Grub
| Grub | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Monster |
| Location | The Mines |
| Floors | 15-29 |
| HP | 20 |
| Damage | 4 |
| Speed | 1 |
| XP | 2 |
The Grub is the slowest monster in the Mines and one of the most annoying, because hurting it badly is the surest way to make things worse. A Grub pushed to the edge of death turns away, changes to a blue-green colour and seals itself in a cocoon that nothing can damage. Moments later a Cave Fly comes out, and the fly is quick, aggressive and far harder to hit. Grubs arrive in groups and attack on sight, so a careless fight on the earth floors can leave a farmer surrounded by fliers. They count towards the cave insect goal at the Adventurer's Guild, and their drop list hides a Rice Shoot and a fishing book.
Behaviour
Grubs crawl. They notice the farmer and come, but they cannot close quickly and they cannot charge the way a Slime does, so a weapon with any real knockback keeps them from ever landing a hit. Fought one at a time, a Grub is harmless.
The pupation is the catch. Once badly wounded it flees, settles and becomes invulnerable while the cocoon changes it into a Cave Fly. Finishing a wounded Grub quickly, and chasing one that tries to slip away, is the only way to keep the floor on the ground.
Groups need a plan. A medium or high knockback weapon can herd several into a corner or against a wall, where none of them can break away to pupate, and one swing covers the lot. Explosive ammo fired from a slingshot does the same job from a safer distance. The thing to avoid is a long fight in open ground, since a fly hatching behind a crowd of Grubs is how an early run ends.
Location
Grubs live on the brown earth floors of the Mines, from floor fifteen down to floor twenty nine. Green Slimes, Bugs, Duggies, Rock Crabs and Cave Flies share that stretch, and several floors in it are infested, which means every monster has to fall before a ladder appears. An infested floor in the twenties is the quickest way to meet a large group at once.
The relatives live further out. The Mutant Grub appears in the Mutant Bug Lair under the Sewers and on the prehistoric floors of the Skull Cavern, and it counts towards the same eradication goal.
Drops
Bug Meat comes off roughly three Grubs in five. It crafts into five Bait at a time, which is what makes a Fiberglass Rod worth carrying and keeps a line of Crab Pots working through a season.
The Rice Shoot is the interesting drop, appearing on one Grub in ten. Rice Shoots are otherwise bought at Pierre's General Store from the second year, so a few Grubs can start a rice crop a whole year early. Planted within a few tiles of water the shoots mature faster than usual, and Unmilled Rice is harvested with a scythe.
White Algae turns up occasionally for the soup pot, and an Ancient Seed or the first Dwarf Scroll appear on one Grub in two hundred, both bound for the Museum. Rarest of all is the Bait And Bobber book, which any monster can drop and which grants a lump of fishing experience when read.
Items this monster can drop when it is defeated, with the chance of each.
| Item | Image | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Seed | 
|
0.5% |
| Bug Meat | 
|
60% |
| Dwarf Scroll I | 
|
0.5% |
| Dwarf Scroll IV | 
|
0.1% |
| White Algae | 
|
2% |
| Diamond | 
|
0.05% |
| Prismatic Shard | 
|
0.05% |
Notes
Eighty cave insects complete Gil's goal, with Grubs counting alongside Bugs, Cave Flies, the mutant pair and both Armored Bugs. The Insect Head sword is the reward, and Marlon stocks another afterwards.
Grubs and Cave Flies are best farmed as one job, since killing the first produces the second. A corner on an infested floor in the twenties, a weapon with knockback and a little patience will finish a sizeable share of the eighty in a single visit.
Monster Musk doubles the number of monsters waiting on a floor, and returning to the Mines entrance reshuffles every floor, so the group that was just cleared can be replaced within minutes.
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 |