A lot has changed with gathering in TWW – make sure you read the Gathering guide first!
Knowledge Treasures (24 points)
- /way #2339 36.7, 79.2 Dornogal Chisel (Mining)
- /way #2248 58.1, 62.0 Earthen Miner’s Gavel (Mining)
- /way #2214 66.2, 66.3 Regenerating Ore (Mining)
- /way #2214 49.4, 27.7 Earthen Excavator’s Shovel (Mining)
- /way #2215 46.0, 64.4 Arathi Precision Drill (Mining)
- /way #2215 43.0, 56.7 Devout Archaeologist’s Excavator (Mining)
- /way #2213 46.6 21.8 Heavy Spider Crusher (Mining)
- /way #2216 48.3, 40.8 Nerubian Mining Supplies (Mining)
Tools of the Trade
- Specialty Bag: Excavator’s Haversack – The cooldown of Overload Empowered Deposit is reduced by an additional 1% when mining
- BiS Accessories:
- Aqirite Miner’s Headgear (engineer made, +11 skill)
- Miner’s Aqirite Hoard (engineer made, +11 skill)
- BiS Tool: Artisan Pickaxe (bs made, +18 skill, customizable secondary stat, can be enchanted)
- Phial of Truesight: gives a bonus to Perception & lets you see camouflaged herbs
Ore types, and where to find them
Ores
- Bismuth: found in all zones
- Ironclaw: found in all zones
- Aqirite: All zones except the Isle of Dorn (see camouflaged)
Prefixes
- Crystallized: the most common of the empowered ores, found in all zones
- EZ-Mine: found in all zones
- Webbed: found in all zones
- Weeping: most common in Azj-Kahet. Weeping ironclaw can be found in delves.
- Camouflaged: this is not an empowered node (i.e. you can’t overload it) but you need a phial of truesight to see them. Because they are prefixed, they give mining skill-ups to a much higher level than non-prefixed versions. Camouflaged Aquirite can be found on the Isle of Dorn.
See the “Mining the Mysterious” section for the effects of gathering and overloading the empowered nodes.
Mining Specializations (3)
1. Plethora of Ore
AKA the skill specializatin – get higher quality ore.
The base node improves your skill at gathering by 1 point for every point invested. It also gives you a tiny bit of perception/deftness/finesse.
The secondary nodes improve your skill for gathering a specific type of ore by 1 for each point invested. There is one node for each type of ore in TWW (bismuth, aquirite, ironclaw). You can also find a smattering of perception/deftness/finesse here, which is also specific to the ore type. The secondary nodes will teach you how to refine that ore type as well. Maxing out the secondary nodes increases your chance to gather Null Stones, which is a rare reagent.
2. Mining Fundamentals
AKA the mounted gathering specialization – gather faster/better & while mounted.
The base node boosts finesse, and its capstone ability is mounted gathering.
The secondary nodes give improvements (primarily skill) for gathering from rich deposits and seams.
3. Mining the Mysterious
AKA the Overload specialization – get valuable rare reagents from rare ore deposits.
The base node gives you the ability to Overload empowered deposits and gives you +1 skill per point invested to harvest these special types. Investing in it also reduces the CD of the overload ability.
The 4 secondary nodes improve your abilities (primarily skill) when gathering the specific empowered type, and makes gathering from that type reduce the CD of Overload. Unlocking the node lessens any harmful effects from gathering that type of ore.
The table below tries to sum up the key points about the empowered deposits, the bad thing that happens if you try to gather it, the overload effect, and what reagents you can get from them. We’ll update it as we learn more.
| Prefix | Gathering Effect | Overload Effect | Accesses to Reagent | Secondary Capstone Ability |
| Crystallized | Gives you a 3% secondary stat buff and protects against the negative effects of altered and weeping nodes (2 min, extendable) | Portal to another ore node (one way unless you unlock the Crystallized secondary node) | Crystalline Powder | Get more reagent |
| Weeping | Poison | Summons creature | Writhing Sample | Get more reagent from summoned creature |
| EZ-Mine | Spits out dynamite around it, which are time-delayed explosions to avoid. The further you are from the node, the longer it takes to mine. | Stops spitting out dynamite, but starts a countdown timer for a single large explosion (instakill) and spawns a bunch of mini nodes- mine fast and get out before the timer goes off. | Pile of Rusted Scrap (engineers only) | Mine faster to avoid explosion |
| Webbed | Roots you | Summons spindlepsiders – this seems to be bugged right now. | Weavercloth | Summons more spindlespiders |
Suggestions
Getting Started:
There are 2 competing top priorities- mounted gathering vs. universal skill – so it’s going to come down to your personal preferences. Hopefully this side by side comparison will help you decide…
Mounted Gathering
Mounted gathering is a huge quality of life improvement, and makes gathering go faster. Remember, “Time is money, friends”.
If you’re on an undergeared alt, or just don’t like getting into combat when you gather, flying lets you avoid a lot of unpleasant situations.
Specialization to start with: Mining Fundamentals
Universal Skill
Quality 2-3 mats are going to be hugely valuable given the nerfs in their drop rate for TWW, and you’re not going to get any with a low skill.
Specialization to start with: Plethora of Ore
Later On:
Work on filling up the base nodes of Plethora and Fundamentals first. After that, I’d recommend investing in the Plethora→Bismuth subnode, and fill it until the end to increase your chance of finding Null Stones, which are in very high demand by crafters. Bismuth is also in very high demand, and the fundamentals of BS and Engineering use vast amounts of it.