What is the best way to mine now?

[Goom]

Can't confirm this since I'm too scared to test it out but someone mentioned they had a cave in after mining a tile adjacent to one without any warning dust when they mined it.

Obviously using my anecdotal experience to counter someone else's is not proof either, but I have only ever had cave-ins adjacent to warning dust tiles (not including initial testing of wall mining).

[Turtlesir]

always used rustroot, never had a cavein, never had to poke walls to check for ore and swimming in it.

even if you can only get low quality, it will always say what's directly underneath and veins can be pretty big. using mapping tools you can walk along a cave system checking every 10-20 tiles and you will find a vein quickly. spend the metal you get from boulders on a mine support and you're set.

[Koyu]

When mining the first tile ever without support you always risk a cave in.
After that if you see dust coming off, it means adjacent wall is prone to cave in.
If you dont mind pave the area (its blocking bats and curios from spawn) best way for mining without support is pave the area without dust and dig 8 walls around it always marking the new areas without dust.
You can always mine the 3x3 areas with pavement inside. Never had a cave in in w9 doing this method. (i had a cave in when poking a new wall but well... you cant avoid that risk).

Also about finding the metal itself. I do a screenshot of my caves map, then i put it over my normal map and pour rustroot everywhere along those caves.

[wolf1000wolf]

Does rustroot work for the cave layer or does it show metal below?

[Granger]

Does rustroot work for the cave layer or does it show metal below?

It always works on the layer below your character..

[NeoBasilisk]

Shifting the conversation to lower level mining, is there any sort of strategy to mining on L4 or L5? Rustroot would seem to be useless since you'd have to have already mined out large portions of the above layer. Do you basically just punch a hole down to L5 and start blindly digging tunnels in all directions until you hit something?

[Kaios]

Obviously using my anecdotal experience to counter someone else's is not proof either, but I have only ever had cave-ins adjacent to warning dust tiles (not including initial testing of wall mining).

Seems I was incorrect about it, it should work how it always did.

Shifting the conversation to lower level mining, is there any sort of strategy to mining on L4 or L5? Rustroot would seem to be useless since you'd have to have already mined out large portions of the above layer. Do you basically just punch a hole down to L5 and start blindly digging tunnels in all directions until you hit something?

I like to do the tunneling on L4 and prospect at the same time, this way you have an easier time of spotting the nodes on L5 and you also have the likely chance you'll run in to something on L4 while you do it.

[slipper]

Shifting the conversation to lower level mining, is there any sort of strategy to mining on L4 or L5? Rustroot would seem to be useless since you'd have to have already mined out large portions of the above layer. Do you basically just punch a hole down to L5 and start blindly digging tunnels in all directions until you hit something?

I'm not sure if I get what you're asking. Usual strategy is to tunnel L4 until you prospect gold in the layer below.

[tyrtix]

Actually i'm poking at caves, had 2 caveins with my first new main, killed it (but was nearly intended, i had some bad damages). New alt: i've used metal from boulders to get a pickaxe, i poke and mine until i see dust, then move 3-4 tiles and repeat. Up now i've not found a single vein but i hope to find one soon.

[Granger]

When you don't get dust on a tile you know that all the ones around it are safe.

Also I can only suggest to use rustroot.