Collecting (Mining) – Skill progression & money guide (Level 0 → Level 10)
In my rotational play I’m testing different money-making skills with Zois dedicated to a single skill. Since I noted everything down for future reference, I’m sharing my Collecting observations here.
Settings: 96-minute day
Main leveling method: Mining (Treasure Search at the beach gives much less XP)
Quick Summary
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Mining is the core loop: each attempt takes 3 min, and both success + fail give skill gain.
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Daily respawn limit: mining spots in each city respawn the next day → daily progress is capped by available spots + running between them.
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Collecting is slower to max than most skills (post-December Update) because of limited spots, travel time, and high Energy drain.
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Focused mood helps (more raw birthstones/diamonds), especially paired with a Jewel Pickaxe on silver/gold/mixed spots.
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Level 10: mining almost never fails (still possible, but feels like ~5% max).
Action timings (baseline)
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Mining: 3 min per attempt (fail or success)
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Search for treasure at beach: 5–6 min per attempt
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much lower Collecting XP than mining
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high fail rate / often finds nothing
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Leveling speed (pure mining time) + fail rate
These times are pure mining time (not counting running between spots). Attempt counts match 3 minutes per attempt.
| Level-up | Attempts (fail/success) | Fail rate | Pure mining time to level up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 0 → 1 | 14 (8 / 6) | 57% | ~0h40m |
| Level 1 → 2 | 23 (11 / 12) | 48% | ~1h10m |
| Level 2 → 3 | 27 (8 / 19) | 30% | ~1h20m |
| Level 3 → 4 | 39 (16 / 23) | 41% | ~2h00m |
| Level 4 → 5 | 32 (1 / 31) | 3% | ~1h35m |
| Level 5 → 6 | 51 (14 / 37) | 27% | ~2h30m |
| Level 6 → 7 | 41 (8 / 33) | 20% | ~2h00m |
| Level 7 → 8 | 75 (18 / 57) | 24% | ~3h45m |
| Level 8 → 9 | 41 (1 / 40) | 2% | ~2h00m |
| Level 9 → 10 | 88 (4 / 84) | 5% | ~4h25m |
Total pure mining time to Level 10: ~21h25m
Real in-game time is much longer because you must run between spots, manage Energy, and you’re limited by daily respawns.
It took me approximately 1 in-game week to level to 10 while still taking care of needs, having some social life and leveling Handiwork to 10 in parallel.
Recommended progression setup
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Level Handiwork early (at least Level 2) → craft a Gold Pickaxe
- improves chances for raw diamonds from silver spots (especially with Focused mood)
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Once you start getting raw diamonds, craft a Jewel Pickaxe
- best results on silver/gold/mixed spots
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Keep spare diamonds: Jewel Pickaxe breaks sometimes, so craft backups or keep diamonds ready
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Use Focus donuts from Meow Store (most reliable Focus source):
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Focus Donut (30 coins): Focused for 6 hours
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Max Focus Donut (60 coins): Focused for 12 hours (harder to overwrite by other emotions)
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Rule of thumb (spot types):
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Mixed spots tend to be better for high-value birthstones
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Silver spots are better for raw diamonds (especially with Jewel Pickaxe + Focus)
Small side note: you can gather twigs and ordinary rocks without tools.
Strong recommendation: level Handiwork to 10 in parallel
The best cuts (Noble / Kitty Paw) unlock late and are a big profit lever for selling birthstones and jewel / gold pickaxes also sell for very solid profit.
Refer to my Handiwork guide for more details: Handiwork – Skill progression & money guide (post-December Update)
Mining spot locations (screenshots)
Collecting progress is heavily limited by how many mining spots you can chain per day (mining spots respawn the next day), so knowing the actual mining spot locations in each city matters a lot.
Below are 3 City Map screenshots. The red circles mark the main areas where mining spots consistently appear in each city (specific parks / building surroundings / districts rather than “everywhere”).
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Cahaya: throughout the farming / rural area, in the Park, on the small Island (reachable by boat).
