Excavating is one of six Trade Skills in Lost Ark. It’s important because mats from Excavation are required in order to craft higher tier Life Skill Tools, but it also has other benefits.

 

Excavating Benefits:

 

  • Craft the highest tier Trade Skill Tools.
  • Craft fusion mats used to hone T2 and higher gear.
  • Craft consumables inside your Stronghold like Time Stop Potion and other popular items.
  • Excavating gives rare materials and collectibles
    • 10 specific World Tree Leaves for special rewards
    • Platinum Field Tickets for no cost materials.
  • Excavating is Fun:
    • Find rare treasure chests while digging.
    • Craft treasure maps that give the rarest of Craft Kits.
Lost Ark Excavating Skills & Level

Obtain the Excavating Trade Skill

Characters can’t excavate unless they have completed a quest line that opens up all Trade Skills.

 

Lost Ark Excavating Requirements:

  • complete the main story questline, starting with Crown of Lakebar, located in West Luterra, Lakebar.
  • level 24+
    • Trade Skills like Excavating are not available until about level 24, after following the main story quest line.
    • Trade Skills are opened after completing the quest called, The Peddlar of Luterra.
  • obtain and use any Excavating Tool on relic node.
  • 180 Energy required per node excavated.

 

Trade Skill Quest: Crown of Lakebar
Lost Ark Trade Skills Obtained

Excavating Tools

You will need at least a Novice Excavating Tool in order to begin.

Completing the main quest line up to Crown of Lakebar will open up a series of Guide quests that reward your first set of Trade Skill Tools.

 

Excavating Tools get 1 to 5 random buffs, depending on their tier. A T1 Novice Excavating Tool comes with one random buff. T5 Excavating Tools get 5 random buffs.

 

Possible Excavating Tool Buffs:

  • Super Armor (Immunity to Paralysis)
  • Increased Gathering Speed
  • Increased Basic Reward drop rate
  • Increased Rare Material drop rate
  • Increased chance for Special Rewards
  • Reduced chance of tool durability loss
  • Reduced Minigame difficulty
  • Increased minigame rewards
Expert Excavating Tool

View an example T5 Master Excavating Tool on reddit.

Excavating Tools via Stronghold Crafting

Excavating Tools can be created inside your Stronghold, using materials you have gathered.

  • Stronghold is given after completing the quest called “Clerk Theo’s Invitation”. This is part of the main story, after saving Luterra Castle, at about level 25.

 

For more details on how to obtain an Excavating Tool, please visit our Trade Skill Tools guide.

Best Excavating Tool Buffs

 

 ♥  ♥  Swap to Before Minigame  ♥ ♥

1. Minigame Difficulty Decrease:

  • The Excavating minigame is very challenging without the help of the buff, “Minigame Difficulty 2 Decreased.”
  • Minigame success greatly increases excavating rewards.

2. Minigame Reward Acquisition Probability: this buff increases the item amount when you win the minigame.

Because Excavating Tools have 2 additional buffs to the mini game, it’s not easy to get all the best stats.

 

 ♥  ♥  Use in Normal Digging and Chest Opening  ♥ ♥

1. Super Armor: your excavating animation will not get interrupted by mobs attacking you.

2. Basic Materials: more white and green grade relics

3. Rare Materials: more blue grade relics

4. Special Materials: more relics of the specified grade

 

TIP: You can use an Adept (Epic grade) tool for normal excavating and a higher tier tool with the minigame buffs for the minigame. (Superarmor is not needed for the minigame and its rewards.)

 

1 Charm to Excavate them All!

A Trade Skill Charm can greatly improve excavating. It is equipped to your Charm slot under the Special Equipment section in your Profile (P) window.

Your first Trade Skill Charm, Faint Ore Charm, can be obtained if you have 12 World Tree Leaf Points. It can then be upgraded as you obtain more World Tree Leaves.

World Tree Leaves are a very rare drop from all Trade Skills.

Faint Ore Charm gives you an Excavation level of 20, even if you only have 19.

