[Direwolf20 1.12.x] Riddle78's Questions & Musings

[Riddle78]

I'll be using this thread as a centralized place to ask my questions related to the pack,as well as provide my musings for things going on. So! Let's get this show on the road.

First of all,I made a couple of .ini changes,relating solely to the Mining Dimension; It's perpetually daylight there,and hostile (All?) mobs cannot spawn there. I haven't even seen any chickens. I aim to use this dimension as the site of the lion's share of my operations.

I've travelled far and wide for a suitable place to build. I've settled for atop a flat mountain in a Mesa; My sole requirement was for a large,flat (ish) area with solid ground. The fact that there's a large Astral Sorcery ruin nearby,buried under the terracotta,is just gravy.

Speaking of the Mesa biome... I don't think I'll ever want for gold again. The first thing I did was set up a smeltery (5*5*2),and by the time I was done with that,I had more than enough gold for a Tool Forge... While I was struggling to get a usable amount of literally everything else.

Despite proximity to an Astral Sorcery ruin,I've yet to start on any magickal mods. My current goal is to establish an infinite resource engine,which requires plenty of work. The outline I have for that will be in a spoiler,just in case you don't want to see that. That said,I could use plenty of input on that front.

Spoiler: Infinite Resource Plan Outline

My goal for Project: Singularity (As I call it) is as follows; Thermal Family of Mods for resource processing,Immersive Engineering for farming (Speaking of; Any vegetarian equivalents to Beef Wellington or Salisbury Steak?),and a combination of Environmental Tech and Actually Additions for the production of mineral resources. I plan to use Garden Cloches from IE to produce Canola in stupid volumes,which I will then refine as far up the line as I can manage (Automatically,of course~!),before using it as fuel for an array of Atomic Reconstructors with Lenses of the Miner.

I'll use Igneous Extruders to put cobblestone into Magma Crucibles,which will put lava into different Igneous Extruders,with water from Aqueous Accumulators,to produce Smoothstone,which will then have some sort of block placer to plonk those down in front of the Atomic Reconstructors,which will then prompt them to do their business. Speaking of; I hear Integrated Dynamics can be used to set up precise automation instructions?

Any and all coal will be put into my fuel line; Pulverized into Pulverized Coal,melted into Liquefacted Coal,then distilled twice into Naptha,then Refined Fuel; I'm (Currently) using a quartet of Compression Dynamos with Ignition Plugs for my Redstone Flux production,with coolant provided by Aqueous Accumulators. Do I stand to gain anything if I step up my coolant to Gelid Cryotheum?

All other ores will be put through my standard refinement process of Pulverization then smelting. I'll also have Reconstructors working on Netherrack,for the sake of Draconium,Cobalt,and Ardite. I know I can't Pulverize the latter two,but I can put them in a Magma Crucible; Where can I send the molten metals for processing?

I also plan to augment my Atomic Reconstructors with the Environmental Tech Void Miners.

I'm using Tinkers' Construct for my tools,of which I have a bunch. The tool details will be in a spoiler,in case you don't want to look at that. However,much like my Project: Singularity,I am in need of feedback for this stuff. My combat style is extremely aggressive; I ignore shields,and instead focus solely on killing my enemies as quickly as I can. To this end,my bow occupies my left hand at all times,unless I'm actively using it to snipe at something; The F key gets a lot of mileage from me.

Spoiler: Tinkers' Arsenal

Sword - Sword of Akasha
-Tool Class: Rapier. Penetrates armour,swings mad fast,though it's more fragile than any other dedicated melee weapon.
-Handle: Bone. Decent durability multiplier,and an excellent Modifier that synergizes well with the Rapier.
-Guard: Electrum. Electrum makes for an awful handle,so I made a guard out of it; The Electrifying bonus makes for a powerful alpha strike.
-Blade: Manyullyn. The highest base damage I can think of,as well as the Insatiable Modifier; I believe it stacks with Splintering,so synergy for the Rapier.
-Modifiers: None,at present. I'd like input.
-Embossment: None,at present. Again,I'd like input.

Bow - Redeemer
-Tool Class: Longbow. For a ranged weapon,I want to deal as much damage as I can,at a reasonable clip. This does that.
-Upper Limb: Electrum. While Shocking is nice,I chose Electrum for the excellent mean it offers between draw time and damage.
-Plate: Cobalt. Draw time,plain and simple.
-Lower Limb: See upper limb.
-String: Spidersilk. I have an abundance of the stuff,thanks to the mineshafts that define the Mesa biome. Provides no modifiers.
-Modifiers: Haster (61/100). I have one modifier slot left; More Redstone? Or something else? Current draw time is sitting at 0.81 seconds.
-Embossment: None,at the moment. Feedback is appreciated.

