- Snake Arrows Conan Exiles Guide - November 14, 2023
- Conan Exiles Explosive Jar Guide - October 24, 2023
- Conan Exiles Floor Plan Ideas - October 10, 2023
Amongst the most precious resources in all of Conan Exiles, Gold Dust is perhaps one of the most vital. This humble dust is the cornerstone of one of the most critical items you can craft in Conan Exiles: Alchemical Base.
Gold Dust is highly sought after and incredibly valuable to those who wield it. The knowledge of how to attain it often eludes new players, but no longer.
Today we’ll learn how to gather Conan Exiles Gold Dust efficiently and what to do with it. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
What is Gold Dust?
Conan Exiles Gold Dust is a handful of powder, ground down and stored safely within a small pouch. Created from Gold Bars or Gold Coins, this dust is invaluable among alchemists. It is one of the most sought-after ingredients within Conan Exiles.
Gold Dust is classified as a high-grade ingredient, able to be stacked up to 500 units per stack, with each handful weighing 0.01. Each full stack weighs only five units, meaning you can carry it with little worry of becoming overburdened.
What is Gold Dust Used For?
Gold Dust is used for crafting four different items, each of which is valuable in different ways. The first is Shadespiced Gold Dust, a type of food that can be fed to a Rocknose to create a Gold-veined Rocknose. We’ll look at these stone beasts again later.
The second and third options are two Aquilonian decorations. Specifically, these are the Aquilonian Chair (Variant B) and Aquilonian Brazier (Variant A). These are decoration items that will be ideal for some players, but they’re incredibly subjective in value.
Finally, Alchemical Base. Created using 2 Silver Dust, 1 Gold Dust, and 2 Ichor, this mixture of precious metals is priceless. It is valued amongst high-level players for crafting a variety of items, including the Map Room.
Where Can I Find Gold?
Unfortunately, like its silver counterpart, you won’t be able to sweep a pan across the desert floor and siphon out the Silver Dust. Instead, you’ll need to gather and process Gold products to then grind down into Gold Dust.
The first port of call for this is to learn how to acquire Gold. You may assume that Gold is hard to find, given its value. That is somewhat correct, though Gold can be acquired effortlessly and efficiently if you prepare correctly. So, let’s find out how to gather Gold.
Mining Gold
Mining gold is doubtless the most effective way to gather this precious metal. With this method, you can acquire an incredible amount of Goldstone in a relatively short time. This method is often fraught with danger, as you’ll be heading to the Volcano.
What Tool Do I Use for Mining Gold?
The best tool to use for mining Gold is a Pick. In my testing, I tried out the usual selection of tools at the Hardened Steel level, and the Pick outperformed all other options. I was able to gather 100 Goldstone in a reasonable amount of time.
If you use tools below Hardened Steel, you may have reduced results. If you choose Star Metal or Obsidian, you will likely acquire even more Goldstone. So, let’s look at where you can mine Goldstone.
The Exiled Lands
The absolute best spot for mining Gold is in and around the Volcano. From the Road of the Pilgrim up to the caldera itself, this area is replete with Obsidian rocks. I know, Obsidian? Strangely enough, you can indeed gather Goldstone by mining Obsidian rocks. Goldstone from these rocks is quite rare, though it remains a consistent source.
While mining these Obsidian deposits, you’ll gather a large amount of Raw Ash and Obsidian. This surplus of resources can rapidly fill your inventory, weighing you down and slowing you to a crawl.
Avoid this at all costs. Between the searing heat and the aggressive Skelos cultists, you don’t want to risk dying in the depths of the Volcano. It’s best to dump your Raw Ash and Obsidian on the floor and focus solely on Goldstone, though if you need either of these resources in the future, you may want to keep a small amount.
The Isle of Siptah
The Isle of Siptah is reasonably generous in the availability of Goldstone. Like many other resources, you’ll find Gold deposits dotted around the Elder Vaults.
The Bastion of the Bat Demons and The Harbor of the Drowned offer large clusters than others, located in map squares O8 and D12 respectively. You can also find a large amount of Goldstone on the south-western Island, on the northern side of Map Square F5.
It may be best to avoid these locations if you’re playing PvP, as they’re likely to be farmed often, and thus small deposits may prove safer.
Farming Gold
Much like Silver Dust, it’s possible to farm Gold through the humble skill of animal husbandry. If you do acquire a Rocknose pet, you can place it into an Animal Pen and feed it certain foods for a chance to produce a Gold-veined Rocknose.
Feeding one Gold Dust to your pet will offer a 20% chance to result in the desired Gold rocknose, though that chance can increase to a maximum of 26% if you instead feed it a Shadespiced Gold Dust.
Rocknose Eggs can be purchased from Shawna the Strange at The Den for 10 Gold Coins. You then have to wait for it to ‘expire’, causing the egg to hatch into a Pebblenose. This pet can then be put into the Animal Pen and fed to grow into an adult Rocknose.
Once you’ve got a Gold-veined Rocknose, leave it in the Animal Pen with a large amount of stone. Every so often, it will eat some and poop out a reward. This can be either Stone, Ironstone, or Goldstone.
The drop chance of Goldstone isn’t great, only 5%, but it’s the only passive way to acquire Gold, and your overall output volume will increase if you invest in more Gold-veined Rocknoses.
Looting Gold
The preferred method for many players, rather than mining or farming, is to loot Gold elsewhere. There are a few locations on The Exiled Lands where this is possible, with the most popular being Buccaneer Bay.
Located in the far northeast of the map where the jungle meets the ocean, this area is home to a horde of Pirates but also is full of riches.