Faint Ore Charm

 

Trade Skill Charm Excavating Buffs icon
Faint Ore Charm All Trade Skill Mastery Lv. 1
All Trade Skill’s Basic Reward Bonus 5%
All Trade Skill Activating Lv.1
12
Luminous Gem Charm All Trade Skill Mastery Lv. 2
All Trade Skill’s Basic Reward Bonus 10%
All Trade Skill Activating Lv.2
36
Luminous Elemental Stone Charm All Trade Skill Mastery Lv. 3
All Trade Skill’s Basic Reward Bonus 25%
All Trade Skill Activating Lv.3
48
Brilliant Star Charm All Trade Skill Mastery Lv. 4
All Trade Skill’s Basic Reward Bonus 40%
All Trade Skill Activating Lv.4
72

 

 

Best T1 Locations to Level Excavating

The locatons below are best for beginners wanting to level their excavating.

Optimal Excavating Skill Levels: none! (Excavating nodes have no level requirements.)

 

 

Best Beginner Friendly Excavating Location

 

  • Bilbrin Forest in West Luterra:
    • Level 24+ characters and easy for beginners to find.
    • Dense relic nodes that quickly respawn.
    • If too many players, you can usually switch channels.
    • Several safe areas where you aren’t attacked by mobs.

 

Thank you lostarkcodex.com for excavating maps below. View Source.

Bilbrin Forest in West Luterra

Excavation Map of Bilbrin Forest

 

 

Next Popular T1 Excavating Location

 

  • Golden Wave Island:
    • Island requires access to a ship and Level 40+
    • Many nodes in a small area
    • Well known spot and may not be able to switch channels if someone else shows up.
    • You can buy weekly Novice Excavating XP potions here. You get 1580 XP per potion and can buy 5 per week which is 7900 Excavating XP.
    • Golden Wave Island is located west of the continent of Arthetine.
Excavation Map for Golden Wave Island

Best Excavating Locations for T2

In certain higher level zones, rare nodes with purple names have a chance to spawn instead of a normal node. They drop twice as much loot and also have an increased chance of rare materials.

Different continents have continent specific rare nodes and specific rare mats.

Relic nodes may have different names in each zone, but all give white grade Ancient Relic each time you gather. For example, relic nodes in one of the highest tier continents, like Punika, still give Ancient Relics, with a chance to give more rare mats. (This was to make crafting less complicated.) The rare mats in Punika, however, are the highest tier, providing Oreha mats.

 

Excavating Node Tiers

There are 3 different tiers of nodes. The highest tiers are found in higher ilvl locations, but have no Excavation level requirements.

 

Excavating Node Requirements:

  • Tier 1: 0-599 ilvl → white and green grade mats
  • Tier 2: 600-1099 ilvl → white, green, blue Caldarr
  • Tier 3: 1100+ ilvl → white, green, blue Oreha

You can find tier 2+ excavating by looking inside a zone or island’s map info. The description will state “Tier 2 (or 3) Special Materials.”

Tier 2 Special Materials for Excavating

 

 

Tier 2 Excavating Locations

To find and excavate tier 2 nodes (Old Relic Trace), you have to have an item level of at least 600. Excavating level does not prevent you from excavating any higher tier node.

Yorn: Item Level 600+

  • Hall of Promise
  • Iron Hammer Mine
  • Yorn’s Cradle

 

Feiton: Item Level 960+

  • Shady Cliff

 

Azure Wind Island: Item Level 802+

  • many potential T2 nodes
  • Convenient location with no main story quest requirements to visit.
  • Mob attacks are very low and can be avoided. You don’t need a Super Armor tool.
  • Azure Wind Island is a well known T2 island, but I’ve never had an issue competing with others as it is a large area with many nodes.

 

The first time you encounter tier 2 excavating during the main quest line is in Yorn, which requires a 600 item level and tier 2 gear.

 

Old Relic Trace
T2 and T3 nodes have a purple name, but no excavating level requirement.

Excavation Node: Old Relic Trace

T2 Excavating Locations in Yorn

Yorn is located in the very SW corner of the world map and requires 600 item level to enter.

