Colossal trees stand guard over this ancient forest, concealing the corruption spreading beneath. Void spores taint the soil, twisting every living thing they touch into frenzied monsters. Few have witnessed what lurks here, and even fewer have survived to tell the tale. The forest floor is unsafe, so climb the trees and rely on the native fauna to stay above the corruption.

Stay alert. Mushroom formations hint at the ores hidden beneath each region. But tread carefully underground, it is the heart of the corruption, where it all originates. Read the signs, gather resources, forge new equipment, and face what lies below.

To enter the Taintedroots Forest, you must activate an Ancient Gate using a Taintedroots Forest Fragment, crafted at an Arcanist’s Workbench for 10 Wood and 30 Void Essences. This grants access to the biome for 40 minutes. Once the time expires, you will be returned automatically.

Alternatively, you can bypass this limitation by getting a Taintedroots Forest Portal in Creative Mode or the /instance command, both of which provide unrestricted access to the "dimension".

Giantwood trees offer a natural escape from the corruption. Vines and platform mushrooms mark climbable paths, and each tree presents multiple routes to the top, some longer, others more direct.

Layered hills also provide quick refuge. Use bouncy mushroom growths to vault over their walls, or harvest them to reuse in your own builds.

Berries do not grow in this biome, but mushrooms provide ample nourishment. Red caps grant health regeneration, while common browns temporarily boost stamina.

Rare and vibrant varieties offer short-lived, unique effects when consumed: blue mushrooms grant damage resistance, green ones increase movement speed, and red variants enhance attack power.

Mushrooms are more than food, they also act as natural indicators of underground resources. Each type reveals clues about the ores beneath your feet (see the Caves section).

If you like exploring you may find the Explorer Set especially useful. This set is not the toughest, being equivalent to iron armor's resistance, but where it shines is on its utility. It includes a helmet crafted from glowing spotted mushrooms that serves as a reliable light source that doesnt turn off as you switch to your weapons or while you are building, and a sturdy pair of boots made from shelve mushrooms that significantly reduce fall damage.

All ores can be found within the Taintedroots caves, divided into two categories: common and rare. Common ores, such as copper and iron appear in every region, though some areas are richer in specific types.

Rare ores, including thorium, cobalt, and adamantite, are region-specific. Discovering one indicates that more can be found nearby.

Surface mushrooms can be used as a prospecting tool. An abundance of brown mushrooms suggests a copper-rich region, red caps indicate iron, green mushrooms signal thorium, blue indicate cobalt, and red variants point to adamantite deposits.

Beneath the forest lies a virulent corruption known as Voidceps, a parasitic fungus from the void capable of infecting all living things. Its core festers underground, slowly spreading toward the surface.

Voidceps cannot tolerate warmth, so it relies on infected creatures to carry its spores upward. Once weakened, these hosts return below, where they are consumed fueling the cycle of infection.

Venture underground with caution. Corrupted creatures fiercely defend the core, they are faster, more aggressive, and capable of infecting the player. Infection causes gradual damage over time, ultimately leading to death if left untreated.

Some parkour elements do not behave as expected when generated by the world. Bouncy Mushrooms, for example, work correctly when placed manually, but their hitbox becomes smaller when generated, requiring precise positioning to activate. Thick Vines are also affected, preventing smooth movement around them when spawned this way.

The player infection mechanic is not yet implemented. While the system is planned, it was not completed in time for the contest finals. Tainted creatures remain dangerous, but the long-term consequences of infection are not yet present.

I’m excited to share that we are now partnered with Kinetic Hosting! If you’re looking for a reliable and high-performance server to play with your friends, i definitely recommend checking them out, supporting them also helps support the continued development of our mods!

If you're interested in the project and want to follow development, join our Discord Server for updates, discussions around balance and concept art of what we've been working on!

Thank you all for making this possible! 💜