Upgrades

Introduction

Upgrades are how Hole Is Mine keeps its incremental loop satisfying. With 300+ upgrades spread across 4 upgrade trees, your power grows steadily throughout the run, and where you invest first changes the feel of your playthrough. The trees cover the game's core systems: mining speed for faster impurity extraction, Village growth for community bonuses, impurity value for a stronger economy and Depth progress for pushing further down. The official launch news confirmed the 4-tree structure, and community guides are already comparing the best early upgrade orders. This hub explains how the trees work, which upgrades to prioritize at each stage, and how to plan a build that matches how you like to play.

Upgrade Tree Overview

Upgrade Tree Roster

Core Mechanics

Hole Is Mine structures its 300+ upgrades into 4 distinct trees. The Mining Speed tree makes your Mini'Ohs dig faster, which is the classic incremental priority because it compounds — faster mining produces more impurities per minute, which buys the next upgrade sooner. The Village tree invests in your community, growing bonuses that support your run over time. The Impurity Value tree strengthens your economy by making each impurity worth more, and the Depth tree improves your ability to push into new Depths. You do not have to commit to a single tree; most runs mix a couple of trees, starting with mining speed for momentum and branching out once your income is steady.

Advantages

The upgrade system gives every play session a clear sense of growth. There is always something affordable to buy, and because the trees cover different systems, the game rewards different playstyles — an aggressive miner, a Village-focused builder and an explorer can all progress in their own way. The 4-tree structure also makes planning fun: knowing which tree to invest in next is a real decision, and the community is already sharing optimal upgrade orders. Because mining speed compounds so well early, even casual players feel powerful quickly, which is exactly what an incremental game should do. The steady drip of new nodes keeps the moment-to-moment loop rewarding all the way to the Infinite Hole.

Challenges

The weakness of a large upgrade tree is decision paralysis and wasted investment. If you spread your spending too thin across all 4 trees early, you progress noticeably slower than a player who focuses, and there is no respec to fix a bad spread. Some upgrades also become much less useful after you pass a certain Depth, so a build that is perfect for the early game can feel weak later, forcing you to adapt on the fly. The exact cost scaling of upgrades is not published, so precise planning requires either community spreadsheets or your own testing. Treat the recommended orders here as strong starting points rather than mathematical guarantees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Tips