| “ | The tunnel network beneath here is ludicrous! All that lucre, waiting to be looted by some opportunist. Pah! It's a circus, I tell you.
|
” |
The Well is the main setting of Shovel Knight Dig. It is a massive pit that extends far, far down into the depths of the Valley's crust, created by Drill Knight and his henchmen, the Hexcavators, for some sort of Machiavellian scheme.
Originally fully underground, a main entrance for the Well was created when Drill Knight used his Rocket Drill to escape after ambushing Shovel Knight and stealing his bag of treasures, in close proximity of Hoofman's shop. Since then, the vast riches found inside the Well has attracted an ever-growing group of people and would-be prospectors, like a mini-gold rush phenomenon, resulting in a put-together campsite beginning to form near the entrance.
History[]
While holed up in the Tower of Fate, the criminal duo of Drill Knight and Scrap Knight discovered the existence of a supposedly "great weapon", hidden in the tower, but unreachable until the entire building itself would end up being buried deep underneath the earth, as its treasure vault, was detached long ago from the tower, and embedded into the planet's Crystal Core.[1] Wishing to obtain notoriety and riches by finding it, Drill Knight and Scrap Knight recruited four other individuals, the mycologist Spore Knight, the engineer Tinker Knight, the digging-expert Mole Knight, and the entomologist Hive Knight, forming a specialized team of burrowers, the Hexcavators, and began stealing the Stones of Fate from their owners across the Valley, as they had learned that the artifacts were the key for the success of their operation.
Taking advantage that Shovel Knight, the latest owner of the last Gemstone they needed, was quietly resting right on top of the location of their objective, Drill Knight used his Rocket Drill to ambush him, stealing in the process his entire bag of loot, and creating the entrance to their tunnel, The Well, a large hole connecting many areas throughout the underground of the Valley. Unfortunately, the very existence of such a massive hole put the entire Valley into danger, with more tremors and sinkholes forming all across the land each time the Well's depths were expanded.
Using the stones' power to support the enormous hole, as per Tinker Knight's idea, they excavated deeper and deeper. What they didn't realize, was that dark magic was at play, the Stones themselves urging them to continue, as their actions had started the process of unsealing an ancient evil. Eventually, as predicted, the Tower of Fate sank beneath the earth, waiting for the Hexcavators to reach its hidden treasure chamber.
Meanwhile, Shovel Knight, who had followed suit due to his loot bag also containing an object he dearly needed, realized that the thieves were over their heads and dark forces were at play, having himself experienced dark visions upon touching the Gemstones. Thanks to the assistance of his partner Shield Knight, and her pet owl Altius, Shovel Knight was able to retrieve another ancient Relic hidden amongst the various ruins connected to the Well, the Omega Driver, to use as a trump card against the thieves' boss.
After finally catching up with Drill Knight inside his moving castle, which had just reached the Tower of Fate's treasure chamber, he confronted him, warning him that he was messing with forces beyond his understanding. During their battle, Drill Knight's Omega Saw malfunctioned due to the Omega Driver, revealing a hidden locking mechanism that needed the six Gemstones to unlock, opening the way to the Crystal Core. Past that, the Hexcavators finally found the prize they were searching, a minute but extremely powerful Amulet, cocooned in a mass of moving dark magic tentacles. Upon touching it, a monstrous figure appeared, The Enchantress, now freed from her ages-long imprisonment.
She offered the Hexcavator to become her servants, but after Drill Knight refused her invitation, she used her powers to trap the other five inside the Gemstones and corrupt their leader into a gigantic monster. Thankfully, the combined forces of Shovel Knight, Shield Knight, and Altius, were able to subdue the creature and trap The Enchantress back into the Amulet.
However, the Tower of Fate, its purpose now fulfilled, began to rise from the depths again, its vault and amulet chamber now re-attached to its top floor,[1] which caused the Well to start to collapse. Forced to abandon their plans to destroy the Amulet then and there, the three heroes used the Rocket Drill to make a hasty escape, while Drill Knight, expelled from the Amulet and injured, dragged himself out of peril's way.
The Well completely collapsed just in time for the three heroes to reach the surface, earning the gratitude and cheering of all the people who had reunited around the pit's entrance. With their big heist being ultimately a failure, the Hexcavators disbanded and went their own separate ways. Their leader, Drill Knight was successfully arrested and put into jail, but was able to evade moments after, thanks to his drill-tech armor, fleeing to parts unknown. Meanwhile, Shovel Knight and Shield Knight vowed to scale the Tower of Fate and destroy the Amulet once and for all, unaware of what their decision would bring them.
Areas[]
Hub[]
- The Surface- "A giant chasm has opened up recently, attracting fortune-seekers from all around!" The area immediately around the entrance of the Well, hastily transformed into a campsite by the gathering of wannabe spelunkers and treasure hunters. It became the de-facto base of operation for Shovel Knight during his exploration of the Well.
- Hoofman's shop- A shop which was built in close proximity of the entrance of the Well.
Stages[]
While the Mushroom Mines are always the first area visited, after traversing it it becomes possible to choose the next location with some degree. The only way to visit all areas of the Well, and retrieve all of the magic Gemstones, is to follow Altius's guidance and achieve the true ending.
