Wow archaeology why do it

These sites have a higher chance to contain keystones and Artifact Power but are otherwise identical to other dig sites. To search a dig site, use the [ Survey ] ability. A theodolite will spawn, pointing in the approximate direction of a find; it looks like a telescope with a small flashing light on a pole next to it. The color of the light and the rate at which it flashes tell you how far you are from a find: red means you are far away, yellow means you are close, and green means you may be within 40 yards or so.

The precise ranges for the different light colors vary depending on the site, with larges sites having longer ranges. When you loot your find, you'll get several fragments specific to a particular race, and may get a keystone. Each site yields only finds specific to one race. Note that unearthed archaeology finds will despawn if they aren't looted quickly enough, so be careful about surveying in combat.

Also remember that if you are having some difficulty seeing your find, it will automatically show up on the minimap , just as herbs and minerals do with [ Find Herbs ] and [ Find Minerals ]. Although each archaeology site can have six finds unearthed at a time, only one node is active at a time: once the first find is unearthed, the location of the second find is randomly selected, it is possible to unearth two or even six finds in a row at the exact same location.

Once the third find is unearthed the dig site despawns and a new site spawns somewhere else on the continent. There are two main strategies to surveying. The first strategy involves attempting to triangulate by moving around the outer edge of a dig site. However, due to the inaccuracy of the directional indicator the find may be anywhere in a frontal cone of about 75 degrees this will often prove to not provide sufficient information for locating finds.

The farther away from the theodolite , the greater the area that can include the find. The second strategy involves some orienteering , heading in the general direction indicated and for approximate distance indicated and survey again from that position, to "zero in" on the artifacts, using geographical landmarks to help locate finds.

Being aware of the landscape can help locate finds as well. Consider that the fragments are not "randomly" placed. Spawn points were placed by designers who utilize their "design aesthetics" in placing them.

Consider the landscape and proximity to geographic features and existing non-fragment ruins and animal bones when choosing a location to survey.

This can speed up your location of fragments. The fact that each digsite contains only a few nodes could allow gathering addons such as Gatherer or Gather Mate to aid in archaeology. Addons such as Archaeology Helper, S. As the spawn points are not random, try surveying on the spot after finding your first and second fragment.

It is entirely possible for the next one to be within reach, and even to spawn in the exact same spot as the last one. When you get a new kind of fragment, you'll start a research project. You can only work on one artifact per race at a time. When you have enough fragments, click Solve to complete that artifact. You cannot waste excess fragments: if you have leftover fragments, they will just apply to the next project.

You can accordingly save up to fragments of one kind and solve several projects in a row. Most artifacts are common. These give a bit of lore or flavor text and an item you can sell for a small profit. You can estimate the value of the artifact by the number of fragments required to finish it. Some artifacts are rare, and make a blue or purple item.

Many of these are toys, or for flavor, but some are actual weapons and armor. Weapons and armor are bound to account , but will not scale like heirlooms do. Also, such artifacts can only be solved once per character. Archaeology uses the same leveling scheme as the other secondary professions.

Players begin as apprentices with zero skill points, and gain points by practicing archaeology skills. Players may reach skill points in archaeology. At all levels, players receive one skill point for every successful collection of archaeology fragments, five skill points for creating a common artifact, and 15 skill points for completing a rare artifact.

Previous to Patch 4. For example, say you want Tyrande's Favorite Doll , a rare Night Elf find which can be discovered after skill. While leveling, dig all the available Night Elf digsites, but level up by completing artifacts for other races until you reach Then complete your Night Elf artifacts. This is likely to save you digging in the long run, as you are not wasting your Night Elf fragments before they could potentially be used to discover Tyrande's Favorite Doll.

Don't plan your gear set around Archaeology finds. They are called rares for a reason. I love the option of double-right-clicking on the screen to survey. Broken as of 20 Feb, here is the bugfix. Archaeology Helper doesn't do a lot else but is brilliant at narrowing down where to survey use it with GatherMate 2. Num Lock is usually the auto-run toggle. Lots of people are complaining about the travel time; it feels like a plus to me because I get a lot of reading done.

In any case, minimising the amount of time staring at your screen will make Archaeology feel a lot less mind-numbing. Comment by While enjoying Archaeology I have written a guide for my guild. Several people have suggested publishing it here, so: Here it is. It contains help with starting up, leveling, finding items, completing the achievements and more.

I hope it is of help to you on your artifact finding ventures. Comment by Not sure why, but the Eastern Kingdoms are way easier to fly due to higher and more consistent altitude limits. In Kalmidor the upper limit is lower than the treetops in many cases. Setting a course and alt-tabbing out is problematic in Kalmidor, because either the upper limit halts progress or some obstruction like a tree or a zone-wall does.

