In order to farm Trillium (TLM) in Alien Worlds, you need to have equipped tools. Tools come in various configurations – some yield more TLM, some increase your chance to get a NFT, some reduce the Proof of Work requirement (POW).
This is a complete guide to Alien Worlds tools, including stats, recommended builds and formulas that describe the mechanics behind mining. Check our our Complete guide to Alien Worlds Lands for more information on Lands.
Tools basics
- You can equip up to 3 tools at any given time
- You can equip the same tool multiple times, but they need to be different NFTs
- Tools vary in usage. Most builds focus on balanced TLM and NFT gains, but there are outliers to this rule
- Every Alien Worlds player starts with a Standard Shovel
Tools stats explained
Each Alien Worlds Tool has 4 stats that you need to be aware of:
- TLM mining multiplier – top left corner of the tool shows a multiplier that this tool gives you when mining at a planet. The higher the number, the more TLM you will farm each time
- NFT luck multiplier – bottom right corner of the tool. Similar to the TLM mining multiplier, this number increases your chances to get a NFT drop.
- POW multiplier – bottom left corner. Every time you mine, your device needs to obtain a proof of work. This slows down your mining process, especially on mobile, and especially if you’re not using a WAX Wallet address. A higher number here will reduce the time you’re waiting on the Mining screen and reduce the number of stalls there.
- Charge time (seconds) – the textual portion of the tool describes how long the tool needs to recharge before being used again. Different tools have different times, and the game sums the charge times of two of your slowest tools to calculate the total recharge time.
The following table shows stats for every tool in Alien Worlds, sorted by rarity:
| ID | Name | Rarity | Max Issuance | Type | Charge time (sec) | POW | TLM | NFT luck | TLM efficiency | NFT efficiency | Total efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQ028 | AI Excavator | Mythical | 128 | Extractor | 300 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 53.33% | 100.00% | 153.33% |
| EQ029 | Waxtural Processor | Mythical | 128 | Manipulator | 2400 | 1 | 20 | 25 | 26.67% | 62.50% | 89.17% |
| EQ027 | Lucky Drill | Legendary | 1024 | Extractor | 160 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 100.00% | 37.50% | 137.50% |
| EQ024 | Exlian Staff | Legendary | 1024 | Exotool | 720 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 44.44% | 50.00% | 94.44% |
| EQ026 | Particle Beam Collider | Legendary | 1024 | Manipulator | 1300 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 36.92% | 36.92% | 73.85% |
| EQ025 | Quantum Drill | Legendary | 1024 | Extractor | 4500 | 4 | 40 | 5 | 28.44% | 6.67% | 35.11% |
| EQ020 | Advanced TD | Epic | 2048 | Manipulator | 80 | 2 | 2.5 | 0 | 100.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% |
| EQ021 | RD9000 Excavator | Epic | 2048 | Extractor | 240 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 93.33% | 0.00% | 93.33% |
| EQ023 | Nanominer | Epic | 2048 | Exotool | 150 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 85.33% | 40.00% | 125.33% |
| EQ022 | Localised Attractor | Epic | 2048 | Manipulator | 450 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 42.67% | 66.67% | 109.33% |
| EQ030 | Dacalizer | Epic | 2048 | Explosive | 4000 | 0 | 36 | 15 | 28.80% | 22.50% | 51.30% |
| EQ019 | Quark Separator | Epic | 2048 | Explosive | 4500 | 0 | 35 | 12 | 24.89% | 16.00% | 40.89% |
| EQ018 | Causian Attractor | Epic | 2048 | Manipulator | 660 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0.00% | 90.91% | 90.91% |
| EQ012 | Large Capacitor | Rare | 4096 | Manipulator | 1440 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 44.44% | 12.50% | 56.94% |
| EQ015 | Artunian Shovel | Rare | 4096 | Extractor | 750 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 42.67% | 40.00% | 82.67% |
| EQ017 | Barrel Digger | Rare | 4096 | Extractor | 700 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 32.00% | 60.00% | 92.00% |
| EQ016 | Large Explosive | Rare | 4096 | Explosive | 3600 | 0 | 30 | 10 | 26.67% | 16.67% | 43.33% |
| EQ014 | Glavor Disc | Rare | 4096 | Manipulator | 300 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10.67% | 80.00% | 90.67% |
| EQ011 | Draxos Axe | Rare | 4096 | ExoTool | 420 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7.62% | 85.71% | 93.33% |
| EQ013 | Processing Ring | Rare | 4096 | Manipulator | 600 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5.33% | 80.00% | 85.33% |
| EQ009 | ExoGloves | Common | 16384 | ExoTool | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 80.00% | 0.00% | 80.00% |
