Unless you're just starting up the game, you've almost certainly seen those big boulders outside of town in Atelier Sophie 2. Are they inanimate objects? Yes, of course they are. Does it still feel like they're taunting you when there's clearly a way to crack into them, but you have no idea how to do so? Absolutely, yes.
That's where the pick axe comes into play. As soon as Sophie has successfully crafted one, those boulders are no obstacle. And as you may have suspected, there are worthy treasures to be found within their rocky surface — mighty minerals, hefty ore, and more. Let's take a look at how one goes about constructing one of these age-old and reliable tools, allowing our favorite aspiring alchemist to become the boulder-smashing master miner she was secretly destined to be.
Crafting a Pick Axe
In the earliest hours of Atelier Sophie 2, there are, broadly, two ways to play the game. And while it's no fun to pass judgment on players in handy little guides like this one, we've got to level with you here — one's right and the other is just plain wrong. The gathered materials that Sophie will quickly amass in her first forays outside Erde Wiege can either be stored and ignored in favor of story-specific fare or immediately tapped into to create vitally important tools. The pick axe is perhaps the most important one of all.
So don't sit on the materials necessary to craft the following easy finds:
- 2x Lumber
- 1x Silvalia
- 1x Stone
Toss them all together in your titular atelier and voilà, your very first pick axe. New and improved varieties will become available further into the game, but this relatively bland piece still promises to serve Sophie reasonably well enough.
Equipping the Pick Axe
If the pick axe is your first crafted tool, it might be clear how exactly to ensure that Sophie's actually using it on those boulders. (No great shock here, but she'll fail to gather the boulder's prizes using just her hands.)
Head into your menu and select the Items tab. Note your options: Gather on the left, Adventure on the right. Equip the pick axe to the Gather side of this sub-menu and you're good to go.
You may need to swap it with a different tool or key item, given the limited number of spots for Sophie to lug stuff around. But then, that's ultimately the heart of Atelier Sophie 2; to truly feel like an alchemist in a magical land, you have to plan your outdoor excursions ahead of schedule.