Key Points
- You need to acquire the Crude Mining Pickaxe to begin mining in Ashes of Creation.
- Crude Mining Pickaxe can be obtained by completing ‘The Sweat of Your Brow’ quest.
- Ores in Ashes of Creation can be used to craft weapons, accessories, armor pieces, and tools.
Mining is one of the five gathering professions in Ashes of Creation. Even when it is absolutely crucial for progression, the game does not directly tell you how and where to mine precious ores required for item crafting and enhancements. This guide will offer all the information necessary for you to become an expert miner!
How to Start Mining in Ashes of Creation
To start your mining journey, you will need to acquire a Pickaxe. Crude Mining Pickaxe is the first tool you can obtain in Ashes of Creation. To get it, you need to complete one of the game’s early Main Quests named ‘The Sweat of Your Brow.’
This quest will introduce you to different gathering professions. You will be given a Crude Mining Pickaxe as part of the quest. This early game rugged tool will be placed in your Artisan Tab. Press the ‘H’ key to open this tab and select the pickaxe for mining.
How to Mine Ore in Ashes of Creation
Ore in Ashes of Creation is mined by breaking down rocks that can be found all over the game’s map. There are no specific spawn points for mining. The best way to start mining is to roam and explore as much as possible. Follow these steps:
- Explore the map.
- Look for large rock formations or glowing veins in the ground.
- Press ‘H’ to open the Artisan Tab and equip the Pickaxe.
- Walk up to the rock or vein node.
- Press ‘F’ to start mining.
- An animation of your avatar breaking down the rocks will begin.
- Mined materials will be placed directly in your inventory.
Best Places to Mine Ore in Ashes of Creation
Rockey terrains and high-tiered regions, such as Winstead, are some of the best places to mine ore. Since ore is spawned dynamically, I strongly recommend focusing on map exploration and just trying to mine every interesting rock cluster you find!
Mining Levels in Ashes of Creation
You need to keep mining ore to increase your mining level. Once you cross the threshold of the current mining level (for example, if you have achieved mining level 10 by consistently mining large quantities of ore), you can upgrade your mining level. The following table details all the mining levels and the associated ore (and gems) that become available for you to mine upon reaching each level.
| Mining Level | Ores you can mine |
| Novice (1-10) | Basalt, Copper, Ruby, Zinc, Granite |
| Apprentice (11-20) | Tin, Halconite, Emerald, Slate, Obsidian |
| Journeyman (21-30) | Iron, Rividium, Wrydstone, Sapphire, Lumadon |
| Master (31-39) | Silver |
| Grandmaster (40) | Gold, Opal, Diamond, Stellarium, Quartz, Night Opal |
To upgrade your mining level, reach out to the Mining Foreman in your node. Once you upgrade to the next mining level, you can also upgrade your pickaxe by interacting with the mining tool bench found at the Stoneworks building in your node.
Tip: Keep periodically repairing your pickaxe. All gear in Ashes of Creation loses durability after usage, and zero durability can render tools unusable.
How to Increase Mining Efficiency
You can increase your mining efficiency by investing in Artisan Mining Gear items. These items can be purchased from various Mining Vendors spread throughout the game’s map. In the early game stages, when you are a Mining Novice, you can buy the following gear items from a Stoneworks Vendor or a Laboratory Vendor in your node:
| Artisan Mining Gear | Benefit |
| Mining Satchels | Increases mining resource stack size |
| Mining Shirts | Increases mining quantity and your Max Health |
| Mining Surveyance Pylons | Increases mining quantity rating |
Once you reach advanced mining levels, more Artisan Mining Gear, such as Mining Pants and Belts, will become available for purchase.
How to Use Ore in Ashes of Creation
Ore in Ashes of Creation needs to be processed before it can be used to craft new weapons and tools or upgrade the existing ones. Ore Processing is bifurcated based on the type of ore. Different types of ores are used for different purposes.
| Type of Ore | Example | Where to process | Uses |
| Stone | Basalt, Granite | Stonemasonry Stations | Crafting weapons, tools, armor pieces, accessories. |
| Metal | Copper, Zinc | Metalworking Stations | Crafting weapon moulds, armor moulds, and advancing crafting paths. |
| Gem | Ruby | Alchemy Stations | Crafting XP or HP boosting jewelry, such as Rings and Necklaces. |
FAQs
Where can I find large quantities of ore?
Rocky terrains are your best bet to find ore in Ashes of Creation. Furthermore, high-tiered zones, such as Winstead, will offer you more highly valued ore than starting zones like Lionhold. As a rule of thumb, focus on mining all rock clusters you see.
How can I get high-rarity mining ore?
High-rarity mining ore can usually be mined by using Artisan Mining Gear. I recommend that you start investing in Mining Shirts and Pylons to increase the chances of finding more valuable ore.
How can I mine a specific ore or gem?
You will not be able to differentiate between the mines simply by looking at the rock clusters. The game has introduced a more realistic mining mechanism. All the ore/ gem nodes usually appear the same. You can use Heat Maps or Survey Pylons to increase the chances of getting your hands on high-value ore and gems.
What do I need to transport the mined ore?
Nothing. Since mined ore is directly deposited in your inventory, you won’t need traditional means of transport, such as crate mules.
