PC How do YOU mine?
- Thread starter Tahaan
- Start date
i usually will go to the desert and start a giant open pit quarry.. can find lead, nitrate, iron and shale in the same general area..
just keep digging out a road to get back up as i get deeper.. bonus: the stone and sand can be either sold to the trader, or used to make cement.
or/also... i will find a suitable mountain, also desert biome, and remove it top to bottom (or til i get tired, which usually comes first..)
the only difference is coal.. (and it's not really that different, as iron, nitrate and lead can also be found nearby..) which tends to, at least, start
out as a traditional underground mine..
enjoy it? .. yep, sometimes it's all i really feel like doing.. hold down a mouse button and walk back n forth
just keep digging out a road to get back up as i get deeper.. bonus: the stone and sand can be either sold to the trader, or used to make cement.
or/also... i will find a suitable mountain, also desert biome, and remove it top to bottom (or til i get tired, which usually comes first..)
the only difference is coal.. (and it's not really that different, as iron, nitrate and lead can also be found nearby..) which tends to, at least, start
out as a traditional underground mine..
enjoy it? .. yep, sometimes it's all i really feel like doing.. hold down a mouse button and walk back n forth
Tahaan
New member
I tried a 9x9 open mine centered on the ore marker once. It took soooooo much longer to get a few full stacks. I tried it because I wanted to see if it was worth it with not losing any ore to falling into the nothing.
It wasn't.
Might be I try that again in the desert since the sand keeps causing me to lose my shale ore nodules. I hate it when they fall and I can't harvest them.
It wasn't.
Might be I try that again in the desert since the sand keeps causing me to lose my shale ore nodules. I hate it when they fall and I can't harvest them.
Yeah it's an art, an art of almost killing myself with falling rocks.
Seriously though I mark each ore I see around my base on the map, build a small hut around it, plop a junk turret down then go to work.
Today I found a mine with lead, nitrate, coal & iron all together, 'tis a beautiful thing.
I enjoy it once I get steel tools or an auger cause of all the XP I get
Seriously though I mark each ore I see around my base on the map, build a small hut around it, plop a junk turret down then go to work.
Today I found a mine with lead, nitrate, coal & iron all together, 'tis a beautiful thing.
I enjoy it once I get steel tools or an auger cause of all the XP I get
RipClaw
Well-known member
I usually use an open pit. I search for the nodes on the surface and mark with frames an area around the nodes. Then I remove the dirt and the rock layer by layer. Sometimes I extend this area when I see that a vein continues in a certain direction. If you only want to mine one resource then this method is not very efficient but I get stone and clay in addition to the resource.
Sometimes I also simply dig into a mountain diagonally until I come across a vein and then follow the resources and the gravel.
In general I enjoy mining. But currently there are problems with the heat map. Even if I don't use the Auger but the pickaxe I often get screamers when I mine iron or lead. This is apparently because I have set the day to 120 minutes and the "heat" does not dissipate quickly enough.
Sometimes I also simply dig into a mountain diagonally until I come across a vein and then follow the resources and the gravel.
In general I enjoy mining. But currently there are problems with the heat map. Even if I don't use the Auger but the pickaxe I often get screamers when I mine iron or lead. This is apparently because I have set the day to 120 minutes and the "heat" does not dissipate quickly enough.
A Nice Cup of Tea
New member
My plan is to do the minimum amount to get what I need. I therefore usually just break surface rocks - but occasionally if I break a surface ore node I'll dig out a handful of blocks beneath it for more ore.
Don't do enough of it to know.
Not in the slightest. It's tedious busywork and all I can think of when doing it is that I could be having so much fun doing other things. I therefore set up the game settings so that I need to do minimal mining (basically by turning Blood Moons off - no blood moons equals no horde base to build and repair equals no need to mine resources).
First, I find a hill or surface area that is raised from the rest of the ground. I’m not sure if this matters, but I find I have more luck under hills than flat ground. Then, I dig a hole straight down until I get to elevation of 12-14. That’s deep enough that surface zombies won’t hear you. Then, I tunnel in each direction. I usually try to tunnel into the surface hills, if they are around.
I go 30-40 blocks in one direction, if I don’t find anything, I will change directions and keep tunneling until I find something. Sometimes I find it right away, and it’s a jackpot of resources, other times I have to search for a bit. But it usually works really well.
I go 30-40 blocks in one direction, if I don’t find anything, I will change directions and keep tunneling until I find something. Sometimes I find it right away, and it’s a jackpot of resources, other times I have to search for a bit. But it usually works really well.
Scyris
New member
I start from the surface of the ore node, dig down till I hit ore, then go layer by layer down, strip mining it, this results in no lost ore, I work on one layer till its all gone then start the one below it. Sometimes I dig random holes down until there is no more ore, so I can put some wood frames in for support. Which is usually 4-6 blocks down though i've seen it go higher than 12+ rarely, from when the ore pile starts underground. The downside to this mining style is your close to the surface, so its very easy for zombies to hear you if they pass by, but this way you don't waste any ore due to accdentaly collapses.
