Thursday, May 28, 2009

Mining Extended Guide

In Entropia, Mining is one of the main professions. It is generally considered the second most popular activity in the game, second only to hunting, however most players like to combine their hunting and mining runs together for reasons provided later. Mining is generally more expensive than hunting, but can also be more profitable. It is harder to get skill points in mining than hunting.

There are two types of resources in the game which you can mine, Enmatter and Ores. Enmatters are generally liquids, powders and other aqueous things (such as Oil) while ores tend to be stones and metals (such as Gold and Iron). Different tools are used for each of the two types of mining. If you are just starting out with mining, you will find all the equipment you need in the Trade Terminal under "Tools" and then "Mining".

A set of Enmatter equipment is generally more expensive than Ore equipment, but probes (which are used for Enmatter mining) are half the price of bombs (which are used for Ore mining). Many believe that this makes Enmatter mining cheaper in the long run. Others argue that Ore deposits are larger and have a larger markup price (and therefore more valuable). In reality, both types of mining are probably equal in expense, therefore it probably doesn't matter which type of mining you start out with.

To become a miner, you'll first need to buy a set of Mining tools. If you are mining for Enmatter you will need:

  1. An Enmatter Detector
  2. An Enmatter Extractor
  3. Probes

If you are mining for Ores you will need:

  1. An Ore Detector
  2. An Ore Excavator
  3. Bombs

There are also mining amplifiers. As a beginner you will not need them. Amps are generally used after you have several hundred (some say thousand) skill points in mining.

Where to mine

Claiming Rod inside a water basin
Claiming Rod inside a water basin

It is important to note that mining (like many other activities) in Entropia Universe is a matter of speculation, meaning that, nobody really knows how to find the biggest deposits, or any deposits even. You will not find any coal mines or rich veins running long distances through Entropia but one lucky strike could earn you as much as 158,000 PED ($15,000 USD). There have been several theories proposed about how mining deposits are generated, some of which are very mathematically intricate.

If you are after specific resources and not too concerned with paying tax to a land owner you may find the Amethera minerals chart and the Club NEVERDIE Minerals Chart to be invaluable resources. An experienced miner's favorite claim locations are kept top secret so a chart of where to find certain resources will soon become an important part of your tool set.

If you are going to stay off taxed land areas the first question that aspiring miners usually ask is, "Where do I mine?" The answer is anywhere. You can mine anywhere (except for cement and metal ground which are generally only found inside of cities), although people have found deposits in, or around towns. It is recommended for a new person to start mining on Treasure Island on the Amethera continent because of its profitable mining area and creatures that have a low radius of aggressiveness. Be aware, though, that land areas on Amethera usually come with a tax on mining.

There are several hypotheses for where and when to mine. None of these have been proven solutions, but they are popular choices for mining strategies because they are based (if only loosely) on the actions of other miners in the area.

  1. Mining along the water's edge. The beach is generally far away from any teleporter and thus believed to be generally secluded from competitor miners. The farther away from civilization and other miners - the better. Needless to say the more out of the way it is, the less people mine there.
  2. Mining inside a herd of mobs. Because a lot of miners don't carry weapons they will tend to avoid areas with large or dangerous mobs. For this reason a lot of experienced miners will combine hunting with mining. They will destroy the large mob and then mine in the area they were on. They call this area the "Loot Pool".
  3. Field concentration. If you have found a large resource in a particular area, it is believed that this particular area is rich in concentration (often called 'veins'). Many will drop another probe/bomb in the same place as their first resource. Some people keep track of all their claims' locations and return to the same area a few days later to try and mine it again. Generally this is done only if the area had more than one large claim. Some have reported as many as eleven consecutive claims in one spot.
  4. Mining according to skill gain. Some people keep an eye on skill gains (during detonation), because they believe it means theres a deposit near by when you gain skill points.
  5. Charting. Some experienced miners keep track of their every find and then plot their location on the map in order to find patterns and fields. This is tedious work, and there is no evidence to show that it helps find larger resources.

Certain entropia resources can only mined at a certain depth. Your detonator will tell you which depth it can reach. As a beginner you will only be able to find certain resources (like Lysterium). You will need to build up your skills and purchased higher-end detonators and mining equipment in order to mine more valuable resources (like Gold).

If you are looking to mine a particular resource, there are specific tools which can help you pin point approximate locations where this resource is generally found.

