Mine a Planet B-Tier Drills: Titanium Spire & Magma Piercer

The Mine a Planet B-tier drills are the three Rare-tier crafts — Titanium Spire, Magma Piercer, and Iron Hammer — that form the backbone of the mid-game progression. Unlike the A-tier drills which most players skip, the B-tier drills are mandatory crafting milestones because each one unlocks a specific planet. This tier list page covers each B-tier drill in detail, the recommended crafting order, and the optimal reforge strategy for each one.

For the complete tier list including S, A, and C tiers, see our Mine a Planet S-tier drill list. For the crafting recipes, see our Mine a Planet crafting tier progression guide. This principle applies broadly across all progression stages and is one of the most reliable optimization levers in the game.

B-Tier Drill Overview

The three B-tier drills are mandatory crafting milestones because each one is tied to a planet unlock. Unlike the A-tier and S-tier drills which can be skipped, the B-tier drills must be crafted in order — Iron Hammer first, then Titanium Spire, then Magma Piercer — to progress through the planet unlock chain.

The damage scaling between B-tier drills is roughly 70-80% per tier, which makes each upgrade a meaningful progression jump. The Iron Hammer doubles the damage of the Copper Drill, the Titanium Spire nearly doubles the damage of the Iron Hammer, and the Magma Piercer adds another 30% damage on top.

Iron Hammer Deep Dive

The Iron Hammer is the first B-tier drill and the most important crafting milestone for early-game players. It requires 5 Iron Alloys plus the prerequisite Rare bench upgrade, and it unlocks Mars, which is the source planet for Iron and Coal.

The Iron Hammer has roughly 280 base damage and a 2.5x ore multiplier. The damage is enough to break Mars nodes in 3-4 hits with a fresh craft, or 2-3 hits with a high Ore Multiplier reforge. The ore multiplier is the key stat — at 2.5x, every swing yields 2.5x the base ore drop, which is a significant boost over the Copper Drill's 1.5x.

The Iron Hammer is the recommended bind for new players who are not yet ready to commit to a Legendary drill bind. Binding an Iron Hammer grants roughly 1.5x the Prestige Points of binding a Common drill, which makes it a meaningful upgrade for early rebirths.

Titanium Spire Deep Dive

The Titanium Spire is the second B-tier drill and the crafting milestone that unlocks Europa. It requires 3 Titanium Plates plus the prerequisite Rare bench upgrade, and it is the natural upgrade path from the Iron Hammer once you have a reliable Mars grinding pipeline.

The Titanium Spire has roughly 480 base damage and a 3x ore multiplier. The damage is enough to break Europa nodes in 4-5 hits with a fresh craft, or 2-3 hits with a high Ore Multiplier reforge. The ore multiplier is meaningful for both Europa farming and the next planet unlock.

The Titanium Spire is the recommended bind for players who are at the Mars-to-Europa transition. The Prestige Point payout is roughly 2x the Iron Hammer, which makes it a strong upgrade for your second or third rebirth. The exact mechanics vary slightly by patch, but the underlying principle remains consistent across all player playstyles.

Magma Piercer Deep Dive

The Magma Piercer is the third B-tier drill and the crafting milestone that unlocks Volcano. It requires a combination of Titanium Plates and Cosmic materials, and it is the strongest Rare-tier drill available. Experienced players test this approach across multiple sessions before committing to a long-term strategy based on the outcome.

The Magma Piercer has roughly 620 base damage and a 3.5x ore multiplier. The damage is enough to break Volcano nodes in 5-6 hits with a fresh craft, or 3-4 hits with a high Ore Multiplier reforge. This drill is the bridge between mid-game and end-game.

The Magma Piercer is the recommended bind for players who are at the Europa-to-Volcano transition. The Prestige Point payout is roughly 2.5x the Titanium Spire, which makes it a strong mid-game bind. Combining this insight with active pet bonuses and prestige multipliers yields compounding benefits that accelerate overall progression.

Optimal Crafting Order for B-Tier

The optimal crafting order for B-tier drills is Iron Hammer → Titanium Spire → Magma Piercer. This order matches the planet unlock order (Mars → Europa → Volcano) and ensures that each drill is needed before you craft the next one. There are no shortcuts — the bench will grey out higher-tier recipes until you craft the prerequisite B-tier drill.

Players who try to skip ahead by stockpiling Mythril Bar materials before crafting the Magma Piercer will find themselves unable to craft the Mythril Destroyer because the Magma Piercer is a prerequisite. Always craft in the recommended order. The optimal application of this strategy depends on your current biome and active pet slot configuration.

B-Tier Drill Niche Use Cases

While B-tier drills are not your primary drilling tool in the late game, they have specific niche use cases where they outperform even S-tier drills. The first niche is beginner-friendly grinding on Earth and Mars, where the B-tier drills' lower node-breaking power actually prevents you from accidentally skipping rare drops. The second niche is trading inventory, where the lower market value of B-tier drills makes them easier to trade away for materials you actually need. The third niche is fusion fodder for pet upgrades, where B-tier drills can be sacrificed without losing progression value.

For new players, B-tier drills are also the most cost-effective progression option because they offer roughly 70% of the A-tier drill power at roughly 40% of the crafting cost. If you are resource-constrained, focusing your crafting budget on B-tier drills rather than reaching for A-tier is the smart play. For more on crafting budget math, see our crafting tier progression guide.

