Bones are one of the most valuable resources in Mina the Hollower, serving both as currency for Bone Up upgrades and a key part of character progression. In this guide, I’ll explain the best ways I collect bones, share an efficient early-game farming route in Mourner’s Mile, recommend the most useful trinkets for maximizing bone gains, and go over my approach to choosing Bone Up upgrades and managing bonestones.
Bones Guide: Best Farming Methods & Bone Up Tips
Bones are one of the most important resources in Mina the Hollower. I use them to improve my character through Bone Up upgrades, and having a steady supply makes progression much easier. In this guide, I’ll explain how to obtain bones, the best early-game farming route, the trinkets that improve bone farming, and some practical Bone Up recommendations.
How to Get Bones in Mina the Hollower
There are several ways I collect bones throughout the game:
Every enemy drops bones when defeated. The amount depends on the enemy type and strength. Smaller enemies such as bats provide fewer bones, while larger foes like frogs and armored knights reward much more.
While exploring, I regularly find bone fragments and bonestones scattered throughout the world. They can appear:
- In plain sight
- Half-buried in the ground
- Hidden inside boulders and crates
- Inside treasure chests, especially bonestones
To maximize my bone income, I break every destructible object and burrow whenever possible.
Use Modifiers
If achievements are not a concern, modifiers can significantly improve bone collection. Useful options include:
- Boning Up 20% Faster
- No Bone Loss on Death
Keep in mind that enabling modifiers disables feats (achievements).
How to Farm Bones Quickly in Mina the Hollower
The fastest farming method takes advantage of the Underlab’s ability to reset enemies and collectible items in the overworld.
My strategy is simple:
- Find an Underlab entrance near renewable bone sources.
- Collect nearby bones and defeat valuable enemies.
- Enter the Underlab.
- Return to the overworld.
- Repeat the route.
Best Early-Game Bone Farming Location
One of the best early-game farming spots is located in Mourner’s Mile: Knight’s Rest, east of Ossex.
To reach it:
- Travel through the Eastern Heath area.
- Continue until you reach the region populated by armored knights.
- Look north of the graveyard that contains the headless statue.
There are two useful Underlab entrances in this area. The first is located near the large door in one of the northern rooms.
Starting from this Underlab entrance, I head right and destroy the three boulders filled with bones. After collecting everything, I return to the Underlab to reset the area.
For even better results, I also:
- Defeat the nearby knight
- Move south and defeat another knight
- Break additional bone-filled boulders
If I want a longer farming route, I continue east toward Queensbury Crypt and use the Underlab entrance there to respawn enemies and items before retracing the path.
Best Trinkets for Farming Bones
Two trinkets work exceptionally well together when farming bones.
Deboning Wand
The Deboning Wand causes enemies to drop roughly 50% more bones when defeated.
The downside is that the bones scatter instead of being collected automatically. This can result in lost bones if enemies die near pits.
Because the Knight’s Rest farming route contains very few pits, it is an ideal location for using this trinket.
Stolenoid
The Stolenoid pulls nearby pickups toward me, including bones.
This effect greatly reduces the risk of losing bones dropped by the Deboning Wand. As long as I stay close to defeated enemies, the bones are collected almost immediately.
Using both trinkets together dramatically increases farming efficiency.
Bone Up Tips and Upgrade Recommendations
When I earn enough bones to Bone Up, I choose upgrades based on my preferred playstyle.
- If I frequently take damage, I prioritize defense upgrades first. Once survivability feels comfortable, I begin spreading upgrades across other attributes.
- If I prefer defeating enemies as quickly as possible and feel confident avoiding damage, I invest in attack power.
- Players who rely heavily on Shortarm abilities may benefit more from increasing Shortarm damage.
When to Convert Bones into Bonestones
As I accumulate more upgrades, I often choose to convert a Bone Up reward into a bonestone instead of spending it immediately.
This helps protect my progress because the stored bonestone cannot be lost like regular bones. Later, I can reclaim it from the Bone-Former located in the upper-right section of the Underlab.
I usually save bonestones for:
- Purchasing powerful shop items
- Fast future Bone Up upgrades
- Protecting valuable resources from loss
By balancing farming, smart trinket usage, and careful Bone Up decisions, I can steadily improve Mina and make progression much smoother throughout the game.