Archaeology

From Melvor Idle
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This page was last updated for (v1.2.2).
Archaeology
This article is about the Archaeology skill. For a guide to leveling the skill, see Archaeology/Training.

Archaeology is a skill where dig sites located in Cartography can be excavated to discover an assortment of rare and unique items, which provide assistance for progression of many other skills.

Dig Sites

Undisc dig site.png

Dig sites are found all over the map of Melvor in Cartography. Dig site hexes (tiles) must be surveyed up to Level 5 before they unlock in the Archaeology skill. Some dig sites also require certain map items to be obtained before they can be surveyed. Obtaining a map item will mark the respective dig site on the map with a "" icon.

Dig Site Map Items

Found At Dig Site Unlocked Size Rarity Item Description
Old Village Ancient Market Large Uncommon Torn Chart Details the location of the Ancient Market Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Old Village Sacrificial Site Medium Rare Cult Flyer A flyer detailing the location of the Sacrificial Site (Dig Site) in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Ancient Market Bazaar Large Very Rare City Chart A map detailing the location of the Bazaar Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Monuments Melantis Small Very Rare Melantis Clue 1
Monuments Watchtower Large Uncommon Island Chart A chart detailing the location of the Watchtower Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Monuments Castle Ruins Large Rare Navigation Chart A chart detailing the location of the Castle Ruins Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Secret Mines Ancient Forge Medium Very Rare Shipment Chart A chart detailing the location of the Ancient Forge Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Ritual Site Lost Temple Medium Very Rare Old Temple Chart A chart detailing the location of the Lost Temple Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.
Cathedral Shipwreck Cove Large Very Rare Ancient Wall Chart A chart detailing the location of the Shipwreck Cove Dig Site in Cartography. An icon has now appeared displaying its location. You can sell this item.

All Dig Site Items

[G] Generic items which can be exchanged for Museum Tokens.

Excavating Artefacts

The primary action for Archaeology is Excavating. The default interval per Excavation action is 4 seconds.

In order to begin Excavating a Dig Site, the player must select a Dig Site Map. Dig Site Maps are created using Cartography. Players receive an Excellent quality map when they first discover a Dig Site, although future maps will start at Poor quality. Please see the Cartography page for more information on creating maps.

In addition to selecting a map, players will also have to select which tools they wish to use. The tools selected determine which sizes of Artefacts can be found. Multiple tools can be selected, but doing so will divide the chance to find a given size of artefact by the total number of tools selected. (For example, if you had a 12% chance to find a Tiny artefact with only the Sieve selected, selecting another tool will reduce the chance of finding a Tiny artefact to 6%)

Artefact Values

Each map has four Artefact values, one for each size. The lower the value is, the higher the chance of finding an Artefact of a given size. Created maps will start at Poor quality with an Artefact value of 69 for each of the four sizes. Maps found from Discovering a Dig Site start at Excellent quality with an Artefact value of 33 for each of the four sizes.

When a map is upgraded to the next tier using Map Creation in Cartography, each of the four Artefact values will be reduced by a random number from 13-23. This means a map created at Poor quality and then fully upgraded to Perfect will be reduced by 39-69, resulting in Artefact values ranging from 30-1. Note that the minimum Artefact value that can be reached is 1.

Two of the Refinements that can be added to maps further reduce Artefact values for a chosen size by 5. The player can choose whether to apply both of these to the same size or to split them between two different sizes. The minimum Artefact value of 1 can not be circumvented by Refinements.

Map Level

Each map has a level associated with it. The level is calculated based on the Artefact values of a map as follows:

[math]\displaystyle{ \text{Map Level} = \frac{19300}{\text{Sum of Artefact Values} + 124} }[/math]

Although the Map level is purely a reflection of the Artefact Values and does not convey any additional information it can be used to quickly evaluate how strong a given map is. The level of Perfect maps can range from 79-151 with an average of 105. A Poor map starts out at level 48 and an automatically provided Excellent map starts out at level 75.

