Mesa

Mesa

General

Type

Biome

The Mesa is one of the two possible third biomes in PEAK, replacing the Alpine every two days. It follows the Tropics or the Roots and precedes the Caldera. It is a dry, hot desert separated by a large canyon.

The main hazard of the Mesa is its unique blistering sun which forces players to stay in the shade.

Reaching the top and lighting the campfire dispels the fog to the next biome and grants all living Scouts the  Nomad Badge if they have not already obtained it.

Areas & Features

Plateau

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The Plateau is the first area of the Mesa, preceding the Canyon. Lots of Big Cacti can be found here, along with various rock formations, some of which occasionally form arches.

The Plateau houses some of the Mesa's exclusive hazards, such as tornadoes and antlion traps. Tumbleweeds can also be seen rolling around the Plateau, knocking unaware Scouts over.

The Plateau is largely open to the Mesa's sun, so players have to plan their route carefully and use the rock formations to stay in the shade.

Oasis

An Oasis can be found on the Plateau. It is comprised of a small pool of cold water surrounded by palm trees with  coconuts. The pool houses two capybaras, one of which is guaranteed to hold a  Yellow Winterberry on its head. Standing in the pool removes any accumulated  Heat over a short period of time.

The Oasis is the Mesa's equivalent to the Hot Spring in the Alpine.

Tomb entrance

Main article: Tomb

An entrance to the Tomb can be found on the Plateau. Whether or not the entrance is open is dependent on the current map rotation, though the exit may be randomly blocked by map generation. Refer to this guide for more details.

Canyon

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The Canyon is the second area of the Mesa which separates the Plateau and the Caves. Players need to climb down and then back up again to pass the Canyon. Alternatively, they may use a  Scout Cannon to fly past the area, which grants the  Daredevil Badge.

The deeper parts of the Canyon are hidden from the sun, although players should be careful around the surface, as the sun can still reach them there.

Caves

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  The vertical portion of Mesa containing the Caves
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  The Caves up-close

The Caves are the final area of the Mesa. Players will have to climb all the way up to reach the campfire. The inner caves are well-hidden from the sun, even though occasionally players may have to climb the outer parts of the Caves which are exposed to the sun.

Mine Shafts

Maze-like Mine Shafts can occasionally be found in the caves. They usually hold at least 1 regular luggage crate, but will more often than not also contain several pieces of  Dynamite, which can often catch players off guard.

Pickaxes

Old Pickaxes can spawn naturally in the cliffs of the Caves. They perform identically to  Pitons, but break after 6 seconds of being held on to.

Mirages

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  A mirage of Big Luggage
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  A mirage of an Oasis

Mirages happen exclusively in the Mesa. Players may see mirages of Luggage or even entire oases. They appear like normal objects from far away, but will begin to fade out as the player approaches them.

Hazards

Hazard	Image	Description
Sun		The Sun in the Mesa is blisteringly hot. It will inflict  5 Heat per second on all players in its direct visibility. Players staying in the shade, using the  Parasol, or wearing  Sunscreen are not affected by the sun. Using  Aloe Vera can also help mitigate any gained heat.
Cacti		Various Big Cacti and small  Cactus balls can both be found in the Mesa. Coming into contact with a cactus inflicts  Thorns and makes the player temporarily stick to the cactus. Scouts can use Helping Hand to free another scout from the cactus.
Tumbleweeds		Tumbleweeds are ball-like dry plants rolling around the Mesa. They seek out unaware players and knock them over, inflicting  Thorns in the process and occasionally even sending them flying.
Tornadoes		Tornadoes can spawn on the Mesa's Plateau. They will move unpredictably around the Plateau, picking up caught players and sending them flying.
Antlion		Antlions lure the players in with fake Explorer's Luggage in their traps and inflict serious amounts of  Injury on caught players.
Scorpions		Scorpions are a natural enemy found in the Caves of the Mesa. They sting careless players, dealing a significant amount of  Poison.
Dynamite		Dynamite is scattered all throughout the Caves, embedded into the ground and walls. It lights up when a player is nearby and explodes shortly after,  injuring close players and knocking them back.

