Bones are the backbone of your progression in Mina the Hollower. You’ll need them to purchase useful things and to unlock powerful Bone Up upgrades. The most frustrating thing is that you lose all your carried bones when you die in the game.
This guide explains the fastest early-game Bone farming route, the best trinkets for increasing Bone income, how Bonestones work, and which Bone Up upgrades you should choose first.
What Are Bones Used For?
Bones serve two major purposes throughout the game.
- Purchase items from merchants.
- Trigger Bone Up (level up) upgrades that permanently improve Mina’s stats.
Once you’ve collected enough Bones, the game automatically lets you Bone Up. At that point, you can spend your Bones on a stat upgrade or convert them into a Bonestone for later use.
Bones are so valuable that having a reliable farming method makes the rest of the adventure much easier.
How To Earn More Bones In Mina The Hollower
Bones are something you’ll naturally collect while exploring, but there are far more rewarding ways to get them.
Defeat Enemies
Every enemy drops Bones when you defeat them.
The number of bones you get depends on the enemy.
- Small enemies like bats reward only a few Bones.
- Stronger enemies, such as armored knights and large frogs, drop a large amount of bones.
If you’re trying to farm bones quickly, prioritize tougher enemies instead of weaker ones whenever possible.
Search Every Area Carefully
A surprising number of Bones are hidden around the world.
Keep an eye out for:
- Bone fragments lying on the ground
- Half-buried Bone piles
- Treasure chests
- Breakable crates
- Destructible boulders containing Bones
- Hidden collectibles while burrowing
Many players simply run past these objects, but destroying everything along your path adds up to a large amount of extra Bones over time.
Use Gameplay Modifiers (Optional)
If you don’t care about earning achievements, gameplay modifiers can make Bone farming much easier.
Some of the most useful options include:
- Boning Up 20% Faster
- No Bone Loss on Death
These modifiers speed up progression a lot, but remember that turning them on disables in-game achievements.
Best Early-Game Bone Farming Route
One of the fastest farming spots available early in the game is found in Mourner’s Mile: Knight’s Rest, located east of Ossex.
This path is quick, with valuable enemies, Bone-filled boulders, and nearby Underlab entrances resetting the area immediately.
How to Reach Knight’s Rest
- Travel through the Eastern Heath.
- Continue toward the area filled with armored knights.
- Find the graveyard with the headless statue.
- Head north to locate the Underlab entrance.
There are actually two Underlab entrances nearby, which makes this one of the most convenient farming locations early in the game.
Fast Bone Farming Method
Once you’ve reached the farming spot, follow this loop:
- Leave the Underlab.
- Destroy the three Bone-filled boulders nearby.
- Defeat the nearby armored knight.
- Continue south to eliminate another knight.
- Break any additional Bone-containing rocks.
- Return to the Underlab.
- Exit again to respawn enemies and collectibles.
- Repeat the process.
Because entering and leaving the Underlab refreshes overworld enemies and collectible objects, you can repeat this route as many times as needed.
Longer Farming Route
If you want even better returns, extend the route toward Queensbury Crypt.
After clearing the enemies and Bone deposits along the path, enter the Underlab entrance there before retracing your steps.
Although each run takes longer, you’ll earn considerably more Bones per cycle.
Best Trinkets for Farming Bones
There are some trinkets that help with Bone farming a lot.
The results are even better when you use them together.
Deboning Wand
The Deboning Wand increases the number of Bones dropped by defeated enemies by roughly 50%.
Its only drawback is that the extra Bones scatter across the ground instead of going directly into your inventory.
This becomes a problem if enemies die near pits, since some Bones may fall where you can’t collect them.
The good news is that the Knight’s Rest farming route is very safe and has very few hazards, making it one of the safest places to equip this trinket.
Stolenoid
The Stolenoid automatically attracts nearby pickups, including Bones.
Instead of manually chasing scattered Bone drops, they’ll quickly fly toward Mina as long as you’re standing nearby.
This trinket almost completely makes up for the downside of the Deboning Wand.
Best Trinket Combination
For maximum Bone income, equip:
- Deboning Wand
- Stolenoid
The first increases Bone drops, while the second makes collecting those extra Bones much easier.
Together, they create one of the most efficient Bone farming setups available.
Best Bone Up Upgrade Priority
Every time you collect enough Bones, you’ll automatically trigger a Bone Up.
Choosing the right upgrade depends on how you like to play.
Defense First
If you’re still learning enemy patterns or often take damage, increasing your defensive stats is usually the safest choice.
Taking less damage means surviving longer and keeping more of your hard-earned Bones.
Increase Attack Power
Aggressive players may prefer to invest in attack.
More damage means you can kill enemies faster, which makes farming faster and difficult boss fights shorter.
Upgrade Shortarm Damage
Players who use Shortarm abilities frequently may want to boost that category instead.
This upgrade is worth it if a lot of your combat revolves around those abilities.
Bone Up Can Save You During Tough Battles
Bone Up is a useful mechanic that many players overlook. It completely refills your Health, Joules, and Sparks.
If you’re on the edge of leveling up during a hard boss fight, it could be worth saving enough Bones to Bone Up at just the right time.
The full restoration can completely change the outcome of an encounter.
Should You Choose a Bonestone Instead?
You don’t always have to spend your Bones immediately.
Instead of selecting a stat upgrade, you can convert that Bone Up into a Bonestone.
Doing this safely stores your accumulated Bones instead of spending them.
Because Bonestones cannot be lost like regular carried Bones, they’re a great way to protect valuable resources.
Later, you can retrieve them from the Bone-Former in the upper-right section of the Underlab whenever you’re ready to use them.
When to Store Bones as Bonestones
Saving Bones instead of leveling immediately is useful when:
- You’re carrying a large number of Bones.
- You’re about to explore a dangerous new area.
- You’re saving for an expensive merchant item.
- You want several Bone Up upgrades in quick succession later.
This approach reduces the risk of losing progress after an unexpected death.
If you want to make Mina as strong as possible, focus on the Knight’s Rest farming route early on in the game. Kill all armored knights, blow up all the Bone-filled boulders, and reset the area with the Underlab again and again.
