There aren’t a ton of slimes to wrangle and raise yet in Slime Rancher, but more are on the way in future updates, and what’s currently available is more than enough for a few hours of fun.
Not all slimes are equal — some are hazardous to your health, some are more mischievous than others, and some are worth far more than others. You need to know the ins and outs of each type to rake in those Newbucks with efficiency!
First things first
Of course there are a few things to know about slimes before you get into the meat of it. Check out these points on slime habits, raising, and mutating.
Largo slimes and Tarrs
These big globs are created when a normal slime eats a Plort from another type of slime. When this happens, the slime takes on the properties of the type of Plort it ate. For instance, if a Rock Slime eats a Pink Slime’s Plort it will become a Pink Rock Largo.
Largos will give two Plorts when they eat, one for each slime type its body is made of, but they will not eat Plorts of their own type. A Pink Rock Largo will not eat Rock nor Pink Plorts, but it will eat other types — and if it does, it will become a Tarr.
Tarr can be dealt with by either:
- Tossing them into the sea
- Spraying them with water obtained from geysers or ponds
- Throwing them in an incinerator
- Throwing them in ponds
Spraying Tarr with water or tossing them into a shallow water source like a pond often is not instantaneous, but it will do in a pinch. If you don’t feel like dealing with Tarr in an area, just leave and come back later. They will dissipate in time, but all the other slimes in the area will be eaten in the process.
Keeping slimes happy
It’s important you keep the slimes on your ranch happy, not only because they give Plorts when fed (and feeding makes them happy) but because they get irate when hungry.
An irate slime will try to escape from its Corral or make extra attempts to get into other slime’s Corrals if they are free range. Some also have bad habits that just get worse when they’re hungry — for instance, Pink Slimes will stack themselves into towers against walls when hungry.
A happy slime is a non-disruptive and profitable slime.
To raise Largos or normal slimes?
It’s really up to you which “style” of slime you decide to go with. I prefer a combination of both depending on the side of the ranch.
Largos take up about three times the space as a normal slime but give two Plorts when fed.
It’s more difficult to keep several Largos in a Corral than standard slimes because of their size. They are prone to breaking out, even on Corrals with Air Nets, and should be kept in moderation outside of Corrals for easy crop and Plort collecting.
Standard slimes have two benefits over Largos:
- Standard slimes are smaller and you can fit several in a single Corral comfortably.
- Most standard slimes (aside from the Pink Slime) have favorite foods. When a slime eats its favorite food it gives two Plorts instead of one.
Let’s get back to business and take a look at the actual stars of the game: the slimes! We’ll start with the most basic of all slimes, the one and only…
Pink Slime
The Pink Slime is the first one you run into and you find them all over Far, Far Range. Their Plorts sell for the least but there are so many Pink Plorts everywhere that there’s no good reason not to pick them up.
Pink Slime have a bad habit of stacking atop one another to escape or get to food, especially when they’re unhappy. Keep them fed to keep them from wreaking havoc on your ranch.
These slimes do not have a favorite food. The benefit to Pink Slimes is Largos that are half Pink Slime will eat anything.
Tabby Slime
The community favorite, of course. The Tabby Slime is one of the cutest in the bunch, and it’s a staple of any ranch — for better or for worse.
Tabby Slimes are the most prone to escaping from their Corrals, and they often do it for no reason whatsoever. It’s not uncommon to find a Tabby Slime who has escaped just hanging out outside the Corral waiting to be let back in.
These little troublemakers will also pick up food it can’t eat and carry it around. This is a bit irritating if you happen to be keeping them free range and they pick up crops they have no use for, but overall it’s harmless.
Tabby Slimes love to eat any type of meat but their favorite food is Stony Hens.
Rock Slime
These are the first slimes any new rancher comes across that is actually harmful, but luckily enough they aren’t hostile by default.
Rock Slimes are easy to take care of and are not especially prone to climbing atop one another. Instead, they like to roll around — which can be dangerous for you if you’re in their Corral to collect Plorts.