| EQ008 | Basic Trilium Detector | Common | 16384 | Manipulator | 170 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 75.29% | 0.00% | 75.29% |
| EQ005 | Infused Extractor | Common | 16384 | Extractor | 360 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 71.11% | 0.00% | 71.11% |
| EQ003 | Power Extractor | Common | 16384 | Extractor | 270 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 59.26% | 22.22% | 81.48% |
| EQ004 | Gasrigged Extractor | Common | 16384 | Extractor | 540 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 53.33% | 22.22% | 75.56% |
| EQ010 | Power Saw | Common | 16384 | Manipulator | 360 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 53.33% | 33.33% | 86.67% |
| EQ006 | Basic Explosive | Common | 16384 | Explosive | 1200 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 48.00% | 5.00% | 53.00% |
| EQ602 | Bananominer | Common | 1919 | Extractor | 120 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 40.00% | 50.00% | 90.00% |
| EQ002 | Standard Drill | Abundant | Unlimited | Extractor | 120 | 1 | 2 | 0.7 | 53.33% | 35.00% | 88.33% |
| EQ007 | Standard Capacitor | Abundant | Unlimited | Manipulator | 75 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 42.67% | 40.00% | 82.67% |
| EQ001 | Standard Shovel | Abundant | Unlimited | Extractor | 80 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 40.00% | 37.50% | 77.50% |
The data is also available as an infographic:
Formulas that determine TLM and NFT yield in Alien Worlds
As we already mentioned, each tool has 4 different stats that are applied in Alien Worlds. These stats determine the amount of TLM you will mine, the chance to get a NFT and the overall delay before you can mine again.
The following image describes the exact formulas behind these mechanics:
- Mining Power = Land TLM Multiplier * (Sum of tool mining powers)
- Chance of NFT = Land NFT Multiplier * (Sum of tool NFT luck)
- Charge time = Land Charge Multiplier * (Sum of two largest tool charge times)
In essence, when you have three tools equipped, your fastest tool will not be taken into consideration when calculating the total charge time you have to wait.
Let’s see how these formulas work on these two Lands if you mine only with a Standard Shovel:
The Standard Shovel has 1x TLM, 0.5x NFT and 80 seconds Charge time. Here’s the resulting calculation:
- Plains
- Your total TLM multiplier is 0.6 * 1 = 0.6
- Your total NFT multiplier is 0.5 * 0.5 = 0.25
- Your total charge time is 80 * 0.7 = 56 seconds
- Active Volcano
- Your total TLM multiplier is 2.5 * 1 = 2.5
- Your total NFT multiplier is 2.5 * 2.5 = 0.125
- Your total charge time is 80 * 5.0 = 400 seconds
Of course, there’s more to this, as the underlying formula takes into account the current mining pool size on a particular planet. You can see what the pot size is on each planet by visiting Alien World’s official Grafana dashboard.
Your mining power gets multiplied with the planet’s mining pot in order to calculate the amount of TLM each mining attempt will yield.
What about Proof of work reduction? Well, it’s a simple way of reducing the time you’re stuck on the mining screen. Some lands – such as Plains – are more difficult to mine than others, and you can often wait quite a substantial amount of time in order to mine them.
It’s worth investing in POW reducing tools, but not at the start of the game. Just farm lands that have 0 POW requirement, and there’s plenty of those. Check out the AWStats website for more information.
How to get tools?
You can get tools by mining and buy purchasing them on various marketplaces. We recommend buying tools on the AtomicHub, the largest WAX chain marketplace focused on Alien Worlds.
You can also sell your excessive tools on the same marketplace and earn WAX coins from sales.
AtomicHub is safe and verified by the MetaHub team.
Parting words
We won’t leave you out for dry now that we got you interested, so take a look at these guides as well:
- Be sure to read our How to sell TLM for WAX and get better tools in Alien Worlds guide and figure out how to actually get better tools for your character.
- If you are just starting out, check out our Top 3 Mining Builds for Alien Worlds Beginners to give you a leg up in choosing a beginning build.
- Looking for something in-depth about Lands? We got you covered there as well with our Complete guide to Alien Worlds Lands
- Also check out our What actually happens when you mine in Alien Worlds? article for more information on the mining process and Tool POW stat meanings
- How to earn money by playing Alien Worlds is your go-to place for learning about getting paid for your mining efforts.
Good luck in your mining adventures!