How to farm materials quickly in LOTR: Return to Moria

Mining is your primary method of gathering resources and making progress through different areas in Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. You need to know how to get the most value out of any ore veins you find. So today, we'll be taking a look at how to farm materials fast in Return to Moria.

The early game for Return to Moria is brutal. A sneak attack from wolves or goblins will send you packing if you're away from camp distracted by mining. This is why it's essential that you mine quickly and learn the best practices for farming and gathering materials fast.

Also, check our guides on how to craft weapons and repair them as needed in Return to Moria.

How to farm materials in Return to Moria

The best tool to mine materials and ore veins quickly in Return to Moria is the pickaxe. Even if you feel like the axe does a good job at cutting down certain objects like trees, the pickaxe should always be your first option as it's simply superior. Ore veins are fairly prominent in differentiating themselves from regular walls. When you spot one, pull out your pickaxe and get to digging.

Your dwarf will occasionally burst into song and gain an 'Ore Frenzy' buff that will hasten your material farming. Successively landing hits with the pickaxe also seems to increase its effectiveness. Stay in a rhythm and plan your every strike till you gather all the ore you need.

You can also build platforms and jump to strike hard-to-reach ore. Just watch out for enemies and the horde icon on the bottom right, as excessive mining can cause a horde attack.

Note that you can eventually develop and build pots for organic materials if you're looking to start a miniature farm on your base.

How to upgrade the Pickaxe

You'll discover and unlock new pickaxe recipes as you make progress through the game and interact with more Damaged Dwarf Statues. Make sure to keep upgrading your pickaxe and prioritize this as the first new upgrade you get if you plan on remaining at the top of your material farming game.

When to mine

The answer to this is always. Return to Moria has some fairly steep material requirements as you make progress, and in 90% of cases, it's always a good idea to farm new material whenever you see it. Whenever you find material in a new area, stock up on it and save yourself several trips back when you ultimately realize that you need more of it. This goes for common ore such as Iron as well!

If you don't have the storage for it, it's also a good idea to open up your map with the 'M' key and start labelling all the ore deposits you find. This can be invaluable later on when you're running around trying to figure out where to go.

If you feel that your carrying capacity isn't enough, this is where storage comes in.

Store material for faster progression

Get into the habit of storing materials so that you don't randomly lose them or have to drop them off whenever you find another valuable. Pellets and storage crates are amazing, and any competent base should have a ton of these. You can use these at your various structures without having to put them in your inventory, so make sure to make full use of them without any worry.

That's all you need to know on how to farm materials fast in Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. Also, check out our guides on how to farm quickly and how to cook.