Runescape 3 Mining Guide

Mining More Efficiently

We’re going to take a look at how mining works in RuneScape 3. We’ll go over the basics of getting started with mining, as well as some of the more advanced techniques that can help you get the most out of your time spent mining. RuneScape 3 has been around for almost 10 years, but the “series” is 20 years old and it still has a dedicated playerbase. Over the years, players have found many ways to mine efficiently. Whether you’re a complete novice or a seasoned pro, this guide will have something for you.

It can be daunting at first but using this guide will help players to understand the basics increase your RuneScape gold along the way. 

Are you ready? Of course, you are, let’s go!

What Is Mining?

Mining is a type of gathering skill in RuneScape 3. This skill allows the player to get materials needed for crafting from mining veins. Your mining skill starts at level 1 with a maximum level of 99. It will take a long time to reach level 99 so don’t try to rush it. Mining is a great way to collect ores to sell and earn RS3 gold or craft necessary RuneScape items. You can find a lot of rocks to mine at mining sites.

How Exactly Does Mining Work In RuneScape 3?

Mining in RuneScape 3 works a little differently compared to other games. Other MMOs, mining veins/ores can be depleted. You will then have to wait for that vein to respawn after a certain amount of time. This can lead to materials becoming hard to find since other players can mine them as well. 

This isn’t the case with RuneScape 3. Mining veins never deplete and can be mined indefinitely. You can also continue to mine at the same location for as long as you want. Things can start to get even more complex when you factor in stamina, pickaxe types, and critical hits. Don’t worry I will cover these below in a little bit. 

Now, if you want to mine a certain vein or rock you will need a pickaxe (more on that later) and go to a mining location. When you start mining the rock you want, you’ll see that each swing gives you some experience and each swing also increases a light blue progress bar. Once that progress bar is filled, you will gain the ore from that vein and the bar is reset to do again.

The great thing about mining in RuneScape 3 is that you can do it while you are not playing the game. So, if you want to start mining an ore vein and then go make a sandwich or something, then you can do that. Though you will be losing out on precious experience per hour if you don’t watch your stamina.

Once you reach level 15 in the mining skill you will gain a stamina bar. This stamina bar provides some extra benefits if kept in check.

Stamina

Stamina is another mechanic added once the player reaches level 15 in the mining skill. So, earlier I mentioned you can go AFK (away from keyboard), however, the stamina mechanics helps players stay more engaged. Your stamina increases how much damage you do to a vein. A full stamina bar does the most, while an empty stamina bar will deal much less, 80% less compared to a full stamina bar. How much stamina you have is determined by your mining skill level and your agility.

If you want to gain the most ore and experience per hour, it is best to be semi-engaged when mining. However, it isn’t necessary if you just want to go AFK for a bit to gain some extra materials and experience while you are doing something else. It is also important to know what pickaxe you should be using.

Pickaxe Level

Your pickaxe also comes into play if you want to mine ores efficiently. Different types of rocks require the player to have a certain mining level. The player’s mining level also determines what pickaxes they can use. Players should look to acquire a better pickaxe every 10 levels. This is how the rock veins are leveled as well. If you decide to use a lower-level pickaxe on a higher-level rock, then the pickaxe will do less damage, thus filling up the progress bar much slower. This is because of the pickaxe’s penetration and rock’s hardness stat.

If your pickaxe has an equal or higher amount of penetration then you will be doing the maximum amount of damage to the rock, gaining the normal amount of ores and experience. Pickaxes that are levels below the ore vein will have a lower penetration than the rock’s hardness stat. To check the attributes of any mineral rock, right-click on it and prospect it. A tooltip will pop-up showing all of the attributes like hitpoints and the rock’s level requirement.

Critical Swings and Rockertunities

The higher your mining skill, the higher your chance of doing a critical swing to a vein. Critical swings do more damage to rocks, increasing the overall rate of increasing the progress bar. Which means you will be getting ores and experience much faster.

It is also best to be on the lookout for rockertunities. Rockertunities are opportunities to gain more experience and ore while mining. When you are mining a rock, a nearby rock of the same type will start glowing. Clicking on this rock will increase your damage for one swing. More damage will increase the progress bar faster, meaning more ore and experience overall. This is another way to keep the player engaged while mining, along with the stamina mechanic.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! This RuneScape 3 mining guide should give you a good foundation to get started along. Mining can be a great way to make some extra RS3 gold if you are just starting in the game or are playing for free. Keep in mind that this is just one of many ways to make money in RuneScape 3. Do you have any other tips to share? Let us know in the comments below!