Dome Keeper: Orchard Build Guide

Orchard is one of the Primary gadgets that you can choose before starting your game in Dome Keeper.

It’s the most difficult gadget to use so far and getting a win using the Orchard as the primary gadget, even in normal difficulty, is actually quite impressive.

So, how do you protect your dome when you start off with this gadget? What are the steps that you should take? What strategy should you follow?

I’ll be covering these aspects and more, in this Dome Keeper Orchard Build guide today, and help you ace it once and for all!

Dome Keeper: Orchard Build Guide

The Orchard gadget isn’t available in the game right away. You’ll need to unlock it before you can actually use it.

To unlock Orchard in Dome Keeper, you’ll have to unlock the Repellent gadget first and attain victory using the gadget in either of the domes – Laser Dome or Sword Dome.

After you’ve unlocked Orchard, it’s important to always follow a specific strategy as you protect the dome, be it any of the game modes or difficulty levels.

Mining Strategy in Dome Keeper

While this strategy can be employed for other gadgets as well, mining must be done very efficiently when using the Orchard, since a huge amount of resources are required for the complete upgrade of the gadget.

The strategy you can follow for effective mining is to mine one row on both sides, skip the next two rows, and then mine the next one on both sides as well.

Repeating this method not only helps you to have a clearer view on the resources between two rows, but also enables easier access to those resources when you move upwards.

Gadget Upgrading Strategy in Dome Keeper

When you find the Gadget upgrade chip, the gadget that you pick is extremely crucial. It’s your lucky day if you have the Condenser as one of the options. The Condenser is by far the best gadget to combine with Orchard.

In case the Condenser isn’t on the list, I’d go for the Teleport or the Lift gadget. My last resorts would be the Stun Laser or the Shield gadgets. I’d highly recommend NOT to shred these gadgets for the minimal amount of cobalt.

You should try to unlock all the upgrades of the Condenser before anything else, since it’s at its highest potential at maximum upgrades.

Along with speedy production of water, it’ll also cut down your work of mining for water.

This is huge when you’re using Orchard because all the upgrades of the Orchard require water, and if you aren’t having a lucky day, obtaining water by digging and mining can be quite tedious.

Once you’ve fully upgraded the Condenser, you can focus on unlocking attributes of the Orchard. Similarly, I’d strongly suggest you invest most of your resources into fully getting the maximum out of your Orchard.

With automatic supply of water from the Condenser now, all you’ll need to collect is Iron. Unless these resources are needed elsewhere, use them to unlock all of the Orchard’s upgrades.

The advantage of getting maximum upgrades for your Orchard is that it will boost your character and defensive attributes so highly that you won’t need to upgrade those any further.

Starting from Drill Strength to Explosive Defense for the Dome, a fully upgraded Orchard will have you covered in all aspects.

If you couldn’t find the Condenser at all, the Lift or Teleport gadgets can help you at least make your mining more efficient. You’ll need to mine water when you using these gadgets but you can get them to the Dome much faster.

When using Teleport, make sure you unlock the Teleport Resources upgrade to easily transfer water and other resources you collect directly to the Dome.

Item Upgrading Strategy in Dome Keeper

The ideal upgrades to go for when you start off is definitely the Drill Strength 1. This upgrade greatly enhances the speed at which you can dig through the rocks with fewer hits and is one of the best ones to get when starting off.

Next up, you can unlock the Speed attribute of your character in order to travel faster and reach places in a relatively shorter time.

At the cost of 1 Iron, you can also gain access to the Health upgrade of the Dome, helping you keep track of its HP.

If you haven’t run into a Gadget upgrade yet, it’s a smart move to invest on the Hostile Proximity Meter and on increasing the number of items that you can carry at a time.

At this point, you should already be getting your first gadget besides Orchard. You can check out the Mining Strategy stated above, if you haven’t been able to find a Gadget chip yet.

As I mentioned above, you should focus on unlocking the features provided by your Gadget more than the general attributes. If you can unlock at least the first two vertical sections of the Condenser, then you’ll definitely get a huge boost in multiple departments.

Since it’ll automatically better your drill strength, jetpack speed, and defensive stats anyway, you won’t need to spend your resources on Character Upgrades or Dome upgrades.

Rather, I’d encourage you to go for improving your weapon.

For the Laser, unlocking the Power and Move Speed should definitely be on your list of priorities. The Swivel Head Laser can be a good option if you’re struggling to get hit the targets right. Ultimately, try to focus on unlocking max stats for your Laser.

Now, coming to the Sword, the Long Stab and Slice Improvement are truly a huge deal. Make sure you get those upgrades first before the others and you’ll notice a considerable advantage in your offensive plays.

The final upgrade that you want to go for with your Sword depends a lot on what you are comfortable with, but I really like the Javelin!

While you’re spending your resources upgrading the gadgets and weapon, always keep some Iron and Cobalt unused, just in case you need some health regeneration after a battle.

I’d recommend saving up for recovering health rather than spending those resources on damage resistance of the Dome; the regeneration of health is more cost-efficient in the long run.

Finally, after you’ve unlocked all the necessary upgrades of the gadgets, and then your weapon, you may consider unlocking the Character and Dome attributes.

Obviously, these play a part in boosting your chances to win, however, I think going for the former two first is a better route.

Wrapping Up

If you’ve followed the build above as is, it’ll all come down to your combat skills now. Mastering the battles and combat in Dome Keeper can be a huge learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it shouldn’t be a big deal!

The key method to winning it ultimately depends on how you’ve managed your resources in order to unlock the upgrades.

No matter how difficult winning with Orchard may be, I know you can do it if you keep trying and follow this Orchard Build Guide I’ve prepared for you!