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Bliss Bay: Around and inside the school building complex, around the big white building (see screenshot), around and in Clover Park.
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Dowon: Harang River Park, Central Park.
Level 10 money: 1 hour mining (inventory sale only)
These values are 1 hour in-game, including running between spots inside the area (but not traveling to another location). Outcomes depend heavily on spot composition (how many silver/gold/mixed) + running distance + Focus.
Level 10 hourly yield summary (with Jewel Pickaxe)
| Area | Runs | Range in Mew | Average in Mew |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bliss Bay | 8 | 415–1185 | ~798 |
| Dowon | 14 | 223–1223 | ~658 |
| Cahaya | 11 | 260–1242 | ~688 |
Overall across all logged runs: average ~702 Mew/hour, with very high variance.
You can exceed this by a lot if you cut valuable birthstones and sell via Inventory, even more if you craft a high quality cut and sell via Pocket Market or use diamonds to craft and sell pickaxes.
Treasure Search (Beach) – optional, low XP, occasional big finds
Treasure Search gives much less Collecting XP than mining, but can drop:
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Blue seashell 15 Mew
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Explorer’s flashlight 35 Mew
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Mysterious doll 72 Mew
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Pearl 190 Mew
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Gold bar 4600 Mew (desert island, Cahaya)
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Small gold cat figurine 1450 Mew (desert island, Cahaya)
Display cases (unlock by number of collectibles found)
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Medium display case: unlocks after the 9th gemstone; cost 350 Mew (Build Mode); holds 4
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Birthstone display case: unlocks after the 16th gemstone; cost 700 Mew (Build Mode); holds 12
- raw birthstones only
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Luxury display case: unlocks after the 30th gemstone; cost 500 Mew (Build Mode); holds 4
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displays rare collectibles only (shown when hovering over it in inventory)
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can display raw and cut birthstones
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Important display note (applies to all display cases):
After placing collectibles, use “Hold exhibition”. Otherwise other household members may move items around or even throw them away. Same for birthstone cuts placed on a table or other surfaces.
Item values (base list) + birthstone cut values
Recommendation: if you wonder where to find which gems + which pickaxe is required check the great collections guide by @glauadris here: Guia de Coleções: Minérios e Pedras Preciosas
A) Base values in Mew (Inventory sell) — same value gemstones grouped
| Item | Type | Base value |
|---|---|---|
| Sodalite (Blue / Green / Red / Yellow) | Ore | 10 |
| Mica (Blue / Green / Yellow / Red) | Ore | 3 |
| Crystal (Soul Reap / Aqua Core / Prism / Blood Knight) | Ore | 20 |
| Raw Lapis Lazuli (Red / Green / Yellow / Blue) | Ore | 40 |
| Copper Ore | Ore | 4 |
| Iron Ore | Ore | 8 |
| Silver Ore | Ore | 25 |
| Gold Ore | Ore | 65 |
| Raw Amethyst / Peridot / Garnet | Birthstone | 80 |
| Raw Turquoise / Aquamarine / Topaz | Birthstone | 90 |
| Pearl (Treasure) | Birthstone | 190 |
| Raw Ruby / Emerald / Opal / Larimar | Birthstone | 200 |
| Raw Sapphire | Birthstone | 210 |
| Raw Diamond | Birthstone | 300 |
| Raw Pink Diamond | Birthstone | 400 |
| Raw Cat’s Eye | Birthstone | 480 |
| Raw Black Opal | Birthstone | 520 |
| Raw Emeraldite | Birthstone | 800 |
| Blue Seashell | Treasure | 15 |
| Explorer’s Flashlight | Treasure | 35 |
| Mysterious Doll | Treasure | 72 |
| Small Gold Cat Figurine | Treasure | 1450 |
| Gold Bar | Treasure | 4600 |
B) Birthstone cut values in Mew (Inventory sell)
Cut costs & multipliers: Round (cost 10 / value +5%) • Oval (cost 15 / value +5%) • Pear (cost 20 / value +10%) • Square (cost 25 / value +20%) • Heart (cost 30 / value +30%) • Star (cost 40 / value +40%) • Noble (cost 50 / value +50%) • Kitty Paw (cost 50 / value +50%)
Rounding note: 5% cuts appear to round down where relevant (e.g., 90 → 94).
