The Prismatic Pickaxe is the true endgame pickaxe in The Forge’s Frostpire Expanse Winter update. It outclasses every other mining tool in raw power and utility, but it is hidden behind a secret location, strict damage requirements, and a steep 2,000,000 Gold price tag.
Prismatic Pickaxe stats and why it matters
The Prismatic Pickaxe is a Tier 2 pickaxe that pushes every relevant stat higher than the rest of the Island 3 lineup.
| Stat | Prismatic Pickaxe |
|---|---|
| Price | 2,000,000 Gold |
| Mine Power | 650 |
| Mine Speed | +20% |
| Luck Boost | +72% |
| Rune Slots | 4 |
| Flavor text | “Refracting infinite light, it adapts to strike any material perfectly.” |
For comparison, the best shop pickaxe on Island 3, the Void Pickaxe, offers 550 Power, -5% Speed, +68% Luck, and three rune slots for 1,350,000 Gold. The Prismatic Pickaxe adds 100 more Power, flips the speed penalty into a 20% bonus, slightly improves Luck, and opens a fourth rune slot. The tradeoff is cost: fully slotting four runes on a 2M Gold tool is significantly more expensive than on cheaper picks.
In practice, that combination makes Prismatic the most efficient way to break the highest-threshold ores in Frostpire Expanse while maximizing rare drop chances and giving enough rune space to tailor builds around power, speed, or Luck.
Requirements before you can reach the Prismatic Pickaxe
Reaching the Prismatic Pickaxe involves more than walking into a shop. You need:
- Access to Island 3 (Frostpire Expanse). You must be at least level 70 to reach the island through the portal system.
- Enough mining power to break the ice barrier. The entrance to the pickaxe is blocked behind an object that requires at least 320–380 base mining damage to crack.
- A high-tier Island 3 pickaxe. Tools like the Snow Pickaxe (320 power) or better, or event picks with around 550 power, are needed to meet the damage requirement.
- 2,000,000 Gold saved. Unlocking the pickaxe itself still requires full payment after breaking into the chamber.
Early in the update, some players used Demon race movement to phase into the room and preview the stats. For normal progression, the intended route is to upgrade your gear on Island 3 until your base damage can shatter the frozen barrier legitimately.
How to reach Frostpire Expanse (Island 3)
Step 1: Level your character to at least level 70. This is the minimum level needed to travel to the third island.
Step 2: Use your portal menu and select the destination labeled for the Frostpire Expanse / Island 3 hub. Confirm travel to load into the snowy zone.
Once you arrive, you spawn in the central Frostpire Expanse hub, surrounded by snow, ice, and the main progression NPCs and shops for this island.
Location of the Prismatic Pickaxe in Frostpire Expanse
The Prismatic Pickaxe is not sold in any standard shop. It is hidden in a frozen underground chamber beneath a lake near the hub.
Step 1: From the Frostpire Expanse hub spawn, talk to the Iceman NPC to unlock and use a nearby cannon that fires you up toward the surrounding cliffs.
Step 2: Use the cannon, then once you land on the upper terrain, head left along the ridge. You can also manually climb up from the hub if you prefer to walk.
Step 3: Look for a frozen lake on this higher plateau. In the ice, there is a circular fishing-style hole. Drop into this hole and swim downward.
Step 4: Continue swimming down until you fall through into an underground pit. In this cavern, you will see a large frozen fish or ice-encased object blocking a hidden area. Behind or next to it, in a separate chamber, sits the Prismatic Pickaxe pedestal.
Free camera fly views and short clips show the Prismatic Pickaxe model positioned beside the frozen fish, with an inspect window listing its 2,000,000 Gold price and stats.
Breaking the frozen barrier to access the Prismatic Pickaxe
You cannot interact with or purchase the pickaxe until you break through the frozen barrier around the fish. A prompt on the object indicates a required base damage threshold.
- The barrier checks for roughly 320 base mining damage at minimum, and some players see references up to around 380 base damage.
- Older world pickaxes generally cannot meet this requirement; you need Island 3 or event picks.
Step 1: Progress the Island 3 main questline. Follow Bejorn’s quests and complete the Sensei Mo quest chain. This unlocks additional progression and lets you purchase stronger pickaxes from relevant NPCs.
