Ore

One of the fundamental processes in A Township Tale is crafting. As a player progresses, they can gather various metals, which vary in strength and effectiveness when used as materials to make tools. There are ten known rock-related item drops. All can be used in crafting similar items, but the five "metals" are used the most often. Furthermore, the game supports the creation of Alloys for advanced crafting.

For further reference, the five metal ores are Copper, Gold, Iron, Silver and Mythril

The five non-metals are Stone, Flint, Sandstone, Coal and Crystal

Obtaining
All ores can be obtained by repeatedly hitting an Ore Vein with a Pickaxe till the Ore vein breaks. The number of hits needed to break and Ore vein is depended on calculations based off of the Momentum and the Arc length of each swing, and the quality of the pickaxe. So, the fastest mining is large, frequent swings where the Player attempts to go through the Ore vein. Slowing down or stopping before you hit the Ore vein will only lengthen and mining attempt. Flint and Stone do not have a specified Ore vein, but are randomly dropped when any other ore vein is broken.

Processing
Only the five metal ores can be processed into ingots at The Smithy. This constitutes the first step of Blacksmithing, but will be described in detail here.

First and foremost, at least three pieces of Ore needed to be gathered by breaking an Ore Vein. The current conversion rate is three ore for one ingot, regardless of ore type. Then, place the ore into the sphere-shaped input (left side) of the smelter and close it. A Fuel Source is needed to properly smelt the ore, and this is placed behind the (openable) grill in the middle of the smelter. Once both steps are complete, ingots will be produced and dropped in the output, located on the opposite side from the input (right side). See Blacksmith for further steps.

Stone
Regular stone is one of the most fundamental items in the game. It provides the supporting boulder for every other ore, thus it is a drop when any Ore vein is mined. As of version 0.0.9.1, stone's only use is to craft stone-on-a-stick, which can function as a spear or hammer. Although this is an easily obtained tool for beginners, stone-on-a-stick is the lowest tier weapon in the game.

Flint
As the sole origin of all fire, flint is an often used ore. Hitting one piece of flint with another ore (including another piece of flint) will produce a spark. If the spark lands on flammable material, the spark will catch and fire will form. Otherwise, flint's other use is flint-on-a-stick which can serve as a beginner spear, axe or pickaxe.

Sandstone
Sandstone is one of the two ores that can be obtained in the Overworld (along with coal), but it can also be found in the Mines. The ore vein has a light tan appearance and appears in large clusters. As of 0.9.1 (May 30th 2018), sandstone's main use is for beginner practice and working out the mechanics of mining. Due to it's presence in the Overworld, it can also be used to gauge the relative effectiveness of different pickaxes without needing to face the dangers in the mines. Otherwise, sandstone has no uses in crafting. On a new server, 250 sandstone is required to build the bridge to the Wooded Valley.

Coal
Coal is one of the two ore veins found in the Overworld (along with Sandstone), but can also be found in the Mines. The ore vein has a distinct black and rounded appearance, and can be overlooked without good lighting. Almost all mining expeditions, regardless of progress, mine coal since it is heavily used in the Smithy and Lantern. As such, coal is regularly depleted in the upper levels of the Mines.

Copper
Found in the upper levels of the mines, Copper is the best choice for beginner weapons/tools. Every ore vein has a large silver spike extruding from the top, and is the only ore vein to have this distinct feature. The ore itself reflects this with a (alebit smaller) similar extrusion. The ingots are dark brown. Upon breaking with a pickaxe, Copper ore veins typically drop three copper ore.

Gold
Gold is found in the upper levels of the mines, although it typically starts to spawn between one and two levels lower than copper. Beware! This is about the same level that Wyrms begin to appear, so gold is mined with some degree of risk. A well balanced party can mitigate this risk with an assigned miner and warrior. See Profession for more information. Overall, gold has an overall round shape with small polygonal extrusions coming from the surface. As of 0.0.9.1, although gold spawns at lower depths than copper, it is less effective than copper when used to make weapons/tools. When mined, gold ore veins drop three gold Ore. The ingot has a tarnished yellow appearance.

Iron
Iron ore veins begin to spawn near the crystal layer, so players typically begin to gather the two ores at the same time. Because of this, Iron and Crystal are both intermediate level ores. When spawned, iron ore veins have a scratched surface and dark, matte extrusions, and drop three Iron ore when broken. The ingots are dark grey, and very hard to distinguish from silver. In bright light however, Iron has a slightly darker shade. Many players prefer to use Iron weapons/tools till they can afford to craft one out of Mythril.

Silver
Silver ore veins begin to spawn in the crystal layer and continue to spawn in lower floors. It has a distinct layered appearance with small extrusions. As of 0.9.1 (May 30th 2018), a bug exist that prevents ore from dropping. It is expected (hoped) that this will be patched soon. (Patched)

Mythril
Mythril ore veins begins to spawn far below the surface. Some recorded sightings are around the second crystal layer. The ore veins has medium sized, dark-green extrusions and a rounded body. Typically, mythril ore is found in loot crates far earlier than it is found as an ore vein. The Ore mimics the Ore vein with regards to extrusions. As of version 0.0.9.1, Mythril is the only Ore/Ingot to have a purple (epic) outline when it is in the inventory. Mythril can be combined with Gold to make Viridium or it can be combined with Silver to make Valyan

Crystal
There are two different types of crystal ore veins: Small and Large. Both types of crystal are not very durable and will break easily. Crystal breaks from damage so using a weapon is generally more effective than a pickaxe. Crystal ore is also called crystal gems, or crystal rocks - it is officially referred to as crystal gems.

Small crystal ore vein
Small crystal ore veins come in three colors: blue, purple and green. Despite the many colors, only blue crystal ore veins can be mined. Furthermore, small crystal ore veins may spawn in clusters, so mining them can be a very efficient way of gathering crystal ore. Upon breaking. small crystal ore veins drop two Crystal ore and two Crystal Shards.

Large crystal ore vein
Huge, towering and usually in the middle of an open space, Large crystal ore veins are a huge risk for huge reward. Upon breaking, these ore veins drop four crystal ore, four crystal shards and one (randomly selected) Crystal Weapon. However, Crystal Wyrm frequently spawn near these ore veins. Since the ore vein is in the open, players are easy targets, so it is heavily recommend that players have a plan (see Profession) before attempting to mine this ore vein.

Conclusion

 * The breaking animation typically shows the boulder splitting into several smaller pieces. These pieces cannot be mined further and will eventually disappear.
 * Order of spawn: Sandstone>Coal>Copper>Gold>Iron>Crystal>Silver>Mythril
 * The rarity of the ore can be determined by the outline color when it is in a Dock.
 * Striking the vein with the pointed end of the Pickaxe will mine faster than the flat end.

Related

 * Blacksmith
 * Miner
 * Ore Vein
 * Alloy