- Mushroom Mines- Depth 1 area. "An old mining tunnel, now filled with fungus. Lair of Spore Knight".
- Smeltworks- Depth 2 area. "Molten rivers of lava, their power harnessed by machinery. Lair of Tinker Knight".
- Secret Fountain- Depth 2 area. "Ancient forgotten aquaducts. Lair of Mole Knight".
- The Grub Pit- Depth 3 area. "Bug infested depths. Lair of Hive Knight".
- Magic Landfill- Depth 3 area. "Volatile dumping grounds. Lair of Scrap Knight".
- Drill Knight's Castle- Depth 4 area. "A grand castle, tunneling deep through the earth. Lair of Drill Knight".
- The Crystal Core- The deepest area of the Well. "The shimmering center of the planet. A terrible power must be nearby...".
Stage Variations[]
All of the stages in the first six worlds can have modifiers that will influence the odds of getting items, enemies and obstacles encountered and their frequency or difficulty. The following is a list of signs displayed before the beginning of each stage when two tunnels open up.
| Sign | Description | Worlds |
|---|---|---|
| More food and magic pots will appear. | All | |
| More riches will appear. | All | |
| More magic pots will appear. | All | |
| More relics will appear. | All | |
| The Omega Saw will not appear. | All | |
| The Omega Saw will chase and appear slower. | All | |
| Chester will appear. | All | |
| Gastronomole will appear. | All | |
| Master Argus will appear. | All | |
| Tom Bola will appear. | All | |
| Magic will be unlimited. | Magic Landfill | |
| Less ground will be safe to land on. Rely on Shovel Dropping. | All | |
| Blast Mines will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Borer Blocks will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Flame Spitters will appear. | Smeltworks | |
| Flame Spitters will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Ashen Dirt will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Moving Platforms will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines Smeltworks | |
| Blorbs will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Blazorbs will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Beetos will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Boneclangs will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Propeller Rats will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines Smeltworks Magic Landfill | |
| Flak Caps will appear. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Flak Caps will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Mine Munchers will appear. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Mine Munchers will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Goldarmors will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Birders will be abundant. | Smeltworks Magic Landfill | |
| Sploders will appear. | Smeltworks | |
| Sploders will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Absorbolorbs will be abundant. | Secret Fountain | |
| Floatsomes will be abundant. | Secret Fountain | |
| Divedrakes will be abundant. | Secret Fountain Magic Landfill | |
| Clawngs will appear. | Secret Fountain | |
| Clawngs will be abundant. | Secret Fountain | |
| Tadvolts will appear. | Secret Fountain | |
| Torpeetos will be abundant. | The Grub Pit | |
| Boneclang Helmeteers will be abundant. | The Grub Pit | |
| Groobs will be abundant. | The Grub Pit | |
| Flameo Wizzems will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| Flameo Wizzems will be abundant. | Magic Landfill | |
| Blizzeo Wizzems will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| Blizzeo Wizzems will be abundant. | Magic Landfill | |
| Gusteo Wizzems will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| Gusteo Wizzems will be abundant. | Magic Landfill | |
| Page Snappers will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| Page Snappers will be abundant. | Magic Landfill | |
| Blitzsteeds will be abundant. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Goldhammers will be abundant. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Stack Squads will be abundant. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Flanking Drills will appear. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Flanking Drills will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Lava and Charflounders will appear. | Smeltworks | |
| Lava and Charflounders will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Slam Lances will appear. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Slam Lances will be abundant. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Grubella the Gorbulent will appear. | The Grub Pit | |
| Grubella the Gorbulent will be more aggressive than usual. | The Grub Pit | |
| Beam Raisers will appear. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Beam Raisers will appear frequently. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Bubbles will appear. | Secret Fountain | |
| Bubbles will appear frequently. | Secret Fountain | |
| Drillistas will appear. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Drillistas will fire more frequently. | Drill Knight's Castle | |
| Pyroporters will appear. | Smeltworks | |
| Pyroporters will appear two at a time. | Smeltworks | |
| Stream Scalers will appear. | Secret Fountain | |
| Stream Scalers will be abundant. | Secret Fountain | |
| Fuzz Flies will appear. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Fuzz Flies will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Gobwebs will appear. | The Grub Pit | |
| Gobwebs will be abundant. | The Grub Pit | |
| Stingores will appear. | The Grub Pit | |
| Stingores will be abundant. | The Grub Pit | |
| The Spell Spinner will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| The Spell Spinner will be more aggressive than usual. | Magic Landfill | |
| Shrinking Spores will appear. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Shrinking Spores will be abundant. | Mushroom Mines | |
| Sine Daggers will appear. | Smeltworks | |
| Sine Daggers will be abundant. | Smeltworks | |
| Floorbs will appear. | Magic Landfill | |
| Floorbs will be abundant. | Magic Landfill | |
| The Omega Saw will be faster. | All | |
| Bombs will appear continuously. | All | |
| Poison gas will appear. More food will appear. | All | |
| When jumping, a pillar of flames will appear. | All |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Discord answer by Woz