Tool Level

Each of the Archaeology tools starts at level 0. This level can be increased in several ways:

  • Each Tool can be upgraded in the Shop, receiving +1 Tool level per upgrade purchased, up to a maximum of +11
  • Every 50 donations to the Museum will provide +1 Tool level for all tools, up to a maximum of +5 (at 250 donations)
  • The 50% Mastery Pool checkpoint for Archaeology provides +3 Tool level for all tools
  • The Archaeology Skillcape provides +1 Tool level for all tools
  • The Superior Archaeology Skillcape provides +3 Tool level for all tools

This makes the maximum Tool level that can be reached 22 (since the Skillcape and Superior Skillcape can't be equipped simultaneously).

Artefact Chance

The base chance to discover an Artefact of a given size is as follows:

[math]\displaystyle{ \text{% Chance} = \frac{5 \times (1 + (\text{Tool Level} + 1) \times 0.25)}{\text{Artefact Value} + 31} }[/math]

This chance is divided by the number of tools selected to determine the actual chance to discover an artefact of a given size.

Excavation Actions

Each map has a limited number of actions before it is depleted. Poor maps have a random number of actions ranging from 2,000-4,000. Every tier upgrade randomly adds an additional 2,000-4,000 actions to the map. Newly created Perfect maps may be used 8,000-12,000 times.

Preservation chance for dig site map excavation actions is separate from the Preservation Chance for other skills; items like the Crown of Rhaelyx and Peasant Shirt do not affect Archaeology.

Museum Rewards

DonationsRewards
101 Bank Slot Token
201 Bank Slot Token
251 Archaeologist Gloves
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist Gloves from the Shop
301 Bank Slot Token
401 Bank Slot Token
501 Archaeologist's Whip
1 Bank Slot Token
+1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist's Whip from the Shop
601 Bank Slot Token
701 Bank Slot Token
751 Archaeologist Boots
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist Boots from the Shop
801 Bank Slot Token
901 Bank Slot Token
1008 Bank Slot Token
+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology
+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
+1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology
1101 Bank Slot Token
1201 Bank Slot Token
1251 Archaeologist Hat
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist Hat from the Shop
1301 Bank Slot Token
1401 Bank Slot Token
1501 Bank Slot Token
+1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology
1601 Bank Slot Token
1701 Bank Slot Token
1751 Archaeologist Leggings
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist Leggings from the Shop
1801 Bank Slot Token
1901 Bank Slot Token
2001 Archaeologist Body
16 Bank Slot Token
+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology
+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
+1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology
Unlocks the ability to purchase Archaeologist Body from the Shop
2101 Bank Slot Token
2201 Bank Slot Token
2301 Bank Slot Token
2401 Bank Slot Token
2501 Bank Slot Token
+1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology
+1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology
2601 Bank Slot Token
2711 Golden Trowel
30 Bank Slot Token
+10% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
Unlocks the ability to purchase Golden Trowel from the Shop

Tools

Sieves

Trowels

Brushes

Shovels

Skillcape

The Archaeology Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 1,000,000GP after the player reaches Archaeology Level 99.

The Superior Archaeology Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 10,000,000GP after the player reaches Archaeology Level 120.

Skillcape Name Requirements Effect
Archaeology Skillcape Archaeology Skillcape Archaeology Level 99 +10% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions, +1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology, +1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology, +1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology, and +1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology
Superior Archaeology Skillcape Superior Archaeology Skillcape Archaeology Level 120 +1 base primary resource quantity gained in Archaeology, +15% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions, +3 levels of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology, +3 levels of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology, +3 levels of the Brush Tool in Archaeology, and +3 levels of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology

Pet

Pet Name Effect
Warren Warren +5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions

Skill Boosts

This table lists most sources of Archaeology-specific modifier boosts. For a list of boosts that apply to all skills, see the Skill Boosts page. This list does not contain boosts provided from Mastery rewards.