World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

Archaeology is the brand new secondary profession that is scheduled to be released with World of Warcraft’s newest expansion; Cataclysm. However, unlike other secondary professions such as First Aid and Cooking, Archaeology is intended solely to be a casual profession. Because of this players will not feel the need to rush the leveling of Archaeology and will be able to instead enjoy it in their downtime. 

Focused on locating, piecing together, and appraising ancient artifacts from the various races of Azeroth that have been unearthed by the recent Cataclysm, Archaeology will unlock unique and fun rewards such as vanity pets and mounts and occasionally rare weapons and armor. It’s also rumored that players will eventually be able to read ancient ruins found in various places around the world that will provide themselves and other players with buffs.

Archaeology - How it Works

Journal
Once the Archaeology profession is learned the profession interface will be unlocked and is presented as a hand-written journal. Here is where you will find all the important information you need including a list of artifacts, relics, and related reagents and tasks, as well as artwork. There are 12 fields of Archaeology research a player can explore, each of which relates to a race on Azeroth such as Night Elf, Troll, Tol’Vir, and Draenei.

Dig Sites
Dig sites appear as tiny shovels on the World Map (not the mini-map) after Archaeology has been trained. There will always be exactly four dig sites on each continent and these sites will not change until they are dug out. Players will only be shown sites in zones that reflect their current level or lower.

The point of Archaeology is of course to unearth various artifacts from several different races. This could however, turn out to be more difficult than expected especially for lower level players since the dig sites appear to be race specific. This means some race’s artifacts are only available on certain continents. A great example of this are Draenei artifacts which can only be found in Outland. So until you reach the minimum character and Archaeology level you will not be able to collect these specific artifacts.

The upside to making Archaeology a more “casual” profession is that Blizzard has decided to make each dig site player specific. Meaning there is literally no competition for dig sites and each player’s dig sites will be ready and waiting for them when they have the time to explore them as other players will be searching in different locations only viewable by them.

Surveying
Survey is a skill players will learn when they train the Archaeology profession. Used at dig sites to find fragments, this ability will drop a telescope combined with a small light that can be either green, yellow, or red, on the ground. A red light indicates the find  is more than 100 yards away, yellow indicates 50-100 yards, while green means you are less than 50 yards away from the find. Use the Survey ability within 5 yards of the fragment you have been searching for and it will appear.

Fragments
Once a dig site has been located using your World Map it’s time to get to searching. Each dig site can be searched 3 times after which it will despawn and a new site will spawn in a new location. As mentioned above, in order to search each dig site you will need to make use of the Survey ability.

When used the survey tool (which looks like a primitive version of those you can find in real life) will spawn and point in the direction of the fragment. Use the light on the surveying device to determine how close you are to a fragment. Once again red means far away, yellow is nearby, while green indicates the fragment is very close. How you decide to go about the surveying process is totally up to you. Once you discover the find, you will get fragments for a specific race.

Artifacts
As you collect a new fragment you will notice that a research project is automatically started. Each artifact will take between 25 to 150 artifacts to complete with some being more common than others. When enough fragments have been collected to complete the research project simply click the Solve button in your journal. Once enough fragments have been collected and the artifact has been completed any extra fragments will instantly start the next project.  Players are only able to work on one artifact per race at any given time. The research projects to complete artifacts are completely random and beyond player control, however they are based off the player's Archeology skill.



While most artifacts are common and will award the player with lore and an item that can be sold for a small profit, like most things some artifacts are simply worth more than others. Artifacts that require more fragments (just like items that require more materials to make) will provide better rewards. As with all things more valuable artifacts can only be discovered at higher levels. A player will not be able to find a second copy of a common artifact until they have found all the other artifacts related to that particular race. If you find yourself stuck at a certain character or skill level however, you may find an artifact more than once until the next level is reached.

Some artifacts are very rare and will always reward the player with a blue or purple item. Most of these items are “toys” such as vanity pets, however from time to time actual weapons and armor will be rewarded. These weapons and armor are bound to the account they are found on and while they do not scale like heirloom items they can be passed around to various characters on your account.

All information regarding artifacts and research projects can be found in your Archaeology journal.

Archeology Trainers

Like other professions Archaeology trainers can be found in major cities. Horde players learn Archaeology from NPCs belonging to the Reliquary faction, while Allaince players do so at Explorer’s League NPCs.

Trainer Name	Faction	Location
Diya	Alliance	The Vault of Lights , The Exodar
Harrison Jones	Alliance	Stormwind Keep, Stormwind City
Doktor Professor Iron pants	Alliance	Hall of Explorers, Ironforge
Hammon the Jaded	Alliance	Temple of the Moon, Darnassus

Trainer Name	Faction	Location
Belloc Brightblade	Horde	The Valley of Strength, Orgrimmar
Adam Hossack	Horde	The Magic Quarter, Undercity
Elynara	Horde	The Royal Exchange, Silvermoon City
Otoh Greyhide	Horde	Elder Rise, Thunder Bluff

Archeology Achievements

Seven Scepters
Recover the following scepters from the various races of Azeroth:

• Scepter of Charlga Razorflank
• Scepter of Xavius
• Scepter of the Nathrezim
• Scepter of Bronzebeard
• Atal’ai Scepter
• Scepter of Nekros Skullcrusher
• Scepter of Nezar’Azret

It’s Always in the Last Place You Look
Recover artifacts from each of the following races:

• Draenei
• Fossil
• Night Elf
• Tol’vir
• Vrykul
• Dwarf
• Nerubian
• Orc
• Troll

I Had It in My Hand
Find a rare artifact and be granted the title of “Assistant Professor”.
What was Briefly Yours is Now Mine
Find 10 rare artifacts to be granted the title of “Associate Professor”.

It Belongs in a Museum!
Find 20 rare artifacts and be granted the title of “Professor”.

The Lost Thanes
Discover the names of the five lost Dwarven Thanes.

Making History
Complete 500 Archaeology research points.