Deeper and Darker — Guide

Getting Started

The core loop is: find the Deep Dark, gather sculk materials, open the Otherside portal, craft your gear, and explore.

1. Dig down and find a Deep Dark biome. Look for the dark sculk caves deep underground, and the large Ancient City structure built from reinforced deepslate.
2. Gather sculk materials. Mine sculk blocks and collect the mod's crafting items as you explore the caves.
3. Build and activate an Otherside portal using reinforced deepslate as the frame (see Otherside Dimension below).
4. Craft the Warden gear. Use the materials you collect to make Warden armor, tools, and weapons.
5. Explore the Otherside for its unique blocks, loot, and mobs - and be ready to fight the new sculk creatures that hunt you.

Bring good armor, food, and a light source: the Deep Dark and the Otherside are both dark and dangerous.

Otherside Dimension

The Otherside is the headline feature - a whole new dimension you reach from the Deep Dark.

Reaching it. You build a portal inside (or from) an Ancient City, using the reinforced deepslate that makes up the city as the portal frame, then activate it. Stepping through takes you to the Otherside.

What it's like. The Otherside is a gloomy, sculk-covered realm lit only by an eerie blue glow. Expect: - Glowing sculk terrain and floors that give off a soft light. - Gloomslate stone and its variants making up the landscape. - Fossilised remains and natural columns rising out of the ground. - Hidden treasure and the mod's unique blocks and mobs scattered throughout.

It is a high-risk, high-reward place: dangerous creatures roam it, but it is also where you find the mod's rarest materials and loot. Treat it like the Nether or the End - somewhere you prepare for before you travel.

Tips

• Manage your noise. Some mobs, like the Stalker, hunt by sound. Sneak and avoid sprinting or breaking blocks near them.
• Prepare before the Otherside. Bring armor, food, and blocks - the Otherside is dark and full of hostile creatures, so don't travel there under-equipped.
• Use the reinforced deepslate. You need it to frame the Otherside portal, so plan your Ancient City visit around gathering or building near it.
• Craft the Warden set early-ish. It's strong armor that makes exploring the Deep Dark and the Otherside far safer.
• Light up your base. The sculk world is very dark; carry a reliable light source and place lighting as you go.
• Gather extra materials. The Heart of the Deep and gloomslate are needed for the mod's best gear and blocks, so collect more than you think you need.
• Watch for treasure. The Otherside hides loot and fossilised remains worth searching for.