Mining, the quarry and meteoric iron
How the quarry works after Patch 1.08, what Glass Shards are for, where meteoric iron comes from and why tool upgrades decide your mining speed.
The quarry is a floor-by-floor dig: Patch 1.08 added a sound cue when the hole to the next floor appears, and raised the appearance rate of Glass Shards.
The quarry is a floor-by-floor dig, and it is the only place several upgrade materials come from. It is also the system that changed most quietly in the patches.
How the quarry works
You break boulders on a floor, and a hole to the next floor appears. Patch 1.08 added a sound cue when that hole appears, which is a small thing that tells you a lot: before it, players were missing the hole and re-clearing floors.
| Feature | Status after Patch 1.30 |
|---|---|
| Floor progression | Hole appears after clearing; audible cue since 1.08 |
| Glass Shards | Appearance rate increased in 1.08 |
| Boulders | 1,000 broken for Yours, Mine, and Ores |
| Meteoric iron | Used to upgrade every tool |
| Skills that help | Prospecting Finesse and Prospecting Finesse+ |
Glass Shards and meteoric iron
Glass Shards were rare enough at launch that Patch 1.08 explicitly raised their appearance rate. They are a crafting material, not a curiosity — bank them.
Meteoric iron is the top of the tool chain. The achievement Gifts From Above asks you to upgrade all tools with meteoric iron, and only 26.3% of players have done it. That number is the honest measure of how much quarry time the full upgrade set costs.
The skill line that matters
Two skills were bugged before Patch 1.08: Prospecting Finesse, Prospecting Finesse+ and Regalia Wrangler were not increasing their respective appearance rates as intended. All three are quarry-adjacent, and all three were fixed in the same patch.
Getting them means offering magatama at the crossroads hokora — the magatama page explains the stages, and stage three is also what unlocks the Seeder.
A quarry run that pays
- Go in with an empty bag and an upgraded pickaxe.
- Clear the floor fully — the hole is the reward, and since 1.08 you can hear it.
- Bank Glass Shards instead of selling them; they gate crafting recipes.
- Spend meteoric iron on tools in order: hoe, then watering can, then axe, then pickaxe.
- Leave before night. The quarry is not a safe place to be caught after dark, and the rules page explains why.
Numbers at a glance
| Achievement | Target | Global rate |
|---|---|---|
| Yours, Mine, and Ores | Break 1,000 boulders | 69.9% |
| Gifts From Above | Upgrade all tools with meteoric iron | 26.3% |
| Liquid Assets | Dug up a hot spring | 41.8% |
That last one is not a quarry achievement but it belongs on the same trip: hot springs are dug, and 41.8% of players have found theirs.
Next
- Magatama and skills — the prospecting line and hokora stages.
- Crafting and furniture — what Glass Shards and ore go into.
- Grind targets — every numeric goal in one table.
