Storm warning
The storm warning is the time-pressure system that sits underneath every Expedition. Each dig has a clock; once it reaches a threshold the storm starts rolling in, and the player has a short window to extract one final artifact before the dig is forced to end.
How it works
- Each dig site has a time limit computed from the site's grid size, artifact density, and the eras present. The figure is calibrated against a Gold-tier loadout with a 10% human-factors buffer, so an unhurried Bronze-tier run is meant to feel tight.
- As the clock runs down, the game's background music drops a half-step in pitch. That pitch shift is the audio cue: the storm is coming.
- When the warning fires, the player is in the clutch grace window — just enough time to grab one last artifact you've already exposed. (The Achievements page lists "Storm Surfer", which unlocks if you do.)
- Sites use one of two storm types — sand (desert / arid sites like Petra) or water (coastal / wet sites). Both end the dig the same way; the audio and visual flavor differs.
Strategy notes
- The Brush preserves what it touches but is brutally slow on stone and bone — budgeting brush time inside the storm window is risky.
- The Pickaxe clears stone fast but destroys any artifact it strikes — useful for opening the path to a known fragile, dangerous for fragile finds themselves.
- Calling the day early is always an option: the artifacts you missed stay in the dirt, but so does your remaining money. There is no penalty for leaving with what you have.
Related
- Journal — what your storm-time decisions get permanently recorded in.
- Tools — the trade-offs each tool makes against time.
- Achievements — mastery and event unlocks tied to storm-window play.