ShneekeyTheLost
Rancher
This post is rated O for Optimization. This post contains scenes of graphic min/maxing and optimization strategies that are not suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
So, I've written a few guides for more casual players to introduce them to some concepts that you can fairly easily leverage into better performance without needing to go into high-octane min/max strategies, and this is going to be another in the same vein. I'm not going to go over high-end optimization, but I will give you some general guidelines that might help your next mining dive run smoother.
The goal here is to hit level 80 as fast as possible. The gold and fire quartz found at these depths are used to unlock something in the Community Center that... you *really* want to unlock. The gold is also used in Quality Sprinklers, which are the path to hanging up your watering can and saving substantial energy cost at the beginning of each day. It is not only possible, but not really as challenging as one might think, to hit level 80 before the end of your very first Spring, if you put a bit of effort into it. This guide is intended to show you how to best utilize that effort.
Furthermore, collecting minerals to donate to the Museum is also important! Collecting and donating five items will net you nine Cauliflower, which is certainly a hefty boost for your pocketbook (and your farming levels!) if you can manage to get them before the end of the second week, and there's plenty of low-hanging fruit to help with that in the early levels. Quartz is bountiful in the uppermost levels of the mines, and other gems can be found as well. Geodes can also drop and brought to Clint for processing.
Proper Preparation Prevents Panicked Perspiration
So, what exactly do you want when going into the mines? Here's some things to consider.
- Food. Something to nom on to regain your health and stamina. Because passing out is annoying, and dying is just not on. In your first spring, you should have access to Spring Onions and perhaps Salmonberries. Failing that, some cash into buying Salads from Gus might not go amiss. But really, salmonberries can be had in bulk once salmonberry season starts, you can pretty easily get a hundred or even two hundred berries over a couple of days, which should last you quite some time. Salmonberries also have the advantage of never getting any sort of quality star, and thus will stack with itself, reducing the number of slots taken up by your preparations.
- Weapon. You're going to start off with a rusty sword. It's pretty worthless, so don't feel bad if you literally drop it on the ground and walk away should you find something better in your excursion. The Steel Smallsword you get at mine level 20 is a straight upgrade from the Rusty Sword, and should immediately be utilized. The Forest Sword and the Club are two weapons you might luck into in the early mine levels, and both would be vastly superior to your starter blade or the steel smallsword you pick up. Some might be tempted to grind bugs for the quest reward from the Adventurer's Guild (killing 125 insects), but that will take too long for the purposes of our guide, which will focus on speed. If you luck into a Neptune's Glaive, you'll pretty much be set, but that involves fishing and a great deal of luck, and not something I'd suggest deliberately trying for. If you haven't found any weapons by mine level 40, and don't feel comfortable progressing without something more substantial than the steel smallsword you picked up a while back, go to the Adventurer's Guild and buy a Mallet. That should easily carry you down. Toss or sell any daggers offered, they simply don't function very well as weapons due to their smaller hit box (only directly in front of you instead of in a sweeping motion), lower damage, and nonfunctional right-click ability (it typically doesn't hit as often as you might think).
- Pickaxe. I'd suggest upgrading to a Copper Pickaxe as soon as you possibly can. That's going to be 2,000g and 5 Copper Bars. This will save you considerable time and energy, especially once you hit level 40 and the rocks start getting harder to break. In fact, I generally do an early dive just to get the copper necessary for the upgrade, then upgrade during salmonberry season to take advantage of the bountiful fruit bushes while the pickaxe upgrades. Getting a Steel Pickaxe by the time you hit level 80 is nice... but not mandatory.
- That's It. You can leave the rest of your tools, including your hoe, in a chest back on the farm to reduce slots filled. Remember, the more stuff you bring, the less space you have for loots.
- No backpack upgrade at first. I'd rather upgrade the pickaxe than get a backpack, personally. Remember, you can bail out every five levels if you need.
- Chest placed in the mine entrance. No one walks in there, so it will be safe from the ravages of NPC pathing, and is pretty much THE reason why I suggest avoiding the backpack upgrade at first. Hit a level with an elevator, take it up, drop off loots, and you're back in the game with little time wasted, and more space for more loots without needing to go all the way back to the farmstead.
That's the preparation. You need a weapon, a pickaxe, and food, and that's it. As long as you've got a chest in the mine entrance, you can just return there every five levels to drop off your loot without hampering progression too badly.
General tips and tricks:
- Don't be afraid to pass out. The only thing you lose is a bit of cash when you pass out from exhaustion or hitting 2 AM in the mines. Cash you can make up later. And it's only 10% of what happens to be in your pocket at the time, maximum of 1,000g. Since you won't have a lot of pocket change in the early parts of the game when you're really trying to dive as fast as possible, you can use this to dive further without worrying about trying to get back home before the end of the day.
- Don't get killed. The item loss for 'dying' is pretty dang brutal. Personally, I'd just reset the day if you fall in battle. To avoid this, eat food between encounters.
- Don't worry about your luck. Yes, luck has a small impact on ladders appearing after breaking stone. No, it isn't large enough to be worth adjusting your plan for. You don't want to lose a whole day's worth of diving just because some old hag on the TV told you the spirits were displeased.
- Try to avoid combat unless you're confident in victory or there is no other option. Getting hurt isn't good, dying is extra-specially not good. And, more important even than that, it takes time. Now, monsters do have a chance of creating a ladder when they die, so if you lucked into a good weapon early on, it might be worth your time. And if an enemy is in your way, feel free to go to town if you are concerned that avoiding the encounter will take longer or risk more damage than actually facing the foe. But generally speaking, the fewer monsters you have to engage, the faster your descent will be. If you end up unlucky enough to get an infested floor, then there won't be much of a choice in the matter unless you can build staircases.
- Use staircases strategically. 100 stone isn't cheap, but can be worth it once you hit Mining level sufficient to make staircases if you use them efficiently. For example, you find a spiral room that will take a lot of time to delve, and next level is an elevator level? Sure, that's a good time to use a staircase. But don't just randomly spam, since you probably won't have enough stone to support that habit (yet). In general, if it will get you to the next elevator level (multiple of 5), if it avoids a major timesink such as an infested level or that spiral level layout, or if you're already wounded and you see the mist rolling in indicating a swarm is about to attack you... those are good times to use one.
- Take a look around before mining random rocks. Sometimes, a ladder just naturally spawns on a level, and getting there without mining anything else is just faster and less energy spent. Don't hesitate to hit up ore or gem deposits of course, but sometimes you can get levels that you can just walk through with minimal fuss.
- Slow but sure can win this race. Assuming you only progress 5 levels per day, it will take at most 16 days to progress to level 80 where the gold and fire quartz spawn. So as long as you start before Spring 12, you can definitely make it before the end of the season. So even if you just had a big harvest and it's already noon and you're down on endurance from the replanting, it can still be worth your time to get that little extra bit of mine diving done.
- But being faster sure doesn't hurt! If you can dive 10-15 levels in a day, do it! Heck, even 20. Even if you hit 2 AM, the worst hit is to your pocketbook, which can be recouped with interest later. And if it means getting an extra elevator level under your belt, then you're certainly ahead of the game!
In Conclusion:
It's not really that hard to hit level 80 by the end of your first Spring, even playing very casually. You just have to be consistent, bring food, put a chest in the cave entrance to store goodies, and be cautious. As you become more familiar with the mines, you can adopt riskier or greedier strategies, but this will at the least get you there in one piece.
