Editing Mid-Game Guide

This guide picks up where the '''[[Beginner's Guide]]''' leaves off — once your gathering and processing skills are rolling, you have a few tames, and you've met your first [[Expeditions|Guardian]]. The mid-game is about turning a pile of skills into a '''party''' and a '''base''', and pushing through the [[Biomes|biome]] chain.

== The mid-game loop ==

Where the early game is one action at a time, the mid-game runs on '''several engines at once''':

* your '''active action''' (whatever skill you're training),
* '''[[Companions#Hired hands (background gathering)|hired hands]]''' gathering in the background (from [[Taming]] 25),
* '''[[Homestead]]''' structures passively producing food and materials,
* '''[[Dispatch]]''' squads out on missions,
* and '''[[Expeditions]]''' pushing your frontier.

Your job shifts from "what do I click" to "is every engine pointed somewhere useful?"

== Expeditions and clearing biomes ==

[[Expeditions]] are the spine of progression. Each run auto-resolves into a [[Biomes|biome]], powered by your '''gear''' and your '''companion party'''. Two things matter:

* '''Patrols''' farm a biome for materials, [[Sets|set pieces]], and dig maps.
* '''Guardians''' are the milestone fights that '''unlock the next biome'''. Beating a Guardian opens a new region — new resources, creatures, and content.

Shape your party with '''roles''':
* '''Attack''' — leads more stages and adds party strength.
* '''Guard''' — cuts the damage your survivor takes.
* '''Scout''' — improves flee chance and Trail Cache drops.

Keep your gear current (craft/forge the best you can, equip [[Sets|expedition set]] pieces as they drop) and match companions to the fight. When a Guardian is close but not quite beatable, farm its patrol for a set piece or two and upgrade a weapon.

After a biome falls you also unlock its '''[[Caves|cave]]''' (run through [[Delving]]) and its '''[[Arenas|Arena]]''' — both are optional side-progression you can circle back to.

== Deeper taming and breeding ==

Mid-game [[Taming]] means '''better companions''', not just more:

* Higher tames want '''[[Cooking|cooked food]]''' and stronger '''[[Alchemy|tranquilizers]]''' — keep both stocked.
* Tamed creatures gain '''[[Stable#Veteran levels|veteran levels]]''' from use, getting stronger over time.
* At '''[[Taming]] 50''' you unlock '''[[Breeding]]'''.

[[Breeding]] pairs two of the same species so offspring inherit their parents' best stats, plus occasional '''mutations''' that push a stat above the wild cap. Bred hatchlings mature in the '''[[Homestead|Nursery]]''' and can be '''[[Imprinting|imprinted]]''' for permanent bonus stats. This is how you build creatures stronger than anything the wild offers — and idle stabled creatures also '''[[Breeding#Passive egg-laying|lay eggs]]''' you can cook into premium [[Taming#Kibble and premium tames|kibble]].

== Building the Homestead ==

Your '''[[Homestead]]''' is passive infrastructure:

* '''House chain''' (Thatch Hut → Iron Keep) — raises your max HP for combat.
* '''Passive producers''' — Tannery, Apiary, Fishery Dock, Quarry, Crop Plot — trickle materials on their own clock.
* '''Farmland''' — unlocks [[Farming]] plots.
* '''Storage Hut''' — more [[Bank]] slots; '''Grand Stable''' — more stable stalls.
* '''Watchtower''' — boosts [[Expeditions|expedition]]/[[Dispatch]] strength.

Build breadth first, then deepen the structures that serve your current bottleneck (HP for combat, storage for hoarding, stalls for a growing stable).

== Passive income streams ==

* '''[[Companions#Hired hands (background gathering)|Hired hands]]''' — set tamed dinos gathering in the background. They can only gather what you've unlocked yourself.
* '''[[Dispatch]]''' — send idle dinos on timed missions for loot (and veteran XP). Stronger squads haul more (up to ×2) and can score a '''frontier find''' from beyond your current tier.
* '''[[Contracts]]''' — the Contract Board pays '''Fang Marks''' for cull/supply/patrol tasks; spend them at the '''Mark Exchange''' on exclusive gear and crates.
* '''[[Trading Post]]''' — unlocked by the Trader's Charter ([[Shop]]); sells surplus at a daily-rotating markup, with '''special orders''' that pay above the usual spread.

== Collections that pay off ==

* '''[[Museum]]''' — donate fossils and skulls to fill biome '''wings'''; a completed wing grants a permanent, always-on bonus. Skull-less digs bank Field Journal pages you can trade for a chosen skull, so the collection can't dead-end on bad luck.
* '''[[Mastery]]''' — every action carries its own 1–99 mastery ladder plus a skill-wide '''pool'''. Perks are quiet individually but stack into a real edge; passing 20/45/75% of a skill's total mastery grants standing '''[[Mastery#Skill Mastery Milestones|milestone]]''' bonuses.
* '''[[Chronicles]]''' — lore notes surface as you play, each firing a short double-XP burst.

== Mid-game priorities ==

# Keep pushing the '''[[Expeditions|Guardian]] chain''' — new biomes gate almost everything.
# Get '''[[Breeding]]''' running once you hit [[Taming]] 50; imprint your best stock.
# Turn on every '''passive engine''' (hired hands, Homestead, Dispatch) so idle time compounds.
# Bank the '''[[Contracts|Fang Marks]]''' and '''[[Trading Post]]''' income toward [[Shop]] upgrades.
# Chip at the '''[[Museum]]''' and '''[[Mastery]]''' collections — they never expire and always help.

== Where to go next ==

* '''[[Endgame Guide]]''' — the Great Rebalance systems: [[Rifts]], [[Tribe|Material Ages]], [[Mastery]] milestones, the [[Exotic Broker]], forging, and perfect tames.
* '''[[Leveling Guide]]''' — a skill-by-skill look at the fastest way to train each skill.
* '''[[Beginner's Guide]]''' — the early-game walkthrough this follows on from.

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