| Birthstone | Raw | Round/Oval | Pear | Square | Heart | Star | Noble/Kitty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amethyst | 80 | 84 | 88 | 96 | 104 | 112 | 120 |
| Peridot | 80 | 84 | 88 | 96 | 104 | 112 | 120 |
| Garnet | 80 | 84 | 88 | 96 | 104 | 112 | 120 |
| Turquoise | 90 | 94 | 99 | 108 | 117 | 126 | 135 |
| Aquamarine | 90 | 94 | 99 | 108 | 117 | 126 | 135 |
| Topaz | 90 | 94 | 99 | 108 | 117 | 126 | 135 |
| Pearl | 190 | 199 | 209 | 228 | 247 | 266 | 285 |
| Ruby | 200 | 210 | 220 | 240 | 260 | 280 | 300 |
| Emerald | 200 | 210 | 220 | 240 | 260 | 280 | 300 |
| Opal | 200 | 210 | 220 | 240 | 260 | 280 | 300 |
| Larimar | 200 | 210 | 220 | 240 | 260 | 280 | 300 |
| Sapphire | 210 | 220 | 231 | 252 | 273 | 294 | 315 |
| Diamond | 300 | 315 | 330 | 360 | 390 | 420 | 450 |
| Pink Diamond | 400 | 420 | 440 | 480 | 520 | 560 | 600 |
| Cat’s Eye | 480 | 504 | 528 | 576 | 624 | 672 | 720 |
| Black Opal | 520 | 546 | 572 | 624 | 676 | 728 | 780 |
| Emeraldite | 800 | 840 | 880 | 960 | 1040 | 1120 | 1200 |
Note: some stones may not offer both Level 10 cuts, but value-wise it doesn’t matter because Noble and Kitty Paw both give +50%.
Cutting + selling: Inventory vs Pocket Market sell
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Cut birthstones have quality (Bad/Medium/Good/Excellent/Perfect), but quality is not visible in inventory.
- to check: take it out + hover over it, or place on a table
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Pocket Market selling option only appears if the cut is placed on a table.
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Pocket Market price depends heavily on cut quality:
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High-quality cuts → Pocket Market can massively outperform inventory selling
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Low-quality cuts → Inventory selling is better
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Concrete examples (why quality matters)
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Emeraldite (Noble cut): inventory sell is 1200 Mew, but when placed and sold via Pocket Market at Medium quality base value was only 840 Mew and it only sold for around ~1000 Mew.
→ for low-quality cuts Pocket Market is mostly worse than inventory.
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Turquoise (Oval cut): inventory sell is only 94 Mew, but when sold via Pocket Market at Perfect quality, it had a base value of 188 Mew and achieved around ~330–370 Mew on Pocket Market.
→ for high-quality cuts Pocket Market can massively beat inventory.
Practical rule:
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Good/Excellent/Perfect → try Pocket Market
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Bad/Medium → Inventory sell mostly gives a better profit
What’s worth cutting? (quick logic)
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For low raw values (80–90 Mew birthstones): cutting is usually not worth it for inventory profit (fees can eat the gain).
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From ~190+ Mew (Pearl and above), Noble/Kitty Paw (+50%) becomes the best “straight value” cut for inventory selling.
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Pocket Market can change the math if you roll high cut quality.
CAZ / jewelry customization
If a cut is at least Good quality:
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hold the cut in hand → click the Zoi → “add to my decoration materials”
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open CAZ → find it under “Crafted Decoration” and then select “My Decoation Materials”
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resize/reposition with view gizmos enabled
Benefits for Collection Expert Ambition
If you pursue the Collection Expert ambition: after reaching Level 10, you can buy Silver / Gold / Jewel Pickaxes in the Farming Supply Store.
