Getting Started (Thaumcraft 4)

What is this mod about?
Thaumcraft 4 is a mod created by Azanor as a successor to Thaumcraft 3, by the same author. It is a mod that enables players to collect magical energy in the form of vis and aspects and use them to create magical tools, weapons, armor, and machinery; as well as autonomous golems commanded by the player.

Who is this mod for?
Thaumcraft is massive mod that provides an alternative to more technology oriented mods. If you enjoy magic, steam-punk, weird science stories and amazing special effects, then this mod is for you.

What mods are compatible?
Thaumcraft is compatible with most of the mods that can be found in popular FTB mod pack, creating some interesting combos with a few of them in particular.

New resources, biomes, dimensions and mobs
Thaumcraft adds 3 new biomes into the game: Magical Forest, Eerie and Tainted Land. In addition, it adds in game mechanics for a player to alter existing biomes, converting them into one of above. The Thaumatic Tinkerer add on also includes a new bedrock dimension that is full of resources but difficult to access.

For each of the 6 primal aspects, thaumcraft generates "Infused Stone" ores in the overworld, which can be mined for "Shards" of their respective aspect. Amber-bearing Stone and Cinnbar ore are also generated, alongside 5 plants: Greatwood Trees, Silverwood Trees, Cinderbloom, Shimmerleaf and Mana Beans.

Thaumcraft also adds several hostile mobs; a new neutral mob "The Pech"; and golems of various materials.

Basic Necessities
In order to start the adventure with this mod a player will need to create his first magic wand. It is created by combining two Iron Caps and a stick in the crafting table. Iron caps are created from 5 iron nuggets placed in the shape of a helmet.

Next, the player will need a bookshelf and by right clicking it with the magic wand, the bookshelf will be transformed into the "Thaumonomicon", an interactive guide to the mod, enabling the user to explore and discover the entire Thaumcraft world. The final step is for a player to create their "Thaumometer" by combining any 2 shards, 2 gold ingots and 1 glass in a crafting table.

Basic mechanics
In Thaumcraft every item, in addition to being composed of ordinary matter, is formed from magical aspects, invisible to those without the correct equipment. There are 6 basic "primal" aspects in the world: Aer (air), Terra (earth), Ignis (fire), Aqua (water), Ordo (order), and Perditio (entropy). By using the Thaumometer, the player will be able to scan, by right clicking on blocks and entities they are currently looking at, and learn about the aspects that compose it. In the scanning process player will discover combinations of aspects and learn that primal aspects can combine together to create more complex aspects, which in turn combine, presenting 7 tiers of aspect beyond the base "primal" aspects. There are 51 aspects in total. After the player unlocks enough complex aspects, they are ready to start researching. In order to do so, the player must construct the Thaumonomicon, paper and Scribing Tools. After right clicking their Thaumonomicon, the player will be able to select one of many research topics to explore. As long as the player has paper and Scribing Tools in his inventory, left clicking a research objective will consume one paper and produce a Research Note. (It is worth noting that not all the research is available to the player immediately, and some advanced topics have to be unlocked by doing more basic research). Next, the player will have to craft a research table. This is done by putting 2 Tables next to each other and placing Scribing Tools on one of them. The tables will then join into one Research Table. After right clicking research table player will have access to its GUI. The research table allows player to combine simpler aspects into more complex aspects, and to perform research tasks provided by notes. By placing research note in the table player will start mini-game. Solving it will complete the research and update the Thaumonomicon, allowing the player to access their newly discovered knowledge.

Research Minigame
The research minigame, although it may seem difficult, is quite simple. Your goal is to connect all of the given aspects to one another through the use of the aspects you have discovered. The way to do this is by combining aspects to create compound or "higher tier" ones, such as combining Aer and Aqua to give Motus. This Motus aspect can then be placed either next to an Aer or Aqua, or next to any aspect crafted from Motus. From there you keep moving up and down the tiers of aspects until they are all connected which results in the creating of a research scroll which can be activated by left clicking, adding that research to your Thaumonomicon.

Tips and Tricks
1. It is strongly recommended that players start their research with Research Expertise and Research Mastery as it will greatly accelerate all other research.

2. If you are struggling to find items to scan or are frequently presented with the "You don't have enough knowledge to scan this item" message, you can try combining aspecst together in the research table to unlock new items.

3. Almost everything in the Nether is composed of the Iter aspect, one trip should provide you with enough to last for a long time.

4. Remember that many mods are compatible with Thaumcraft 4 so try scanning everything you see in the game.

5. The deconstruction table will destroy items placed in it and produce a primal aspect. If you ever run low on aspects, use it and then combine primal aspects into more complex forms.

6. Searching for nodes in the night may be dangerous but makes them more viable in the dark background of the night. Nodes show up more clearly when looked at through goggles of revealing, or through the thaumometer.

7. Some research requires you to scan a specific item.

8 Remember that ores, ingots, and nuggets are all different items and each of them can be scanned separately for new aspects.

9. Putting Crafting Tables in the Deconstruction Table will produce all primals except for Ignis.