Another n00b mining thread.

[a_Ficus]

Ok, I found a cave. "Yay," I think, "I can finally find some metal!" However, four hours of wall samples -- and countless tea kettles and water buckets -- later and I've found nothing but cat gold and fossils. Though the cave still stretches onward.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I have found something by now?

I tried doing some prospecting on the ground above, but I never get anything useful (as prospecting seems to be borked). I've also noticed that some walls seem to have a quicker hourglass (is mined more quickly) than other spots. Does this mean anything significant? If I get a quick hourglass, should I skip it and move on?

[kralmir]

veins are placed randomly, keep trying.

the speed of the hourglass is just the hardness of the wall compared to your str*axe/pickaxe. the higher it is the more is needed to break through the wall.


ps: use the wiki http://ringofbrodgar.com/wiki/Haven_and_Hearth_Wiki

[a_Ficus]

Thanks. Guess I'll keep chugging away.

I did consult the wiki; however, the wiki doesn't seem to possess complete information.

[Sevenless]

Ok, I found a cave. "Yay," I think, "I can finally find some metal!" However, four hours of wall samples -- and countless tea kettles and water buckets -- later and I've found nothing but cat gold and fossils. Though the cave still stretches onward.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I have found something by now?

I tried doing some prospecting on the ground above, but I never get anything useful (as prospecting seems to be borked). I've also noticed that some walls seem to have a quicker hourglass (is mined more quickly) than other spots. Does this mean anything significant? If I get a quick hourglass, should I skip it and move on?

Once you get 100 str(bear cape, bear tooth necklace, Barb bonus) and a Q20 pickaxe test mining walls goes a lot quicker. I'd say any decent sized cave system is very very likely to have at least 1 ore vein in it. 2-3 is more the norm for an average cave. For test mining efficiency I usually carry 2-3 buckets, a waterflask and a bunch of sausages. That'll keep you going for ages even before you get your strength up.

Do pay attention to the formula for hardness though. Your sqrt(Str*tool) is compared to the walls hardness. Since your strength should be well above your Tool Q with just a bearcape on, your tool quality is very important. Raising the lowest number is always more beneficial than increasing the highest one. If you're just using a plane jane Q10 Stone Axe, consider hunting for a mountain. You can dig up rocks there like you can soil in the forest. Hunt long enough and you'll be able to find a stone node, often spiking up to quality 30-40+. With a decent survival score (~30) you'll easily make the best axe possible out of that. It should really speed up your mining until you're able to make a pickaxe for yourself.

[MagicManICT]

Forget about the q20 pick axe. (If they don't have iron or tin and copper or a friendly neighbor, not likely to have one.) Get a q50+ stone axe and it will work just as well, especially with significantly higher strength. Remember, mining ability is the geometric mean of strength and tool Q: sqrt (str*tool). With a str of 100 and q20 pick axe, that means you only have an ability of about 45. With a str of 100 and q60 stone axe, you have an ability of over 75. You'll run into fewer 'too hard' spots and mine the soft ones even faster.

To get that axe, pick up some of the stones you find. Caves have quality nodes just like everything else, and you can find q80+ stone down there.

Also: wine or beer for quenching that thirst!! Not only does it quench the thirst, alcohol provides a nice str buff!

Also: when test mining, as soon as you see stone, quit. (Not everyone catches this.) If you aren't doing that, it slows you down greatly. I also skip every 10 or so tiles. The common metals are in big enough veins your not likely going to skip the vein doing that.

[a_Ficus]

I also skip every 10 or so tiles. The common metals are in big enough veins your not likely going to skip the vein doing that.

Thank you times a billion for this. I've never done mining before and have no clue how big a node is, so I was checking out every single wall tile. Knowing this will save me a bunch of time, and is a prime example of information that's not contained in the wiki that us n00bs wouldn't have any way of knowing if we simply "use the wiki" for everything.

[kohg]

prospect first you lazy bum!

[a_Ficus]

Read my OP, you lazy bum!

[kopacz]

I'll post here to not spam
how much strenght should I get just to think about going to the caves

[kohg]

Read my OP, you lazy bum!

by prospecting i meant really bother to prospect. Seriosuly, i found so far 3 or 4 copper mines, 3 iron mines, and countless tin, in one or two supergrids. prospecting seems to be borked you say? it might but works fine with me.