DS Item Tables

This is a list of all Items available through Drilling in the DS game, divided by continent and depth and with their relative spawn chances (no exact percentages are known). The various Radar and Drill Key Items are required to acquire them, though some may be available through other sources.

Basics[]

Outside of specific set items associated with the main story or side quests, all buried items spawn randomly, and vanish/respawn every time the player leaves/enters an area with a new map. Many quest-related items are hidden beneath or in corners behind boulders that only vanish when access to them has been unlocked through the quest, or sometimes NPCs who stand over items and won't leave until the quest is fulfilled.

As explained by the Master Excavator's unskippable tutorial, pressing R opens the current Radar in the top screen and A uses one of the ten charges to scan the surrounding spaces for buried items (with the range of a 5x5 box covering 2 steps in each cardinal direction), which appear as colored pings on the display (one grid space is one step); B closes the Radar (pressing A again will just use it over the same area again, only useful if you forgot where the pings were) and L takes out the current Drill, A triggering the infinite-use Drill where the player is standing. The player is prompted to take out the Drill immediately after if they are standing over an item when they scan; tapping the lower screen can substitute pressing A at any step; and the Radar can be recharged by either buyable Battery items or by entering a D-Site. Reminders of "L-Drill" and "Radar-R" are again displayed on the top screen if the player stands still for several seconds at any later point during the game except in cutscenes. Any objects that vanish when the Drill is taken out, including but not limited to NPCs and item cases, may be inconveniently located over top of item spawns, making them unobtainable.

There are several depths, indicated by ping color, that items can spawn at. Items of every depth can always spawn in any location (except where no items can spawn, like in towns or the Alpha Gang Headquarters); however, players still require the proper Radar to detect these items and the proper Drill to excavate them (items can still be blindly acquired with the right Drill but not Radar if the player is lucky, though). White pings require the Excavation Radar and Mass-Produced Drill (unlocked in Europe, Chapter 1), yellow pings require the Deluxe Radar and Custom Drill (unlocked in Asia, Chapter 2), orange pings require the Super Deluxe Radar and Special-Order Drill (unlocked in North America, Chapter 3), and red pings require the Ultimate Radar and Master's Drill (unlocked in the postgame, “Chapter 5”). All ping colors appear to have roughly equal spawn chances in any given area (though only visible with the right Radar), save for red, which is rarer in all locations.

The most common items always tend to be the local Dinosaur Fossils and plant healing items of each depth. Sometimes the same item will be available at different rates at multiple depths in the same area. Occasionally, items such as Dinosaur Fossils which should be exclusive to one depth will appear rarely at others (not counting postgame red ping Fossils, marked with a "(*)" on the lists below); it is unclear if this is a glitch or intended feature. Likely related and possibly responsible for some cases (though confirmed not responsible for all cases), item pings of multiple depths can spawn at the same spot and be excavated in sequential drillings without moving. The Radar may register the deepest ping color, then change colors to a shallower one when another item is detected later in the sweep, or simply only register the shallowest ping, especially at the farthest range of the radar; they are then drilled out from the deepest up, giving the appearance of a Fossil or other item being at a shallower depth than expected. It also appears that two items of the same depth can spawn in the same spot, making initial assumptions as to which depth the first of two overlapping items was actually from somewhat murky.

Item Table[]

These tables show the relative rarity of each item known to be available in each location with a separate map on a given continent at each ping depth (no precise spawn numbers are known). Some items are available at different depths in the same or different areas of a continent. Like with random Alpha Droid battles, different regions of a map have by anecdotal evidence appeared to have different skews of the items available, usually areas blocked off until the postgame vs. the initial areas. It is also possible that the drilling tables are updated in the postgame, or at least after completing the Chapter of the story they were part of. These differences are not reflected nor addressed in the following tables, instead being primarily accurate during the postgame, with only very rare or expensive items initially missing if ever; also keep in mind which depths are initially available.

Items are listed as plant healing item, Dinosaur Fossil, and Sell Items in menu order, but only the items found at that depth on that continent; any set items are listed last. Though not strict percentages (and subject to change with more data), roughly: Very Common (30%+, dark green), Common (20-29%, light green), Uncommon (10-19%, yellow), Rare (5-9%, orange), Very Rare (<5%, red).

Rarer items on any list may not have been discovered yet. Many deeper pings than initially available for a given continent have far less data and are subject to more extreme change. Any areas marked with an "*" do not currently have much data available to judge from at that depth.

