Located in the mountain area of the island, the mine is unlocked during Chapter 2 of your quest to restore the lighthouse, for a cost of 10x Softwood Lumber and 500G. Once the mine entrance is repaired, Gus lends you the Hammer you need to smash the ore-containing crystals found within. To progress underground, you must use the Hoe to uncover the hidden ladder. Every level contains a ladder leading deeper into the mine, all the way down to Level 100. Sounds easy, right? Keep reading.
Preparations
Don’t let the early floors of the mine mislead you into thinking the levels are all very small. The deeper you get in the mine, the larger the individual floors are. Larger floors contain many more crystals for you to smash, which is great, but it also means you spend much more time searching for the ladder. And though you can leave at any time by simply climbing the ladder, it’s worth aiming to reach the next checkpoint before exiting. Checkpoints exist every five levels (Level 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, etc.), and you’re unlikely to clear more than five levels in a single visit once you get below Level 20.
Before entering the mine, take the following steps to ensure a smooth outcome:
- Visit the Hot Springs to replenish your Stamina. Never explore the mine without full Stamina unless you’re only entering for a quick item grab.
- Ensure you have plenty of food. We recommend keeping a stash of Bamboo Shoots (or Mushrooms if fall/winter) on hand, along with plenty of Grilled Fish, Fried Eggs, or Bread. Never let your Stamina get below a heart.
- Upgrade your Hoe. Though you need the Expert and Master Hammers to break the crystals in deeper levels, searching for the exit is quite time-consuming without the Expert or Master Hoe.
- Make sure you have plenty of room in your Bag if you haven’t upgraded your house yet. You can only have up to ninety-nine individual item types in your Bag (not including tools). New item types are discarded if you don’t have the dresser that comes with the upgraded house.
- Check the time of day. The in-game hours can really fly by while you’re underground, but you still must get to sleep at a decent hour. Don’t let the 5:00 a.m. curfew cut you off before you reach that next checkpoint!
Searching for the Ladder
Smashing crystals open for random ore drops isn’t just fun, but it’s simple and fast, too! The same can’t always be said for finding the ladder down to the next level of the mine. Ladders are hidden in the floor of the mine, and there’s no indication where they are. To find the ladder, use the Hoe to dig it up—it can be anywhere! By the time you reach Level 20, you’ll understand the importance of an upgraded Hoe.
Though we can’t provide a map to the location of the ladder—the ladder is in a random location each time you visit a given level—we can provide several tips for finding the ladder quickly.
- The next ladder down is never directly near the ladder leading up. It might be close, but it’s not going to be in any of the squares adjacent to the ladder you just descended.
- Clear away all of the crystals when you first enter a level, so you can search for the ladder without interruption. Also, if you run out of Stamina, you can always leave knowing you already collected the ore.
- The ladder is almost always within three squares of a wall, and usually within three squares of the perimeter walls. Once you have the Expert Hoe (or better), make your way around the perimeter, walking along the second square from the wall, so you can clear a three-square-wide path. This gets much easier with the Master Hoe and Sacred Hoe.
- Keeping the previous tip in mind, dig in random locations while using the Hoe and Expert Hoe to perform a lap around the level. Only stop to dig up every square along the way during your second lap.
- Save the middle of the levels for last, as it’s extraordinarily rare for the ladder to be located in the center of the room.