UnderMine 2’s sixth major update is here! It is time, peasants, to enter the Smuggler’s Grotto!

The tide rolls out, and deep in the Undermine, a grotto reveals itself after many years underwater. Bandits comb the sand in search of treasure, dangerous critters emerge from their holes, and aether coalesces in the depths. The smugglers of the Grotto call this aetherling Orzo.

Smuggler’s Grotto

After the long tide has finally rolled out, the Smuggler’s Grotto reveals itself in the Undermine. For decades, bandits, sailors, and other wicked sorts used the grotto to smuggle illicit goods into Delvemore. Forbidden texts, dubiously sourced gems, outlawed arcana, and other goods passed through on the regular. The smugglers often contended with the fauna of the area: crabs that wielded anchors, small shadow creatures that hid in bells, and of course the rumored neo fish.

The smugglers developed technology to make the trips more manageable, such as dive suits that allowed them to handle urchins and use them as weapons. The struggle led them to madness—to the point they couldn’t tell friend from foe.

After decades of smuggling through this area, the long tide finally came back in, submerging the area in water. Now, with the tide out, goods move again.

ORZO

While the grotto flooded, Orzo fed, growing to larger and larger proportions. Fire, light, dark… it didn’t matter. It fed on all aether and can now harness all elements. Its calcareous shell, fused with the aethereal elements, has formed an impenetrable barrier. Only when one side betrays the other does it create an opening for attack.

Throughout the grotto, segments of the beast move with no end. No one knows if it has multiple heads or if each end is simply the other side of the creature. Tread cautiously in its hunting ground and cloak yourself in aethereal resistance.

Black Cauldron

Since the events of UnderMine, Baba has relocated to the Halls of Din in pursuit of darker arts called the Occult Sciences. This half of alchemy strays into the untoward, but also holds secrets that normal alchemy can’t explain.

Beltrame learns the secret to her affliction and her investigation leads here, to the Black Cauldron and her old mentor, Baba. The cure is not without its cost, though. Are you willing to make a grave sacrifice to cure Beltrame?

The Black Cauldron can also be used to curse you on your run. Curses aren’t always curses and you may find many of these to be to your benefit under the right circumstances. Pick up an Occultist’s Syrup to sticky that curse to yourself and ensure it isn’t accidentally removed.

NEW Enemies

Along with a new area, comes new enemies. This is not an exhaustive list. New Glimmerweed variants have been added to expand your elemental potential. Bing Bong returns from UnderMine. And even these new enemies have some variants of their own.

New ACHIEVEMENTS

Journal Improvements

A new lifetime stats tab in the journal shows you a tale of your adventures through numbers. Curious how much gold you’ve spent or how many times you’ve visited Order versus Sho’guul? Well, now you’ll know.

We’ve also done a lot of work to show you where items are located. Items that have yet to be crafted will show you where to go. This will be especially helpful to new players. Once items have been crafted, or in the case of default items, the journal will show you where to expect them in the UnderMine.

The map also becomes a lot more useful with many characters and objects gaining new map icons.

And much more…

As always there is a lot more in this update, including balance changes and bug fixes.

Smuggler’s Grotto will release soon, but you can try it now on the TestMine. This update has been a lot of fun, and we look forward to sharing it with you.