Excavations

In-game description:
Enter the Archeology Association to control the progress of your Excavations. There you will be able to fund more excavations to find Faction Coins, the rare Rubies and ancient Artifacts from the civilizations of the old.

Excavation was first implemented in the "Ancient Races" expansion for introducing Neutral Factions. It allows you to find Rubies, with luck: Faction Coins, and at certain thresholds or conditions: Artifacts. Some artifacts are required to unlock the Neutral & Prestige Factions.

A few Lore artifacts will reward direct bonuses, but most do not reward anything but help indirectly by increasing the amount of artifacts. The total amount of discovered artifacts take part in some upgrades, such as for the Research upgrades D290, E330, or the Fossilized Rodent artifact.

Requirements

The below only has to be bought once throughout the entire game and does not show up as bought upgrade.

Name		Unlocks	Requirements	Cost
	Archaeology	Unlocks Excavations (Makes the "Excavation" button appear)	Have at least: 1 B (1E9) gems in the abdication treasury.	100 Oc 1E29
	Survey Equipment	Unlocks the chance to find Lore Artifacts.	100th Excavation	100 Dc 1E35

Costs & Find Chances

The first excavation costs 1 Oc (1_E27) coins, and each subsequent excavation costs 20% more than the last.

Formula Pre Ascension: $1_E27 * 1.2^x$

Formula Post Ascension: $1_E27^{.75} *1 .04^x$
with the E290 research
Formula Pre Ascension: $1_E27 * 1.175^x$
Formula Post Ascension: $1_E27^{.75} * 1.035^x$
where x is the number of excavations

• Excavation Reset: The excavation counter and cost are reset by reincarnation. Alternatively, you can buy an excavation reset for 1 Ruby up until 2999 excavations, 2 up to 5999, 3 up to 8999, 4 up to 11999, 5 up to 14999. It will reset the excavation counter to zero, all previously gained Excavation rewards and Rubies will persist and you can not find them again.
• Faction Coins: Each excavation has a 35% chance (40% with That Excavated Quickly) to produce faction coins.
  Formula: $floor(2 * ln(1 + (5000000 * 1.15^x))^3)$  where x is the number of excavations you have (not including the one just purchased).
• Rubies: 1 Ruby is found at excavation 50, 150, 300, 500, 750, 1050, 1400, 1800, 2250, 2750, 3300, etc.
  Formula for the number of excavations required for each ruby: $25 * n * (n+1)$, where n is the number of the ruby to be earned.
  So to use the number of ruby earned and know when the next is coming, the formula would be $25*(n+1)*(n+2)$.

Artifacts

There are 53 Excavation Artifacts:

• 13 Quest Artifacts that unlocks the Neutral Alignment, Research and Research Slots.
• 44 Lore Artifacts (since patch v3.0.0.0 - 2017-10-11)

All artifacts with a random chance check that chance on every individual excavation if their non-random requirements are met. How the excavations are purchased is irrelevant, and artifacts will be found on the same excavation number regardless of whether multi-buy is used.

ATTENTION! : Vanilla Faction-specific Lore Artifacts cannot be found if affiliated with a Prestige Faction. (e.g.The Fairy artifacts cannot be found if you are also playing as Dwarf.)

