Combat rhythm
Mina's core loop is built around reading an attack, diving under or around the threat, surfacing in a safe position, and taking a short punish window. Greedy strings are risky because many bosses are tuned around Mina's recovery and surfacing timing rather than long combo openings.
Burrow, dodge, and parry
Burrow, also called Hollowing, is Mina's primary dodge. Holding jump sends her underground, releasing it brings her back up, and most ordinary attacks cannot reach her while she is below the surface. There is no stamina drain and no cooldown, so the decision point is not resource cost; it is where and when Mina resurfaces.
Key limits matter:
- Mina cannot attack while still underground.
- The surfacing moment is the dangerous part of the move.
- Lava and some special attacks can defeat the usual burrow plan.
- A clean burrow often places Mina behind a boss, where the recovery window is open.
The Hollower's Shield is the major exception to the "burrow as defense" rule because it adds a real parry-counter rhythm. Other weapons still mostly play around dive timing, spacing, and the surface punish.
Burrow traversal
Surfacing from a burrow gives Mina a stronger jump than a standing leap. This turns burrow into both a combat dodge and a traversal verb: it helps cross gaps, reach treasure, enter hidden routes, and link into sidearms such as Drill Driver for long-distance movement.
Useful burrow-routing notes:
- Burrow paths can hide Underlab entrances, mirrors, treasure routes, and optional boss access.
- Sprinting or jumping at water before holding jump can help Mina skim across early water sections before later water tools are available.
- Trinkets can extend or weaponize burrow behavior, including longer underground duration, surface bursts, shockwaves, trails, or extra protection on the vulnerable pop-up.
Sparks and Spark Generators
Sparks work like a safety layer for carried Bones and as access checks for sealed Spark doors. If Mina dies with a Spark available, the Spark is spent and her carried Bones stay with her. If she dies without one, the carried Bones drop at the death location or may be held by the enemy that killed her.
Sparks refill at the Underlab. Mina starts with a small pool and can raise the cap through Spark Containers and Spark-related trinkets. Spark doors check the number of Sparks held but do not consume them when passed.
The main story is structured around restoring failing Spark Generators. Most generator progress sits beyond regional boss routes, while later generator access depends more on story progression than simple item gating.
Bones, Bone Up, and Bonestone
Bones are both currency and leveling material. They pay for shops, sidearms, weapon upgrades, transport, minigames, and Bone Up stat increases at the Underlab. Because death without a Spark can drop the carried pile, large Bone stacks should be banked or spent deliberately.
Bone Up raises three stats:
| Stat | What It Improves | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | Main weapon damage | Usually the strongest early damage investment. |
| Defense | Damage mitigation | More important in late or higher-danger routes. |
| Sidearm Damage | Sidearm output | Best once your route depends on a sidearm you actually use. |
Bonestone is the safer banked form of Bones. Deposit pocket Bones at an Underlab before a risky route, then withdraw only when you are ready to spend. This keeps exploration gains from being erased by a second failed recovery run.
Plasma Vials and healing
Plasma healing is earned through aggression. Vials do not simply restore a fixed chunk for free: they can only heal against the yellow Plasma value Mina has built by landing hits and collecting Plasma-related pickups. Drinking with little or no Plasma wastes the opportunity.
Healing has three major constraints:
- The vial animation is long enough that bad timing gets punished.
- Mina is committed during the drink.
- Passive dodging does not rebuild the next meaningful heal.
The safest pattern is to burrow through a committed attack, surface away from pressure, then drink during a long recovery or boss tell. Plasma Roses, Mist Jar, fishing pickups, and certain trinkets can rebuild Plasma outside normal weapon hits.
Sidearms and Joules
Sidearms are Mina's secondary tools: throwables, movement options, gadgets, mounts, and utility items. Mina carries one sidearm at a time, and picking up a new one replaces the current one. Joules are the ammo economy; broken objects can refill Joules, and Joule Boxes permanently raise the maximum.
Sidearm routing is about value per shot. Spend Joules when the sidearm solves a problem the weapon cannot solve safely: a flyer, an angle, a gap, a boss trap, a long approach, or a hazard-based kill. The Sidearm Damage Bone Up stat improves sidearm output, and Smelling Salts can act like a free sidearm-stat bump.
Common sidearm roles:
| Role | Examples | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Traversal | Angler's Raft, Drill Driver, Iron Steed | Opens water, gaps, and faster route movement. |
| Ranged pressure | Gyro Dagger, Volt Hatchet, Hollower's Rocks | Hits enemies when melee spacing is unsafe. |
| Control | Dynamo Lantern, Bounding Bombs, Recall Disc | Creates traps or area pressure. |
| Recovery support | Mist Jar, Fishing Rod | Can restore health, Plasma, Joules, or route resources. |
Joule-focused trinkets can change the whole build. Some convert Joules into Plasma, some increase sidearm damage at higher cost, and some reduce sidearm costs at low health. Treat these as build commitments, not passive bonuses.
Underlab, saves, and loadouts
Underlab entrances are buried save points. Burrow into the marker to enter, refill HP, refill Plasma Vials, restore Sparks, change weapons and trinkets, level up, and save progress. Resting also respawns enemies and breakables on the surface.
Use the Underlab as the routing anchor:
- Stage from the closest Underlab before boss attempts.
- Deposit Bones before unknown routes.
- Swap loadouts when a region demands different movement, defense, or sidearm utility.
- Practice with guild upgrades once unlocked.
The Hollower's Guild can add useful Underlab services, including map purchases, enhanced map support, a training dummy, and sidearm duplication. The Boss Checkpoints option can also place Underlab access near boss doors for players who want to remove runbacks.
Fast travel networks
Three travel layers sit on top of the core Underlab routing:
| Network | How It Works | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Train stations | Unlock travel by funding stations across regions. | Structured cross-region movement. |
| Region mirrors | Warp routes tied to the Astral Orrery and major regions. | Late-route cleanup and generator routing. |
| Poppit holes | Open after finding Poppit Shop locations. | Fast shopping and trinket errands. |
Fast travel becomes more valuable once routes start asking for specific sidearms, shops, or cleanup passes instead of straight progression.
Stats, leveling, and HP
Attack, Defense, and Sidearm Level share a multiplier-based scaling curve. Health is separate and comes from Health Roses. Early Attack investment gives a large practical damage jump, while Defense becomes more valuable when incoming damage scaling gets harsher.
Short-form leveling guidance:
- Levels 1 to 4 are high-impact, especially for Attack.
- Levels 5 to 11 are steadier gains, so spreading Bones across useful stats makes sense.
- Later levels become expensive but still meaningful because the multiplier keeps climbing.
- Sidearm Level is strongest when your route already uses sidearms for damage, not only utility.
Health Roses raise max HP from the starting value, with the final full-collection rose giving a larger completion bump. Cloaks can further modify survivability through max HP or damage reduction.
| Health Roses | Max HP | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | base |
| 1 | 4 | +1 |
| 2 | 5 | +1 |
| 3 | 6 | +1 |
| 4 | 7 | +1 |
| 5 | 8 | +1 |
| 6 | 9 | +1 |
| 7 | 10 | +1 |
| 8 | 11 | +1 |
| 9 | 13 | +2 |
Practical routing checklist
- Burrow through committed attacks, not randomly.
- Bank Bones before risky exploration.
- Refill Sparks, Vials, and loadout at the Underlab before boss doors.
- Spend Joules when the sidearm solves a real spacing or routing problem.
- Invest early Bones into the stat that most improves your current route.
- Treat Plasma as a reward for controlled aggression, not as a free heal button.