In caves are among the most dangerous locations, so it is crucial to understand how to survive them. In a way, caves in are like mini-dungeons, filled with worthy adversaries that have no problems overwhelming players, especially new ones.
This is doubly so as many tamed creatures in are too big to enter caves unless brought in with a Cryopod. Even then, some of 's best creatures would likely be too large to maneuver about in many of these tight spaces easily.
Cave difficulty can also heavily depend on the map. On The Island, many caves are filled with vanilla creatures that, with some experience, become easier to handle, but still require proper preparation.
Whereas later DLC maps have caves that abide by their rules with new mechanics and creatures. Furthermore, caves are split up into those that reward artifacts and those that only reward resources.
There are two main ways of exploring caves in that depend on the player's experience level.For new survivors, that means taking everything slow and checking every corner of the cave.