wow Becoming a Legion Archaeologist: Can You Dig It?

[Starym 3,776]

 

Blizzard did a littled recap/hype video for archaeology, but I notice it doesn't mention the sheer horror of certain Azsuna dig sites. But hey there's a mount, pet AND an extra dungeon boss so it's all worth it!

Legion Archaeology

When the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth, the Broken Isles became both the front lines of a war—and a great opportunity to dig a bit deeper into some of Azeroth's rich history.

If you haven’t caught up on what’s new for Archaeologists in Legion, now is the perfect time to start digging in to this secondary profession.

Excavating the Broken Isles

Before your start exploring the Broken Isles, there are a several key differences Archaeologists will want to note:

• There are three active digsites available at any given time. Each consists of nine areas of discovery within the digsite.
• Digsites in the Broken Isles tend to be somewhat smaller than elsewhere in Azeroth, requiring less travel.
• You’ll find fewer artifacts of common quality, potentially leading to more Pristine finds.

Get started by visiting Dariness the Learned in the Archaeology building in Dalaran, and then keep an eye out for your Excavator’s Notebook when you’re working in dig sites, as that item unlocks your path from Archaeology skill level 700 to 800.

Dariness is very learned, indeed.

World Questing With Shovels

Once you’ve reached player-character level 110, visit Dariness the Learned to learn about her current Archaeology quest. She offers a rare find for you every two weeks, and this is currently the only way to obtain rare finds in the Broken Isles. It won’t be easy, but all you need do is channel your inner Harrison Jones. The path to discovery is fraught with danger!

Dariness’s quests can require you to commit some time to the profession, as you to travel the isles and set your pick to digging. Each quest is related to a specific type of site, such as Demonic in Stormheim, Highborne in Azsuna, or the Highmountain Tauren in Highmountain, and they each result in rewarding a unique rare item. These rewards include:

• Usable gear, such as the Spear of Rethu.
• Utility items, such as the Starlight Beacon.
• A key that unlocks access to an extra dungeon boss.
• Toys, such as the Crystalline Eye of Undravius.
• An item that sells for 5,000 gold.
• Your very own Wyrmy Tunkins.
• The Spirit of Eche’ro mount.

 

Wyrmy Tunkins!

 

The Spear of Rethu Heirloom polearm

 

Now that’s a spirited mount!

 

Feel the Earth Move Under Your Feet

A new feature in Legion is the Standing On It buff—an Archaeology improvement that tells you when you’re standing close enough to a find to use Survey and dig it up. Now, when you’re within range of your prize, you can explore with your feet, and you don’t need to guess where to dig. Most importantly—Standing On It applies to all dig sites in Azeroth, Draenor, and Outland!

Time Is on Your Side

With the weekly reset every other week, you can get started on the current Archaeology quest, and you have up to 14 days to complete it. There are currently 13 such quests in rotation, and completing them means earning achievements. The No Stone Unturned achievement, earned when you complete 250 Legion digsites, rewards you with the title “The Groundbreaker”, and when you obtain eight of the 13 rares from Archaeology quests, you’ll receive the This Side Up achievement and unlock a special Artifact weapon tint.

Tip: Get yourself a good pair of gloves to wear while you’re out surveying, and enchant them with Enchant Gloves – Legion Surveying. This permanently gives you a boost to your surveying speed, cutting the time you spend digging in half!

Now that you know more, it’s time to pack up your gear and get your hands dirty. Good luck out there!

 

[demonardvark 556]

I personally always loved archaeology prof its the only one i ever truly do. It's mostly for down time in ques but its somewhat relaxing to do (when not getting mauled by an alligator or something when trying to find the next spot). The standing on it buff is really really helpful, what they didn't note is you get a little light-bulb exclamation point above your head metal gear style when you are there. Once you get a green signal you can more or less follow it until the buff and have to survey one time fewer, may not seem like much but when doing it for hours each saved second counts. It was a really simple addition that was just a huge quality of life improvement :)

no sparkle ghost moose yet but i do have all the toys, pets, and weapon mogs :)

[Zadina 923]

Just like all other professions in Legion, Archaeology is also grindy, long and tedious. I didn't like the uninvolved profession system WoD have, but taking it from one extreme to the other isn't exactly smart. They need to find a middle ground.

For Archaeology, specifically, limiting the digsites in a single area feels a bit meh. From the weekly quests that have shown up so far, the Azsuna one with the 20 projects was pretty ridiculous; I hope Val'sharah and Suramar aren't like that. The fact that you need more pieces to complete the projects is also very annoying, just makes the profession an even bigger grindfest than it already was.

[PatrickHenry 293]

38 minutes ago, Zadina said:

They need to find a middle ground.

Agreed.  WoD you needed nothing really to progress, but now every second or third profession quest you're locked until you complete a dungeon/spend thousands on the mats. 

There was even a few patterns that weren't available until a raid unlocked weeks into the expansion.  and it was a level 815 pattern.  Helm I believe.  Although I guess they can be upgraded for more thousands. 

[Valks 2,373]

On 9/30/2016 at 3:03 PM, PatrickHenry said:

Agreed.  WoD you needed nothing really to progress, but now every second or third profession quest you're locked until you complete a dungeon/spend thousands on the mats. 

I prefer it how it is in Legion, for sure, but I don't think artificial barriers are the way to go. It's evident Blizzard are trying to force us to slow down a bit (artifact questlines with long missions etc.), but it can definitely get old fast.