Dome Keeper Co-Op: How to Use the Lift for Hauling

In Dome Keeper co-op, the Lift acts as a shared vertical pipeline that eliminates hauling bottlenecks. With two players excavating tiles simultaneously, resource volume quickly overwhelms individual carry capacities. By digging a vertical shaft directly beneath the dome and equipping the Lift, both players can drop iron, cobalt, and water into the center for automated retrieval by Lift orbs while using the beam to quickly return to the surface for defense waves.

Setting Up the Central Shaft and Drop Chutes

To maximize the Lift, establish a clean vertical corridor directly below the center of the dome as early as possible.

Maintain a Two-Tile Width: Dig a straight, continuous shaft two tiles wide downward. A straight fall line ensures dropped items plummet cleanly into the path of ascending Lift orbs rather than resting on stray ledges.
Angle Tunnel Floors: Angle the floors of horizontal side tunnels slightly downward toward the main shaft. This allows miners to toss or slide resources directly into the Lift beam without walking all the way to the center.
Flatten Junction Lips: Clear jagged corners where horizontal side paths meet the central shaft. Uneven blocks catch tumbling resource clusters and prevent orbs from picking them up.
Dig Staging Bays: When mining deeper veins far from the center, establish staging pockets near the junction. Dropping collected piles into a central bay lets either player knock them down the shaft when passing by.

Lift Upgrade Priorities for Co-Op

A baseline Lift can easily be overwhelmed when two players feed it at the same time. Investing in the proper upgrade path prevents ore pileups at the base of the shaft.

Upgrade	Co-Op Benefit	Recommended Timing
Orb Capacity	Allows individual orbs to carry multiple items at once, preventing shaft clogs.	Early-to-Mid Game
Orb Movement Speed	Increases turnaround speed between the shaft floor and dome inventory.	Mid Game (Waves 4–6)
Player Speed Boost	Accelerates miners traveling upward inside the beam to defend the dome.	Mid Game

Prioritize Orb Capacity over raw orb count when the choice is presented. Higher capacity allows a single orb to sweep up clumped resource drops, which prevents the queue from backing up when both miners deposit hauls simultaneously.

Defense Rotations and Common Mistakes

The Lift also functions as an emergency elevator, allowing both miners to dig later into the wave countdown before returning to defense stations.

Wave Rotation Steps

Primary Gunner Returns Early: The player working higher in the mine or closer to the shaft drops their load, enters the Lift beam, and rides the speed boost to man the dome's primary weapon immediately.
Support Miner Clears and Ascends: The deeper miner kicks any loose ground resources into the central shaft, then rides the beam upward to arrive just as enemies reach the dome, ready to trigger abilities or repair shield damage.

Traps to Avoid

Neglecting Personal Upgrades: The Lift only speeds up travel inside the vertical beam. Both players still need basic personal drill and carry upgrades to haul resources from wide horizontal branches back to the main shaft.
Dumping Cobalt Right Before Combat: If you toss mixed ores into an overloaded shaft as an attack starts, the Lift queue may hold essential cobalt below while your dome takes structural damage. Always carry necessary repair cobalt directly into the dome before the timer expires.