WoW Archeology Guide: The Unique Essentials That You Absolutely Need
With a vast and seemingly endless universe containing so many hidden relics, World of Warcraft is the ideal place for archeologists, right? Okay, but you need a WoW Archeology Guide in order to make the most of your archeological endeavors!
Undoubtedly though, Archeology has to be one of the most interesting professions in the whole game. Introduced during Cataclysm as a secondary profession, Archeology is arguably the perfect profession for anyone even remotely interested in the lore or just those who like to dig around for relics.
And yes, in today’s post I’ll have the honor to present an easy to digest guide that’s meant to be helpful to all sorts of players. Whether you’re a hardcore veteran, a casual or a completely new player, your career as a WoW archeologist is in safe hands – just read on!
Table of Contents
How Archeology works in 5 easy steps
Before we move onto more high-level specific information, let me walk you through the key mechanics of this profession and how it actually works.
1. You start by getting the Apprentice Archeology skill
The minimum level to do that is 20 and once you’ve acquired it, you’ll receive a new ability called Survey. Subsequently, your character will be able to track the location of possible dig sites on the map. These dig sites are displayed as shovels on your map and in order to find a specific dig site, all that you have to do is heading to a shovel icon.
2. Choose a dig site on your map and go there
The shovels on the map represent a loose estimate of where the exact location of a dig site is. Just head over to the particular area that interests you, where you’ll be using your new unique ability.
3. Use your ‘Survey’ ability
When you get to a particular location and you use Survey, a sort of a telescope will show up, guiding you towards the right direction using colors:
- Green – pretty near (under 30 yards)
- Yellow – close (30-70 yards)
- Red – far from your location (over 70 yards away)
Note that this device will always point at the precise location of the actual dig site, the only variable would be how far you’re from it.
Oh, and most of you can rejoice because in Legion dig sites tend to be much more condensed and Blizzard even added a new feature that we’ll discuss next.
4. When you’re at the right spot, a shovel will pop up over your char’s head
After you’ve most likely spent some time searching for precious relics, you’ll finally find the exact location of the dig site. Thanks to a fresh game mechanic, a shovel will appear over your head so that you’re 100% certain that you’re where you should be.
Then all that’s left is to use your Survey skill so that you acquire fragments of a particular type (think of them as pieces of certain relics). Keep in mind that dig sites generally offer more than one fragment type.
5. Gather enough fragments of the same kind and rebuild a relic
Each fragment that you gather brings you one step closer to restoring a particular relic.
After you’ve gathered enough fragments of a specific kind, you’ll be able to successfully reconstruct an artifact, thus receiving phat lootz (the geeky term for an award).
The award would be a unique item with a specific history that you’ll be able to find in the Archeology tab.
How to level your Archeology to 800
With the introduction of Legion in 2016, Blizz decided to make a few tweaks and adjustments to Archeology. One of them was a brand-new construction in Dalaran that’s meant to be the home to all archeologists in Azeroth (and beyond).
This distinctive building is a place for getting quests or just flaunting your pristine artifacts. Also, it’s where your journey towards archeology 800 starts:
- Find and talk to Dariness the Learned(she’s inside the Archeology building) so that you can get Excavator’s Notebook (need to be minimum lvl 90)
- Go dig in any of the 3 dig sites found in Legion
- Every dig site comes with 9 zones and digging in every zone grants you 1 skill point
- Solves that are of common-quality award you 5 points
- Alternatively, you can go for elite dig sites in the Broken Isles – they are represented by a golden shovel on the map and you have a higher chance of acquiring scrolls and artifact power with each dig there
Now, let’s take a look at some new intriguing solves were released with the launch of Legion.
The brand-new solves for Archeology
1. Highborne archeology fragment (total cap: 200)
Keystone: Ancient Suramar Scroll
Rare solves:
- Starlight Beacon – Can only be used in the Broken Isles
- Crown Jewels of Suramar – You can vendor it for 5k gold
- Key of Kalyndras – Grants you access to a special side room inside the Black Rook Hold
- Key to Nar’thalas Academy – Gives you the ability to a forgotten version of the Nar’thalas Academy
2. Demonic archeology fragment (total cap: 200)
Keystone: Mark of the Deceiver
Rare solves:
- Blood of Young Mannoroth
- Crystalline Eye of Undravius – When you use it, all NPCs and players will become demons (it’s a purely cosmetic feature)
- Imp Generator – Unique-equipped trinket
- Purple Hills of Mac’Aree – Adds 1k artifact power to a currently equipped artifact
- Wyrmy Tunkins – Summons a pet
3. High mountain Tauren archeology fragment(total cap: 200)
Keystone: Highmountain ritual-stone
Rare solves:
- Spear of Rethu – Available for Druid (Feral/Guardian), Hunter (Survival) and Monk (Brewmaster)
- Shard of Sciallax – Bind-to-account relic
- Spirit of Eche’ro – Summons a mount (spectral moose)
- Prizerock Neckband – Neckpiece that has three prismatic sockets
Conclusion
Knowing how to make the most of your adventures as an archeologist in World of Warcraft is essential if you want to have a good time and optimize your reward-potential.
That’s why I highlighted some straightforward and uncomplicated methods of progressing to Archeology 800 after you get past level 90 and I’ve also dedicated a decent portion of the post to how archeology works and what are its core game mechanics.
Now feel free to drop us a comment in the comment section below with your opinion about the current state of archeology and what helps you get it to max level.
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