Salem

Hi, I want to build my first camp so that I could also do some mining. This gives me some questions:

- To create a Woo-Woo-Wand, I need "expensive" tools, such as a Bucket, Tanning Tub and Sawbuck, which is 3xNails = 90 silver. Building this stuff on unclaimed land (because I want to build my camp close to a mine) means risking theft.

- Do I really need to build my camp close to my mine, or is it more important to build a camp close to a lime location? This would mean, I could first build a camp close to lime, then build the leather tools (Bucket, Tub, etc.) and create the Woo-Woo-Wand. Then I look for a mine outside of my camp and mine it without claiming the land around the mine?

- Or can I claim 2 locations (my regular camp AND a mine somewhere else)?

I am sure you know the answer to resolve my confusion.
- Chim

Personally, I would buy dowsing rods from another player, preferably with a little bit of purity in them too, then scout for a mine node and sit your claim stone right next to it. Its nice having extra space inside the mine for containers and such and I feel the ore is more important than the lime.

There are mines nearly everywhere you look. I found 3 mines in a near location to my base. It's not a problem to take a sledge and bring 4 boulders to your place for chipping.
Lime seems far more scarce than ore so i would prefer a lime location myself. It shouldn't be hard to find a mine near that lime source.

IMPORTANT: Structures (even containers) you build on unclaimed land decay over time and will disappear on you! I learned this the hard way. I lost my first smelter and don't have enough iron to make another one. You don't have to learn this the hard way! Claim your land! Trust me, that first 500s is better spent claiming your land rather than building a mine and smelter that can (and probably will) *poof* on you one night with no warning. Decay ticks are very random.

And to the point above, yes you can and should claim the land your mine is on. You can have multiple (unlimited?) claims but only one homestead.

If all you want is iron, then ardjun is correct. Build next to lime and haul the ore to your base. You've got to do something while those smelters run, right?

People that think ore is more important than lime must live next to lime, or may not have read the wiki very well.

Now if you want high purity iron that's a different game altogether. I'm not experienced with this, but what I understand is that the higher purity your dowsing rod the higher purity mine sites you are able to find. You grind your way up by building a mine, getting two bars of a higher purity, making a new dowsing rod, rinse and repeat.

If the above understanding is correct then I would assume you would need a smelting camp with an alt you can transfer the ore to, have it smelted and turned into dowsing rods to continue your quest.

Also, due to the above it's pretty common to find abandoned mines all over with a single boulder dug out in them. If getting the 8 nails is a problem for you then you can always pop a squat on one of those. That's how I got my fist one

My advice: buy a dowsing rod (or steal one from an abandoned town / mine, that's how I got mine), learn Prospecting, then set out. You're looking for good lime deposits. Once you find a good lime quarry then pull out your dowsing rod and find the closest mine site you can find. If the distance between the two is acceptable to you, claim land next to the lime and also over the mine. If you're trying to be thrifty on your claims, claim the mine area and haul your lime on a sled.

Note that you can fill urns or chests with chipped lime, then load four of those onto the sled. Don't haul the lime boulders. They only produce 5 lime stones. An urn can hold 14.

Look around a bit, see if you don't find some unclaimed mines... I've seen some unclaimed mines on Jamestown around my land... people grinding for purity mines leave a few unclaimed behind... don't waste too much time tough, definitely claim your land before building anything with nails on it, decay is no joke, and only players with Trespassing skill will be able to enter your land, most players won't want to leave scents of crime because of novice camp... small claim, sawbuck, bucket, tub... you can always move later if you want a better place, I think I moved twice...

You absolutely should claim over a mine and live there if it's a choice between living next to the mine or next to the lime. If you don't, someone can easily come along and put a claimstone on your mine and take it from you. It's not nearly as common for people to claim over lime deposits, though you might want to do so if you have neighbors. You can also store stuff in a mine. And you can always smelt with ore only, or with just a little lime, but you can't do anything without ore. Ore, and the mine you get it from, are more important than the lime.

Invest in a decent dowsing rod 20%+ before settling on your first camp.

There are many ways to make lots of silver early on as a new player.

Gathering forageables such as Hay and Singing Logs will yield a lot of silver when sold to players on the forums.

qbradq wrote:People that think ore is more important than lime must live next to lime, or may not have read the wiki very well.

or use lime alts. please use lime alts. Nothing beats a mine entrance in your base

Lime alts are a pain for the new player though. You have to grind up 2000 Mines and Mountains for two characters. Yuck.

For your first mine it shouldn't be too darn hard to find a mine entrance within a few chunks of a lime quarry. Once you get more established and can churn out marbles and lover's lockets it's a breeze to build an alt.

Kandarim wrote:

qbradq wrote:People that think ore is more important than lime must live next to lime, or may not have read the wiki very well.

or use lime alts. please use lime alts. Nothing beats a mine entrance in your base

Or buy lime and sell iron at a large profit.