Mining feels unrewarding

[kn0wmad1c]

The breakable crates rarely drop anything, the enemies rarely drop anything, the gem nodes very rarely spawn. Mining is kind of a chore where I just beeline the way down instead of trying to fight or break barrels because nothing drops.

[thelefthorse]

I agree, mining needs some love. I've mentioned this same issue before. I feel like there's no reason to do anything other than grab the (scarce) ore and drill down to the next floor asap.

If there were random weapon drops (even if very rare, as in SDV) from crates and enemies, that would help a lot.

[Meslyin]

I've been thinking about this, too. Last time I played, I believe only the first two mines were open, so I figured a lot more work would have gone into them now that they are all open. I'm sure there's more work to come, at least, I hope so because mines feel empty and unrewarding.

I love the new enemies, though I haven't met all of them, yet. Not even sure they're all in the game. I like they have different mechanics, even though there is one monster that I cannot seem to kill. It just comes after you and blows something at you, and if you stand in it, it hurts you. I can get the health down, but it seems luck when I'm able to kill it.

The problems (for me):
Maybe it's just my game and this specific save, but I had to go through all four mines 3-4 times before I was able to get 5 bat wings. The drop for them is SUPER low, even from the bats. That seems very off.
Ore and gems... the drops again are low. Usually, ore isn't even on every single level and when they are, in most levels, it's like 2-3 nodes. I feel like it could be a bit better. Gems definitely need a higher spawn rate because even with going through all the mines 3-4 times, I still haven't seen all of the gems. I also finished the ocean and "hoe" the beach often, so I get chests, too. Yet, still very low gem drops.
The crates rarely have anything in them, so they make me wonder why they're even there. If a crate is in tact, shouldn't it have something in it?
Lastly, weapons. I don't know if weapons are better or worse than other weapons. So, far, I have 2 weapons. I have the starting sword and then got a fiery sword or something. I'm guessing we can buy more in the Mining Guild or whatever it's called, but is there a reason to buy any other weapon? I don't see any stats on the weapons, but maybe I overlooked it? Are the other weapons just for the look? Maybe that will be expanded later, but for now the weapon system seems really simple.

[twistedoldloony]

I agree! It's hard coming from a game like Stardew Valley with it's pretty in depth mining to this game's mining. It's so boring! One thing that drives me nuts is the random triggering of the "skill" that makes nearby rocks break too! Once I got a super upgraded and enchanted pickax that skill is just annoying because I can break the rocks faster without it and I keep hitting the floor instead of a rock. The combat system in the game is a bit simple too. I was looking at how many weapons you can purchase at the guild and I also don't get why they are even there if they have zero differences. What's the point? Look only? That seems ridiculous! I'm also stuck on the 5th bat wing and of course now I'll have to start all over on the 14th! *Sigh*
I find the cleaning of the ocean floor to be really nice and zen but I just don't get that same feeling in the mines.

[Meslyin]

Originally posted by twistedoldloony:

One thing that drives me nuts is the random triggering of the "skill" that makes nearby rocks break too! Once I got a super upgraded and enchanted pickax that skill is just annoying because I can break the rocks faster without it and I keep hitting the floor instead of a rock.

I know exactly what skill you're talking about. I got it, too, because it seemed useful in the very beginning, but once you've upgraded your pickax, it's kind of a waste of energy because you end up hitting the ground when the nearby rocks break. Like, the skill activates too slowly and I've been thinking that, but then I can also see how that works for the visuals. When you're bursting through the mines, because you've already been through them and you're just in there to find drops rather than opening that specific mine up, it just slows you down.
I'm hoping we get a way to reset skills or that specific skill gets reworked so that maybe it breaks more rocks surrounding the rock you hit, which could be useful, or it just breaks rocks faster.

But, yeah, coming from Stardew, the mines in this game leave a lot to be desired. Going into those mines was still pretty exciting even after you'd finished all the mines. The trip felt rewarding, not to mention the progression of the mines. In this game, I didn't want to go back to the mines once I was finished with them all. And with weapons, by the time I've gone through all the mines, I feel like I should have a weapon or two that makes the trip a LOT easier, either from a final drop at the end of the fire mine or that can be bought in the Guild, maybe even earned through doing quests in the guild or something. The weapons not having stats just throws me off.

[Lady Snaccident]

Although I love this game and have invested many, many hours into it, I must agree. While the diving is very satisfying, the mining leaves me sad. There are very, very few gem nodes. Once you find the vein of ore, there isn't any more.

In addition, it takes forever to level up combat, probably facilitated by the fact that I feel bad killing them. The poor monsters are just sleeping there, minding their own business in their world, and it makes me feel like the bad guy when I kill them for zero reason except the rare resources that hardly ever fall.

The mines are *much better* than they were in the original version when it came out in Oct 2022. The archaeologist/fossil aspect *does* help, of course. Digging for fossils and discovering what's there for the museum is an awesome dynamic. But it would be super fun if we could find gem nodes and geodes more frequently.

Sometimes when I've played a game like this to completion, I like to try various run through challenges where I focus on a particular type of skill. So in foraging, I can do that with sap and mushroom logs. Farming's obvious as is ranching (by the way, love that we have a separate skill for that!). Fishing can work with fish ponds, and the same goes for catching and insect houses. I can be a florist and focus on flowers and honey. I can be a diver and focus on shellfish production as well as the other lovely things that comes from diving in addition to a solar panel farm.

But what I can't do? Survive on mining. I mean, I guess I could mine for ore, but half the fun is all the cool gems and stuff you can find in geodes, nodes, and random barrels.

We don't need to be overflowing in pink diamonds and red beryl, but when you find two in 116 hrs of gameplay, it seems a bit unbalanced. Though the slime of replication helps a bit for enhancement, it isn't quite as satisfying as hunting for and finding the gems and geodes yourself. :)

Now it isn't a disaster. But it would be fun.

Also, it would help if we could use the items we get from monsters. Like, can we craft silk or angora from silky fur? Can we use monster essence for something? Perhaps we can use the stingers as needles and craft sewing machines to make clothes with our fabric we can sell? I'm not saying what to do, I just mean it might be fun to use the stuff; otherwise I feel like Darth Vader killing creatures for the hell of it.

That being said, I don't want to be completely negative here. On a positive note, I absolutely LOVE the idea of rescuing the people. Wow! That gave me such an incentive to power through the mines. I ADORE that aspect of the mines, and I think it's an ingenious way to make going through the mines have real stakes and meaning. So kudos for that. Perhaps if these monsters were more on guard as lackeys for the big bad holding them hostage, I wouldn't feel so bad about killing them.