Where not to mine

Mining near buildings and extremely steep mountains can be dangerous, as the claim rods can appear where you can't reach them. Contrary to popular belief, you can mine in water as well. You can drops bombs in water thats walking depth. You can't drop bombs in deep water, however if you happen to find a claim rod in deep water you can still excavate it.

How to mine

When you decide you have found a good spot, drop a probe (or bomb) by equipping your detonator, and right clicking, as if you were using a weapon. The probe/bomb will drop and after a couple of seconds the screen will shake a little to signal the detonation. Your detonator's menu will automatically come up shortly after. If it finds a resource, you will hear a beeping, and an arrow on the screen of your detector will point you the direction to your claim rod. There will also be a window that will come up with your resource claim. If the detector finds no resources in this area it will notify you with a message in the detonator menu. At that point you should move on to your next destination and try again. You don't have to stop running to drop probes and bombs.

There has been some speculation about which direction you need to be facing in order to find a claim. It is believed that you can be facing North and not detect any claims in the area, but if you were to turn around and face a different direction (on the same spot) you could potentially find a deposit. However, just like many other speculations there is no evidence yet to either confirm or deny this claim.

Once you have found a resource, a claim rod will automatically be put in place for you and it will reserve this resource under your name. You can now put away the detonator and equip the extractor. Move close to your claim rod (right up next to it) and right click on it. It will begin drilling and a loot window will pop up showing your resources. Don't bother closing the window, continue extracting the resource until the claim rod disappears and your resource depletes. You can now close the loot window (there's no sense closing it each and every time you excavate).

Only the owner of the claim rod can excavate it. So you can, if you wanted to, leave your rod for excavation later on and move on somewhere else. This is not recommended however, because your claim rods will disappear after a certain time period (depending on the size of the deposit). Certain deposits are quite large and they will take you several minutes to extract.

It's a good idea to carry around an Ore or Enmatter refiner with you. If you are going on a long mining run you will soon start carrying a lot of heavy stones. Refining these stones will decrease their weight and allow you to run faster. Refining doesn't decrease the TT value of the resource, in fact, most traders will pay higher (usually 1% more) for refined resources rather than unrefined resources.


Relaxing in front of the Robot Spacecraft
Relaxing in front of the Robot Spacecraft

A field is an area of regular appearing resources (for example the beach west of Fort Ithaca regularly contains Lysterium). Some believe that fields possess both Ores and Enmatter. Others say fields are primarily one kind of resource. Regardless, fields are concentrated locations that remain in their place. It is believed that fields tend to give bigger claims if left alone for awhile, generally 3 days.

Most online Eudoria maps contain field information. There are also maps and guides that show which land areas contain which resources.

Mining on CND

Mining on CND is more condensed than on Calypso. For example your basic ore finder may have a detection distance of 55 meters when used planet-side, up on CND it will be reduced to 22 meters.

Your will find less claims up on CND but they will generally be larger and may require a little more skill to detect!

Strange Signal

While using the detector you may encounter a message saying, "Strange Signal Found". This means a robot spaceships has landed nearby. The good news is that it contains 50 PED, sometimes with a beacon (worth an additional amount, usually quite large, which is used for robot beacon missions). The bad news is that the spacecraft is usually guarded by two drones. To examine the ship and collect the 50 PED you'll need to press a button on it labeled "Equipment Component". This can be done by anybody, so if you are killed and somebody happens to walk by, they can claim the 50 PED prize.

Collecting this 50 PED prize will also be announced as a global in the Entropia client chat window. It is shown as "[User] examined Robot Spacecraft and found something with a value of 50 PED!". Generally the prize consists of robot beacons and residue.

Mining Deeds

A Mining Claim Deed
A Mining Claim Deed

Mining deeds can be found in your inventory under "docs". When you right click a deed you can see all the information about it:

  • the depth
  • the size (in words and in roman number which gives you an estimated TT value)
  • the resource
  • the time left
  • the position (if you are killed you can check back here to find your deposit location again)

Any claims that expire will dissapear from the ground, the deed will be removed from your inventory, and you will recivie a notification of the size and type of claim it was.


