Changes

There is an infinite number of floors, or levels, in Skull Cavern. Similar to [[the Mines]], the player advances through floors in Skull Cavern by finding a ladder on each floor, either by mining rocks or defeating enemies. The player can sometimes find a shaft, or hole, which makes it possible to skip 3-15 floors. Jumping down the shaft causes a small amount of damage. Unlike the Mines, there is no elevator to save progress. Each visit must start again from the first floor. If [[The Player|the player]] runs out of health or blacks out 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.

There is an infinite number of floors, or levels, in Skull Cavern. Similar to [[the Mines]], the player advances through floors in Skull Cavern by finding a ladder on each floor, either by mining rocks or defeating enemies. The player can sometimes find a shaft, or hole, which makes it possible to skip 3-15 floors. Jumping down the shaft causes a small amount of damage. Unlike the Mines, there is no elevator to save progress. Each visit must start again from the first floor. If [[The Player|the player]] runs out of health or blacks out 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.

Every ten floors the chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases significantly, and reaches maximum concentration at floor 100. The monsters in the Cavern also have a chance to drop ore and [[Iridium Bar|Iridium Bars]]. It can be a good idea to bring the [[Lava Katana]] or [[Galaxy Sword]], as enemies are particularly strong. As with many other things, high [[Luck]] increases the frequency of ore veins, item drops, and the appearance of ladders/holes. Exploring the Cavern on a lucky day will increase the odds of finding loot and ladders. Since the frequency of [[Iridium Ore]] increases for every 10 floors descended into the Cavern, rapid descent is often more efficient for acquiring ore than thorough exploration. With a full bag of stone, its possible to descend to floor 300+.

Every ten floors the chance to find [[Iridium Ore]] increases significantly. The monsters in the Cavern also have a chance to drop ore and [[Iridium Bar|Iridium Bars]]. It can be a good idea to bring the [[Lava Katana]] or [[Galaxy Sword]], as enemies are particularly strong. As with many other things, high [[Luck]] increases the frequency of ore veins, item drops, and the appearance of ladders/holes. Exploring the Cavern on a lucky day will increase the odds of finding loot and ladders. Since the frequency of [[Iridium Ore]] increases for every 10 floors descended into the Cavern, rapid descent is often more efficient for acquiring ore than thorough exploration. With a full bag of stone, its possible to descend to floor 300+.

The plaques that can be occasionally found on the walls contain [[Secrets#Skull Cavern Plaques|enciphered messages]].

The plaques that can be occasionally found on the walls contain [[Secrets#Skull Cavern Plaques|enciphered messages]].