These are easier to raise than Tabby Slimes because they don’t try to escape anywhere near as often and they eat vegetables, which are easy to find and quick to grow. Their favorite food is Heart Beet, which is relatively rare.
Rock Slime Largos are generally too large to be worth bothering with.
Phosphor Slime
These glimmering blobs of happy light can only survive in the dark, and any rancher wanting to raise them needs to bear that in mind.
Phosphor Slimes can be raised in your primary ranch if you install a Solar Shield to a Corral, but they are best raised in the Grotto area because it’s dark by default. Plus there’s no denying they’re at their cutest in the dark.
Unlike other slime varieties, these have wings and can fly short distances — which means any Corral you have them in needs an Air Net to keep them in. They have an adorable habit of grabbing one another and floating to the top of the Corral, which can lead to break outs if you have too many in a single Corral at once.
Phosphor Slimes love fruit, but their absolute favorite food is the Cuberry.
Boom Slime
These are the second harmful slime you can collect in Slime Rancher and they cannot be collected until you unlock the Moss Blanket area.
Boom Slimes explode frequently, often without provocation, making them the most dangerous slimes to raise. This is even the case in a Corral, as their explosions can hit you even if you’re on the outside if you’re too close. The trade-off is their Plorts sell for 30 Newbucks by default.
Be aware any Largos that are part this slime will have the same explosive tendencies. It’s a great idea to install Plort Collectors on any Corrals with Booms and Boom Largos.
Like Tabby Slimes, Boom Slimes live off a diet of meat. Their favorite food is the Briar Hen, also found in the Moss Blanket.
Honey Slime
Let’s be honest: who really can resist the Honey Slime? No rancher I’ve met could resist snatching a few up once they open up the Moss Blanket.
Honey Slimes are sickeningly sweet and other slimes just can’t get enough of their delicious Plorts. This sounds cute, but it means other slimes will constantly try to break into Honey Slime Corrals to munch on their Plorts.
Any rancher looking to raise this slime needs to plan their ranch carefully so slimes that are better at escaping (like Tabbies and various Largos) aren’t tempted by Honey Plorts.
As expected, the Honey Slime eats fruit, but its favorite food is the Mint Mango.
Puddle Slime
You just might miss these little guys the first time you wander into the Moss Blanket, but they’re probably there hiding in the pond.
Puddle Slimes live in the water instead of on land. Watch out! If you put a Puddle Slime on the ground it will disappear, and their Plorts will dissipate as soon as they touch dry land.
Puddle Slimes are exactly what the Pond plot is for. If you get lucky enough to grab a few of these happy little slimes, be sure to put them into a Pond plot as soon as you can. They give one Puddle Plort every 6 in-game hours and do not eat food.
These slimes cannot be fused into Largos, and they do occasionally jump out of their water and die.
Gold Slime
I never seem to be able to get screenshots of these little money buckets when they come out — probably because I want that 200+ Newbucks payout for their Plorts.
Gold Slimes give the most valuable Plorts in the game, and of course the slimes themselves themselves cannot be captured and raised.
How to get Gold Plorts?
You’re not the only new rancher to try to suck up Gold Slimes and you won’t be the last.
In order to get Gold Plorts from Gold Slimes, you need to first spot a Gold Slime in the wild — they spawn randomly and often for short periods of time. If you see one, you need to shoot whatever items (not slimes) you have at it to make it drop Gold Plorts.
Gold Slimes disappear faster the closer you are and the only way to get Gold Plorts from them is by trying to hit them with other items you have in your Vacpack. Hit them, and you’ll get at least one Gold Plort. Worth the effort!
These are by no means all the slimes that will be present in the full release version of Slime Rancher, but they’re what we’ve got now and the variance between each one is hopefully a sign that what’s to come will be even better.
Use the information given here to improve as a slime rancher and roll in the Newbucks! If you’re new to the game you may also want to take a look at my Slime Rancher ranch overview guide to make the most of your facilities.
Published: Feb 18, 2016 04:35 pm