Poly Loot Mining Guide: Unlock, Pickaxe, Spots & Ore Uses

You start mining in Poly Loot by completing Miner Tom's pickaxe quest, found later in the cave quest chain. Mining gives you ores (iron, gold, coal, diamonds, crystals) for gear crafting and for gold mine storage upgrades — adding coal grants a 2x gold rate for passive gold while you're away.

How to unlock mining

Mining progression is opened through the cave quest chain. An early quest tied to the gold mine unlocks passive gold generation that keeps producing while you work on other objectives, so it's worth taking as soon as it appears. Later in the same cave chain, Miner Tom hands out the pickaxe quest that opens actual mining; a nearby NPC in the same area asks you to clear monsters. The gold mine and mining both reward early setup, and both unlocks fit inside a first-session quest sweep.

Pickaxe crafting progression

Pickaxes are crafted at the Crafting station. The diamond pickaxe — described as the last pickaxe in the progression guide for now — requires:

• 25 wood to craft, plus 15 iron to use
• 15 gold and some red shards (from farming mobs)
• Diamond ore
• 10 epic shards

Higher pickaxes gate access to better mining progression. Note that only the diamond pickaxe's costs have been reported in detail; the full tier-by-tier recipes beyond it haven't been documented.

How ore nodes work

Ore spots are scattered in and around the cave, and the ore type at any node is randomized — a node could be gold, iron, diamond, crystal, or another ore. Nodes take between one and roughly five hits to break and respawn over time. Exact respawn timers and per-node ore probabilities haven't been documented.

If you're brand new (around level 20 or below), don't commit to a designated farming spot first — run around the map and mine whatever ores you find while progressing. Nodes deeper along the direct path from the cave entrance toward the skeletons contain no ores.

Best mining spots: the Bear Mountain ore loop

The verified routes concentrate around the cave system:

• Closest left entrance: five ore spots (two near the entrance, more deeper in near a passive neutral enemy that drops rare, epic, and legendary weapons).
• Crystal node near an extra cave entrance: crystals matter for late-game players crafting crystal armor, especially pure crystals.
• Bear Mountain entrance: the standout route. A cluster of five nodes there is considered the best farming spot because the layout forms a loop — by the time you finish the five nodes plus the extra one above them, earlier nodes have respawned. This spot is recommended for mid-tier to end-game players.
• Three more ore spots further up: serviceable while working through general pickaxe progression.

PvP safety while mining

Part of the mountain mining area is PvP-enabled, but safer options exist:

• Two ores near the upper area can be farmed with PvP off, in safety.
• You can always fall back to that PvP-off area.
• Alternatively, place a safe zone totem by the Bear Mountain cluster.

What mined ore is used for

Mined ores feed gear crafting, but their value doesn't end once you've crafted everything — they're also required for gold mine storage upgrades. Level one requires gold, iron, and reportedly coal. Adding coal to the gold mine grants a 2x gold rate, producing passive gold (reported at around 12,000 free gold) while you're AFK or doing other tasks. The gold mine rewards early setup, so upgrade it early.

The exact max level of the gold mine storage is unknown — it has been observed at level two, with level three guessed but unconfirmed. Check in-game after updates, since recipes, node placement, and balance may shift.