Hold The Mine guide

Hold The Mine Wave Survival Guide

Last updated: May 31, 2026Early AccessWave survival

Survive Hold The Mine waves by ending each day with a clear night plan. Stop mining when the next wave has no answer, convert resources before the monsters arrive, use buildings and heroes to cover one visible weakness, and after every failed night classify the loss as damage, control, economy, timing, or scaling before changing the next run.

Wave Survival Priority Table

PriorityDo this before nightWhy it worksCommon mistake
1Name the next wave problem.A clear problem tells you whether to spend on damage, control, economy, or survival.Buying whatever looks strongest without knowing what failed.
2Convert mined resources into power.Resources in the mine or wallet do not stop monsters until they become buildings, heroes, relic value, or a pivot.Entering night with resources saved for a plan that never happens.
3Match buildings and heroes to one weakness.A focused board is easier to read and improves faster after each wave.Splitting resources across several disconnected effects.
4Stop mining before greed breaks the surface.Depth matters only if the run survives long enough to use the payoff.Pushing deeper because the day still has actions left.
5Write down why the wave failed.A failed night becomes useful data instead of a repeated mistake.Restarting with the same route and hoping for better offers.

Read the Failed Night

Hold The Mine's official loop is simple to describe: mine by day, build and manage resources, unleash heroes, then hold monsters back until sunrise. The hard part is reading what the night tells you. If the same kind of wave keeps breaking through, the answer is rarely just "get stronger." You need to know what kind of strength is missing.

Treat each night as a test. Did enemies reach the surface too quickly? Did your plan start strong and then run out of scaling? Did you have resources but fail to spend them? Did a hero power not support the board? Each answer points to a different next-day plan.

Failure Type Table

Wave failureLikely missing layerNext-day fix
Enemies break through early.Immediate damage or control.Spend before mining deeper; choose a building or hero plan that changes the first pressure point.
You survive early but collapse later.Scaling or run identity.Add a building, relic, or hero direction that improves multiple future waves.
You lose with resources unspent.Timing and conversion.Stop the day earlier and turn resources into one concrete survival answer.
Your board has many effects but no clear result.Synergy.Use upgrades or demolition pivots to support the strongest current route.
Perks do not change outcomes.Meta choices are not aimed at the repeated failure.Track repeated losses, then choose perks for that pattern rather than for isolated power.

When to Stop Mining

Stop mining when the next wave has no plan. New players often treat the day phase as a chance to dig until the last possible moment, but the mine only matters if the surface can turn what you found into survival. If your next purchase, building, hero setup, or relic use is unclear, more depth can make the run harder to read.

  1. Stop early if the next wave answer is missing. Spend the remaining time creating one answer.
  2. Keep mining if the next resource has a named purpose. Depth is good when it directly feeds the next survival layer.
  3. Do not chase a perfect day. A stable night is better than an ambitious day that leaves resources unspent.
  4. After a safe night, push deeper with a reason. Use the previous wave result to decide what the next mine target should buy.

Buildings, Heroes, and Pivots

Buildings shape the surface plan, heroes cover active weaknesses, relics can redirect a run, and demolition can replace a weak building plan. The wave survival question is not which of these is universally best. The question is which one fixes the reason you lost. If the wave overwhelms the first contact point, buy or build for immediate pressure. If the board survives but cannot scale, invest in an effect that keeps working across future nights.

The Perks and Demolition update makes pivoting more important because a bad construction plan does not have to stay bad forever. Use a pivot after a wave proves that an effect is no longer helping. Avoid changing too many things at once, because that makes it impossible to learn which adjustment actually improved the next night.

Pre-Night Checklist

CheckPass conditionIf it failsRelated guide
Wave answerYou can name what will stop the next pressure.Spend on one defensive layer before digging again.Upgrade Priority
Resource conversionMost useful resources are already turned into power.Stop saving and buy/build for the next night.Beginner Guide
Hero purposeHero powers support the current building or wave plan.Delay hero investment or change the board plan around the hero.Upgrade Priority
Pivot needWeak buildings or relic choices have a replacement plan.Use demolition only if the replacement fixes a named failure.Upgrade Priority

Wave Survival Failure Checks

ProblemLikely causeFixNext action
Every night feels like a surprise.The day plan is not tied to the next wave.Start each day by naming the wave problem you are preparing for.Review the priority table above.
You lose while holding resources.The run is greedy or spending too late.Convert resources before the wave instead of waiting for a better offer.Beginner Guide
You change upgrades but still fail.The upgrade does not match the failure type.Classify the loss first: damage, control, economy, timing, or scaling.Upgrade Priority
Later waves overpower a strong early board.No scaling direction.Add one building, relic, hero, or perk choice that improves multiple future nights.Upgrade Priority

Source and Version Note

This guide uses current official Hold The Mine sources from the official Steam page, the official Goblinz page, and Steam news/community update posts. It avoids exact enemy values, wave numbers, damage breakpoints, hero rankings, and building tier lists until they are verified by gameplay notes or official patch notes.

Related Guides

Read the Hold The Mine Beginner Guide if the day and night loop is still unclear. Use the Upgrade Priority Guide when you know why the wave failed but need to decide where to spend. Return to the Hold The Mine guide hub for the current mini-site and future buildings, heroes, and mining-route pages.