Mining
Mining in Sunshine Islands requires three Farm Tools: a Hammer, Hoe and Watering Can. The Watering Can is used to melt Lava in order to clear spaces AND obtain a rather popular gift item in the form of Gelatin. This is a new option in Sunshine Islands.
As in Island of Happiness and some of the other Harvest Moon games, you can descend to lower floors either via stairs or a Pitfall.
A different Gem may be found on each floor on the first 9 Floors. Note that oddly, you may find a different correspondence on your first visit to the Mine but after that, it should be as follows:
Floors B1 through B9:
B1: Amethyst
B2: Agate
B3: Fluorite
B4: Peridot
B5 Topaz
B6: Ruby
B7: Emerald
B8: Sand Rose
B9: Moonstone
When you reach the 10th Floor:
Dum=Da-Da-DAA! You’ve reached the 10th floor of the mine for the first time! Hm? Who am I? Can’t tell you yet. See ya!
(If you have raised Mystic Islands and met the Harvest Goddess by throwing an acceptable offering into the Pool there, the Harvest Goddess will show herself and make an announcement of similar sort in the Mine whenever you reach a new ‘goal’ in terms of reaching a lower floor of the mine.)
Note that Stone Tablets can be found first on the 50th Floor using a Hoe, and on every 25th Floor after that. Only one Stone Tablet can be found on any allocated Floor. After shipping the first Stone Tablet to complete the entry in your Shipping List, stash them in your Rucksack to gain Mining Points daily from each.
Floor B10: Adamantite
11th through 24th Floors: All Gems apart from Diamond, Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
25th Floor: Orichalcum
26th through 49th Floors: Copper, Silver, Gold
Floor B50t: Mythic Stone and, using your Hoe, Stone Tablet
51st through 74th Floors: All Gems (including Diamonds) and All Ores apart from Mythic Stone, including Mystrile, Adamantite and Orichalcum
Floor B75th: Stone Tablet in floor (using Hoe), but nothing in Rocks
Note that you will find neither stairs nor pitfalls on the 75th Floor unless you have raised your Mining Degree at least to Level 5.
76th to 99th Floors: Copper, Silver, Gold, Mystrile
Floor B100: Nothing apart from Stone Tablet , obtained by using a Hoe
101st through 124th Floors: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
Floor B125: Alexandrite and by using a Hoe, a Stone Tablet
B126 through B149 Floors: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
Floor B150: Diamond and Pink Diamond
B151 through B174 Floors: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
B175: Nothing apart from the Stone Tablet you can find with your Hoe
B176 through B199 Floors: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
Floor B200: Nothing apart from the Stone Tablet your can find with your Hoe
B201 through B224: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
Floor B225: Adamantite and Orichalcum and, with a Hoe, a Stone Tablet
B226 through B249: All Gems apart from Pink Diamond and Alexandrite
B250: All Gems and All Ores and, by using a Hoe, a Stone Tablet
B251 through B254 Floors: All Gems and All Ores
B255: Wonderful from the Harvest Goddess and, by using your Hoe, 1-2 Stone Tablets
Mining Strategies
Your worst enemy in the Mine does not consist of Pitfalls but your own Energy limits. By carrying as many Provisions as possible and ALWAYS using a Recovery Item before your Stamina decreases below the halfway point, you will avoid passing out.
Lava is an impediment that can conceal a stairway but you can find Gelatin in any piece of Lava after using Water on it three times. Gelatin is an item that is quite well-regarded as a Gift by more than one Eligible Girl.
If you study the Mining List above, you will see that the best Floors to explore extensively in the early stages of mining are:
Floor 10: Find as much Adamantite as possible to use in creating Makers
Floor 25: Find as much Orichalcum as possible to use in creating Accessories
Floor 50: Find as many Mythic Stones as possible to ship for income
Floors 51 through 74: These are the earliest Floors that hold most of the Gems as well as most of the Ores. The only Gems you cannot find here are the very rare Pink Diamond and Alexandrite. The only Ore you will be unable to find is Mythic Stone.
My own strategy usually is to save whenever I reach a new Floor, then use a Pitfall to fall lower until I am within one or two floors of Floor 25 and Floor 50. I make certain to reach Floor 25 to collect Orichalcum, always needed, and then to reach Floor 50 to collect Mythic Stone, certainly needed for income in the first couple of years. You can find from 5 to 7 pieces of each of these special items on their designated Floors. I never have found more than 7, however.