The location maps below are courtesy of lostarkcodex.com. Thanks! View source.

 

Iron Hammer Mine in Yorn

Excavation nodes are located around the outside edges.

Lost Ark Excavation Map for Iron Hammer Mine

 

Yorn’s Cradle in Yorn

Excavation nodes are all located on the west side of the map.

Lost Ark Excavation Map for Yorn's Cradle

 

Hall of Promise in Yorn

A few excavation nodes are located in the north half of the map.

Lost Ark Excavation Map for Hall of Promise

 

 

T2 Excavating Locations in Feiton

Feiton is located in the far NW section of the world and requires an item level of 960 to enter.

 

Shady Cliff

Excavation nodes are located in the SW corner of the map.

Excavating Map for Shady Cliff

 

 

My Favorite T2 Excavating Spot: Azure Wind Island

  • Azure Wind Island is located NE of Yorn and S of Rohendel.
  • Recommended item level of 802+, but this is a great place to level Excavating, even if you only have 600 item level, because there are many areas where mobs don’t spawn.
  • This is my favorite place to gather blue grade Caldarr Relics because there are many nodes, low mob density, and competing players aren’t an issue.

 

Azure Wind Island

Excavation Map for Azure Wind Island

Excavating Loot

Every time you excavate, you will obtain 6 to 12 Ancient Relics, that increases in quantity with level and buffs. You also have a chance to obtain green and blue grade loot or crit which gives a second gather.

Excavating gives white grade material each time and it can also crit and give additional green or blue grade relics. At my current excavating level of 30, I frequently get 8 to 10 white grade relics.

 

Loot Categories Explained

  • Normal: obtain 6 to 12 Ancient Relics, increasing with levels, tool buffs, and gear.
  • Uncommon: Rare Relic is obtained more rarely than Ancient.
  • Rare: Caldarr and then Oreha Relic is the most rare. Zone and item level restricted. (600+)

T1 / Basic / Normal:
Ancient Relic

Ancient Relic from Excavating

T2 / Basic / Uncommon:
Rare Relic

Rare Relic from Excavating

T3 Rare:
Caldarr Relic (from T2 zones)

Caldarr Relic from Excavating

T4 Rare:
Oreha Relic (from T3 zones)

Oreha Relic from Excavating

The relics gathered from excavating is stored inside the Storage tab of your inventory. Press I → Storage → Stronghold & T. Skills.

 

Items excavated inside a Stronghold Farm have their own seperate use and recipes. They have a house icon on them. This method of excavation is not recommended unless you are short on time or don’t like to excavate and don’t mind paying extra Life Energy for relics.

Excavating Inventory

iconExcavating World Tree Leaves

Excavating provides a total of 10 World Tree Leaves. These are obtained very rarely any time you excavate at any location.

View your current World Tree Leaves: Alt + L

 

World Tree Leaves from Excavating:

  1. World Tree Leaf #7
  2. World Tree Leaf #13
  3. World Tree Leaf #19
  4. World Tree Leaf #25
  5. World Tree Leaf #31
  6. World Tree Leaf #46
  7. World Tree Leaf #55
  8. World Tree Leaf #64
  9. World Tree Leaf #73
  10. World Tree Leaf #82
World Tree Leaves from Excavating

Excavating Terms

To help us understand excavating, there is a list of “Excavating Details” in the Trade Skill UI (L). I will fill in the gaps for the ones can can be a bit confusing for new excavaters. 🙂

 

Excavating Details

 

Excavating Details Explanation:

 

