Most of your time in LEGO Fortnite will either be spent building up villages or exploring the wide fields of the world map. Occasionally you'll need to dig into the ground, however, and that's where Caves come in. Dungeon-like areas filled with treasure and dangers, Caves are a risky - but necessary - venture to undertake. Problem is, you won't start off knowing where to find any of the things.
This guide will help you locate, and explore, Caves in LEGO Fortnite. First, though, you'll want to do a bit of prep work.
Preparing for a Cave
Heading out to a Cave is not a small undertaking, especially if you haven't yet found one. Here are some steps to take before you leave your village:
- Recruit one of your villagers to go exploring with you. They will stick by your side and help you fight enemies. Very useful.
- Empty your inventory. Build a chest of some size - early on, that will be the Small Chest, which costs six Planks - and dump anything you don't need inside. You'll want extra space for the stuff you find while exploring.
- Get a few tools ready. Caves have natural resources you'll want to exploit, and at a minimum you want Forest Axes and Pickaxes of Uncommon level, if not higher. You'll need to upgrade your Crafting Bench to create higher-level tools.
- Craft some weapons. A Shortsword at a minimum is recommended, so you don't need to use your tools to defend yourself.
- Bring a few Torches. You'll need the extra light to navigate the Cave, and if you get caught outside after dark you'll want a Torch in your off hand to light the way.
- Prep some food. If you can make something on a Grill or another food station, great. If not, grab a heap of Pumpkins, Corn, Raspberries, and other base-level food items. The trip might take a while, and you'll probably sustain some damage along the way.
That'll about do it. Ready to go?
Finding a Cave
Caves are sparsely located throughout the world map. In order to find one you literally just have to stumble upon it while you're out walking. Here are some tips for early Cave searching:
- First, check your map. Caves are denoted on the map as white, craggy little mountains. You may have walked right past one and not realized it. Whenever you find a Cave it will be recorded on the map, so you can trek back in a hurry.
- Look for rounded, rocky heaps. Caves all appear as large-ish mounds, sitting by themselves on the landscape. If you can see a decent-sized mount from a distance away, it's probably a Cave. For this reason it's best to explore during the day whenever possible.
- Check hilly and / or rocky areas. In my experience Caves tend to not just appear in the middle of vast fields. (You know, where they would be easy to spot.)
- Early on, stay away from temperature extremes. This will probably mean the Coldlands, where your character will start to freeze. Not only is it more difficult to explore these areas without proper protection, the Caves you find will belong to that biome - and they will be even more inhospitable without temperature protection.
Eventually you'll stumble across a Cave, whether through diligent searching or blind luck. Approach the entrance and press the button that appears on the screen to head inside.
Cave Exporation
Huzzah! You're now in a Cave. Filled with resources to plunder, Caves are also occasionally filled with enemies that want to trash your character. Here are some tips for safe spelunking:
- Explore slowly. Don't just run willy-nilly into the cave, or you'll draw big crowds of enemies towards you. Try to fight things one-at-a-time.
- Do what you can to remember the path back to the entrance. Caves don't have a second exit (that I've noticed, anyway), and it's easy to get lost, especially when you're being chased by enemies. Chucking Torches onto the ground as you explore will create a handy breadcrumb trail for you to follow once you're done looking around.
- Watch your footing. Some Caves have high ledges, and if you fall you'll take some damage.
There are items to find in Caves which are worth grabbing from Small Chests, but for the most part you'll probably explore Caves for their natural resources. Early on these consist of Knotroot, which you'll get from the curled roots sticking out of the walls, and Marble, which juts out of the ground as large, white rock deposits. Remember, you need Uncommon-level tools or better to mine these resources, so leave your Common tools at home!
As mentioned above, Caves vary from biome to biome. The Caves you'll encounter in the starting Grasslands are not a big deal overall, as there are no temperature changes and most of the enemies are Skeletons. They get more dangerous as you explore other, more haardous biomes. Watch your back!
Heading Home
Once you've had your fill of Cave exploration you'll have to head back to your village. Depending on the time of day and distance you need to travel, this can be a risky proposition. Try your best to avoid enemies as you run, and check your map frequently to make sure you're heading in the right direction. When there are Wolves, Rollers, Spiders, and Bandits chasing you, it can be easy to lose your way.
At some point you will probably get yourself killed as you try to run home from a Cave. It happens. When it does, be especially careful retrieving your Backpack once your character respawns. You probably picked up a bunch of useful stuff in the Cave, and if you die again on the way it will all disappear. Good luck!