43 steamworld dig 2 - the oasis is blocked off

Dear Readers,

I went in to the Device of Destruction room in the East Temple, the last one I had remaining, and destroyed the device easily.

Just then there was a big earthquake. I was confused and thought that would've been the end of them.

So what was going on? Why more earthquakes? Where was Rusty? Fen suggested asking Rosie.

I went to town first to cash in. Barnacle Jones said the professor's rocket was ready. He himself was excited at the prospect of finding more business in outer space. I talked to the professor and she said that last quake came out of Shiner country. Hmm... Time to go back to Rosie I think. The professor's rocket was ready to leave the planet alright.

I wasn't able to warp to the Oasis so I had to warp to Below the Wall, the next one closest to it.

When I got to the Oasis it was rumbling and the entrance was blocked by a huge door and boulder behind that too! I had to find another way in. It just so happens that that part in the jungle where there was lots of stuff overhead I couldn't reach before was the way to go.

42 steamworld dig 2 - maximising most of my equipment

Dear Readers,

I found a place called The Sun Armory and decided to explore it.

Inside was the Ultra Composite Armour. I thought it was a new ability but it seems to be just an armour upgrade. There wasn't much else to this place.

The path continued right but there was also a huge load of resources below. I continued right until I got to the warp marked Inner Sanctum and headed back to town to escape the casting cultists and to cash in my overflowing supply of ore.

Davy gave me a new blueprint as well for something that replenishes health when in water, which is nice. I upgraded to the Phoenix Armour and equipped the True Survivor, which is like life insurance that works once, then replenishes back in town, which seems very valuable.

I gathered more stuff, then went back to town to upgrade to the Templar Pickaxe and the Bomp Bah Bomb, maxing out on a lot of the equipment now.

I continued along the path, beating up the cultists as I went along. It's really funny beating them up because they sound important and intimidating when they're summoning their fire attacks and then there's that abrupt silence when you smack them with your pickaxe and bring them down to earth! It's pretty satisfying!

The path finally ended at the cave with the quest marker. I went inside.

41 steamworld dig 2 - mine cart puzzle madness

Dear Readers,

I continued through the basement of the east temple, fighting those bomb bird things as well as the cultist fire summoners, uncovering resources along the way. I came across a cave called Mine Cart Madness. No not the one from Donkey Kong Country!

This one wasn't a speedy level either but it was a puzzle one. I had to hit the minecarts to get them onto the pressure switches. They could only take so many hits though and I had to get other minecarts to stop the ones I was hitting so I could get them to fall into place. The final puzzle was especially troublesome here because I had three carts to deal with. With a few headscratchings and attempts I was able to pull it off eventually.

I pressed ahead for a while after this cave and reached another cave with a warp point called Armory Entrance. I'll explore this place more next time.

40 steamworld dig 2 - navigating the grand lava river

Dear Readers,

The Device of Disaster in Yarrow was now open to take care of, so I went in there and smashed it. Another earthquake happened. I resolved to ask Rusty to explain himself when I find him.

I went back to town and upgraded the lamp to the Sol Invictus. I tried out the Eye for Weakness as well.

Now to warp to the Temple Bowels and wow it's been a while since I was here. I flew off to the right and hookshotted when I needed rest. I made my way past obstacles and fire golems. Eventually I came to a big drop down to a warp point at The Grand Lava River.

This river I had to fly across and attach to blocks whenever I could to rest. I eventually found a cave called the Infernal Crates. A puzzle oriented cave where I had to turn the conveyor belts on and off to ensure a safe path for crates to reach the pressure switches to open the way forward. I had to explore every inch of the place as there was a sneaky hidden tunnel that lead to another puzzle for an artifact. I solved the rest and grabbed the cog and left.

The river got more dangerous when cultists started showing up. I was able to handle them and they helped open the path ahead too with their spears when they tried to get at me. I continued until I reached the end of the river and there was another big long drop down to the next warp point called the Basement Entrance.

I headed back to town to cash in and decided to upgrade the water tank to the Nautilus II. I wanted to install the Moisture Vaporator, which constantly replenishes my water supply. Don't wanna be stuck for it anymore!

39 steamworld dig 2 - clearing out the mosquito minefield

Dear Readers,

Beyond the Mosquito Minefield warp point was a lot of digging and a ton of resources! I gathered all I could and went back and forth to town in order to cash in.

There were so many of those pink flying things I was able to shoot them with the hook shot and level up to 14, which unlocked a lot more stuff to buy in town.

I decided to upgrade the backpack again to the Bag-Avad Get'a because I wanted the Yuppie ki-yay mod for the 30% increase on cash ins. I didn't need to use cogs for it either so that was nice.

I went back to the minefield and it was vast and full of resources. I grabbed everything I could and hookshotted many of those pink flying things out of the way. It was pretty fun to just root around like this. A passage on the left led to an artifact too. 

It had to come to an end when I reached the bottom where there were green pools. To the right of them I found a passage underneath that led to the quest marker cave.

38 steamworld dig 2 - obtaining the ramjet vigor

Dear Readers,

After doing the Lime Loop I dug a little further to find the Aeronaut's Station. It was one of those places where there was a barrier right after it so I had to do this cave in order to progress.

I navigated the tunnels until I found a new ability, the Ramjet Vigor! With this I was now able to fly through some blocks as well as defeat enemies just by flying! This was very handy to get back out and to explore more near the entrance for more cogs.

I found another tunnel that led to the other side of the obstacle outside and cleared it. Then I came to the Mosquito Minefield warp point and went back to town.

I decided to upgrade the backpack to the Mammoth Pack.

37 steamworld dig 2 - exploring lime loop

Dear Readers,

I decided to explore the tunnel in Yarrow called Lime Loop.

This level was just one screen! However, it looped and wrapped around just like in an early NES game like Balloon Fight or something. I had to press a switch and find a secret tunnel that acted as a short cut so I could make the door in time. Then after getting the cog I had to uncover the passage to the right in order to get the artifact. Nice and simple. Good to have these now and again.