WoW Archaeology Guide 1-525
This WoW Archaeology Guide details the most efficient method of leveling Archaeology from levels 1 to 525 in the World of Warcraft. Archaeology is a secondary profession, which means learning archaeology won’t limit what other professions you train your character in. The majority of items discovered with Archaeology are grey trash items which you will sell, however there are also a number of Epic items (item level 359), as well as some Rare items that could prvoe useful if leveling Archaeology will leveling your character.
Updated for patch 4.2
This guide focuses on making the training path easier by focusing on solving the artifacts that which require the fewest pieces and so can be solved at a more frequent interval.
Archaeology Guide Shortcuts
- How Archaeology Works
- Archaeology Trainers
- Archaeology Apprentice Levels (1-75)
- Archaeology Journeyman Levels (76-150)
- Archaeology Expert Levels (151-225)
- Archaeology Artisan Levels (226-300)
- Archaeology Master Levels (301-375)
- Archaeology Grand Master Levels (376-450)
- Archaeology Illustrious Levels (451-525)
How Archaeology Works
At character level 20 you can train Archaeology Apprentice from an Archaeology Trainer. Once you have trained, your world map will display the dig sites that are available for you to survey. The dig sites appear as spade symbols on your world map when you are looking at a continent-level view. There are always 4 dig sites displayed per continent. Once you clear one, another will appear. The dig sites are unique to you, that is, you won’t need to compete with anyone else to survey them.
When you zoom in to a zone-level view the dig sites are displayed as transparent orange shaded areas on your world map. You will need to travel into the shaded area in order to begin surveying. Each dig site can be surveyed three times. After three surveys, the dig site will be exhausted and a new dig site will appear on your world map.
Once inside the shaded area you will need to use the Survey skill to try and find archaeology fragments. Performing a survey will generate one of four results. You could find a fragment, in which case the fragment will be displayed on the ground for you to pick up. Otherwise, if you don’t discover a fragment immediately, a small tripod will display. The direction of the scope on the tripod will indicate in which direction you should move to find the fragment. The color of the light on the tripod will indicate how close you are to the fragment, that is:
The fragments you discover will depend on the location of the dig site. There are 9 different groups that the fragments could be associated with, some of which only become accessible at higher levels of skill. As you collect fragments for new groups, new archaeology projects will be revealed. Each project requires a specific number of fragments in ordered for it to be solved. Once sufficient fragments have been collected you can solve the project and receive the archaeological item associated with that project.
Archaeology Trainers
| Rank | Faction | Trainer | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice Journeyman Expert Artisan Master Grand Master Illustrious Grand Master |
Alliance | Diya | The Vault of Lights, The Exodar |
| Doktor Professor Ironpants | Hall of Explorers, Ironforge | ||
| Falda Fardelve | Valiance Keep, Borean Tundra | ||
| Gerdra Fardelve | Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula | ||
| Hammon the Jaded | The Temple of the Moon, Darnassus | ||
| Harrison Jones | Stormwind Keep, Stormwind | ||
| Hugen Goldwise | Valgarde, Howling Fjord | ||
| Stephanie Krutsick | Lor’danel, Darkshore | ||
| Horde | Adam Hossack | The Magic Quarter, Undercity | |
| Belloc Brightblade | The Valley of Strength, Orgrimmar | ||
| Elynara | The Royal Exchange, Silvermoon | ||
| Ian Thomas Wall | Vengeance Landing, Howling Fjord | ||
| Lindarel | Warsong Hold, Borean Tundra | ||
| Otoh Greyhide | The Elder Rise, Thunder Bluff | ||
| Sirabel | Thrallmar, Hellfire Peninsula | ||
| Neutral | Boduro the Sekker | Lower City, Shattrath | |
| Dariness the Learned | Runeweaver Square, Dalaran |
Leveling Archaeology 1-75
Level 20 Character Required
Learn Apprentice Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
Each set of fragments you collect between level 1 and 50 will increase your archaeology skill level by one. The most efficient way to level Archaeology then is not to solve any projects until you have reached skill level 50. Once you start solving projects, each solved project will provide a 5 level increase in skill. Projects for rare and epic items will provide a 15 level increase in skill, although these are unlikely to occur until higher skill levels.
At this level you can survey dig sites in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and find fragements for the following groups: Dwarf, Fossil, Night Elf and Troll.
Leveling Archaeology 76-150
Level 20 Character Required
Learn Journeymen Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At this level you can survey dig sites in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and find fragements for the following groups: Dwarf, Fossil, Night Elf and Troll.
Leveling Archaeology 151-225
Level 20 Character Required
Learn Expert Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At this level you can survey dig sites in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and find fragements for the following groups: Dwarf, Fossil, Night Elf and Troll.
Leveling Archaeology 226-300
Level 35 Character required
Learn Artisan Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At this level you can survey dig sites in Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and find fragements for the following groups: Dwarf, Fossil, Night Elf and Troll.
Leveling Archaeology 301-375
Level 50 Character required
Learn Master Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At level 300 dig sites in Outland become available. In Outland you can find fragments for the following groups: Draenei and Orc.
Some feel it is faster to level Archaeology at these levels in Outland as the fragments will only be for one of two groups, and this should mean they accumulate faster to solve projects. However, the Draenei and Orc projects usually require 45 fragments versus just 30 fragments for most of the Dwarf, Fossil, Night Elf and Troll projects. My opinion is that if you’re currently leveling in Outland then survey dig sites there, but if you’re powerleveling Archaeology on a high level character stick to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and you’ll clear the levels faster in the long haul.
Leveling Archaeology 376-450
Level 65 Character required
Learn Grand Master Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At level 375 dig sites in Northrend become available. In Northrend you can find fragments for the following groups: Nerubian and Vrykul.
The same logic applies here as to Outland – if you’re leveling in Northrend then survey the local dig sites, otherwise stick to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.
Leveling Archaeology 451-525
Level 75 Character required
Learn Illustrious Grand Master Archaeology from a Archaeology trainer
At level 450 dig sites in the Cataclysm zones within the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor become available. The important zone is Uldum which is the only location where you can find fragments for the last group – Tol’vir. As Uldum is part of Kalimdor, it will occasionally appear as one of the 4 random dig sites for that continent.
Continue leveling Archaeology in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor for the fastest progress.
I hoped you found this WoW Archaeology Leveling Guide useful and that it has helped you on your way to level 525. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.