RUNESCAPE: MINING GUIDE FOR POST 2009 Copyright 2011 thecheese103 Sites with permission to use this FAQ: www.gamefaqs.com Table of Contents: (1.0) Introduction and Mining Description (2.0) Items Required to Mine/Recommended Items (3.0) Mining Areas (4.0) Leveling Guide (5.0) Money Making Guide (6.0) Conclusion (7.0) Credits (1.0) Introduction and Mining Description Hello everyone, in this FAQ, I will be discussing the Mining Skill on the popular Jagex MMORPG known as Runescape. There are many other skills in the game, and there currently is a mining FAQ on the GameFAQs website, but as with many other MMORPGS, Runescape is a constantly changing and updating game, and since the time that FAQ was written, the Mining Skill has been almost completely changed. For the sake of current players, I am writing this FAQ so that players will have knowledge of how the Mining Skill currently works, what requirements it has, the methods they can use to train it, and so much more. Onto a description of the Mining Skill itself, Mining is what Runescape considers to be a resource skill. Resource skills are skills where you obtain some sort of resource -in the case of Mining we have ore- that will be used in different skills or be sold. Mining is done by using any type of Pickaxe on a rock that you have the right level to mine, and your character will keep swinging their Pickaxe at the rock until you get ore in your inventory. Rinse and repeat, and before you know it you will have millions of coins and tons of experience, and I hope this guide will be able to show you all how. Before we properly begin, on Runescape I have a Mining Level of 99 and at the time of this FAQ am currently within the top 10,000 Miners. My current username is Roggenrola, but with the ability to change usernames, please do not expect to look up this username months later and get the same character on the high scores. Without further delay, on with the guide. (2.0) Items Required to Mine/Recommended Items Before you actually start mining away on those rocks, there are a few items that you are actually required to have depending on where you mine, and many more items that make Mining easier. The only item that is technically required is the Pickaxe, which comes in many different varieties. Pickaxes can be wielded in the equipment slot for a weapon to save you additional inventory space. Keep in mind now that I won't list prices, as these constantly change on Runescape, it would mess up somebody reading this guide a year later. Pickaxes: Bronze Pickaxe: Required Levels: 1 Mining Iron Pickaxe: Required Levels: 1 Mining Steel Pickaxe: Required Levels: 6 Mining Mithril Pickaxe: Required Levels: 21 Mining Adamant Pickaxe: Required Levels: 31 Mining Rune Pickaxe: Required Levels: 41 Mining Inferno Adze: Required Levels: 41 Mining Dragon Pickaxe: Required Levels: 61 Mining As soon as you get the level where you can weild the next pickaxe, by it right there. The only exception is the Adze, just go from the Rune Pickaxe to the Dragon Pickaxe. There are multiple shops throughout Runescape that carry Pickaxes, and all of them but the last two can be smithed. The Inferno Adze requires completion of the quest "All Fired Up" and initial completion of the Beacons Network minigame. The Dragon Pickaxe can be obtained by killing Chaos Dwogres beneath the Dwarven City of Keldagrim. But depending on where you mine, there are several other items that can help you, including Mining Urns. They collect exp as you mine, and after a given amount of time, you can send them away to gain the collected amount of exp. Take note that they can be bought empty off of the Grand Exchange, or can be made yourself. Fragile Mining Urn: Required Levels: 17 Crafting Mining Urn: Required Levels: 32 Crafting Strong Mining Urn: Required Levels: 48 Crafting Decorated Mining Urn: Required Levels: 59 Crafting If you are going to be mining in an aggressive area, such as the Living Rock Caverns (best place to mine in the game, I will cover that below) it is best to wear armour. Recommended items would include a version of the Excalibur sword (for a constant source of health) and an Amulet of Glory (to gain gems from Mining). A good but inexpensive set of armour to wear would be the Proselyte armour, which also has a good prayer bonus to further protect you. If you are mining in one of the desert areas, a great helmet to wear is the Enhanced Water Tiara, which you can wear after the "Dealing