Ore Crabs

Ore Crabs are living ore deposits scattered throughout the world. Killing one doesn’t just reward you, it converts nearby blocks into its corresponding ore, creating a temporary vein exactly where the battle happened.

Behavior depends on the tier: lower tier crabs avoid conflict, mid tier defend themselves, and high tier engage immediately.

Design Note

Ore generation follows existing world rules. The mod does not create new block variants.
When an Ore Crab dies, the system scans nearby blocks and replaces only valid rock blocks that already have a corresponding ore embedded variant available in the game.

If a block does not have a compatible ore model (for example dirt or other non-rock materials), it will not be converted.

This ensures visual consistency, compatibility with existing world generation, and avoids introducing artificial or out of place block types.

Crab Types & Behavior

Each Ore Crab belongs to a tier and zone.

Copper / Iron — Timid

Lower health
Flee when approached
Easier to defeat, harder to catch

These crabs panic when players get close and attempt to escape.

Thorium / Cobalt — Neutral

Medium health
Medium damage
Ignore players unless attacked

They defend themselves only if provoked.

Adamantite / Silver / Gold — Aggressive

High health
High damage
Attack as soon as they detect an entity

These crabs are territorial and will immediately engage nearby players or entities.

World Generation & Spawn Areas

Ore Crabs are distributed across different world zones and cave depths.

Zone 1

Mainly Copper
Small amount of Iron in caves
Volcanic caves (very deep): small amount of Iron

Zone 2

Mainly Thorium
Good amount of Iron
Small amount of Copper
Volcanic caves (very deep): good Iron

Zone 3

Mainly Cobalt
Good Iron
Small Copper
Volcanic caves (very deep): good Iron, small Gold

Zone 4 (Surface)

Good Adamantite
Good Gold
Good Silver

How It Works

When an Ore Crab is killed:

It spreads its associated ore into nearby blocks.
Higher tier crabs provide greater rewards, but pose greater danger.

This system creates dynamic mining opportunities and encourages exploration across all zones.

Ore Shells