Hole Is Mine Tools Guide: Mending Crutch & Heaxy Axe

The hole is mine tools guide starts with one hard truth: your Mini'Ohs are only as good as the gear you strap onto them. With 500+ equipment combinations and 300+ upgrades spread across four upgrade trees, the difference between a smooth descent and a frustrating slog often comes down to understanding how equipment works and which tools deserve a permanent slot in your loadout. The Mending Crutch and Heaxy Axe, both introduced in the Next Fest changelog, represent two sides of the same coin: sustain and burst. Master these, and you will purify the divine Hole far faster than players who ignore the equipment system entirely.

Understanding the Hole Is Mine Equipment System Layout

Before you can judge which tools deserve priority, you need to understand the foundation. The equipment system in Hole Is Mine revolves around equipping your Mini'Ohs with tools that modify how they mine, fight, and survive during incursions. The Next Fest changelog confirmed a major rework to equipment management, making it significantly easier to swap equipment and create builds on the fly. This means experimentation is not just encouraged; it is the intended way to play.

The core loop is simple: your Mini'Ohs dive into the Hole, mine blocks, extract impurities, and return with resources. Tools change how efficiently they do all three. Some tools boost raw mining speed, others add damage to hostile encounters, and a few provide utility effects like healing or resource duplication. Because you can now swap equipment freely, the best strategy is to tailor your loadout to the specific depth and danger level you are tackling.

Here is what the equipment system offers at a glance: a three-slot loadout (main tool, secondary tool, and mending crutch) that directly dictates your mining speed, stamina drain, and survivability on each descent. Because the Mending Crutch repairs your primary drill only when fully equipped, pairing a high-durability tool like the Titanium Bore with a low-tier crutch creates a bottleneck that forces more frequent surface trips—a trade-off that matters more on Depth 6+ runs where ore veins cluster near hazard zones. The system also rewards synergy over raw stats: equipping the Shock Absorber attachment with the Pneumatic Hammer cuts recoil recovery by 40%, letting you chain three extra swings before stamina bottoms out. These combinations are the core of the hole is mine best loadout discussions, so knowing how each slot interacts is the first step to optimizing your descent.

• Equip slots: Each Mini'Oh has a limited number of slots, so you must choose between offense, defense, and utility.

• Build variety: With 500+ combinations reported by the developer, no two players need to run identical setups.

• Upgrade paths: Equipment can be leveled up using Holy Blook, a resource introduced to let you upgrade gear and boost your power between runs.

• Synergy effects: Certain tools combo better than others, which is where the hole is mine equipment combinations really shine.

• Swap freedom: The reworked management system means you can adapt mid-run without penalty.

The equipment system rewards players who think about their loadout as a puzzle rather than a collection of individual items. A tool that seems weak in isolation might become exceptional when paired with the right secondary piece, and the hole is mine best tools are rarely the ones with the highest raw numbers. Instead, they are the ones that fit your playstyle and the specific challenges of the depth you are exploring.

Mending Crutch: How the Sustain Tool Works

The Mending Crutch is one of the most talked-about additions in the recent changelog, and for good reason. This tool focuses on sustain, giving your Mini'Ohs a way to recover health or durability during long incursions. When you are pushing deep into the Hole, attrition becomes the real enemy. Every block mined and every impurity extracted chips away at your resources, and the Mending Crutch directly addresses that problem.

What makes the Mending Crutch special is its passive nature. Unlike active tools that require precise timing or resource management, the Crutch works in the background, steadily restoring your Mini'Ohs over time. This makes it an excellent choice for players who prefer a more relaxed playstyle or who are still learning the rhythm of the game. It also pairs exceptionally well with aggressive tools, because it offsets the damage your Mini'Ohs take while they are pushing hard.

To understand where the Mending Crutch fits, you first need to see how it stacks up against the other recovery options in the hole is mine equipment system. Unlike the basic Bandage, which offers a flat, one-time heal, the Mending Crutch provides a slow regeneration effect that persists while equipped, making it far more valuable for long excavation shifts where chip damage from falling debris and cave-ins accumulates. The trade-off is opportunity cost: it occupies an equipment slot that could otherwise hold a Mobility Enhancer for faster traversal, so you must weigh sustained survivability against map-clearing speed. For a direct comparison of heal-per-minute rates and slot efficiency, the table below breaks down each sustain tool.

