How important are efficient mining strategies?

Question

I get a little obsessed about being able to mine out every single piece of ore in Steamworld Dig. I know I'm going to have to worry about not being able to carry everything back later on due to bag space, but for now, I want to try to get as much as I can in a single trip and do so in the most efficient way possible.

As you can see below, I'm unable to get this ore because I didn't see it when I was still above it and I ended up digging out the dirt underneath it.

In hoping to prevent this from happening again, I wanted to figure out what the most efficient way to dig out my tunnels would be while reducing the likelihood of the above situation as much as possible. However, I'm unsure of how important this is in the long run of the game and if it's something I should just not worry about due to factors outside of my current knowledge of the game's progression.

How important is it to mine as efficiently as possible, and under what circumstances (achievements, alternate endings, etc.) should I concern myself with it?

Answer 1

I also tend to get obsessed with getting every single piece of ore. One of the things I learned to do is minimize the amount of straight down digging I did. If there was somewhere I wanted to get to without checking thouroughly, I would add little side areas every three squares down. You don't need every other square, as you can dig up. One sideroad every three squares down will be the most efficient. That way, if I ever needed to check for ore, I had my ledges to do so.

When I wasn't going straight for a door or water or something, I would do my best to dig those ledges out sideways as far as possible. If I'd run into a roadblock, I would prefer to get around it from above, to ensure I wouldn't block off any ore I might have missed.

Generally, though, unless you die a lot, you won't need all the ore. There's easily enough to buy all the upgrades, and give you a decent amount for consumables like dynamite and teleporters. And efficient mining strategies aren't that important, as you will eventually get upgrades that let you dig upwards more than a single square.

Answer 2

If you stand on the edge of a block, you can mine more than one block to the side.

In the image above:

• Mine one dirt block to the left and move there.
• Mine one dirt block down and move there.
• Mine one dirt block to the right but do not move there - stand on the edge.
• Mine one ore block FURTHER to the right.
• Jump across to collect the ore.