Can a Platinum Pickaxe Mine Crimson in Terraria?
The short, direct answer is: yes, a Platinum Pickaxe can mine Crimstone and Crimtane Ore in Terraria, but there are some important caveats to understand. While the Platinum Pickaxe is a significant early-game tool, its effectiveness against Crimson-related materials is not uniform. It’s critical to know the nuances to optimize your mining efforts within a Crimson world.
Breaking Down the Crimson Challenge
The Crimson, one of the two “evil” biomes in Terraria, presents unique mining challenges compared to other parts of the game. It’s home to Crimstone blocks and Crimtane Ore, both of which have specific requirements for effective excavation. Understanding these requirements is key to successful progression.
Crimstone Blocks
Crimstone is the red, stone-like block that makes up the bulk of the Crimson biome. It’s found lining the Chasms within the Crimson and is critical to access the Crimson Hearts. The good news is that a Platinum Pickaxe provides sufficient power to mine Crimstone. The game requires at least 65% pickaxe power to mine Crimstone, and the Platinum Pickaxe handily clears this threshold. However, simply having the pickaxe doesn’t mean the job is always easy.
Crimtane Ore
Crimtane Ore is a slightly rarer resource, glowing faintly red when placed. Its mining requirements change depending on your depth:
- Above 0ft elevation: Any pickaxe can mine it.
- Below 0ft elevation: A Gold Pickaxe or better is required.
Since the Platinum Pickaxe is superior to the Gold Pickaxe, it will successfully mine Crimtane Ore, even when deep underground. This is great news for players looking to craft Crimson-specific items.
Why is this Important?
Successfully mining Crimstone and Crimtane Ore is essential for several reasons:
- Accessing Crimson Hearts: Crimstone often surrounds Crimson Hearts, which are important objectives early in the game. Destroying these Hearts trigger events that move you forward.
- Crafting Crimson Gear: Crimtane Ore is the raw material for Crimtane Bars, used to craft important tools, weapons and armor such as the Artery yoyo.
- Resource Gathering: These resources are essential for base building, crafting, and general progression throughout the game.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some common questions about the Platinum Pickaxe and its relationship to the Crimson, alongside other mining-related queries:
1. What is the pickaxe power of a Platinum Pickaxe?
The Platinum Pickaxe has a 65% pickaxe power. This is enough to mine most early-game blocks, including Crimstone, Crimtane Ore, Meteorite Ore, and Demonite Ore.
2. Can a Platinum Pickaxe mine Ebonstone?
No. Ebonstone, found in the Corruption biome, is typically mined with the next level of pickaxes, such as the Nightmare Pickaxe or Deathbringer Pickaxe (depending on the world).
3. Can a Platinum Pickaxe mine Hellstone?
No. Hellstone, found in the Underworld, requires a pickaxe with the power of a Nightmare Pickaxe, Deathbringer Pickaxe, Molten Pickaxe, or Reaver Shark.
4. Is a Platinum Pickaxe better than a Gold Pickaxe?
Yes. The Platinum Pickaxe is better than the Gold Pickaxe. It has more pickaxe power, deals slightly more damage, and is slightly faster in terms of mining speed.
5. What are the best pre-Hardmode pickaxes?
The best pre-Hardmode pickaxes are the Reaver Shark, Molten Pickaxe, Nightmare Pickaxe, and Deathbringer Pickaxe. The Reaver Shark is considered the most powerful of these.
6. What pickaxe is needed to break Crimson Hearts?
You can use a Deathbringer Pickaxe or better pickaxe, or explosives, to break Crimson Hearts. A Platinum Pickaxe, being lower power, won’t break crimson hearts.
7. What’s the next pickaxe after a Platinum Pickaxe?
If you’re in a Crimson world, you’ll want to aim for a Deathbringer Pickaxe next. In a Corruption world, it would be the Nightmare Pickaxe.
8. Can a Platinum Pickaxe mine Obsidian?
Yes. A Platinum Pickaxe has the minimum required 55% pickaxe power needed to mine Obsidian.
9. Is Crimson or Corruption easier to navigate?
The Corruption tends to be easier to navigate due to its straight corridors and simple drops. The Crimson features more open areas with connected, smaller sections, making navigation a bit more challenging.
10. What makes Crimson and Corruption different in terms of loot?
The Corruption is generally considered easier to navigate but has weaker loot compared to the Crimson, which has more challenging enemies but better, powerful, Hardmode items such as Vampire Knives and Ichor.
11. Can explosives mine Crimstone?
Yes. Explosives are an alternative method for mining Crimstone, if you don’t have a strong enough pickaxe. Explosives can also mine Crimtane.
12. How does depth affect mining Crimtane Ore?
Crimtane Ore can be mined with any pickaxe above 0 feet elevation. Below 0 feet elevation, it needs a Gold Pickaxe or better to mine.
13. Is Platinum or Tungsten armor better?
Platinum armor is better than Tungsten armor in terms of defense. Platinum armor gives a total of 20 defense compared to Tungsten armor’s 15 defense.
14. What’s the difference between Platinum and Gold in Terraria?
While the sell value of Gold and Platinum Ore (and Bars) are nearly equal, one Platinum Coin is worth 100 Gold Coins, reflecting their relative real-world rarity. Platinum pickaxe is generally slightly better than the gold one.
15. Is there a Terraria 2?
Yes, Terraria 2 is in development, though there is no current release date and very few details known.
Conclusion
In summary, a Platinum Pickaxe is fully capable of mining both Crimstone and Crimtane Ore. However, understanding the depth limitations for mining Crimtane, and the requirement for higher-tier pickaxes to mine other related materials like Hellstone, will significantly improve your mining efficiency within a Crimson world in Terraria. Knowing your tools and how they interact with your world is key to progression in this fantastic game. So go ahead and mine with confidence.