Core Keeper: How To Get Crystal Skull Shard
Skull Shards, Anyone?
Crystal Skull Shards are the key crafting materials that you will need to summon Malugaz the Corrupted, one of the first three bosses in Core Keeper. Unfortunately, you can’t craft them. However, getting your hands on these shards isn’t particularly difficult, but you may need to spend some time farming enemies and searching for loot.
The good news is that you don’t need to defeat any major bosses to obtain them. Crystal Skull Shards can drop from several enemies and crates, and one structure even guarantees a handful. Here’s how to get Crystal Skull Shards in Core Keeper and what you can do with them.
How To Get Crystal Skull Shards In Core Keeper
There are two main ways to obtain Crystal Skull Shards. First is to farm enemy drops, and the other is looting chests and crates.
1. Mob Drops In The Forgotten Ruins
One of the easiest ways to get Crystal Skull Shards is to farm mobs in The Forgotten Ruins. Here are the drop chances for Crystal Skull Shards from various mobs in that biome.
| Source | Chance for one |
|---|---|
| Bearded Merchant | 21.24% |
| Brave Merchant | 21.24% |
| Caveling Brute | 18.73% |
| Caveling Shaman | 19.77% |
| Caveling | 21.24% |
| Cloaked Merchant | 21.24% |
| Fishing Merchant | 21.24% |
Regular Cavelings are your best bet when it comes to farming Crystal Skull Shards. There are a lot of them in The Forgotten Ruins, and each has a 21.24% chance of dropping a Crystal Skull Shard. Caveling Brutes and Shamans also drop Crystal Skull Shards, but the rate is lower, and they are a bit tougher to farm.
Make sure to bring a reliable weapon and some healing items, especially if you’re still progressing through the early stages of the game. You can also collect other useful materials from these enemies while searching for shards.
2. Ancient Crates And Chests
Crystal Skull Shards can also be found inside Ancient Crates scattered throughout the world. These containers are worth opening whenever you encounter them, as they can contain several useful items alongside the shards.
An Ancient Crate has approximately a 10.25% chance of containing at least one Crystal Skull Shard. Large Ancient Crates can also contain shards, although their chance is approximately 8.97%.
You will find a lot of these Ancient Crates as you explore The Forgotten Ruins. The best bet is to farm Cavelings and open up any crates you find along the way.
Ancient Chests are also a reliable way to get Crystal Skull Shards. These chests spawn in the Large Maze within the Forgotten Ruins. The great thing is that these chests contain three Crystal Skull Shards, which is all you need for the summoning idol.
But the Large Maze can be a bit difficult to find within the Forgotten Ruins. What I suggest is to focus on farming mobs as you explore, and if you end up finding the Large Maze, then look for Ancient Chests. This way, even if you don’t find the Large Maze, you will have enough from all the mobs you killed while you were exploring.
Whatever method you choose for farming Crystal Skull Shards, just make sure to farm more than just three. Because if you lose the boss fight, you will have to farm them again. Try to get six or nine, so you have at least two tries to defeat Malugaz; you will thank me later.
How to Craft Malugaz Summoning Idol
Once you’ve collected three Crystal Skull Shards, you can combine them to create the Malugaz Summoning Idol.
Here’s how to do it:
- Collect three Crystal Skull Shards in your inventory.
- Move the shards into your hand.
- Use the item’s combine action to consume the three shards and create the Malugaz Summoning Idol.
- Travel to Malugaz’s throne room in The Forgotten Ruins.
- Place the summoning idol on the sigil in the arena to summon Malugaz the Corrupted.
You don’t need a crafting bench to combine the shards. Simply use them directly from your inventory to create the summoning item.
Make sure you’re prepared before placing the idol. Malugaz is an optional boss, but the fight can be challenging if you’re under-equipped. Bring suitable armor, a reliable weapon, healing items, and food buffs before starting the encounter.
Tip: Bring a lot of Hearty Pepper Wraps. Malugaz is quite fast and does a lot of damage. The movement and regen buffs from these wraps will help out a ton.
To sum it up, head out to The Forgotten Ruins, get Crystal Skull Shards from mobs, crates, or chests, gear up, and try your best against Malugaz the Corrupted.