with Scabaras" quest. It is made by using Water Runes on a standard Water Tiara. The last thing I would recommend is the usage of familiars from the summoning skill. There are various familiars that can be used to help out with your mining, whether by holding ores, increasing your levels or so on. Desert Wyrm: Required Levels: 18 Summoning Purpose: Gives you an invisible boost of 1 Mining Level Void Ravager: Required Levels: 34 Summoning Purpose: 1 Invisible Mining Boost, one visible level boost. Abyssal Parasite: Required Levels: 54 Summoning Purpose: Can hold 7 pieces of Essence Abyssal Lurker: Required Levels: 62 Summoning Purpose: Can hold 7 pieces of Essence (not an error, it has the same function for Mining as the Abyssal Parasite) Obsidian Golem: Required Levels: 73 Summoning Purpose: 7 Invisible Mining Boost levels. Lava Titan: Required Levels: 83 Summoning Purpose: 10 Invisible Boost levels and teleportation near a Runite Ore spot. Abyssal Titan: Required Levels: 93 Summoning Purpose: Can hold 7 pieces of essence, but has the ability to teleport them to the bank if you have the correct summoning scroll with you. Also take note that any familiar that acts as a beast of burden can hold ore for you, the most notable of these are the War Tortoise and the Pak Yack. (3.0) Mining Areas There are many different areas for Mining, each with a different selection of ore. Take note of these if you are looking for experience or money making. Essence Mines Essence Mines are unique in that they have one giant rock with infinite essence, and you just click on it once to get a full inventory over time. If you are level 30 Mining or above, you get Pure Essence. If you are below 30 Mining or on a Free To Play World, you get Rune Essence. North-west of the Duel Arena Ore: 3 Coal 5 Silver 2 Mithril 9 Iron 2 Adamantite 3 Copper 2 Gold 1 Tin South-west of the Lava Maze, Wilderness Ore: 31 Coal 19 Mithril 16 Iron 8 Adamantite Barbarian Village: Ore: 5 Coal 4 Tin In fenced area of the Crafting Guild Ore: 7 Gold 6 Silver 6 Clay Crandor Island: Ore: 10 Coal 8 Mithril 3 Gold 3 Adamantite North-west of Edgeville, Wilderness Ore: 34 Coal North Edgeville, Wilderness Ore: 3 Coal 2 Iron South-east, Edgeville dungeon Ore: 2 Adamantite 1 Mithril 6 Coal 3 Silver 3 Iron 2 Tin 2 Copper North of Lava Maze, Wilderness Ore: 2 Runite Lumbridge Swamp, south-east of Lumbridge Castle Ore: 5 Copper 5 Tin Lumbridge Swamp, south-west corner Ore: 2 Adamantite 5 Mithril 7 Coal North-east of Rimmington Ore: 2 Gold 6 Iron 2 Tin 2 Clay 5 Copper South-east Varrock Ore: 9 Copper 6 Tin 4 Iron South-west Varrock Ore: 3 Iron 3 Silver 8 Tin 3 Clay Dwarven Mine Ore: 5 Clay 11 Tin 7 Copper 12 Iron 11 Coal 2 Gold 2 Mithril 3 Adamantite Mining Guild Ore: 34 Coal 5 Mithril And then we have the Living Rock Caverns, which should be a category all of its own. Specifically for the reasons that it does not fit in with any other descriptions. There are 4 concentrated Gold Rocks and about 5 Concentrated Coal Rocks. You are probably wondering what these are, Concentrated Ore Rocks contain Ore like any other Mining Rock, but the difference is that they hold multiple pieces of Ore, and depending on how many people are mining them, they may not run out for minutes, containing potentially hundreds of ores for just one person, and that is before they even respawn. The concept is very similar to the Essence Mines, but these run out and respawn at random intervals. Not to mention with so many people there, the naturally aggressive Living Rock Creatures will not be attacking you specifically, allowing you to stay here for much longer periods of time. This is even further enhanced by any familiars you have, and the occasional "Living Rock Patriarch" will spawn, giving you an equivalent 275k in items just for killing it once. There are specific worlds for mining here to get the best results, which at the current time are World 77 and World 84, and I doubt either of those worlds will be subject to change. (4.0) Leveling Guide There are many different alternative when it comes to leveling up Mining, but do not feel limited to one method. The following is what I did until level 99, and I feel it is the most efficient method of training Mining. Levels 1-15: Rune Essence Mining You can get a small amount of money by doing this, it is easy, and can be done in a very AFK (away from keyboard) method of training. This is of course done at the Essence Mines which can be accessed by being teleported there from the Varrock Rune Shop or several other locations. It has never been more than 15k an hour in experience, but at your current level that will not be an issue. You also have the option of doing this until level 30, or... Levels 15-45 OR 15-99 Free to Play: Iron Ore There are many locations to do this, if free to play, just do it in the mine north of Al Kharid, but if members, go directly south of the Piscatoris Fishing Guild and there will be 3 Iron Ore Rocks directly next to each other. This way, click on the far right one, and mine clockwise, so that buy the time you have mined the last one, the one on the right will have respawned again. Keep note of the fact that you will not be banking these. After a few ores, or if you so choose, the full inventory, start dropping them. There is also a great spot in the Dorgeshuun mines underneath Lumbridge where you can mine all your Iron Ore and sell it to a goblin next to you. It is approximately 30-40k experience per hour. If you are a free player, the leveling guide really ends here, there is not a more efficient option than Iron Ore for Free Players, but if you happen to have membership... Levels 45-77: Granite Do this in the desert after you complete the "Dealings with Scabaras" quest. You should be able to get about 50k experience an hour this way. Once again you will be dropping ore, do not waste any time trying to bank it. Since the area is in the desert, you will want to be wearing some form of desert gear such as the Desert Robes, and to have the Enchanted Water Tiara that you can make after "Dealing with Scabaras." Here is where things get serious, after level 77, you will finally be able to mine within... 77-80: Concentrated Coal The Living Rock Caverns. If the way I spoke so highly of it earlier was not a huge hint, this is the absolute best place to mine for experience in the game, at 55-65k experience an hour, probably 65k+ at times with a familiar, it just outclasses every other form of Mining in the game... that is, barring the extension of the Living Rock Caverns that we will talk about in a minute. There are several aggressive monsters here, all Living Rock Creatures, so I would recommend the idea I listed earlier in the Guide, that is going to Mining worlds (77 and 84) where there are countless people, so the monsters take turns deciding who's day they want to screw up. The only downsides to this are the huge amount of people causing lag and stealing the occasional Living Rock Patriarch from you. But seeing as how I found 10 Patriarchs between levels 77 and 99, and lag is better than dying, I would say this is a great alternative. However, do not get used to mining coal for this whole time, as soon enough you will be moving onto... Levels 80-99: Concentrated Gold Now we have the exact same mechanic as Concentrated Coal, but with more experience and money to be gained. Just to let you know, 77-80 on Concentrated Coal will probably make you an estimated 1.5-2 million coins, but 80-99 on Concentrated Gold? I did this in the summer of 2010 and made well over 60 million. And from what I hear, the prices are fairly stable if not a bit lower. But we are not in this section to talk about the money being gained, what you should be after here is the huge amount of experience. While mining here, you can easily expect around 60-70k mining experience an hour, and that is without the use of a summoning familiar to assist you. Say that you will be using a Lava Titan for your stay in the Living Rock Caverns, I would not be surprised if someone with 90+ mining with a Lava Titan could obtain an upwards of 75 to 80k an hour. I myself did not even use a familiar and still got huge experience. It is also worth noting, if you did not analyze it for yourself, that both methods of Living Rock Cavern Training are completely AFK training, all you do is click on the rock, bank, and repeat. The real challenge? Not the monsters or other players, but the amount of time. I clocked the experience I got and how long it took me to reach 99, and from 80 to 99 I spent about 190 hours of my summer there. But compared to how I could have spent 300 doing granite or iron until 99, believe me in saying that this method is more than worth it. (5.0) Money Making Guide Before you come in expecting easy millions, let me tell you that you really have to earn your way in before you can seriously expect good money via mining. It does become easy millions later on, but the trick is having to go through the profitless sections to get there. None the less, in this section I will disclose the most lucrative methods of mining, but not nearly the most efficient. 