Dwarf Eats Mountain Guide
Use this guide hub when you know the problem but not the exact page. Start with the thing that is slowing the run right now: early damage, ore hauling, missing unlocks, mithril, artifacts, prestige timing, special mountains, or late-game scaling.
Start Here
Section titled “Start Here”| If You Need | Read This | What It Answers |
|---|---|---|
| A first-run plan | Beginner Guide | What to buy first, when to add Runners, when to open dens, and how to avoid wasting early gold. |
| A faster reset loop | Fast Progression | How to move through PP loops, damage branches, hauling, mithril walls, and timed checks faster. |
| Prestige timing | When to Prestige | Why the first clean reset target is usually 14-15 PP and what to buy after the reset. |
| A missing upgrade or building | Unlock Order and Hidden Unlocks | Requirements for Manufactorum, Bulldozers, Alchemy, Ritual Power, Flamelord's Wrath, C.L.U.S.T.E.R.P.I.C.K., and other hidden chains. |
| The strongest build | Best Builds | Mathematical build paths for early speed, den farming, fire build scaling, artillery, mithril, and late-game hybrid scaling. |
| A ranked priority list | Mathematical Tier List | Which systems, prestige choices, and artifacts solve the most repeated bottlenecks. |
| A demolition plan | Demolition Build Guide | Optimal Demodwarf order, TNT math, Big Bomb odds, Powder Hall breakpoints, and when to pivot. |
| Scientist decisions | Scientists Guide | When Scientists are worth buying, how they unlock Alchemy, Powder Hall, Nuclear Research, discounts, and laser scaling. |
| Runner math | Runners Guide | How much hauling matters, why underfunding runners can backfire, and how to keep ore from being reclaimed. |
Quick Answers
Section titled “Quick Answers”| Question | Answer | Full page |
|---|---|---|
| How do I unlock the Bulldozer? | Buy the Manufactorum prestige upgrade (prestige Tier 3, which opens after 45 PP spent). Then, in a run, build the Grand Laboratory or Ballistics Workshop, then The Great Forge (700 gold), then the Manufactorum from Khazad Greathold (1,000 gold). The first Bulldozer costs 700 gold, 4 mithril and 2 dwarves; later ones cost more. | Unlock Order |
| Why is an upgrade or building missing? | Most hidden systems require a prestige purchase, a worker count, or a tier in a different chain. | Unlock Order and Hidden Unlocks |
| How do I open the Great World Spire? | The Level 100 spire opens only with all eight artifacts: Goblin Crown (Level 20 boss), Dragon's Egg (Level 40 boss), The Nauglamir (Level 50 Triple Seal Gate), Mountain Core (Level 60 boss), Shadowflame Whip (Level 80 boss), Philosopher's Stone (Alchemy), Arkenstone and Dial of Destiny. Each boss has a 180-second timer. | Great World Spire Checklist |
| What do the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Keys do? | Ruby Key, Sapphire Key and Emerald Key are Tier 2 artifacts (selection weight 55 each) offered by normal artifact choices. Keep all three to open the Level 50 Triple Seal Gate, which awards The Nauglamir, one of the eight Great World Spire artifacts. The Key Master prestige upgrade raises key drop chance by 25% / 50% / 75%. | Ruby Key |
| What does the Dial of Destiny do? | On collect: +5 PP, +1 soul and +10 mithril. It is one of the eight Great World Spire artifacts. The game's artifact table lists no tier or selection weight for it, so it is not a normal weighted roll. Keep it whenever it is offered. | Dial of Destiny |
| What are Tier 5 artifacts? | The weighted artifact pool only runs from Tier 1 to Tier 4. Tier 5 artifacts are unique quest artifacts outside that pool; official patch notes say Treasure Hunter, Forge Artifact, Alchemy and the Great Shabu Altar improve their odds, and v1.4.0 made quest-artifact odds rise with mountain level. Endless Artifacts start once every non-Tier 5 artifact is collected. | Artifact Sources |
| When should I prestige? | First reset at 14-15 PP: Tier 2 prestige upgrades open after 12 PP spent, so 14 lets you open Tier 2 and still buy a Tier 2 upgrade. After that, reset when the next permanent upgrade would speed up the next run more than staying would. | When to Prestige |
| How do I unlock Flamelord's Wrath? | Requires Flamelords prestige, 6 Flamers, and 5 Runesmiths. | Flamelord's Wrath |
| How do I unlock Powder Hall? | Requires Powder Hall prestige and 4 Scientists; unlocks advanced demolition, runner, and artillery bridge upgrades. | Powder Hall |
| How do I unlock Nuclear Research? | Requires its prestige unlock, Powder Hall 4, 3 Great Cannons, and 7 Scientists before the artillery/nuke path opens. | Nuclear Research |
| Where does mithril come from? | Mithril comes from damage progress, dens, spelunking, luck, artifacts, and prestige support. | How to Get Mithril |
Main Guide Categories
Section titled “Main Guide Categories”| Category | Guides | Use Them For |
|---|---|---|
| Progression | Beginner Guide · Fast Progression · When to Prestige · Late Game Ascension | Run flow, reset timing, and long-term account progress. |
| Builds | Best Builds · Tier List · Best Buildings · Best Upgrades | Choosing a damage route and deciding what to buy next. |
| Systems | Runners Guide · Scientists Guide · Demolition Build Guide · Ore and Gold Farming | Specific mechanics that decide whether a run actually converts damage into progress. |
| Artifacts and gates | Best Artifacts · Artifact Sources and Missing Relics · Great World Spire Checklist · Bosses and Special Mountains | Artifact choices, missing relics, keys, special mountains, and spire blockers. |
| Reference help | Common Questions · Unlock Order · How to Get Mithril · Dens and Artifacts · Calamities Guide · Mountain Leveling | Quick answers and formula-backed reference pages. |
If You Are Stuck
Section titled “If You Are Stuck”| Symptom | Likely Fix |
|---|---|
| Mountains are not dying fast enough. | Pick one supported damage line from Best Builds instead of spreading gold across every new building. |
| Ore piles up or disappears. | Read Runners Guide and fix runner capacity, speed, dodge, Maw pull, or machines before buying more damage. |
| Mithril is blocking everything. | Use How to Get Mithril and add dens, mithril-luck, Spelunkers, and Forge support. |
| An upgrade is missing. | Use Unlock Order and Hidden Unlocks first; the blocker is often prestige, Scientists, Runesmiths, Powder Hall, or another tier chain. |
| The spire says 7/8 artifacts. | Use Great World Spire Checklist and check the Alchemy/Philosopher's Stone path before grinding random artifacts. |
By Max Yaport (Editor, WikiTactics) Edition published