Patch #08: Perks & Demolition Update

The second big update for Hold The Mine is now available! There is a lot of new stuff to play with so I hope you’ll like it! The game is also back on sale at 35% off until April 26!

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One of the most requested features is Meta Progression and this update includes a perk system, where you can activate nodes that provide powerful advantages and allow you to customize some aspects of your future runs.

34 perks are available for now, with more than half of them offering up to three different effects. By collecting Mithril Shards in the mine during your run, you’ll unlock points to spend. Up to 15 points can be activated, more perks and points will be added in the future.

You might notice the replacement of half the shop by a new event type: the Demolition Service. This is a big addition, as it allows you to destroy an existing building and get back the ruin to construct a new one. And it's totally free, but you can only do it once per day the event is available. With the reduction of available ruins, it means the game now offer the chance to change/adjust/pivot the strategy during the run, making construction choice even more decisive than before.

Patch Highlights

• Dwarf Perks: a progression system where choice matter

• New Hero: The Engineer

• New Boss: The Dwarf Eating Plant (Ice Biome)

• New Enemy: The Titan

• New Event: Demolition Service

• 4 New Relics

• Rarity & Balancing Rework

Patch Notes - Early Access Version 0.7.37

The Leaderboard has been reset to take into account all of the changes!

Addition

• Added the Dwarf Perk System (meta progression), allowing players to spend points to gain advantages and customize their experience for future runs.

• Added a new type of block in the mine: Mithril Shards.

• Added a new type of enemy: the Titan, appearing at wave 25. This enemy is immune to knockback and status effects.

• Added a new type of shop: the Demolition Service, appearing every other time and allowing players to destroy an existing building and get a ruin spot back (Endless Mode only).

• Added a new hero: the Engineer.

• Silk Heart (new common relic): Whenever Slow is applied, increase the slow by an additional 10%.

• AddedDeath Medallion (new common relic)Whenever a Death Mark is triggered, 40% chance of applying a new mark to another enemy.

• Lightning Shard (new uncommon relic): Whenever an enemy takes extra damage from Shock, it takes 3 more damage.

• Mimic Sculpture (new uncommon relic):Increases the Mimic chance to spawn.

Changes (+)

• Decreased the health of the Flying Skull Head enemy type by 50%, making them easier to kill without relying on spells. Flying Skull Heads now appear from day 20.

• Increased the amount of Relic Chest that can be find in the mine by 40%.

Changes (-)

• Decreased Shock base damage from 5 to 3 and base trigger chance from 30 to 25%.

• Increased Clumsiness (Alchemist Power) tally condition from 4 to 5 attacks.

• Increased Berserk (Berserker Power) tally condition from 3 to 4 attacks.

• Increased Titan Grip (Berserker Power) tally condition from 4 to 5 attacks.

• Increased Blood Lust (Rogue Power) tally condition from 3 to 4 attacks.

• Decreased Spirit Lust (Necromancer Power) attack speed bonus from 10 to 8%.

• Slightly decreased the exchange rate of stone, gold and diamond in the shop.

Several adjustments were necessary with the addition of the meta progression. I'll keep monitoring the game difficulty and make extra changes in the following days.

Other Changes

• Shop frequency has been changed. It now appears on day 4, 9, 19, 29,...

• Mine Layout has been slighly reworked to take into account all of the perks and changes included in this update.

• The rarity system has been reworked entirely. Uncommon and rare items were easy to get, as some drop chance were higher than expected. The new drop chance for Buildings and Relics is as follow: Common = 65% chance / Uncommon = 30% chance / Rare = 5% chance.

You might notice Uncommon and Rare items (blueprint, relics) are now slightly harder to get after the patch, it’s perfectly normal. Several perks and relics can alter those chances, don’t underestimate them, as it can really make uncommon and rare items easier to find than before this patch.

• The amount of ruins available in the mine to construct buildings has been slightly reduced from 32 to 24 (and up to 26 with some perk).

This change was necessary to compensate for the fact a building can be destroyed through the new event Demolition Service and that both Archeologist perks can increase the amount of ruins in the mine. It also means the choice to construct a building is more important than before.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue preventing the Boss from appearing on day 30.

• Fixed an issue with several UI panels when a certain amount of blueprints is reached.

• Fixed an issue with Clover (relic) chance to find uncommon and rare items not as powerful as intended.

• Fixed an issue when clicking on the navigation buttons when the dwarf is diggingthat could break the game.

• Fixed an issue where it was possible to construct a building when the dwarf is digging that could break the game.

• Fixed an issue with the size of the Necromancer visual displayed on several UI.

• Fixed an issue allowing the Spirit Lust (Necromancer Power) to scale the attack speed based on the current attack speed instead of the base attack speed.

Is the game harder after the update?

Yes and no. Without any perks active, it's definitely a bit harder to win a run. Winning without any perks is still something possible with the update. Once you unlock few perks, you should be able to see the difference.

What’s Next?

Mid Run Saving

This is the next big thing I’ll be working on after this update. No ETA to share yet, hopefully within the next months.

Conquest Mode

I still want to take some extra time to polish the Classic Mode first, especially to offer more replayability and uniqueness to each run, as it’s the main attraction of the game. I still think Conquest Mode could be released later this year.

Upcoming Content

More heroes, blocks, buildings and relics are coming for sure. I also started working on several new weather events and other types of events to make each run more unique. I also have a plan to make a new boss unique to Endless Mode. An extra hard mode and several improvements for existing difficulties are also in the work.

Updated Roadmap

I’m currently working on it, you can expect a new roadmap really soon!

Steam Reviews: Your Feedback Matters

I've been reading through all your Steam reviews, and I appreciate the feedback we've been receiving. Keep in mind this is just the beginning of Early Access. I'd love to continue seeing more of your thoughts and suggestions! Your support is important and it helps knowing what to focus on for each upcoming patch.

Join the Hold The Mine Community

Come be part of the Hold The Mine community. Join us on Discord (link) to share your thoughts, talk with other players, share your tips and see what others are building underground. You can also find updates and discussions on Reddit (link).