Heart of the Mountain (HOTM) 1-10: roadmap, powder targets, and tree basics.
Last updated: 2026-02-08
Your first goal is to reach Mining 12 so you can unlock the Dwarven Mines.
In the Deep Caverns there is an NPC that requires a certain amount of Enchanted Ore to unlock the area. This is usually cheap if you buy it from the Bazaar or Auction House. If you do not have Bazaar access or you are playing Ironman, you can mine it yourself fairly quickly.
Pick up the Fractured Mithril Pickaxe right away for 10,000 coins. It is a solid starting point before you move on to drills.
Commissions are your main source of HOTM XP early on.
Up to HOTM 3, HOTM XP per commission increases with every level. From HOTM 3 onward you get the maximum value, which makes the grind much more efficient.
At the start, commissions give very little HOTM XP. The main goal is simply to push to HOTM 3, because that is where commission XP reaches its maximum.
A Mithril Drill is the first real upgrade for many players, especially for Mithril Powder grinding. If that is too expensive, a Jungle Pickaxe works as a temporary option before you swap to a drill.
From here you can do commissions either in the Dwarven Mines or the Crystal Hollows. For most players, Dwarven Mines is better at first because it is more consistent and easier. Crystal Hollows can be faster later, but it needs more focus.
If you want a clean step up after Glacite, Sorrow is a great midgame set. If you are saving straight for Divan, you can skip it.
Divan is your long-term armor goal. From this point onward it makes sense to plan your coins around Divan and a 655 instead of buying lots of small side upgrades.
From HOTM 7 onward, Gemstone Powder farming starts to make real sense. Prioritize your powder baseline first, including Core of the Mountain, then pick up the 655 if you do a lot of Glacite-related content.
At this point the goal is to push your powder totals, invest in the right perks, and tune your tree around your preferred mining method.
Glacite Armor from Glacite Walkers is a very strong early set and often the first real armor milestone. On Ironman, the set can drop directly from those mobs.
If you want a simple progression, start with Glacite Armor, move to Sorrow around HOTM 5 if needed, and switch to Divan from HOTM 6 once your budget allows it. The big coin goals are usually Divan + 655.
Upgrade these pieces along the way: Mithril Equipment -> Titanium Equipment -> Dwarven Handwarmers -> Pendant of Divan.
Powder determines how far you can scale mining speed, fortune, and perks. These targets are a good baseline. They include roughly +1m extra buffer because Core of the Mountain consumes powder.
Many players focus on Mithril Powder until HOTM 7 while picking up commissions on the way. After that, Gemstone Powder becomes the priority because it powers most mining setups. Once Gemstone Powder is finished, go back to Mithril Powder until you are roughly in the 5-9m range.
You gain access through a quest or forging chain around the "Secret Railroad Pass". Details can change occasionally, so if you get stuck it is worth checking the wiki.
In the Glacite Tunnels you build up Cold over time. This lowers your movement speed and mining speed. Cold Resistance from items or upgrades helps offset that. You do not need to min-max it early, but keep it in mind.
A warp or travel scroll to Base Camp is useful for quickly claiming commissions if you do not have a Royal Pigeon, and it also serves as a reset against Cold in the Glacite Tunnels.
You upgrade perks with the powder you grind. To unlock perks you need Tokens of the Mountain. You can reset your tree: the first reset is free, then it usually costs 100k coins per reset.
Core of the Mountain costs powder, but gives permanent stat bonuses. The usual recommendation is to upgrade it as far as it still makes sense, because it also unlocks more tokens and other long-term benefits later.
If you are not sure which perks you need, use the in-game Handy Block Guide. It shows which blocks are affected by which stats. From that, you can work out which perks and stats your tree should prioritize.