Hole Is Mine How to Start an Incursion

An Incursion is the moment Hole Is Mine stops being a tidy upgrade spreadsheet and becomes a committed Depth push. You throw your bag into the divine Hole, Shelly and the Mini’Ohs you have prepared take the dive, and purification progress only moves if the run earns it. This guide explains when to start an Incursion, how the bag throw works in practice, and how to stop the most common new-player failure: throwing early because the button exists.

Hole Is Mine is a single-player Steam incremental adventure by Incrementalist, co-published by SpaceJazz, released August 10, 2026 (App ID 4508020). There is no multiplayer partner to cover a bad throw. Full controller support and Steam Deck Verified play still use the same commitment model. If you need day-one orientation first, read Getting Started before this page.

What an Incursion actually is

Surface play is collection and preparation. Incursion play is risk. The bag throw is the bridge. You gather resources, spend them on Village projects and equipment, outfit Mini’Ohs, then launch the bag into the Hole to begin the run. Successful Incursions feed the campaign spine: purifying the Hole, rescuing more Mini’Ohs, and unlocking deeper layers across roughly forty Depths. Failed Incursions waste time and, more importantly, teach you which readiness check you skipped.

Think of Incursions as scheduled exams. You do not sit the exam because the classroom door is unlocked. You sit it when your notes are done. In Hole Is Mine those notes are upgrades, gear slots, and a clear carry plan. The How to Upgrade guide covers Holy Blook and Village spending; this page assumes you will not throw while those boards are still half-finished for your current wall.

The bag throw: mechanical and mental

Controls stay consistent with the rest of the game. WASD moves Shelly. Left Click grabs and launches. The Incursion start is the deliberate bag throw into the Hole. Practice the approach path so you do not mis-throw while juggling loot. On controller, confirm the binding that commits the bag so it never shares a panic button with ordinary launch. Steam Deck players should test dead zones before a serious push.

Mentally, separate “I can throw” from “I should throw.” Unlocking the throw is a tutorial milestone, not a green light for Depth farming. Your first few Incursions should be diagnostic: learn how long a clean early Depth takes, which hazards punish greed, and how your carry Mini’Oh behaves under pressure. Record one sentence after each run. That log becomes the timing heuristic this guide is building.

Readiness checklist before every throw

1. Carry Mini’Oh has a coherent kit across helmet or mask, pickaxe, and backpack slots.
2. Holy Blook and other upgrade currencies are not sitting idle on an obvious power node.
3. Village rebuilds that gate quality-of-life for this Depth band are purchased.
4. You just completed a gather cycle that felt surplus, not desperate.
5. You know which Depth wall you are targeting and why.
6. You are not throwing to “feel progress” after a tilt death.

If any box fails, stay on the surface. Friendship Wool, Heavy Axe (Heaxy Axe), Bravery Helmet, and other named pieces matter when they complete a kit, not when they complete a collection. Clone items change pressure math; understand them before you rely on them mid-Incursion. For hazard-specific advice once you are inside, use the Depths Walkthrough.

Timing windows that feel good

Good timing usually follows a power spike: a Village unlock that changes resource flow, a carry equipment upgrade paid with Holy Blook, or a Mini’Oh rescue that fills a missing role. Bad timing usually follows boredom or FOMO. The campaign’s roughly five-hour core length assumes intentional throws, not continuous bag spam. Players who Incursion every few minutes often stall because their upgrade sheet never concentrates.

A practical cadence for early Depths: farm until you can buy the next two meaningful upgrades for your carry, buy them, then throw. Mid Depths: farm until you can survive the known tentacle or boss pattern described in the Depths guide, then throw. Late Depths: farm for specialized equipment combinations and Village nodes that remove friction, then throw. Infinite Hole after the campaign uses a different farming logic — see Infinite Hole.

Recovering from a failed Incursion

Failure is data. Ask what killed the run. If it was raw damage, your carry’s helmet, mask, or defensive Village nodes need attention. If it was dig speed or clear tempo, pickaxe and backpack choices matter more. If it was positioning, practice grab–launch on the surface before the next bag. Do not immediately rethrow with the same sheet unless the death was a pure execution mistake you already know how to fix.

Village secrets and rebuild order can also unlock softer recovery tools. When you feel stuck between Incursions, visit Village and Secrets instead of forcing another Depth. Pair that with the Tier List Hub if your carry identity is unclear. A wrong carry wastes every bag throw that follows.

Incursions and purification progress

The divine Hole only purifies when Incursions earn it. That means your campaign clock is tied to successful risk, not to how many times you touched the bag. Shelly’s fantasy is drill-and-deliver, but Incrementalist’s systems reward preparation. SpaceJazz’s co-published Steam build expects solo mastery. There is no second player to revive a greedy throw.

Use Incursions to unlock the next Depth band, not to grind vanity clears. When a Depth becomes trivial, shorten the surface cycle and push. When a Depth spikes, lengthen the surface cycle and reread upgrade priorities. The Guides Hub keeps the sibling pages linked so you can bounce without losing the route. Patch notes on Updates may shift specific node values; the readiness checklist still holds.

Advanced habits once Incursions feel natural

Pre-stage equipment loadouts before you approach the Hole so you are not shopping mid-panic. Keep a “next throw” note on your desk or phone: carry name, Depth target, missing upgrade. On Steam Deck, sit for the throw animation with confirmation bindings you trust. Avoid stacking experimental clone-item plays on the same run as a brand-new Depth boss.

Finally, respect the campaign’s shape. Roughly forty Depths exist so mastery can ramp. Three hundred-plus upgrades exist so specialization has room. Five hundred-plus equipment combinations exist so kits can express roles. None of that density excuses throwing the bag because you are impatient. Prepare Shelly. Prepare the Mini’Ohs. Throw once. Learn. Repeat. That is how Incursions purify the Hole instead of purifying your free time into frustration. Return to Getting Started if fundamentals slipped, or press into upgrades and Depths when timing feels solid.