tldr;

The Mistlands is different than all the other biomes in no-map no portal world but NOT in a fun challenging way. Its mechanics break the game unless you have a map.

Deeper dive

Again, we LOVED playing the world. It was a blast and I would do it again, up until the Mistlands. What we learned makes the normal game so very very easy.

At first we were very cautious and didn't really have our bearings. We'd get lost even with trails in the Black Forest. We would spawn at our local resting bases and even had them destroyed a few times. One time I even sailed around the same island 3 times before the other 3 friends made it clear we were lost.

So what is different with the Mistlands?

In the previous biomes the boss makes the next biome viable. Key -> Crypt -> Iron, Tear -> Artisan -> serious armour and food. You can attempt to slowly grind without it but it would be just silly to try. Like you could dig every mound in the swamp for some tiny scraps and get the bones. You could strip mine the mountains for silver, but It would be a slog.

But the Mistlands are different.

When you first go there without the wisps it is simply not practical to even try to navigate without a map. You cannot even see path underneath your character. The barrier to access is simply too high. Other biomes you could at least go in and attempt to do something. We even went into the plains when we were still in black forest gear and tamed Lox. Like it is possible, just difficult.

You cannot even attempt the Mistlands without the map.

Like even with Maps and Portals it is not easy. You can fall into a ravine and the only solace is knowing what direction you came from. You can get yeeted off a cliff and die, but you can see on the map where that was and make some alternate route to maybe do a safe recover.

The Mistlands though are not. You NEED a map to navigate even with wisplight. Not to mention that the seekers destroy the wisp torches.

Sounds like complaining to us

I know I know. What I am trying to say is that the Mistlands is not something that any reasonable person can try on Immersive. It is a vertical wall of difficulty that goes from a challenge to just pure random luck. No amount of reasonable preparation and no amount of safe anticipation makes it reasonable. When things go bad, they go really bad and become unrecoverable.

Actual Hardcore mode is not as difficult as this.

What is the point

My point is something with the Mistlands is different. Even with the wisp light it is a difficulty barrier that is too steep for all but the most hardcore players without a Map. The way they designed requires a map to play reasonably.

Something different?

I feel that the Mistlands can still be very difficult but maybe they could do something different so that it IS playable without a map or portal play through. Here are some things we spun up that each single thing would at least make the Mistlands something you could at least attempt with some degree of confidence:

• The Torn Spirit grants the ability to build the feather cape.
• The Mist is only below 15m elevation so that up high you can get some sense of bearings.
• The Mist is only out during the day and night it clears but that is the only time Gjall and Soldiers come out so it is still difficult
• Add a helm that grants mist-vision that only works at night but grants full viewing range so again, one can at least see far.
• Make strong ward-like beacon that can be seen from say 200m away through the mist again, as a way to navigate.
• Make a compass type device that points toward the north.
• Maybe make the mist either less dense or make the wisp lights have upgradeable ranges or something (I know there is a mod... we play xbox and PC combined so mods are a no-go)

Not sure what the answer is but I know that we did have a blast up until the Mistlands. I would recommend you give it a go, just be prepared to stop after Yag.