Mining - How To

BASIC MINING

Basic mining is quite simple: equip a pickaxe and start hitting things. Pickaxes, like all gear, have a limited lifespan and cannot be repaired. Anytime you need one, you can purchase one through the Uplink (U).

Basic mining is done one block at a time, but a special skill--Charged Swing--can be unlocked with a total of 8 certification points via the Certifications menu, under Miner Skills. This makes you spin around with your pickaxe out, doing heavier than normal damage to all blocks in a 3x3 radius.

Once Miner Skills is maxed out, you can also max out Seismic Pickaxe to upgrade Charged Swing the Mega Swing ability. This does 1000% damage to all rocks in a 3x3 area, and 200% to rocks in a the surrounding 5x5 area.

You can also use Sonic Grenades to damage and harvest rocks in hard-to-reach areas.

CARRYING & STORAGE

Each miner starts off with the ability to carry 15 kg of minerals, and to store another 15 kg in their bank. Their carry ability can be increased with tokens (70 tokens for 5 kg), and their bank space can be increased with credits (100,000 credits for 5 kg). It's easy to run out of room, so focus on what you need, and then focus on putting it to use in fabricators. You may also want to make a habit of selling or turning in your Aggregate, Rock Salt and Pyrite.

TYPES OF ROCK BLOCKS

There are eight types of blocks you can mine.

Primary Minerals - Illite through Octavium, these are the lifeblood of Umbra.

Bedrock - The most plentiful stone you'll find. You get Aggregate, Pyrite and Rock Salt from these, which can be used for missions or sold to a Broker for cash.

Explosive Blocks - Be careful! Only one hit "starts the countdown." These do damage to all blocks and miners in a 5x5 area, and can trigger other explosive blocks. You do not gain minerals, items, or buffs from rocks destroyed by these blocks, but they can be very helpful to clear out large areas of bedrock.

Oxygen Rocks - Hard to miss, they're large, white, and look like a stack of eggs. Most contain a nice burst of clean oxygen to help prolong your stay, but a few will hold toxic gasses instead--be careful of your health.

Vitamin Blocks - They look similar to explosive rocks, but with more of a rocky covering to them. Destroying one of these can unleash a buff on you--or a poison.

Mystery Blocks - These floating, oddly-shaped cubes bear mysterious runes that glow brighter and brighter as you work on them. They can carry anything from a single fat bar to minerals, from a collectible to a premium item normally available only with tokens. These take more work than normal blocks.

Hidden Stash - Left behind by some previous miner, these boxes, embedded in bedrock, can contain almost anything. They're hard to spot, and take a lot of work to open, but can be worth the payoff. During the Singularity Event of 2014, cracking open one of these would invariably unleash a deadly nanovirus on the hapless miner.

Gemstones - The toughest thing you'll find in the mines. These tall, crystalline structures require a heavy beating to remove, but always contain an uncut gemstone.