What's inside
- Quick comparison: Magma vs Arcane at a glance
- Full stat breakdown
- Magma Pickaxe: the best value pick for early and mid game
- Arcane Pickaxe: the best pick for rare-ore farming and late game
- Does the Arcane Pickaxe pay for itself? A worked example
- Which pickaxe for your progression stage
- Durability and ownership realities
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Quick comparison: Magma vs Arcane at a glance
- Full stat breakdown
- Magma Pickaxe: the best value pick for early and mid game
- Arcane Pickaxe: the best pick for rare-ore farming and late game
- Does the Arcane Pickaxe pay for itself? A worked example
- Which pickaxe for your progression stage
- Durability and ownership realities
- Frequently Asked Questions
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The Magma Pickaxe is the better first purchase for most players, and the Arcane Pickaxe is the better endgame upgrade — they are not really competing for the same slot. Magma mines 7.5 ore per second against Arcane’s 5.2, costs roughly a quarter as much, and is the only one of the two that keeps working at full strength in the Emberdeep. Arcane wins on rare-ore output (+50% rare ore per node plus a 10% duplication roll) and out-earns Magma by roughly 10% in mixed and deep zones — but only after you have paid off a market gap of around 480,000 coins.
All stat values below are the ones listed on the in-game item cards at the time of writing. The Forge has rebalanced pickaxe numbers in previous updates, so confirm the current card before you commit your materials.
Quick comparison: Magma vs Arcane at a glance
| Pickaxe | Best for | Key specs | Acquisition cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magma Pickaxe (Rare) | Early and mid game, bulk ore grinding, Emberdeep runs, timed events | 7.5 ore/sec, +25% speed on stone and basalt, heat-drain immunity, 22,000 durability | 12 Magma Cores + 40 Iron Ingots at Forge Tier 2; market range ~120,000–180,000 coins |
| Arcane Pickaxe (Epic) | Late game, rare-ore farming, Crystalline Depths and Ruin Vaults, ore-index completion | 5.2 ore/sec, +50% rare ore per node, 10% duplication proc, 20,000 durability, disabled in Emberdeep | 25 Arcane Shards + 1 Runic Core at Forge Tier 4; market range ~600,000–850,000 coins |
Full stat breakdown
| Stat | Magma Pickaxe | Arcane Pickaxe |
|---|---|---|
| Rarity | Rare | Epic |
| Base mining speed | 7.5 ore/sec | 5.2 ore/sec |
| Rare-yield bonus | None | +50% rare ore per node |
| Proc ability | Molten Edge: +25% speed on stone, basalt and Emberdeep ore; ignores heat drain | Arcane Resonance: 10% chance to duplicate any ore broken; disabled in Emberdeep |
| Forge tier required | Tier 2 | Tier 4 |
| Durability | 22,000 swings (≈49 min continuous) | 20,000 swings (≈64 min continuous) |
| Repair materials | 18 Magma Cores | 25 Arcane Shards |
| Strongest zone | Emberdeep, Basalt Hollows | Crystalline Depths, Ruin Vaults |
Magma Pickaxe: the best value pick for early and mid game
The Magma Pickaxe is the one you buy when you are still converting ore into coins faster than you are converting coins into gear. At 7.5 ore/sec it is 44% faster than the Arcane on raw break speed, and because it is a Rare rather than an Epic, the crafting materials are farmable rather than tradeable-only. Twelve Magma Cores come out of Emberdeep chests at a reasonable rate, and Iron Ingots are a Tier 1 staple you will already have.
Who it suits
- Players between 100,000 and 300,000 coins who are still filling contract quotas and selling common ore in bulk.
- Anyone running Emberdeep — Molten Edge is the only ability of the two that functions there, and heat-drain immunity means no forced cooldown breaks.
- Timed mining events, where raw speed beats per-node bonuses because you are judged on total ore broken, not ore value.
- Players who want a cheap second pickaxe to keep in the hotbar so the expensive one does not take all the wear.
Main trade-off
No rare-yield bonus at all. Every rare ore you break gives you exactly one ore, so on rare-heavy routes you are leaving value on the table — and because it is faster, it also burns durability faster in real time (about 49 minutes of continuous mining per repair versus 64 for the Arcane). The repairs are cheap, but you will be visiting the forge more often.
Arcane Pickaxe: the best pick for rare-ore farming and late game
The Arcane Pickaxe is a yield multiplier, not a speed tool. It breaks 31% slower than the Magma, but every rare node it touches produces 1.5 ore, and the Arcane Resonance proc duplicates a broken ore 10% of the time. On routes where rare ore is a meaningful share of what you are breaking, that combination overtakes the Magma’s speed advantage — the deeper you go, the wider the gap gets.
Who it suits
- Players at Forge Tier 4 with 700,000+ coins who are farming rare ore for sale rather than for crafting.
- Anyone completing the ore index or chasing collection milestones, where per-node yield matters more than throughput.
- Ruin Vault and Crystalline Depths routes, where the ore table is rare-heavy and the Arcane’s bonus applies to nearly every node.
- Players who already own a Magma and want a second tool for value-focused sessions instead of replacing it.
Main trade-off
Cost and inflexibility. The Runic Core alone is the bottleneck — it does not drop from chests, so you are either grinding the Tier 4 forge recipe or buying from the market at whatever the current rate is. Arcane Resonance is also switched off inside the Emberdeep, which turns the Arcane into an expensive, slow pickaxe in the one zone where the Magma shines.
Does the Arcane Pickaxe pay for itself? A worked example
Assume a mixed route where 8% of the nodes you break are rare ore, rare ore sells for 900 coins, and common ore sells for 8 coins. Compare 1,000 ore broken with each pickaxe:
- Magma: 1,000 ore at 7.5/sec takes 133 seconds. That is 920 common ore (7,360 coins) plus 80 rare ore (72,000 coins) — 79,360 coins, or about 597 coins per second.
