Archeology: Tips for faster leveling?

[Feanen]

Besides the normal new zone/leveling/pretty shiny things that come with a new expansion, I'm, probably, excited most by the development of archeology as a secondary profession. I've been trying to level it lately and I don't know if it's just me or not, but does it take anyone else a life time to find an artifact/fragment? If it doesn't for you, or if you have any pearls of wisdom that you wouldn't mind sharing, I would greatly appreciate them.

[Zeht]

in Eastern Kingdoms I use the zeppelin at UC to STV for faster travel as alliance.

[Shouted]

Give it a week or two to level THAT particular profession. The new things in Cataclysm are hot right now and over farmed so just wait a little bit. Keep an eye for artifacts and such while you farm gathering items (easy gold to be made at the beginning of an expansion. Made over 20k just leveling mining, and another 12k+ with herbalism).

[vom]

Have plenty of patience and a 280% or 310% flying mount.

Also, if you aren't level 100 with it yet, save all your fragments until you get to 100 just from digging them up. Then complete all the artifacts you can. It will help boost you a little.

[Feanen]

@Zeht - nice. my main is a mage, so getting around isn't too much of a problem. But I'll keep that in mind when I'm leveling Arch on alts.
@Shouted - Yeah, I've been farming herbs in Deepholm, which I've found to be greatly abundant with herbs (ironically, I think). My inscription is almost maxxed out atm. Now I just need to work on my Elixir Alch and Pot Alch. lol
@vom - lol, yeah. my main, and an alt, have 310% atm. I haven't seen the point of getting on more than that for now. Anyway, that's a good idea. I'll be sure to keep all of them until I get to 100. Thanks.

[PennyRust]

Give it a week or two to level THAT particular profession. The new things in Cataclysm are hot right now and over farmed so just wait a little bit. Keep an eye for artifacts and such while you farm gathering items (easy gold to be made at the beginning of an expansion. Made over 20k just leveling mining, and another 12k+ with herbalism).

No one can see another players' archaeology nodes. When you visit a dig, you are on your own, both with the prospecting tool direction finder and the item that you end up looting. I'm at 305 archaeology and heading to Outlands. I was at many dig sites in Azeroth that had scores of players from both factions at the same time, and I could not see anyone else's prospecting tool or the artifact they discovered.

[Deleted]

I'm leveling Archeology and it's such a drag. Mining, but the nodes are 3 per zone and half a continent away.

Why is survey on a 5 second cooldown? It adds such unneccessary length to finalising the position.

Also, is survey useless half the time for anyone else? It'll show me red pointing North, I'll treck North and it'll show red pointing West, I'll go West and it'll show green North. I'll edge North and it'll show red West. It's retarded.

[Geckomayhem]

I think the surveying tool works perfectly. I'm really digging archaeology.

Puns aside, as someone said earlier, the best thing to do is to just collect fragments till you reach 100, when artifacts go grey and you can no longer gain skill points simply from digging. How anyone has been able to reach 300 already is beyond me, though. It takes a lot to get just one artifact to solve, which in turn will give you five points. From 100 to 300 is 40 artifacts.

With the three bonus items that are a rare drop you can level it up faster, but I've been trying to sell the ones I find on the AH, rather than use them to boost my skill. I say trying, because they haven't been selling. >.<

Archaeology is a profession that will take a lot of dedication and a lot of flying around to max out. I'm not sure if it gets any easier, but it sure will get better once you start solving useful artifacts. Just stick with it and try to enjoy it in small portions. I'm currently at 97, as I am simply collecting fragments to begin solving once I hit 100. I may reach level 81 just through Archaeology by the time I reach 100 skill (archaeology plus handing in 25 daily quests).

Speaking of mining, though. My realm is retarded. I have been unable to sell a single Elementium ore. I put about 25 stacks up just a few hours after the expansion hit and not a single piece of ore sold. The prices have been dropping steadily and the market has been absolutely flooded with ore, as every miner and his dog has been out in Twilight Highlands farming it.

