Ore is obtained from mining, and ore is to be used by Specialists to create items that can not easily be obtained from hunting or sold by NPCs. When raw ore is processed, gems and other items used in crafting can be randomly generated.
The purpose of Chip Wars is to control the central core of the mine. The race who destroys a control chip gains access to the "Core". That race then gains access to much more ore, helping the specialists create items and allowing a greater influx of talics and gems which are created from refined ore. The winning race's economy is affected as well, since with the influx of resources being sold, taxes tend to go up.
One race at a time has access to the central core of the Crag Mine. The other two races may organize raids to prevent entry to the mine core, mine for resources at their respective entry portal (albeit at a slower rate), or plan their strategy for the next Chip Battle. Note that a tie is possible, in which case the core is inaccessible to all races.
Mining at the core allows for 1 ore to be acquired roughly every 6-14 seconds, blazing fast compared to "portal mining", which only results in 1 piece of ore every 60 seconds. There is the middle ground in the Crag Mine between the portal and the Core. If you mine here (without the protection of either HSK or the Portal Turrets) you can mine ore at 1 piece every 30 seconds.
Access to the core is controlled by the HolyStone Keeper, who is invincible, and will kill anyone that tries to enter the Core who has not defeated a control chip. It is present for up to 7 hours in the core, dependent on the length of the control contest.
The tools for mining consist of a mining tool, and batteries, both available from the Ore Processor. Batteries are rated in number of seconds for operation, with the largest providing 7200 seconds of operation. Mining tools will cease operation upon the exhaustion of a battery pack, unless the character possesses additional batteries in inventory. The largest battery (7200) is good for 2 hours of mining.
Blue, Green, Black, Red, and Yellow ores may be extracted, each of varying quality. Ore+1 is the lowest quality ore, cheapest to process, and a low return upon sale. The highest quality is 2 steps up, at Ore+3. These ores will stack in your inventory, with up to 99 units per inventory slot. Only similar colors and +values will stack in the same slot.
All obtained ores may be sold to Ore Refiners, or processed into various goods.