From Floors 51 through 74, you will find your greatest number of items, both in the form of Ores and Gems. There usually is at least one piece of Orichalcum as well as one piece of Adamantite on EACH of these Floors. It therefore makes no sense to allow yourself to fall through a Pitfall unless the Pitfall takes you only one floor lower, as you then will run the risk of skipping some of these Floors.
As previously stated, it is best to save your game as soon as you arrive on any new Floor, unless you have arrived via Pitfall and lost too much Energy in the process. The amount of Energy you lose when you fall is based on the number of Floors that you travel in your fall. One or two floors therefore is to be preferred, even if it is less tedious to fall through all the Floors that hold little of benefit.
An important consideration in Mining in Sunshine Islands is increasing your skill and Mining Points through experience. Collecting even Junk Ore will add to your Mining Degree Points. You will find that the lowest Floor to which you are able to descend in the Mine is determined by your Mining Degree Level. It therefore makes little sense to push your way to the 75th Floor when your Mining experience is too low to permit you to descend any further. Whenever your Mining experience is too low, NEITHER STAIRS NOR PITFALLS WILL APPEAR NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU RELOAD!
Spending a lot of time exploring each of the Floors between Level 50 and Level 75 probably is the best way to increasing your Mining Degree total and obtain the largest amount of income. Further benefits are Orichalcum and Adamantite totals, which will allow you to order vital Accessories and the Makers that are used to process Ranch Products and Grains.
Using Wonderfuls in the Mine
Some of the Wonderfuls will have no power in the Mine but Green, Orange and Purple Wonderfuls in your Hoe and Hammer can prove very helpful. Knowing Charlie’s schedule can allow you to trade Wonderfuls from tool to tool, setting Yellow, Green and Purple in the Hamer and Hoe for the duration of any Mining expedition, then taking them back to Charlie for dispersal and use in different Tools.
Inside the Mine, an Orange Wonderful set into your Hammer will allow you to find more Gems and Ores in the Rocks you smash and, when set in your Hoe, will allow you to find more Black Herbs and Coins in the ground. The number of potential Stone Tablets found on any allocated floor will not change. In fact, as the Watering Can is used to find Gelatin in Lava, setting an Orange Wonderful in it will increase the amount of Gelatin you can find.
The Orange Wonderfuls, however, are less vital than a Green Wonderful in this context. Green Wonderfuls decrease the amount of Stamina required for each use of the Tool into which they are set. Stamina always is a valuable commodity inside the Mine. When you are farming, the best place for your Green Wonderfuls to be set probably is your Watering Can but whenever you plan an expedition to the Mine, you may wish to load your Hammer and Hoe with them as well.
The Purple Wonderfuls are the least important as they simply add 2G to the value of items that are obtained using the Tool in which they are set. This is of minor significance compared to the other Wonderfuls.
Alexandrite and Red Magic Flowers
Alexandrite is a valuable item in its own right but it becomes doubly so when used in a Recipe to create the rare Red Magic Flower. Although you can find Red Magic Flower on Sprout Island randomly during the Autumn Season, you can make it in your Kitchen using the rather more common Blue Magic Flower and Alexandrite. To obtain any Recipe, you must give an ingredient to a specific Chef. In this case, you must give Blue Magic Flower to Haila at the Café.
Mining Degree Points
Although you cannot see the total number of points that you have earned in any Degree Category, it is useful to know how many can be earned by any given action or achievement.
The values are as follows:
Use your Hoe, Hammer or Watering Can: 1 point
Descend to another Floor using stairs or Pitfall: 1 point
Obtain any Gem or Ore: 2 points
Ship any Gem or Ore: 2 points
Obtain a new variety of Gem or Ore: 15 points
Participate in the Mining Contest: 100 points
Win 1st Place in the Mining Contest: 1000 points (and a Wonderful as 1st Prize)
Win 2nd Place in the Mining Contest: 700 points (and 3 Wonderful Pieces)
Win 3rd Place in the Mining Contest: 500 points (and 2 Wonderful Pieces)
As you can see, every piece of Junk Ore that you obtain is worth as much as any rare Gem or Ore in terms of your Mining Points. Shipping Junk Ore will give you the same number of points as shipping any rare and expensive item, even if it will not yield as much income!
