Tinkers Tools
This page provides data and information about the tinkers tools.
If you want to look at spreadsheet data yourself, look at this part of the spreadsheet.
The following lists recommended materials over some tiers for some tools, more should follow over time.
Tools
Pickaxe/Shovel/Axe
General rule of thumb for pickaxes is to use the head with the best mining level you can get. You can more or less follow similarly with shovels/axes, only speed/durability matter here.
Steam
- Head: Bronze
- Binding: Any (Any material you want, this only adds the trait and has NO other effect)
- Tool Rod: Slime Crystal (requires an Alloy Smelter, slime - find that island!) > Bronze
LV
- Head: Alumite, Cobalt (post-Electric Blast Furnace. Can only smelt ingots in Tinker's Smeltery, but afterwards can be cast into parts)
- Binding: Any (Paper or Thaumium add an extra modifier, which is given as a quest reward also. Paper/Thaumium parts are made in the part builder)
- Tool Rod: Slime Crystal > Alumite/Steel > Bronze. If you don't care about durability, you can use Thaumium for the extra modifier (does not stack with Thaumium binding).
MV
- Cobalt Head, Vanadiumsteel (post MV extruder)
- Binding: Paper or Thaumium
- Reinforced Tool Rod (The metal "Reinforced Ingot", requires an implosion compressor or luck from loot bags) > Damascus Steel > Vanadiumsteel, or stick with Thaumium
After that
Energetic Alloy, Vibrant Alloy, or most other GT metals are good upgrades for later on, but by then you will be using the tools exclusively for base building. Later on you can make a Vajra which essentially acts as all tools plus GT tools in one and insta-mines blocks.
Hammer
Hammers should be rushed ASAP as it will greatly speed up your mining.
Which large plates and head you use are very important, as they all impact your Hammer's durability and mining speed (i.e using large plates with worse mining speed will lower your actual hammer's mining speed; likewise with durability). Early game you can take advantage of this by using worse large plates with a decent head, minimizing the experience needed to level up your hammer (more durability on the tool will have higher experience requirements to level). If you would prefer to not repair too much (aka use the highest durability) then you can just use the best material for your tier, at the cost of leveling it slower.
Steam
- Head: Alumite (if you can afford steel/aluminum) or Bronze (common)
- Large Plates: Alumite (high durability), iron (worst durability for faster leveling)
- Tool Rod: Slime Crystal > Alumite/Steel > Bronze > Iron
LV
- Head: Alumite/Bronze, Cobalt (post Electric Blast Furnace)
- Large Plates: Cobalt > Alumite, Iron
- Tool Rod: Slime Crystal > Alumite/Steel > Bronze > Iron
MV
- Head: Cobalt, Vanadiumsteel (post MV extruder)
- Large Plates: You can use either Vanadiumsteel (good balance of durability/mining speed) or Perditio (very low durability but high mining speed)
- Tool Rod: Reinforced Ingot > Damascus Steel > Vanadiumsteel
After that
You should be switching to at least MV+ miners, which will do the mining for you without user input. At that point, you'll be using your hammer mostly for base building.
Excavator/Lumberaxe
To be updated soon:tm:
Crossbow
Like most tools, binding only give its trait, so you would use the highest reinforced stat possible (obsidian) or free modifier (thaumium). Paper tough binding is not possible to make, so only use these two.
Steam
- You can only make a crossbow once you have access to the Tool Forge, at that point you should be more or less close to LV. Invest in a hammer instead of a crossbow
- If you still want one, you can follow the quests where it tells you to make a wooden crossbow in Steam page after Tool Forge, but not recommended. A broadsword will be fine for your early game needs though.
LV
- Limb: Carbon
- Bowstring: Fiery (Spiders in Nether drops them like candy)
- Binding: Obsidian or Thaumium
- Body: Slime Crystal > Wooden
MV
- Limb: Carbon
- Bowstring: Fiery
- Binding: Thaumium
- Body: Reinforced Ingot (requires implosion compressor) > Damascus Steel > Vanadiumsteel (post MV extruder)
HV
- Limb: Energetic Alloy
- Bowstring: Fiery
- Binding: Thaumium
- Body: Reinforced Ingot > Damascus Steel > Vanadiumsteel
IV
- Limb: Osmiridium
- Bowstring: Fiery
- Binding: Thaumium
- Reinforced Ingot > Damascus Steel > Vanadiumsteel
After that
- Upgrade the head to Infinity.
