EXPEDITION SURVIVAL MANUALS

A structured breakdown of core gameplay mechanics, survival checklists, and collaborative protocols compiled by veterans of K'n-yan explorations.

PHASE 1: GALLEON HUB PREPARATION

Every successful raid starts on your anchored Spanish Galleon, which serves as the team's persistent operations hub. Before diving into the Oklahoma mounds, coordinate with your squad on loadouts:

  • Distribute Weight: Heavy steel armors and arquebuses drain stamina and increase noise. Ensure at least two scouts travel light.
  • Sync Consumables: Never drop down without a minimum of 4 Sedative Vials and 2 Navigational Compasses.
  • Select Roles: Mix support roles (e.g. Botanist, Mechanic) with offensive roles (e.g. Musketeer, Steel Guardian).
"A heavy chest is a slow coffin. Pack lightly, for K'n-yan extracts its own price in sweat and panic." — Zamacona’s diary

PHASE 2: THE CURSED SURFACE JUNGLE

Once landed, you must navigate the surface jungle. Here, reality is already thin. High-value relic chests lie hidden inside Aztec-style stone tumuli.

Avoid staying on the surface for too long. Cursed mist rolls in every 10 minutes of real-time, rapidly draining sanity and spawning aggressive nocturnal entities. Use your compass to locate the glowing gateway mounds that lead deep into the subterranean chambers of K'n-yan.

PHASE 3: DEEP SANITY MANAGEMENT

Descending below K'n-yan introduces the core gameplay mechanic: Sanity Degradation. Your sanity meter is constantly eroding.

🚨 SANITY DRAINS

  • • Complete darkness (no light source active)
  • • Staring directly at eldritch entities
  • • Stepping into Yoth's grey ash patches
  • • Being isolated from teammates (loneliness penalty)

🛡️ SANITY RECOVERY

  • • Staying in range of bioluminescent flora
  • • Ingesting Sedative Herbs and Vials
  • • Gathering close around a glowing bonfire camp
  • • Successfully securing an artifact

Sanity Hallucinations: If your sanity drops below 30%, you will begin to hallucinate. Doors that seem locked might actually be open (or vice-versa), phantom creatures will charge you, and you will hear false audio triggers. Teammates cannot see your hallucinations!

PHASE 4: SQUAD EXTRACTION PROTOCOLS

You do not win by killing everything; you win by escaping with your cargo. Extraction shrines are ancient columns located randomly on each sub-level.

To trigger extraction, a player must insert a charged artifact into the shrine. This initiates a 90-second "Extraction Event," during which waves of subterranean monsters, including the blind Y'm-bhi dead, will assault your position. Work in defensive formations: keep the light source centered, place traps on chokepoints, and protect the team navigator who is locking down the portal.