Every Kalmidor zone seems to have a wildly different height limit, so constant attention to pathing is required. Then use the Dalaran portal to get to the Caverns of time. That helps you get to the Tol'Vir items or items in the lower half of Kalimdor very quickly.

Note: You have to do some quests before these portals open. These save a lot of time. Comment by Just curious if anyone has run into this yet, and if so, if it is actually related to the Archaeology profession? Twice now I have been working on rare artifact completions, and twice now, at two separate locations both troll dig sites after I picked up a set of fragments, I had a voice play across my speakers.

It says, "You will die". I had another voice over happen at a a dwarf ruin, but I could not make out what it said, due to some unfortunate background noise drowning it out. Can anyone else confirm they have heard anything similar while working on Archaeology?

I am at and have solved 7 rare artifacts at the time of this posting. The first time I heard the voice was after I was and had solved 6 rare artifacts.

Update: Received a strange voice again stating "You will die. Confirmed with a guild mate that he also is receiving voice-overs when picking up keystones. Edit: Downgraded? I don't understand. This is a legitimate question. This specific topic has not even been broached on this item as far as I can tell.

Comment by atributz With the addon Archy unable to determine a more precise mechanics of excavation. Size of location really does not affect on the light bulb. Comment by hotdogee 7 new Tol'vir digsites were added in patch 4. Comment by Jwang I am the bone of my pick Luck is my god and patience is my virtue I have solved over a thousand projects Unknown to dungeons nor known to raids Having withstood madness to follow the pointer Yet these hands will never hold epics So as I pray Comment by jahf Well, after 92 commons finds, 14 rare finds, and innumerable duplicates all I can say is: Night Elves were some serious litterbugs.

They were still a hereditary monarchy until very, very recently. It's more of a misnomer to call the artifacts Night Elf artifacts, as they still tell important stories of all elves. Tyrande was around at the time of the sundering and Kael'thas was the grandson of the leader of the Highborne that were exiled by Malfurion. Meaning a lot of these artifacts are from times in the living memory of the elves. And yes, I'm aware that there is some question as to whether the Sunwell actually granted immortality.

My point is that all elves are usually extremely long lived and what can be discovered about their culture from archaeology can be answered by simply asking an elf who was there or who is just a generation or two behind.

It would be more interesting to see human and gnome artifacts. Yes humans descended from Vyrkul and gnomes were created along side the Earthen dwarven anscestors , but both races don't have nearly the life span most elves seem to. Meaning that there is a much bigger possibility of learning something not currently known about both peoples. Or why are there only one type of Trolly aritfacts? My long winded point is this: While the elves have diverged culturally with each other, for them it has only been a couple of generations, and in some cases, within their lifetime.

It makes sense that the artifacts aren't split yet. Comment by Evilry Tips for painful repeated "Red" indicators: If you get your first dig a red, then don't mount and move. Simply dig few more at that same spot. You will see the indicator direction changes. It effectively reduces the target area of the next stop. Once you are confidence of your next move, mount and go. You will usually get it close. Comment by Yakuza9 Can someone tell me what is the last freaking icon on the archaeology profession window!

Do I need the expansion to use this skill? Comment by George14 Archaeology will be used to summon random and optional bosses in Zul'Gurub. Comment by Swordy Outlands seems like an easier grind when it's available.

There are only two races, and everything found can use at least 2 keystones. The downside is that the rares take a lot more digs to complete, while only allowing the usual cap of 3 keystones. Comment by jokerdonny Seven more rare artifacts to be added in 4.

Comment by karioth I'm pretty sure that archaeology has already claimed more souls than Frostmourne. Comment by JoyCrux Anyone wondering what the new Archy items are for 4. Comment by If Cold Blood is active while you survey, your pick will look frostier. Comment by My method for making Archaelogy go a bit faster in addition to other comments already posted here I'm a level 85 mage at around skill at Archaeology now Create key bindings for "Survey" and for summoning your flying mount - it saves a lot of time over having to mouse over and click a button.

I have a separate action bar for non-combat where I put these. I also have a few combat keys in case a mob attacks me. Initially, the mobs are low level so I typically ignore them, even if they are attacked me, as long as the don't interrupt my surveying.

When I find the artifact, i will zap any that are still on me. After you survey, run in the direction on of the telescope duh! Technique: If you point the camera straight down and zoom out, I find it makes it easier to imagine the staight line the I should run along.