Arrows - Arrows of Light
-Tool Class: Arrow. The Redeemer needs ammo!
-Head: Manyullyn. Doubled damage on full-health targets,and if that's not enough to put them down,Insatiable will ramp up damage until it does.
-Shaft: Wood. Basic,but useful. Very,VERY slow regeneration,but that's not the focus. I plan on eventually switching to End Rods!
-Fletching: Feathers. Perfect accuracy's pretty nice.
-Modifiers: None. I'd like feedback,though; Would going full Quartz be a good idea?
-Embossment: Here's where things get squirrelley. I COULD simply switch my shafts with End Rods... But would it be better to Emboss them with End Rods,instead? Or maybe something else?

Pickaxe - First Draft Pick
-Tool Class: Pickaxe. Every Minecraftian needs one.
-Head: Bronze. I've yet to actually swap parts out on this thing,though,besides Knightslime,Bronze is the best you can get for Overworld pick heads. Further,the Dense Modifier is an excellent thing to have on a tool that sees so much use.
-Handle: Bronze. It's what I had a lot of,when I made it. Besides Gold. Further,it's an AMAZING handle material. Dunno if Dense stacks with itself,though.
-Copper: I did have a Tin crunch when I made this thing,further,I wanted to gain some noncombat experience. Hence,Copper,and the Well-Established Modifier.
-Modifiers: Luck (36/60). If the Luck Modifier's behaviour didn't change overmuch,then that means that manually digging up certain ores with maxed out Luck will offer a greater payout compared to Pulverization. Two modifiers left; More Luck? Or something else?
-Embossment: Nothing,yet. Feedback,however,is appreciated.

Tunnel Bore - Dwarven Atom Smasher
-Tool Class: Hammer. 3*3 tunnels are amazing,and you know it.
-Head: Ardite. The Stonebound Modifier's going to outperform Cobalt's Lightweight,in this instance. You'll see why.
-Plate One: Obsidian. Duritae is like Reinforced III from Old TCon. Not gonna say no to that. Further,this makes repairing the tool a lot easier,since I can make lava and water ex nihilo with the help of Thermal Expansion.
-Plate Two: Bronze. Dense is amazing. As the tool gets more and more worn out,it'll be less and less likely to actually take damage when used. Combine that with the two above Modifiers,and you can see why this'll be faster than something made of Cobalt. Also,once again,easier to repair with than Ardite.
-Handle: Ardite. Pteramour. What's a hammer used for? Digging tunnels. What's that produce a lot of? Rock. Pteramour eats some rock as you collect it to patch up the tool. Under normal circumstances,however,it's not enough to outpace wear and tear. These aren't normal circumstances.
-Modifiers: Diamond and Silky Jewel. One Modifier remaining. With the improved durability,I get more opportunities for Dense and Duriate to kick in,for Pteramour to keep the hammer's durability in stasis at a low value,which means the hammer keeps outpacing the Cobalt hammer. Forever. For that last Modifier,I'm open to suggestions.
-Embossment: Nothing,as of yet. Suggestions?

Landscaper - Dirt's Bane
-Tool Class: Excavator. I initially made it to deal with gravel cave-ins,but landscaping's landscaping.
-Head: Knightslime. It's literally the best thing to have for a shovel or axe.
-Plate: Obsidian. Let's cheat on some more durability,shall we?
-Handle: Bronze. This thing sees a lot of work. Cheating on more durability's a godsend.
-Binding: Knightslime. Crumbling + Unnatural = Dirt,Sand,and Gravel go away.
-Modifiers: None. I don't think it needs Redstone,either. Suggestions?
Embossment: None,thus far. Any suggestions?

Paul Bunyan - Treecapitator
This sucker's built identically to Dirt's Bane,so I don't need to break it down for you.

Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker - Vorpal Blade
Tool Class: Cleaver. Wither Skulls have always been a problem for me to gather. This stacks the odds in my favour.
-Blade: Manyullyn. Base damage.
-Plate: Silver. Because the primary target is Wither Skeletons,the bonus damage is good.
-Guard: Paper. Slipping on another Modifier's excellent.
-Handle: Bronze. Honestly,this one's a cop-out. Maybe I should switch this with Magical Wood for the three extra mods?
-Modifiers: Beheading VI. That's a 60% chance to lob off the victim's head. No modifiers left. Feedback?
-Embossment: None. Should I? If so,what?

