Survival Guide
This Guide goes over all the Basic Information about Surviving in Vassal.
This Guide goes over all the Basic Information about Surviving in Vassal.
One of the first things you'll notice when joining the server is the Inventory, as in, you don't have one. All you'll have available is your Hotbar Slots, Offhand, Back Slot, Armour Slots, Curios Slots, and your Wallet.
Some of those may sound familiar, but others may be completely unheard of to a first time player.
Firstly, The Back Slot. While pressing F swaps your currently held item into the offhand, pressing Shift + F swaps it onto your back. It's a great place to put a weapon or useful item that you'll want to be able to switch to at a moment's notice. It can also make for a pretty aesthetic choice, as by default your back slot item will physically show on your back.
Next, The Curios Slots. Curios are essentially slots for special equipment, trinkets, and items that don't necessarily go on a specific armour slot. You can put Backpacks, Amulets, Rings, Belts, and more in these slots, and usually they give you a special bonus for doing so. You'll also notice the Back Slot is technically a Curio Slot. Any item that isn't a Curio can be placed within it.
Finally, the Wallet. It's where you store all your Coins. Simply Use Coin Items to deposit them into your Wallet, and you can then choose an exact amount to withdraw from it.
Now, how do you improve your Carrying Capacity you may ask? Well, there's a few ways.
The First Way is to simply place your items on the Ground. By pressing G, you can place up to 4 items on a single block, and you can rotate the items by Shift + Right Clicking with an Empty Hand. This is the easiest way to free up a hotbar slot or two.
The Second Way is Sacks. They're made of Canvas (which can be Knit from Rope) and String. They have 12 slots, and you can carry two of them at a time before you start to get speed debuffs. They also work like bundles, and can have items placed in them and taken out directly from the inventory, though placing them is still the most accurate way to do so.
The Next Way you'll have Access to is Supply Carts. They have 54 Slots, however, they have the issue of, well, being Carts. They can be pulled either by a Player or by a Rideable animal such as a Horse, but can't really go up or down terrain that's too Steep. These are best for moving large quantities of items across a large distance, rather than day-to-day carrying.
An Upgrade to Supply Carts is Wagons. They come in 3 Styles (Armored, Conestoga, and Royal), and all have varying speeds, durability, and inventory space. The Conestoga Wagon has 108 Slots, The Royal Wagon has 54 (but is the Fastest), and the Armored Wagon has None. The main difference with wagons is that they cannot be pulled by Players, and instead need 2 Animals to Pull (Animals can be attached to a Wagon with Leads), and the Driver can use the Horse Whip to control the speed. Wagons are best for long distances along roads, as they are quite large and do not handle off-roading well. You'll need access to Iron to build Wagons, however, making them a Mid-Game Affair.
You can also opt for Rowboats or Sloops to transport goods across water (See Ship Building Guide).
Finally, the best Personal Upgrade to your Carrying Capacity is, of course, Backpacks. Backpacks are a late game item, requiring Steel, but they can be customized, opened directly by pressing B, and provide you with 27 Inventory Slots, essentially giving you your Inventory back. Additionally, they have Backpack Shelves, which allow you to take items from and insert items into the Backpack automatically.
Additionally, there's also some other miscellanious storage options.
The Quiver is an item that holds Arrows and Bolts, and can be put in your Belt Slot. Similarly, The Lunch Basket holds foods, though it still takes a full hotbar slot. Food Plates are blocks that allow you to place down most foods in the world, allowing you to display them nicely and set out a large amount of food without placing it down on the ground. You can also make a Piggy Bank to Store Coins outside of your Wallet, keeping them safe from Death.
Another big factor of Surviving in Vassal is your Temperature, which you can see above the hotbar. By crafting a Thermometer, you can get more detailed temperature information, though it's not required. Temperature won't be an immediate problem to most, but in extremely cold areas or hot areas, it can catch up to you quickly. There's a few major ways to offset the Cold However!
The most obvious is Clothing. Many Fabric armours will provide some cold protection and a bit of Heat Protection, though the best Armour for Cold Protection is Leather or Fur. If you want something for Heat Protection, try Straw Hats or Warlock's Clothing! Additionally, you can Sew warm materials like fur and leather into your armour, though it won't be as effective, and you can also Insulate Minecarts with Wool or Fur to keep warm when going through cold areas.
Additionally, some blocks will help Heat or Cool you! Campfires (which need to be Fueled with Logs and Lit with Firesticks or Flint and Steel), Hearths, Boilers, and even Torches are good ways to keep you warm, and an Icebox, Ice, or Water are the best ways to Stay Cool! Additionally, the Sun Heats you up, while Shadows cool you down.
Finally, you can Heat or Cool Waterskins in a Boiler or Icebox respectively, which will keep you at the temperature you want to be until they return back to room temperature.
One of the Most Important things to keep in mind when exploring the world of Vassal is that you are NOT the main character. You aren't even a legendary hero. You're squishy, and even at your most powerful you're not even close to the top of the pecking order. If you don't think you can win a fight, RUN.
Importantly, while many humanoid monsters are heavily armoured and heavily armed, they also have the same attack system as you, so you need to weave inbetween their attacks and parry them if possible.
As for what enemies are feasible to engage, it depends on your kit, but one hard rule of power is that you will always, always lose in a 1v1 against a Dragon. No Ifs, No Buts, you probably won't even last 20 seconds before they kill you. You'll need to put together a well-equipped party (if not a small army) to take down a Dragon.
One of the key features of Exploration in Vassal is the Road Network. If you press H, you can see a map showing you the Nearby Road Network, and by following the roads you will always find a new structure. This is a great way to help you find new dungeons or villages.
Additionally, you'll want to carry only what you need with you, given the small amount of storage you have.
Food is Incredibly Important in Vassal. It stacks much smaller than in the Base Game, but theres a wide, wide variety of it to be made. Less Filling foods tend to stack well, while Filling foods stack smaller.
However, you'll notice that when you eat, there's a cooldown on eating that food again for 2 Minutes. This means, if you want to get the most out of your time, carrying a few kinds of food with you to make a full meal is the best way to fill up quickly. I suggest Comforting or Nourishing Foods, but any food will do. Regardless, Variety is Important.
Potions have a Similar Cooldown, though only for 1 Minute. However, this Cooldown is for All Potions, not just the specific kind you just drank.