Mina the Hollower: 8 Things You Should Do First

Guide Background

Mina the Hollower is not built like a strict, traditional Zelda-style route. Once you reach Ossyx, the starting town, you can wander in several directions almost immediately. There is still a sensible early order, though, especially if you want more currency, safer deaths, useful trinkets, and a clearer path toward the first dungeon.

Things to Do First

1. Collect Easy Bone Stones Early

Bone Stones are one of the best early rewards because they act as valuable currency and persist even after death. Most of them come from blue treasure chests, often in plain sight but blocked by small puzzles or route tricks.

Before reaching Ossyx, grab the missable tutorial chests:

• In the room with fences and gates, jump over the gap, then burrow under the top gate to reach the chest on the right side.
• In the same general area, burrow under the gap in the top-left corner to reach another chest room.
• At the first checkpoint, climb the rope and break the door on the left. A Bone Stone chest waits inside, guarded by enemies.
• After climbing the next rope, go right instead of left to pick up one more Bone Stone before moving on.

Once you arrive in Ossyx, there are more early Bone Stones worth grabbing:

• In the couple’s quarters, use a burrow jump over the gap on the right side to reach the chest.
• Near the entrance to Radiant Manor, take an axe from the candle, then go through the Spark door on the eastern side of town to reach the strategy center. Throw the axe to break the chest, then burrow under the table.
• South of the strategy center, lure the big-nosed NPC down to the waterway. Hit him while he is facing the water so his nose extends, letting you walk across it and drop into the waterway. Burrow through the opening to find another Bone Stone.

If you need more bones for early purchases, use the area east of Ossyx on the way to the first dungeon. Enemies keep jumping out of crypts there. Clear them out, return to the checkpoint one screen to the left, then repeat.

2. Buy the Spark Upgrade Before Rushing Health

The Emporium may tempt you with a health upgrade, but the Spark upgrade is a stronger early priority. With two Sparks, you can open the door to the left of the pawn shop, break the painting in the room’s corner, then burrow under the wall to reach a bike.

The bike is useful right away. It helps complete nearby challenges that reward Bone Stones, including the one beside where you find it, and it lets you cross gaps wider than two squares. That opens the way to more rewards earlier than usual.

The extra Spark also makes deaths less punishing. Since a Spark gives you another chance to reclaim dropped bones after dying, getting a second one early can save a lot of frustration, especially because the beginning of the game is tougher than later sections.

3. Stock Up on Early Cures

Cures are Mina the Hollower’s version of keys. They often open optional areas with strong rewards, Bone Stones, or shortcuts. The simplest way to get a few early is to buy them from the cure shop next to the Emporium.

The price rises each time you buy one, so picking up two or three is usually enough for the opening stretch.

There are also early Cures you can find:

• In Ossyx, go up the stairs north of the checkpoint and use the telescope. Look for the planet in the top-right corner, and a Cure will crash down beside you.
• West of Ossyx, enter the secret passage by burrowing into the center of the puddle near the pig enemies. You will need the bike inside the cave to cross the gap.
• Inside the Hollowers Guild, after opening the blocked entrance, you can pick up another Cure.

4. Open the Hollowers Guild and Buy the Map

The Hollowers Guild is one of the first buildings you see in Ossyx, but its entrance is blocked. To get inside, follow the building around to the right side, hop over the rock, break the crates, and work back toward the entrance.

Inside, collect the Cure and speak with Muriel. She sends you south to chase the hooligans who damaged the guild hall.

From the main entrance of Ossyx, head directly south and use a Cure to open the rebel barracks. Fight through the area to find Rine, another Hollower being held captive. Escort her out, then return to the Hollowers Guild.

Muriel and Rine begin cleaning up the hall, revealing another NPC, Drillheart. He sells underlab upgrades, and the map is an especially good early purchase at 500 bones. Combined with newspapers, which point toward the next recommended dungeon, the map makes it much harder to lose your sense of direction.

5. Pick Up the Best Early Trinkets Before the First Dungeon

Several strong trinkets are available before entering the first dungeon, and they can make the opening hours much smoother.

