you get the hang of things, you can opt for a more hardcore mode.

If you are on the brink of death in combat, consider running away too. There is no shame in fleeing from the scene in order to recover some HP and take a breather. A little bit of HP will be recovered each turn.

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