The water surrounding the bay contains exactly 14 underwater chests that offer large amounts of both Silver and Gold, perfect for your Gold Dust needs. This spot is popular, and if you’re on a particularly busy server, you may find it has already been looted.
Another, less efficient location is the city of Sepermeru. Here, you’ll find numerous chests and boxes dotted around the desert city that can provide Gold or Silver if you’re lucky.
Unfortunately, the loot pool for these chests is vast and weighted heavily towards Iron and Steel rewards. These chests are invaluable for the early and mid-game, but for the sole purpose of gathering Gold, they, unfortunately, fall behind the mark. Your time is better spent at the Volcano, mining for gold.
How Do I Process Gold?
So you’ve managed to mine some Goldstone! Perfect, now we need to turn it into workable Gold Bars. Doing so is a simple endeavor of smelting your Goldstone in a furnace.
Goldstone smelts into Gold Bars at a rate of 3:1, meaning each 3 pieces of Goldstone will create a single Gold bar. Upgraded furnaces have no way to improve this cost, as they will only improve the longevity of your fuel or the speed at which you can smelt items.
Therefore, it’s best to attempt to over-prepare by gathering as much Goldstone as possible to then smelt into bars.
Once you have your Gold Bars, you can now begin to create Gold Dust. If you have instead chosen to loot Gold products from Buccaneer Bay, you can skip the smelting step and begin here.
By placing your Gold Product into a Grinder, you can create Gold Dust. Gold Bars will grind at a 1:10 ratio, meaning a single Gold Bar produces 10 Gold Dust. 1 Gold Coin grinds at a 1:2 ratio, meaning 1 Gold Coin produces 2 Gold Dust.
You may find many outdated or incorrect opinions online that you should convert your Gold Bars into Coins before you grind them down, or vice versa. This is advice that you should completely disregard.
Converting your Gold Bars to Gold Coins does nothing to improve your yield of Gold Dust, and is a futile exercise unless you need the Gold Coins specifically. Converting Gold Coins to Gold Bars is a terrible idea, as you will reduce your Gold Dust yield by 50. Whatever Gold products you have, bars or coins, simply just grind them down.
How Do I Use Gold Dust?
So now you have your Gold Dust, you’re probably wondering how to use it. The exact usage depends upon what you wish to craft, so I’ll quickly go through them here:
If you wish to craft one of the two Aquilonian decorations mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do so at an Artisan Table. For the Aquilonian Brazier (Variant A), you’ll need to combine 100 stones and 10 Gold Dust to craft this large brazier.
For the Aquilonian Chair (Variant B), you’ll need to combine 4 Shaped Wood and 5 Gold Dust. These decorations are reasonably priced, all things considered, though the Aquilonian style is a personal choice and may not fit into your base.
Shadespiced Gold Dust is crafted at a Stove or Improvised Stove and requires 40 Gold Dust and 1 Shadebloom. The primary use of this item is to help convert Rocknoses into Gold-veined Rocknoses, thus making this a very niche item. Make sure not to eat it yourself, as you’ll contract a nasty dose of food poisoning.
Finally, the proverbial star of the show, Alchemical Base. This is crafted at any of the regular or upgraded Firebowl Cauldrons, requiring 2 Silver Dust, 1 Gold Dust, and 2 Ichor. This ratio can be improved by using upgraded stations that offer cost reductions, but the overall cost isn’t terrible.
Alchemical Base is employed in creating various potions and tinctures, alongside some healing items and pets. It’s also used in Acheronian, Obsidian, and Serpent-Men tools and weapons. You’ll also be using it to create certain workstations, but most importantly, it is part of the vitally important Map Room.
Map Rooms are sought after for the convenience they provide, allowing you to teleport to discovered Obelisks throughout The Exiled Lands. This massively speeds up almost any activity you wish to undertake and is one of the many reasons why Alchemical Base is so prized amongst Exiles.
Frequently Asked Questions – Conan Exiles Gold Dust
Question: Is it Worth Investing the Time and Effort Into Creating Gold-veined Rocknoses?
Answer: This question is often debated, because of how long it can take to get a sustainable supply. In the many hours it takes to build a repertoire of 10 or 15 Gold-veined Rocknoses, you could have easily mined or looted hundreds, if not thousands of Gold products.
As a primary method, Rocknoses leave a lot to be desired. However, as a side method, or just something fun to do, don’t completely disregard it.
Question: Does Gold Dust or Gold Products Drop from NPC Enemies?
Answer: Small amounts of Gold can drop from certain enemies, but like with many resources, this is entirely unreliable. The loot pool for many enemies is vast and weighted more towards simple supplies, and thus in the time it would take to gather Gold from NPC enemies, you could gather much more through traditional routes.
Question: Is it Possible to Find Gold-veined Rocknoses in the Wild?
Answer: Yes, though unfortunately, they are untameable. They serve simply as enemies to be defeated, similar to Silver-veined Rocknoses. You can slay and harvest them to get a decent quantity of Goldstone, though they’re not exactly a common spawn, so they’re a nice bonus rather than a consistent source of Goldstone.
Conclusion
Conan Exiles Gold Dust is one of the most sought-after resources within Conan Exiles. As part of the recipe for Alchemical Base, it is considered invaluable amongst experienced players.
New players often struggle with precious metals like Silver and Gold, but today I’ve taught you how to effectively gather Gold Dust to help supply your crafting needs. Grab your pickaxe, it’s time to get mining. Best of luck, Exile!
Recommended Reads: