What is one of the most competitive professions on Dofus?
The Miner of course!
Mines can be scary places with dark crevasses and scary monsters, but often times the scariest thing you will find in a mine is an aggressive miner. Now I am not talking about Dark Miners the monsters but players with a pick to grind because you are competing for the same ore.
Now, with recent updates there has been a decline in player aggressions while mining and no longer are Percs placed in cave to collect the resource bags dropped by protectors. However, mining is still one of the most competitive gathering professions in the world of twelve.
Learning the Mining profession
To get started as a miner you will need to talk to one of two NPCs. In the Astrub area you will search for Chipo Atufe in the cave North East of Astrub. The second NPC is Casper Van Brushing north of the Evil Forest Zaap located in the miner workshop. To be a miner you will need to buy a pick axe for 150 kama or bring 10 ash wood pieces to exchange for the pick.
Leveling your Miner
Mining isn't a fast profession to level. You will spend countless hours underground gathering ore. Every ten levels you will be able to mine a new vein of ore. Along with collecting ore you will be able to melt ore into alloys, make smith magic potions and polish stones. Melting is unlocked at level 10 and polishing isn't unlocked until level 40.
Starting with Iron, you will be able to mine a new ore every 10 levels. At level 50, the ore silicate is unlocked, however to reach this ore you must have the correct alignment. Silicate is located in Feudala village in Fire Pandala. This village is a conquest village so you will need to watch the stats closely and harvest when you can.
Collecting ore will be the best bet for leveling. A good idea is to stockpile your ore in the bank or safe until you can begin melting. Often times the items you make by combining ores (melting) will price well and sell quickly. Bronze is not a popular ore for mining or selling so utilize the fact that others will leave it behind. Mine the bronze and store it. Use the bronze, iron and copper to make ebonite, you will be surprised how fast it sells.
Remember when you are mining that you have a few options:
- Sit and babysit one mine waiting for re-spawn
- Run between a few mines
- Ride the rails between mines
Mining is very time consuming so I don't recommend number one, but if you are looking for a specific ore by all mines vein sit. The second option is great if you are mining the three mines: Amakna Forest 5:19 (hidden), Scaraleaf Plains 4:28 and Porco's Territory 1:32. By the time you have run and mined the three, the first mine will be re-spawning ore.
The third option has its own pros and cons!
Traveling via railcar
A great but unpredictable way to travel between mines is by rail.
There is a fee to use the rail and it isn't only in kama. Once you choose to ride the rail and pay the fee of 50 kama, you will end up in a central hub. At this point, you will have to fight two dark miners, of various levels, prior to continuing your travels. Often times there will be multiple players at the hub and you will be able to share a fight. However, make sure you are able to kill dark miners consistently before opting to ride the rails, just in case you find yourself alone at the detour.
So, you have jumped the rails, killed the miners and find yourself back in the car, where will you end up might be your next question.
Well the answer is... your guess is as good as mine.
The rails are unpredictable. You go where you go and you have no control. Often times you will get to your destination quickly and other times you will find that walking would have been faster. But, if you are not in a hurry with no particular place to go, take the time to explore the mines.
In total there are nine mines that you can travel from or to by rail. One of which is the Brak sewer.....shhh....this is a great way to sneak in to Brakmar if you are Bontarian. Of course be wary of the sewer rats, they aggro.
Trials and tribulation of mining
In this screen shot can you find the hidden mine? It is located behind the centre tree in front of the boulders.
We talked about the PvP aggresses, but did I mention the monsters that are awaiting you in the deep? In some areas the Dark Miners will re-spawn when or before you finish the first fight. This means that you will have to kill them super fast to be able to get through the area or wait until someone else gets aggressed first then run by. The downside of waiting is that you are again sitting idle and idle makes no kama!
One of the mines contains a level 60 Boowolf, who is very aggressive. Don't let him foul you his range of aggression, five spaces and he will have approximately 700 hp... He only looks cute and cuddly!
There tend to be a high number of hidden mines in the world of 12. Five of the mines are hidden, one mine requires items to enter (Boowolf's home) and all mines are very busy places.
Ore tends to weigh a lot, so be aware of your pods! I always recommend carrying recall potions and guild house/home potions. I use one to get me to a safe place to drop bags of ore if I am overloaded and use recall to zaap back to the zaap closest to the mine I am working. This way you can save time and not have to drop your precious ore for someone else to gain from...unless you are kind hearted then by all means share!
Invest in a 1000 pod Bworky pet, you will need it.....happy harvesting!