The Lava Flow Mine is a high-level mining area available to members only. Although it is not an effective method of making money, it yields a fast mining experience and awards the craved “Golden Mining Set” of armor through various distractions. To access the lava flow mine, the quest “The King of the Dwarves” must be completed.
The mine is divided into four flowing lava channels, each with eight segments. Only one segment provides the best experience; the others offer significantly less. The best experience is found in the segment with the lowest flow rate, also known as the best flow, in terms of experience gained. The best flow will change to a new segment and/or channel approximately every five minutes.
Before going to the mine, make sure you have the appropriate gear. Bring a dragon pickaxe or rune if that suits your budget. A charged amulet of glory and a ring of wealth are also beneficial in increasing the number of gems you find. And don’t forget to bring any “Golden Mining Armor” if you have it.
Finding the Best Flow
Understanding the “Best Flow” is crucial for maximizing the experience gained. Most segments will have a flow of 100%, but the one with 50% is the one that provides the greatest experience (100XP for each piece of crust mined). When training with a large group of miners, finding the best flow is simple—follow where most players are mining, as they tend to gather around the optimal flow. If searching for it yourself, remember that the lava flow gradually drops to 50%, not suddenly. Flows next to it are 60%, 70%, and so on up to 100%.
To check the lava flow of a particular segment, left-click on the “steam gauge” attached to it. When the lava flow changes, it is most effective to check the middle segments (segment 4 or 5) in each channel. Doing this lets you single out the channel with the best flow. From there, you can continue up or down the channel, reading the gauges until you find the 50% flow.
Liquid Gold Nymph
The Liquid Gold Nymph is a distraction found randomly while mining from any segment. It is by far the most desired distraction available. It is visible only to a single player, so nobody else can claim your prize. The “Nymph” will appear in the pool of lava you are mining from; all you need to do is talk to her to claim your prize. She will grant one of many things.
Most notably, a piece of the highly valued “golden mining armor” set provides a small bonus percentage to your mining experience (up to 2.5% for the entire set of five pieces). On average, it takes approximately twelve hours to obtain the whole set. If you don’t want the golden mining armor, you may ask her to gold-trim your pickaxe or to grant 2500 mining experience.
TzHaar Heroand Lava Monster
At some point, a lava monster may randomly appear in the flow of lava. The player may “taunt” it to slow it down and allow the Tzhaar hero to catch up to it. If the TzHarr catches the lava monster, all of the players around are granted twice as much of a chance of finding gems while mining. This is a very small bonus, and many players don’t consider it worth the time.
Boiler Fire
Approximately once per hour, one of the boilers in the center of the mine will catch fire. A player must have a hammer in their inventory to fix it. Repairing the boiler requires a random level between seventy and ninety smithing and will grant a hefty sum of smithing experience when fixed.
Possessed Pickaxe
A Possessed Pickaxe appears randomly. The first person to attack and kill it will receive a 10% mining boost for the next ten minutes. It is highly recommended to attack one if it appears, though another player may beat you to it.
