Cataclysm Archaeology Guide

In this Cataclysm Archaeology Guide, we’ll provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to become a master archaeologist, from learning the profession to crafting artifacts and earning achievements. Embark on an exciting expedition through Azeroth and beyond, exploring ancient secrets, discovering treasures, and expanding your collection of artifacts. You may also find our How to Level Up Fast in Cataclysm Classic guide useful.

Cataclysm Dig Sites

Let’s start the dive by explaining the basics and main mechanics. Archaeology is a secondary profession, which is focused on the dig sites, which are marked with a shovel sign on the map. Every continent has four of those sites, and each of them is a treasure trove for discovery. Your main task is to look for keystones and artifact fragments in these areas.

Here’s a crucial point to remember: the artifact fragments you find are completely yours. Although the others may be at the same place, they cannot take what you have found. However, you might face other archaeologists who are excavating in the same area.

Once you switch to the continent map, the borders of each site are marked by a red border line, which provides orientation to the sites. Here’s how accessibility progresses as you level up:

Important note: Dig sites are fixed, allowing you to return to the same excavation location multiple times. Additionally, these sites bypass starting zones, providing low-level players with ample time to level up before embarking on their archaeological adventures.

Fragments

Archaeology is based on artifact fragments, which are the main pieces that become artifacts. They are spread out among different excavation sites that are matched with specific races or civilizations. The distribution and the way of obtaining the fragments is one of the key tasks for an archaeologist.

Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the different types of fragments, along with the skill level required to excavate them and their corresponding locations:

Surveying

Now that you’re within the active dig site, it’s time for Survey. This skill is in your professions tab and works like a compass to show you where the buried fragments are.

The Survey ability is only available while in the dig site, which is indicated by the red line on the map. Upon activation, a special tool emerges and points to the location of the next hidden fragment.

The colored light emitted by the tool is crucial for measuring the distance to the fragments:

• Red Light: Prepare for an extensive search as the fragment is roughly 80 yards or more away.
• Yellow Light: The fragment is within a medium range, between 40 and 80 yards from your current position.
• Green Light: Rejoice! The fragment is close by, not more than 40 yards away.

However, the tool’s guidance isn’t precise. Imagine its visual field as a wide cone. Although it shows the general direction, it may still require several surveys considering the necessary adjustments to find the accurate location.

Luck also plays a role. Sometimes a fragment will appear on the first attempt, or even multiple fragments clustered together.

As you meticulously survey the area using the colored light, you’ll reach a point where the fragment itself appears on the ground, distinguished by a golden gleam. Additionally, your minimap will show the fragment as a yellow dot for improved visibility.

Don’t delay! Items can disappear if not picked up within a certain period. Quickly interact with the artifact by tapping on it to add it to your collection. This may yield several fragments, even a keystone, crucial for Archaeology.

Excavating three fragments per dig site leads to its depletion. It will vanish from your map, and you’ll receive a new dig site from the same continent.

Keystones

At the dig site, you also have access to keystones. Each keystone boasts the equivalent value of 12 fragments of the same type. This is a valuable time-saving advantage since you can speed up your artifact collection process.

Though fragments can be used in any place, keystones have a more limited field of application. Each artifact can only hold 1-3 keystones, so you need a strategy to decide which one to use. Despite the power of keystones, collecting fragments still plays a critical role in completing the artifact.

Here’s a comprehensive table outlining the keystones and their corresponding artifact types:

Keystone	Artifact Type
Draenei Tome	Draenei
Dwarf Rune Stone	Dwarf
Highborne Scroll	Night Elf
Nerubian Obelisk	Nerubian
Orc Blood Text	Orc
Tol’vir Hieroglyphic	Tol’vir
Troll Tablet	Troll
Vrykul Rune Stick	Vrykul

Important Note: Keystones are a kind of tradeable items that can be bought and sold in the Auction House.

What is the Fastest Way to Level up Archaeology in Cataclysm Classic?

Unlike most professions, Archaeology requires you to reach level 20 before you can begin your training. To do this, you can use our power leveling service. Cataclysm boasts a streamlined approach, allowing you to train all skill levels at any Cataclysm Archaeology trainer. Remember, you’ll need to master each tier (every 75 skill points) before progressing further. You can accrue skill points in three ways:

• 1 Point per Fragment
• 5 Points per Common Artifact
• 15 Points per Rare Artifact

Here’s a detailed breakdown of your archaeological leveling process, outlining the skills required to unlock each level range and the corresponding dig sites you’ll encounter:

Cataclysm Classic Archaeology Max Level

In Cataclysm Classic, the maximum level for Archaeology is 525. There are no further skill ranks to unlock after reaching 525. At that point, you’ll be able to dig up artifacts from all available zones and continue to focus on completing collections and acquiring rare rewards.

Trainers of Archaeology

Every major city boasts a dedicated Archaeology trainer essential for enhancing your Archaeology skills. Here’s a handy table to assist you in your search:

Craft of Cataclysm Archaeology Artifact

The culmination of your archaeological endeavors lies in crafting artifacts. The artifacts you create through research can take anywhere from 25 to 150 fragments to complete. These artifacts can then accommodate 0 to 3 keystones. It should be mentioned that keystones are not required for crafting artifacts. When you use a keystone, any leftovers after the crafting process of the artifact will get automatically added to your next research project.