1-30: Rune Essence If you are Free to Play, expect to be doing this until 85. Sorry, there is no other way to tell you that. Do not worry though, despite being awful experience, your cash per exp ratio is extremely high. Continuing on... 30-77: Pure Essence You might end up shooting yourself in the foot by doing this, another reason I recommend just going for experience until level 77, but the choice is all yours. Again, you can practically do this away from your keyboard, there is no risk from being attacked by monsters, and the supply of Pure Essence (just like the Rune Essence counterpart) is infinite, therefore there will be no competition with other players to obtain spots, if anything you might make a few friends who are joining you on this painstaking experience. After obtaining level 77, the real money begins. Levels 77-80: Concentrated Coal There is not much more I can tell you about Concentrated Coal that you would not have already picked up from this guide, but from 77 to 80, the level range where you should be practicing this method, you can expect a good two million coins. But before we get to the main attraction, there is another alternative for money that is even open to Free To Play Runescape players. 85: Runite Ore For you free to play folk who have braved this far through a skill that is unbelievably difficult for non members, consider this your reward. But you still need to fight for your happy ending. There are only a few Runite Ore locations throughout Free to Play Runescape, the majority of which are in the hazardous Wilderness. And it takes about 15 minutes for each ore to respawn. For members, there are a lot more safe areas to mine Runite, but unless you plan on just doing it on the side, the following method completely outclasses it. At this point, you can probably guess what that method is... 80+: Concentrated Gold You probably think that I am just glorifying Concentrated Gold mining at this point, but in no way am I exaggerating about how great of a money and experience source it is. Just think, I made 60 million by doing it from 80 to 99, with current prices you would still be looking at 50 to 55 million coins. And if the rest of this guide was an implication towards it, it is also the best source of experience for mining. By utilizing Concentrated Gold spots, you will be taking out two birds with one stone, gaining the most efficient mining experience in the game and the best source of mining money. It is also worth mentioning that you can superheat your gold ore into gold bars, gaining both magic and smithing experience. This method still turns out a profit with current prices. In other words, you could be getting 3 level 99 skills at the same time, while making money out of it. There is no longer a debate, this is without a doubt the best source of Mining based money and experience in the game. (6.0) Conclusion There is nothing left for me to say, here we have the basics of mining, what you need, what you should be using, where to go, what to do for experience, and what to do for money. If there is anything left that I have excluded, feel free to send me a private message on GameFAQs, the site that this FAQ is being hosted by. My username is "thecheese103" and is also at the top of this guide. If you are unable to send me a GameFAQs private message, or if you are reading this on a site that is not GameFAQs( plagiarism, so be SURE to contact me) then send me an email at: Rjc_pwns@hotmail.com Other than that, I hope this guide is able to help you out, and that one day on Runescape I will be able to meet your character wearing the Mining Cape of Accomplishment just like mine does. (7.0) Credits Myself: Hey, this guide had to come from somewhere. CjayC: For providing a site for this guide and many others SBallen/other GameFAQs administrators: For looking over this guide and maintaining our site. Yourself: "What is an FAQ without Asked Questions?" as I like to put it, I cannot really talk about my guide without people who are reading it... The Runescape General Board of GameFAQs: For providing entertainment and friends to play the game with. Jagex: Without them to create and maintain the game, I would not be writing this guide, or even worse, not playing Runescape.