Quest Artifacts
Name		Description	Unlocks	Requirements
	Ancient Stone Slab 1	1st Titan Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered an ancient stone slab written in old scriptures. It appears to say something about Halls of Legends."	Unlocks the next Titan Faction Quest item.	5th Excavation
	Fossilized Piece of Bark 1	1st Druid Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered a fossilized piece of bark with the image of a Faction Coin carved into it."	Unlocks the next Druid Faction Quest item.	10th Excavation
	Bone Fragment 1	1st Faceless Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered a sundial shaped artifact, probably made of animal bones."	Unlocks the next Faceless Faction Quest item.	15th Excavation
	Ancient Stone Slab 2	2nd Titan Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered an ancient stoneslab written in old scriptures. We can recognize the number 300."	Unlocks the next Titan Faction quest item.	20th Excavation
	Fossilized Piece of Bark 2	2nd Druid Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered a fossilized piece of bark with the symbol of One Million."	Unlocks the next Druid Faction quest item.	25th Excavation
	Bone Fragment 2	2nd Faceless Faction Quest Clue: "We discovered an artifact shaped like the number 36, probably made of animal bones."	Unlocks the next Faceless Faction quest item.	30th Excavation
	Key to the Lost City	Despite being thousands of years old, it's still shiny.	Unlocks Neutral Research quests	R23+, 1500th Excavation (total)
	Ancient Device	This strange device seems to react to the Ancient Races magical capabilities... We may channel its power to increase their research potential!	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that adds 2 additional Neutral research slots related to the faction you are playing.	Own a neutral faction's unique building, 2000+ excavations. Chance: 0.2%
	Earth Core	This piece of molten rock is continuously shifting its shape, responding to mysterious energy sources.	Unlocks Prestige research quests.	R29+, 2750+ excavations
	Horn of the Kings	It is said that when this horn is blown, the voices of past Dwarven Kings can be heard in the wind.	Unlocks the Legacy of the Kings Good alignment research upgrade that adds 3 additional research slots: 2 for Craftsmanship and 1 related to the faction you are playing.	Have Dwarven Forges, 3250+ Excavations See tips. Chance: 0.5%
	Flame of Bondelnar	The magical azure flame of Bondelnar constantly emanates a silent, yet subtle, evil aura.	Unlocks the Dark Light of Bondelnar Evil alignment research upgrade that adds 3 additional research slots: 2 for Warfare and 1 related to the faction you are playing.	Have Spider Sanctuaries, 3250+ Excavations See tips. Chance: 0.5%
	Spiky Rough Egg	What a weird egg... it looks ages old. yet something alive is inside. Perhaps if you wait long enough, something will hatch?	Unlocks Hatch! dragon faction quest upgrade.	R46+, 1500+ Excavations Chance: 2%
	Obsidian Shard	Extremely hard and black as darkness itself, this material cannot apparently be carved or melted. It is a mystery how you can make this thing into a sword.	Unlocks Mercenary research	R75+ The 8000th Excavation

