Enter one route's values to compare scenarios; the calculation runs only in this browser.
Mine a Mountain Warmth vs Pickaxe vs Backpack Optimizer
Compare Carry Weight, Warmth, and pickaxe upgrades against current cash rates to project payback hours, bottleneck classification, and a greedy budget path.
Mine a Mountain Warmth vs Pickaxe vs Backpack Optimizer
Enter the current route's collection rate, mining time, and the candidate upgrade prices. The optimizer classifies the bottleneck, projects each upgrade's rate, and queues a greedy budget path.
Boulder unlock requirements
- Mossite needs Titanium Spike
- Voltite needs Celestial Apex
- Gildrite needs Eclipse Fang
- Rimeveil needs Voidreign
- Nocturnite needs The Terminus
Candidate ranking
| Candidate | Projected $/h | Incremental | Payback (h) | Hard unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +60s Warmth | 842,400 | 70,971 | 11.27 | — |
| +50 Carry Weight | 771,429 | 0 | n/a | — |
| Obsidian Edge | 271,075 | -500,354 | n/a | — |
| Boulder unlock: Mossite | 0 | -771,429 | n/a | Mossite |
Source: mine-a-mountain_tools-design.md Tool 2 (math), mine-a-mountain_data-collection.md (pickaxe and boulder framing). Warmth, Carry, and pickaxe cash costs are player-entered scenarios; compare against the in-game shop before spending.
The Upgrade Path Optimizer compares the next three upgrade classes — Warmth, Carry Weight, pickaxe — under your measured route, and returns a payback-ranked recommendation plus a greedy budget path.
Core formula
time_to_fill [s] = B / qm
mining_time [s] = min(time_to_fill, W)
cycle_time [s] = mining_time + D
cash_per_cycle = q$ × mining_time
rate_per_hour = cash_per_cycle / cycle_time × 3600Bottleneck classification uses a ±5s tolerance and a 30% travel-secondary threshold. These are product heuristics, not in-game constants.
Hard unlocks
Boulders require a specific pickaxe. The optimizer forces these into the recommendation when present. Current documented unlocks:
| Boulder | Pickaxe |
|---|---|
| Mossite | Titanium Spike |
| Voltite | Celestial Apex |
| Gildrite | Eclipse Fang |
| Rimeveil | Voidreign |
| Nocturnite | The Terminus |
Pickaxe proxy mode
When only stats are known, the optimizer uses a proxy (P' × M') / (P × M) and applies scenario exponents α / β:
- conservative:
α=0.35, β=0.20 - base:
α=0.50, β=0.30 - optimistic:
α=0.75, β=0.50
The proxy is labelled as a scenario estimate, not official DPS. The optimizer encourages a 60-second before/after sample to replace it.
Edge cases
- Carry while warmth-limited. Zero incremental gain with explanation.
- Warmth while bag-limited. Zero incremental gain unless Carry changes.
- Unknown later pickaxe stats. Manual entry required; no extrapolation.
- Robux budget. Out of scope; cash and Robux never auto-convert.
- Rebirth. Out of scope; no documented rebirth mechanic exists in current sources.
Source
Mine a Mountain Tools Design Spec — Upgrade Path Optimizer (current revision).