Mining
Mining is an action that uses mining technology to extract gold, ores and plasma rocks. It can be done once per day for free and can be done two additional times per day at a cost of 25 ap and 50000 gold. The free mining action becomes available at ~6:30 sios time. The two additional minings can be done any time before the next free mining action becomes available. If a free mining action is not taken, it is lost forever unless you have purchased Ochos. If you have purchased ocho, you can save up to two unused free minings actions, allowing for a day of three free mining actions.
This action cannot be performed in the ports of Aeros, Ancient Battlegrounds and The Land of Frost.
The amount of gold, ore and plasma rock gained when mining depends on the mining technology used, your mining level bonus and the mining outpost bonus.
The following table lists the base mining returns for each mining technology:
| Mining Technology | Cost of Technology | Time to Mine | Base Returns in Ores | Probability of finding Plasma Rocks | Amount of Gold Received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick Axes | free | 6 hours | 1-2 | 0.00% | 500-1,000 |
| Dynamite | 50,000 | 3 hours | 2-4 | 15.00% | 1,000-2,000 |
| Mining Drill | 500,000 | 2 hours | 3-7 | 25.00% | 2,000-5,000 |
| Demolisher Cannon | 1,000,000 | 1.5 hours | 4-8 | 30.00% | 3,500-7,000 |
| Ore Smelter | 5,000,000 | 1 hour | 6-12 | 35.00% | 5,000-10,000 |
| Subsurface Scanners | 10,000,000 | 30 mins | 7-13 | 40.00% | 7,500-15,000 |
| Mining Laser | 25,000,000 | 10 mins | 8-15 | 50.00% | 10,000-25,000 |
When mining you are guaranteed to get some gold and ore, but there is only a probability of getting a plasma rock. The actual mining returns for gold and ore and the actual probability for finding a plasma rock are calculated according to this equation:
Base Return/probability due to Mining Technology X [ 1+ ( added % due to control of mining outpost) + ( added % due to Captain's Level )]
The mining level bonus is 0.5% per level, which give a level 200 players a 100% bonus.
The mining outpost bonuses are as follows:
| Tier of clan | Additional % bonus |
|---|---|
| Training Tier | 7.0% |
| C | 15.0% |
| B | 25.0% |
| A | 35.0% |
| S | 50.0% |
While it is possible to have a probability of getting a plasma rock of 1.25, no one has reported getting more then one plasma rock from mining.
The ore and plasma rock gained from mining can be used to buy equipment for your ship or sold on the resource exchange for gold.
The following spread sheet can be used to see the average gold and ore you should expect and the probability of getting a plasma rock while mining for all of the mining equipment based on your level and if you control a mining outpost. It also predicts the average profit per day if one were to sell all of the ore and plasma rock acquired each day on the resource exchange. From this it looks at how much value is added by mining additional times and by switching to other mining equipment. It also makes a prediction for how long it will take for the next level of mining equipment to pay for itself.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aov-TUudRg48dG9fbkZxUGpIT0x6alA3Wl9KY3JsZnc&hl=en
The permissions are set so anyone can see the document but you need to save a copy to edit it.
For those of you who want the key information about each tech but do not want to look at the spread sheet, here is a quick summary and some information of interest that is not directly visible from the spread sheet that i think might be useful.
With axes, one only wants to use the free mining. Upgrade from axes as soon as possible.
Dynamite pays for it self in a few days from just the free mining. With this tech, if the price for ore and plasma rock are low it is possible to lose money by doing the extra mining. Even with good returns on ore and plasma rock, some people will find the gold, experience and resources gained from using ap on quests better valued then the gold gained from using the ap for additional mining. It is recommended that you use the plasma rocks obtained during free mining to save for the mining drill.
The mining drill offers a good increase in gold per day and it pays for itself within a week if mining thrice a day. It should average a plasma rock a day if you are level 67 or higher and mine thrice a day. The gold/ap from mining is better then any quest at the same level, but in some cases the items, resources and experience from quests make quests a better use of ap.
The demolisher cannon has an ok increase in gold per day, but takes about two weeks to pay for itself if mining thrice a day. Should average 1 plasma rock per day if you are above level 23 and mine thrice a day. Most people will find the additional gold from mining with ap is close in valued to the gold, exp and resources gained from the best(most profitable) quests in the game.
The ore smelter gives a good increase in gold per day, but takes around 6 to 7 weeks to pay for itself if mining thrice a day. Players level 181 and higher will average 2 plasma rock a day if mining thrice. It would be difficult to argue that ap spent on additional mining could be better spent on quests.
The subsurface scanners give an ok increase in gold per day and take 4-5 months to pay for itself if mining thrice a day. Players level 134 and higher will average 2 plasma rock a day if mining thrice.
The mining lasers mining lasers give a excellent increase in gold per day but take 5-6 months to day for itselves. Players level 67 and higher will average 2 plasma rock a day if mining thrice.
The above values for gold per day and time for a return on investment are based on a 6000gold/ore and 210000 gold/plasma rock prices on the resource exchange. Both of these values are just above the lowest selling price for the resources in the last thirty days at action. So the gold/ap suggestions are based on underestimates and the return on investment times are overestimated.