[Evilution]

Like many others i was eager to try this new fancy profession, but with all new spells and whatnot new stuff to
fill the bars with, it´s not so handy to have archaeology on any keybind that you would usually want close at hand.
Luckily you can just add it into any macros!
I added mine to holy wrath, it looks for artifacts when im out of combat, and holy wrath+startattacking in combat.

#showtooltip
/cast [combat] Holy Wrath
/cast [nocombat] Survey
/startattack [combat]

so just replace Whammy! with the spell/attack that you only want to use when you are in combat.

#showtooltip
/cast [combat] Whammy!
/cast [nocombat] Survey
/startattack [combat]


Also don´t be shy to use the various portals in SW and Orgrimmar(?) when you get access to them to get around the world in your chase for buried shinies!

And i´ve read that you´re best off only collecting fragment until you reach 100, and then start putting them
together (im just at 91 atm, the last 10 to 100 seems to go extra slow, but í´ll stick with the collecting until 100).

Happy artifact-hunting and don´t be shy to post your own heplful tips!


edit: just removed the "#showtooltip Whammy!", i want to see the cooldown on survey on the button when jumping around and the light is green.

[Tonyp]

Great macro idea, I'm gonna give that a shot, as far as a tip I may be able to contribute, well, its obvious but when I start looking I try to hit the center and move out from there.

[Viperfang]

Some tips that helped me get server first 525 on my realm:

Use any means to cut down on flight time. I used my argent crusader tabard to get back to dalaran fast, so I could use the portal to CoT - a fast way to southern kalimdor for alliance. Engineering teleports, mage portals, the portal to the dark portal in every captial. Anything and everything that cuts flight time will save you the most time leveling this skill.

Here's an example: If you're in ferelas, and your other three sites are tanaris, winterspring and felwood, you should go to tanaris because you can then hearth (org or SW) and then port to hyjal and go to either site, OR stay south because the site after tanaris spawned in say, uldum or un'goro.


Always, always, ALWAYS survey after you get a fragment (unless it's your last fragment for the site). Firstly it will give you a bearing on the next fragment from where you are if nothing else. Secondly, and this is especially true of smaller sites, is that the next piece might be right where you got the last one. This has happened to me many times, and even a few times all three in the same spot.

There's a lot you can do to cut down your survey time too. Look at the shape of the site. Sometimes it's better to survey from certain spots (the island in the water at infectis scar site comes to mind). Also remember that it won't spawn in water you have to swim in. It can however be in water that you can walk in.

Also, the verdict is out on whether or not outlands is fastest... but I'd avoid northrend for sure. EK and Kalimdor are both about the same, though I liked EK's sites a bit better ( <3 stranglethorn)

That's all I can think of for now.

[Dayle]

I'm stuck at 111 skill right now because I had no idea that Digging for them wouldn't level me anymore. I was under the impression that you could dig your way to 525, and that Solving was just a boost. I guess Solving these things by putting somewhat of 30 artifacts together is the only way to get levels? This is going to take a lot longer than I thought, so my only question is... is this all worth it? I know you get the chance for Epics, but won't they go outdated in no-time like iLevel200's did?

[MrFleshy]

I got Realm first Illustrious Archaeologist on Dec 08 9am EST. Kalecgos Server. Death Knight Named: Necrosís.

Don't solve artifacts until you hit 100.
ALWAYS completely survey a zone before moving on.
Stay in Eastern Kingdoms, no matter how much you don't want to.
Set your Hearth Stone to Booty Bay.
If your a Deathknight, Do all dig sites south, and then Death Gate North. Hearth South once northern dig sites are south.
If your a Mage, Teleporting to IF to get closer to the northern ones and teleporting to the Southern ones could be helpful.
Having 310% flight is very, very helpful.
After a while, you will notice a pattern in certain digsites, and be able to guess where the approximate area fragments will be.

