Mina the Hollower Early Game Route Guide: What to Do First After Reaching Ossex

Early Game Goal

Your early goal is not to clear every room. Your real goal is to open the systems that make the rest of the game easier.

Focus on:

• A comfortable weapon.
• Burrow usage.
• Ossex.
• Hollower’s Guild.
• Rhene.
• Drillhardt.
• Isle Map.
• One weapon upgrade.
• One Trinket Bag.
• Basic Underlab upgrades.

Choose a Comfortable Starting Weapon

Nightstar is usually the safest beginner choice because of reach. Blaststrike Maul hits hard but asks for timing. Whisper and Vesper are fast but require close-range confidence.

You can get other weapons later, so choose comfort over theory.

Learn Mina’s Combat Rhythm

Attack once or twice, move away, watch the enemy, burrow when needed, and punish after the enemy finishes attacking.

Do not mash beside enemies. Mina rewards clean, short commitments.

Reach Ossex and Slow Down

Ossex is your first major hub. Check NPCs, shops, buildings, and hints. Do not immediately run into the next dangerous route.

Look for the Hollower’s Guild and Legovich’s Arms.

Enter the Hollower’s Guild

Talk to Muriel and take the free Kear from the Guild chest. This chest is easy to overlook and helps with the southern route.

Go South and Rescue Rhene

Head south into Southern Outskirts and continue toward the Rebel Base. Bring a Plasma Vial, clear enemies carefully, and escort Rhene back safely.

This route is about control, not speed.

Return and Unlock Drillhardt

Return to the Guild after rescuing Rhene. Burrow under the strange mound to reveal Drillhardt. This unlocks Underlab upgrades, including the Isle Map.

Buy the Isle Map

The Isle Map gives you structure for backtracking and reduces early confusion. Buy it early unless your combat badly needs a weapon upgrade first.

Upgrade Your Main Weapon

Visit Legovich’s Arms and upgrade the weapon you actually use. Do not upgrade every weapon immediately.

Buy a Trinket Bag

More Trinket slots increase build flexibility. After one main weapon upgrade, buying a Trinket Bag is usually one of the best investments.

Do Not 100% Early Areas Yet

Some paths require later tools or better setup. Check carefully, but do not obsess. Mark suspicious areas and return later.

Suggested Early Purchase Order

1. Main weapon upgrade
2. First Trinket Bag
3. Isle Map
4. Survival items if needed
5. Joule Alembic
6. Training Dummy
7. Second Trinket Bag
8. More weapon upgrades
9. Train funding
10. Enhanced Map later

Clean Early Route Summary

Pick weapon, reach Ossex, find the Guild, take the Kear, go south, rescue Rhene, return, unlock Drillhardt, buy the map, upgrade weapon, buy Trinket Bag, then push deeper.