Alternatively, try to line up the barrel of the telescope with your character i. It is not super-important to be exact, I have found this to be one of those time saving things since it saves on the number of surveys I do. It will seem like this takes more time at first but after you practice you will be able to line it up very quickly. If the survey is green - run for a "relaxed" count of 4 in your head.

This is usually enought to get me right to the artifact if I line up properly. If I get another green, I will run for 3 seconds, then 2. Since everyone counts at a different speed you'll need to figure out what works best for you. If it is yellow - run for a count of 8 or twice what you do for green.

If you run in a wall during this time, just stop and survey again to judge the direction and use your summon mount hotkey from step 1 to fly over the wall in the right direction. Just land on the other side of the wall and survey again. Same thing if you reach the bottom of a cliff wall.

If there is an obstacle you can run around, do that and survey again on the other side. If it is red - run for a count of 10 2 and half times what you do for green. The direction indicator for red has some error in it so isn't worth running too far before surveying again.

If you reach an obstacle, follow the same technique as step 4. As a mage I also Blink here Other things worth repeating: - Don't solve anything until you are no longer getting skill points for find artifacts - Save the artifacts for the race that you really want the reward for - but as someone else noted, there is a cap of I would say don't go out of your way for them but if they are nearby go ahead and use them - you still get a skill-up for solving fossil fragments.

Once you get closer to being skill-capped I imagine it makes less sense to solve fossil - Use up the "keystones" to get the skill-up - they count as 12 fragments.

I don't see any reason to save them up. The Archaeology skill required to summon the boss is only Confirmed by being and not being able to, solved an artifact and was and able to. Blizzard likes to use increments of no less than 5 for their requirements. Enjoy getting the archaeology to get some easy loot.

Comment by Note that patch 4. Because these quests require you to redeem 3 Key Stones from each of the races, it has become wise to save all of your Key Stones such as the Highborne Scroll , rather than using them to solve artifacts unless of course you are anxious and willing to use up your Key Stones to solve a rare artifact.

Comment by Gameeommy If a race is pulsating in the Archeology tab, it means that you have enough fragments to complete an artifact. It's just there to get your attention. Comment by Do rare items have priorities? All I have left to complete are the BoAs. I made all the way to the Professor title and beyond and still not a single useful item. I've been at 50 for over twenty surveys and not a single level up has happened in that time. So, the advice that tell you to continue to Survey until you get to need to be modified sadly to include the fact that it caps out at Comment by Wordsmith Stand around and watch for a while and you'll see him and his students acting out a familiar scene from Raiders of the Lost Arc!

Comment by If you can't fly, this profession will suck for you, imo. A lot of traveling and moving back and forth. Also use your hearthstone as an advantage. Comment by jd Now that we have all been doing Arch for a while, you have probably reached the point where you have solved all the artifacts for some of the common races e.

Elf and Troll. However, if you are like me you are probably still farming for rarer races e. I would suggest you stop solving artifacts from the races that you have completed. Just collect the fragments as you happen upon them, and then if blizz adds more artifacts in a future patch you will be able to solve many quickly. Comment by I've maxed out archaeology and still grinding it completionist obcessed - I must make one of every item from every race at least once!

I'm chasing Tol'vir fragments the most at the moment. I have discovered a little flight-time efficient method. I start at the northern most digsite in Kalimdor, dig it out regardless of race, then move to the next closest one, rinse and repeat heading south.

Eventually the newly spawning dig sites start moving south with only an occasional one or two popping up north again, so I whizz back and get them and drive them south as well. I have dug out the 4 Uldum sites to find 1 more spawned there as a result, so it is possible to get 5 sites to dig there in a row. I've found this also works with the other continents but to a lesser degree, as to drive them all into the one spot isn't quite as flight efficient, but it does still work somewhat.

For the most part I'm currently now only digging on the other continents as an occasional thing when I'm in the area doing something else anyway; as a short detour to get a dig site done isn't grindy at all but it's still helping gradually make the other race's items. The time I saved is incalculable. Incredibly easy to install and get up and running. I would also suggest to not save any tokens for any one particular item as you are leveling the skill. If you get them now or during a rare, it really does not matter.

They all carry over and count toward your next project. You are simply wasting time by holding on to them. All it does is the obvious, "I can't carry anymore. Comment by maniam How do I start archaeology. Do I need a expansion. The archaeology trainer is blank when I try to train? I'm frustrated spending more time on forums then actual game play. What order to I install the expansion. Why don't they just advertise their expansions in game?