Other than that, Having patience and the ability to fly like a zombie for 25 hours straight will get you to 525. I got two vanity pets and a Fossilized Raptor mount on my way.

I edited just to say, as it stands right now... Leaving Azeroth (Going to Northrend or Outlands) right now to purely level to 525 is just silly. On average Dwarf, Troll, Fossil and Night Elf artifacts take 25-35 fragments for common. Outlands and Northrend Both average 45 fragments for common. You only get 9 fragments per dig site (Unless you get a green: lucky you.) So going to Northrend or Outlands means you need 1 whole digsite extra per average common artifact.

Cheers.

[conqq]

I got Realm first Illustrious Archaeologist on Dec 08 9am EST. Kalecgos Server. Death Knight Named: Necrosís.

Don't solve artifacts until you hit 100.
ALWAYS completely survey a zone before moving on.
Stay in Eastern Kingdoms, no matter how much you don't want to.
Set your Hearth Stone to Booty Bay.
If your a Deathknight, Do all dig sites south, and then Death Gate North. Hearth South once northern dig sites are south.
If your a Mage, Teleporting to IF to get closer to the northern ones and teleporting to the Southern ones could be helpful.
Having 310% flight is very, very helpful.
After a while, you will notice a pattern in certain digsites, and be able to guess where the approximate area fragments will be.

Other than that, Having patience and the ability to fly like a zombie for 25 hours straight will get you to 525. I got to vanity pets and a Fossilized Raptor mount on my way.

I edited just to say, as it stands right now... Leaving Azeroth (Going to Northrend or Outlands) right now to purely level to 525 is just silly. On average Dwarf, Troll, Fossil and Night Elf artifacts take 25-35 fragments for common. Outlands and Northrend Both average 45 fragments for common. You only get 9 fragments per dig site (Unless you get a green: luck you.) So going to Northrend or Outlands means you need 1 whole digsite extra per average common artifact.

Cheers.

... 25 hours??

[Deleted]

Getting ganked on my lowlevel Worgen by all the people flying about leveling Archaeology(or any other profession) is not annoying at all... :P

[MrFleshy]

Yes. 25 Hours. 4 Litres of Dr. Pepper. And Burned Eyeballs = 525 Archaeology.

[conqq]

I went to 100 on the first day but quit, someone already had realm first.

[Epileptica]

At 258 now, and have an epic lvl 60 BoA cloth (chest), the little skelleton raptor pet, and a fountain thingy. I`m loving it! And each time a rare shows up in the book - the urge to push on increases. But it does take a while, but knowing you can get the epic AQ mount when getting to Uldum makes it all worth it. Blizz has also stated that they will push more items in the profession as we go. So far i have spent aprox 20 hours, but not rushing things. The best tip is to allways survey again, when getting an artifact. And ofc knowing witch zones have the different artifacts in order to complete bigger projects quicker. NE in Kalim, Dwarf and fossils in EK etc

[conqq]

At 258 now, and have an epic lvl 60 BoA cloth (chest), the little skelleton raptor pet, and a fountain thingy. I`m loving it! And each time a rare shows up in the book - the urge to push on increases. But it does take a while, but knowing you can get the epic AQ mount when getting to Uldum makes it all worth it. Blizz has also stated that they will push more items in the profession as we go. So far i have spent aprox 20 hours, but not rushing things. The best tip is to allways survey again, when getting an artifact. And ofc knowing witch zones have the different artifacts in order to complete bigger projects quicker. NE in Kalim, Dwarf and fossils in EK etc

Not quite. The fastest way to level it is how MrFleshy said it basically.

[Azul]

ive been working on this profession since a few hours after launch and iam now at 485 and just got my 5th rare item, its fun but takes forever, as for people just starting it just dont run around clicking survey, follow the telescope where its points it leads you to the next spot, even in circles in some cases >.<