Digging deeper is a gate, not a tunnel
You do not carve a hole straight down. Each mine layer stays locked until that zone research board is at 100 percent and the gate fee is paid. The official loop says the research tree is what opens the next mining zone.
Check the blocker before you grind
- Stand at the research board by your plot and read every unfinished node.
- If the board is under 100 percent, buy the nodes that finish this zone. Luck, Fracture, Strike, and crew slots are the named paths. A full node list is not published.
- If the board is already full, interact with the mine gate and pay the fee shown there.
- When the new shop appears, buy its pickaxes, press Equip Best, and only then judge whether the new rocks are farmable.
Fees and ore health seen in play
These figures come from recorded sessions. They show the scale. Your gate can print a different number.
| Layer | Research | Observed fee or marker | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter mine | 100 percent | 100,000 cash | Early character drops and stat upgrades |
| Crystal Cave | 100 percent | Billions were quoted on later gates | Gold Pickaxe shop, about 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 |
| Magma | 100 percent | About 4.33 billion | Ore health around 375 million; a 35x pickaxe was in this range |
| Deeper layers | 100 percent | QA, SP, NO, UD, and DD prices | 500x, Ruby 3,000x, Legendary 100,000x, and a 650,000x tool |
An October 10, 2026 play session also showed Quartz in stock and Sapphire at 16 quadrillion for one copy, with the next zone still locked at 50 percent research. That session confirms the gate stays shut until research is finished. It does not publish a multiplier for Quartz or Sapphire.
Do not buy the layer early
A new zone is only a raise if the crew breaks its rocks. If the first nodes stall, go back, equip the new pickaxe on the strongest keeper, and raise Damage Level before you pour the next fee in.
What done looks like
The entrance is open, the new shop lists a stronger pickaxe, and a short run fills the chest with ore you can sell. If none of that happens, the purchase did not clear the gate you thought it did.