As previously indicated, the lowest Floor that you can access at any given time in the Mine is determined by your Mining Degree point total. The correspondences are:
For 0 through 500 Points: Floor B10
For 501 through 2000 Points: Floor B25
For 2001 through 5000 Points: Floor B50
For 5001 through 10000 Points: Floor B75
For 10001 through 15000 Points: Floor B100
For 15001 through 20000 Points: Floor B150
For 20001 through 25000 Points: Floor B200
For 25001 through 30000 Points: Floor B250
With 30001 Points, the Mine is yours to command.
This information is included in my Sunshine Islands General Guide but for those who prefer to access this site, this post should be fairly helpful in terms of exploring the Mine on Volcano Island. Note that, in many respects, the correspondences between Floors in IoH and Sunshine Islands are identical.
A Website for all Harvest Moon fans providing Links to all Guides by Freyashawk: Actual Links on Right Side of Webpage
16 comments:
Hi,
I'm stuck on b10. I fell through a pitfall to level 10 and I smashed all the rocks and tilled every possible turf yet I can't find a stairway down to b11 =S
Am I meant to find my own way to b10 instead of falling?
I expect your Mining Skill level is too low. I did not experience this until I reached Level 75 in my first game, but it is possible that you haven't done enough mining yet to go past the 10th floor. Each floor that has an announcement has a Mining Skill Requirement that must be satisfied before you can descend any lower.
I mined my way down to the 100th floor, and found myself surrounded by lava and nowhere to walk. I extinguished as much of it as I could, and I couldn't find the stairwell or a pitfall. Does this mean I can't go any further, or do I just need a bigger watering can?
Thanks!
Ezra, I wrote about this in the post:
You will find that the lowest Floor to which you are able to descend in the Mine is determined by your Mining Degree Level. It therefore makes little sense to push your way to the 75th Floor when your Mining experience is too low to permit you to descend any further. Whenever your Mining experience is too low, NEITHER STAIRS NOR PITFALLS WILL APPEAR NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU RELOAD!
Spending a lot of time exploring each of the Floors between Level 50 and Level 75 probably is the best way to increasing your Mining Degree total and obtain the largest amount of income.
END OF EXCERPT
I suspect your Mining Degree is insufficient.
So; in order to get down further, you need to do a lot of mining in the first few levels? I can never go anywhere because my stamina runs out. What things should i bring to restore it?
Thanks!
Sarah, my General Guide for Sunshine Islands has detailed sections as to how to restore your Energy in the Mine and what to take with you. Cooked Dishes combined with Harvest Goddess Pendant and, to a lesser extent, the Kappa Pendant are the most helpful.
By the way, the 100th floor will be mainly lava unless you order an Enchantment at Regis' house. I always try to skip it, even though it has a Stone Tablet somewhere. As your Mining Degree Title increases, lava may decrease a little on the 100th floor, but I think it's a waste of time to navigate it.
Hey is there any factor that determines the quality of ur ore (like mining degree or floor and watnot?)
In my own game, both my experience and the depth at which I found the Ore/Gem appeared to influence the quality somewhat. I believe the results are always random in terms of quality but that you have a better chance of finding better ores/gems when you go lower and when your Mining Degree increases.
(Sorry, I typed too long of a comment – it’s been broken up into three parts)
Hi,
I've run into a very strange problem. First I will explain my situation.
The date is Spring 27. I have two green and one purple wonderful set in my hoe, and I entered the mine and started digging my way down, starting around noon. I didn't bring any food, because I figured I could use my hoe without losing any stamina...
... until the clock struck 10pm. So I started expending one stamina per strike. Which is all fine and dandy, but I want to reach the bottom floor. I accidentally walked into a pitfall too and decided to continue on instead of reloading, and fell three floors, so I have less stamina than expected. I have the medium HG pendant, so my stamina limit is 200. I entered with 198, I think, because I used the teleport stone to get to Volcano Island.
The strangest part is that I can find pitfalls. I've even fallen down one to the 255th floor and passed out, and woken up on the 29th (that's two days later - completely skipping the 28th). So it shouldn't be that my mining level is too low, because I can clearly go further down.
