Beginner’s Guide: Intermediate Gameplay, the Plot System and Volcanic Mines Explained
The first article in this series covering basic gameplay, mineral types and Terrestrial mines can be found here.
Watch Volcanic Zone gameplay here: https://youtu.be/Nb0wM3I2exs.
Beyond the Basics
So, you’ve mined the free plot several times and purchased basic upgrades. Eventually, you will find yourself searching for more exotic materials that cannot be obtained in the ‘Free Zone.’ You will now need to buy or rent plots using Dalarnia tokens to receive these materials. Plots are sorted into four types (Terrestrial, Volcanic, Arctic, and Toxic). You can identify the ‘type’ of a plot based on its menu color. You can also gauge its difficulty level by the number, beginning with a D in the bottom right corner. In the bottom examples, the ‘Free Zone’ is a D0 zone, meaning characters of all levels will be able to mine it. However, ‘Acrid Bilge’ has a rating of D9, meaning you must upgrade your character to a high level to mine it successfully.
Terrestrial — purple, Volcanic — red, Arctic — blue, Toxic — green
When you first enter more advanced plots, you may receive the following message:
You may choose yes and enter the level — in many cases, and you will be able to partially mine the plot before hitting a spot your tools can no longer break, though. If the plot is too far above your current level, you may find yourself in a spot where you cannot break any of the blocks. If this happens, you can escape by clicking the pause button in the top left corner and then choosing ‘abort run.’
Renting and/or Buying Strategically
It is wise to choose to buy or rent plots that are close to your character’s current ability while also containing materials necessary to upgrade your equipment further. In the following example, the miner needs to collect Iron Ore and Stellar Shards to complete their next pickaxe upgrade:
This player needs to find a plot within their ability level where they can obtain the correct materials. The following plot, entitled ‘Kindred Gauntlet,’ meets all of the criteria. Therefore, it is wise for the player to spend their Dalarnia tokens to buy or rent this plot. This player can mine it until acquiring the materials needed to upgrade their pickaxe to the next level.
Since this plot is a Volcanic Plot, the player will encounter additional dangers not faced in a Terrestrial mine. The following Intermediate tips will explain some of these differences and provide more general information that will assist you as you continue your journey.
Intermediate Tips
- Different mine types use different equipment to keep you alive. In Terrestrial mines, the level of your oxygen tank determined how long you could survive on the run. In this Volcanic mine, your Heat Sink will determine how long you can stay alive. Upgrade your Heat Sink to go on longer runs in Volcanic mines.
- Enemies will take on fire variations and generally inflict more damage as you progress to higher difficulty levels. Be careful!
- Additional environmental hazards will become commonplace, such as lava pits or spikes on floors and ceilings. It will become more important to watch your next step closer to avoid dying and leaving your current run empty-handed as you progress.
- Inventory management — You have probably noticed by now that your backpack offers a limited number of ‘slots’ for different items. In the below example, the first four things you pick up will fill the various slots. After this, if you try to pick up something new, you will see the message ‘slot full.’ If you right-click on one of your backpack slots, you can choose to throw away whatever is in that slot to free up room for the minerals you really want!
More to Come…
Stay tuned for our next entries in the Beginner’s Guide series. Coming up is a more in-depth look at the plot system (buying, renting, and renting out your plots) as well as a discussion of both Arctic and Toxic mines as well as advanced tips for high tier mines!
Read our FAQ section for more information on the types of Mines!
Visit our Website: https://www.minesofdalarnia.com/
Follow us on Social Media:
Twitter: twitter.com/MinesOfDalarnia
Twitch: twitch.tv/officialminesofdalarnia
Youtube: youtube.com/c/MinesofDalarnia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mines-of-dalarnia/
Join our Community Channels:
Discord: discord.gg/daropennetwork
Telegram: https://t.me/DarOpenNetwork
