Best Pickaxe in Core Keeper: Mining Damage Rankings

Best pickaxe ranking (when you get it)

Strength without upgrading. The higher the mining damage, the faster you break hard walls and ore.

Rank	Pickaxe	Base Lv	Mining damage (base)	Mining damage (Lv.20)	Durability	Other effects (Lv.20)
1	Soul Seeker	16	769	1,150	Infinite	+11.6% mining speed +3 blue glow Hits charge the secondary use
2	Solarite Pickaxe	16	735	1,099	800	—
3	Galaxite Pickaxe	14	576	1,093	800	—
4	Octarine Pickaxe	12	417	1,034	800	—
5	Ancient Pickaxe	11	385	1,106	800	+14.2% mining speed
6	Scarlet Pickaxe	9	289	1,163	800	—
7	Iron Pickaxe	6	180	1,386	800	—
8	Tin Pickaxe	4	83	1,144	550	—
9	Copper Pickaxe	2	42	1,366	400	—
10	Wood Pickaxe	1	15	900	200	—

Pickaxe ranking when upgraded to Lv.20

Mining damage after upgrading to Lv.20 with Ancient Coins and materials. Once upgraded, the gap between early and late pickaxes nearly disappears.

Rank	Pickaxe	Base Lv	Mining damage (base)	Mining damage (Lv.20)	Durability	Other effects (Lv.20)
1	Iron Pickaxe	6	180	1,386	800	—
2	Copper Pickaxe	2	42	1,366	400	—
3	Scarlet Pickaxe	9	289	1,163	800	—
4	Soul Seeker	16	769	1,150	Infinite	+11.6% mining speed +3 blue glow Hits charge the secondary use
5	Tin Pickaxe	4	83	1,144	550	—
6	Ancient Pickaxe	11	385	1,106	800	+14.2% mining speed
7	Solarite Pickaxe	16	735	1,099	800	—
8	Galaxite Pickaxe	14	576	1,093	800	—
9	Octarine Pickaxe	12	417	1,034	800	—
10	Wood Pickaxe	1	15	900	200	—

Pickaxe crafting order (early to late game)

Sorted by base level. Whenever you get a new material, switching to the next pickaxe up makes mining faster.

1. Wood PickaxeLv.1 · mining damage 15
2. Copper PickaxeLv.2 · mining damage 42
3. Tin PickaxeLv.4 · mining damage 83
4. Iron PickaxeLv.6 · mining damage 180
5. Scarlet PickaxeLv.9 · mining damage 289
6. Ancient PickaxeLv.11 · mining damage 385
7. Octarine PickaxeLv.12 · mining damage 417
8. Galaxite PickaxeLv.14 · mining damage 576
9. Solarite PickaxeLv.16 · mining damage 735
10. Soul SeekerLv.16 · mining damage 769

Other tools you can mine with (sledgehammers, drills)

Sledgehammers, hand drills and beam weapons also have mining damage.

Pickaxe	Base Lv	Mining damage (base)	Mining damage (Lv.20)	Durability	Other effects (Lv.20)
Scarlet Hand Drill	9	327	1,315	250	+13.7% movement speed
Hand Drill	4	85	1,167	250	—
Stormbringer	19	1,000	1,097	Infinite	+15% movement speed boost for a short duration after mining a wall When targeting an enemy the lightning will chain to 3 other nearby enemies
Obliteration Ray	17	800	1,073	250	—
Iron Sledge Hammer	6	110	849	400	—
Galaxite Sledge Hammer	14	437	828	600	—
Scarlet Sledge Hammer	9	201	808	450	—
Octarine Sledge Hammer	12	318	787	500	—
Copper Sledge Hammer	2	23	746	200	—
Tin Sledge Hammer	4	48	657	300	—
Titan Breath	18	421	510	Infinite	+12% critical hit chance +10% increased mana cost and magic damage per beam attack up to 400%
Corrosion Staff	5	18	181	875	—

How to choose the best pickaxe

• If you do not upgrade, switch to each new material's pickaxe in turn. Base mining damage rises with material tier (Wood → Copper → Tin → Iron → Scarlet → Octarine → Galaxite → Solarite).
• If you upgrade, you can keep the pickaxe you like. At Lv.20 the difference in mining damage becomes small.
• Mining talents and food speed up mining too. Mining skill talents and food that raises mining damage make digging even faster. See the recommended skill builds and best food.