Dwarves beware: in Return to Moria, Black Diamonds are the rare and coveted gems that unlock fast travel and craft some of the game’s best tools-but getting your hands on them is no easy feat. From raiding Orc camps for Orkish Chests to surviving brutal horde attacks, mastering the art of Black Diamond hunting is essential to forging your path through the Mines of Moria. Ready to uncover the secrets of these elusive gems? Here’s how to farm Black Diamonds efficiently on PC and power up your adventure.
However, the survival game gives absolutely no indication as to how you can actually get a Black Diamond, so you’re left to figure it out for yourself. There’s a high chance you’ll encounter more Ruined Mapstones before you find Black Diamonds, and fast travel is very welcome since traveling by foot can be quite sluggish in Return to Moria, we’ve got the lowdown on how to get Black Diamonds.
How to get Black Diamonds in Return to Moria
The best way to get Black Diamonds in Return to Moria is by looting Orkish Chests found in Orc camps scattered throughout the Mines of Moria. To open these chests, you need to destroy a wooden totem nearby to obtain an Orc Key, which unlocks the chest containing 1-3 Black Diamonds. Orc Town is especially rich in these chests, making it an ideal location for farming Black Diamonds early in the game. While Orcs and Goblins can drop Black Diamonds during horde attacks, this method is less reliable. Black Diamonds are essential for repairing Map Stones, crafting powerful pickaxes, and progressing through the game, so gathering them consistently from Orkish Chests is recommended.
There are three methods of getting Black Diamonds in Return to Moria:
- Looting Orkish Chests
- Killing enemies during a horde attack
- Defeating bosses
The first time you’ll encounter Orkish Chests is when you reach the Elven Cavern, the next major location after you build your first camp. This is also where you’ll find slightly tougher enemies in the form of bears and goblin-men, so you’ll want to ensure you have, at a minimum, an iron sword, chestplate, and gloves.
There are small crops of goblin-men throughout the Elven Cavern, all found near hanging lights and meat on a spit. Once you’ve killed them, destroy the pole holding up the lights. This will stop the goblin-men from respawning, but more importantly, it will drop an Orkish Key. Somewhere nearby will be an Orkish Chest. There’s no guarantee, but an Orkish Chest has a chance to contain Black Diamonds. It seems the further you progress through Moria, the higher chance you have of finding Black Diamonds in Orkish Chests.
Alternatively, you can get Black Diamonds by killing enemies during a horde attack. You won’t encounter these until you reach – and light – the Great Forge for the first time, at which point the noise of the attack will summon a horde.
Hordes consist of multiple different types of enemies, but they’re all typically weaker than enemies of the same type you’ll encounter while exploring. Goblins in a horde go down in one hit, compared to the three or four they’ll take usually. When you’ve cleared the horde, scour the floor for all the loot and load up your inventory. There’ll be plenty there, including a chance to find a Black Diamond or two.
Finally, you can defeat bosses for a chance to receive lots of Black Diamonds in one go. Bolgakh, the boss found deep in the Mines of Moria, is one example, or you can find more bosses within Orc City. Killing these can drop upwards of 10 Black Diamonds at a time, but as you’d expect, they are much tougher to take down.
Ultimately, Black Diamonds are a very precious resource – use them wisely whenever you acquire them.
The fastest way to get Black Diamonds in Return to Moria
The fastest way to get Black Diamonds in Return to Moria is by looting Orkish Chests found in Orc camps scattered throughout the Mines of Moria and beyond. These chests typically contain between one and three Black Diamonds and can be accessed by destroying a wooden totem nearby to obtain an Orc Key, which allows you to open the chest without fighting all surrounding enemies. Another effective method is to trigger horde events by making noise through mining, which causes Orc hordes to spawn; defeating these enemies can yield Black Diamonds, although the drop is not guaranteed. Additionally, defeating Orc bosses such as Bolgakh can reward players with a significant number of Black Diamonds at once. Farming these sources is the most reliable way to quickly accumulate Black Diamonds needed for crafting, upgrading tools, and progressing in the game.
Which of the three methods above is the fastest way to get Black Diamonds? None of them are guaranteed, but if you want to rebuild a Ruined Mapstone as soon as possible, your best bet is to hunt for Orkish Chests in the Mines of Moria and beyond. This is where the drop rate seems to increase, though the orc camps and chests themselves are also a little harder to find.
What’s the most reliable method to farm Black Diamonds quickly in Return to Moria
The most reliable and efficient method to farm Black Diamonds quickly in Return to Moria is by looting Orkish Chests found in Orc camps and settlements throughout the Mines of Moria area and beyond. These chests have a high chance of containing between one and three Black Diamonds, making them a consistent source compared to random drops from enemies.
Additionally, killing Orcs and Goblins during horde attacks can yield Black Diamonds, but this method is less dependable due to the low drop rate. Clearing Orc camps and triggering hordes can increase your chances, especially in areas like Orc Town near Crystal Descent, where Orc spawns are more consistent.
Another supplementary method is mining Black Diamonds from specific large rocks in the Darkest Deeps area, though this is more RNG-dependent and less efficient than chest looting or Orc farming.
In summary, prioritizing Orkish Chest looting in Orc camps combined with clearing Orc hordes offers the fastest and most reliable Black Diamond farming strategy in Return to Moria.
How effective is farming bosses compared to other methods for Black Diamonds
Farming bosses in Return to Moria for Black Diamonds is less effective compared to clearing Orc camps and finishing off hordes. While bosses do drop a notable amount of Black Diamonds, the overall farming efficiency is hindered because killing an Orc boss disables the noise mechanic in that area, which in turn stops horde spawns-one of the main reliable sources of Black Diamonds.
In contrast, farming Orc camps and finishing hordes provides a steadier and more frequent supply of Black Diamonds, especially when combined with looting Orkish Chests. Additionally, some players find farming precious stone blocks in the Darkest Deeps with a respawn trick to be faster, though this method is more time-consuming and situational.
Therefore, while boss kills yield Black Diamonds, the interruption of horde farming and lower overall farming speed make boss farming less reliable and slower compared to other methods like clearing Orc camps and farming hordes.
