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The map inAloftis large, so large that it’s been broken into three distinct areas: Emerald Isles, Fallen Heights, and Red Cliffs. Each biome has its own area on the map where you’ll find archipelagoes full of different scenic islands, each with their own resources to farm.
Getting between biomes in Aloft is no small task, what with the constant barrage of meteors and bombs in the wind streams separating each biome, but with unique resources, crops, and progressively better lost sailing knowledge to find and learn, exploring every biome in Aloft is well worth the time you’ll spend.
What Are Biomes?
Aloft’s map is absolutely colossal, and as you explore more of it, you’ll find that there arethree distinct ecosystem typesaccording to the geography of the map. Some islands you’ll find are rife with springtime greens and flowers, others are more autumnal, and there are even some pretty hot islands to explore as well.
Biomes seem to bedistinctly separate on the map, with each section belonging mostly to one biome type. It’s worth noting, though, that moving between them is no small task - you’ll need tobrave meteors and mines to cross the barrier between biomesin Aloft, so be prepared tofix your sails as they break, because trust us, they will! For the moment, it appears thatonly your sails take damagewhen crossing between biomes; your house and any other structures you built are safe.
Mines, the black and red rocks, explode on impact with your island, doing vastly more damage to your sails than the standard gray rock meteors, but both will damage your sails as you traverse the storms separating each biome.
you’re able to see the barriers between the biomes on your map table, since they appear ascolored areas between sectorswhen you move between biomes. Once you’re clear of the colored area, you can move freely between sectors within a biome. You may want toexplore a biome sectors at a timeto save yourself the headache and resources required to consistently weave between biomes.
Not only are the visual appearances of each biome different, but outsidethe standard resourcessuch as rocks, windstones, wood, and leaves (which can be found across every biome), each area also hasunique resourcesthat you may not be able to find elsewhere. These include things like
Even if a biome does share a resource or an animal with another biome, you’ll often find more of said resource in one biome over the other. For example, we found our first pheasant and plenty of sheep in the Emerald Isles, but we found dozens of pheasants and fewer sheep while exploring across Fallen Heights.
Finally, while maps aren’t the same across world seeds, you’ll find the same lost sailing knowledge within each biome, so we’ve included them in our list of things you’ll find as you explore islands across every biome in Aloft.
Emerald Isles
When you first start playing Aloft, you’ll leave your starting cave and find yourself on the very first of many islands you’ll find and explore in the Emerald Isles,the starting biomethat you’ll find spread acrossthe bottom portion of the mapwhen you’re viewing the map table. Lush with greenery, trees, assorted rocks, and even your very first animals to boot, this is where you’ll find the majority of your resources in the beginning. If you’re just starting out, grab whatever you can - you’ll need it all later!
This is where you’ll learn the ins and outs of sailing islands in Aloft, because while the Forgotten Legacy quest does introduce you to your very first leaf sail, you’ll findnew recipes for leaf sailsas you explore and find more lost anchors. Begin to check out the knowledge stones for new recipes that help you build back on your home island, too, andkeep your sketchbook handyto start drawing furniture, too! You’ll also begin findingyour first crop seedshere.
Islands within archipelagoes in the Emerald Isles arerelatively evenin terms of altitude, and they’re alsorelatively close togetherto help you get the hang of using your glider. You’ll also find the most new knowledge and recipes here, since you’re just starting out and will need these recipes for storage or machinery as you progress further into the game.
This is likely the biome you’ll spend the most time in as you familiarize yourself with the game, so you’ll have plenty of time to collect resources in the Emerald Isles!
Fallen Heights
The second area you’ll enter is Fallen Heights, which you’ll find in theaccessible middle sectors, forming a sort ofring around the centerof your map, which is the storm we’re not currently able to enter. Once you brave the meteor storm between here and Emerald Isles, you’ll find a gorgeousautumnal themehere, with plenty of red and yellow trees, warm-colored plants in the Fallen Heights seed bag, and not to mention all theharvest vegetablesyou enjoy in heartier meals like pumpkin and far more tomatoes.
Pheasantshave become more common here, so if you haven’t found one already for a consistent source of eggs and feathers, you’ll want to bring some feathered friends home. Only female pheasants lay eggs, though, and only when a male pheasant is on the island with her. You’ll also begin to findbeehives on trees, thick orange clusters that you can gather to receivea bee, one honey, and one wax, which is a critical resource in improving your sails later on.
Presuming you’ve been tending to the sheep in Emerald Isles, you’ll find the recipes forwool sailswithin the Fallen Heights lost anchors, so be sure to stop by and read as many as you can, since wool sails stand up far better to storms between biomes than leaf sails do! Here, your knowledge stones will contain the recipes for plenty more machines, allowing you to break down and process the materials you’ll find here in Fallen Heights.
The name “Falling” Heights isn’t just a name, either - here, islands appear close together on the map, but you’ll often findarchipelagoes have islands in the shape of a circle that ascend and descend in height, almost like aspiral. We’ve found it most effective to aim for the highest island in the archipelago and then drop down through the other islands as we finish exploring.
Be sure to upgrade to linen sails before heading into the final biome in Aloft - wool and leaf sails can’t take the heat you’ll experience there, so it’s a wise idea to plant and process as much flax as you can while you’re exploring, since upgrading all your sails to linen requires quite a lot of fabric, depending on how many sails you have.
Red Cliffs
The final biome you’ll reach is the Red Cliffs, whichrequire linen sailsto enter, since wool and leaf sails cannot hold up to theextreme heatyou’ll experience in the biome. Even once you get into the Red Cliffs, you’ll need to mitigate your character’s heat withheat resistant clothing, which you canmake at a sewing tableahead of going out to explore. Additionally, be sure to collect some Bones here, since your stone tools won’t be strong enough for a lot of the resources listed in the table below.
Here, you’ll find adesert climate, where trees are fairly sparce but you’ll find plenty ofcacti, which typically require a sword to deal with when they block your path. You’re introduced to your final new crops in Aloft, and you’ll faithfully find goats here if you haven’t already. While out exploring,islands are incredibly far apartwithin the archipelago, and you’ll often encounterdust storms and fogthat obscure your vision - your map table and waypoints will come in handy while exploring here!
You may even experience extreme heat while flying between islands when you’re out exploring. Flying seems to cool you off a bit, but you’ll need to be mindful of the meter that might appear. Getting this meter too high toward the flame icon on the right spells disaster for your character. You might also overheat while on your own home island here, which you can avoid by going into your house if you’ve built one by now.
Provided you’re able to withstand the heat, you’ll find the Leviathan within the Red Cliffs biome, so prepare to investigate this legendary boss.
