WoW Cataclysm Classic Archaeology Guide
In World of Warcraft Classic: Cataclysm, a new secondary profession, archaeology, is introduced. This capability enables players to dig up historical artifacts and relics by exploring the dig sites within Azeroth with other zones. Despite being primarily centered on lore and collection, Archaeology provides some exotic bonuses like riding creatures, battle pets, and extraordinary epic weapons. In this guide, all aspects will be explained to help you get started with Archaeology in Cataclysm Classic.
Learning Archaeology
Unlike primary professions, Archaeology is one of the secondary professions that can be gained in parallel to the other professions. However, Archaeology skills can only be trained beginning from level 20. As soon as you reach level 20 go to any Archaeology trainer in major cities to take up this profession. Some key Archaeology trainers include:
Alliance:
Harrison Jones in Stormwind Keep
Doktor Professor Ironpants in Ironforge
Horde:
Belloc Brightblade in Orgrimmar
Adam Hossack in Undercity
After learning Archaeology, you'll gain the Survey ability and access to the Archaeology interface. You'll also see excavation sites appear on your world map.
Archaeology Basics
The core gameplay loop of Archaeology involves the following steps:
Dig Sites
When you open the in-game world map, you will see the shovel icons that show active dig sites. The player always has 4 dig sites available at any one time per continent. Dig sites are race-specific, so Night Elf dig sites will contain Night Elf artifacts, Dwarf’s dig sites contain Dwarf artifacts, and so on.
As you increase your Archaeology skill, you'll unlock access to dig sites in more zones:
Surveying
After you get to a dig site, to find fragments of artifacts, you will need to point your Survey ability at the respective location. Using Survey will employ a surveying telescope on the ground that is oriented towards the general direction of the nearest fragment. The color of the telescope's light indicates how close you are:
Walk in the direction that the telescope is facing and then use Survey. Do the same, moving in the direction of the telescope, and search until you find the glowing fragment on the ground. To loot the fragment, simply click it.
Yielding 3 sets of fragments before it is exhausted, each dig site helps you find fragments. When all major relics are extracted from the zone, the location of the dig site on your map is removed and a new one is generated somewhere else in the continent.
Fragments and Keystones
Surveying dig sites will reward you with two types of items:
Completing Artifacts
The fragments collected will help you progress in the so-called ‘projects’ represented in the interface of Archaeology. You can see your current projects by clicking the Archaeology button located in the Professions tab.
Every project needs a certain number of fragments for its implementation, the average quantity is 30-150 fragments. You can also use matching keystones to contribute 12 fragments each toward any project as well.
When you compile sufficient fragments, click on the “Solve” button to finish the artifact. It will consume the fragments and give you the whole artifact item back.
Most of the time the completed artifacts are of grey quality and can be sold in the vendor for gold. However, you also have a chance to get very special artifacts that give you special bonuses associated with toys, pets, and mounts. Apart from selling artifacts, you can get gold very easily by spending the real money. You can purchase gold from the trusted and reliable seller MMOPixel.
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Leveling Archaeology
You gain Archaeology skills in the following ways:
The most efficient way to level is at surveying up to 50 the skill followed by the surveying of the artifacts. You'll need to train with an Archaeology trainer at certain skill thresholds to continue advancing:
Archaeology Races and Artifacts
There are 9 digging races available in Cataclysm, each with their own artifact types:
Dwarf artifacts are a set of ordinary stones and statues which can be artifacts such as Clockwork Gnome a rare pet and rare objects like Innkeeper’s Daughter, a fanciful toy for the hearth. A dig site gives out fossilized remains and bones; a rare drop is the Fossilized Raptor mount and the Pterrordax Hatchling pet.
Night Elf sites are filled with Kaldorei sculptures and Night Elf Jewelry along with rare objects like the Wisp Amulet toy and the Tyrande’s Favorite Doll trinket. Troll items depict tribal masks and fetishes; players can obtain the Voodoo Figurine pet and Zin’rokh, Destroyer of Worlds, an epic two-handed sword that belongs to the troll set.
Crafted items of Draenei are crystal shards and prayer stones, and THE LAST RELIC OF ARGUS is a very rare toy figure. Orc sites contain ancestral weapons & totems: a helm called Headdress of the First Shaman is from the epic category of mail armor.
Nerubian digsites consist of chitinous pieces idols, and oddities such as the Blessing of the Old God and the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron. Vrykul artifacts are the runestones the drinking horns, and the very hard-to-come-by Nifflevar Bearded Axe which is an epic one-handed weapon.
Finally, Tol’vir sites contain hieroglyphs and statues where the Crawling Claw pet and Scepter of Azj’Aqir mount are considered unique rewards.
Notable Archaeology Rewards
Most Archaeology materials are just vendor trash, but there are some remarkable rare rewards for those. Some mounts are Fossilized Raptors getting them from Fossil sites and the Scepter of Azj’Aqir from Tol’vir dig sites.
Arenas favorite rewards are pets, such as Clockwork Gnome for Dwarf, Fossilized Hatchling and Pterrordax Hatchling for Fossil, Voodoo Figurine for Troll, and Crawling Claw for Tol’vir.
Products like toys simply enhance the flavor and fun of your escapades. Some of them are Ancient Amber which belongs to the fossil class, Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron which is the Nerubian class, The Innkeeper’s Daughter which belongs to the dwarf class, Kaldorei Wind Chimes which belongs to the night elf class and The Last Relic of Argus which belongs to Draenei class.
If one is after potentially very solid gear, Archaeology provides some pretty good epic equipment. They are Zin’rokh, Destroyer of Worlds (2H sword from Troll sites), Queen Azshara’s Dressing Gown (cloth chest from Night Elf sites), Extinct Turtle Shell (shield from Fossil sites), Scimitar of the Sirocco (1H sword from Tol’vir sites), and Staff of Sorcerer-Thane Thaurissan (staff from Dwarf sites).
Archaeology Achievements
There are several achievements related to Archaeology that can be earned:
Completing these achievements rewards achievement points and titles like "Professor" and "Assistant Professor".
Archaeology Dungeon Quests
At 425 Skill, you can accept special Archaeology quests in certain dungeons. These quests require you to turn in a specific keystone and reward your group with a unique buff for that dungeon:
These buffs can be very helpful for completing difficult dungeons, so don't forget to grab the quests if you have the required keystones.
Conclusion
Exploring the WoW world while getting more into archaeology adds a real play style that allow players to search for ancient artifacts. Although occasionally it might be monotonous, many players are willing to invest their time in reaching the maximum level of Archaeology. From the Raptor Mount to the Zin’rokh weapon, it offers materials, components, and drops of interest to collectors and raiders.
