Pickaxes are a core part of The Forge gameplay, as they allow you to mine ores to craft armor and weapons. You can buy more than 10 different pickaxes. The best pickaxe will help you transition smoothly from early and mid-game to the end-game stage. Not all Pickaxes give the best return on your investment. This article provides the best The Forge Pickaxe progression guide, helping you choose the right one for each stage.
Table of Contents
What Are Pickaxes in the Forge?
You use Pickaxes to break stones and find ores in caves. They have three stats: Mining Power, Luck Boost, and Mining Speed. These stats make a huge difference in their performance. Here’s what each means:
- Mining Power: It decides the damage you deal to rocks while mining.
- Luck Boost: It boosts the chances of obtaining rare ores.
- Mining Speed: It decides how fast you break rocks while mining.
You can also attach Runes to 11 Pickaxes. Some can equip a single, while others can have multiple. As of this writing, you can equip only the Miner Shard Rune, which grants one of these four effects: Extra ore while mining, Luck boost, Mining Power buff, or Mining Speed buff.
You can get a Pickaxe by purchasing it with gold. The primary spot to buy them is Miner Fred’s Shop, which you can find in both Stonewake’s Cross and Forgotten Kingdom. Some Pickaxes are hidden in secret places. For instance, the Arcane Pickaxe is hidden in the Fallen Angel’s Cave.
The Forge Pickaxe Progression Guide – Comparison Table
Here is the recommended The Forge Pickaxe progression in ascending order:
- Bronze Pickaxe
- Iron Pickaxe
- Gold Pickaxe
- Cobalt Pickaxe
- Uranium Pickaxe
- Mythril Pickaxe
- Arcane PIckaxe
Here are the stats and details of the above-listed Pickaxes for comparison:
| Pickaxes | Mining Power | Mining Speed | Luck Boost | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bronze | 5 | – | – | Free |
 Iron | 10 | – | 5% | 500 gold |
 Gold | 16 | – | 15% | 1,500 gold |
 Cobalt | 36 | – | 35% | 10,000 gold |
 Uranium | 67 | – | 41% | 37,500 gold |
 Mythril | 80 | – | 43% | 67,500 gold |
 Arcane | 115 | 10% | 50% | 125,000 gold |
 Aqua | 200 | 5% | 52% | 375,000 gold |
 Snow | 320 | 10% | 58% | 750,000 gold |
| Prismatic | 650 | 20% | 72% | 2,000,000 gold |
Best Pickaxes for the Stonewake’s Cross
1. Bronze
You get Bronze Pickaxe for free upon joining the game. It will be useful until you complete the tutorial. It can do base damage of 5 and provides no luck boost. Quickly save money and go for the Iron Pickaxe.
2. Iron
Iron Pickaxe costs only 500 gold, which won’t take much time to farm. It has double the damage of Bronze and provides a 5% luck boost. You can mine a few ores to forge armor and weapons. Sell those armor and weapons to earn money and buy the Gold Pickaxe.
3. Gold
Gold Pickaxe costs 1,500 gold to buy from Miner Fred’s Shop. Use it until you reach level 10 and earn 10,000 gold. You can complete quests from Nord and Umut the Brave NPCs in Stonewake’s Cross to earn gold quickly. Nord gives tasks to collect some ores, and Umut the Brave makes you kill a certain number of zombies.
After reaching level 10, another island, Forgotten Kingdom, will unlock. You can buy Cobalt Pickaxe in the Forgotten Kingdom and dispose of the Gold Pickaxe
4. Cobalt
Cobalt Pickaxe costs 10,000 gold to buy from Miner Fred’s Shop on the Forgotten Kingdom island. It deals 40 base damage to rocks, and boosts your luck by 35%. You can use it to mine Basalt Rock, which offers Silver, Gold, Platinum, Cobalt, Titanium, and Lapis Lazuli. Use them to forge armor and weapons and sell those to earn quick money.
You can also complete quests from Captain Rowan, Sensei Moro, Barrakulf, and Masked Stranger. Save up to 37,500 gold and go for the next Pickaxe, progressing to the mid-game.
Best Pickaxes for the Forgotten Kingdom
1. Uranium
Uranium is one of the best Pickaxes for the mid-game stage. It costs 37,500 gold to buy from Miner Fred’s Shop on the Forgotten Kingdom island. The Pickaxe deals 67 base damage to rocks and provides 41% luck boost. You can use Uranium Pickaxe to mine as much Basalt Core as possible.
