archaeology-achievements
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Patch 5.2 PTR: Finding mantid dig sites will be a breeze in 5.2
Archaeology has always been one of those professions that you either love or hate, with little room in between. While the profession as a whole was fairly klonky in Cataclysm, improvements introduced in Mists of Pandaria helped to streamline the process a little for players. The biggest improvement by far was the ability to turn in crated relics from Pandaria in exchange for fragments from any dig site type on Azeroth -- which meant that players no longer had to dig endlessly on Kalimdor, hoping for a Tol'vir dig site to pop up. However, the new treatment of the Archaeology profession apparently doesn't stop there. Patch 5.2 noted that a new section of Archaeology would be added for the mantid, giving players with a penchant for procuring priceless pieces something new to dig for. But as far as we knew, this meant a return to the days of endlessly digging a continent, hoping for one particular variety of dig site to pop up -- which really wasn't an ideal situation at all. It looks like the Lorewalkers have thought ahead with a solution for this already. Wowhead dug up a new item in the 5.2 files called the Mantid Artifact Sonic Locator. This item will let you convert any Pandaria dig site into a mantid site, allowing those that have completed the other sections of Pandaria archaeology to simply get straight to the mantid stuff. The item requires exalted reputation with the Lorewalkers, and stacks to 20, which leads one to believe it disappears upon use. While we don't know the cost of the item, it's likely you're either going to have to pay gold, or more crated artifacts from Pandaria to purchase. Regardless, it's nice to see that the devs are still thinking about both Archaeology and the Lorewalkers as the expansion moves on. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
The OverAchiever: A guide to basic archaeology and its achievements
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. This week, we start digging. You guys remember the Dalaran fountain, right? I loved that thing. It was a wonderful, idiosyncratic little peek into the thoughts of an array of Azeroth's lore figures, both the important and the obscure. It added a number of little touches to the game's story that we never would have seen otherwise, and Blizzard even gave you an achievement for getting all the coins. I thought that whatever mad genius came up with the Dalaran fountain should have been chained to a desk at Blizzard and left there until he came up with more ideas like it. Well, they can finally let that guy off the lead. Archaeology is kind of like the Dalaran fountain, except instead of being crammed into a tiny corner of Dalaran, it's everywhere in the world, and instead of concerning 53 people who made wishes, it affords you a peek into seven civilizations and the world's fossil record. Pretty sweet, eh? Well, you're going to have to work for it. If you're completely new to archaeology, I've included a short set of instructions here, but otherwise, we're going to head straight for the civilizations and achievements related to WoW's newest profession.
Archaeology receives stealth buff
Yesterday saw a slew of hotfixes, but it appears that today's maintenance has added a stealth buff to archaeology. Previously, all surveys in an area were only allowing three fragments per successful survey, making the archaeology grind a little long. Today, it appears that surveying an area is allowing anywhere from three to six fragments per survey, a substantial buff for those trying to complete artifacts at a speedy pace. While there has been no official blue post regarding the change, it has been verified in game. For more information about the archaeology profession and how to get started, check out our Archaeology 101 video, courtesy of Robin Torres. [Thanks wowdigsite.com!] World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
The OverAchiever: Cataclysm achievements FAQ
Having polished off the 25 most evil and 25 most entertaining achievements from Wrath of the Lich King, it's time to take a look at what awaits us in the future. Trying to suss out what's going on with Cataclysm beta achievements right now is a little tough because there are a lot of things that haven't been implemented yet, but I'm going to answer as many of our most frequently asked questions as I can today. As on the PTR, characters on the beta copy over without most of their achievement history, and it's a little weird to see yourself toting around stuff like the Loremaster achievement without actually having its prerequisites. Anyway, keep in mind that this is a snapshot of what we know in beta build 12803, and I don't believe that Blizzard's added most of the Cataclysm-related achievements yet.
Cataclysm Beta: Archaeology achievements
It occurred to us here at WoW.com that we hadn't mentioned these lovely new achievements implemented for the archaeology profession. In addition to the standard "you have at least this many points" achievements, there are also three achievements with a bit more flavor to them. I Had It in My Hand, which grants the player the illustrious title of Assistant Professor, is rewarded for finding a rare artifact. Seven Scepters is granted for recovering, well, seven scepters. As you can see above, two are named, the rest are not -- so your guess is as good as mine. The Lost Thanes is one you earn by discovering the names of the Five Lost Dwarven Thanes, apparently by discovering items they once possessed. There are most likely more achievements coming for the profession, which is as yet not fully implemented on the beta servers (there are trainers available, but they don't actually train you yet) including, I can only hope, This Belongs in a Museum. Perhaps if I write on my eyelids.
