RF Online Next Mining War Guide

Quick facts

What the Mining War is

RF Online has always been one thing under the hood: three races fighting forever over a mine. Next keeps that core and modernizes it. The Holy Stones on the planet Novus are the resource everyone needs and nobody has enough of, so Bellato, Cora, and Accretia collide over control of the mine on a schedule. Win, and your whole faction mines the good stuff and gets stronger; lose, and you watch the other side pull ahead. This is the loop the franchise is famous for, and it's why "what biosuit is best" matters far less than "is my faction winning the mine."

How to access it

Mining War is gated by level, not by a hidden unlock — you reach it by leveling normally and showing up when the war opens. In the original RF Online the gate sat around level 30, and Next uses the same shape of requirement, but the exact number is the kind of thing launch builds adjust, so confirm it in your client rather than trusting a legacy figure. The practical version: level toward it, and join a guild well before you qualify.

How it works

The confirmed shape in Next is large-scale RvRvR — up to 450 players in one battle — fought for control of the mine, with the victorious faction earning mining rights and server-level rewards. Winning even feeds the economy: the dominant faction takes a cut of market taxes, and the guild that wins gets its own private Exclusive Mining Field while everyone else shares the Public one that opens afterward. So a win isn't a trophy, it's an income stream that compounds.

The legacy mechanics underneath — and these are where you should trust the live client over any guide, this one included — run like this in the original RF Online: all three races contest a central mine, each guards its own control point, and the race that breaks an enemy's point first seizes the Keeper that protects safe mining. There's a "bearer" role for whoever lands the deciding blow, scanner items that reveal enemy positions, and a timer that turns the win into a window of protected ore extraction. Next clearly inherits this skeleton, but specific names, timers, and level numbers from the old wiki may not match the modern build one-to-one, so treat the legacy detail as orientation, not gospel.

How to play it well

The single highest-value move a new player can make for the endgame is to join an active guild long before you're strong enough to matter in the war — find people before you need them, because Mining War is decided by coordination, not by your personal gear. Solo, you're a body in a crowd; in an organized guild on voice comms, you're part of the thing that actually wins the mine. This is also why faction choice is the one decision worth agonizing over: you're picking the team you'll fight these wars with for the life of the character.

Don't rush in underleveled and undergeared expecting to carry — early on your job is to be present, learn the map and where enemies come from, and follow your guild's calls. The payoff curve is brutal in the winner's favour, so the goal isn't to participate once; it's to be on a faction and in a guild that wins repeatedly, because the mining income from a winning streak is what pulls a roster ahead of everyone still grinding solo.

FAQ

Is Mining War the same as Chip War?
Effectively yes — Chip War is the original name for this exact three-race fight; Next modernizes and scales it. Veterans still say Chip War.

Can you solo it?
No. You can show up alone, but it's won by organized guilds. Join one before you need it.

What level do you need?
It's level-gated — around 30 in the franchise, but confirm the live number in your client.

Why does it matter so much?
The winning side controls Holy Stone mining and earns faction-wide income and a private mining field. It's the server's economic engine.

Related guides

Because the war is permanent-faction territory, read the faction guide before you commit, and the reroll guide on why the faction — not your class — is the choice you can't undo. Bring the right Sacred Weapons and a strong Biosuit, and if you're brand new, start at the Beginner Guide.

Find your faction & starter →