There are two types of Delving: Standard and Simulated. Standard Delves allow you to collect resources, but you are limited by how often you can play through them by your current HP. Simulated Delves can be played as much as you want, but will occasionally provide snacks as a reward for performing well instead of resources.
Standard Delves come in two types: regular and limited run. Regular Delves are always accessible and have standard resource drops and rates. Limited run Delves can only be completed once each time they cycle in. If a previous limited run Delve cycles back in at a later date, you can complete it again. They may have additional rewards such as rare resources or a baby creature. While you can take as much time as you need to finish a regular Delve, you are advised to complete a limited run Delve before its end date or your Delving session may expire.
Level indicates the strength of the creatures in the Delve and rare resource drop rates. Higher level Delves also typically have more rooms, a rank requirement, and a pool of boss encounters instead of only one boss type, but none of these are hard rules.
Simulated Delves are endless Delves which can be played infinitely, but do not provide resources. As you progress through a simulation, enemies will become stronger and the objects of interest you encounter may start to change. Instead of using equipment, items, and creatures you own and your current HP, they are provided to you by the simulation. Equipment, Tagalongs, and max HP can be configured to your desire, and you will find items (namely ammo) as you progress through a simulation. Your simulation inventory is cleared after each run, and you are given a small loadout of items at the start of each run.
Each simulation has its own leaderboards, split into two major categories (Solo and Tagalong), which are then further categorised by each max HP increment. Your records for every category are saved. Records are determined by the room number achieved and the date (a record with the same room count but a later date than an old record will replace that record).
The combination of weapon and armour you choose are vital to your ability to successfully traverse through a Delve. There are usually multiple effective combinations for any given Delve, which, in turn, may be better suited for different methods of Delving. These methods are typically survivability, maximising resource drops, or trying to gather specific resources.
Weapons deal elemental damage that can take advantage of creature weaknesses as well as become hindered by their resistances. Only non-element damage is unaffected by weaknesses and resistances. You can alter the type of damage a weapon does by utilising ammo and rapid fire.
Armour reduces the damage you take from direct attacks. Damage is reduced further for attacks whose element is resisted by your armour. Armour does not reduce damage from sources such as ambushes and statuses.
Armour Add-Ons are an optional piece of equipment that provide you with additional resistances as well as a special attribute. An Add-On will provide one elemental and Chroma resist. Chroma resistance triggers if the Chroma of the creature attacking you matches. While resistances gained from Add-Ons are not as potent as an armour’s resistance, the effects will stack.
You have the option to take an adult creature along with you on a Delve, which is then referred to as your Tagalong. In a simulation, you can use any species that’s listed in FRIC. Many aspects of Delving change when you have a Tagalong:
The way your Tagalong will behave is based on its personality. Personalities are grouped as follows:
Resources gathered by a Tagalong are not received unless the Delve is successfully cleared. In most Delves there are some unique resources that can only be found by Tagalongs. Such resources do not appear in limited run Delves unless they can already be found in a regular Delve. Tagalongs cannot find Scrap resources. Upon clearing a Delve, you will immediately receive any resources your Tagalong gathered.
In simulations, Tagalongs will gather items such as ammo and recovery orbs instead of resources. When they do, they are immediately added to the inventory of your current simulation run.
Non-combat rooms in Delves have three objects of interest that can be examined. Different objects have different outcomes. Not every object has every outcome type and it is entirely possible for an object to only have one. The possible outcomes are as follows:
When you have a Tagalong, they will perform an action based upon their status. Tagalongs are capable of gathering resources on their own and intercepting attacking creatures that attempt to ambush you.
Any resources gathered by you are kept even if you do not successfully clear the Delve. The HP restored from edible resources is applied automatically. Items gathered during a simulation are only available for use during that specific run.
If no battle occurs as the result of examining an object, the next room will have a battle. Likewise, you will always be presented with objects of interest after you finish a room with a battle. The one exception is when entering the last room, which will always be a boss encounter.
Snacks can be used in Delves to restore your HP, but only outside of battle. If you choose to consume a snack when you’re presented with objects of interest, you won’t be able to examine anything and will only be able to proceed onward to the next room afterwards. The equivalent to snacks in simulations are recovery orbs, which can be found from objects of interest, Tagalong gathering, and defeating enemies.
Wild creatures will attack you as you progress through a Delve. You can use your weaponʼs different firing modes as well as attempt to take advantage of the terrain around you to defend yourself. The basic turn order of a battle is as follows:
Your Action → Enemy Action → Tagalong Action
Additional events can occur before or after any of these, which is most often a status wearing off. Once a battle ends, all statuses, buffs, debuffs, and the search action are reset.
You can perform the following actions in a battle:
Upon defeat, wild creatures may drop a Scrap resource. Typically, an enemy has two different drop types, one common and one rare. The higher the Delveʼs level, the better the drop rate. Bosses have a higher drop rate than regular enemies. In simulations, enemies will drop items such as ammo and recovery orbs instead of Scrap, and the drop rate is increased if you are on a solo run.
Forested Laboratory
Chroma Coast
Mining Site S
Crop Circle Canyon
Galeful Marsh
Swamped Factory