- Arcane: 1,000 ore at 5.2/sec takes 192 seconds. The rare nodes yield 80 × 1.5 = 120 ore, and the 10% duplication proc lifts both pools to roughly 132 rare and 1,012 common — 118,800 plus 8,096 coins, or about 660 coins per second.
That is a gap of roughly 63 coins per second in the Arcane’s favour. At a market difference of about 480,000 coins between the two, the Arcane takes around 7,600 seconds — a little over two hours of continuous mining — to break even against simply buying the Magma and keeping the change. In practice that is several play sessions, which is why the Magma is the recommended first buy even though the Arcane is the stronger endgame tool.
Run the same numbers on a common-heavy route (3% rare ore) and the gap narrows sharply, because the Arcane’s bonus has fewer rare nodes to multiply. Run them in the Emberdeep and the gap disappears entirely — Arcane Resonance is disabled, so the Magma is simply faster.
Which pickaxe for your progression stage
| Your situation | Pick | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50,000 coins, Forge below Tier 2 | Neither yet | 12 Magma Cores represent roughly 90,000 coins of materials; keep using your Iron or Steel pickaxe until you can craft in one go. |
| 100,000–300,000 coins, Tier 2–3, contract grinding | Magma | Highest coins-per-hour per coin spent, and the materials are farmable rather than trade-only. |
| Working the Emberdeep regularly | Magma | Heat-drain immunity plus the Emberdeep speed bonus; the Arcane’s proc is disabled there. |
| Tier 4, 700,000+ coins, rare-ore selling | Arcane | The +50% rare yield plus duplication pays back the market gap in roughly two hours of mining. |
| Timed mining events or speed challenges | Magma | Events score total ore broken; a 44% speed advantage beats a yield multiplier. |
| Ore index and collection completion | Arcane | Per-node yield reduces the number of rare spawns you need to find, not just the time spent breaking. |
| Endgame with coins to spare | Both | Arcane for deep rare routes, Magma for Emberdeep and events — this also spreads durability wear across two tools. |
Durability and ownership realities
Durability is where the two pickaxes diverge in ways the stat card does not spell out. Both lose durability per ore broken rather than per swing, so the faster pickaxe is not automatically the cheaper one to maintain — it just reaches the repair threshold sooner in wall-clock time. The Magma lasts about 49 minutes of continuous mining; the Arcane lasts about 64. Over a ten-hour farming week, that is roughly twelve Magma repairs against nine Arcane repairs.
The repair bill is where the Magma claws that back. Magma repairs take 18 Magma Cores, a chest drop you will pick up incidentally while farming the Emberdeep. Arcane repairs take 25 Arcane Shards, which are slower to source and therefore more expensive on the market. Budget for the Arcane’s upkeep, not just its purchase price — a player who buys an Arcane and then mines with it for eight hours a day will spend a meaningful fraction of their income on shards.
Common mistakes
- Buying the Arcane first. It is slower, and until your routes are rare-heavy it earns less per hour than the Magma it replaced.
- Taking the Arcane into the Emberdeep. Resonance is disabled there, so you are paying Epic prices for a below-average pickaxe.
- Selling the Magma after buying the Arcane. Keep it for heat zones, events and repair rotation; the resale value rarely covers what it costs to re-craft.
- Repairing at full durability loss instead of topping up. Repair material cost scales with missing durability, so topping up at around 30% remaining is cheaper per hour than running to zero.
- Ignoring enchant slots. Fortune enchants stack multiplicatively with the Arcane’s rare-yield bonus but only additively with the Magma’s flat speed, which widens the Arcane’s advantage on rare-heavy routes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Arcane Pickaxe better than the Magma Pickaxe?
On rare-heavy routes and in the deep zones, yes — it earns roughly 10% more coins per second once you factor in the +50% rare yield and the duplication proc. On common ore, in the Emberdeep, and in timed events, the Magma is better because it breaks 44% faster and its ability actually functions. Neither is a strict upgrade over the other.
How much does the Arcane Pickaxe cost?
Crafting it at Forge Tier 4 takes 25 Arcane Shards and 1 Runic Core. On the player market the finished pickaxe generally trades somewhere in the 600,000–850,000 coin range, with the Runic Core being the main variable — it does not drop from chests, so its price swings with demand.
Can I use the Arcane Pickaxe in the Emberdeep?
You can equip and mine with it, but Arcane Resonance is disabled in that zone, so you lose the duplication proc entirely. The Magma Pickaxe is the better tool there: Molten Edge gives it a further +25% speed bonus on Emberdeep ore and it ignores heat drain completely.
Should I sell my Magma Pickaxe after buying an Arcane?
No. The Magma remains the correct tool for the Emberdeep, for timed mining events, and as a repair-rotation backup so your Arcane is not absorbing every hour of wear. Its resale value is also well below the cost of re-crafting it if you change your mind.
What should I buy before the Magma Pickaxe?
Nothing special — an Iron or Steel pickaxe from the Tier 1 forge is enough to farm the 12 Magma Cores and 40 Iron Ingots the recipe needs. Spending coins on an intermediate Rare pickaxe usually just delays the Magma by a session or two.
Does the Arcane’s duplication proc stack with fortune enchants?
It stacks, and it stacks better than most players assume. Fortune enchants multiply rare-ore output, so they compound with the Arcane’s +50% rare yield, while on the Magma the same enchant is working against a pickaxe with no rare-yield bonus at all. If you are building a rare-farming setup, enchant the Arcane first.