Once you have gathered enough fragments for a specific artifact, just press the “Solve” button and the research project will be completed, and the fragments will be turned into a real treasure. Any excess fragments you accumulate won’t go to waste. Rather, they will automatically be used for a new research project in order to ensure that you are always moving forward in your archaeological pursuits.

Important note: You have no choice of research project at the beginning. The lottery does not discriminate. It means you are going to have to deal with situations where you have to do the same research for a particular race multiple times before you can get the artifact that you want.

There are two primary categories of artifacts:

1. Common Artifacts: These may be considered of inferior quality and would not have much practical value.
2. Rare Artifacts: On the contrary, these are the hidden treasures you have been looking for. They can be of Rare or even Epic quality, which will give you a variety of interesting rewards. This WoW Cataclysm Archaeology rare items can be companion pets, amazing mounts, cute toys, strong armor sets, and deadly weapons.

Archaeology Rewards in Cataclysm Classic

Let’s delve into a comprehensive overview of the Cataclysm Archaeology rewards and the unique artifacts that await you, including mounts, pets and rares.

Cataclysm Classic Archaeology Achievements

Archaeology also allows you to earn achievements along the way. They not only grant you achievement points but also showcase your dedication to the profession. Here is the complete list of Archaeology achievements in Cataclysm Classic:

• Journeyman in Archaeology
• Expert in Archaeology
• Artisan Archaeologist
• Master Archaeologist
• Grand Master Archaeologist
• Illustrious Grand Master Archaeologist
• Digger
• Diggerer
• Diggerest
• I Had It in My Hand – Title: Assistant Professor
• What was Briefly Yours is Now Mine – Title: Associate Professor
• It Belongs in a Museum! – Title: Professor
• It’s Always in the Last Place You Look
• Seven Scepters
• Tragedy in Three Acts
• Blue Streak
• The Harder they Fall
• Kings Under the Mountain
• The Boy Who Would be King

Cataclysm Classic Dungeon Archaeology Quests

Cataclysm’s 5-man dungeons offer special quests for Archaeologists. Completing them grants the entire party a dungeon-specific buff to overcome the challenging instances. Now, let’s delve into these repeatable dungeon Archaeology quests and the bonuses you can receive with them.

With the introduction of the Cataclysm expansion, the enthralling profession of Archaeology and dungeon exploration gained a unique synergy that no other expansion could match. Before embarking on your journey, ensure that your Archaeology skill is Level 425 or higher. This crucial threshold grants access to repeatable quests, each brimming with the potential to enhance your group’s prowess within specific dungeons. These quests provide you with race-specific keystones, which you can utilize to activate potent buffs that will benefit you and all the players in your party.

Important Note: The buffs are active only for a limited time. While they persist through death within the dungeon, they deactivate upon leaving the instance. However, returning to the dungeon immediately refreshes the buff.

Archaeology Best Race in Cataclysm Classic

Dwarves are definitely the best race for Archaeology in Cataclysm Classic. The Explorer racial trait endows them with a very specialized set of abilities that are highly effective in the field of Archaeology. Here’s a breakdown of its key components:

• Increased Fragment Loot: This invaluable passive allows dwarves to obtain extra fragments from each successful dig. This seemingly minor advantage translates into a significant boost to overall fragment acquisition rates, accelerating progress toward completing coveted artifacts.
• Enhanced Survey Speed: Dwarves save time with Explorer by conducting surveys more rapidly. This distinctive skill makes them highly adept at finding hidden items in unimaginable places.

Cataclysm Classic Archaeology Addons

To make your progress more efficient and smooth, use these Archeaology addons in Cataclysm Classic:

• Minimal Archaeology: This nice addon makes your Archaeology activities easier as it displays all your artifact progress and solutions in a small window. It has a simple interface that allows you to monitor the history of your artifact by race, manage dig sites, and attach keystones with just a couple of clicks. Easily monitor your artifact progress and keep track of your fragment inventory.
• Archy: Archy provides personalized and movable lists of dig sites and artifacts, sorted by continent. It provides information on racial factions of each dig site and the ability to solve artifacts with or without keystones. TomTom assistance is a huge help while changing the dig sites, saving travel time. You can ban dig sites and races, use sound triggers, and utilize a dig recorder for efficient excavation activity. It also gives an LDB Tooltip showing the missing rare artifacts and the overall progress of Archaeology.
• Archaeology Helper: This addon adds triangulation to the Heads-Up Display, which is a feature to improve the surveying process. After using the survey skill, use color-coded buttons to point out locations of the fragments on the HUD. Additionally, GatherMate2 can pin the nodes, which are displayed on the HUD, speeding up the process even more. It also provides a dig site indicator on the Battlefield Minimap and allows you to customize keybindings and different settings.

With this, we conclude our journey through the realm of Archaeology. We hope our comprehensive Cataclysm Archaeology guide has given you the knowledge and skills needed to discover the hidden secrets of history in World of Warcraft. Get excited about what you don’t know, take pleasure in what you find, and keep advancing your Archaeology skills to the next level. May your explorations be both rewarding and enriching in your quest for knowledge and adventure.