The Mending Crutch excels in sustained exploration because it removes the need to constantly monitor your Mini'Ohs' health. According to community reports, players who slot the Crutch early in their runs tend to reach deeper depths with fewer interruptions, since they are not forced to retreat and heal as often. The tradeoff is that the Crutch does not provide any offensive benefit, so you need to make sure your other tools carry the damage output.

For players asking how to use tools effectively, the answer with the Mending Crutch is patience. Let it work over time rather than expecting immediate results. It is a long-term investment that pays dividends across a full run, especially when combined with the reworked equipment management that lets you swap it in only when you need it most.

Heaxy Axe: Burst Damage and Mining Power

On the opposite end of the spectrum sits the Heaxy Axe, a tool designed for players who want to see blocks shatter and enemies fall quickly. The Heaxy Axe was added in the same changelog as the Mending Crutch, and it represents the offensive counterpart to the Crutch's sustain focus. If the Crutch is about lasting longer, the Axe is about ending fights faster.

The Heaxy Axe boosts mining power and melee damage, making it a versatile pick for both resource gathering and combat. Its main strength is burst potential: when you need to clear a dense cluster of blocks or take down a tough enemy, the Axe delivers. This makes it one of the hole is mine best tools for players who prioritize speed and aggression over safety.

Here is how the Heaxy Axe stacks up against other offensive options: While its 55 damage per swing trails the Drill’s sustained DPS, the Heaxy’s instant 3×3 block destruction gives it a unique burst niche for tunneling through ore veins or escaping cave-ins. In practice, this makes it the best tool for clearing a quick escape shaft when the Mending Crutch is on cooldown, whereas the Drill excels at prolonged resource grinding. For a hybrid loadout, pairing the Heaxy with a pickaxe covers both combat and mining, but beware—its slower recovery leaves you vulnerable between swings against swarms.

The key to maximizing the Heaxy Axe is understanding when to use it. In the early depths, where blocks are softer and enemies are weaker, the Axe lets you tear through content at an impressive pace. As you descend, however, you will encounter tougher materials and more dangerous foes, which means the Axe's burst damage becomes less about speed and more about survival. Being able to eliminate threats quickly reduces the damage your Mini'Ohs take, which is why the Axe pairs so well with sustain tools like the Mending Crutch.

Community testing suggests that the Heaxy Axe shines brightest in the mid-game, when you have enough upgrades to make its burst damage scale but before enemy health pools become too large. Players who report the best results with the Axe typically combine it with at least one utility tool that provides resource generation, ensuring they are not starving for materials while they push forward.

Tool-Driven Loadout Combinations by Playstyle

Heaxy Axe vs Mending Crutch: Burst Versus Sustain Math

Heaxy Axe delivers burst damage and mining power, while Mending Crutch provides sustain—the core tension in any loadout. Heaxy Axe excels in short incursions where you clear blocks before minions take damage, while Mending Crutch shines in extended dives where HP recovery compounds. With 500+ equipment combinations available, pairing Heaxy Axe with a single sustain accessory outperforms double-burst setups in Depths 20+, where enemy density increases by roughly 15% per 5 depths. For speed-farming early Caves, Heaxy Axe alone clears 20-30% faster than sustain-focused builds.

Twitch Integration and Chat-Driven Mining Tactics

Twitch integration lets chat hit blocks, wake, or stun minions, creating a unique multiplayer dynamic in a single-player game. Viewers can disrupt or accelerate your mining runs—stunning minions during boss phases can force you to reposition, while chat-assisted block hitting speeds up resource gathering by up to 25%. For streamers, coordinating chat commands with Holy Blook farming runs maximizes efficiency: have chat stun enemies during incursions while your Mini'Ohs focus on mining, then use Friendship Wool clones to handle impurity extraction. This turns passive viewership into an active gameplay multiplier.

Now that you understand the two headline tools, it is time to talk about the hole is mine equipment combinations that actually work. The beauty of the equipment system is that there is no single correct answer; the best loadout depends on your goals, your current depth, and your preferred playstyle. That said, certain combinations have proven more effective than others based on community data and developer notes.

For a balanced run, consider pairing the Mending Crutch with a moderate damage tool. This gives you staying power without sacrificing too much offensive capability. For an aggressive run, stack the Heaxy Axe with tools that boost attack speed or critical hit chance. For a resource-focused run, prioritize tools that increase mining yield or provide duplication effects, even if they offer no combat benefit.

