

The following guide explains one of the best gold making methods in Archeage. I’ve been using it personally for a number months now to generate tens of thousands of extra gold in addition to more traditional ways of gold making, such as running trade packs or farming coinpurses. This method requires no labor whatsoever and you can realistically earn around 500 gold daily.

Basic overview:

There are monsters in Archeage who drop guaranteed Sunlight Archeum Shards which are not locked up in any way (they not inside a coinpurse that requires labor to open). This transforms into labor free gold income for anyone who is in the right place at the right time.

Instead of labor constraint, there is time constraint and some RNG. As far as I know, most rare spawns of this kind are on a 20 minute timer and it’s a 50/50 chance between a 2-star mob and an alternative spawn. 2-star monsters drop Sunlight Archeum Shards, alternative spawns have normal loot tables.

Where’s the catch?

Your character can’t be more than 10 levels above monster level or else archeum shards won’t drop.

What are alternative spawns?

Alternative spawns are monsters who share spawn point and movement path with 2-star rare spawns. They look exactly like normal monsters corresponding to the zone (with a couple of exceptions). You can recognize the right one by observing monster movement patterns. Regular mobs walk back and forth in a small area, alternative spawns walk on a larger predetermined path (circle) and never stop moving. You must kill an alternative spawn to give the 2-star rare a chance to spawn.

Requirements:

Minimum character level: 19

Maximum character level: 44

Maps of Farmable Monsters who drop Sunlight Archeum Shards:

For Characters Level: 19-31 – Solis Headlands



Notes: Huge Water Elemental’s (lvl 21) and Hulking Earth Elemental’s (lvl 22) alternative spawns are not regular monsters like they are in other zones. Over here you’ll get a Water Elemental Guardian or Earth Elemental Protector.

Giant Wolf, Dusty Boar and Hammerhand Gorilla spawns are also “special”, they are not 100% reliable. I recommend getting your feet wet with the elementals, because it’s a sure thing. If you are only using one character, you can patrol the whole zone to maximize value.

For Characters Level: 21-33 – White Arden



Notes: Not 100% reliable spawns, but you should still try it out if you have extra time. Let me know about your results in the comments. I haven’t tested this zone myself.

For Characters Level: 23-35 – Villanelle



Notes: Not 100% reliable spawns, might have something to do with the day/night cycle.

For Characters Level: 28-39 – Two Crowns



Notes: Spawn not tested and no feedback yet from users.

For Characters Level: 29-40 – Ynystere



Notes: 100% working spawns.

For Characters Level: 33-44 – Halcyona



Notes: You can find additional information about Giant Cockatrice in the comments section. Goldmane Gargantuan alternative spawn is Goldmane Berserker, it never stops moving. Goldmane Rangers in that area always run around, ignore those.

After you have killed the spawn, it’s a good idea to start a timer. The link provided gives you an excellent tool. It’s a 19 minute timer that plays a 1-minute long alarm. If you set it up correctly (19 minutes right after kill), your monster should spawn when you hear “beep beep beep”.

Using multiple timers for your alt characters may prove to be the most efficient way of farming the archeum. Simply switching between them to cover various spawnpoints for as little as 3 or 4 minutes for the entire “rotation” is what I’ve found to be the best.

Video demonstration:



It’s an excellent money maker for anyone who gives it a shot. After the initial set up, you will be earning up to 7 sunlight shards or ~60 gold per hour for 15 minutes of work (Halcyona – 4 close spawns). If you see any bots who are abusing this to make their owners loads of cash, kill and report them (via ticket) to get them removed. After getting some experience in the zone of your choice, you will be able to work out the exact spawn point and how to keep your timers synced. It may seem tedious at first, but after a while you will be doing it on autopilot. Happy earning!

TIP: To keep making gold after reaching level cap, kill your character for xp loss to prevent next level-up.

Sources:

Archeage Database

Shoutout to Jason Wivart for sharing this idea briefly back in October 2014.