  • Shows the increases gained from Trade Skills, Trade Skill Tools, and various buffs.
  • If the drop rate or XP gain increases, shows stats aside from the base probability set for gatherables.
  • For Crystalline Aura, the effects are shown on the gatherables and increased stats. However, if there is no increase, it will not be shown.
  • Stats increased through Leap Essence will not be shown.
  • Basic Reward Acquisition Rate +
    • Chance of obtaining additional Normal/Uncommon materials
    • Given by tool buff named “Excavating Trade Skill Basic Reward Bonus”
  • Rare Material Acquisition Rate +
    • Chance of obtaining additional Rare materials
    • Chances increase drastically upon using certain skills. (Perfect Timing, Throw Bait, Sniffer Dog)
    • Given by tool buff named “Rare Material Acquisition Probability”
      • This is rarely seen on Adept tools in my experience and gives about a 20% buff.
  • Special Material Acquisition Rate
    • Chance of obtaining additional Normal/Uncommon/Rare materials
    • The normal and uncommon aquisition rates are independent from eachother
    • Chances increase drastically upon using certain skills. (Green Thumb, Kick Tree, Moonlight Miner)
    • Given by tool buff named Normal Material Acquisition Probability”
      • This is rarely seen on Adept tools in my experience and gives about a 2% buff.
  • Minigame Reward Acquisition Rate + → Chances of obtaining a minigame reward.
    • Increase the amount of items you obtain from a successful minigame.
    • Given by tool buff named “Minigame Reward Acquisition Probability”
  • Gathering Speed Increase → increase gathering animation speed.
  • Durability Nonreduction Rate + → Chances that Durability will decrease when using tools.
  • XP Acquisition Increase → increase Trade Skill experience gained. (Not obtainable on tools.)

Recipes Using Rare Relic from Excavating

Rare Relic, the green grade relic obtained via excavating, is used in many important recipes. Craft most of these recipes in your Stronghold.

You can increase your gold from excavating by crafting profiable recipes. For example, at the time of this writing, Time Stop Potion, has a gold price of 34, which would give a profit per craft of 23 gold. (Please be sure to check market pricing because profitability can quickly change with supply and demand.)

 

 

Trade Skill Tools Require Excavation Mats

Every Trade Skill Tool recipe is the same for each tier. (A Mining Tool requires the same ingredients as a Fishing Rod, etc.)

Trade Skill Tool Buffs Cost Trade Tool Recipe
Novice Tool
1 5 1 – Novice Craft Kit
15 – Rare Relic
30 – Ancient Relic
Apprentice Tool 2 30 1 – Apprentice Craft Kit
3 – Tool Crafting Part
15 – Rare Relic
24 – Ancient Relic
Adept Tool 3 100 1 – Adept Craft Kit
8 – Tool Crafting Part
15 – Strong Iron Ore
15 – Rare Relic
24 – Ancient Relic
Expert Tool 4 250 1 – Expert Craft Kit
28 – Tool Crafting Part
30 – Strong Iron Ore
20 – Rare Relic
32 – Ancient Relic
Master Tool 5 500 1 – Master Craft Kit
82 – Tool Crafting Part
40 – Strong Iron Ore
80 – Rare Relic
128 – Ancient Relic

 

Excavating or purchasing relics from excavating is the only way to obtain higher tier trade skill tools of adept, expert, and master quality.

 

Archaeological Site Maps Require Excavation

 

Archaeological Site Map Requirements:

  • Reach Stronghold Level 5
  • Research at the Lab → Crafting Workshop Lv.2 in your Stronghold.
  • Research at the Lab → Crafting Method: *location* Treasure Map in your Stronghold.
  • One character in your roster who has Item Level of 302, that increases with the map tier.

 

Archaeological Site Map Cost Recipe Crafting Requirements
Luterra, Arthetine, or North Vern (T1)
10 170 – Rare Relic Achieve Item Lv. 302.
Craft Method: * Treasure Map
Rohendel Archaeological Site Map (T1) 15 200 – Rare Relic Achieve Item Lv. 460.
Craft Method: Rohendel Treasure Map
Yorn Archaeological Site Map (T2) 20 30 – Caldarr Relic
150 – Rare Relic
Achieve Item Lv. 802.
Craft Method: Yorn Treasure Map
Feiton Archaeological Site Map (T2) 30 35 – Caldarr Relic
175 – Rare Relic
Achieve Item Lv. 960.
Craft Method: Feiton Treasure Map
Punika Archaeological Site Map (T3) 40 39 – Oreha Relic
195 – Rare Relic
Achieve Item Lv. 1302.
Craft Method: Punika Treasure Map
South Vern Archaeological Site Map (T3) 50 43 – Oreha Relic
215 – Rare Relic
Achieve Item Lv. 1340.
Craft Method: South Vern Treasure Map

 

For more details, please see my guide on Archaeological Site Map. ←

Other Items Requiring Excavation Mats

Some of the most in demand items require Excavation materials.

