Getting started
When you join, you pick one of four save files and get your own plot on the island. You start with $250, a free Aether Hearth furnace already placed, and a starter kit: a Tap Dropper and 10 Basic Conveyors.
- Open your inventory and place the Tap Dropper so its ore lands on a conveyor.
- Lay Basic Conveyors from the dropper to your furnace. Ore that falls on the ground is lost.
- Every ore that reaches the furnace pays out. Spend it in the Shop on more droppers, then upgraders, and keep going.
- Moving things is free: selling a placed item refunds everything you paid.
Droppers
Droppers make ore. Each one has an ore value and a drop interval; divide one by the other and you get its value per second, which the wiki lists on every dropper page.
There are 25 droppers in the shop, spread over four tiers. Sort them by value per second to see the best ones.
Conveyors
Conveyors carry ore from droppers, through upgraders, into furnaces. Every belt moves ore at 8 studs/s; the shapes differ (ramps, raised, shifted, wide). Teleporters jump ore to a receiver of the same colour. See all conveyors.
Upgraders
Upgraders multiply the value of ore that passes through them. Most work once per ore, so use lots of different upgraders rather than copies of one. Shop upgraders turn away ore above a value cap, so put the cheap ones early in the line. Each shop tier ends with a looper that multiplies the ore again and again on its own belt.
Browse upgraders, strongest first.
Furnaces
Furnaces sell ore. The starter Aether Hearth pays face value; better furnaces sell at up to ×29. Browse furnaces.
Rebirths & drops
Once you've built up enough cash you can rebirth: your plot resets, and you get one random item you can't buy. Ascending (after 100 rebirths) gives one from a stronger pool.
| Pool | Items | Kept until |
|---|---|---|
| Rebirth drop | — | you ascend |
| Ascension drop | — | forever |
Every item in a pool is equally likely, and about 1 in 1,024 drops is a shiny. Costs and the full rules are on How it works. See every drop.
PvP & your safe zone
Your own plot is safe. Step off it and other players can hit you with their Pickaxe, and you can hit them. You can also sneak onto an empty plot and steal up to 10 ore. The badge at the top of the screen shows whether you're safe, and how much ore you're carrying. Full PvP rules.
Sky shards & rewards
- Sky shards: every minute or two, an aether shard falls onto your plot. Walk into it for Emeralds; gold ones are worth more.
- Daily wheel: one free spin a day, with bigger prizes for daily streaks.
- Playtime gifts: gifts at 1, 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes into each visit.