- Upgrade body to:
- Neutronium
- Draconium
- Trinium
- Awakened Draconium
- Infinity
In that order at any point when you feel like it and have access to the material, only changes durability. (durability multiplication modifier)
Crossbow Bolts
Rule of thumb is "highest damage tip material with the lightest rod". You'll be using Slimeleaf fletching for all bolts.
With the Tinker's Smeltery you can cast only some basic materials such as Iron directly on a tool rod placed on the casting table, tipping the rod with the same metal. For higher tier of tips, you will need a MV fluid solidifier.
You can upgrade the bolt by using a tool rod tipped with any metal, replacing the tool rod and/or tip with whatever you want via a Crafting Station or a Tool Forge.
Steam
- The quest asks you to make an iron tipped wooden rod that you can use the Smeltery to make, although still not recommended here.
LV
- Tool Rod: Slime Crystal
- Tip: Alumite
- Fletching: Slimeleaf
MV
- Tool Rod: Carbon
- Tip: Vanadiumsteel
- Fletching: Slimeleaf
HV
- Tool Rod: Energetic Alloy
- Tip: Meteoric Steel (post Moon), Vanadiumsteel
- Fletching: Slimeleaf
EV
- Tool Rod: Energetic Alloy
- Tip: Tungstensteel (Note that this will prevent long range shots due to weight. If you would still like to shoot far away targets, stay with Meteoric Steel tipped.)
- Fletching: Slimeleaf
After that
Energetic Alloy tool rod tipped with Infinity and Slimeleaf. Do NOT tip with Neutronium, as it is too heavy to be useful. Look at the spreadsheet for more numbers.
Modifiers
Keep in mind that you can always make a new tool, especially in or after MV, at this point you get access to better materials and machines.
So, you can always just make new pickaxe for example, just for base building in case your main pick is too fast and annoying.
Pickaxe
Redstone until you hit 30 mining level, don't go above that, it'll get annoying when base building.
(You'll switch to a hammer anyways so just stick with it until then)
Lapis, after redstone, don't bother before you have enough speed.
No Diamond.
Emerald might be acceptable, depends on you and if you have enough modifiers for it.
No Moss.
Reinforced X once you get everything else.
Hammer
Redstone only, you'll only use it for mining.
Lapis once you can mine normal stone like netherrack.
NO Diamond.
No Emerald, only if you're feeling funny.
No Moss.
No Reinforced.
Lumberaxe
No Redstone.
No Lapis.
No Diamond.
No Emerald.
No Moss.
Reinforced X, then you can do what you want with it. (use rainforest oak to get it to 10)
Shovel
Redstone until around 22 mining speed, at this point you can instantly mine dirt, sand, gravel, etc. You could add more but you don't have to.
No Lapis.
No Diamond.
No Emerald.
No Moss
Reinforced after everything else
Excavator
Redstone only.
No Lapis needed.
No Diamond.
No Emerald.
No Moss.
Maybe Reinforced after Redstone, probably still not worth it.
Crossbow
Redstone only.
Lapis once you hit 0.25 drawspeed.
No Quartz. Only affects melee damage.
No Diamond.
No Emerald.
Maybe Moss later once you have everything else.
No Reinforced, takes to many modifier slots.
No Beheading, melee only.
No Knockback, maybe once you have everything, only adds melee knockback.
No Fiery, melee only.
No Lifesteal, maybe once you have everything, melee only.
Bolt
Moss, add two, until you can craft Moss you add the one you got from the quest.
Quartz only.
No Diamond, waste of modifiers.
Maybe Emerald, once you do enough (>200 hearts maybe?) damage, just add more quartz lol.
Maybe Smite if you plan on killing a lot of undead stuff.
Based on current knowledge no other modifiers do anything on bolts (or don't do anything usefull), if you know some more modifiers that actually do something, tell MrJakobLaich or add them here yourself.
To be extended at some point.