It allows mining rarer ores such as Eye Ore, Emerald, Amethyst, and more. These ores will help forge armor and weapons, allowing you to earn decent money by selling them. Use Uranium Pickaxe until you save 67,500 gold to buy the next best mid-game Pickaxe.
2. Mythril
Mythril Pickaxe costs 67,500 gold to buy from Miner Fred’s Shop. You can use it to mine Basalt Vein that offers many legendary rarity ores, such as Lightite, Mythril, Uranium, RIvalite, and more. These ores have overpowered traits that can significantly enhance your weapons and armor.
Forge your main weapons, build the best armor, and prepare for the late game with the Mythril Pickaxe. Save up to 125,000 gold and buy the best Pickaxe for the late game.
3. Arcane
Arcane is the best Pickaxe for the late game. It doesn’t cost much, priced at 125,000 gold. You can earn the required money quickly by doing quests and selling equipment. You can find the Arcane Pickaxe inside the Fallen Angel’s Cave of Stonewake’s Cross island. The Fallen Angel’s Cave is a secret, locked area. Opening its door requires an Unknown Key, which can be obtained by completing the Bard’s quest in The Forge by finding his guitar.
Arcane Pickaxe can deal 100 base damage to the rocks. It has the highest luck boost of 50% among all Pickaxes currently. After obtaining the Arcane Pickaxe, you can attach three Runes to it. Use all Miner Shards that offer a luck boost to mine the rarest ores with this Pickaxe.
Best Pickaxes for the Frostspire Expanse
Unlocking Pickaxes in the Frostspire Expanse works differently from the previous two. Only accumulating gold doesn’t suffice; you must complete the required Moro quest for each. For instance, you must complete Sensei Moro’s quest 3 to be able to purchase the Aqua Pickaxe that costs 375,000 gold. Keeping that in mind, here are the best Pickaxes you must buy in the Frostspire Expanse.
1. Aqua Pickaxe
Skip the Tungsten Pickaxe and save your money to purchase the Aqua Pickaxe. You must complete Senesi Moro’s quest 3 to buy it from Miner Fred’s Shop. The Aqua Pickaxe has 200 base damage with 5% speed and a 52% luck boost. You can mine all the deposits in Spider’s Cave with this Pickaxe. Use this Pickaxe until you’ve completed Sensei Moro’s quest 6.
3. Snow Pickaxe
You must complete Sensei Moro’s quest 6 to be able to purchase the Snow Pickaxe. It has 320 base damage, 10% mine speed boost, and a 58% luck boost, and costs 750,000 gold. You can mine all deposits in Spider’s Cave and Small Ice Crystals in The Peak. The Small Ice Crystals grant ores with high multipliers, such as Crimsonite, Moltenfrost, and more.
4. Prismatic Pickaxe
The Prismatic Pickaxe costs 2,000,000 gold, and you need one Mosasaursit to purchase it. You don’t need to complete Sensei Moro’s quest to be able to buy it. The Prismatic is the most overpowered Pickaxe as of this writing, with 650 base damage, 20% speed boost, a 72% luck boost, and four Rune slots.
It is hidden in a secret spot of the Frostspire Expanse, and you must mine a huge block of ice to get access to it. The ice has 500,000 HP and requires 420 base damage to break it. You can use the event-themed Christmas Pickaxe or Frost Pickaxe for the job. Only buy Frost Pickaxe when you’ve accumulated the required gold to purchase the Prismatic. Until then, Snow Pickaxe will suffice.
Here is a step-by-step guide to finding the Prismatic Pickaxe:
- Walk straight from the Bjorn and take a left turn towards the south.
- Turn right and walk towards the northeast.
- You will see a frozen lake to the southeast.
- Go near the spot with a chair, and you’ll find a small hole in the lake.
- Get to the lake’s bottom through the hole.
- You will see a huge block of ice with 500,000 HP.
- Break the ice with the Christmas or Frost Pickaxe, and receive the Mosasaursit item.
- Purchase the Prismatic Pickaxe and mine every deposit you find in the Frostspire Expanse.
Note: You can skip the Snow Pickaxe and purchase the Christmas Pickaxe for 3,600 Xmas Tickets. It has a 72% luck boost and 550 mine power, allowing you to mine all deposits in the Spider’s Cave and Small and Medium Ice Crystals in The Peak. Note that it is a Christmas event-exclusive Pickaxe, which won’t be available after the event ends.
That concludes our The Forge Pickaxe progression guide. Check out our The Forge Wiki for detailed information about the game’s features.