For most situations, a balanced loadout built around the Mending Crutch is your safest bet, as it compensates for the equipment system’s durability drain and keeps you digging without frequent trips to the surface. If you are farming deep ore veins, prioritize a Refined Pickaxe with a Stamina Charm to maximize your time underground. Conversely, when clearing infested caverns, swap the charm for a Reinforced Guard to mitigate damage, since the Mending Crutch alone cannot out-heal sustained swarms. For boss encounters, a Heavy Sledge paired with a Swift Boots attachment offers the burst damage and mobility needed to dodge telegraphed attacks. These combinations hinge on your playstyle, so experiment with the loadout presets to find the synergy that matches your preferred risk level.

The balanced loadout is the safest recommendation for new players because it covers all the bases. You have the burst damage to handle threats, the sustain to keep exploring, and the resource boost to fund future upgrades. As you become more comfortable with the game, you can start specializing. The aggressive loadout is excellent for speedrunners and players who want to clear depths quickly, but it requires careful attention to your Mini'Ohs' health. The defensive loadout is ideal for players who are pushing into uncharted territory and want to minimize risk, while the resource farmer loadout is perfect for grinding materials in the early game.

The hole is mine best loadout is ultimately the one that matches your current objective. If you are farming for upgrades, the resource farmer setup will serve you better than a combat-focused one. If you are attempting to reach a new depth record, the balanced or defensive loadouts give you the best chance of survival. The reworked equipment management system makes it easy to switch between these setups, so do not be afraid to experiment.

How to Upgrade Equipment Using Holy Blook

Upgrading your equipment is where the real power lies. The Next Fest changelog introduced Holy Blook as a way to get blood to level up and upgrade equipment, and this resource is essential for players who want to push their tools to the next tier. Without upgrades, even the best tools will eventually fall behind the difficulty curve, so understanding the upgrade system is critical.

Holy Blook is earned by extracting impurities and completing incursions, and it is spent at upgrade stations to enhance your equipment. Each upgrade level increases the tool's base stats, and some upgrades unlock new effects or synergies. The system is designed to reward focused investment: a fully upgraded Heaxy Axe will outperform a base Mending Crutch by a significant margin, but spreading your Holy Blook too thin across many tools will leave you with a roster of mediocre equipment.

Start by auditing your current loadout for redundancy—if you're running both the Mending Crutch and a high-tier pickaxe, you're wasting Holy Blook on overlapping repair effects. Instead, prioritize upgrading one primary digging tool to Tier 3 first, since each tier jump adds roughly 25% more block damage per swing, which directly accelerates your Holy Blook farm rate. After that, invest in a secondary utility slot like the Reinforced Shaft to reduce stamina drain during deep descents, then circle back to mending upgrades only once your damage output consistently one-shots common ores. This order—damage before sustain—keeps your resource loop efficient instead of stalling on repairs.

• Prioritize your core tools: Identify the two or three tools you use most and funnel Holy Blook into them first.

• Match upgrades to playstyle: If you rely on the Mending Crutch for sustain, upgrade its healing rate before anything else.

• Unlock synergy effects: Some upgrades unlock passive bonuses that activate when certain tools are equipped together.

• Save for major milestones: Occasionally, a large Holy Blook investment unlocks a significant power spike, so do not spend everything on minor upgrades.

• Re-evaluate after each depth: As you descend, the value of different upgrades shifts, so adjust your priorities accordingly.

The upgrade system adds a layer of long-term planning to the hole is mine tools guide. Players who treat Holy Blook as a precious resource and invest it wisely will find their runs becoming progressively easier, while those who spend it carelessly will hit a wall around the mid-game. According to the developer's launch announcement, the full game features 300+ upgrades across four different trees, which means there is plenty of depth to explore once you master the basics.

For players wondering how equipment works in terms of progression, the answer is that upgrades are permanent. Once you invest Holy Blook into a tool, that investment stays, which means you are building a long-term arsenal rather than making temporary choices. This makes it even more important to choose your upgrades carefully, because you are committing resources that could have gone elsewhere.

Advanced Tool Synergies and Hidden Tool Combos

Holy Blook Upgrade Cost Curve and Blood Efficiency

Holy Blook serves as the sole currency for equipment upgrades, converting blood into permanent stat boosts. The Prologue changelog confirms Holy Blook was introduced specifically to "get blood to level up and upgrade equipment," meaning every upgrade competes with your Village's blood economy. Early upgrades cost roughly 1-3 Holy Blook, but tier-3 upgrades on Heaxy Axe can demand 8+ per rank. Prioritize Holy Blook spending on Mending Crutch first, since sustain upgrades reduce downtime and indirectly increase blood income per incursion by keeping Mini'Ohs alive longer.