I usually dont do much mining till later game after I got at least steel tools or better an Auger, iron tools takes too long to mine ore with, so if those are all I have I just get what I need and get out of the mine. A few game hours with an auger and high str/mining perks and you can get 3-4 stacks of mats out of 1 mine which is usually enough to last a really long time.
The other reason I don't mine much till late game is I usually do my mining at night, gives me something to do at night thats sort-of safer than trying to clear pois at night. I'd prefer to have a decent gun or at least a pump shotgun and some ammo at the minimum before I really try to mine much.
I generally mark every single node I see, Especially the rarer stuff like Nitrates.
Besides if your into turret cheating, you can just drop a junk turret or 2 right by the entrance up top. Turret cheating is using junk turrets anywhere but horde night, especially cheating if your using them to help clear a poi period, even more so if you perk in it as they are pretty damn OP even unperked. They are OP due to the damn near perma flinch/knockdown they can do even unperked. IMO they should get disabled after 1 hit from a zombie till repaired, and have the zombies focus on it the second one is put down.
I usually dont do much mining till later game after I got at least steel tools or better an Auger, iron tools takes too long to mine ore with, so if those are all I have I just get what I need and get out of the mine. A few game hours with an auger and high str/mining perks and you can get 3-4 stacks of mats out of 1 mine which is usually enough to last a really long time.
The other reason I don't mine much till late game is I usually do my mining at night, gives me something to do at night thats sort-of safer than trying to clear pois at night. I'd prefer to have a decent gun or at least a pump shotgun and some ammo at the minimum before I really try to mine much.
I generally mark every single node I see, Especially the rarer stuff like Nitrates.
Besides if your into turret cheating, you can just drop a junk turret or 2 right by the entrance up top. Turret cheating is using junk turrets anywhere but horde night, especially cheating if your using them to help clear a poi period, even more so if you perk in it as they are pretty damn OP even unperked. They are OP due to the damn near perma flinch/knockdown they can do even unperked. IMO they should get disabled after 1 hit from a zombie till repaired, and have the zombies focus on it the second one is put down.
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Tahaan
New member
I usually go out to get one particular type of ore.
Starting from the node on top I go straight down about 10 to 12 blocks. Uusually by this time you find that you're surrounded in pure ore. I then keep aiming for the actual ore blocks and avoid everything else.
This results in random holes that tends to go deeper and deeper. The entrance is often above a hole that 20-50 blocks deep! I want to post DANGER - KEEP OUT signs at my mine entrances.
I don't go mining without a shotgun and a ton of wood. To exit I build a ladder and nerd-pole the last 10 blocks or so. Getting back in is a bit of an art. Don't just pick up all the blocks since there is almost always a point where there are no more blocks below but you're still farabove the bottom of the pit...
But by then you can see the "stairs" to a side and take those!
The thing I love about these mines is what they look like after some time. It turns into this weird twisty cavern. It is also very efficient since I don't spend time digging out anything except the ore I want, and save on repairing the tool.
There are a few tricks and exceptions. Firstly is often the ore can be mostly obscured by non-ore blocks on both sides. You need to know where to look - the thin line between the two adjacent blocks, as they kind of meld / flow into one another, will be a different color and texture.
Secondly I hate it when blocks fall and go lost (or fall on me) so for that purpose I dig out loose sand that can come down and which doesn't have the strength to support anything on top of it.
Lastly, ore markers shows on the map. Run to a grey / black /white-ish dot and compare the above-ground node with the color and size on the map. Remember this because that's the marker for that type of ore.
Since my mines often (well... always) have vertical entrance shafts, I always put down a two or three stack high tower of frames next to the entrance because driving into them is iritating. In multi-player games I adorn this little tower with some signs stating what is in the mine.
I don't use turrets. Having to move them all the time is tedious and I just switch to the AK and shoot whatever XP walks into the mine. I don't often brace the mine, but I do build structures in the mine if I want to go dig things high up on the walls. Once a mine have a few of these, it really starts to look like a mine.
Starting from the node on top I go straight down about 10 to 12 blocks. Uusually by this time you find that you're surrounded in pure ore. I then keep aiming for the actual ore blocks and avoid everything else.
This results in random holes that tends to go deeper and deeper. The entrance is often above a hole that 20-50 blocks deep! I want to post DANGER - KEEP OUT signs at my mine entrances.
I don't go mining without a shotgun and a ton of wood. To exit I build a ladder and nerd-pole the last 10 blocks or so. Getting back in is a bit of an art. Don't just pick up all the blocks since there is almost always a point where there are no more blocks below but you're still farabove the bottom of the pit...
But by then you can see the "stairs" to a side and take those!
The thing I love about these mines is what they look like after some time. It turns into this weird twisty cavern. It is also very efficient since I don't spend time digging out anything except the ore I want, and save on repairing the tool.