Item Using Excavation Mats Cost Recipe Qty
Basic Oreha Fusion Material 205 8 26 64 30
Simple Oreha Fusion Material 203 7 28 56 30
Caldarr Fusion Material 80 7 28 56 30
Trade Skill Tool Restoration Kit 40 26 80 40 128 80
Time Stop Potion 30 5 2 20 2 40 3
Atropine Potion 30 6 2 24 2 48 3
Thunder Potion 15 4 16 5 32 3
Protective Potion 15 4 16 5 32 3
Stimulant 30 5 20 2 4 40 3
Panacea 15 4 16 5 32 3

 

Excavating Skill Attributes

As you level excavating, you will gain skills that make it more powerful and fun.

 

Lost Ark Excavating

Sonar

Sonar places a small circle above your head for 30 seconds that tells you if a relic node is anywhere nearby.

  • The circle expands and contracts if there is a relic nearby.
  • If you are very close, the circle will pulsate faster and also change color into a deeper blue.
  • If the Sonar indicator is not pulsating at all, you can mount up since there is none in the area.

Press “B” key to place this skill on a quick slot in order to use it.

 

Relic Search

Relic Search searches in a circular area around you to show hidden relic nodes.

TIP: Look outside the circle area it paints on the ground, since the radius is larger than what is shown when you use the skill.

  • You have only 7 seconds to press your G key at the node and dig up the relic.
  • If you fail to press your G key in time, the relic seems to disappear and the digging animation will stop, but you can use Relic Search again to see it again.
  • 180 Life Energy is consumed upon successful digging.

Press “B” key to place this skill on a quick slot in order to use it.

 

Loot Hunter

Rarely find treasure chests after digging up relics.

 

  • Excavating Level Requirement: 10
  • If possible, buff basic/rare materials before gathering any chest.
  • Summon Sniffer Dog before gathering. (Requires level 30 Excavation.)

TIP: chests can be easy to miss! Be sure to take a moment and look before dashing away after a dig.

Excavation Minigame

Each excavation builds a stack called “Archaeological Senses”. After you build a stack of 5, the next gather will proc a minigame.

 

  • Press the SPACE BAR when the arrow reaches 3 different narrow bars.
  • Get 1x to 3x mats, depending on how many times you successfully hit a target.
  • Time Limit of 14 seconds, but the arrow bounces back and forth along the line, so you don’t have to hit them all during the first pass.
  • Excavating mini game does NOT require Super Armor and teleports you into a safe instance.
  • The stacks do NOT disappear if you change channels.
  • The Tool buff, “Minigame Difficulty Decreased” makes the zones you need to hit wider.
    • “Minigame Difficulty 2 Decreased” found on Adept Tools
    • “Minigame Difficulty 3 Decreased” found on Legendary and Master Tools

 

Excavation Minigame

Excavating Level Requirement: 20

 

TIP: press ESCAPE if you miss any of the bars and you can try again in a couple seconds.

Sniffer Dog

Sniffer Dog increases the amount of rare materials gained.

  • Excavation Level Requirement: 30
  • Buff duration: 2 minutes
  • Cooldown: 5 minutes
  • Get increased rare mats for 2x the energy cost. (It costs and additional 180 energy.)
  • Summon before gathering a chest.
  • Summon after and NOT before entering an archaeological site map portal or you’ll lose the buff.
  • Sniffer Dog and his buff will be removed if you change channels or portal away.

Excavating Mastery Skills

Mastery Skill levels increase at certain levels of excavating and also by equipping a Trade Skill Charm obtained via World Tree Leaves.

Mastery Skills for excavating are all passive.

View your mastery levels and rewards by pressing the L key.

Excavating Mastery

Master of Digging

Master of Digging decreases the chance to lower the Durability of Excavating Tools.

