Hardcore Dwarf Mode Post-Mortem Retrospective

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4

I just wanted to post some thoughts and tips on my first Hardcore Dwarf-Mode challenge.

The Rules:

1. Start With 100 Wood and Go Beneath The Surface.
2. Never go into the dirt background layer
3. Build a house on the Black Layer
4. Play the first day until a Bed can be made (Trickier than it seems)
5. Always end the day at the house

What I've found is that this Mode of play is incredibly slow to start, but once I hit my stride around Silver, with a grappling hook, Cloud and Hermes boots everything got much easier.

My advice for starting is get literally as much ore as you can and focus on upgrading your tools before your armor. Scour for chests, and hope you can find a Suspicious Looking Eye because it will make fighting the Eater of World's infinitely easier. For a couple reasons: 1. You'll have access to the Demon Bow, and 2. You'll have access to the Dryad and Purification Powder. Also scour for Underground Houses--Most of them have around 100 Wood, which is invaluable considering how limited a resource wood can be.

With Purification Powder you can make a pretty solid EoW Arena.

Also, if you find the Dungeon, run the hell away. My character died because you don't need to be inside the dungeon for Dungeon Guardians to spawn, just near it. I feel like I really got cheaped out in my playthrough, but it's something I'll keep in mind for future attempts.

So yea! Anyone else have any reflections on their Dwarf-Mode playthroughs, and how far did you guys get?