Europe[]

Item (White Ping)	North Euro Plain	North Mine	North Dig Site	South Euro Plain	Old S. Coal Mine
Leaf	Very Common	Very Common	Common	Very Common	Common
European Fossil	Common	Common	Common	Very Common	Common
Ancient Underwear	Very Rare	Uncommon	Uncommon	Rare	Rare
Ancient Bowl	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare
Ancient Urn	(not found)	Rare	Very Rare	(not found)	Very Rare
Bronze Mirror	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare	Rare
Uncut Ruby	(not found)	Rare	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare
Uncut Diamond	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Gold Nugget	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare
Knightia Fossil	Common	Rare	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)
Conodont Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Uncommon	Uncommon
Magnolia Fossil	Rare	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)
Baiera Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	Rare	Uncommon
Set Items	-European Fossil (tutorial)	X	X	X	X

Item (Yellow Ping)	North Euro Plain*	North Mine*	North Dig Site*	South Euro Plain	Old S. Coal Mine
Sprout	Common	Common	Common	Very Common	Very Common
Ancient Underwear	(unknown)	Common	(unknown)	(not found)	(not found)
Ancient Bowl	(unknown)	Common	(unknown)	Common	Common
Ancient Urn	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Rare	Common
Bronze Mirror	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Uncommon	Very Rare
Uncut Ruby	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Rare	Very Rare

Item (Orange Ping)	North Euro Plain*	North Mine*	North Dig Site*	South Euro Plain	Old S. Coal Mine
Trefoil	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Very Common	Very Common
Ancient Urn	Common	(unknown)	(unknown)	Rare	Rare
Uncut Ruby	Common	(unknown)	(unknown)	Uncommon	Very Common
Lg Amber Specimen	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Rare	Uncommon

Item (Red Ping)	North Euro Plain*	North Mine*	North Dig Site*	South Euro Plain	Old S. Coal Mine*
Clover	Common	(unknown)	(unknown)	Very Common	(unknown)
European Fossil(*)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	(not found)
Lg Amber Specimen	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Common	Common
Dinosaur Egg	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Uncommon	(unknown)

Asia[]

Item (White Ping)	South Gobi Plain	Darkwood Forest	East Gobi Plain	Wanderwood Forest
Leaf	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common
Stone Weight	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	(not found)
Ancient Underwear	(not found)	(not found)	Common	Common
Ancient Bowl	Uncommon	Uncommon	Uncommon	Uncommon
Ancient Urn	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	Rare
Bronze Mirror	(not found)	Very Rare	(not found)	(not found)
Uncut Ruby	Very Rare	Rare	Very Rare	(not found)
Vicarya Fossil	Common	Uncommon	(not found)	Rare
Baiera Fossil	Uncommon	Common	(not found)	(not found)
Set Items	-Asian Fossil (Torn Note)	X	X	X

Item (Yellow Ping)	South Gobi Plain	Darkwood Forest	East Gobi Plain	Wanderwood Forest
Sprout	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common
Asian Fossil	Uncommon	Common	Common	Uncommon
Stone Weight	Very Rare	(not found)	Rare	(not found)
Ancient Underwear	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare
Ancient Bowl	Common	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)
Ancient Urn	Uncommon	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)
Bronze Mirror	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare
Uncut Ruby	Rare	Rare	Rare	Very Rare
Uncut Diamond	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare
Gold Nugget	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare	Rare
Five-Colored Bead	(not found)	Very Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare
Conodont Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Common
Sycamore Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Uncommon
Set Items	-Giant Body	X	-Dragon Skull	X

Item (Orange Ping)	South Gobi Plain	Darkwood Forest*	East Gobi Plain*	Wanderwood Forest
Trefoil	Very Common	Common	Uncommon	Very Common
Gold Nugget	Very Common	(unknown)	Common	Very Common
Five-Colored Bead	Uncommon	Common	Common	Uncommon
Mammoth Tusk	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)

Item (Red Ping)	South Gobi Plain*	Darkwood Forest*	East Gobi Plain*	Wanderwood Forest*
Clover	Common	(unknown)	Common	(unknown)
Asian Fossil(*)	Common	Common	Very Common	Common
Five-Colored Bead	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Mammoth Tusk	Common	(unknown)	Uncommon	(unknown)

North America[]

Item (White Ping)	West Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Depot	South Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Base	Warehouse	East Dust Hills*	Secret Base*
Leaf	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Common
Ancient Bowl	Common	Common	Very Common	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	Common
Ancient Urn	Rare	Uncommon	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	(unknown)
Uncut Diamond	Rare	Very Rare	Very Rare	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	(unknown)
Gold Nugget	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Rare	(unknown)	(unknown)
Rugosa Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Common	(unknown)	(unknown)
Ammonite Fossil	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Sycamore Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare	Uncommon	(unknown)	(unknown)
Set Items	-N. American Fossil (Old Note)	X	X	X	X	-Giant Legs	X

Item (Yellow Ping)	West Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Depot	South Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Base	Warehouse	East Dust Hills	Secret Base*
Sprout	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	(unknown)
Stone Weight	Rare	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Uncut Diamond	Rare	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Gold Nugget	Very Rare	Very Rare	Uncommon	Rare	Uncommon	(not found)	(unknown)
Five-Colored Bead	(not found)	Very Rare	Rare	Rare	(not found)	Very Rare	Common
Rugosa Fossil	Rare	Uncommon	Uncommon	Uncommon	Common	(not found)	(unknown)
Trilobite Fossil	(not found)	Rare	Rare	(not found)	Very Rare	(not found)	(unknown)
Coelacanth Fossil	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Sycamore Fossil	Common	Uncommon	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Zamites Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Uncommon	Very Rare	(unknown)
Ginkgo Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Common	(unknown)
Nilssonia Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	Common
Lepidodendron Fssl	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Common