Wither's Bane - Hammer of Dawn

Tool Class: Hammer.
-Head: Silver. Extra damage to the Undead!
-Plate One: Paper. An extra mod's gonna be handy.
-Plate Two: Silver. Does Holy stack upon itself?
-Handle: Magical Wood. Three extra mods,though the "Chance to break at any time" bit is worrisome.
Modifiers: Smite V and Sharper. 12.01 base damage,with +3 to Undead from Holy,and +35 to Undead from Smite V. To an Undead target,that's a total of 50.01 damage,before armour. If I recall,the Hammer also has an unlisted damage bonus to the Undead,as well.
-Embossment: None,as of yet. Ideas?

That's where I'm at,so far. Currently,I've only made my Thermal stuff for machines,and they all have Hardened Upgrade Kits installed. I plan on going into the Twilight Forest shortly,because I absolutely LOVE the place. Any and all feedback is welcome; I'll be coming back here frequently with questions.

 

[KingTriaxx]

Vegetarian options are handled entirely in Pam's. Soybeans can be found in Stalk Gardens, which my brain is flagging as being in swamp biomes, but I'd rather not be quoted on that because my brain lies to me on occasion. Tofeak is the name of the soy steak alternative.

There is a power gain to Gelid Cryotheum, but I don't understand the numbers to give them. Basically it makes the fuel burn for a longer time.

Tinker's Tank would be my goto for the Cobalt and Ardite. It's a multi-block, but will prevent them from mixing. A 1x1 Smeltery should let you manually make Manyullyn if you want it. Get buckets out by placing the bucket on a casting table and pouring the material, then right click the bucket on the drain for the mixing smeltery to input the fluid.

I'm actually partial to the Longsword over the Rapier, because without Mekanism very few mobs wear armor. Longsword does much more damage, and with it's right-click power, jump assist isn't necessary to navigate 3-block verticals. Silver Handle, Bone Guard, Steel Blade. Splintering gives extra damage, Holy adds damage to undead, and Steel Blade means Witches, and Creepers bleed while I've backed off from them.

I used a Knightslime, Electrum, Cobalt Longbow, with Many/Bone/Feather arrows. Two arrows for the price of one, and tremendous damage at a slight sacrifice of draw speed.

Wooden Handle on the pick means it regenerates, useful if like me you only use it for picking fortunable ores, and spend more time hammering tunnels. If you need higher level mining, sharpening kits are your friend, just add one on and you can mine anything you like.

I approve the name of your hammer first of all. Last modifier? Reinforced, 20% chance to not consume any durability on use. Even more time that it's not losing and can instead be gaining.

Dirt's Bane is good, but perhaps a Knightslime, Sponge, Knightslime shovel to give you the ability to silk touch grass in quick order? Though swapping the bronze to Magical Wood and adding 5 levels of Reinforced makes them unbreakable.

I've always been partial to a decapitating scythe instead of a cleaver. Faster to attack, and can hit a group at once. Always useful for getting Enderman heads, though less handy now given the lack of EnderIO.

Yowza, that hammer is... wow. I don't know if Holy stacks, but if not, perhaps a Demonic Metal Plate for even more damage?

 

[Riddle78]

I picked the Rapier because of how quickly it's ready for another stab. No other weapon will allow me to wade into the enemy,and just mash left click. Further,Rapiers ignore the game's Mercy Invincibility. I'll eat the cost of repairs,if it lets me get that level of DPS. Though,fun fact about Steel's Sharp modifier; No mob is immune. In Age of Engineering,I was firing Steel arrows at Zombies,(Wither) Skeletons,and Blazes... They all bled. Though,I might just Emboss on a Steel or Silver blade... Will that get rid of the Manyullyn's Insatiable trait?

I want to avoid a Bone Arrow Shaft; The doubleshot is chance-based,and the second arrow veers off-target,and I very often snipe at my targets from extreme range. Odds are,if I do get that second arrow,it won't hit what I'm aiming at,and in the Nether,that could easily mean getting mobbed by Pigmen. Also,what kind of bonus damage are we looking at,here? My current bow lists its "Bonus Damage" as 4,which translates to two hearts. A bow's "Bonus Damage" is how much it adds to the arrow's.

Despite how agonizingly slow the Ecological trait works,I very well might spring for it,because that's what I'm using it for,now. Might use Treated Wood; It has better stats,but the same Modifiers. It's already got an Obsidian Sharpening Kit on it,so,there's nowhere to go but down,for mining level.

So,you want me to bump that up to a 50% chance not to spend durability per use? Thing is,this hammer's all about maintaining an "Equilibrium Point",which is quite low,in order to make full use of Stonebound. If I add more chance to not spend durability,I run the risk of pushing that Equilibrium Point higher,thus slowing the hammer down.

