Mining

While you are waiting for your crops to be ready for harvesting, it is important to make the most of your time and balance it with other income-earning opportunities. One of the most effective ways to earn additional money is to head down to the mines to search for rare ores and minerals.

Locating the mine won’t be much of a task as it is is one of the first spots you’d get to visit after launching the game. After speaking to one of the Harvest Sprites named Rowan, you will be transported to the Harvest Goddess. After your short chat with the Harvest Goddess, you will exit her lair and then find yourself in the forest. As you make your way down the forest, or perhaps even explore the area, you will find an opening to a cave which will lead you to the mines. Of course in the beginning, going to the mine will be a good thing to explore but spending your time there with non-upgraded Tools will just wear you down.

A few things to remember before engaging in mining:

1. Time stops in the mines. While you’re in the mines, you won’t have to worry about the time passing. After all, the mine has a hundred levels so the developers understand that reaching level 100 in the mines can actually take a LOT of time. Once you exit the mines and go in again, you will automatically begin at the first level.

Another thing that must be considered is that in order to go deeper into the mines, you will have to find the hidden ladder which will lead you there. The ladder is randomly placed around the area and you will have to use a Hoe to search for that.

Tip: One of the best things to do to search for the ladder is to dig up the whole perimeter first. Also take note that once you found the ladder, do not expect the next ladder to be near the area of where you found the last ladder.

2. Upgrade your Hammer and Hoe (to Gold if possible) as soon as you can. As mentioned earlier, successfully exploring the mine includes having to be able to find the ladder that will lead you to the next level fast. Using a Hoe that is not upgraded will cost you a lot of your Stamina and yet only cover a single square–that will be totally inefficient. In the same manner, using a non-upgraded Hammer will also cost you a lot of Stamina as it will require you to hammer on the ore or mineral more in order to get the desired output.

Having an upgraded Hoe will help you cover more squares in the mines (especially that the mine gets wider as you go deeper into the mines)–without consuming all your precious Stamina with only a few strikes to the ground. Getting your Hammer upgraded shall also help you mine the ores more effectively with only a few hits to it as a requirement.

3. Bring cooked food. Reaching level 100 in the mines not only requires that you have upgraded Tools. An equally important item to have in your stash when venturing into the mines is Cooked Food as these can help restore your Stamina.

When you begin mining, you will only be working with around five Energy Hearts. And every time you use Tools (farming, fishing, mining, etc.) Stamina is consumed. In the mines, even if you have upgraded tools already, these five Energy Hearts is not enough to help you reach to the 100th level in the mines.

In order to bring back lost Stamina, one of the best things you can do is to bring with you Cooked Food. To have Cooked Food around, you will have to acquire recipes. Unlike in other Harvest Moon games, you may opt to buy food from the restaurant, which you may bring with you to the mines whenever you wish (although these pre-cooked food options are usually more expensive).

Tip: One of the easiest food to cook would be a boiled or fried egg. But before being able to cook an egg, make sure to have a chicken/s in your coop first (which will also entail some kind of care and attention too).

Minerals and Ores in Every Level

Level 1-5: Stone, Iron, Silver

Level 6-10: Glass Material, Mithril

Level 11-15: Orichalcum, Gold

Level 16-20: Adamantium Ore

Level 21-30: Agate Ore

Level 31-40: Opal ore, Crystal ore, Jade ore, Flourite ore

Level 41-50: Peridot ore, Topaz ore, Onyx ore, Amethyst ore, Moonstone ore

Level 51-60: Ruby ore, Sapphire ore, Emerald ore, Diamond ore, Pink Diamond ore

Level 61-70: Two kinds of ore per rubble. Acquiring this will need two strikes from your Hammer

Level 71-99: Soul Gem ore

Level 100: An extra Energy Heart awarded to you by Rowan