Biomes & Weather

When travelling through the world of Stoneshard, you will explore various areas. Thick forests, peaceful fields, flowing rivers, rocky mountains and more.

Biomes
Biomes are map tiles that always appear with certain specifics to them. Biomes on the Local Map are randomly generated. There are currently only three Biomes:


 * Roads
 * Fields
 * Forests

Roads
All Biomes can currently spawn with a road variant. A Biome with Road combines the features of another Biome which are moved to the corners and sides. The middle of the map tile is filled with an actual road leading through the Biome, usually connecting Towns with nearby Dungeons. There are several road types:


 * Straight road (either top-bottom or left-right, never a diagonal road)
 * Curved road
 * T-shaped road split
 * 4-way road crossing

Road-specific features include:
 * Abandoned graveyard cart with caskets and dead bodies
 * Abandoned merchant cart with randomly generated loot
 * Recently ambushed cart with arrows sticking out of the cart
 * A statue representing one of the Hands, which can be used to pray to The Host
 * A small religious Shrine, which can be used to pray to The Host

Fields
Fields are wide open areas with small amounts of bushes, sometimes with a single tree. This Biome is a good source of Herbs and berry bushes. The biome can spawn inhabited by different Animals - Rabbits, Saigas and Bisons. Getting ambushed in an open Field can also be potentially deadly.

Fields don't have any specific doodads or features.

Forests
Forests are currently the most varied Biome. A labyrinth of trees makes for an interesting place to hunt or fight. Forests are commonly filled with some Herbs, multiple types of Mushrooms and Berries, along with Pine Cones and Acorns. The fauna is varied aswell - from peaceful Hedgehogs, Squirrels, Foxes and Deer to Forest Vipers, Boars, Wolves, Moose and Bears.

Forests don't have any specific doodads or features.

Biomes in City of Gold
The City of Gold update is expected to bring several new Biomes into play. The Development roadmap directly mentions Lakes, Rivers and Swamps as examples.

Swamp

 * A development screenshot was shared on Stoneshard Reddit, featuring a Swamp-like Biome.
 * An old screenshot from the development version features the players standing in a swamp-like map surrounded by flying bug-type enemies.
 * A recent teaser shared via Discord also shows several giant wasp-like hive structures.

There is little information about the specifics of Rivers and Lakes Biomes.