Bug
| Bug | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Monster |
| Location | The Mines |
| Floors | 1-39 |
| HP | 1 |
| Damage | 8 |
| Speed | 2 |
| XP | 1 |
The Bug is the first monster in the Mines that does not care about the farmer at all. It drifts along a fixed line, turns at the nearest rock and drifts back, and it will keep doing that until something kills it. One hit from any weapon is enough, because it carries a single point of health. The catch is the eight damage it deals to anyone who walks into its face, which is a painful amount on the brown earth floors where boots and food are still scarce. Bugs count towards the cave insect goal at the Adventurer's Guild, and their Bug Meat is the cheapest route to a stack of Bait.
Behaviour
A Bug patrols a straight line, either up and down or left and right, and it holds that line for life. Stones and walls turn it around; nothing else does. It never notices an attack, never gives chase and never changes lane, which makes it the one monster in the cave that can be ignored safely.
Killing one is simply a matter of angle. A swing from the side or from behind lands without any risk, while stepping into the lane in front of it costs a chunk of health for nothing. On an infested floor, where every monster must die before the ladder appears, this is the easiest credit on offer.
Bugs are also the reason knockback matters so early. A heavy weapon flings them out of the way and clears a path through a narrow corridor, while a dagger leaves them hovering exactly where they were. On the floors in the thirties they share the ground with Bats and Stone Golems, so a sword that handles all three is a better buy than one that only suits the bug.
Location
Bugs appear throughout the first forty floors of the Mines, from the earth floors at the top to the shadowed grey stretch in the thirties. Green Slimes, Duggies and Rock Crabs keep them company on the way down, with Grubs and Cave Flies joining from floor eleven. Infested floors in that range are the fastest place to meet several at once, and Monster Musk doubles the number waiting on any floor, which is worth drinking before a run aimed at the insect goal.
Drops
Bug Meat comes off roughly three bugs in four and is the point of the whole exercise. One piece crafts five Bait, and bait is what turns slow fishing into fast fishing on a Fiberglass Rod, as well as the fuel every Crab Pot needs. Villagers hate the stuff as a gift, so it belongs in the tackle box rather than a present.
White Algae appears occasionally and makes a decent Algae Soup rather than a sale. An Ancient Seed turns up on one bug in two hundred, which is a tidy way to fill a Museum slot without digging a single Artifact Spot, and the first Dwarf Scroll comes at the same rate. The fourth scroll is far rarer and, once all four reach the Museum, the Dwarvish Translation Guide makes the Dwarf's shop and dialogue readable.
Once the bottom of the Mines has been seen, even a one-health bug carries the universal small chance of a Diamond or a Prismatic Shard, which is a strange reward for a creature that dies to a tap.
Items this monster can drop when it is defeated, with the chance of each.
| Item | Image | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Seed | 
|
0.5% |
| Bug Meat | 
|
76% |
| Dwarf Scroll I | 
|
0.5% |
| Dwarf Scroll IV | 
|
0.1% |
| White Algae | 
|
2% |
| Diamond | 
|
0.05% |
| Prismatic Shard | 
|
0.05% |
Notes
Eighty cave insects finish Gil's goal, counting Bugs, Cave Flies, Grubs, Mutant Flies, Mutant Grubs and both kinds of Armored Bug. The reward is the Insect Head sword, and Marlon stocks a spare for 10,000g afterwards.
Bugs are the fastest kills on that list, so most of the eighty tend to come from the floors between eleven and twenty nine where Bugs, Grubs and Cave Flies share the same rooms. Riding the elevator to a floor, leaving the Mines and returning resets the layout, which is how farmers in a hurry refill a floor with insects.
Switching the Mines to their dangerous state replaces the harmless patroller with a far tougher version on the same floors, so anyone who enjoys the easy credit should finish the goal first.
