Exploring

While the game *tells* the player that farming and sending supplies back to the civilized world is your main responsibility, it quickly becomes clear that **exploring** is the primary game mechanic to understand what has happened and eventually figure out how you can make a difference.

In order to effectively explore, the player will need to make use of farming, foraging, and crafting. The most often used spell through most of the exploration will be Ripple, to spot items that can be taken back home such as new seedlings or old journal entries that give context to the current state of affairs and organizations (and sometimes entire nations) involved, as well as to avoid hazards that exist in the areas consumed by the Miasma.

## Navigating

To help you navigate, Waymarkers can be crafted at the workbench and can be dropped from the inventory to use. Each Waymarker casts a bright yellow beacon into the sky that can be seen with the naked eye while in-game; placed Waymarkers will also appear on the map with a special icon.

Stone cairns are also scattered around the land. When the player activates Ripple, these stone cairns will light up blue and will emit a small arrow pointing in the direction of the homestead in case the player is lost.

## Rubble Walls

Bright pink blockages known as Rubble Walls will prevent the player's passage down certain pathways, which are typically dead ends containing important or useful items. These can be opened using blasting powder.

The first rubble wall is part of the series of tutorial-like quests at the start of the game known as Rites of Passage, and blasting it grants access to the meadow beyond the Homestead, the only wild area not covered by the Miasma. Each Miasma-covered area has three rubble walls, one for each scar healed with scar fertilizer.

## Fast Travel

The broom becomes available after the Pearl Canyon has been cleared. It can be used as both a faster method of travel as well as a way to fast travel between healed Dust Eaters. Fast travel and the broom are only available outside of the Miasma. Fast Travel can be used from the Map tab of the pause menu. No in-game time passes while fast traveling, making it an effective way to traverse areas quickly without losing daylight (for example, time that Abraham is available for trading).

Once the first fast travel location is unlocked after clearing the Pearl Canyon, the space to the left of the map view will populate with the West Peak Homestead and the healed dust eater scar as available destinations. It can be selected by pressing the interact button (A on Xbox), which immediately takes the player to that location. After more locations have been unlocked, they will appear on the Fast Travel Locations list and be accessible by scrolling down and selecting them.

The only location that remains unreachable by Fast Travel is The City, which remains covered by the Miasma due to story.

## Miasma

*Main article: Miasma*

The Miasma is a roiling, poisonous cloud that's slowly consuming the whole world. Only a few safe havens exist outside of the Miasma's reach. Venturing from the relative safety of your homestead into the Miasma can be dangerous. Shortly after starting the game, the player is given a mask with a basic filter that lasts four consecutive minutes before it loses its effectiveness and Health begins to drain.

The mask filter can be upgraded with Mask Augments (craftable at the Cauldron after the recipe has been learned), allowing the player to remain in the Miasma for longer amounts of time.

Items found in the Miasma are 'claimed' by it (denoted with a purple cloud and roots around the item when viewed in the inventory) until the player extracts them by exiting a Miasma-covered area. If the player runs out of Health and faints in the Miasma, any items still claimed by the Miasma will return to the place that it had originally been found.

**Exceptions:**

* Journals and recipes picked up in the Miasma are retained once found and can be viewed anytime in the Logbook and Recipes tabs of the pause menu.
* Tinctures of Resolve and Resilience picked up in the Miasma appear as if claimed by it, but can be consumed and their permanent effects applied immediately.
* Any items held before entering the Miasma will remain in the inventory regardless of outcome.