Steady Soles remove the speed penalty on water, grass, stairs, and ice while also resisting knockback. They are especially helpful for the bayou dungeon. To get them, go up the stairs left of the checkpoint near the eastern exit of Ossyx. On the next screen, head left to a balcony overlooking the courtyard. Burrow under the rightmost opening to enter the attic below. Move left across the blocks, grab the Bone Stone chest on the way, then exit through the stairs in the top-left corner to find the trinket.

Chain Capacitor increases your damage with each consecutive hit until you miss. Leave Ossyx through the eastern exit and go one screen north. Use a Cure to open the building surrounded by grass. Inside is a car-smashing minigame where you must destroy the car in 30 seconds. The bike makes this doable even at a low level because crashing through the car damages multiple parts at once. If the timer is too tight, come back after gaining some levels.

Prime Vial Pouch gives you two extra vials and lets you heal a small amount even without hitting enemies to collect plasma. It is west of Ossyx in the basement of a residence. Leave through the main gate, pass the two guards firing beams, go down to the right, then burrow into the marked spot on the roof. Work toward the stairs in the bottom-left corner to claim it.

Bell of Grace gives you a chance to keep your Spark when you die, and can reduce bone loss when dying without a Spark. Enter the station underside on the west side of Ossyx and meet Frade. After you leave, he wanders the Bowery disguised as a red NPC and tries to mug you when close. Slash at him, get in front of him, block his path, and keep attacking until he yields. Return to the station underside and speak to his remains. Pay the bones he asks for, and he rewards you with the trinket.

6. Unlock the Trinket Shop

The trinket shop opens the door to more useful trinkets, but reaching it early takes a rough route.

Head west from the entrance of Ossyx until you reach the western wilds. The enemies here are tough, so avoid them where possible, and come back later if the area feels overwhelming.

Continue north until you reach lava rivers. Move left after entering the area and look for red explosive crates blocking the path. To destroy them, burrow and connect a line between the lava river and the block, creating a fuse that blows up the crate.

Use this trick to clear the rocks blocking the staircase on the far left. Climb the mountain to the north, move right, enter the Molten Foundry, and leave through the exit on the right. From there, clear the rubble on the bridge to open a shortcut.

The actual destination is to the right, toward the upper level of the Bowery. Drop the nearby rope so the area is easier to reach from below, then follow the path down to the trinket shop.

If you have enough bones, Plasma Funnel is a very strong buy. It doubles the slow default vial-drinking speed and prevents you from losing a vial if your heal gets interrupted.

7. Find Poppet’s Shops

Poppet’s shop is another early shop worth tracking down. Leave through the eastern exit of Ossyx, work south until you can turn right after jumping over the gaps, then continue right past the screen with turrets. When you reach the screen with a gate and an opening in the bottom-right corner, burrow under it to enter a hidden cave.

The left side of the cave has more Bone Stone dust, while the right side leads to Poppet. Buy out his inventory, and he tells you that two more stalls are waiting.

The second stall is south of Ossyx. Go through the cave network until you end up on the right side of the commons. Burrow under the bounce flower and place it near the platform to the left. Bounce to the upper level, then look for a burrow spot just under and to the right.

The third Poppet shop is in the Molten Foundry, but it belongs to a later side quest rather than the first wave of early errands.

8. Start with the Crypt and Do Not Miss Proto Spark

Dungeons can be tackled in different orders, but the easiest recommended starting point is the Crypt, east of Ossyx. There are too many secrets and collectibles on the way and inside to list here, but one trinket is especially important: Proto Spark.

Progress almost to the end of the dungeon. In the room just before the Ancestral Chamber, where the red carpet sticks out from the north doorway, go left instead. Drop two vials into the barrier to make it disappear, then climb the ropes until you can drop down on the left side.

There you will find the Duke. Escort him to the room just past the dungeon boss. He opens a secret door, gets into a coffin, and gives you Proto Spark.

Proto Spark is extremely useful because it acts like an extra life. When you die, it brings you back with a bit of health. It only works once per death or checkpoint rest, so treat it as a safety net rather than something to waste carelessly.

Summary

A strong early route in Mina the Hollower starts with easy Bone Stones, the Spark upgrade, a few Cures, the Hollowers Guild, and the map. From there, grab key trinkets, unlock useful shops, and head toward the Crypt while making sure Proto Spark does not slip past you.