D
Drazasamus
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... somtimes i feel really stupid... forgot about the prospecting tool and how it can help XD
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[General] after playing on and off for 12 years...
- Thread starter Drazasamus
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S
Salya Sin
Guest
Ok... I'm still stupid after 6 years... what does the prospecting tool do?
D
Drazasamus
Guest
if u mine a spot once, then use the tool on it, it changes the ore you can mine to the next level.
if you use it with a gargoyles pick axe you can advance it 2 lvls, but you run the risk of digging up an ore ele... and my miner has no fighting skills...
if you use it with a gargoyles pick axe you can advance it 2 lvls, but you run the risk of digging up an ore ele... and my miner has no fighting skills...
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From the Mining FAQ, located in the stickied posts...
Section 9.2: What information is available for the Prospectors Tool?
Prospector's Tools (Smith BOD reward, often found dumped on the ground in Blacksmith shops)
These items can be used as a macing weapon (similar to a sledgehammer, but cannot be used as a smithing tool), but their real use is "prospecting" an ore site. Before you can prospect a site, you must use a digging tool (shovel, pickaxe, Gargoyle Pickaxe) once on the target area. Such use does not have to be successful, just break the ground (which means, you can do a "false dig" while mounted, be told you cannot mine while mounted, then use the tool to get the enhancement, to maximize your digging tool usage at the elevated state).
A successful use of the prospector tool means that all colored ore you gain from a site will be one level higher. However, you can only use the tool to elevate a site to an ore type that you can already mine. For example, at 85 mining, you could elevate a bronze site to gold, but not a gold site to agapite. Elevating an Iron site to dull copper becomes possible at 65 Mining (the skill needed to mine DC ore), but only a percentage of the ore will be DC; all other elevations simply replace the usual colored ore with the higher type.
You can only use the prospector's tool once per site, until the ore respawns, at which time you can use it again on that site. They have 50 charges when new, and that could easily add up to 1000 enhanced ore if used in Felucca, or even the best locations in Trammel, Malas, Tokuno & Ilshenar.
"Error" Messages you can get while mining, using a Prospector's Tool:
Trying to elevate an ore vein to a metal (other than Valorite) that you cannot yet mine: "You sift through the ore, but do not feel confident with the prospects here."
Trying to elevate a Valorite vein (whether you can mine that level of ore or not): "You cannot improve valorite ore through prospecting." Note that this message supercedes the previous one, so you'll always know when you're trying to elevate a natural valorite spot, even if only 65 skill.
Neither of these will use a charge off the tool.
Section 9.3: What information is available for the Gargoyle's Pickaxe?
Gargoyle's Pickaxes (Smith BOD reward, and also found as loot on most Gargoyle types, on about 5-10% of gargoyles killed)
Gargoyle's pickaxes are magical tools as well. They allow you to mine ore colors one class better than you normally could at a mining site - this includes mining an ore type one could not normally mine yet with your actual mining skill. If used in conjunction with a prospector's tool, this can allow up to a two-step improvement in ore type (but still at that maximum of one type better than you could with a normal tool). They can be wielded as a weapon, but the smart miner will use them from inside their backpack, and wield an earth elemental slayer in their hand.
Examples: With 83 mining skill -
Can get Gold ore from a bronze spot, by using the Gargoyle's Pickaxe
Can get Gold ore from a copper spot, by first elevating the spot with a Prospector's tool, then using the Gargoyle's Pickaxe.
Note that the skill level above could not elevate bronze to gold with the Prospector's tool, then to Agapite with the Gargoyle'a Pickaxe, as the Prospector's Tool only works if you can smelt the new type with your current skill. You can get dull copper ore from digging an Iron-ore-only site with a Gargoyle's Pickaxe, but currently that does not cause an elemental to spawn, like for the other metal types (see below). As you may not be able to smelt the ore you mine, one must be careful as where to use it (unless you intentionally are stockpiling ore for later use).
