Welcome to a very different kind of Dome Keeper run. This time, we’re tackling the Iron Contribution guild assignment—no enemies, no waves, just a 30-minute mission to deliver 200 units of iron. But don’t let the lack of monsters fool you—this is all about mining efficiency, time management, and using drones to your advantage.

Mission Setup: Iron Contribution

At the start, you’ll notice the biggest change: no monsters at all. That means your choice of dome (Artillery or Tesla) doesn’t matter. What does matter is the gadgets you bring. In this run, we focus heavily on transport drones and iron worms to automate mining and hauling. Also unlocked: gadget rerolls to refine your strategy as needed.

First Steps

You begin with a basic setup and a drone. Immediately start mining straight down until you hit the edge of the map, then use the optimal 2-tile spacing between tunnels to avoid missing any resource clusters. While you dig, your drone picks up the iron—adorable and efficient.

Once you start collecting iron, it’s important to upgrade wisely. Start with:

• Drill strength to clear tougher walls.
• Movement speed so you can carry iron faster.
• Inventory size if needed, though drones will do most of the hauling.

Drones and Worms Strategy

Focus early upgrades on:

• Quick Worms: faster extraction.
• Double Worms: more frequent resource generation.
• Transport Drones: more drones and faster movement. You can also unlock Meticulous Worms, which extract more iron but take longer to do so.

Midway through the run, you’ll find a supplement—an upgrade for iron worms that causes them to collapse surrounding rock. This massively increases mining output and speeds up resource collection. It’s worth the water cost.

Bonus Gadgets and Tree Planting

You’ll likely come across a drilling rig gadget. Unlock this—it acts like a central elevator drill that bores straight through everything. Combine it with side drillers and magnetic casings for optimal effect.

If you find a planting seed, drop it on a 3+ tile iron vein to grow an iron-producing tree. Just like an orchard run, but iron-focused.

Late Game Push

As time starts to run out, it’s all about optimization:

• Send more iron worms.
• Upgrade to auto collector for drones.
• Bundle iron into compressed stacks using the resource packer gadget (4 items in 1 slot).

Pay close attention to the timer bar. When you’re under 5 minutes, start manually hauling iron back to your dome if drones can’t keep up.

One-Second Finish (Almost)

In this run, the player hits 199 out of 200 iron delivered… and misses the final drop-off by a literal second. Painful? Yes. But it showcases the razor-thin margin for success in Dome Keeper’s iron missions. Plan, automate, and keep your hauling tight all the way through.