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Block_Busters21

How to find ores easily without a pick?

8 posts in this topic

Hello fellow Terrafirmaccraftians,

I am new too the Terrafirmacraft community and also need help because this my first time playing on a game like this. I have found some ores while walking around, however I need to get more to get like bismuth bronze and other metals to get my metal tools but I can't seem to find enough metal, so my question too you is, is there a easier way to get ores without a pickaxe and I know you can pan for gold but that wasn't that effective....

 

PLEASE HELP!

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Before you have a pickaxe, you basically have three options:

 

1) Wander around and pick up surface nuggets

2) Use a gold pan (only provides copper and gold)

3) Find an exposed vein of ore, which is rare to begin with, lure a creeper nearby and coax him into exploding. You might get some ore from the blast.

 

Okay, so that last option isn't any good at all. :P

 

Jokes aside, it takes only 10 copper nuggets to make a copper pick. Even if you're unlucky with surface nuggets, that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes of gold panning. Bronzes are nice, but you don't need them to make your first pick. 

 

For someone new to TFC, it might be a bit aggravating that making a first pickaxe isn't easy. Please keep in mind that some of the fun in TFC is learning how to survive in the stone age... maybe you don't want to rush.

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… shouldn't take more than 10 minutes of gold panning. …
 
WIth good luck maybe. Just had to do that and it took me two Minecraft days to get the last two native copper nuggets I needed (plus a couple nuggets of platinum).
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Really, just walk around and pick up ores. Getting resources is now very easy, especially since ugly-looking sprite stones and ores littering the world can be distinguished from each other, OP. Even if you'll have a bad luck with the area you'll be in, tt doesn't take more than 10 - 20 minutes to go explore elsewhere and gather enough copper for basic tools that there is no stone version of. While it may seem a bit of time for vanilla Minecraft player, where most resources are abundant and easy to acquire, it's not a big deal (in fact, I recall threads by people who wanted it to be somewhat harder, to prolong stone age phase of the game).

In addition, you can consider aforementioned slucing or even go zombie hunting - some of them carry metal equipment and iron bars and have certain percentage chance of dropping it upon death. Not the most reliable, granted, but still a way.

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Jokes aside, it takes only 10 copper nuggets to make a copper pick. Even if you're unlucky with surface nuggets, that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes of gold panning. Bronzes are nice, but you don't need them to make your first pick. 

If you're lucky, it'll take less then that. I panned around 6~7 nuggets in one night once

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I disagree with exploring for surface ores. This is an exercise in frustration. Yes, it's possible, and has happened to me. But it's uncommon enough to be more opportunistic than go-to strategy.

 

Panning the first 2-3 copper tools is certainly the way to go. Make sure your first temporary or permanent settlement is near fresh water, preferably a river. This builds your spawn protection. If you weren't aware, the more time you spend in an area, the less likely mobs are to spawn within a 5x5 chunk area. This means after a few nights you can move about relatively safely. I am often able to pan all night near my shelter without incident.

 

Do avoid bronze for a while. Bronze is for after you've established your first copper mine and have more copper than you know what to do with (you'll poop your pants when you see how big the copper veins are underground). You will likely have a full set of copper tools, weapons, a copper anvil, and maybe some pieces of copper armor before you even start exploring in force for bronze ores. Now, to counter what I just said, you might very well pick up a few pieces of surface ore in your travels to make a single or two bronze tools. I strongly recommend casting a bronze pickaxe, and possibly a bronze propick as soon as you can, if able. When you get into real mining, the copper pickaxe will leave you disappointed in durability.

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I disagree with exploring for surface ores. This is an exercise in frustration. Yes, it's possible, and has happened to me. But it's uncommon enough to be more opportunistic than go-to strategy.

 

Are you talking about exposed ore blocks? I don't think anyone is (seriously) suggesting that. Running around to find surface nuggets and small ores, however, is not a terrible idea.

 

As you said, staying in one place and panning is very safe because of spawn protection. Personally, I like to do a bit of exploration to find cows, sheep, and crops, learn my nearby rock types, etc. It's a bit more dangerous, but I'm inclined to restart with a new seed if I don't like my surroundings so I explore before anything else. While I'm exploring I almost always find enough surface nuggets to make my first few tools.

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