Another nice feature of gargoyle's pickaxes is that they start out with 101 to 125 uses, unlike normal tools (that start out with 50) or exceptionally crafted tools (which have 100 at GM tinkering). Only the "Sturdy Tool" rewards have more uses on production shards, at 150 or 200 when new. And, like all other mining tools, if you fail to dig up a piece of ore, no "uses" are lost.
But as with all things that sound too good to be true, there is also a danger! There is a chance that you will pull up an ore elemental of the color you are extracting, hence the need for a miner with any combat skill to be wielding an Earth Elemental Slayer. All types that spawn from gargoyle's pickaxe use are susceptible to the standard Earth elemental slayer, or the Elemental super-slayer. These dangerous monsters range from fairly easy (shadow iron & agapite elementals) to very very hard (copper & valorite elementals). The Dull Copper Elementals were coded differently from the other ore elementals originally, and were for years not included in the Earth Elemental slayer property, and may not be still. As such, DC eles do not spawn from the use of this tool.
Ore elementals spawn right next to the miner and usually attack him first, though on rare occasions a nearby pack animal or mount will be targeted first. Upon death they carry 25 ore of their color as loot, which is especially rewarding with the valorite elementals. Some miners specifically dig with just gargoyle's pickaxes, in order to get the elementals.
Note that if you can't mine the normal ore of a spot (say, using a gargoyle's pickaxe on an agapite ore spot, while only able to mine bronze), all your ore mined will be iron, but you STILL can end up spawning an elemental of the type that the ore vein would spawn (in this example, a verite elemental). This ability seems to kick in only once the miner gains the ability to dig dull copper normally, as repeated tests with a sub-65 miner resulted in no elementals, while numerous ones spawned for a 65 mining skill miner, mining WAY out of league, and getting only iron and the ore from the elementals to show for it.
Another interesting feature is that you can use a gargoyle's pickaxe on a Valorite spot, and get valorite elementals (since there is no higher ore type to elevate to). This method, if one can mine valorite, greatly increases your valorite haul.
A guide to the Ore elementals that spawn from the Gargoyle's Pickaxe can be found in Section 8.2 above (sections 8.2, 8.3, 9.2 & 9.3 trace their origins to an original post by me in 2004, long before I was a moderator):
Common strategies for the "Smith Reward" tools (Prospectors Tool & Gargoyle's Pickaxe):
1. Playing it safe: Using normal tools with the Prospector's tool only. The only danger are miner-killers in Felucca, and normal monster spawn everywhere.
2. The Fearless Elemental Hunter: Mines mostly in the "safe" facets, and is typically a warrior (or paladin) with mining. Uses gargoyle's pickaxes almost exclusively (the only exception is when they HAVE to get Dull Copper ore for some reason), tweaking it with the prospector's tool as needed for the ore types desired. Typically is armed with a good Earth elemental slayer someone priced really cheap (or made by their own smith), a high-resist suit, and an ample supply of bandages (if they have healing) or mana (for healing spells and special weapons moves).
3. The PARAGON Elemental Hunter: A variant of the above, it is growing in popularity, thanks to the exploits of the Extreme Miners Hunting Club (XMHC) guild of Lake Austin. These are miners who fit the description of 2. above, but do their mining IN ILSHENAR, purposefully trying to bring up paragon elementals, and the very, very rare ore elemental paragon chests they have the potential to carry. With these types of hunts, it might be advisable to bring along a melee or archer warrior friend (As spells and pets don't work too well, if at all, on some of the elementals even when normal - let alone as paragons).
4. The Townie: Similar to #2 above, but with less combat skill. The Townie will typically mine in a guard zone (Umbra, Delucia), and try to kill elementals. But, if the elemental is too tough for them, then they can scream for the guards. They'll lose the ore, but keep their life.
