What Do I Get With Archaeology on WoW?

Gold and Experience

• Common archaeology projects you complete can be sold to vendors for prices ranging from 1 to 375 gold. Additionally, if your character has not reached the level cap yet, each digsite you survey will grant you some experience. This latter feature makes archaeology an alternative way to level your character if you are tired of questing, running dungeons and participating in battlegrounds.

Equipment

• Some rare archaeology projects grant you a piece of equipment when you complete them. These items bind to your Battle.net account, so you can send them to your other characters; some of them are powerful items that can be equipped only at maximum level, while others are intended for lower-level characters. Among the available items are a staff and a trinket intended for healers, a second staff and a ring intended for spellcasters, a shield intended for tanks and a two-handed sword intended for melee damage dealers.

Mounts and Pets

• Several mounts and vanity pets are only obtainable through archaeology. For example, the Fossilized Raptor mount and the matching Fossilized Hatchling vanity pet are rare projects constructed from fossil fragments, as is the Pterrordax Hatchling vanity pet. The Clockwork Gnome and Voodoo Figurine vanity pets are constructed, respectively, from dwarf and troll fragments, while the Ultramarine Qiraji Battle Tank and Crawling Claw vanity pet are constructed from tol'vir fragments.

Disguises and Fun Items

• Several items obtained from archaeology briefly turn your character into something else, cause a striking visual effect or transport you elsewhere. For example, the Bones of Transformation turn you into a naga for 20 seconds, while the Druid and Priest Statue Set will cause a bright green beam of light to appear over your character. The Last Relic of Argus transports your character to a random location, while the Highborne Soul Mirror causes a ghostly version of your character to appear in front of you.

Vial of the Sands Recipe

• Archaeology is the only way to obtain the rare alchemy recipe for the Vial of the Sands, a special mount that allows your character to turn into a dragon and carry a friend. To obtain this recipe, complete archaeology projects from tol'vir fragments; the recipe can rarely be found inside a Canopic Jar, a common tol'vir project.

Achievements and Titles

• Several archaeology achievements exist, linked to either your skill in archaeology, specific projects or the amount of common and rare projects you have completed. These achievement reward a total of 190 achievement points. Additionally, three of the achievements grant your character an additional title. Completing one rare project rewards the title "Assistant Professor," completing 10 rewards the title "Associate Professor" and completing 20 rewards the title "Professor."

Dungeon Benefits

• Characters who have increased their archaeology skill to 525 can summon an additional boss in the Zul'Gurub five-player dungeon. Chosen at random each time from four possible bosses, Gri'lek, Hazza'rah, Renataki and Wushoolay, this boss drops several epic items that can't be obtained any other way. Additionally, characters who have reached skill 425 or beyond can use archaeology keystones while in dungeons to provide the entire group with a buff.