Hello Dirt Nerds,

I've seen some post about it being impossible to start up in hardcore mode and have enough money for equipment and a starting washplant. Starting up with only 100k is certainly a challenge, but with some careful spending in the first few minutes of gameplay, you can absolutely start up succesfully in hardcore mode.

Below is a list of equipment needed for the hardcore start:

- 1x Arvik L8000 frontloader
- 1x Big hopper
- 1x Power Input 1X
- 1x Sluicebox
- 1x Storage silo
- 1x 500 kw Solar Panel (you actually only need a 300 kw solar panel, but this future-proves the plant a bit)
- 1x cable

And that's it! This leaves you with around 2200$.

Setting up the plant is also very easy.
1. Find a node to mine (the dark patches on the ground). This will boost your initial income considerably.
2. Place the hopper
3. Attach the Power Input to the hopper
4. Attach the sluicebox to the hopper
5. Attach the silo to the sluicebox
6. Place the solar panel near your Power input on the hopper
7. Attach the cable from the solar panel to the power input.
8. Open the control panel on both the solar panel and the power input and press the "ON" button
9. Deploy your loader and start filling up the hopper
10. Laugh all the way to the bank that it was this easy to get started :-)

Once the cash starts coming in, you can upgrade the Power Input to a 3x, but until you get larger loaders than the L8000, it is not really needed. You will be hard pressed to keep this setup running 100% with the starting loader.

Hope you found this little guide useful to get you started in hardcore mode for a bit of a challenge.

Happy digging!
/ARC