My digging slowed down some when my inventory filled up, and I decided to get City of Heroes to play while waiting for stuff to sell (I already have 3 other characters I use to AH, Store, and Bazaar stuff in FFXI, one in each city).


Currently I'm on stacks #426-450.


I hit digging level 2 (6 second delay) sometime after stack #325, and before stack #340. The only round number I see that falls in between those 2 sets would be 4000 total digs, or somewhere between 2700 and 2900 digs after hitting level 1...


Yesterday digging in east altepa I got my best dig yet, a Platinum Ore (currently selling for 22,000 in san d'oria on Lakshmi). I've definitely noticed that digging improves during, or just before a weather pattern shows up. I started getting more digging successes, and was thinking hmm... no weather pattern right now, weird... and about 1 or 2 in game hours later, earth weather showed up, and shortly after I dug up the platinum ore, and a couple wyvern scales.

Square just has the best RNG ever in a MMOG. Its actually random, and true randomness often seems like a pattern if you look at small enough samples. I used to think darksday was a bad day to dig, but recently in gustaberg i got my regular digging percentage (40%ish) and a darksteel ore, so there goes that theroy.

Test can't be true. My digging time is still 11 but i got many times rattan lumber and even higher stuff

Test can't be true. My digging time is still 11 but i got many times rattan lumber and even higher stuff


Unfortunately, that doesn't prove anything. The theory held by those that do believe that the test exists is that the hidden skill goes up on occasion until you eventually reach that skill cap, at which point you must dig a test item to achieve the next rank, and begin skilling up again. This does NOT mean that you level up the first time that you dig up these items, nor does it mean that you can't dig up those items until you've taken the test for those items (if you relate digging to other crafting, saying this was the case would imply that you couldn't craft or fish anything above your current skill level).


While I am currently of the belief that there are no test items, the important factor in experimenting with whether or not there are test items is recording what the LAST ITEM that you dig up before levelling to the next level is. This means testing your digging time after every item that you dig up. jerji's macro posted above would help with this experiment, because, when executed properly, it essentially tests your dig time every single time that you dig to determine if you have levelled up.

I'm doing the purest test of cap items there is. Attempting to get to level 3 digging without ever going to the jungles. If i skill up without ever getting rattan lumber... Well there goes that.

I hope your wallet can absorb the loss that you may suffer... So far, the jungles have been the most profitable places for me to dig, by far.

Darksteel in Gustaberg helps, i also get Oak in Jugner . The high end ores on the mainland are much more worth the time than the jungles...


Rolanberry has Orichalcum, Altepas have Gold platinum and philosopher stones...

Have you actually confirmed that all of those can be dug? I'm assuming you're not yet level 3 since that's your goal. Have you actually dug the Ora* ore in Rolanberry?

I haven't dug up oricalchum or adamanite ore, and I'm at the 4th level of digging now. Someone posted awhile back that you have to be fairly high up the chain to get those.

What Pirategirl said