There are a few tricks and exceptions. Firstly is often the ore can be mostly obscured by non-ore blocks on both sides. You need to know where to look - the thin line between the two adjacent blocks, as they kind of meld / flow into one another, will be a different color and texture.
Secondly I hate it when blocks fall and go lost (or fall on me) so for that purpose I dig out loose sand that can come down and which doesn't have the strength to support anything on top of it.
Lastly, ore markers shows on the map. Run to a grey / black /white-ish dot and compare the above-ground node with the color and size on the map. Remember this because that's the marker for that type of ore.
Since my mines often (well... always) have vertical entrance shafts, I always put down a two or three stack high tower of frames next to the entrance because driving into them is iritating. In multi-player games I adorn this little tower with some signs stating what is in the mine.
I don't use turrets. Having to move them all the time is tedious and I just switch to the AK and shoot whatever XP walks into the mine. I don't often brace the mine, but I do build structures in the mine if I want to go dig things high up on the walls. Once a mine have a few of these, it really starts to look like a mine.
Theodryck
New member
In the play through I'm doing now in Navezgane, I'm to the point where I can use my steel pickaxe faster than I can the auger. Two whacks and presto! But I've maxed out the resource collecting and mining trees and gotten most of the books, so that does help...as well as the mods I have on my pick and shovel.
As for my pattern? It can best be described as random meandering. I follow the vein to the best of my ability. And once I get into a mine, I'll completely scour it for any last trace of those precious minerals. I always start by digging straight down beneath my home base and then expanding from there until I find something good. Now I have a gargantuan cavern beneath my home...which hasn't collapsed yet. The only mineral I have to chase down is shale...which we all know can be found anywhere in the desert. Yet that mine *did* collapse on me after like two minutes...
As for my pattern? It can best be described as random meandering. I follow the vein to the best of my ability. And once I get into a mine, I'll completely scour it for any last trace of those precious minerals. I always start by digging straight down beneath my home base and then expanding from there until I find something good. Now I have a gargantuan cavern beneath my home...which hasn't collapsed yet. The only mineral I have to chase down is shale...which we all know can be found anywhere in the desert. Yet that mine *did* collapse on me after like two minutes...
Used to do that in 16 when surface mining was not so damn effective. Now that the nodes are clearly marked I usually just dig a big ass hole. You get resource SO FAST now. Last mining trip I cam back with 100k in iron in a single day. Not sure if I will ever mine again in this current run...
canadianbluebeer
New member
Grand Canyone Strip Mining.
I'll dig out the entire collection of ores, collapsing the dirt/rock as required. A few times, I've dug down to put supports, but that's kinda rare.
Making darts and bullits takes a lotta resources.
(oh, and yeah, I kinda over do it)
I'll dig out the entire collection of ores, collapsing the dirt/rock as required. A few times, I've dug down to put supports, but that's kinda rare.
Making darts and bullits takes a lotta resources.
(oh, and yeah, I kinda over do it)
I do that so I can efficiently mine without worry of zombies or animals attacking me. When I get an auger, I can fill my bag in only a few game hours, unload at the base, then repeat. I like doing this at night too, since it’s safe to stay there for hours. Just need a stack of repair kits, fuel, and food/water.
theFlu
Well-known member
Depends on the game; if I'm focusing on a base, I'll do mines at bedrock - I will always appreciate the tunnels and stone from it. Once I run into a vein I want, I start by separating it from the surrounding stone above and on the sides by one block, removing the gravels as well. This prevents any collapses pretty well. Then just choose a cutting point from which I'll shave the vein down to bedrock, layer by layer, while respecting some kind of a navigable path of course.
If I'm more questing/looting oriented but happen to want something mined, just a straightforward strip mine. Find a vein, dig down, collapse it wide open.. maintain two exits for any visitors. IF settings require, some easy defenses.. turrets/towers/bunkers etc.
If I'm more questing/looting oriented but happen to want something mined, just a straightforward strip mine. Find a vein, dig down, collapse it wide open.. maintain two exits for any visitors. IF settings require, some easy defenses.. turrets/towers/bunkers etc.
Boidster
New member
I LIEK MIENING
Ever since the diggers, I do open-pit mines with wood frames/ladders to get to the bottom. Junk turret at the bottom to alert me to any intruders. Once the pit gets deep enough I'll mine underground rooms into the walls (following ore veins) and put up supports as needed.
I find mining somewhat relaxing, and do it when my co-op partner isn't in the game. I'm the base-fixer when he's offline.
Ever since the diggers, I do open-pit mines with wood frames/ladders to get to the bottom. Junk turret at the bottom to alert me to any intruders. Once the pit gets deep enough I'll mine underground rooms into the walls (following ore veins) and put up supports as needed.
I find mining somewhat relaxing, and do it when my co-op partner isn't in the game. I'm the base-fixer when he's offline.