I went with the Cleaver for the beheading. I'd rather roll the knucklebones as little as possible,and the built-in Beheading was something for me to build on. The raw damage doesn't hurt either. Since my primary target with the thing is Wither Skeletons,which very rarely spawn in groups,needing to hit herds isn't a priority,and neither is swing speed,since I'm going to be backpedaling; I make it a point to bear in mind a significant portion of the terrain behind me during Wither Skeleton fights.

Heh. That's the kind of reaction I was hoping for. Yes,I realize that kind of damage is wasted on any non-boss in the game,but note the thing's name. Odds are,it'll be a two swing kill on the Wither,after I bring it to ground. So... How do I even get Demonic Metal? The JEI entry on it was extremely unhelpful. I like how fluffy it is,though.

 

[KingTriaxx]

I don't know, I never really use Manyullyn. It's basically a waste of materials in my opinion. I didn't know that about Steel.

I tend more towards face shooting, so getting double arrows is much better for me.

Ah, I didn't realize what it was you were doing with that hammer. All I can think is Redstone, which may or may not defeat your purpose.

I always used the Scythe for hunting endermen, but I also tend to find Wither Skeletons in pairs. Usually along with Blazes or normal skeletons.

In nether fortresses, you'll see those small lava wells surrounded by Netherbrick blocks? Toss Gold into that, and there's a pretty good chance you'll get Demonic Metal back. It's not guaranteed, but it's something like a 75% per ingot.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how embossing works.

On my bow, I get a bonus damage of 3, instead of four, but I also get a range multiplier of 1.5. Draw speed goes up to 1.28, but it also more than doubles the durability from 490 to 1050.

Definitely want some fins on your arrows.

 

[Nuclear_Creeper0]

From your ranged weapon, in 1.7.10, the Crossbow was always the weapon of choice. In 1.10.2+, many people have found the shuriken to be the best. Make it unbreakable, infinite ammo, 1 inventory slot, spam fire.

 

[Riddle78]

I'd much rather snipe. That's how I used my Crossbows in Old TCon,and that's how I use my Longbows now. A Shuriken is infinitely more difficult to aim at long range than a Longbow. Reach out and touch someone. If they're close enough for a Shuriken to get the job done,then I'll loose any arrow I have nocked,then switch to my melee weapon with a single keystroke.

 

[Riddle78]

I want to get into mob farming. I see Dire using Industrial Forgoing to do this,but the modpack also includes something called Mob Grinding Utils. Looking at the klever gubbinz it has,I think I can make a go of it,if I understood it more. There are several mobs I specifically want to target.

-Endermen. Ender Pearls are used extremely heavily in this pack,and having a reliable supply of the things is utterly essential. Suggestion for modders; Maybe find some other Unobtainium to exploit? It's getting ridiculous.
-Blazes,Blitzes,and Blizzes. Blaze Rods are handy in many ways,as is Blaze Powder. Blitzes are the best supply of Niter that I can think of,and Blizzes will allow me to produce Cryotheum on demand.
-Wither Skeletons. Skulls,my friends! Skulls! That,and their Extra Utils 2 drops.
-Skeletons. Hilariously,bones have always been a precious resource for me,one that I've always had issues keeping up with the demand for.
-Creepers. As dangerous as it might be,gunpowder has uses,and I intend to put it to work.
-Ghasts. These floating cannons have always been a rarity for me. Rarer still do I encounter one where its drops are recoverable. Since Ghast Tears are used in numerous exotic recipes,it'd behoove me to make a Ghast farm.

So,my concerns are as follows;

1) Can I tell a Mob Grinding Utils system to spawn only a single type of mob? If so,how?
2) Can I have the system deal out 40 or more damage in a single hit? If not,can it inhibit an Enderman's ability to teleport?
3) Ghasts have huge space requirements; Would a Mob Grinding Utils system even be able to support these things?

 

[KingTriaxx]

I'm actually surprisingly unfamiliar with MGU. Most packs I see it in have Woot! As well, which does it better.

Looks like you'll want either mob Smashers on the walls of a large enough room to allow them to spawn, the rules of which I do not know, and then to use fans to push them around, or fans on the ceiling to push them down.

 

[Riddle78]

I'm currently building my Garden Cloche area. I hit a couple of snags,most notably the fact that Cooking Oil and Black Pepper are tree products,so I had to set up appropriately rigged Phytogenic Insolators for them. Now I seriously need to get on Blitz farming; Their Niter is essential to producing Phyto Gro,which the Phytogenic Insolators need to even function,and I honestly doubt they'll take other forms of fertilizer.

