Seismic Geophone Surveyor

Quickstart

1. Craft a Handheld Geophone at a crafting table (see recipe below).
2. Hold it in your hand and right-click any solid block on the ground.
3. Watch the chat — a sharp ping and message tell you which ore was found and how many blocks below it sits. A dull thud means nothing was detected in range.
4. When your needs grow, upgrade to the Seismic Node Surveyor or Vibroseis Scan Controller for wider and deeper scans.

Overview

The Seismic Geophone Surveyor adds three handheld geological scanning tools to the game. Each device sends a seismic pulse downward when you right-click a solid block, then reports any ore deposits found beneath you directly in chat. The tools form a crafting progression: the basic Handheld Geophone feeds into the mid-tier Seismic Node Surveyor, which in turn feeds into the top-tier Vibroseis Scan Controller. All three appear as flat 2D items in your inventory and hotbar.

What It Adds

All three tools scan for: Iron, Gold, Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Redstone, and Copper.

How To Use

• Activate: Right-click any solid block while holding a scanner.
• Ore found: You hear a sharp ping and receive a chat message naming the ore and its depth in blocks below you.
• Nothing found: You hear a dull thud and a chat message confirms no ores were detected in range.
• Cooldown: Each tool has a per-item cooldown before it can scan again. The cooldown timer is independent per item stack.
• Durability: Every scan consumes one use. When durability runs out, the item breaks, so use it strategically to pinpoint rich deposits before committing.

The Seismic Node Surveyor also functions as a pickaxe (it is counted in the pickaxe item tag), so it can mine stone-tier blocks in a pinch.

Crafting And Obtaining

All three recipes are unlocked as soon as you join a world.

Handheld Geophone — the entry-level scanner, built from copper and redstone:

Seismic Node Surveyor — upgrades the Handheld Geophone into a deeper, wider scanner:

Vibroseis Scan Controller — the top-tier scanner, requiring advanced materials including an Echo Shard and Netherite Scrap:

All three items appear in the Tools creative tab.

Abilities And Mechanics

• Scan column: The pulse travels straight down from the block you clicked. The Handheld Geophone scans a single-block-wide column; the Node Surveyor covers a 3×3 area; the Vibroseis Controller sweeps a 5×5 area — all centered on your position.
• Depth reporting: The chat message tells you exactly how far below the surface the ore sits, letting you dig straight to it rather than strip-mining.
• Sound feedback: A distinctive ping on a hit and a thud on a miss give instant audio cues without needing to read chat.
• Particles: Visual particle effects play at the scan location on activation.
• Single stack: Each scanner is limited to one per inventory slot (no stacking), so managing multiple charged scanners requires inventory space.

Progression And Strategy

1. Start with the Handheld Geophone. It only requires copper, redstone, iron, and a stick — materials available in the early game. Use it to check if a promising cave or hillside has ore beneath it before digging.
2. Craft the Seismic Node Surveyor once you have gold. Its 3×3 scan area and 40-block depth makes it far more useful for mid-game ore hunting, and the faster cooldown means quicker surveying across a mining level.
3. Save the Vibroseis Scan Controller for deep ore hunts. Its 120-block depth reaches deep slate layers where diamonds and other rare ores concentrate. The materials (diamonds, Echo Shard, Netherite Scrap, Redstone Blocks) make it a late-game investment, and its 150 uses justify careful management.
4. Scan before you dig. Right-click the surface or a tunnel wall to get a depth reading, then count blocks downward. This turns speculative branch mining into targeted vertical shafts, saving both time and tool durability.
5. Watch your charges. Durability is limited and the items cannot stack, so avoid spamming scans in areas you have already surveyed. Move to a new position between scans for maximum coverage per charge.