Prospecting "1m mark" insanity

[jindo38]

Hey ya'll.. i got a question. Before we start..yes i'm a newb. Now with that out the way let me ask ya'll bout this whole 1 m thing, cause its makin me nutz. I have 40deg search, 10 meter range, fine only, fiber group. I do the track thing (yes for fine/fiber group). Now everything is cake to this point, but the infamous 1 m mark is upon me. So figuring (not to good at it) i got 10 meter 40 deg scan this should be cake because i'm within 1 m of my resource. All i have to do is back up 5 m and cast my prospect. WRONG...no minerals detected. Hmmm i must have err'd so i move in a circle from about the 5 m range around the initial 1 m mark (yes i make my wifes toon stand there and i use range on her). I make a complete cirlce and get nothing..so i track again...and what do you know "your mineral resource is withing 1m" AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



So whats the deal how am i jackin this up?

[rellis]

hmmm, are you prospecting and tracking for the same grade of mat (basic, fine, choice?

for instance if you are tracking for basic (x) and are trying to prospect for 'fine only' you will get nothing but the pink quality message in sys info.

[norvic]

Think of Tracking more as finding the centre of a 75m (ish) dia circle (resource field) within which the actual resource spots are.

At later lvls it is then pretty easy to find the spot with 360 degree prospect etc but if you move around more from the centre of the imaginary circle indicated by the tracking you will find what you are looking for.

[sehracii]

Tracking isn't exact....

When it says "1m" it really means your within 1m of the corner of a giant mat field. Somewhere in that "field" is the material you want, but not necessarily the corner you're on.

Best thing you can do is start prospecting increasingly larger circles around the point, should find it eventually, but could be up to 50m away.


It gets much less frustrating with higher levels of prospect angle and range.

[rellis]

ahh yes i remember the frustration of tracking(tiny prospecting radius and huge mat field), i guess i should of being thinking as a newb and not just as a careless prospecter as Xy usually is .

The above three posts should solve the prob

(i should do my assignment instead of hounding the forums )

[rushin]

yes tracking can be problematic until the mechanics of it are understood (as has been explained well above)

If it makes you feel better i was trying to help someone find some choice zun in the Zorai starter zone last week, np! i thought wont take a minute. an hour later i gave up in disgust o_o

having said that and hoping you are still reading, i dont normally have that trouble, 99% of tracking actions enable me to find the mat within a minute. As the tracker may have taken you to the edge of a field backing up might be taking you out of the area so sadly you are going to have to run around a bit, but once you have found drop a map marker and you never need to worry again.

Other thing to consider is that choice, excellent and supreme mats are only available in certain enviromental conditions (season, weather, etc) so a tracker might lead you to them but by the time you arrive the weather may have changed so you wont be able to pop them.

Dont give up though, digging is a very rewarding and enjoyable occupation, just a little slow to get going

[gretchen]

I am Landmark heavy, almost about to go off the bottom of the screen wish they were tabbed or in folders or something.

Rushin you answered one of my nagging questions about the seasonal and weather variance I had heard of...so this isn't an issue with Basic or Fine?

I'm starting to see the specific prospecting materials skills on the trainer now and they are tempting, but so are other things that improve my digging. Bah...need another few dozen levels of dig...

[naratuul]

Rushin you answered one of my nagging questions about the seasonal and weather variance I had heard of...so this isn't an issue with Basic or Fine?

Above ground basic fine and choice mats are not affected by season/weather.

In the prime roots there are only choice and higher mats and weather/season affects all of them. Most choice mats are avaialable in all seasons, but there are a few spots that don't poop at all during certain seasons.

[rushin]

Above ground basic fine and choice mats are not affected by season/weather.

choice are

if you want an example try the adriel in void. They seem to be affected by weather when a field contains choice and excellent mixed together.

[iwojimmy]

choice are

if you want an example try the adriel in void. They seem to be affected by weather when a field contains choice and excellent mixed together.

I think the issue there, is that you get choice mats 'associated' with the excelents, sort of a low-grade halo around the main ore body , to use mining terminology. It can be a useful indicator that the XLs are up, if you are getting choice mats popping that you dont normally see.