Step 2: Visit Fred the Miner’s pickaxe shop in the center of Frostpire Expanse. This brightly lit shop sells the new Island 3 pickaxes, scaling from Tungsten up through Void. Work your way at least to the Snow Pickaxe, which provides 320 mining power.
Step 3: Alternatively, during the Winter event, talk to Santa in the hub. Her shop sells special event pickaxes, such as the Candy Cane Pickaxe and a Christmas Pickaxe, both around 550 mining power. These comfortably exceed the barrier requirement.
Step 4: Equip your strongest pickaxe, return to the frozen lake, drop down through the ice hole again, and attack the frozen fish/ice rock. Once your base mining damage is high enough, the barrier breaks, opening the path to the Prismatic Pickaxe pedestal.
Players who attempt this with weaker picks see no progress on the barrier. Until your mining power crosses the required threshold, the secret room effectively stays locked.
All new Island 3 pickaxes and how Prismatic compares
Frostpire Expanse’s Winter update brings a full new pickaxe tier in Fred’s shop before the Prismatic Pickaxe. These tools are designed to help you hit the new damage gates and start farming late-game ores.
| Pickaxe | Price | Power | Speed | Luck | Rune Slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tungsten Pickaxe | $200,000 | 150 | -15% | +48% | 2 |
| Aqua Pickaxe | $375,000 | 200 | +5% | +52% | 2 |
| Mist Pickaxe | $500,000 | 250 | +15% | +55% | 2 |
| Snow Pickaxe | $750,000 | 320 | +10% | +58% | 3 |
| Frost Pickaxe | $1,000,000 | 420 | +5% | +62% | 3 |
| Void Pickaxe | $1,350,000 | 550 | -5% | +68% | 3 |
The design here is straightforward. Each step up raises mining power, adds or tweaks speed bonuses, and incrementally improves Luck. The Snow Pickaxe introduces a third rune slot, the Frost Pickaxe increases power further, and the Void Pickaxe becomes the first shop tool to break 500 mining power while nearly matching the best Luck in the game.
The Prismatic Pickaxe slots above all of these as a secret upgrade:
- It exceeds Void in mining power by 100.
- It turns Void’s speed penalty into a solid 20% bonus.
- It slightly improves on Void’s Luck and adds a fourth rune slot.
Because it is hidden and expensive, the Void Pickaxe remains the primary target for most players, while the Prismatic Pickaxe serves as the ultimate prestige and efficiency tool once you have mastered Island 3’s economy.
How much Gold you should plan to save
Reaching the Prismatic Pickaxe is a long economic grind, not just a single purchase.
- Void Pickaxe cost: 1,350,000 Gold if you buy it on the way up.
- Prismatic Pickaxe cost: 2,000,000 Gold on its own pedestal.
- Intermediate tools: Tungsten, Aqua, Mist, Snow, and Frost each add hundreds of thousands more if you buy every upgrade.
Many players offset costs by selling older pickaxes when upgrading. Even with resale, expect to spend well over 2M Gold across the entire path if you want to experiment with every option and still end up holding a Prismatic Pickaxe with runes.
Is the Prismatic Pickaxe worth it?
For players pushing into the most demanding ores and planning to stay in The Forge long-term, the Prismatic Pickaxe is the best pickaxe in the game:
- The 650 mining power comfortably clears the new ore thresholds, turning high-HP nodes into manageable farming targets.
- The 20% mine speed bonus increases throughput, especially when combined with speed-focused runes.
- The 72% Luck boost and four rune slots make it ideal for chasing rare traits and drops.
The main downsides are the grind: 2,000,000 Gold is a large sink, rune slotting is expensive at this tier, and you must first invest in other high-end tools just to open the chamber that holds it. For casual players, the Void Pickaxe or the event Candy Cane/Christmas pickaxes already offer strong performance. For late-game miners, the Prismatic Pickaxe is the logical final upgrade once the rest of the build and economy are in place.
Once unlocked, the Prismatic Pickaxe changes how Island 3 feels. Mining thresholds stop being bottlenecks, and rune builds become the main axis of optimization. If you are willing to absorb the cost and work through Frostpire Expanse’s progression, it is the definitive way to close out the Winter update’s mining grind.
