Changes

The player can sometimes find a shaft, or hole, which makes it possible to skip 3-15 floors. There is a 20% chance for a rock to spawn a shaft instead of a ladder. The way this works is that a pseudo random integer x between 3 and 8 inclusive is chosen with a 90% chance that the player drops x levels and a 10% chance that the player drops 2x-1 levels. The amount of levels dropped is predetermined based on the mine level, game day, and game seed. In particular, [[Luck]] does not affect the chances of jumping down a certain number of levels. In addition, this means that if there are multiple shafts on a given level, they will all drop the player the same number of levels, so it does not matter which shaft is chosen. Jumping down the shaft causes [[Health]] damage equal to 3x the number of levels skipped (although jumping down a shaft will never reduce health to less than 1). Note that if a shaft above floor 100 is calculated to drop the player past floor 100, it will be modified to only drop the player to floor 100. <ref name="shaftlevels"/>

The player can sometimes find a shaft, or hole, which makes it possible to skip 3-15 floors. There is a 20% chance for a rock to spawn a shaft instead of a ladder. The way this works is that a pseudo random integer x between 3 and 8 inclusive is chosen with a 90% chance that the player drops x levels and a 10% chance that the player drops 2x-1 levels. The amount of levels dropped is predetermined based on the mine level, game day, and game seed. In particular, [[Luck]] does not affect the chances of jumping down a certain number of levels. In addition, this means that if there are multiple shafts on a given level, they will all drop the player the same number of levels, so it does not matter which shaft is chosen. Jumping down the shaft causes [[Health]] damage equal to 3x the number of levels skipped (although jumping down a shaft will never reduce health to less than 1). Note that if a shaft above floor 100 is calculated to drop the player past floor 100, it will be modified to only drop the player to floor 100. <ref name="shaftlevels"/>

Unlike [[The Mines]], there is no elevator to save progress, but on every floor there is a ladder at the starting point where the player can leave the Skull Cavern. Each visit must start again from the first floor. If the player runs out of [[Health]] while exploring Skull Cavern, they will wake up sometime later on the same day in [[Harvey's Clinic]]. A fee of {{price|1000}} will be deducted for emergency surgery. Some items may also be lost. Passing out at 2:00 am will cause the player to lose {{price|1000}} or 10% of funds, whichever is less.

Unlike [[The Mines]], there is no elevator to save progress, but on every floor there is a ladder at the starting point where the player can leave the Skull Cavern. Each visit must start again from the first floor. If the player runs out of [[health]] while exploring Skull Cavern, they will wake up sometime later on the same day in [[Harvey's Clinic]]. A fee of {{price|1000}} will be deducted for emergency surgery. Some items may also be lost. Passing out at 2:00 am will cause the player to lose {{price|1000}} or 10% of funds, whichever is less.

'''Iridium'''

'''Iridium'''

The chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases steadily as the player descends into the Skull Cavern. The monsters in the Cavern also have a chance to drop [[Iridium Ore|ore]] and [[Iridium Bar]]s, as well as [[The Mines#Special Items|special items]]. It can be a good idea to bring [[Lava Katana]] or [[Galaxy Sword]], as enemies are particularly strong. High [[Luck]] increases the frequency of ore veins and the appearance of ladders/holes. Rapid descent to floors with a higher chance of spawning [[Mining#Mining Nodes|Iridium Nodes]] is often more efficient for acquiring ore than through exploration. [[Staircase]]s can be stacked, so a single inventory slot can hold 999 Staircases. Even blindly placing Staircases will take ''some'' time though; the lower the player descends with Staircases, the less time they have to explore the caverns.

The chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases steadily as the player descends into the Skull Cavern. The monsters in the Cavern also have a chance to drop [[Iridium Ore|ore]] and [[Iridium Bar]]s, as well as [[The Mines#Special Items|special items]]. It can be a good idea to bring the [[Lava Katana]] or [[Galaxy Sword]], as enemies are particularly strong. High [[Luck]] increases the frequency of ore veins and the appearance of ladders/holes. Rapid descent to floors with a higher chance of spawning [[Mining#Mining Nodes|Iridium Nodes]] is often more efficient for acquiring ore than through exploration. [[Staircase]]s can be stacked, so a single inventory slot can hold 999 Staircases. Even blindly placing Staircases will take ''some'' time though; the lower the player descends with Staircases, the less time they have to explore the caverns.

'''Qi's Challenge'''

'''Qi's Challenge'''

'''Skull Cavern Invasion'''

'''Skull Cavern Invasion'''

The [[Quests#Skull_Cavern_Invasion|"Skull Cavern Invasion"]] is a possible, repeatable Special Order, that may be accepted in [[Qi's Walnut Room]] on [[Ginger Island]]. It is completed by reaching floor 100 of the Skull Cavern within the given time limit. While the quest is active, stronger variations of [[Monsters]] occupy the Cavern; similarly to the [[The_Mines#Shrine_of_Challenge|Dangerous Mines]]. The use of [[Staircase]]s is permitted. Radioactive nodes can spawn here, like the Dangerous Mines. Completing the quest awards {{price|40|gem|class=inline}} [[Qi Gem]]s.

The [[Quests#Skull_Cavern_Invasion|"Skull Cavern Invasion"]] is a possible, repeatable Special Order, that may be accepted in [[Qi's Walnut Room]] on [[Ginger Island]]. It is completed by reaching floor 100 of the Skull Cavern within the given time limit. While the quest is active, stronger variations of [[monsters]] occupy the Cavern; similarly to the [[The_Mines#Shrine_of_Challenge|Dangerous Mines]]. The use of [[staircase]]s is permitted. Radioactive nodes can spawn here, like the Dangerous Mines. Completing the quest awards {{price|40|gem|class=inline}} [[Qi Gem]]s.

==Time==

==Time==