All Monsters
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Location | HP | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armored Bug | 
|
Skull Cavern | 1 | 8 |
| Armored Bug (dangerous) | 
|
Skull Cavern | 250 | 20-27 |
| Bats | 
|
The Mines & Skull Cavern | 24, 36, 80, 300,; 268, 277 | 06, 07, 15, 30, 13, 14 |
| Blue Squid | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 310 | 18 |
| Bug | 
|
The Mines | 1 | 8 |
| Bug (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 250 | 15-16 |
| Carbon Ghost | 
|
Skull Cavern; The Dangerous Mines | 190 | 25 |
| Cave Fly | 
|
The Mines | 22 | 6 |
| Cave Fly (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 266 | 13-15 |
| Duggy | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 6 |
| Duggy (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 280 | 8 |
| Dust Sprite | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 6 |
| Dust Sprite (dangerous) | 
|
The Mines | 280 | 13-15 |
| Dwarvish Sentry | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 300 | 18 |
| False Magma Cap | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 290 | 15 |
| Ghost | 
|
The Mines | 96 | 10 |
| Grub | 
|
The Mines | 20 | 4 |
| Grub (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 265 | 12-13 |
| Haunted Skull | 
|
Quarry Mine; The Mines random dungeon floors | 160 | 15 |
| Haunted Skull (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 310 | 19-26 |
| Hot Head | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 215 | 18 |
| Iridium Crab | 
|
Skull Cavern | 240 | 15 |
| Iridium Golem | 
|
Wilderness Farm | 430 | 15 |
| Lava Crab | 
|
The Mines | 120 | 15 |
| Lava Crab (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 340 | 19-26 |
| Lava Lurk | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 220 | 15 |
| Magma Duggy | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 380 | 16 |
| Magma Sparker | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 310 | 15 |
| Magma Sprite | 
|
Volcano Dungeon | 220 | 15 |
| Metal Head | 
|
The Mines | 40 | 15 |
| Metal Head (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 280 | 19-26 |
| Mummy | 
|
Skull Cavern | 260 | 30 |
| Mummy (dangerous) | 
|
Skull Cavern | 445 | 38-55 |
| Mutant Fly | 
|
Mutant Bug Lair, Skull Cavern | 66 | 12 |
| Mutant Grub | 
|
Mutant Bug Lair | 100 | 12 |
| Pepper Rex | 
|
Skull Cavern | 300 | 15 |
| Putrid Ghost | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 500 | 25 |
| Rock Crab | 
|
The Mines | 30 | 5 |
| Rock Crab (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 272 | 13 |
| Royal Serpent | 
|
Skull Cavern | 150 + (50 × tail segments) | 32-48 |
| Serpent | 
|
Skull Cavern | 150 | 23 |
| Shadow Brute | 
|
The Mines | 160 | 18 |
| Shadow Brute (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 370 | 22-32 |
| Shadow Shaman | 
|
The Mines | 80 | 17 |
| Shadow Shaman (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 310 | 21-30 |
| Shadow Sniper | 
|
The Mines | 300 | 18 |
| Skeleton | 
|
The Mines | 140 | 10 |
| Skeleton (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines, Quarry Mine | 655 | 16-18 |
| Skeleton Mage | 
|
Dangerous Mines, Quarry Mine | 355 | 20-25 |
| Slimes | 
|
The Mines, Skull Cavern, Quarry Mine, Secret Woods, Tiger Slime Grove, and Volcano Dungeon | Varies | Varies |
| Spider | 
|
The Mines (Shrine ON) | 200 | 15 |
| Squid Kid | 
|
The Mines | 1 | 18 |
| Squid Kid (dangerous) | 
|
The Dangerous Mines; Skull Cavern | 250 | 22-32 |
| Stick Bug | 
|
The Dangerous Mines | 700 | 20 |
| Stone Golem | 
|
The Mines | 45 | 5 |
| Stone Golem (dangerous) | 
|
Dangerous Mines | 283 | 13 |
| Truffle Crab | 
|
The Farm | 30 | 5 |
| Wilderness Golem | 
|
The Farm | 30 | 5 |