I usually only do this copper trick on nodes that are already very exposed, say 75% exposed on a slope or elevation. Mark it on the map and come back later to explode it. Otherwise it is faster to just dig the majority of the surface off of several nodes.

Some copper nodes go past the level you can dig to, so some can be hidden. However, i think it's due to the copper node size too, their hurtbox is a big cube iirc, compared to silver which is much smaller. I attempted to do this a couple times, but copper is really finicky regarding that strategy - so i just mine normally.

Copper nodes can reach directly into bedrock. They're huge, slow to dig out, and are overall the biggest grind of the game.

Silver nodes are much more compact. You can dig around them and watch them collapse, it's a lot of fun and often faster than trying to pick them apart.

Originally posted by Bobucles:

Copper nodes can reach directly into bedrock. They're huge, slow to dig out, and are overall the biggest grind of the game.

Have you tried just mining the surface nodes? The point I'm trying to get across is that the time per ore is many times shorter if you just mine the surface, and don't try to dig out the entire rock.

The hurtbox for the ore isn't a cube exactly, but it is made of fairly large cubes (think Minecraft) so it can easily be attached to the terrain even when the visuals say it isn't. The situation you're trying to arrange is for the ground surface to not intersect with even one tiny corner of those invisible cubes, either by digging it below or raising it above.

https://valheim.thunderstore.io/package/JereKuusela/Ore_Support

I have heard of it working, but don't do it. It may sound like a spectacle to watch the whole thing collapse rapidly but it cannot possibly be worth the time that it takes to set up. Depending on which one you try it on, it may not even be possible to lower the terrain enough to attempt it.

Originally posted by Faceplant8:

How long do you estimate that you've spent on this rock?

The other day I repeated an experiment I did a while back to compare this method to just mining the top of the rock. The results were pretty much the same.

Mining the exposed portion of the rock took about 7 minutes, and I got around 55 copper.

I didn't exactly time this method, since I just had planned on comparing yield, but I did record a good portion of it.

First I dug around the rock, which took about a full game day, so about 20 minutes. Of course, a good portion of the tock was too low to dig. Another portion was under water. I spent another couple of game days getting to about where you are now, so, generously say 35 minutes.

I almost died a couple of times jumping on to the top of the rock and either missing or falling through when the rock broke. After that I broke the rock from the bottom using steps to reach the rock. and finally got it all mined.

I recorded the latter part, after clearing the edge, and it took around 45 minutes total. That's over an hour on one rock, and I got about 110 copper.

In summary, it took me over an hour to get 110 copper, and 7 minutes to get 55 copper. I did get twice as much copper, but it took almost 10 times as long.

I'm wondering if any others have done a similar experiment and gotten different results. Both times I've tried it, it was a grueling experience, and I can't imagine why anyone would choose that method.

FWIW, that method works very well for silver.

I didn't keep track of how long. Maybe an hour maybe more. Seemed like a long time. But mining always does, don't it? Alot of the node went into the bedrock so I ended mining lots of it manually and digging it out. On the bright side the node was very close to my meadows base.

Originally posted by Cooperal:

I have heard of it working, but don't do it. It may sound like a spectacle to watch the whole thing collapse rapidly but it cannot possibly be worth the time that it takes to set up. Depending on which one you try it on, it may not even be possible to lower the terrain enough to attempt it.

I feel like no-one is hearing that you can also raise the terrain

I've seen that suggestion before and have never gotten it to work. Works just fine for silver veins, but never copper.

Originally posted by Suzaku:

I've seen that suggestion before and have never gotten it to work. Works just fine for silver veins, but never copper.

Understood. Thanks for the reply.

This absolutely works and is a time saver. BUT, after having removed all the attachments to the ground to isolate the suspended copper ore (which may include parts of the copper ore itself), you have to then break a piece of the suspended mass and the whole thing will explode to the ground. Sometimes you may have to break more than one piece and, sometimes, the suspended ore chunk is bugged and won't explode as you wish.

There has to be some videos of players demonstrating this technique successfully. Look them up.

Originally posted by Storm:

This absolutely works and is a time saver. BUT, after having removed all the attachments to the ground to isolate the suspended copper ore (which may include parts of the copper ore itself), you have to then break a piece of the suspended mass and the whole thing will explode to the ground. Sometimes you may have to break more than one piece and, sometimes, the suspended ore chunk is bugged and won't explode as you wish.

There has to be some videos of players demonstrating this technique successfully. Look them up.

Agreed. I went about mining what what was left of the deposit. I broke the right piece and what was left crumbled.

Apparently there is a "keystone" chunk of the ore you must break. Or what you could call an "anchor" that the rest of the deposit relies on. If you destroy this piece the rest will crumble without support.

In this circumstance it was a piece of the deposit located on top and on the edge of the deposit.

How long do you estimate that you've spent on this rock?

The other day I repeated an experiment I did a while back to compare this method to just mining the top of the rock. The results were pretty much the same.

Mining the exposed portion of the rock took about 7 minutes, and I got around 55 copper.

I didn't exactly time this method, since I just had planned on comparing yield, but I did record a good portion of it.

First I dug around the rock, which took about a full game day, so about 20 minutes. Of course, a good portion of the tock was too low to dig. Another portion was under water. I spent another couple of game days getting to about where you are now, so, generously say 35 minutes.

I almost died a couple of times jumping on to the top of the rock and either missing or falling through when the rock broke. After that I broke the rock from the bottom using steps to reach the rock. and finally got it all mined.

I recorded the latter part, after clearing the edge, and it took around 45 minutes total. That's over an hour on one rock, and I got about 110 copper.

In summary, it took me over an hour to get 110 copper, and 7 minutes to get 55 copper. I did get twice as much copper, but it took almost 10 times as long.

I'm wondering if any others have done a similar experiment and gotten different results. Both times I've tried it, it was a grueling experience, and I can't imagine why anyone would choose that method.

FWIW, that method works very well for silver.

The good thing about digging out the whole copper rock is that it often makes you immune to attacks except the off thrown rock, as nothing can get down the walls.

Add a small roof and a portal you can jump back and forth to home to rest and repair your tools. And if you do get a visit from a troll he can help you mine (or he falls in and gets stuck).

that's not more work than actually mining it out?