Food

The following food items can be found in the Mesa, excluding packaged food from Luggage.

•  Coconut (removes  Heat)
•  Yellow Winterberry (heals  Injury)
•  Red Prickleberry ( Thorns)
•  Gold Prickleberry ( Thorns, heals  Injury)
•  Button Shroom
•  Button Shroom (Poisonous)
•  Bugle Shroom
•  Bugle Shroom (Poisonous)
•  Cluster Shroom
•  Cluster Shroom (Poisonous)
•  Chubby Shroom

Natural Items

The following natural items can appear in the Mesa.

•  Aloe Vera
•  Dynamite
•  Shelf Fungus
•  Remedy Fungus
•  Magic Bean

Variants

While the game is generating the Mesa, it randomly selects a variant to apply. Each variant has its own chance of appearing:

Mesa Variants

Variant	Weight	Image	Description
No Variant	10		Does nothing
Cactus Forest	5		Significantly more Cacti spawn on the plateau than usual
Cactus Hell	5		Significantly more Cacti spawn on the climb than usual
Dynamite Hell	5		Significantly more  Dynamite spawns on the ground
Scorpions Hell	5		Significantly more  Scorpions spawn
Tornado Hell	2		Tornadoes spawn much more frequently
Tumbler Hell	3		Tumblers are 2.5x as common as normal

Tips & Tricks

• Mirages can be determined by using the ping system. If the ping hand lands on the Luggage or Oasis tree normally, then it is real, but if it hits the ground behind it instead, it's a mirage. This method can be used to avoid going after fake luggage and wasting time.
• If possible, wait until night time to traverse the Mesa's first half. The lack of burning sun will make the journey to the Canyon much smoother. This might not be applicable on Ascent 5 and higher, due to the night's  Cold nature.
• Use the Canyon's depth to your advantage during the day, as it will protect you from the sun until you reach the cliffside.
• Both  Scorpions and  Dynamite can be quickly picked up and tossed away with the right timing. If you see a Scorpion or Dynamite in your path, grab it and toss it as far as you can. You can charge the throw meter almost all the way up before the Scorpion even begins to charge its attack.
• You can stop the sun from burning you by holding an item and pointing it directly at the sun. The game only checks for a line of sight between the sun and your Scout's center, so breaking it will prevent the sun from causing  Heat.

Trivia

• The Mesa is the first biome to be added after the game's initial launch.
• The Mesa is the first biome that can potentially replace another biome in an island rotation.

Gallery

General

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  Another Oasis
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  Another mirage of an Oasis
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  The area between the Canyon and the Caves
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  Mesa on the title screen of Patch 1.28.a

Plateau

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Canyon

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Caves

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  A cave with lots of small  Cacti

Mine shafts

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  Mine shafts can have an additional entrance at the top

Patch history

1.20.a (2025-08-11): Introduced.

1.23.a (2025-08-13):

• Tumbleweed damage and knockback has been made more consistent.
• Tumbleweeds now deal Thorns damage instead of Injury.
• Dynamite now spawns in luggage slightly less often.
• Scorpions will now deal less Poison damage depending on how close you already are to passing out.
• Scorpions will now require line-of-sight to aggro you.
• Tumbleweed damage and knockback now scales with the size of the tumbleweed.
• Dynamite will no longer damage you through walls.
• Reduced scorpion aggro radius and movement speed slightly.
• Performance has been improved in the MESA.
• Fixed an issue where MESA-specific items wouldn’t spawn until the end of the MESA.

1.23.b (2025-08-14): This hotfix just fixes the bug where players screens would turn green/black/glitchy during the climb up the MESA.

1.27.a (2025-08-27):

• The ALPINE and the MESA will now alternate every other day.
• A secret entrance in the MESA is now open 50% of the time instead of 25%. Feels fair considering the MESA itself is now open 50% of the time as well.

1.28.a (2025-09-08):

• Slightly reduced the commonness of the "Tornado Hell" biome variant,
• It is now wayyy less likely that the maze is blocked after entering the TOMB.