The Icarus Spelunking Mission

In this second 'Spelunking' mission you are asked to enter dark cave systems to extract rare ores and deliver them via an automated cargo shuttle.

Select your character, choose Missions, choose Olympus, and then pick the Spelunking mission:

Here are the mission briefing details:

To complete the mission you must:

• Find the orbital supply crate containing specialized tools
• Locate the cargo supply shuttle drop zone
• Locate nearby cave systems in the canyon
• Mine 350 Stone, 220 Sulfur, and 220 Silica Ore
• Mine 450 Iron Ore, 160 Copper Ore, 160 Gold Ore, 100 Platinum Ore, 100 Titanium Ore, and 60 Aluminium Ore
• Deposit all required ores into the cargo shuttle
• Return to the dropship and launch back to the space station

Locating the Supply Crate - The Map

Unlike Beachhead, you won't arrive completely empty-handed—equipment has been flown down in a crate. Press M to inspect your map:

Your landing pod position is shown by , the promised crate is , and the target investigation area is . When facing in their general direction, these icons appear on your HUD compass.

As you traverse toward the crate, hold down E/F to continuously vacuum up fiber, sticks, and loose stones. Immediately craft a stone knife into Slot 1 of your hotbar, followed by a stone axe and stone pickaxe. Keep gathering materials and craft two additional stone knives as backup.

Collect food plants (berries, beans, pumpkins, watermelon) and harvest wild game for fur, leather, meat, and bones. You'll need the fur and leather to make a bedroll and the bone to make a bone sickle.

Use your stone axe to fell trees for at least 100 wood to construct your forward base. Although the mission calls for 350 stone, 220 silica, and 220 sulfur, do not overload yourself yet—keep to roughly 100 stone, 100 silica, and 100 sulfur while traveling so you remain light on your feet. Oxite isn't on the delivery manifest, but collect two stacks (100) to keep your suit oxygen filled.

Silica Ore

Sulfur Deposit

Oxite Crystal

Opening the Equipment Crate

Once you reach the supply crate in the canyon, open it to claim your gear:

Click the crate to inspect and take what you're given (and repair any damaged knives in your inventory!). Do not use the two metal pickaxes at this stage for mining stone, sulfur, silica, or oxite. Reserve them exclusively for extracting higher-tier ores (Platinum, Titanium, and Aluminium) that cannot be broken with stone tools.

Preparing for Underground Cave Threats

Keep your game sound on to detect nearby predators (wolves and terrenus). Inside caves, you face two distinct underground threats:

• Cave Worms: Erupt from ground burrows and spit caustic poison bolts after a brief pause. The trick is to sprint directly into melee range and stab their mouths before they fire.
• Bee Swarms: Hives hang from cave roofs, and bees react aggressively to the sound of mining. Swipe repeatedly at the swarm as it attacks with a knife, or better still, bone sickle to disperse it quickly before destroying the ceiling hive.

On the way to the crate and caves, keep a lookout for a salt ore deposit. You can combine 2 salt, 3 oxite, and 3 bones to make a Health Recovery Concoction (a Tier 1 tech item worth unlocking early). Consuming one quickly after bee or worm attacks restores your health rapidly.

The Ore Delivery Shuttle & Base Camp

Make your way to the canyon marker where the ore-carrying shuttle touches down. As you draw near, you'll see it land:

You can immediately deposit the sulfur, silica, and stone you've collected so far directly into the shuttle cargo bay.

Before venturing into caves, build a simple wood shelter near the shuttle drop zone. Craft a small wood chest inside to stash heavy surplus ores. Press P to open the Tech Tree and unlock:

• Wood Hammer: To repair your shelter after storms
• Bone Sickle: Gathers extra fiber and crops, but is also exceptionally effective at wiping out bee swarms
• Wood Building Advanced Set: Gives you half-pieces to reach high ledges and ceiling hives

Place your bed in the shelter and hold E to set your respawn point. That bed is essential—if you die in a cave, you respawn right outside rather than enduring a massive run from the dropship. Set up a campfire (24 stone, 8 sticks, 8 fiber) outside the door. Not too close though or you will set your wood shelter on fire. If it gets dark you can then go to bed to reset the time to 7:00 am.