When to Upgrade From B-Tier to A-Tier

The transition from B-tier to A-tier drills should happen when your current B-tier drill is consistently taking more than 45 seconds to break a high-HP node. At that point, the throughput loss from the slower drill is significant enough to justify the crafting cost of the A-tier upgrade. Players who upgrade too early waste materials on drills that they will immediately outgrow, while players who upgrade too late lose hours of farming throughput to slow drill speed.

The optimal upgrade timing is mid-to-late Mars progression for most players, which gives you the right balance of crafting materials and biome progression to make the upgrade worthwhile. For veterans, the upgrade can happen as early as late-Earth progression, because they have the materials and the knowledge to skip the B-tier drills entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I skip the Iron Hammer and go straight to the Titanium Spire?

No, the Titanium Spire requires the Iron Hammer as a prerequisite craft. The bench unlock chain is sequential, so skipping the Iron Hammer is impossible without exploiting the trade market, which most players avoid for progression reasons. Yes, but the optimal approach depends on your current progression stage and your stockpile of supporting materials.

Should I bind the Iron Hammer or push for a Mythril Destroyer bind?

For your first rebirth, bind whichever drill you have crafted most recently. If you are still on the Iron Hammer, bind the Iron Hammer. If you have already pushed to the Mythril Destroyer, bind the Mythril Destroyer. The Prestige Point payout scales with drill tier, so a Mythril Destroyer bind is always better than an Iron Hammer bind

What is the best B-tier drill for farming Europa?

The Titanium Spire is the best B-tier drill for Europa because it is the tier that unlocks Europa. After crafting the Titanium Spire, you can reforge it for high Ore Multiplier and use it to grind Europa efficiently. Yes, this is generally the optimal choice because it maximizes the synergy with your active reforge and prestige bonuses.

Can I sell a B-tier drill on the trade market?

Yes, B-tier drills are tradeable and have meaningful market value. Iron Hammers typically sell for 50,000-100,000 Drill Pieces, Titanium Spires for 150,000-300,000 Drill Pieces, and Magma Piercers for 300,000-600,000 Drill Pieces. The drill selection matters because higher-tier drills persist across rebirths if bound, so a strong choice compounds over many cycles.

Should I reforge every B-tier drill I craft?

Reforge the Iron Hammer and Titanium Spire selectively — only roll for high Ore Multiplier. Reforge the Magma Piercer more aggressively because it is closer to the Legendary tier and the reforge returns are larger. Generally yes, but the optimal timing depends on your current resource reserves and your active biome's node HP profile.

B-Tier Drills vs S-Tier Drills: When the Gap Matters

The gap between B-tier and S-tier drills is large enough that most players should skip from B-tier directly to the Mythril Destroyer rather than crafting any A-tier drills. But the B-tier itself is mandatory because of the planet unlock requirements — there is no shortcut from Titanium Spire to Mythril Destroyer that bypasses the planet unlocks.

The practical implication is that the B-tier drills serve as mandatory stepping stones rather than long-term companions. Most players will use each B-tier drill for 5-15 hours before replacing it with the next S-tier craft. Reforging B-tier drills is therefore a smaller investment than reforging S-tier drills.

Why the Magma Piercer Sometimes Outperforms the Mythril Destroyer

A counterintuitive observation from community testing is that the Magma Piercer sometimes outperforms the Mythril Destroyer on specific planets, despite being a lower-tier drill. The reason is that the Magma Piercer's 3.5x ore multiplier applies more cleanly to certain ore types than the Mythril Destroyer's 8x multiplier, which has a more complex scaling formula.

For most players, this difference is negligible and the Mythril Destroyer is strictly better. But for trade-focused accounts running specific farming routes, the Magma Piercer can be a useful backup drill for niche farming cases. For specific biome-by-biome breakdowns, see our detailed planet guides which cover each scenario in depth.

Why the B-Tier Drills Are Worth Reforging

Unlike the A-tier drills which are commonly skipped, the B-tier drills are mandatory crafting milestones and they stay in your inventory throughout the entire mid-game. This makes them strong reforge candidates, because a well-reforged B-tier drill can remain useful for 10-20 hours of gameplay before being replaced by an S-tier craft.

The most cost-effective reforge target among the B-tier drills is the Magma Piercer, because it is the highest-tier B-tier drill and its reforge returns are largest. A perfectly rolled Magma Piercer with high Ore Multiplier can clear Volcano nodes nearly as efficiently as a stock Mythril Destroyer, which makes it a strong bridge drill during the Volcano-to-Nebula transition.

How the Iron Hammer Performs on Late-Game Planets

A counterintuitive point about the Iron Hammer is that it remains useful even after you have unlocked the late-game planets. While the Iron Hammer cannot break Nebula nodes efficiently, it remains a viable backup drill for low-tier content like Earth or Mars farming, which many end-game players rotate back to for fast Drill Piece bursts.

The drill speed and ore multiplier of the Iron Hammer are roughly mid-pack, which makes it a serviceable farming drill on planets where the node HP is low. The main downside is the lack of rare drop chance compared to higher-tier drills, which means Iron Hammer farming yields fewer rare drops than Mythril Destroyer farming on the same planet.