Shards, Shard Mass and Crystal
Shards and Shard Mass are separate Dig Site artifacts, with separate museum donations. Crystal is a different crafting material found in the Deep Earth. Match the exact item name in your request or recipe; they are not interchangeable.
Craft Shards at the Stone Refinery
Reach Town Rank 50 and complete the Stone Refinery story quest to build the workbench inside the Mines. Its Shards recipe uses 10 Stone and takes 10 in-game minutes. This is a later alternative to random dig spots, not a requirement for Eiland's early request.
Finding Shards in the Western Ruins
- 1
Head to the Western Ruins or other overworld dig spots with a Pickaxe or Shovel. Dig the marked ground; drops are random, so a spot may give another material or artifact instead of Shards.
- 2
Do not interpret a few misses as the wrong location. Clear the available spots, continue another task, and return after they refresh. The Western Ruins Scholar perk adds another dig spot and improves the efficiency of each loop without changing the random nature of the drop.
What to do when RNG is unkind
Check Balor's Wagon for Shards at 50t each when in stock. If they are absent, use dig spots or the unlocked Stone Refinery rather than waiting for a guaranteed shop restock.
If the request is not urgent, keep digging and save the Tesserae. If the two missing Shards block immediate progress, buying them can be cheaper than spending several in-game days on repeat travel.
Use them before you sell them
Eiland needs two Shards. The museum's Dig Site Material Set also needs one, and some furniture recipes use them later. Their direct sale value is only 5t, so converting an early Shard into cash usually destroys more utility than it creates.
- Reserve two for Eiland's request.
- Donate the first museum copy.
- Keep a small furniture reserve.
- Sell only clear duplicates after those needs are covered.
Sources
- Fields of Mistria Wiki — Shards — Acquisition and uses.
- Fields of Mistria Wiki — Shard Mass — Acquisition and uses.
- Fields of Mistria Wiki — Stone Refinery — Acquisition and uses.