Good info about the direction and lines that the meteors travel along.
I meteor just spawned while I was waiting in a shed outside the Frost Temple. Waiting AFC does seem the best method without Mods, though it took 2 hours. And there is no guarantee that a Meteor lands close enough for you to see it. The places they can land is huge, so I had to do a run around to check if any had spawned periodically… Now I know that the Frost Temple are where they often land is a viable waiting area.
I think the best way for solo players is to log in in the north so they can see the Meteor event. Then they leave the game for 2 hours and do a sweep of the most common locations that Meteors land when they return. Meteors despawn after almost 4 hours, so it might not be a perfect strategy to leave the game on while sleeping. After a successful Meteor shower, the % chance is reduced to 0%. Unlike the 75% chance you start with when logging in.
(Place bed and keep sheltered to not starve/ spawn away from the area)
Can also confirm that Meteors does not De-Spawn if you travel to the other side of the map in Single Player. It’s stored in memory somewhere. That was also a worry I had.
I also saw that the meteors did not land in a pattern group that was on the Meteor map, despite one of the landing spots matching. The patterns are fairly random I think. The map indicates that their meteor groups landed in a very scattered manner across the north, so unless you see the meteors fall, it’s basically a scavengers hunt across the hotspots. With a good chance of finding one once they’ve spawned I might add.
Cheapest way to crack them open: Demon-fire Orb. Star Metal can be acquired after lvl 15 + any tier Alchemist. (Required High Tier Tools are now available in chests in the Forbidden City and Frost Temple)
Most of my questions are now answered, but I still wonder if the first check for meteors happen after 30 min and not on startup.