User blog:PopsicleNinja/Guide For Combining Largos

This is a short guide about common largo combinations, and which ones are a good or bad idea. This also contains tips for how to subvert potential problems. Note that the elaborate list is assuming that you have unlocked at least either the Indigo Quarry or the Moss Blanket, there is a guide for new players at the bottom that deals with early-game largos. There is a difference between Sometimes Bad and Mixed Results; Sometimes Bad is when a combination is only a problem for some people, while Mixed Results has nothing to do with subjective reactions and is where a combination has both strong good and strong bad points, and they can't outweigh each other.

Carnivore/Vegetarian, Carnivore/Frugivore
Some people find raising chickens a hassle, because they are slow to reproduce and are more prone to shortages. This can be an especially bad problem for people who free-range slimes, because then reproduction is even slower due to the fact that you can't use coops due to a glitch where slimes can't jump over the walls. (I tried it with boom/quantum slimes and discovered the glitch the hard way.) If you need a carnivorous slime, then combining them with an easier diet will take a lot of work off you.

Honey/Quantum
It is a given rule that you do not place honey slimes near quantum slimes, because the quantum slimes will escape and eat the honey plorts, likely leading to Tarr for most ranchers. A good rule of thumb is not to put them in the same area. However, if you must place them in the same area, then combining the two averts this problem entirely.

Hunter/Any, Crystal/Any, Quantum/Any
These three slimes have problematic favorite foods. Chickens can be a hassle to raise and roostros are somewhat rare, odd onions are only 50% of their harvest, and phase lemons require a sacrifice fruit and need a rancher's assistance to use, meaning you can't use phase lemons to free-range. If you can feed these slimes an easier favorite food, that will let you avoid the hassle entirely.

Phosphor/Hunter
Hunter slimes can cloak themselves, making it hard to see an escaped slime. However, hunter/phosphor slimes cannot cloak their glow, making it easier to see escaped slimes. This is especially good if they are kept outside the Grotto, where escape could endanger them.

Tangle/Honey
If you have tangle slimes, your ranch is more prone to Tarr. While tangle slimes can feed themselves, they can also grab plorts, which is problematic if you have slimes nearby, especially honey slimes. While combining these two doesn't avert the problem completely, it greatly reduces the risk.

Tabby/Rock, Hunter/Rock
Tabbies and hunters tend to try booping you, which hurts when they have rocks. This is even more dangerous when they are hunter slimes, because they always cloak before booping, meaning that you can't see potential danger. And while I've never had this problem because I don't use corrals, the combination of rowdy behavior from tabbies/hunters and rolling from rock slimes makes collecting plorts hard without a plort collector.

Tabby/Crystal, Hunter/Crystal
These combinations are even more dangerous than the above because they also create crystals which linger for a short while, requiring water to get rid of. Also, combining hunter and crystal slimes is a bad idea because they both have obscure favorite foods.

Quantum/Hunter, Quantum/Crystal
The same as the above combination, this is also combining two slimes with obscure favorites. Certainly doesn't help when you are trying to get the tier-3 money out of these slimes.

Quantum/Phosphor
There is no known way of truly containing a quantum slime, endangering them if they escape. However, if they are in the Grotto, then it doesn't really matter.

Rad/Tabby, Rad/Hunter
It is generally a risky idea to combine tabbies and hunters with harmful slimes, because of their tendency to try to get closer to the rancher. However, I put this here because some people find rad auras more annoying than others, and people who always carry water can subvert this problem by disabling the rad aura. Also, there is the upside of being able to see cloaked rad hunters because of their aura.

Boom/Tabby, Boom/Hunter
Again, this is an entirely subjective combination because while this can be an annoying combination, it's not nearly as annoying as a rock/tabby or a crystal/tabby. This combination is hardly a problem if you make sure they are fed and are okay with raising chickens, as boom slimes explode much less when they are happy.

Carnivore/Carnivore
For people who cannot stand raising chickens, especially free-rangers, these combinations will be a pain. Free-rangers suffer from a glitch where largos cannot jump over the coop wall despite clearly being able to jump high enough to go over it. However, not everyone will find these combinations annoying, making it subjective.

Tangle/Any
This is a great combination if you have free-range slimes but insist on using coops, because they can just ignore the glitch involving chicken coop walls. This is also great if you go away for long periods of time, because your slimes can feed themselves and thus won't try to escape. However, some people would rather manually feed their slimes, and you have to keep in mind that tangle slimes can also grab plorts, causing Tarr.

Pink/Any
This combination is supposedly good for people who just cannot raise a slime's diet food, most commonly hard-to-find favorite foods. I suppose that this could be good for carnivorous slimes. However, this does raise the question of why you would use pink slimes when you could use a more valuable slime to balance the diet. It seems wasteful when you have pink slimes outside your ranch, and you can farm those instead if you really need pink plorts for science.

Pink/Any
Even in the early game, I still don't see a point with pink largos, because they are right outside your ranch. Save your space for more valuable early-game slimes.

Rock/Tabby
While rock tabbies are not normally a good idea once you have access to more peaceful slimes, they are the most cost-effective largos to raise early-game because there is no solar shield, and they don't require the Grotto to free-range. These are probably your best deal for starting the game.

Phosphor/Tabby
These guys are peaceful, unlike the other two combinations. Even though they require solar shield or the Grotto, they are at least not a hassle to handle if you find harmful behavior especially annoying. However, they do escape corrals rather easily if they are not cared for properly, due to the energetic nature of tabby slimes and flight of phosphor slimes.

Rock/Phosphor
This is probably not worth the trouble. These guys need a solar shield and they damage you, meaning that you have two trade-offs and no benefits to make up for it.