Best Builds

For early runs, do not chase the final build all at once. Start with Miner damage and Maw hauling, then add the next system only when it solves a real bottleneck. The best late build becomes a hybrid: Spelunker, mithril, and artifact economy feeding Fire and Flamelord’s Wrath damage, with Artillery added when the run can support it. Mountain health grows as base HP times 1.115^level, so fixed damage alone eventually falls behind.

Short version: start with Miner + Maw, add Forge and Spelunker support for mithril and artifacts, use Harpoons when dens matter, then pivot into Fire and Flamelord’s Wrath as the main carry. Add Great Duke Cannon and Bombardment Mastery late, after the economy can afford the Artillery Hall chain.

Start Here

Question	Answer
What should I build first?	Miner's Guild plus The Great Maw. Early damage and hauling have to rise together.
What is the strongest practical route?	Spelunker's Guild and The Great Forge funding Flameworks, then late Artillery Hall when the economy can support it.
If you are stuck	Fix the visible wall first: runner throughput for ore piles, mithril routes for unaffordable upgrades, or focused burst for special mountains. Do not add a new damage line until the current one is supported.

Optimal Answer

Goal	Best Build	Math
Highest practical all-purpose build	Spelunker's Guild + The Great Forge + Flameworks	Mithril Divining reaches +10 mithril luck, Forge Artifact feeds artifact scaling, and Flamelord's Wrath turns a mature fire-field build into burst after max-stack, cooldown, and projectile support are funded.
Highest theoretical late damage	Flameworks + Artillery Hall hybrid	Infernal Symphony reaches +6% per firefield stack and The Great Pyre raises max stacks to 25. That is a 1 + 25 * 0.06 = 2.5x affected-damage multiplier before other bonuses.
Fastest early progression	Miner's Guild + The Great Maw	Raised By Pickaxes reaches 3x damage and The Art of Faster Chucking reaches a 0.04 cooldown multiplier, or 25x fire-rate multiplier.
Best den and artifact route	Ballistics Workshop + Spelunker's Guild	Harpoon Ballistas get den-focused scaling from Monster Bane and Multi-shot, while Spelunkers improve mithril and artifact flow.
Best long-run economy	Spelunker's Guild + The Great Forge + The Great Maw	Mithril drops scale with damage share and mithril luck, dens add guaranteed and weighted mithril/artifact routes, and Maw hauling prevents high damage from turning into uncollected ore.

Damage Comparison

This is not exact damage per second. It is a clean comparison of max visible multipliers from the game data, using inverse cooldown multiplier as a fire-rate multiplier. It is still enough to show why the late build should not be pure Miners, pure Harpoons, or pure Artillery.

Branch	Max Visible Arithmetic	Build Read
Miners	8 base damage * 3.0 damage * 3.0 Slayer * 1.48 Mithril Pickaxes * 25 fire-rate = 2,664 relative fixed damage before crit, Pickarang, and C.L.U.S.T.E.R.P.I.C.K..	Best early fixed-damage branch. It stays relevant with Cyberdwarf and C.L.U.S.T.E.R.P.I.C.K., but it does not solve late exponential mountain HP by itself.
Harpoons	37 base damage * 2.6 bladed damage * 5.56 fire-rate * 1.35 multishot expectation = about 721 relative normal damage. Monster Bane doubles the den-focused portion to about 1,442 before crit and support bonuses.	Best when dens, veins, and projectile support are the goal. It is a den/artifact engine more than the single highest mountain-kill build.
Fire fields	Max fire-field amplifier is 1 + 25 stacks * 0.06 Infernal Symphony = 2.5x affected damage. Flamelord's Wrath converts Flamers into slower fireball attackers whose fireball size scales from the bolt count they would have fired.	Build fields first, then add Wrath when fireballs are worth losing some normal field uptime.
Great Duke Cannon	100 base damage * 2.0 Devastating Payload * 6.25 fire-rate * 2.5 firefield amplifier = 3,125 relative fixed damage before crit and support-unit bonuses.	The fixed part is strong, but the late reason to add Artillery is Bombardment Mastery and support scaling.
Bombardment Mastery	1% scaled mountain-health damage * 6.25 fire-rate * 2.5 firefield amplifier = about 15.6% of max mountain HP per base cannon cycle before crit, Runesmith, Scientist, Flamer, Demodwarf, and Powder Hall bonuses.	This is the theoretical late-game edge. Percent-health-style scaling becomes better as mountain HP climbs.