Improving your mining skill points will improve your detection radius and depth, increasing your chance of finding deposits. Higher skill points will also allow to you find more rare resources. Basic Skills: Mining, Drilling, Geology, Metallurgy, Surveying, Prospecting and Surveying. Hidden Skills: Drilling Expertise, Extraction, Calypso Ground Assessment, Miner, Mineral sense.

For beginners it has been recommended to use the MatterFinder MF-101. It has a 0.1 PEC (0.001 PED) decay per use making it very efficient. Mining for Lysterium or Oil, which are easy to find and are extracted in smaller amounts, is a great way to build up initial skill points.

Entropia Mining Deposit Sizes

The values in the chart below are approximated and based on previous findings.

Level Name Extrapolated TT Range (PED) Observed TT Range (PED)
I Minimal 0.00 - 0.50 none noted
II Tiny 0.50 - 0.99 0.58 - 0.94
III Very Poor 1.00 - 1.99 1.06 - 1.96
IV Poor 2.00 - 2.99 2.00 - 2.95
V Small 3.00 - 3.99 3.03 - 3.40
VI Modest 4.00 - 5.99 4.84 - 5.80
VII Average 6.00 - 7.99 6.01 - 7.80
VIII Medium 8.00 - 11.99 8.42 - 8.47
IX Ample 12 - 17 17.64
X Considerable 18 - 24 22.01 - 23.70
XI Sizable 25 - 34 30.74
XII Large 35 - 49 35.20
XIII Abundant 50 - 74 50 - 74
XIV Great 75 - 124 75 - 124
XV Substantial 125 - 199 125 - 183
XVI Significant 200 - 299 205 - 283
XVII Plentiful 300 - 449 319 - 440
XVIII Huge 450 - 599 461 - 555
XIX Extremely Large 600 - 799 767
XX Massive 800 - 1,199 801 - 1,149
XXI Vast 1,300 - 2,499 1,382 - 2,479
XXII Enormous 2,500 - 4,900 3,062 - 4,574
XXIII Rich 5,100 - 20,999 5,504 - 17,893
XXIV Gigantic 26,000 - 93,999 27,420 - 76,092
XXV Collosal

XXVI Mammoth 158,000
XXVII Immense

Entropia Mining Tactics

Straight Line

This is a simple technique used by many miners in Entropia:

  1. Face Due North, South, East or West.
  2. Hit P for your position.
  3. Drop a bomb or probe.
  4. Run in a straight line for over 100 meters.
  5. Over time alter the distance based on your experience and experimentation.
  6. A complex version of this is to try and uncover a wave pattern in the timing.

Double Bombing

This can work and it can also result in a greater expense. When you find a claim drop another bomb or probe in an attempt to uncover a larger find that it may be masking. This mining technique is often used in conjunction with interpreting skill gains.

Carpet Bombing

Mark out an area and strategically bomb the entire area recording your results for a later visit.

Mining Tips

Upgrading your equipment

When you can afford to and skills are established, invest in the following tools for better Depth, Range & Efficiency.

  • OF-105 - Ore Finder
    • 2.1 (pec/click) Decay | Detection Radius 55m | 260+ Depth | Highest Efficiency.
  • MF-105 - Matter Finder
    • 1.8 (pec/click) Decay | Detection Radius 55m | 260+ Depth | Highest efficiency even though the decay is higher.

For Even More Depth - Switch to the Limited (L) Tools

  • MF-213(L)
    • 315+ Depth

You will know when it is time to upgrade your mineral finding equipment when you have 'maxed-out'. On the info screen check the record for Average search depth: If both figures are equal you have your finder is maxed-out and its time to upgrade!

Interpreting Skill Gains

The skills gains you receive when mining are often used as indicators by miners. Getting a skill gain but no claim is valuable data to a faithful miner looking for a less random approach to Entropia Mining.

Here are a few popular theories:

  • Geology - This is thought to be an eliminating indicator, close but "getting colder".
  • Prospecting - There is a claim somewhere within a 250 meter radius of where you received the skill gain.
  • Surveying - Interpreted in the same way as Prospecting.
  • Calypso Ground Assessment - This skill needs to be unlocked. Indicates there is a claim somewhere within a 150 meters.
  • Mineral sense - This is a skill that requires a further unlock. A Mineral Sense skill gain is thought to indicated that a claim is very close.
  • Perception - This is thought to be an indicator that you are close to a large claim within a radius of 200 meters.
  • Intelligence - Arguable indicates that a large claim is very close by.


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