In what order do I need to install expansions? I don't blame my friend for quitting this game. Too much time spent looking for answers. Comment by Archaeology is by far the coolest proffesion in wow. I currently have 2 commons left and 14 rares to go.

Sanity is intact and i have a bunch of neat items that do little or nothing and a few items that are moderately usefull for characters i am leveling. I expect wow will be adding more items i hope with future expansions to keep this a fun aspect of the game.

Comment by Rezler i like it but you will need a fast mount else it's gets boring as hell but you get like epic stuff for all lvls. Naturally, Uldum sites are relatively rare pops, and are my happy, hopeful moments when they do. On the contrary, Desolace seems to favor me the most, somehow, with Night Elf sites there coming up at a much, much higher rate than anywhere else.

Yet, that zone is soooo out of the way from my Stormwind City home, though I can readily teleport to Uldum or Mount Hyjal. Measuring from the map on my screen, to Karnum's Glade in the middle of Desolace, is 9 cm from Ramkahen, or 8.

Occasionally, if I find a helpful mage, it is a not-much-shorter 7 cm from Theramore Isle, but quite an easier flight. Comment by Archaeology was a real fun profession at the start but now I find difficulty to come up with the needed motivation to chase the artifacts. And also some more unique items that can be used for transmog for example. Dungeon archaeology quests are good idea but if they can developed they would be real fun to chase.

For example besides the spell buff you'll get if there would be a drop chance of an unique item with the similar spell on it which can be usable in all dungeons would be nice. Comment by cmarrable Hello I am a lvl 70 Blood Elf, Hoarde, and pretty new to wow, for some reason every arch trainer I go to has nothing for me to learn, have I not done something in order to access this profession I am very curious to see what it is.

Comment by djdelbert can someone tel me what the last fragment is? Comment by Just one more tip. As with any disc, the shortest distance between any point is from the center of the disc.

I know the dig sites are not discs, but they're pretty close. So every time you land on a new dig site, go straight to the middle of it. There is a very big chance you get a yellow or green right on your first survey.

That will depend on the area's size, of course. Some large dig sites, such as the ones in Tanaris, may get you a red one, but go in that direction and you'll find a yellow. Comment by tbrasher level 20 rogue dwarf, want archaeology as secondary, but evertime i go to ironforge and the archaeology trainer nothing happens Comment by LoveHunters For rare items that are account-bound, is it possible to obtain more than one these?

Comment by Tontons Archaeology in MoP's Beta Rules That might be for testing purposes but currently we get 6 digs per digsite up from 3 with fragments per dig if you're level archaeologist. I am currently lvl archaeologist and have no idea if one gets more fragments with lvl archaeology.

Skillups If you were hoping for an easy Realm First! Old common artifacts give no skillup not all races tested, but Tol'vir is tested. Don't know if old rare artifacts give any skillup. Common pandaren artifacts give only 3 skill points per artifact. I haven't checked any rare artifacts here either. Races We've got a new race - Pandaren and 2 more races are currently blank gray for me making it a total of 12 races. I currently see 3 digsites in Pandaria not 4 like in other continents , all in The Jade Forest I suppose for testing, but maybe it's tied to some levelling or just coincidence.

All fragments I have gotten this far are Pandaren. All three of their artifacts needed 50 fragments each and vendored for 1 gold each.

My speculation is that prices are to be changed, but 50 fragments per common artifact might be the policy for common Pandaren artifacts. The artifacts have elaborate texts and normal names and it makes me believe they are almost done icons surely aren't made yet. Comment by christiphor What is the last icon for? And before you say it, no it is not for the Pandaren. I just got attacked in "The Arboretum" whilst doing some Pandaren archaeology by an Ancient Haunt elemental and it dropped a Mogu fragment.

On checking my archaeology tab the last icon had lit up as Mogu so it seems that at least for the beta this is the last icon. It could be that these are only going to drop as loot rather than being discovered by the usual archaeology method. Or it may be that i just haven't been given a Mogu area to survey yet - I'll update when i get more info.

Update- I've just had my first Mogu area to survey around "Terrace of Ten Thunders" so it seems like these fragments can be dug up or potentially drop from some mobs - only had 1 common Mogu project so far. Update- the statues in Mogu and possibly the stones in Pandaren survey areas can spawn the Ancient Spawn mobs that drop Mogu fragments. Comment by d3athraz0r Certainly a fun profession to pass your time with since fishing only brings fish and first aid only brings It's even more fun farming the fragments with a mage alt since you can teleport anywhere on the map without having to wait for boats or ask for portals around , makes it so much easier.