Best Possible Late Build

Slot	Take	Purpose
Main carry	Flamer -> The Great Pyre -> Infernal Symphony -> Draconic Salvo -> Flamelord's Wrath	Build fire stacks, field amplification, and projectile size first, then use Wrath as the burst payoff. Do not buy it before fields are stacking reliably and normal Flamers can keep enough field uptime.
Late burst and scaling	Great Duke Cannon -> Rapid Cannonade -> Devastating Payload -> Bombardment Mastery	Add this after the fire/economy core. Cannon scaling gets much better with firefield amplification and support units.
Support units	Runesmiths + Scientists + Demodwarves + Flamers	Bombardment Mastery explicitly rewards these support counts, and runes/science also improve other systems.
Forge and runes	Mithril Forging + Forge Artifact + Rune of Power + Rune of Flame + Rune of Fortune	Feeds artifacts, damage, fire damage, and luck. This is why the optimal build is not just a weapon tree.
Mithril and artifacts	Spelunker + Mithril Divining + Treasure Hunter + Relic Raiding	Keeps the late build funded. Mithril and artifacts are the resources that let the strong multipliers actually get purchased.
Hauling	Runners + Gorilla Arms + Bulldozer when unlocked	High damage is wasted if ore piles up and gets reclaimed. Keep collection ahead of damage.

Build Order

Phase	Buy	Pivot When
Opening	Miner damage and Runners.	You can break mountains and collect most ore without sitting under reclaim pressure.
First prestige loop	Prestige around 14-15 PP and buy start-speed, miner, or runner prestige based on the bottleneck.	The next run starts faster and reaches mithril/artifact systems sooner.
Mithril engine	The Great Forge, Mithril Forging, Spelunker's Guild, and Mithril Divining.	Mithril costs stop being the main wall.
Artifact engine	Treasure Hunter, Forge Artifact, and den-focused support.	You have artifact choices and enough mithril/souls to use them.
Main carry	Flameworks: Flamers, Rapid Ignition, Searing Wounds, The Great Pyre, Infernal Symphony, then Flamelord's Wrath.	Fire stacks are high enough that field amplification matters.
Late hybrid	Artillery Hall: Great Duke Cannon, Rapid Cannonade, Devastating Payload, Deadeye Calibration, Bombardment Mastery.	The fire/economy core can afford Artillery without starving mithril, artifacts, Alchemy, or hauling.

Archetype Cards

Build	Core Pieces	Use
Miner Starter	Raised By Pickaxes · The Art of Faster Chucking · Slayer · Mithril Pickaxes	Use this to make the first runs fast. It is the best cheap path before late branches are affordable.
Harpoon Den Engine	Harpoon Ballista · Lubed Crank · Monster Bane · Multi-shot	Use this when dens, artifacts, and mithril veins are the bottleneck.
Firefield Carry	Flamer · Rapid Ignition · Inferno · The Great Pyre · Infernal Symphony	Use this as the main damage path once Flameworks is open. It also amplifies other attacks.
Artillery Fire Hybrid	Great Duke Cannon · Rapid Cannonade · Devastating Payload · Bombardment Mastery · Infernal Symphony	This is the strongest theoretical late package because it combines fixed cannon damage, firefield amplification, and scaled mountain-HP damage.
Spelunker Forge Core	Mithril Divining · Treasure Hunter · Forge Artifact · Forgeheart Ember · Forgebound Seal	This is the economy core that turns the late build from a theory into something you can actually buy.

Mistakes That Break the Optimal Build

Mistake	Fix
Rushing Artillery before the economy is stable.	Build Spelunker, Forge, Maw, and a working damage carry first. Artillery becomes best after support exists.
Buying Flamelord's Wrath before fields are strong.	Build stack cap, duration, cooldown, and Infernal Symphony first. Wrath is the payoff, not the foundation.
Ignoring hauling while damage climbs.	Upgrade Runners, Maw support, and Bulldozers before reclaim pressure erases the value of faster kills.
Treating Harpoons as weak because the first unit feels modest.	Use the full package: Lubed Crank, Monster Bane, Multi-shot, Flaming Bolt, luck, Runesmiths, and Scientists.
Spending mithril across every tree.	Spend mithril on the branch carrying the run, then on Mithril Divining, Forge Artifact, Alchemy, or gate progress.