| “ | A giant chasm has opened up recently, attracting fortune-seekers from all around! | ” |
— Stage description, Shovel Knight Dig | ||
The Surface serves as a hub in Shovel Knight Dig. The Surface is a part of The Valley and it mainly consists of 3 parts. It's the main base of operations for Shovel Knight during his adventure; as such he always starts from here and he'll always return after a run inside The Well. The area can also be reached during a run by simply deciding to exit The Well, thusly forfeiting the attempt, dying during the exploration, or by using Fetcher's services.
Layout[]
Main Layer[]
Here is the entrance to The Well and its first layer, the Mushroom Mines. Altius, the pet owl of Shield Knight, can be seen sitting on the nearby arrow post, located at the right side of the hole. Shovel Knight can pet him and with the help of his Shovel Blade, "persuade" him to come along with him to The Well. Once hit, Altius will begin flying around; while he does so, he can be pushed into the Well with a series of Shovel Drops, thusly initiating the sequence of events necessary for achieving the True Ending. If not pushed into the Well, Altius will eventually return to perch on the sign post. Furthermore, while Altius is flying around Hoofman's Shop, he can be used as a stepping stone with a Shovel Drop, allowing Shovel Knight to bounce on the Shop's sign and reach its roof. When a new feature is added to the Surface camp, like Chester's shop, Altius will briefly lift the arrow sign and point it towards the direction of the change, before returning it to normal.
After the ending, Shield Knight can be seen hanging around the area, sit on the edge of The Well's entrance.
- Main article: Mementos
After the Fate and Fortune DLC, a Tracker Board was added near Altius, implied to having been provided by Hoofman due to the horseshoe decoration; the board keeps track with an handy tally of the number of Mementos collected, visual trophies rewarded to Shovel Knight for his feats and progress of exploration, that appear scattered all around the Surface area once earned.
Hoofman's Shop Layer[]
Right of the main layer, here is the shop of Hoofman, a shopkeeper who sells adventures. On the shop's roof, a Hoop Kid can be found sitting there. If Shovel Knight reach her, he befriends her and she gives him some gems as a reward. Inside the shop itself, there is a bell on the counter. By hitting it, Hoofman reveals himself from hiding behind the counter. After rescuing the Armorer from enemies in the Smeltworks, he returns here and is seen working on the forge. Both of them serve as shopkeepers:
- Hoofman: He sells Relic Keys (by bringing it to a Relic Door, Shovel Knight has a chance of unlocking a new Relic) and Follow Slot Upgrades for the backpack, allowing Shovel Knight to have more items following him.
- Armorer: He sells new Armors for Shovel Knight to use. But for most of them, first a Template must be found inside The Well before the armor can be purchased from him.
Camp Layer[]
Left of the main layer. At first, it just an empty clearing, but if Shovel Knight goes all the way to all the way to the left, he can find couple of flowers there. By digging them up, he also digs up a grave of Master Argus. His skeleton hand then bursts from the ground, and informs him that he can help him on his quest by upgrading his Shovel Blade, but only when he completes his challenges, before returning in The Well. Said challenges can be found inscribed on the tombstone.
Also, in the Nintendo Switch version, Madam Meeber is already at her post, in the left-most corner of the map, offering her services as a summoner of Fairy companions, by scanning the corresponding amiibo.
During the course of the adventure, as more and more wannabe spelunkers arrive attracted by the promise of riches, the campsite is seen growing, and there are 3 more states from the initial one:
- After exiting The Well for the first time, Shovel Knight wakes up back in the main layer and a woman named Meleeist informs him that she and some others have decided to build a camp. At first it just a unlit campfire, where Meleeist is trying to light it up, while a miner named Oreman is watching her, disappointed. At the start of the camp is also Walter, tracker of the new leaderboard, where Shovel Knight can sign up for daily/weekly runs.
- After some more runs in The Well, the campfire is finally lit and some lanterns with fireflies inside are seen hanging behind it. Also ,more people start to show up and wander the campsite. Two more permanent shopkeepers also arrive:
- Chester and his Bohto Wagon: Chester arrives on his Bohto Wagon and parks behind Walter. As a shopkeeper, Chester sells Accessory unlocks, which unlock said accessory inside his shop in The Well or as a random drop inside treasure chests, gift sacks, and the Drill Machine. Shovel Knight can bounce on the Big Bohto's back for an extra high jump.
- Whisker: After visiting a certain area (besides the initial Mushroom Mines) of The Well, Whisker, a cat-themed person, can be seen near the Master Argus' tombstone. As a shopkeeper, he unlocks shortcuts to said areas. After unlocking said shortcut, Shovel Knight also has to buy a shortcut ticket from him to reach said wanted area. His counterpart, Fetcher, a dog-themed person, can instead be found inside The Well, at the safe zone after a stage, offering the opposite offer of Whisker: return to the Surface for a small fee.
- After being defeated for the first time, the Hexcavators' members, minus their leader Drill Knight, will begin to randomly hang out around the campfire, chatting with Shovel Knight, among themselves, or with other Surface locals.
- After completing a game and achieving either a Normal Ending or a Secret Ending, a Silver Monument of Shovel Knight and Shield Knight is added between Master Argus' tombstone and Whisker. However, if the True Ending is reached, Altius is added to the piece, and the statue is furthermore re-made out of gold. This second, Golden Monument, will substitute the first one if the silvery sculpture was already in place. These sculptures were late re-classified as Mementos.
Additionally, after the Fate and Fortune DLC was added, a new guest now appears at the camp after a first successful run in The Well, Black Knight. Standing proudly above Walter's Leaderboard, Black Knight offers Knightmares, a set of 10 very difficult challenges, in order to unravel the deeper secrets hidden in The Well, the last of which is an extra boss fight against the now mind-controlled Black Knight himself.