A blue steel pickaxe head says it is Q:2 S:7.5 D:1024. A diamond tipped steel pickaxe head says it has Q:3 S:8 D:1280, so it should last longer than a blue steel pick. Add a stick to the head and a blue steel pickaxe has 102,400 durability, but the diamond tipped only has 32,000 durability.
3 Likes
The Durability Base Value is perfectly correct, thing is the Tool itself does modify the outcome. These tipped Pickaxes are for when you need either the Gems Quality or the Gems Enchantment on a Pickaxe while not having much of the Gem in question.
The Tooltip you are citing is only from the Material and not from the actual Toolhead.
1 Like
Wow that is utter crap. I mean the steel pickaxe you splice the diamond into has a durability of 51,200. Sure, you get the quality up to level 3 for digging granite, and the speed goes up a half a point, but at a loss of nearly half the durability? I thought for sure this was a bug so I cheated myself in about 3 more heads to dig up tantalite ( to get niobium to make a niobium titanium crucible ) and still haven’t even mined a full stack of ore yet. I guess I may as well just go get some cobalt picks going since they have similar quality and durability but don’t require rare diamonds so I can easily make a dozen of them.
2 Likes
Are you sure you calculate that properly? You know that a Full Size Gem Pickaxe is worth 3 Material Units (which have to be high quality Gems) while the Gem tipped Pickaxe is 1 Material Unit (which is low quality Gems!)? You actually get MORE durability out of it if its just “half” as you say (It is actually quarter btw). And the Steel itself that is used is being fully ignored for this calculation too.
These Pickaxes HAVE a purpose, just not the narrow minded purpose that you think they have.
Not every Tool that exists needs to obsoletify other Tools. Every Tool is supposed to have a use, and you apparently chose the wrong Tool for the Job.
1 Like
The fact that the steel is ignored is my real problem with them. Sure, it doesn’t need much diamond ( and low quality at that ), but the steel is completely ignored ( you don’t even get steel scraps back when they break, just a single diamond scrap ). I think if you are starting with a steel pickaxe, adding gems shouldn’t result in one with less durability than the original steel pickaxe. Not being upgraded to the full diamond durability is fine, it just shouldn’t lose the durability from the steel ( and preferably give back some steel scraps ).
Even though it isn’t much diamond, and “low quality”, you still end up with a pick that is on par with one simply made of cobalt, and that’s usually something I have tons of without much other use. Even flawed diamonds are still quite rare, and the steel I rate as more valuable than cobalt, so I expect a pick that lasts longer than cobalt, even if it isn’t any more than just steel.
As it stands, diamond imbued picks barely last longer than infinitely disposable granite picks. Sure, they mine faster, but given how quickly they wear out, and how few of them you can produce, you may as well just stick with granite picks. Or vanadium steel. Or cobalt.
2 Likes
As I imagine, adding gems to the pickaxe decreases the durability of the steel as you are degrading the structural integrity of the pick. sort of like drilling holes in a wooden beam. I assume gems increase enchanting level of the tool, though you can’t see that from the tooltip.
Greg is it possible to show the corresponding durability of the complete pick on the gem pickaxe head? I see what psusui is saying, the gem tipped pickaxe head durability is misleading as it shows the gem durability rather than the pickaxe head durability.
2 Likes
Certain Gems come pre-enchanted with things like Silk Touch for Amber or Fire Aspect III (that means Autosmelt) for Firestone. Using those Enchantments on a Pickaxe is the primary purpose for when you dont have enough Gems to make a good Gem Pickaxe.
And I will add it to the Gem Pickaxe Tooltip that it has a quarter of the Durability.
2 Likes