Lore Artifacts
Name		Description	Reward	Requirements
	Rough Stone	A common, totally uninteresting stone.	Unlocks Research D290	On the 1st excavation of a run, after a soft reset. Chance: 2%
	Scarab of Fortune	You found the rarest of relics. This golden scarab will grant you 7 days of good luck, starting from now. Make good use of it!	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all buildings by 0.1% for each trophy you unlocked	Chance: (#Ancient Pyramids / 1,000)%
	Chocolate Cookie	Found in a wasteland made of cakes and sweets, snatched from the hands of an old woman...	-	Chance: (# excavations / 50)%
	Fossilized Rodent	What's this, a prehistoric mouse...?	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases click reward by 10% per artifact you discovered	Chance: (# treasure clicks this R / 5,000,000)%
	Power Orb	Throbbing with arcane power.	2.5% increased mana regen	At least 3000 max mana. Chance: (max mana / 15,000)%
	Pink Carrot	The main product of properly nurtured Farms.	-	Play as Fairy and not as Dwarf. Chance: (# Farms / 5,000)%
	Bottled Voice	The essence of a melodic Fairy voice.	-	Play as Fairy and not as Dwarf. Chance: (Fairy Chanting casts this game / 40,000)%
	Lucky Clover	A perfectly shaped four-leaf clover. Each leaf is almost unnaturally identical to the other three.	-	Play as Elf and not as Dwarf. Chance: ((Highest # of consecutive Elven Luck – 1) * 50)%
	Mini-treasure	It's a small perfect replica of the old gold-filled treasure.	-	Play as Elf and not as Dwarf. Chance: (# Clicks this game / 3,000,000)%
	Pillar Fragment	A tiny piece of the legendary pillars which sustain all the Heavens.	-	Play as Angel and not as Dwarf. Chance: (# Heaven's Gate / 3,750)%
	Divine Sword	The shining golden sword of an Archangel. Its hilt feels pleasantly warm to the pure of heart, and burning hot for the villain.	-	Play as Angel and not as Dwarf. at least 3 consecutive Angels runs (this R). See tips. Chance: (Consecutive times allied with Angels this R / 60)%
	Ancient Coin Piece	A common goblin lucky charm. The older it is, the luckier you are, or so they say.	-	Play as Goblin and not as Drow. Chance: (#Faction Coins this R# / 50,000,000)%
	Goblin Purse	Heavy and roomy. Definitely too big for just pocket change.	-	Play as Goblin and not as Drow. Chance: (Tax Collection casts this game / 300,000)%
	Rotten Organ	Ew... disgusting. It still pulses.	-	Play as Undead and not as Drow. Chance: (# Assistants / 500)%
	Jaw Bone	A jaw, missing more than half of its teeth.	-	Play as Undead and not as Drow. at least 24h offline (this R) Chance: (Offline playtime this R / 10d)%
	Demonic Figurine	An intricate figurine representing the evil face of a lesser demon.	-	Play as Demon and not as Drow. have 666 Trophies unlocked. Chance: 1%
	Demon Horn	Still blazing with the flames of Hell. Handle with care.	-	Play as Demon and not as Drow. at least 3 consecutive Demon runs (this R). Chance: (Consecutive times allied with Demon this R / 60)%
	Huge Titan Statue	The granite representation of a giant wielding a lightning bolt in its fist. A foot appears to be missing.	-	Play as Titan and not as Dragon. Chance: (Lightning Strike casts this game / 1,000)%
	Titan Shield	A gargantuan metal shield, twice as tall as a common human.	-	Play as Titan and not as Dragon. at least 10h playtime (This game) Chance: (Playtime this game / 50h)%
	Glyph Table	Contains all the secrets of the Druidic Alphabet.	-	Play as Druid and not as Dragon. same amount of each building tier. Chance: 2%
	Stone of Balance	A carved stone hovering above its pedestal.	-	Play as Druid and not as Dragon. See tips. Chance: (Grand Balance Casts this game / 30,000)%
	Translucent Goo	A completely odorless sticky substance with a diaphanous, unsettling glow.	-	Play as Faceless and not as Dragon. Chance: (Brainwave casts this game / 400)%
	Octopus-shaped Helmet	A large helmet with empty metal prongs to accomodate tentacular appendages.	-	Play as Faceless and not as Dragon. Chance: (# Labyrinths / 2,000)%
	Dwarven Bow	Actually a heavy throwing hammer.	-	Play as Dwarves. Chance: (# clicks this game / 25,000)%
	Stone Tankard	A very heavy mug for drinking the heaviest beers.	-	Play as Dwarves. Chance: (# Inns / 25,000)%
	Ceremonial Dagger	Its blade is unnaturally keen and sharp.	-	Play as Drow, 0 clicks (This Game) Chance: 2%
	Arachnid Figurine	If you are afraid of spiders, Drow aren't your faction.	-	Play as Drow, and have at least 1 day of evil playtime (all-time). Chance: (All-time Evil playtime / 50d)%
	Steel Plate	A full plate made of hardened steel.	-	R5+, play as Mercenaries, Chance: (#R / 50)%
	Black Sword	A long sword with an extremely sharp blade made of dark metal.	-	Play as Mercenaries, and 100 Merc affiliations (All-time) Chance: (All-time Mercenary playtime / 16h 40m)%
	Dragon Fang	This huge fang can barely fit in the hands of a Titan.	-	R50+, play as Dragons Chance: (# Iron Strongholds / 400,000)%
	Dragon Soul	The extracted soul from an ancient dragon, wields the power to end the world in an instant. Also makes a good soup ingredient.	-	R50+, play as Dragons, have 5 different Dragon Breath effects active simultaneously. Chance: (# Dragon Breath casts this game / 200,000)%
	Vanilla Flavor Juice	An essence from extremely savory vanilla beans.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all buildings by 25000% for the first 15 minutes of the game (this game) for all Vanilla factions. Does not work while offline.	R16+. Chance: 20% in the first 5m of a game
	Ancient Cocoa Bean	Despite being centuries old, it still smells like top-quality cocoa.	Unlocks an upgrade named "Chocolate Flavor Smoothie" that grants a 25000% production bonus to all buildings for the first 15 minutes of the game for all Neutral factions. Does not work while offline.	R22+ play as any neutral faction Chance: 10%
	Know Your Enemy, Part I	All the knowledge you need stored in a handy book.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all buildings based on time spent as Non-Mercenary. ("Time allied with..." in the stats)	R12+, play as Mercenaries, have upgrades from each 11 factions. See tips. Chance: 10%
	Voodoo Doll	You are now CURSED! And you feel a sting in your lower rear.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all building by 0.1% for each trophy you have unlocked.	Play as Evil Chance: (number of Witch Conclaves / 10,000)%
	Wall Fragment	A fragment of an utterly and completely unbreakable wall. Enjoy your paradox.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all buildings based on their tier.	At least 1 Ascension Chance: 10%
	Fortune Teller Machine	*Description changes every 30 seconds.	-	Not be allied to any faction. Chance: 0.1%
	Dawnstone	Only found during sunrise hours. Emits a faint glow.	With the Duskstone artifact, unlocks the Sun Force upgrade, which grants different effects based on time of the day. See details.	Local time between 05:00 and 08:00 Chance: (Excavation count / 10,000)%
	Duskstone	Only found during sunset hours. Absorbs light in a small radius.	With the Dawnstone artifact, unlocks the Sun Force upgrade, which grants different effects based on time of the day. See details.	Local time between 18:00 and 21:00 Chance: (Excavation count / 10,000)%
	Ancient Heirloom	Passed down countless generations	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that reduces the cost for upgrading Lineages for all except your highest one by 10% of its order of magnitude. (9x more per level instead of 10x)	Have at least 1 Lineage level purchased. Chance: (Lineage Levels / 2000)%
	Know Your Enemy, Part II	Much more knowledge than you need, stored in a handy book.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases production of all buildings based on time spent as Non-Mercenary. Upgrade is only available to Mercenaries.	R76+, Play as Mercenary and have upgrades from each faction. Chance: 10%
	Veteran Figurine	The warrior of a thousand battles, ultimate champion of the Realms.	Allows Mercenaries to benefit from all Challenges.	R90+ Chance: (Time in seconds this game / 1,000,000)%
	Wall Chunk	A bigger piece of the infamous Ascension Wall.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increases the production of all buildings based on their tier.	R100+ Chance: ?
	Excavated Mirage	You know all too well this does not exist, yet it fills you with hope and optimism.	Unlocks an upgrade of the same name that increase Faction Coin find chance by a multiplicative 1000%.	R100+ Chance: (log10(assistants)/100)%