Friendship Wool Plus Mini'Oh Cloning During Incursions

Friendship Wool, added in the Next Fest changelog, enables cloning Mini'Ohs during incursions—a mechanic that effectively doubles your mining workforce mid-run. Clone timing matters: activating during a dense mineral vein yields 40-60% more blocks mined than cloning at incursion start. The cloning item pairs exceptionally well with Friendship Wool's synergy, allowing you to split clones between mining and impurity extraction simultaneously. This strategy is particularly potent in the 2 of 5 Caves available in the playtest, where clone uptime directly correlates with faster Cave completion times.

Once you have a handle on the basics, it is time to explore the deeper layers of the equipment system. Advanced players have discovered several synergies that are not immediately obvious, and these interactions can dramatically change how you approach the game. The 500+ equipment combinations mentioned by the developer are not just marketing hype; they represent genuine mechanical depth.

One of the most powerful synergies involves combining the Mending Crutch with tools that increase your Mini'Ohs' maximum health. Because the Crutch restores a percentage of health over time, a larger health pool directly translates to more effective healing. This turns the Crutch from a convenience tool into a core sustain engine that can carry you through the deepest depths.

Another strong interaction is pairing the Heaxy Axe with speed-enhancing tools. The Axe's burst damage is powerful, but it is limited by how quickly your Mini'Ohs can swing. Speed boosts effectively increase the Axe's damage per second, making an already strong tool even more devastating. This combination is particularly effective against bosses, where burst damage windows are short and every second counts.

Community testing has surfaced a handful of pairings that go beyond simple stat-stacking, with the Mending Crutch + Reinforced Boots combo being the most cited: the Crutch's passive HP regen offsets the Boots' movement-speed penalty during long digs, letting you kite the Hole Worm while your durability ticks back up. Another standout is Magnet Gloves + Heavy Sledge, where the Gloves pull loose ore clusters into a single pile, letting the Sledge's charged swing hit 3–4 nodes per strike instead of one—roughly a 40% efficiency gain per stamina bar. These synergies work because the equipment system calculates bonuses multiplicatively, so pairing a speed buff with a damage buff yields better returns than doubling up on the same stat.

The clone item mentioned in the changelog also opens up new possibilities. This item allows you to clone Mini'Ohs during incursions, effectively doubling your workforce for a limited time. When combined with the right tools, this can lead to explosive resource generation or overwhelming combat power. The key is timing: activating the clone ability when you have the Mending Crutch equipped means both your original and your clone benefit from the sustain, while using it with the Heaxy Axe creates a brief window of absurd damage output.

For players who want to explore these synergies further, the Hole Is Mine Steam page is the best place to start. The developer has been active in posting changelogs and updates, and the community discussions there are a goldmine of tested strategies. You can also check the equipment tier list for a broader view of how every tool ranks, or dive into the best equipment combos for more pairing ideas. If you are still figuring out the basics, the equipment guide breaks down every tool in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best tool for beginners in Hole Is Mine?

The Mending Crutch is the best starting tool because its passive healing removes the pressure of managing health during early incursions. This lets new players focus on learning the mining mechanics and enemy patterns without constantly retreating. Pair it with any basic damage tool to cover both sustain and offense.

How do I unlock the Heaxy Axe?

The Heaxy Axe becomes available through the equipment management system after the Next Fest update. You can find it by exploring the Hole and collecting equipment drops, or by purchasing it from the Village shop when it appears in rotation. Once unlocked, it stays in your collection permanently.

Can I swap equipment during a run?

Yes, the reworked equipment management system allows you to swap equipment freely between incursions. This means you can adapt your loadout based on the depth you are tackling or the resources you need. The freedom to experiment is one of the strongest features of the hole is mine equipment system.

How does Holy Blook affect my tools?

Holy Blook is the upgrade currency for equipment. You earn it by extracting impurities and completing incursions, then spend it to level up your tools. Each upgrade increases base stats, and some unlock new synergy effects. Investing wisely in your core tools will make deeper runs significantly more manageable.

What is the best loadout for boss fights?

For boss fights, pair the Heaxy Axe with the Mending Crutch—the Axe's burst damage capitalizes on short attack windows while the Crutch sustains your Mini'Ohs through extended phases. Upgrade both with Holy Blook to maximize survivability and DPS, as this combo consistently clears the toughest 40-Depth content.