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How to get the Core Keeper drill

A step by step guide for getting the big drill in Core Keeper, which is really handy for mining those large ore-filled rocks you see dotted about the map

A set of Core Keeper drills mine away at a big ore rock

So, you want to get the drill in Core Keeper? This new hit indie game is a wonderful blend of Terraria and Diablo, and has rocketed in the Steam charts with some impressive sales, even though it’s still in Steam Early Access. There are bound to be some questions with that many new players, and we’ve already told you where to find tin ore.

But what about Core Keepers’ drill? This late-game item massively increases the amount of ore you’ll be able to mine, as it’ll help with the massive bit rock-like chunks of materials you find dotted about the map. Better yet, it runs on electricity, so with some initial investment, all you’ll need to do is sit back and watch the money (ore?) flow in.

You won’t be able to do this right away though. Drills need Scarlet Ore, and this is only available from the Azeos’ Wilderness biome, which you can only get to by activating the titular Core. To do that, you’ll need to defeat the first three bosses, each of which drops an item you need. Once you activate the Core, it allows you to remove the magical barrier preventing you from venturing into the Azeos’ Wilderness. Read on to find out everything there is to know about the Core Keeper drill.

Core Keeper Drill materials

To build one Drill, you will need the following:

  • Iron Bar x10
  • Scarlet Bar x10

Before that, you need to craft a Scarlet Workbench, which then lets you craft an Automation Bench, which is what you use to build the Drill.

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Core Keeper Drill setup

For a basic automated setup for the Core Keeper drill, you will also need:

  • A Robot Arm
  • Some Conveyor Belts
  • An Electricity Generator
  • Some Electrical Wire
  • A Chest or other container

Thes items all have different resource costs, although the Robot Arm and Conveyer Belts also need Scarlet Ore – you’ll be wanting to have at least 17 Scarlet Bars in total for a basic setup.

Once you have everything you need, here’s what you do to use the Core Keeper drill:

  1. Place the drill next to a big rock that has ore in it
  2. Place the generator nearby, and lay some electrical wire on the floor between the two
  3. Place the conveyor belts near the back of the drill to move the ore away. You’ll want to make sure the ore doesn’t fall off the end
  4. Place the robot arm over the conveyor belt
  5. Place the chest or container behind the robot arm

This represents a simple build-and-forget setup, but you can also vary it by throwing in a smelter instead of a chest, which will add an automated smelting step to the build. You can see a great example of this setup on AllFunNGamez’s YouTube video:

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That’s everything you need to know about the Core Keeper drill. Check out some other great crafting games if you want to play more like this, and there’s always Minecraft – here are some top Minecraft builds.

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