5. The Bane of Macroers. Typically mines Felucca. Uses their Gargoyle's Pickaxes when they are near an area frequented by persons using unattended macro mining scripts. When a Macroer arrives, they attempt to spawn an elemental, then immediately leave to let the elemental have its way with the bot. Perfectly legal in Felluca, but illegal elsewhere (not that it's stopped persons sick of macroers from doing it anyway).
Section 9.2: What information is available for the Prospectors Tool?
Prospector's Tools (Smith BOD reward, often found dumped on the ground in Blacksmith shops)
These items can be used as a macing weapon (similar to a sledgehammer, but cannot be used as a smithing tool), but their real use is "prospecting" an ore site. Before you can prospect a site, you must use a digging tool (shovel, pickaxe, Gargoyle Pickaxe) once on the target area. Such use does not have to be successful, just break the ground (which means, you can do a "false dig" while mounted, be told you cannot mine while mounted, then use the tool to get the enhancement, to maximize your digging tool usage at the elevated state).
A successful use of the prospector tool means that all colored ore you gain from a site will be one level higher. However, you can only use the tool to elevate a site to an ore type that you can already mine. For example, at 85 mining, you could elevate a bronze site to gold, but not a gold site to agapite. Elevating an Iron site to dull copper becomes possible at 65 Mining (the skill needed to mine DC ore), but only a percentage of the ore will be DC; all other elevations simply replace the usual colored ore with the higher type.
You can only use the prospector's tool once per site, until the ore respawns, at which time you can use it again on that site. They have 50 charges when new, and that could easily add up to 1000 enhanced ore if used in Felucca, or even the best locations in Trammel, Malas, Tokuno & Ilshenar.
"Error" Messages you can get while mining, using a Prospector's Tool:
Trying to elevate an ore vein to a metal (other than Valorite) that you cannot yet mine: "You sift through the ore, but do not feel confident with the prospects here."
Trying to elevate a Valorite vein (whether you can mine that level of ore or not): "You cannot improve valorite ore through prospecting." Note that this message supercedes the previous one, so you'll always know when you're trying to elevate a natural valorite spot, even if only 65 skill.
Neither of these will use a charge off the tool.
Section 9.3: What information is available for the Gargoyle's Pickaxe?
Gargoyle's Pickaxes (Smith BOD reward, and also found as loot on most Gargoyle types, on about 5-10% of gargoyles killed)
Gargoyle's pickaxes are magical tools as well. They allow you to mine ore colors one class better than you normally could at a mining site - this includes mining an ore type one could not normally mine yet with your actual mining skill. If used in conjunction with a prospector's tool, this can allow up to a two-step improvement in ore type (but still at that maximum of one type better than you could with a normal tool). They can be wielded as a weapon, but the smart miner will use them from inside their backpack, and wield an earth elemental slayer in their hand.
Examples: With 83 mining skill -
Can get Gold ore from a bronze spot, by using the Gargoyle's Pickaxe
Can get Gold ore from a copper spot, by first elevating the spot with a Prospector's tool, then using the Gargoyle's Pickaxe.
Note that the skill level above could not elevate bronze to gold with the Prospector's tool, then to Agapite with the Gargoyle'a Pickaxe, as the Prospector's Tool only works if you can smelt the new type with your current skill. You can get dull copper ore from digging an Iron-ore-only site with a Gargoyle's Pickaxe, but currently that does not cause an elemental to spawn, like for the other metal types (see below). As you may not be able to smelt the ore you mine, one must be careful as where to use it (unless you intentionally are stockpiling ore for later use).
Another nice feature of gargoyle's pickaxes is that they start out with 101 to 125 uses, unlike normal tools (that start out with 50) or exceptionally crafted tools (which have 100 at GM tinkering). Only the "Sturdy Tool" rewards have more uses on production shards, at 150 or 200 when new. And, like all other mining tools, if you fail to dig up a piece of ore, no "uses" are lost.