Excavation Trophies & Upgrades
Names		Type	Cost	Reward	Requirements
	Archaeology Expedition	Trophy	-	-	1st Excavation
	Passage to the Underworld	Faction Quest Upgrade	50 Qid 5E49	Starts the Drow and Dwarven Faction Quests See more here	200th Excavation
	Realm Digger	Trophy & Upgrade	100 Nod 1E62	Increases production of all buildings by 0.15% per excavation.	400th Excavation
	Sun Force	Misc Upgrade	1 Notg 1E120 PA: Free	Depending on the time, increases assistants, FC find chance, building production, or offline bonus. See details.	Dawnstone & Duskstone artifacts

Source: Lore Artefacts Guide by daemonik92

Tips

Tips

Quest Artifacts: Horn of the Kings: To reach excavations above 3250 to obtain the horn, use a high-producing dwarf build of your choice, substituting in E290. Flame of Bondelnar: To reach excavations above 3250 to obtain the flame, see Flame Chance research build. Lore Artifacts: Stone of Balance, Translucent Goo, Bottled Voice, and Huge Titan Statue: Disable druid Challenge 4. For Stone of Balance, don't purchase the Druid spell upgrade Halls of Balance. Ensure you have enough mana regen to cast the spell the artifact is based on constantly. For Stone of Balance, enough casts of Grand Balance will come naturally when attempting Dragon Challenge 2, assuming that you don't affiliate with Dragon until after generating 1e10 mana. Divine Sword, Demon Horn: Only the Faction Trade Treaty is required for an affiliation. You can check consecutive affiliations using Royal Scribe. Undead Jaw Bone: The 3rd and 4th Drow Challenges do not increase your offline time outside of the run you use them on, and the artifact cannot be obtained with drow, so the challenges do not help obtain the jaw bone. Know Your Enemy, Part I: This is related to the Harlequin Secret Trophy. See Joker merc build. Dawn/Dusk Stone: The time used to check eligibility is your local system time. Translucent Goo: To get it faster you can use brainwave then export and import your save and repeat that.

Notes

• Excavation chances: Artifact finds are based on your game's RNG seed, so you can test excavate in a private window and get the same results when excavating in your real game. For the same reason, using "Buy Max" or not, find chances are identical. Read more about excavation chances here.
• Excavation Cap: Calculated for v1.6.50.4. Without any cost reductions value breaks on 3553rd excavation, so you can only buy up to 3552 excavations max. With only one of currently available reductions (Ancient egg, during Easter event / E290 research upgrade) cost value breaks on 4016th excavation (4015 excavs available). With both of currently available cost reductions value breaks on 4634th excavation (4633 excavs available). See calculations.
  As of v2. Post ascension maxes out at ~16,811 without using E290

Trivia

"Chocolate Cookie" description points to it being a reference of Cookie Clicker, one of the earliest incremental games.

Links

• Related RAB Tools: (courtesy of Pseudobyte and dox4242)
  • Lara Crypt is an Excavation Artifact RNG reader. RNGs persist through reincarnations.
  • The Save Editor allows you to check some hidden stats such as consecutive affiliations.