Starting Hardcore for the 1st time, any pointers?

Ello' everyone. As the thread title says I'm just now starting my 1st hardcore run. Previously I've only played a bit in casual mode for the past few days to get a feel for the game and now I (think) am ready to truly get started!

I'm still on my homeworld establishing a base and working on making my 1st farm. (So bizzare having to go from ignoring food to planning for it ) So far I've been taking things a lot slower and playing extremely cautious (duh) than I have in my casual run but I was wondering if anyone had some tips for just starting out hardcore. Also I should note that at the moment I'm playing without any mods. Looking into the Frackin' Universe and Frackin' Races mods for more playthroughs later however.

Side note: I've probably played about 20 hours on my casual character as opposed to 2 on my hardcore and already I'm much more attached to HC...I will be so upset if I die.
...nearly all of my deaths in casual were due to falling or a mis-timed Blink tech....I think I'm gonna avoid that tech altogether... @_@

 

Yeah, it's a very different game when dying has consequences. You care more, get more immersed, and have think about more than just how to most quickly advance through the content.

Good luck with your hardcore playthrough. When you're done with that, you should look forward to your frackin' playthrough, it adds a lot of content, and fundamentally changes the game in many ways.

My only pointers are to think ahead, and think twice about every jump and drop, as most hardcore runs end via fall damage.

 

Foreshadowing at it's finest...*shudders*
Still alive surprisingly.

 

I started off trying hard-core, and died ... a lot. My only real advice would be that when you -- inevitably -- fall off something and into a pit of monsters DON'T PANIC. Stay calm and immediately put a platform above you and jump up, then do it again. Getting out of that unexpected combat situation alive is the most important thing. Once you're a few jumps up from the baddies then heal, put out some torches for light, or do whatever. But if you're like me and you panic and try to fight, or freeze, or try to heal ..... well .... probably time for a new character.

Oh, and don't tackle the mining station until you've got armor and a shield, and the three basic techs. The Horror is very easy to die to if you aren't ready for it, and that will end you just like any other death.

(I gave up on hardcore for the moment and am currently playing on normal, so I still care about eating but don't fear the reaper so much. I'll get back to hardcore again, I think, just .... not yet.)

 

I wouldn't say that the Erchius Horror itself is easy to die to.

It's more towards those minions. They're much more likely to kill you than the Erchius Horror will, if you know the Horror's attack patterns.