But as with all things that sound too good to be true, there is also a danger! There is a chance that you will pull up an ore elemental of the color you are extracting, hence the need for a miner with any combat skill to be wielding an Earth Elemental Slayer. All types that spawn from gargoyle's pickaxe use are susceptible to the standard Earth elemental slayer, or the Elemental super-slayer. These dangerous monsters range from fairly easy (shadow iron & agapite elementals) to very very hard (copper & valorite elementals). The Dull Copper Elementals were coded differently from the other ore elementals originally, and were for years not included in the Earth Elemental slayer property, and may not be still. As such, DC eles do not spawn from the use of this tool.
Ore elementals spawn right next to the miner and usually attack him first, though on rare occasions a nearby pack animal or mount will be targeted first. Upon death they carry 25 ore of their color as loot, which is especially rewarding with the valorite elementals. Some miners specifically dig with just gargoyle's pickaxes, in order to get the elementals.
Note that if you can't mine the normal ore of a spot (say, using a gargoyle's pickaxe on an agapite ore spot, while only able to mine bronze), all your ore mined will be iron, but you STILL can end up spawning an elemental of the type that the ore vein would spawn (in this example, a verite elemental). This ability seems to kick in only once the miner gains the ability to dig dull copper normally, as repeated tests with a sub-65 miner resulted in no elementals, while numerous ones spawned for a 65 mining skill miner, mining WAY out of league, and getting only iron and the ore from the elementals to show for it.
Another interesting feature is that you can use a gargoyle's pickaxe on a Valorite spot, and get valorite elementals (since there is no higher ore type to elevate to). This method, if one can mine valorite, greatly increases your valorite haul.
A guide to the Ore elementals that spawn from the Gargoyle's Pickaxe can be found in Section 8.2 above (sections 8.2, 8.3, 9.2 & 9.3 trace their origins to an original post by me in 2004, long before I was a moderator):
Common strategies for the "Smith Reward" tools (Prospectors Tool & Gargoyle's Pickaxe):
1. Playing it safe: Using normal tools with the Prospector's tool only. The only danger are miner-killers in Felucca, and normal monster spawn everywhere.
2. The Fearless Elemental Hunter: Mines mostly in the "safe" facets, and is typically a warrior (or paladin) with mining. Uses gargoyle's pickaxes almost exclusively (the only exception is when they HAVE to get Dull Copper ore for some reason), tweaking it with the prospector's tool as needed for the ore types desired. Typically is armed with a good Earth elemental slayer someone priced really cheap (or made by their own smith), a high-resist suit, and an ample supply of bandages (if they have healing) or mana (for healing spells and special weapons moves).
3. The PARAGON Elemental Hunter: A variant of the above, it is growing in popularity, thanks to the exploits of the Extreme Miners Hunting Club (XMHC) guild of Lake Austin. These are miners who fit the description of 2. above, but do their mining IN ILSHENAR, purposefully trying to bring up paragon elementals, and the very, very rare ore elemental paragon chests they have the potential to carry. With these types of hunts, it might be advisable to bring along a melee or archer warrior friend (As spells and pets don't work too well, if at all, on some of the elementals even when normal - let alone as paragons).
4. The Townie: Similar to #2 above, but with less combat skill. The Townie will typically mine in a guard zone (Umbra, Delucia), and try to kill elementals. But, if the elemental is too tough for them, then they can scream for the guards. They'll lose the ore, but keep their life.
5. The Bane of Macroers. Typically mines Felucca. Uses their Gargoyle's Pickaxes when they are near an area frequented by persons using unattended macro mining scripts. When a Macroer arrives, they attempt to spawn an elemental, then immediately leave to let the elemental have its way with the bot. Perfectly legal in Felluca, but illegal elsewhere (not that it's stopped persons sick of macroers from doing it anyway).
S
Salya Sin
Guest
WOW... thanks for the information! I had no idea... but then I've only started truly working my crafter in the last few months. Guess I'll start carrying a prospectors tool... 