Excavating Expertise Level 34 gives Master of Digging Level 13, providing a decrease of 7.17%.

 

  • Level 10: 6.67%
  • Level 11: 6.83%
  • Level 13: 7.17%
  • Level 14: 7.33%
Master of Digging

Master of Archaeology

Master of Archaeology increases the speed of the digging animation.

 

  • Level 10: 7.50%
  • Level 11: 7.75%
  • Level 12: 8.00%
  • Level 13: 8.25%
  • Level 14: 8.50%
Master of Archaeology

Relic Appraiser

Relic Appraiser increases the chance of getting rare materials.

 

  • Level 10: 12.50%
  • Level 11: 12.75%
  • Level 12: –
  • Level 13: 23.25%
  • Level 14: 23.50%
  • Level 15: 23.75%
Relic Appraiser

Excavating Skill Potions via NPC

 

  • You can buy 5 Novice Excavating XP potions each week. You get 1580 XP per potion, which is 7900 XP.
  • If you were to purchase them weekly for a month, you’d hit around 7-10 levels.
  • Exchange NPC is named ‘Francia’, visible on the map.
  • Cost for each potion is 1250 Rare Relic (green grade relic).

 

Trade Skill Xp Potion Locations:

  • Excavating – Golden Wave Island
  • Mining – Meteora
  • Logging – Giant Mushroom Island
  • Foraging – Liebeheim
  • Hunting – Mercia
  • Fishing – none 🙁

More info: https://www.reddit.com/r/lostarkgame/comments/tzdvj7/lost_ark_other_sources_of_trade_skill_xp_weekly/

Excavating Quests

You can select the following Excavating quests to help level your guild and earn Guild Blood Stones to use in the Guild Shop.

 

Guild Quests Objective Rewards
[Excavating] Get Sad Statues Excavate 8 times 14 – Guild Weekly Tasks Points
6 – Weekly Contribution
500 – Sylmael Bloodstone (1x/character)
[Excavating] Get Sad Statues Excavate 12 times 18 – Guild Weekly Tasks Points
8 – Weekly Contribution
530 – Sylmael Bloodstone (1x/character)
[Excavating] Get Eternal Statues Excavate 14 times 22 – Guild Weekly Tasks Points
10 – Weekly Contribution
560 – Sylmael Bloodstone (1x/character)
[Excavating] Get Eternal Statues Excavate 21 times 25 – Guild Weekly Tasks Points
11 – Weekly Contribution
590 – Sylmael Bloodstone (1x/character)
[Excavating] Get Mysterious Statues Excavate 27 times 32 – Guild Weekly Tasks Points
13 – Weekly Contribution
620 – Sylmael Bloodstone (1x/character)

Excavating Requires Life Energy

Excavating requires 180 Energy each time you dig.

Normal Energy regen rate is 30 Energy every 10 minutes.

Crystaline Aura gives +3 Energy every 10 minutes.

Energy Regeneration Rates:

 

  • 1 Day = 4,320 Energy
  • 1 Day w/ Aura = 4,752 Energy
  • 8 Hours = 1440 Energy
  • 8 Hours w/ Aura = 1584 Energy
  • 1 Hour  = 180 Energy
  • 1 Hour w/ Aura = 198 Energy
Life Energy Items

Weekly Trade Potions Pack:

 

  • 1 Leap’s Essence
  • 3 Basic Life Energy Potion (1,000 Life Energy each)
  • Costs 60 Blue Crystals
  • Limited to 1 purchase per week

Leap’s Essence:

 

Leap’s Essence doubles the resources, but also doubles the Energy used.

  • Leap’s Essence is purchased in the cash shop.
  • Limited purchase amount of 100 Leap’s Essence per week.
  • Cost is 100 Blue Crystals for 10 Leap’s Essence.

 

Life Energy in Mari’s Shop

You can buy 5x Life Energy Potions (1,000 Life Energy each) for 100 Blue Crystals inside Mari’s Secret Shop (F4).

 

Life Energy Potion in the Mari Shop