Hazards

There are a number of naturally occuring hazards any intrepid Astroneer might encounter in their explorations - and most are fatal.

Many can be found across all the planets, while one is native to only one world. Some can be dealt with, others must simply be avoided.

Storms
Main Article: Storm

The storm is a very notable hazard in Astroneer. It travels as a big cloud, making it possible that a player finds it on the first day, or as late as 20 days. It can kill the player, knock away unsecured resources, and even flip over certain vehicles.

Spiky balls
Spiky balls can be found blowing around in the wind on Arid planets. Getting hit by a single one is not fatal, but getting caught in the middle of a Spiky balls storm can easily inflict multiple hits. If you are quick, you can get them with the Terrain Tool, and sometimes they will drop organic resource.

Worms
The indigenous hazard on Radiated planets is a species of worm, A refrences to Star-War's Sarlacc pit. It lays passively in the ground and wait for Astroneers to fall in. Travelling the surface, specially after dark, can prove to be a dangerous endeavour for the untrained astroneer as these inconspicuous predators lurk everywhere. Falling into a worm hole will mean instant death for an astroneer and complete absorption of its body, making all the Equipment stored in the backpack hard to recover. Worms will devour anything, from artifacts to resource stacks or even whole vehicles, making them an excellent base dumpster for unwanted materials. There is currently no method to dispose of them, their bedrock nests can be excavated with a drill but the worm will not die from it. If you destroy the bedrock under them, you can recover your items and Research Item s.

Exploders
Exploders look like another form of decoration until you get near or disturb them. Upon filling in terrain at their base, or digging them up, they will explode (hence their name). This explosion can be fatal if standing too near its radius, but they can be safely dug up if done at a distance. They can be found everywhere in caves and always have Artifacts at their root, making these a bountiful source of research early on. Large Exploders seem to produce energy spores, since the area around them always contains blobs of harvestable power.

Spikers
Looking like gigantic Tooth Fungi, these white, mushroom-like entities, can also be found in caves in many places. If an Astroneer draws too close to the plants they will extrude spikes. These spikes can damage Astroneers, but one hit is typically not fatal (spikes extrude in quick successions, multiple hits will quickly kill an Astroneer). If dug up Spikers will become neutralized and despawn soon after, dropping Seeds before disappearing. Colonies of these often create deadly barriers, when concentrated at the mouths of caves. The more daring astroneer may opt to surpass them by simply jumping on them, instead of digging them up or tunneling around them.

Pumpkins
These gourd shaped pumpkin flora release green clouds of gas that will follow Astroneers a short distance if they get too close. Like the Exploders, they also guard Artifacts and the area around them will contain harvest-able energy blobs. Similarly to Spikers, they can be dug up to prevent them from producing gas.

Cave Lure
Carnivorous plants that hang from cave ceilings and will ensnare and kill an astroneer if they manage to catch one with their dangling lures. They can be dispatched by digging around their bulb with the Terrain Tool. This will cause them to drop to the floor and explode, sometimes leaving behind a stack of organic.