I've even been lucky enough to find the stone tablet on this floor already (I ate a black grass to make up for the stamina loss, but I only have one more). And it seems to me that the chance of finding stairs is a lot higher than the chance for a stone tablet, since I usually find the stairs before the tablet.
So it seems to be one of a few possibilities.
1. My mining experience is, actually, too low, but a glitch related to the (first) 250th floor lets me find pitfalls.
2. My mining experience is high enough, but a glitch related to the (first) 250th floor prevents me from finding stairs.
3. I've been ridiculously unlucky on the 250th floor and/or the chance of finding stairs on the (first) 250th floor is much lower than usual.
4. The stairs on the (first) 250th floor are in a fixed location for some reason.
By (first) I mean that this is my first time reaching the 250th floor.
So what do you think? I'd appreciate any insight you can shed on this. Thanks in advance.
(Sorry, it ended up being four parts...)
Hmm, something happened to the second part of my comment. I can't remember exactly how it went, but I'll try. This should be going right after my first comment.
Now I've reached the 250th floor (for the first time, so the Harvest Goddess showed up and announced that). At this point, I only have seven stamina points left. I tested this - seven more uses of the hoe and I pass out. Which means I'm only allowed one hit per floor to get to the bottom from here on.
Here's where things get strange. I can't seem to find any stairs. I think I've dug once and reloaded the game for about two hours now, on and off, which is probably more than 300 hits and reloads. Normally it takes no more than 20 tries - most take no more than 10.
Kira, I suspect that your Mining Skills are too low and that some glitch allowed you to fall past the 250th floor previously. I won't ask you why you stubbornly persist after 300 reloads... I've done the same myself. If I were you, though, I'd forget about going past Floor 250 now and simply mine, mine, mine. If you had spent your energy on genuine mining instead of 300 reloads, I daresay the stairs and pitfalls would appear on 250 now... but it could be a glitch in the game itself, so do let me know how it works out. Please do more mining on the floors above 250 and keep in touch. I'm working on Grand Bazaar now so can't do more investigation in Sunshine Islands myself.
Thanks for the response, Freya.
Come to think of it, I don't think I dug up a pitfall on my first hoe whack, ever, on the current floor in particular, but it has happened before on other floors(and I would, amusingly, just float over the pitfall). But I have been able to dig up a pitfall on subsequent whacks.
So, maybe, just maybe, I was lucky enough to be lacking 2-4 points or so until I can keep going. Which would be weird, though, because the Goddess didn't say I can't keep going yet, which she did say when I reached the 10th floor for the first time.
As for "mine, mine, mine," I entered the mine for the main purpose of reaching the bottom floor. And now that I only have 6 stamina points left with 1 black grass (I actually have another, but it's my first S-rank black grass that I want to ship), and since it's past midnight, a hammer whack would take 3 points, meaning I can only hit twice anyway. I guess I should have brought emergency food... But I've also mined a lot previously. My last trip down the mine was to reach floor 150 to find a pink diamond.
Well I'm gonna keep at it for now. I'll update you later. Thanks!
(Man, HM is so time-consuming...)
is there anyway to actually know how many mining exp points we have? or do we only know by how far down we can go? thanks for all the awesome guides!(:
Hi Freya, me again.
So I finally decided to give up, but not without learning something interesting. Here's what happened.
Assuming I was lacking just a few points more to be allowed to reach the bottom, I figured I could dig for black grass, and then eat it and save, and since black grass restores 1 stamina point, I should theoretically be able to keep that up as long as I want.
Turns out, that's not true. At least, it isn't true after 10pm. I saved after digging up 3 or so black grasses before I realized that I wasn't getting as much stamina back as I expected. So I tested, and sure enough I was one point too short of reaching the bottom instead of having just enough.
So, I did the best thing I could think of - continue reloading after every dig, but this time aim for large gold coins. At least I can walk away with over 1000G. I left the mine with 1 stamina point left.
So it seems like black grass restores 1/2 or 1/3 of a stamina point, at least after 10pm. Maybe it restores a full point during the day. Not sure if you knew this, but if you didn't it's an interesting note. I think the water you can get at the restaurant and cafe for free may be the same.
Anyway, I guess we'll never know what the problem was.
I'm also taking a break from HM:SI now, and playing something else.
And sorry for being so long-winded...
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