Sterling Mines

Stats

Inhabitants

Skeleton Dynamite Zombie Werewolf

Level required

9-75km (Sterling)

Location

Behind the Sterling Church

Rarity

Guaranteed

Type

Unique Location

Inside the Mines

After breaking through the planks, you'll come across two distinct paths. Each path leads somewhere, however, there is another barricaded area. While traveling through the paths, you may come along 6 Golden and 4 Silver Nuggets, 5 Coal, and a Jade Tablet hidden on the far left passageway from the entrance behind a minecart. Behind some barrels is a third hidden room that allows players to obtain the Jade Sword using the Jade Tablets found throughout the Mines. Be careful, as Dynamite Zombies and Skeletons will constantly spawn upon entering the Mines, until spawns are exhausted. Then it will be safe to roam, if all spawns are killed.

Enemies

About 25 enemies spawn in total, with noticeably more Skeletons than Dynamite Zombies. The number of each type can differ per game. The 3 Werewolves only spawn if the trap inside the barricaded room is triggered.

Contents of the Mines

This room is located to the right of the two pathways and also to the right of the left tunnel. It is barricaded by planks, so you'll need a stick of dynamite to open it. Once inside, you'll find a counter with valuable items. The walls are lit by torches and adorned with special engravings that resemble the design of the Jade Tablets. 1 Jade Tablet (Used to open the Tomb) 2 Gold Bar (Valuable) 2 Silver Bar (Valuable) 1 Vase (Junk) 1 Strange Mask (Valuable, Weapon) 1 Ripped Bank Note (One of 5 digits to open the bank vault) NOTE: When you pick up the Strange Mask, the display stand will lower, spawning 3 Werewolves at the mine entrance that will immediately attack. You can use the mask on a corpse to reanimate it and have them assist you in defeating the Werewolves. However, you may put any item on the display stand where the Strange Mask lies before picking it up, preventing the display stand from lowering and preventing the Werewolves from spawning when you take the Strange Mask. This room is blocked by three barrels and is located near the first room. No explosives are needed to open it, as you can manually move the barrels aside, or drag the barrel and walk through it since there is no collision for players when an item is being dragged. You can also use the barrels to barricade the entrance and keep enemies out. Like the first room, the walls are adorned with similar engraved designs and torches. At the center of the room is a large red button, with one Jade Tablet on it.

Technical

This image shows the exact volume used for opening the Jade Sword room using Jade Tablets. Note that the area is a square shape rather than the circular shape indicated by the red platform. This image shows the exact volume used for triggering the Werewolf trap. The trap will not trigger as long as a portion of at least 1 object is touching this volume. This image shows the exact location that the Werewolves from the trap are spawned from. It is represented by a tiny blue floating cube (might be difficult to see without zooming in).

Guide and Primary Strategies

It is recommended to raid the Mines during the day (or a stormy night) to prevent having to deal with even more enemies. These steps are recommended to efficiently loot the Mines: Go to the Bank, and write down the digit (1st) somewhere (whether in the chat or somewhere else). Do the same with the one inside a white house to the right (2nd). You should have 2 digits, with the other 3 being in the Mines. Take the Torch from the Sheriff's Office and the Jade Tablet from the Church. Use the Dynamite near the entrance and the Torch to blow up the entrance. For your safety, it is recommended to stand at the entrance and kill all the enemies with a ranged weapon first. They should all spawn on the left side, in the exact same spot. Once the enemies stop spawning, you can safely explore the cave. You can skip this step to save time, if you are familiar with the layout. Note that dead Dynamite Zombies can be defused by placing them into the Sack. Go all the way down the left side into a passageway. Collect the Jade Tablet behind the minecart. Go back the way you came, but this time, turn left instead of going straight. Turn right afterwards into a passageway with some Barrels. One of them should have a digit (4th). Write it down and go to the other Barrel, then take the Dynamite. Turn around then turn right, until you see stacked Barrels. Move them out of the way and enter. It is recommended to put them back after you are inside to prevent enemies from following you. Drop all your items in the room to empty your Sack.

Other Strategies

It may be necessary to make multiple trips back and forth or abandon some of the loot due to the Mines having much more items than the Sack can store. Having multiple players or a Horse Cart can alleviate this issue. If you are using Demolitionist, you don't have to worry about the Dynamite Zombies. You can even use them as weapons against the Skeletons, or lure them to the planks at the back to blow them up. If it becomes night while looting the caves, it's best to enter the Jade Sword chamber and block off the entrance with the Barrels. This is unnecessary during stormy nights, since it doesn't spawn enemies. Bring plenty of Ammunition and Snake Oil to counter the constant enemy spawns. The tight spaces of the Mines make it easy to get overwhelmed. The Vampire class can loot faster and outrun enemies, thanks to its increased movement speed. This also applies to the Werewolf class at night.

Patch history

The Mines is the only location as of right now to have 2 unique items. The Jade Sword and the Strange Mask sell for $250 each, meaning selling both would give you a total of $500. Both the Jade Sword and Strange Mask have the same ability (being able to reanimate dead bodies). Also, both items are crafted from Jade. All 6 Gold & 4 Silver Nuggets found in the Mines are at the smallest size. In the mines, the path to the left where the cart is is a Jade Tablet, which seems to show two strange symbols on the inside of the cart, and one of them seems to have the same hint as the map indicating where the sacrifice is supposed to be. This is referencing the UFO Easter Egg Challenge. Same goes for the strange symbol above the exit where the player gets Jade Sword. It could be a reference to the Strange Machine in Tesla's Lab, telling players that it needs to be struck by lightning. Sterling's Bank is easily the best in the whole game, having 3 Snake Oils, a Maxim Gun and ammunition, 5 Gold and 4 Silver Bars, and 7 Bonds. It appears that after the bite size update, there are strange, subtle gaps in the entire Sterling mines and town. This could cause players to fall into these gaps and never be able to retrieve their items.