Prospecting
Main / Skills / Prospecting
Prospecting is a skill used for locating ore veins, flint, and salt in rock when on the surface, and for doing estimations of vein contents while inside a mine. To prospect, activate a pickaxe, right-click a rock tile or vein, and select "Mining > Prospect".
Contents
Layout for surface prospecting
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | o | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
The area in which prospecting works is a 7x7 with the player in the middle (the "o" represents the player).
Notes
- Ore veins can't be searched for by means of prospecting when being inside a cave; the player has to be on the surface. Surface prospecting of flint and salt is only for the single tile prospected; nearby flint/salt tiles can't be prospected. For vein finding inside a cave check out Analysing.
- Gems appear randomly during all mining, and cannot be prospected.
- All ores are slightly regional. Thus, if an ore vein is located, it is likely there will be other veins of the same ore type nearby.
- You can use a tuning fork of metal detection to determine the exact quality and mining operations left on a vein.
- Currently a bug where after you transmute a rock tile into a vein, it still gives you the quality of the rock tile you transmuted. Not the proper quality, which is 99ql, or utmost.
Skill levels
Anyone can detect veins within 3 tiles on the surface. At higher skill levels, additional abilities are unlocked (currently affected by the curve on Epic):
- 20 (10.56): Estimate the quality of a vein or rock tile, and detect flint when present
- Note : Free to play seem to not get get this bonus either when prospecting on a rock surface outside or inside the mines.
- 40 (22.54): Detect salt when present
- 60 (36.75): Estimate the remaining amount of ore in a vein
The same abilities are available when prospecting the vein inside the mine.
Vein quality
Rock tiles and ore veins have a maximum quality level.
- Poor: 20-29 (can also prospect as "pretty bad")
- Acceptable: 30-39
- Normal: 40-59
- Good: 60-79
- Very good: 80-94
- Utmost: 95-99
Vein depletion
If your prospecting skill is over 60 (36.75), prospecting an ore vein will give you an estimate of how much ore is left there.
- "Only a few weeks mining remain here" (more than 5000)
- "The ore is starting to deplete" (between 3000 and 5000)
- "You should start to prospect for another vein of this ore" (between 1000 and 3000)
- "The ore will run out soon" (between 100 and 1000)
- "The ore will run out any hour" (1-100)
Tools
Player-made tools to help find veins.
Titles
- Prospector at 50 skill
- Geologist at 70 skill
- Goldsniffer at 90 skill
Guides
Here's a compilation of guide pages for prospecting.