Would be nice implementing new items to the list of things you can dig, would be a primary-non-primary profession for many of us having fun gathering frags. Let's hope they do add new things in the near future! Comment by How a druid does it. RED Turn into a bird, fly and count to three. Comment by Are you only able to do Archaelogy if you have Cata? Comment by I think that Archaeology is the most useful secondary profession in the game Also I think it is easier to do when you get a flying mount because you can get to your Archaeology sites faster.

Comment by Any plans for arch epics in Pandaria, it would be kind of disappointing if Arch didn't give cool stuff like it did in Cata For this turn in, you get 5 Archaeology skill and other rewards. In terms of skill up value, this is cheap, about half of making a typical common for the same 5 skill-ups, and When commons no longer skill you up, this will still skill you up.

It is always 15 fossil fragments, so it is convenient to keep 15 fossil fragments unused and available when Darkmoon Faire gets near, ready to turn in. You are offered this quest when you reach 75 Archaeology skill. Comment by Arjayemm I'm curious whether anyone else has noticed the same pattern with archaeology in Northrend - namely a huge imbalance between the sites coming up for the races.

A bit more balance would seem to be called for. Comment by If you have the Inscription skill, your Minor Inscription Research will leave you with a stack of Scroll of Recall , which teleport you unreliably past level This is a useful feature for Archaeology.

You can every so often 20 minute cooldown teleport to a somewhat random location there are only a few targets of the scroll and check the zone and nearby zones for new Archaeology sites. Another beneficial use of the Scroll of Recall is that a high portion of the random teleports will put you in Gadgetzan in Tanaris. If you need a neutral auction house, you have a fair chance it will take you there.

Comment by Brandonly17 Can anyone tell what the Fragment increase from being a Dwarf is? Is it a overall higher amount of fragments or just an increased chance at them? Theres a Empty looking slot Near the bottom that looks as if a Hat and a pick-axe with other stuff. Any idea How to fill in that slot. This means that no dig sites will appear for that character in Outland or Northrend until he reaches a minimum level for the zones. Sites are race specific.

You can usually guess the race by the location. Some race locations are only available on some continents. You need both a minimum character level and a minimum archaeology level to use some sites. Each digsite can be searched 6 times before it despawns and a new site spawns.

To search a digsite, use the [Survey] ability. The Survey tool will spawn and point in the approximate direction of the artifact. The Survey tool spawns beside you on the ground and looks like a telescope on a tripod. Walk in the direction that the telescope is pointing, and use Survey again.

Repeat doing this until a lootable object appears. The telescope points roughly to the artifact, the closer you are, the more accurate the direction. Beside it is a rod with a light on the top. A red light reading also has the worst accuracy - it is usually best to take several readings to determine the direction. When the green light begins blinking, you are usually within just a few steps of the artifact. When you discover your find, you'll get fragments specific to a particular race.

Note that any race can hunt any other race's artifacts. You are not limited to just yours. There are two main strategies to surveying. You can attempt to triangulate by moving around the outer edge of a digsite. Other people orienteer , simply heading off in the direction indicated until they strike paydirt.

When you have picked up your artifact, be sure to Survey again in that exact spot. Sometimes the artifact will spawn again in the same place. This section concerns content exclusive to Legion. Starting in Legion, when a character is very close to an artifact, a glow with a shovel handle will appear above their head. If they use the [Survey] ability, the lootable object should appear nearby. For each race in archaeology with the exception of Fossil keystones exist that can be randomly looted when searching for fragments.

Any fragments that go over the amount needed to complete the current artifact will carry over to the next puzzle. It is worth noting that keystones are not bind-on-pickup, and as such can be sold on the auction house or passed to other characters if you do not need them for your own archaeology.

They can also be used at the entrance to Cataclysm dungeons to provide a buff to the entire party, though each dungeon requires a specific runestone for the buff to be activated and it is destroyed in the process. When you get a new fragment, you'll start a research project.

You can only work on one artifact per race at a time. When you have enough fragments, click Solve to complete that artifact. You won't waste excess fragments, they will just start the next project. Most artifacts are common. These give a bit of lore or flavor text and an item you can sell for a small profit.

You'll still have the description in your journal regardless of what you do with the physical item, so it's ok to sell them. You can estimate the value of the artifact by the number of fragments required to finish it. You will only be able to work on one artifact for a given race at a time. Once one artifact for a given race is completed, the next one will appear in your journal and you cannot continue until you complete it.

Some artifacts are rare, requiring many more fragments to complete than common artifacts, and make a blue or purple item. Many of these are toys, or for flavor, but some are actual weapons and armor.

Weapons and armor are bound to account , but will not scale like heirlooms do.