The Arcane Pickaxe in The Forge explained
The Forge on Roblox is all about mining deeper, fighting tougher enemies, and upgrading your gear so you can handle the lava filled caves of the Forgotten Kingdom. One of the biggest upgrades you can get early on is the Arcane Pickaxe, also known as the Starite pickaxe. It is currently the best mining tool available in the game and a huge boost for farming ores like ruby.
Getting it is not as simple as walking into a shop and handing over some cash though. You will need to complete a specific quest, explore the deepest part of the first cave, and save up a serious pile of gold before you can call this shiny new tool your own.
This guide walks you through how to unlock the Arcane Pickaxe, when it is actually worth buying it, and what runes and stats you should aim for to really make it shine.
How to unlock and buy the Arcane Pickaxe
The Arcane Pickaxe is sold in a hidden room inside The Cave, which is the mining area in the first zone near Stonewake's Cross. You cannot reach this room until you complete the Bard's lost guitar quest and collect a special key from him.
Here is the full process step by step:
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Finish the Bard's lost guitar quest
Early on you will run into a quest where you help the Bard find his lost guitar. Once you finish this, you receive the Bard's Unknown Key. This key is crucial because it opens the locked gate hiding the Arcane Pickaxe room.
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Progress through The Cave
Head to Stonewake's Cross and enter The Cave, the first zone's mining area. Inside, follow the rightmost path deeper into the tunnels. Expect to fight your way through higher level zombie mobs as you go. They can chunk your health hard when they gather in groups, so do not rush this if your gear and level are still weak.
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Reach the iron gate
Eventually you will find an iron gate blocking off a section of the cave. This is where the Bard's Unknown Key comes into play. Interact with the gate and use the key to unlock it. On the other side is the hidden room that contains the Arcane Pickaxe.
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Pay the gold cost
The Arcane Pickaxe costs 125,000 gold. That is a lot for early and mid game players, which is why many people wait until they are near the end of the Goblin King questline before buying it. You can technically complete all five Goblin King quests without this pickaxe, but mining ruby and other valuable ores becomes far more annoying.
If you reach the gate and you do not have the gold yet, it is usually smarter to focus on making money first instead of forcing the purchase too early.
Best way to farm gold for the Arcane Pickaxe
Since the real barrier to the Arcane Pickaxe is money rather than the quest steps, you will want a plan for making gold efficiently while you continue through the main content.
Some solid approaches include:
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Push the main questline
Continue deeper into the Forgotten Kingdom and clear story quests as you go. These generally reward you with gold, gear, and crafting materials that you can flip for more profit.
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Craft and sell armor
Crafting armor pieces specifically Heavy Armor is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to make money. The materials are not hard to get and Heavy Armor tends to sell for a good amount, which helps you hit that 125,000 gold target faster.
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Use tips and codes
Guides and tip lists for The Forge can teach you good farming spots, efficient routes, and general strategies for resource gathering. Also keep an eye on current The Forge codes. These can give you rerolls that help you grab better races or luck totems which indirectly boost your overall farming potential.
Once you have the gold saved up, head back to Stonewake's Cross, dive into The Cave, unlock the gate with the Unknown Key, and finally buy the Arcane Pickaxe from the hidden room.
Arcane Pickaxe stats and best runes
The Arcane Pickaxe is not just expensive. It also packs serious base stats that make it feel like a true upgrade the moment you equip it. Here is what it brings to the table out of the box:
- 115 Mining Power
- 10 percent Mine Speed
- 50 percent Luck
- 3 Rune slots
Mining Power lets you break tougher ore faster, Mine Speed helps you clear nodes more quickly overall, and the bonus Luck improves your odds of better loot. The three rune slots are what really push this tool over the top though.
To get the most out of your new pickaxe, focus on Miner runes that increase Luck even further. You obtain these from Miner Shards and they can roll with different bonus values. It is better to be picky rather than filling the slots with weak runes just to say they are filled.
A smart approach is:
- Only keep Miner Shards that give more than 10 percent bonus Luck
- Sell or ignore runes with very low Luck values such as 6 or 8 percent
- Stack three strong Luck runes in the pickaxe once you have them
With enough patience, you can roll some very strong Luck bonuses such as 16 percent. Stacking three high quality miner runes on top of the Arcane Pickaxe base stats turns it into a monster tool for farming ore quickly and efficiently.
Once the runes are slotted, you will have a pickaxe with great power, fast mining speed, and huge Luck that makes hunting for valuable ore and rare drops much easier. It may take effort and grinding to reach that point, but the payoff is worth it if you plan to spend a lot of time in The Forge.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-forge-arcane-pickaxe/