Item (Orange Ping)	West Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Depot	South Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Base	Warehouse	East Dust Hills	Secret Base*
Trefoil	Common	Common	Uncommon	Common	Uncommon	Common	(unknown)
N. American Fossil	Very Common	Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Very Common	Common
Uncut Ruby	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Uncut Diamond	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare	(not found)	(unknown)
Gold Nugget	Uncommon	Common	(not found)	Very Rare	Uncommon	(not found)	(unknown)
Five-Colored Bead	Uncommon	Uncommon	Common	Common	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Lg Amber Specimen	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon
Mammoth Tusk	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)
Dinosaur Feces	Rare	Rare	Very Rare	Uncommon	Very Rare	(not found)	(unknown)
Ammonite Fossil	Very Rare	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Common	Uncommon	(unknown)
Coelacanth Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	(unknown)
Nilssonia Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Lepidodendron Fssl	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Very Rare	(unknown)
Set Items	X	X	X	-2 Lg Amber Specimen -Mammoth Tusk	-Lg Amber Specimen -Mammoth Tusk -Dinosaur Feces	X	-Gold Nugget(?)

Item (Red Ping)	West Dust Hills	Alpha Gang Depot*	South Dust Hills*	Alpha Gang Base*	Warehouse*	East Dust Hills	Secret Base*
Clover	Very Common	(unknown)	(unknown)	Common	(unknown)	Uncommon	(unknown)
N. American Fossil(*)	(unknown)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	(not found)	Uncommon	Common
Dinosaur Feces	Uncommon	Common	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	Common	(unknown)
Dinosaur Egg	Rare	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)	(unknown)

Antarctica[]

As there is only one area in Antarctica which has drilling spawns, Polar Point, its table will be condensed. Antarctic Fossils found at white ping depth instead of orange contain different dinosaurs.

Item (Polar Point)	White Ping	Yellow Ping	Orange Ping	Red Ping*
Leaf/Sprout/Trefoil/Clover	Very Common	Very Common	Uncommon	(unknown)
Antarctic Fossil	Rare	(not found)	Very Common	(not found)
Ancient Bowl	Uncommon	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Ancient Urn	Rare	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Uncut Diamond	Rare	(not found)	(not found)	(unknown)
Five-Colored Bead	(not found)	Very Rare	(not found)	(unknown)
Lg Amber Specimen	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	(unknown)
Dinosaur Feces	(not found)	(not found)	Very Rare	Common
Rugosa Fossil	Very Rare(?)	Common	(not found)	(unknown)
Trilobite Fossil	(not found)	Very Rare	(not found)	(unknown)
Ammonite Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Common	(unknown)
Coelacanth Fossil	(not found)	(not found)	Rare	(unknown)
Nilssonia Fossil	(not found)	Uncommon	(not found)	(unknown)

Africa[]

African Fossils found at orange and red ping depths are no different.

Item (White Ping)	Kalimba Desert	Alpha Fortress*
Leaf	Very Common	Very Common
Rugosa Fossil	(not found)	Common
Trilobite Fossil	(not found)	Uncommon
Sycamore Fossil	Common	(unknown)
Zamites Fossil	Very Rare	Uncommon
Ginkgo Fossil	Very Rare	(unknown)
Set Items	‑African Fossil (Soiled Note) ‑African Fossil (Torn Note) ‑Giant Head	X

Item (Yellow Ping)	Kalimba Desert	Alpha Fortress*
Sprout	Very Common	Common
Ammonite Fossil	Rare	(unknown)
Coelacanth Fossil	Very Rare	Rare
Ginkgo Fossil	(not found)	Common
Nilssonia Fossil	Very Rare	Very Common
Lepidodendron Fssl	Common	(unknown)

Item (Orange Ping)	Kalimba Desert	Alpha Fortress*
Trefoil	Common	Very Common
African Fossil	Rare	Uncommon
Lg Amber Specimen	Very Rare	(unknown)
Dinosaur Feces	Very Rare	Rare
Ammonite Fossil	Very Common	Very Common
Coelacanth Fossil	(not found)	Rare
Lepidodendron Fssl	Common	(unknown)

Item (Red Ping)	Kalimba Desert	Alpha Fortress*
Clover	Uncommon	Common
African Fossil	Very Common	Very Common
Gold Nugget	(not found)	Rare
Lg Amber Specimen	(not found)	Rare
Dinosaur Feces	Uncommon	Uncommon
Dinosaur Egg	Rare	Rare

Trivia[]

Confirmed wrong-color Fossils not from overlapping signals: white ping Antarctic Fossils (unique Dinosaurs), orange ping African Fossils (no difference).