Still,got me the seeds and saplings required to make Beef Wellington (Tofu version) automatically. I'm using Immersive Engineering's Conveyor Belts and Item Routers to move the produce around,with Itemducts to move Tofu between Pressers (And a Trash Can for the produced Grain Bait) and "Small" Storage Crates to create buffers,which then lead into Hoppers to drop things back onto the Conveyor Belt line. The Conveyor Belts eventually lead into Silos,to store the product. From there,I can make Beef Wellington at my leisure at a Cooking For Blockheads kitchen.

Also,does anybody know of a reliable way to get Rich Slag? It's needed for Rich Phyto Gro,which is the lowest tier of the stuff that guarantees saplings. Further,can a Cooking For Blockheads kitchen be automated?

 

[KingTriaxx]

Sand and Cobble into the Induction Smelter should produce a consistent amount of Rich Slag. I think it's something like a 75% chance.

I've never tried to automate the CFB Kitchen, but if all else fails, the Immersive Engineering Assembler has no trouble crafting Pam's recipes, even those requiring the cookware.

 

[Riddle78]

A question,relating to the Biodiesel Generator; I plan on using Melons to automate it. I know it can be done,as both Melons and Melon Seeds can be used to produce Ethanol and Plant Oil,respectively. I won't be using fertilizer for my Garden Cloches. Per one generator,how many Industrial Fermenters,Industrial Squeezers,and Garden Cloches of Melons do I need to turn my Biodiesel Generators into fire-and-forget machines?

 

[Nuclear_Creeper0]

A question,relating to the Biodiesel Generator; I plan on using Melons to automate it. I know it can be done,as both Melons and Melon Seeds can be used to produce Ethanol and Plant Oil,respectively. I won't be using fertilizer for my Garden Cloches. Per one generator,how many Industrial Fermenters,Industrial Squeezers,and Garden Cloches of Melons do I need to turn my Biodiesel Generators into fire-and-forget machines?

I remember in Direwolf's 1.10.2 pack, he used 3 cloches? And 1 squeezer and 1 fermenter. Since Cloches got a 50% speed nerf in 1.12 I would recommend 6 cloches, 1 Squeezer, and 1 Fermenter

 

[Cpt_gloval]

If you give it a bit of time to back log a half a drawer or so you might be able to get away with 2 cloches per side.
Send Melons into a compacting drawer, this will ensure 9 slices out of each melon, the for the seed oil side, send the slices into an Extra Utilities2 Auto Crafter to turn them into seeds and store those in a drawer.
Once both get to 1000ish slices and seeds you should be able to start pumping into the Fermenter and Squeezer.
Once the system starts going it will take a bit to reach equilibrium and should never need maintenance again.

This will make enough Bio Diesel for 2 Generators. 8krf/t should hold you for a while.

 

[Riddle78]

In this pack,does Immersive Engineering output RF? The One Probe tooltips keep saying "IkF",which I'm interpreting as "Immersive Kiloflux",and the manual only says "Flux".

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

In this pack,does Immersive Engineering output RF? The One Probe tooltips keep saying "IkF",which I'm interpreting as "Immersive Kiloflux",and the manual only says "Flux".

It technically outputs Immersive Flux, but (much as with Tesla) this natively converts with RF in a 1:1 ratio so the effect is basically the same.

 

[Riddle78]

And what about Crystal Flux? If they're all compatible... Well,nothing's keeping me from using Biodiesel Generators to power everything,is there?

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

And what about Crystal Flux? If they're all compatible... Well,nothing's keeping me from using Biodiesel Generators to power everything,is there?

i forgot to mention CF! Yes that too - should be all good

 

[Riddle78]

...My entire Byzantine plan involving three discreet power sources has now been rendered pointless. I can now streamline my plan,starting with diverting all Coal I get to the Coke Ovens. Maybe convert a Thermal Expansion Furnace into a Coke Oven; I recall there's an aug to do that. Next stop; Biodiesel! All aboard!

 

[KingTriaxx]

On the other hand, nothing stops you from taking IE biodiesel and pumping it into an Advanced Generator, which can also run on Canola, and should eat any of the other fluid fuel sources available. And can eventually produce 25k RF.

 

[Ieldra]

So... How do I even get Demonic Metal? The JEI entry on it was extremely unhelpful. I like how fluffy it is,though.

Make a one-block pit surrounded on five sides (everywhere but the top) by nether brick and fill it with lava. Throw some gold in, get demon metal out. People say there's a chance the gold gets destroyed, but that never happened to me so far. I used whole stacks. Yes, you don't have to be in the Nether to make demon metal. You just need a lava pit in a nether brick floor.