A Guide to Gneiss in Pax Dei: Locating Deposits and Its Uses

Gneiss is a foundational resource in Pax Dei, essential for early-game progression, construction, and tool-making. Knowing where to find it and what it’s used for is key to getting a strong start.

What is Gneiss Used For?

In Pax Dei, Gneiss (often referred to as Gneiss Rock or Gneiss Stone) is one of the most basic, yet critical, crafting materials.

• Tools and Weapons: It is used to craft your first essential tools, like the Stone Pickaxe and potentially early weapons like a basic spear. The Stone Pickaxe is necessary to mine other basic resources like copper and tin.
• Building Blocks: Gneiss stone is a literal building block for your first structures. You’ll need it for foundations, walls, and other basic construction pieces on your claimed plot.
• Sand Production: Gneiss can be processed to yield Sand, which is a component in various other recipes. Be aware that as your mining skill increases, you may get more higher-tier materials from Gneiss deposits, potentially making it harder to obtain just sand.
• Other Materials: When mined, Gneiss deposits also yield other materials required for low-tier recipes.

How to Find Gneiss Deposits

Gneiss is one of the more common resources in the game, especially in the starting and main areas.

• Ground Gathering: The simplest way to get Gneiss when starting out is to pick up individual rocks lying on the ground. These are plentiful near the starting areas, specifically around the Petrae Dei Altar in each region, and in the Heartlands (the main starting valleys).
• Mining Deposits (Lodes): For larger quantities, you’ll need to find and mine Gneiss Deposits or “lodes.”
  • Locations: These deposits are commonly found scattered throughout the Heartlands and Meadows. They are particularly noted to spawn in decent amounts in big valleys that lead from the main stone/altar toward large lakes (e.g., in areas like Tremen, a big valley leading southwest to a lake often has a fair amount of Gneiss lodes).
  • Visual Aid: Keep an eye out for rocky areas outside of formal mines. The nodes often appear as slightly larger, noticeable rock formations.
• Mining Cranes: While not specific to Gneiss (which is more widespread), resource-rich areas are sometimes indicated by mining cranes.
  • A crane that is down often signals a small mine.
  • A crane that is up often signals a large mine.

The general advice is that to find core resources like Gneiss, stay in the Heartlands (indicated on the map, often outlined in red), as they have all the materials needed for low-tier recipes. Look around mountainous or rocky terrain within these valleys.