The best pickaxe in The Forge right now is the Arcane Pickaxe, followed by Stonewake’s Pickaxe and Platinum/Diamond as your main A‑tier upgrades, and the strongest rune setups revolve around Miner Shard plus offensive and defensive runes like Rage Mark, Blast Chip, Ward Patch, Drain Edge, and Chill Dust. Getting to Arcane quickly while socketing the right runes is the core of late‑game mining efficiency and rare‑ore farming.
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The Forge Pickaxe Tier List
Pickaxe tier list at a glance
Community and guide sites currently agree on this rough ranking of all release‑pickaxes:
The official wiki lists Stone, Bronze, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Arcane, and Stonewake, while some tier lists fold Diamond and Platinum together because they share similar “mid‑to‑late game” stats and 2 rune slots; treat whichever your build shows (Diamond or Platinum) as your main A‑tier shop upgrade.
S & A‑tier pickaxes, stats, and best runes
Arcane Pickaxe (S tier – endgame)
- Stats: Listed around 50+ Mining Power and +100% Luck with 3 rune slots in the official pickaxe list and tier guides.
- Why it’s broken: It one‑shots or shreds almost every current rock type and doubles your effective rare‑ore chance before rune bonuses, making it the only true “don’t replace this” pickaxe in the game.
- Best rune setup (prioritized):
- Miner Shard – adds a chance to drop extra ore per hit (Yield I: ~5% for +1 ore), multiplying profit from every node.
- Blast Chip – offensive rune used in recommendations to clear rocks faster and smooth AOE; exact numbers will vary as its full description is still being filled in, but it’s consistently listed as a top damage rune for Arcane.
- Ward Patch – defensive/utility: small chance to reduce incoming physical damage and extend dash distance, making deep‑cave routes safer.
- Flex slot (if you get more stages/slots): Rage Mark and Chill Dust are frequently suggested for extra damage or control, once you have Miner Shard and at least one survivability rune in place.
Stonewake’s Pickaxe (A tier – power pick)
- Stats: About 33 Mining Power, +10% Luck, with 3 rune slots but a built‑in mine‑speed penalty, so it hits extremely hard but swings slower by default.
- Role: Budget “mini‑Arcane” that can mine every rock in current content and carry you through Forgotten Kingdom/Goblin Cave while you save for Arcane.
- Best runes:
Platinum / Diamond Pickaxe (A–B tier – balanced luck pick)
- Stats: Community lists place this pick around 24 Mining Power, +25–35% Luck, with 2 rune slots for customization.
- Role: Very strong “main” pick for mid‑game; enough power to crack larger rocks plus high baseline luck that stacks well with Miner Shard for rare ores.
- Best runes:
Gold, Iron, Bronze, Stone (B–D tiers)
- Gold: ~16 Mining Power, +15% Luck, 1 rune slot – fine starter into Forgotten Kingdom but falls off; runes: Miner Shard + any damage rune you can get.
- Iron: 10 Mining Power, +5% Luck, no rune slots – best “non‑rune” starter but quickly outclassed.
- Bronze & Stone: 7 and 4 Mining Power, no luck, no rune slots – only use until you can afford Iron or Gold; don’t waste any upgrade or rune resources on them.
How to get each top pickaxe
Stone & Bronze & Iron & Gold
- All of these are bought at Miner Fred’s Pickaxe Shop in Stonewake’s Cross; prices scale from free (Stone starter) up through a few hundred to ~1,500 coins for Gold, making them accessible early but not worth over‑investing in.
Stonewake’s Pickaxe
- Location: Inner Cave. Go into The Cave from Stonewake’s Cross, follow the left path, cross the wooden bridge, and look for Stonewake’s Pickaxe embedded in a rock.
- Cost: Around 3,333 Gold at the rock; interact to buy and add it to your inventory.
Platinum / Diamond Pickaxe
- Location: Miner Fred’s Pickaxe Shop in town. It unlocks in the shop list once you have enough money and story progression.
- Cost: Guides list about 5,000 Gold for this slot, which is a big but manageable upgrade once you’ve been farming with Gold/Iron for a while.
Arcane Pickaxe
- Arcane is not sold at Miner Fred’s: you have to complete a side‑quest chain.
- Steps (high level):
- Talk to the Bard NPC and start the Bard’s Guitar quest.
- Travel through The Cave, follow the indicated path to find the Bard’s lost guitar beside a skeleton, and return it to receive an Unknown Key.
- Enter The Cave again, this time follow the right path until you reach a massive locked gate (Fallen Angel’s Cave), open it with the key, and follow the tunnel to where the Arcane Pickaxe rests.
- Cost: Some sources list a 50k–125k Gold price or equivalent requirement for Arcane, but the important point is that it’s gated by this quest and is significantly more expensive than any shop pickaxe, so plan your savings accordingly.
Runes, rune slots, and best combinations
Runes are socketable upgrades that either boost stats like ore yield and luck or add combat traits such as life‑steal, thorns, or shield procs. You attach them at the Runemaker NPC in Stonewake’s Cross; you must enhance a pickaxe to at least +3 before it even unlocks its first rune slot, and low‑tier picks like Stone/Bronze/Iron can’t ever take runes.
Key runes to know for mining builds:
- Miner Shard – Yield I: small chance (~5%) to drop an extra ore on each successful mine. This is the single most economic rune for any serious mining pickaxe and should be in your first slot on Stonewake, Platinum/Diamond, and Arcane.
- Drain Edge – Life Steal plus a physical‑damage boost, great when you venture into combat‑heavy caves and need sustain without constant potion use.
- Ward Patch – Provides a chance to reduce incoming physical damage and extends dash distance, which is very strong for surviving deep‑cave ambushes and repositioning after mining.
- Blast Chip / Rage Mark / Chill Dust – offensive runes highlighted in pickaxe guides as top picks for Arcane; even without exact numbers public yet, they’re used to push damage and control once your economic and defensive rune slots are secured.
The general rule: first slot for Miner Shard, second for either Drain Edge or Ward Patch, and only then use extra slots for damage or visuals. Because Arcane has three rune slots, it’s the only pickaxe that can comfortably run all three archetypes at once: economy (Miner Shard), safety (Ward/Drain), and burst (Blast/Rage/Chill).
Quick tips & FAQ
- Do pickaxes break or lose stats? No. Pickaxes don’t deteriorate, so once you buy or unlock one, its power and luck remain fixed aside from enhancements and runes.
- Should you buy every pickaxe? No. Most tier lists suggest skipping Bronze entirely and rushing to Iron/Gold → Platinum/Diamond or Stonewake → Arcane to avoid wasting scarce coins.
- Which pickaxe for early rare ores? Gold with Miner Shard is your first meaningful rare‑ore setup; swap to Platinum/Diamond or Stonewake as soon as you can afford them.
- Why is Arcane so hyped? Triple rune slots plus best‑in‑class power and luck make it the only pickaxe that can do everything at once—mine, farm rare ores, and stay safe deep underground with the right rune combo.
Hi, I’m Haider Ali, author and co-founder of TigerJek.com and Wiki.TigerJek.com. I’ve been deep into Roblox and mobile games for years, and I personally test every strategy, build, and method I cover. I like taking complicated mechanics and turning them into clear, simple guidance that helps players improve faster and enjoy the game more.
