This guide covers the best way to spend your Mining specialization points in War Within. It focuses on gold-making, efficiency, and farming higher-quality ores.
Mining Specializations
There are three specialization trees in War Within Mining. Each offers different bonuses, but they all complement each other well once maxed. You'll want to prioritize the ones that boost ore quality first.
1. Plethora of Ore
For 50 points, the center node gives +85 skill, +45 Deftness, +105 Finesse, and +60 Perception to all nodes. It also unlocks sub-specs for each ore type.
Each sub-spec (Bismuth, Aqirite, Ironclaw) gives +55 skill and lets you refine lower quality ore into higher. Most importantly, it increases 
Null Stone yield by 500% by removing Imperfect drops.
2. Mining Fundamentals
Gives +20 skill and lots of stats. Most important is the free Vigor regen passive, which you get instantly at 0 points. At 60 points, you unlock mounted gathering.
3. Mastering the Mysterious
Improves your overload cooldown slightly and adds skill to empowered nodes. At 45 points, you get an extra overload charge. Cooldown reduction is minor, but being able to store overloads is useful.
Profession Knowledge Points
You’ll need a lot of Profession Knowledge to fully unlock your Mining specialization. Each week you can earn a limited amount, but there are also ways to catch up if you start late.
Make sure to check out these guides to learn more:
Profession Knowledge Treasures One-Time Knowledge Points Weekly Knowledge Points
Follow the build steps below and spend your points as you get them. Catch-up mechanics will help you get more knowledge if you missed earlier weeks.
Recommended Specialization Build
Here's a step-by-step build to help you spend your points efficiently. This is a general-purpose build focused on gold farming and overall gathering efficiency.
Quick Build Summary
- 60 points:
Mining Fundamentals
– Unlock mounted gathering and get passive stats.
- 50 points:
Plethora of Ore
– Extra skill and stats for all nodes.
- 45 points:
Bismuth
– Better Q3 yield and more
Null Stones
.
These are the core points you need to get started. After that, you can fill in the rest based on your preferences. It doesn't matter too much what you choose.
Unlock Mounted Gathering (60 points)
Start by putting 60 points into Mining Fundamentals to unlock mounted gathering. This is the best quality-of-life upgrade for miners. Being able to gather without dismounting saves a lot of time, especially in zones full of hostile mobs. You'll also pick up some nice passive stats along the way.
For the sub-specialization, choose Rich Deposits first.
Get More Quality 3 Bismuth (90 points)
Bismuth is the most valuable ore for gold-making right now, so your next goal should be increasing your skill with it to farm more Quality 3 and Null Stones. Start with 50 points in Plethora of Ore and then 45 points in Bismuth.
Tip: If Null Stones are expensive, you can go with Plethora of Ore (10) + Bismuth (45) to unlock the increased drop rate earlier, then go back and finish Plethora later.
Max Out the Other Ores (Next 90 points)
After Bismuth, finish the other two ore types. Invest 45 points into 
Aqirite and 45 into 
Ironclaw.
Spending the Rest of Your Points
At this point, you’ve completed the core build. The rest is optional and depends on what you want to focus on next.
Suggested order for extra points:
Mastering the Mysterious – Extra overload charge and skill for empowered nodes.
Rich Deposits – Adds stats to rich nodes. Not essential, but a solid filler after the main specs.
Crystallized – This seems to be the most common empowered type, so you'll get extra Quality 3 ores more often.
Outlawed Techniques or Weeping – Pick based on which empowered nodes you run into more often.
Webbed – Only if you want a bit more 
Weavercloth from spider nodes.
I hope this guide helped you plan your specialization. If you spot any errors or think something could be improved, feel free to send feedback. It helps keep the guide up to date for everyone.