Video Game Guides

A Complete Beginners Guide to Hydroneer

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to swim in a pool of gold? Have you ever wanted to play a game where the player goes from rags to riches? Well, Hydroneer manages to perfectly encapsulate these experiences. Within the game, you start with a little shovel and a bucket and must progress by exerting your blood, sweat, and tears. To succeed, the player must assimilate into an automated lifestyle. This game includes various drills, a diverse number of conveyor belts and so much more. The common individual may shrug off this game, thinking it’s too grindy. But they are wrong. In this article, we will be providing you with a Complete Beginners Guide to Hydroneer

Guide to Hydroneer – First Steps

As soon as an individual starts playing Hydroneer they may feel a number of emotions: Overwhelmed, Confused, Clueless. Don’t worry, we will be covering all the basics.

  • Firstly you will want to pick up the shovel, the shovel is resting up against a lamppost, just to the left of your starting position.
  • Then you will want to make your way down to the river, adjacent to the bridge, you will discover a bucket, a pan, and a brush. There will also be a map, up against a rock, but this is not needed.

You will then want to repeat this loop as many times as desired, as this will be the first way to create wealth.

  1. Grab the shovel (Press E to pick up an item) and dig dirt (Left mouse button to dig).
  2. Deplete the dirt into the bucket
  3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2 until the bucket is full, depending on the shovel, this will be twice, or 4 times.
  4. Pick up the bucket and empty it into the pan (Press the left mouse button to empty the bucket).
  5. Drop the pan into water, then take the pan out of the water
  6. Use the brush on the pan to discover ores and gems.
Shovel resting on a lamp on the Beginners Guide to Hydroneer guide

Once you have completed this a couple of times, it is time to start making money! Start by picking up the pan (Which now should hold some ores and gems), as moving towards the bastions keep. The map located to the right should help guide you (You are at Ember Cradle). Once you have arrived, you will notice a jeweler, located adjacent to the well. Place your pan atop the wooden desk and click sell. This will generate some coins in the bucket. Pick these coins up and head over to the equipment store, right next to your starting location. If you have enough, you should invest in an improved shovel, as this will accelerate your future endeavors of creating wealth. If not you may choose to save or buy a bed. This will come in handy when nightfall arises, and seeing becomes difficult.

You now want to return to the Ember Cradle and repeat the strategy of amassing money, we previously mentioned.

You now want to return to the Ember Cradle and repeat the strategy of amassing money, we previously mentioned.

Hydroneer complete map on the Beginners Guide to Hydroneer guide

Guide to Hydroneer – Accelerating Cash Growth

From this point on, there are many strategies to embark upon, these strategies are here to make your life easier when mining, thus increasing productivity.

Improvement #1: Pipes

  • The player may choose to invest in pipes, which (if done properly), eliminate the need of having to manually place your pan in the water. This can be done by place an “intake water pipe” in the water, and connecting it with various other pipes.

Improvement #2: Advanced Shovel

  • This improvement has already been mentioned, but I believe it is vital in a player’s strive for success. This shovel acts as a normal shovel but severely increases productivity. With this shovel, it only takes 2 digs to fill a buck, in contrast to the default shovel, which takes 4.

Improvement #3: Dig Deeper

  • Within the game, there are various modifiers that classify the value of the ores/gems amassed for dirt. The primary factor is how far the dirt was dug. For example, dirt at the bottom of the plot of land may be worth X3 or X4 what the dirt found at the surface is worth.

There are many other means of speeding up the process of making cash at the start, I am sure there are many alternatives to the methods mentioned above.

Water pipeline setup on the Beginners Guide to Hydroneer guide

Guide to Hydroneer – Automation

By now, you most likely have some money to spend! And it is up to you what you choose to spend your money on. There are various routes to take, but we have created a list of recommended things to do!

Create a Completely Automated, Cash Generating Setup

  • If a player desires great wealth, our Completely Automated, Cash Generating Setup is the way to go! This setup has been tweaked to maximize productivity and has been laid out in a simple guide.

Buy a New Plot of Land

  • Buying a new plot of land opens up a whole new experience to the player. It allows the player to build grand infrastructure, in a large open space. It allows the player to create larger automation setups. And it also allows the player easier access to shops (in most cases).

Invest in a New Vehicles

  • If you really have money to spend, you may choose to upgrade your previous car with a new one. These cars are available at Bridgepour (Map Located Above) and have certain benefits (Like speed). You can also buy a “Hydro Excavator” Which is a large vehicle that allows the player to dig out large stretches of land in a relatively short period of time.
Large vehicle on the Beginners Guide to Hydroneer guide

This was our guide to success in Hydroneer, if you have any questions, comment below!

George Dermanakis

Hi! I'm George Dermanakis, the owner of NeuralGamer. I'm a passionate gamer, writer, and website developer. I've watched as NeuralGamer grew from a one-person team (me) to a team consisting of content writers, organizers, and more. Read some of my articles and make a judgment call — was it up to your standards? Hopefully, it was a smooth experience. I have many thousands of hours on Steam, and I consider myself an expert in any Paradox Interactive game, Cookie Run Kingdom, Dark Souls, The Forest, Civilization 6, Tropico and Merge games. Between these games, I have over 10,000 hours! If you need help, let us know through the Contact Us page. Thanks!